A massive red mecha stood tall on the earth, the sunlight gleaming off its flashy red paint and reflecting a blinding light.
Madara Uchiha stood with his arms crossed, floating in mid-air as his Rinnegan coldly surveyed the steel behemoth before him.
"Is this your so-called trump card?"
A look of blatant mockery curled the corners of Madara's mouth. "A pile of scrap metal supplemented by sealing formulas that look like a child's doodles?"
In his vision, although this mecha named 'Unit Zero' was massive and possessed impressive chakra flow, it was nothing more than a piece of junk.
Specifically, the dense sealing runes covering the surface appeared to Madara like a few strips of cloth wrapped around a fragile piece of porcelain—cheap and laughable.
"The rats in the gutters of the Hidden Rain certainly enjoy playing with these steel creations."
Madara shook his head, his long hair swaying despite the lack of wind. "But if you think you can stand against me with such a clunky toy, then you are insulting the name of 'Uchiha'."
Inside the cockpit, Jiraiya felt the veins on his forehead throb as he listened to the mockery coming through the speakers.
"You bastard! This is a man's romance! What does an old antique like you, who hasn't showered in decades, know about anything!?"
Jiraiya slammed the control lever forward and roared, "Witness the culmination of Konoha's technology! Eat my Iron Fist of Justice!"
Boom!
The thrusters on the back of Unit Zero instantly ignited with blue flames. The massive mechanical arm whistled through the air like a battering ram, smashing ruthlessly toward Madara Uchiha.
The punch was heavy and powerful, compressing the air until it let out an explosive boom.
However, faced with a strike capable of crushing mountains, Madara didn't even bother to dodge.
"Too slow."
Madara simply raised a hand, and deep blue chakra erupted instantly.
Susanoo: Ribcage!
Bam!
The massive metal fist slammed into the ribcage defense of the Susanoo, producing the agonizing screech of twisting metal.
Sparks flew everywhere.
A few cracks appeared on the Susanoo's skeletal frame, but that was all.
Unit Zero's assault came to a grinding halt. The iron fist that could have demolished a city wall failed to break even a single bone of the Susanoo.
"Is this all?"
Madara snorted coldly. The Susanoo's arm suddenly reached out and grabbed Unit Zero's mechanical wrist.
"Shatter... for me!"
Crack!
With Madara's low shout, the Susanoo exerted its strength, and the mechanical arm—forged from high-strength chakra metal—was forcibly crushed out of shape.
Immediately after, Madara manipulated the Susanoo to give a violent swing.
The dozens-of-tons-heavy Unit Zero was hurled toward the ground like a ragdoll.
Rumbly-boom!
The earth shook violently as dust billowed upward.
"Ow, ow, ow!" Jiraiya was left reeling inside the cockpit. Even with the shock absorption system, that impact made him bite his tongue.
"Jiraiya-sensei, don't try to face him head-on!"
Watching from a distance, Minato Namikaze couldn't help but break into a cold sweat. "That's the Susanoo. Its physical defense is practically invincible!"
Gamakon, perched on Minato's shoulder, narrowed his toad eyes with a mischievous grin. "Don't worry, the real show is just beginning. That guy Jiraiya might usually seem unreliable, but he's a professional when it comes to setting traps."
Within the dust, Unit Zero shakily stood back up.
The sealing formulas on the mecha's surface began to flicker with unstable light due to the previous impact, and a few spots even went out completely.
Madara looked down at the scene, the disdain in his eyes deepening.
"Do you see? This is the consequence of relying on external objects."
Madara slowly descended, stepping toward Unit Zero. "No matter how many sealing techniques you carve onto this scrap metal, they are useless before absolute power."
"True power comes from within, from one's bloodline, and from these eyes."
Madara pointed to his Rinnegan, his tone arrogant to the extreme. "Yet you all forsake the essentials to chase the trivial, relying on such soulless, dead things."
Before he finished speaking, Madara's figure vanished instantly.
A second later, he appeared right at the chest of Unit Zero.
That was precisely where the cockpit was located.
"And you fools went and exposed your weakness just like that."
"It's over."
A black chakra rod condensed in Madara's hand. "In that case, I'll pierce through them together!"
Hum!
The black rod in Madara's hand thrust out violently.
The strike was devoid of any flair, possessing only extreme speed and piercing power.
Pfft!
The thick armor on Unit Zero's chest was as fragile as tofu before the black rod created by Yin-Yang Release.
The rod instantly pierced the outer armor and the shock-absorbing layers, heading straight for the core cockpit.
The defensive sealing formulas on the mecha's surface melted away like snow before a fire the moment they touched the black rod.
"Hahahaha!"
Madara laughed wildly. "Do you see? These so-called sealing techniques are completely pathetic!"
He could feel the black rod already touching the inner wall of the cockpit.
Just one more step and he would impale the noisy fellow inside.
However.
At that moment.
Through the cracks in the damaged cockpit armor, Madara saw a face.
A large face painted with red markings, grinning extremely sleazily.
Jiraiya didn't show the slightest hint of fear; instead, he bared his teeth at Madara in a smile that radiated an indescribable craftiness.
"You fell for it!"
"What?"
Madara's pupils shrank slightly.
A strong sense of crisis instantly surged in his heart.
The moment Madara's black rod pierced the inner wall of the cockpit...
The interior of the cockpit, which had seemed unremarkable, suddenly erupted with blinding golden light.
It was a dense, multilayered array of sealing formulas!
"What?!"
Madara was shocked to discover that these formulas weren't carved on the outside of the mecha, but were all concentrated on the inner walls of the cockpit!
The entire cockpit hadn't been designed to protect the pilot at all.
The sealing formulas in the cockpit were actually far more numerous than those on the mecha itself!
"Reverse Four Symbols Seal? No, this is... a combination of the Adamantine Sealing Chains and the Uzumaki Clan's Sealing Arts!?"
Madara tried to pull back the black rod and retreat.
But he found his hand stuck as if by superglue, unable to move at all.
The golden runes frantically spread along the black rod, instantly covering his arm and then diffusing across his entire body.
Inside the cockpit, Jiraiya laughed as his hands blurred through seals. "I didn't want the Gundam's only use to be for training, so I had Orochimaru add sealing formulas to the cockpit."
"Who would've thought... I didn't even get to use it on the Otsutsuki before you, old man, got to enjoy it first!"
"Madara! You are too arrogant!"
Jiraiya slammed a hand down on the red button on the control console.
"Ninjutsu: Toad's Catching a Rat in a Jar!"
Boom!
The sealing formulas inside the cockpit erupted fully.
A terrifying suction force pulled from inside the cockpit. Madara felt his chakra being suppressed frantically, and his body was pulled uncontrollably toward that cramped cockpit.
"You bastard!"
Madara roared, his Rinnegan spinning wildly as he tried to use the Preta Path's ability to absorb the chakra.
But these sealing formulas were infused with highly concentrated Sage Chakra from Mount Myoboku. The moment Madara absorbed a bit, his arm began to show signs of petrification.
"Damn it! It's Senjutsu!"
Madara had to stop absorbing, relying solely on his physical strength and chakra eruptions to fight the suction.
However, to humiliate Jiraiya earlier, he had stayed too close.
At such close range, facing a long-premeditated trap, even Madara Uchiha suffered a heavy blow.
"So? Is this scrap metal still fragile?"
Watching from the distance, Gamakon laughed so hard he rolled off Minato's shoulder. "Madara, the times have changed. Who still plays fair and square in a ninjutsu duel these days?"
Minato was also shocked, but then a wry smile appeared on his face.
"Jiraiya-sensei... he really is full of surprises."
He had originally thought the mecha was just for training, never expecting such a devious killing move to be hidden inside.
Putting all the defense on the inside, intentionally feigning weakness to lure Madara into a close-range attack on the cockpit.
In the center of the battlefield.
Half of Madara's body had been forcibly sucked against the mecha's chest.
The golden chains coiled around him like venomous snakes, biting into his flesh.
This was a disgrace.
An absolute disgrace.
He, the great Madara Uchiha, the Ghost of the Uchiha, had been played by a steel creation!
"Dammit!!!"
Madara let out a heaven-shaking roar as his entire chakra reservoir erupted like a volcano.
The blue Susanoo surged again. This time it wasn't just the ribs, but the half-body form.
The massive Susanoo's hands braced against the mecha's chest, attempting to forcibly pull Madara out.
Screech—Screech—
The sound of metal tearing set teeth on edge.
Unit Zero's chest armor began to deform, and the sealing runes flickered under Madara's violent struggle, appearing as if they would snap at any moment.
"Want to run? No way!"
Jiraiya was also playing for keeps; he bit his finger and slammed his bloody palm onto the sealing core.
"Lock him down for me!!"
Hum!
The golden light intensified.
The mecha's internal power furnace went into overdrive, converting all energy into sealing binding force.
For a moment, an extremely bizarre scene appeared on the battlefield.
The twenty-meter-tall red mecha was like a giant bear trap, biting down hard on Madara Uchiha.
Meanwhile, Madara, with his Susanoo active, was like a giant who had his finger caught in a mousetrap, thrashing and struggling wildly.
"Despicable!"
Fuming with rage, Madara's Susanoo swung its long blade, hacking into the mecha's head.
Clang!
Half the mecha's head was sliced off, exposing the wires and sparks inside.
But the seal on the chest still refused to let go.
"This... this is a bit too..."
The Konoha ninjas in the distance watched with wide eyes.
Is this the legendary Madara Uchiha?
Why does it feel like... the style of the fight has gone a bit wrong?
"Don't just stand there! Now's the chance!"
Gamakon jumped up and smacked Minato's head. "The old guy can't move right now. Get in there and finish him! Seal him up!"
Minato instantly snapped out of it, his gaze sharpening.
"Understood!"
Swish!
A golden flash flickered.
Minato's figure vanished from his spot.
A second later, he appeared directly above Madara.
In his hand, a Rasengan infused with the Power of Six Paths radiated heart-stopping fluctuations.
"Madara! It's over!"
Minato shouted as he slammed it down.
Entangled by the mecha and unable to break free, Madara suddenly looked up. Seeing the Rasengan, his pupils snapped shut.
"You little bastard..."
Madara ground his teeth.
He never expected that his first battle after being resurrected would see him forced into such a pathetic state.
"Shinra Tensei!!"
Ignoring the agonizing pain of the sealing backlash on his body, Madara forcibly activated his Rinnegan, unleashing a maximum-output repulsive force.
Boom!!!
A terrifying wave of repulsion swept out from Madara as the center, radiating in all directions.
Unit Zero, which was biting him tightly, took the brunt of the blow; its chest armor exploded instantly, and the entire mecha was blasted backward by the sheer force.
Inside the cockpit, Jiraiya screamed as he was ejected along with his seat.
In the air, Minato was also stalled by the repulsive force. His Rasengan veered off course, grazing Madara's shoulder and slamming into the ground.
Bang!
The earth shattered, leaving behind a bottomless crater.
Dust filled the air.
Madara knelt on one knee, gasping for breath.
His dark-red armor was now tattered, and his right arm was covered in charred marks—the remnants of the sealing technique's burn.
Though he had broken free, the humiliation of being toyed with made Madara's expression turn so dark it was practically dripping.
"Good... very good."
Madara slowly stood up, brushing the dust off himself.
He raised his head, and his Rinnegan no longer held even a trace of contempt. Instead, it was filled with endless coldness and killing intent.
"You brats of Konoha."
"You have successfully enraged me."
"Next, I will show you what true... power looks like."
Boom!
Blue chakra soared into the sky, transforming into a hundred-meter-tall Perfect Susanoo.
The massive figure blocked out the sun, casting a shadow that blanketed the entire Leaf Village.
The previous farcical scene vanished in an instant.
In its place was a suffocating, terrifying pressure.
Hanging from a distant tree branch, Jiraiya looked at the demon-god-like Susanoo and swallowed hard.
"Uh... Madara."
Jiraiya gave a couple of dry laughs. "I was just joking with you a second ago. Can we still reconcile?"