Konoha was in a frenzy.
The towering Susanoo—stretching tens of meters high—loomed over the village like a living war god. Its sheer presence could not be ignored. The villagers and ninja alike were struck dumb with shock and terror.
Even in this Warring States era, many had faced the horrors of the battlefield and survived, yet few had witnessed anything like this. The colossal blue form of Uchiha Madara's Susanoo radiated an overwhelming aura of power, and its appearance alone was enough to paralyze anyone who dared oppose him.
"How is this possible?"
"How could Uchiha Madara's Susanoo appear here?"
"Uchiha Madara… he was killed by the First Hokage… yet he's still alive!"
"Madara has returned to strike again!"
The Konoha ninja cried out in fear. Though none could explain why Madara had survived, they knew the destructive power of his Susanoo firsthand.
Legend held that any ninja hostile to the Uchiha clan who faced Madara's Susanoo on the battlefield would meet certain death. The monstrous blue war god, imposing and unstoppable, was a force of destruction that haunted countless memories.
Of course, the tales were slightly exaggerated. Many who had survived encounters with Madara's Susanoo still lived to tell the tale. Yet survivor bias did not make them less wary—they knew the Susanoo had claimed far more lives than anyone could count.
Even in its incomplete state, the Susanoo now standing in Konoha was terrifying beyond imagination. It was only a third-stage manifestation, yet it carried power no ordinary ninja could hope to resist.
"Go! Report this to the Hokage immediately!" most Konoha ninja thought instinctively.
"Notify Tobirama at once!" the few ANBU members capable of clear-headed thinking commanded themselves.
Yet in truth, there was no need to alert the Hokage. Senju Tobirama already understood the gravity of the situation better than anyone.
Within the Hokage building, Tobirama had been attending to matters for his eldest brother when a commotion caught his attention. Peering from the window, his eyes fell upon Madara's Susanoo. Every detail—the towering form, its aura, even its incomplete, damaged state—was immediately recognized.
"It's Madara!" Tobirama gritted his teeth, clenching his fists.
"That bastard isn't dead!"
Though he did not understand why Madara, supposedly killed by his elder brother, had survived, Tobirama did not hesitate. He prepared to move, to intervene, but found his movement restrained by a pitch-black curse seal that had latched onto his arm.
Not good.
He hadn't yet mastered the seal's power and could not freely utilize his chakra. A cold sweat broke across his forehead. He had neglected his responsibility to protect Konoha, and now the consequences were immediate.
Just one more day… just one more day of time to study the seal, and he could have mastered it. He had pursued the secrets of ancient power too hastily. He needed Emiya Shihara—only Shihara could help him break the seal and regain full control over his chakra.
Tobirama's thoughts raced as he recalled where he had placed Shihara. The location—reserved for distinguished outsiders—was now the epicenter of Madara's sudden appearance.
What in the world was Madara doing here?
Rushing with ANBU reinforcements, Tobirama observed the Susanoo's damage. Third-stage Susanoo… he had seen this form before. Even in its incomplete state, it could barely be maintained—but Madara had survived, barely escaping death, expending nearly all his strength in the process.
"Madara has returned…?" Tobirama muttered grimly.
---
Meanwhile, Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito had no time to deliberate. Their injuries and exhaustion were irrelevant. As soon as the alarm sounded, they rushed toward the site where Madara had appeared, determined to intervene.
Inside the towering Susanoo, Uchiha Madara's eyes swept across Konoha. Countless ninja were sprinting toward him like ants, small but dangerous threats to his escape. His gaze, however, quickly fixed on a single figure—Emiya Shihara.
The presence of Shihara caused Madara a rare emotion: resentment, coupled with anger at being exposed.
"Susanoo?" Shihara's voice was calm yet measured as he looked at the towering form.
"I never thought I'd see such awe-inspiring power in this day and age…"
Raising his head, Shihara addressed Madara humbly but firmly:
"Although I've never enjoyed fighting, isn't this a bit of an underestimation to rely on only a third-stage Susanoo against your opponent?"
Madara's eyes narrowed. This man… he understood Susanoo. He was not intimidated by its third-stage power.
Madara's initial goal had been simple: to undo the cursed seal and escape. Using Susanoo was merely a means to that end. But now, he had to deal with Shihara directly.
"Who… who is he?" Madara thought. He estimated the time until Hashirama could intervene. Whoever this man was, he was far stronger than any opponent Madara had expected to encounter.
This person had resisted his illusions—something even Hashirama had struggled with. Madara's mind reeled at the realization: this was a being of unparalleled mental strength, capable of instantly crushing the will of even the Uchiha.
Not only that, his identity was entirely unknown. Even Hashirama did not know him. Madara had fought throughout the Warring States Period, yet he had never imagined such a powerful figure existed outside himself and Hashirama.
"I always thought only Hashirama could compete with me," Madara murmured to himself.
"I never expected that someone else in this small ninja world would possess such strength…"
His Sharingan, though depleted, focused intently on Shihara.
"A powerful person like you should not be unknown…"
Shihara's expression darkened in thought for a moment, then he looked up and spoke calmly:
"Seeing you reminds me of the first Sharingan ninja I ever fought…"
Madara's curiosity peaked. Could it be that someone else in his clan had fought Shihara before?
"Indra," Shihara said.
"If there are any records in your clan, Indra is the ancestor of your Sharingan line."
Shihara spoke truthfully, revealing the past openly. When he had first confronted Indra, the Sharingan ancestor had remarked, just as Madara might think now, that a person of such power should not exist.
Madara's anger flared. He clenched his fists, intending to use Susanoo to strike Shihara, furious at the audacity of this calm, powerful opponent.
"I am Emiya Shihara," Shihara said, unfazed by Madara's rage.
"I never like to lie."
At that moment, the ground trembled.
A massive stone arm emerged, clenched into a fist, colliding forcefully with the Susanoo's own.
Madara's heart raced in shock. He was accustomed to resistance, but the name… Emiya Shihara… it reverberated in his mind. He had heard it countless times, yet never expected to face its full force like this.
The stage was set. Konoha trembled as two extraordinary powers—one legendary, one mysterious—faced off. And this was only the beginning.
---
Füll bōøk àvàilàble óñ pàtreøn (Gk31)