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On the screen, a sea of hopeless blue swallowed everything.
Even though the Five Kage fought with everything they had, their defenses were laughably fragile under the siege of twenty-five Susanoo. Like paper walls in a storm, they were torn apart without mercy.
Uchiha Madara stood high above them, looking down at the battered Five Kage who could no longer even stand. The mockery in his eyes faded, replaced by a cold, distant indifference, the loneliness of someone standing too far above everyone else.
"Boring."
He spoke the word lightly.
In the next instant, all twenty-five Susanoo vanished at once.
Madara's chakra erupted again. From the ground rose a fully formed Susanoo, enormous and monstrous, shaped like a tengu. It was larger and more solid than any form before it, so overwhelming it felt as if a true god had descended into the world.
"As a reward for entertaining me," Madara said calmly, "I'll let you witness the power of the complete form."
The Perfect Susanoo slowly drew the massive blade at its waist.
Just the act of drawing the sword.
Boom!
An indescribably terrifying slash tore through the air and swept outward.
There was no technique, no flourish. Just raw, unrestrained power.
In the distance, two towering mountains met the slash head-on. They were cut apart like butter under a hot knife. The upper halves slid away, collapsed, and crumbled in an instant.
The cut was smooth as glass.
One strike. Mountains severed.
A violent wind howled across the battlefield, forcing the Five Kage to squint. They stared blankly at the flattened peaks, the last light in their eyes finally going out.
This was Uchiha Madara.
This was the gap they could never cross.
The video froze on their faces, filled with despair and helplessness, before slowly fading to black.
…
Across countless worlds, silence reigned.
One Piece World, Marineford.
Inside the conference room, the stillness was suffocating.
"Hoo…" Fleet Admiral Sengoku let out a long breath, only then realizing his back was soaked with cold sweat. "That man, Uchiha Madara… I don't like his methods, but I can't deny it. He has power that could overturn the world itself."
"The Five Kage had plenty of tricks, and their coordination was solid," Tsuru said, hands clasped, her expression grave. "But they lacked something Madara has. Absolute power. The kind that ignores rules and settles everything in one blow. In front of a true monster, technique has its limits."
"Hmph."
Akainu Sakazuki snorted, magma churning in his eyes. "I hate that man's gaze. That's the look of an ambitious schemer, someone who'll do anything to reach his goal. If someone like that appeared on this sea, he'd be the greatest enemy of justice."
"So scary~"
Kizaru Borsalino casually trimmed his nails, though his fingers trembled slightly. "Cutting two mountains with a single slash… My light-speed kicks can cause destruction too, but that kind of pure cutting power? Hawkeye would probably be too excited to sleep. I really don't want to run into a monster like that on the sea."
Aokiji Kuzan tugged at his eye mask and sighed. "Man, what a headache. Good thing he doesn't seem to be from our world. Otherwise Marineford would be drowning in overtime."
New World, Moby Dick.
Whitebeard Edward Newgate stared at the darkened screen in silence for a long time.
"Pops…" Marco looked at him with concern.
"Gurarararara…"
Whitebeard suddenly laughed, but there was an unmistakable trace of loneliness in it. "That Uchiha Madara is a madman who threw everything away for power. Me? I'm Whitebeard. I swing my blade for my family."
He glanced at the tubes running through his body, his gaze unfocused. "If I were in my prime, maybe I could've traded blows with him. But now… I've got to admit it. I'm old. Against a monster with an immortal body and endless stamina, even I can't promise I'd protect all of you."
Thousand Sunny.
"So strong…"
Luffy lowered his head, the brim of his straw hat shadowing his eyes. "That Madara… he's insanely strong. Right now… I can't beat him."
"Luffy…" Nami and Chopper looked at him worriedly.
Luffy snapped his head up. There was no fear in his eyes, only resolve. "But I'm gonna be King of the Pirates! I don't care who my opponent is. God, devil, doesn't matter. If they get in my way, I'll knock them flying! I'll get stronger. Strong enough to protect all my friends!"
On deck, Zoro hoisted a massive barbell again and again, sweat pouring down. "Not enough. My slashes aren't strong enough yet. One day, I'll reach that level too. One strike to split a mountain."
Meanwhile, Usopp hid in the cabin, shaking as he scribbled designs. "Nope, nope, nope! That meteor was way too scary! I need to invent ammo that can blow up meteors! Super Special Move: Star-Shattering Bullet! Sounds good, right?"
…
Bleach World, Las Noches.
Aizen Sōsuke sat on his throne, chin resting on one hand, gazing at the spiritual structures floating in the air before him.
Their form bore a striking resemblance to Madara's Susanoo.
"Condensing high-density energy into a physical form, creating a giant that combines offense and defense," Aizen mused, a faint smile curling his lips. "Chakra and spiritual pressure differ in nature, but the underlying principle is usable. With a few adjustments to the arrangement of reishi…"
He paused thoughtfully.
"Give me a few years, and I could create something even more perfect. More elegant. A true 'divine vessel.'"
"Uchiha Madara, thank you for the inspiration."
…
Naruto World.
Chaos had erupted everywhere.
The video was over, but the fear it left behind was burned deep into people's hearts.
In the Cloud, Stone, and Mist villages, civilians panicked. Some were already packing their belongings, preparing to flee.
"Everyone, don't panic!"
At that moment, figures appeared atop the highest points of each village.
In the Hidden Cloud, the Fourth Raikage A stood on the roof of the Raikage building. Though he was missing an arm, his presence was still explosive. "That was the future! Madara hasn't been revived yet! Right now, I've still got both arms! Now that we know what's coming, I'll be damned if I let that future happen!"
In the Hidden Stone, Ōnoki floated in the air, his voice ringing out. "Stone ninja, lift your heads! The future me dared to face a god. What are you afraid of now? As long as we stand together, the future can be changed!"
In the Hidden Mist, Mei Terumī stood atop a tower, eyes firm. "We will never accept that future. We will rewrite it."
Moments later, messenger hawks took flight from the Five Great Nations.
A Highest Emergency Summit, jointly convened by the Five Kage, was called immediately.
Madara's existence brought despair, but it also forced the fractured ninja world toward an unprecedented unity. They all understood one thing clearly. Only together did they have any hope of survival.
…
Inside a rented apartment.
Mason stared at the skyrocketing amazement points and view counts on his backend dashboard, grinning from ear to ear.
"Uchiha Madara really is a traffic goldmine!"
"But that one was pure despair. Too heavy. Next up, I need a different kind of shock."
His fingers flew across the keyboard.
"They've seen world-ending ninjutsu. Now let's show them battles of life and death on the soul level, and that world's version of hell."
[Video completed!]
[Uploading…]
[Published!]
…
Across countless worlds.
Just as people were still reeling from Madara's overwhelming terror, the massive screen shook once more.
This time, the background wasn't desert or ocean, but a pitch-black abyss that felt like it could swallow souls whole.
Blood-red letters tore through the darkness like claws:
[Top 8 Hot-Blooded Battles Across the Multiverse!]
[For the Bonds We Protect! Bleach: The Battle of Hell!!!]
[Ichigo Kurosaki Enters Hell! Hollowfication Rampage!]
…
One Piece World.
"Oh! It's starting!"
Luffy instantly bounced back from his gloom, pointing at the screen. "Bleach? Hell? That sounds awesome!"
"Shinigami…" Zoro tightened his grip on Wado Ichimonji. "So they fight with swords? Hope the swordplay's good."
"Yohohoho!"
Brook suddenly leapt up, empty eye sockets gleaming. "Hell? The underworld? Now that's fascinating! As a Revive-Revive Fruit user, I'm something of an expert on the afterlife myself. Even though I'm already dead beyond dead! Yohohoho!"
Marineford.
The officers who had just relaxed now tensed up again at the sight of the title.
"Hell…"
Garp frowned, the rice cracker in his hand suddenly tasteless. "Is there really a hell? Is that where dead pirates go?"
Tsuru stared at the screen. For the first time, a deeply grave expression appeared on her usually calm face.
"Something's wrong."
Her Wash-Wash Fruit ability kept her mind razor-sharp. "Natsu, Hades, the Five Kage, Uchiha Madara… and now 'Shinigami' and 'hell.'"
"Why is it that our intelligence network, spread across the entire world, knows nothing about these people or these places?"
She turned to Sengoku, her voice heavy with certainty.
"Sengoku, haven't you noticed? The title of that video. 'Across the Multiverse.'"
"'Multiple heavens' means more than one sky. More than one world."
"There's only one explanation," Tsuru said, pointing at the screen, every word deliberate. "These people and battles don't belong to our world at all. They come from other dimensions. Other universes."
The room fell deathly silent.
Sengoku's pupils shrank. Then he slammed his hand on the table.
"So that's it! No wonder even the World Government's intelligence turned up nothing. If they're from other worlds… then everything makes sense."
"....."