Boom!!!
A pillar of blue chakra descended from the sky, the violent shockwave instantly destroying the surrounding houses as the ground cracked like a spiderweb.
As the dust settled, a man with long, wild hair wearing dark red battle armor was revealed.
Madara Uchiha.
He crossed his arms, his purple Rinnegan coldly scanning the area before finally locking onto Minato Namikaze.
"Is this the current Hokage?"
A contemptuous sneer curled Madara's lips. "He looks far inferior to Hashirama."
His gaze shifted past Minato, seemingly searching for something.
"Hand over that woman."
Madara spoke as if it were a natural fact, as if commanding his own servant. "And that Black Zetsu... along with all the Tailed Beasts."
"Huh?"
Before Minato could even speak, Gamakon jumped up and pointed at Madara, mocking him loudly. "Hey, you old fossil! Have you been asleep so long your brain rotted? You just got revived and you're already coming to Konoha to beg? Why don't you go sign up for welfare instead?"
Madara's eyes turned cold.
"Noisy beast."
Madara raised a hand and flicked his wrist.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A terrifying repulsive force erupted instantly, slamming toward Minato and Gamakon.
This force was several times stronger than the one released by Pain; the air itself let out an explosive boom as it was compressed.
However...
Swish!
A flash of gold light.
Minato Namikaze's figure vanished into thin air.
Meanwhile, Gamakon took the hit head-on, remaining completely unscathed.
Oh?
Just as Madara Uchiha began to take a slight interest in this summoned beast...
The next second, Minato appeared at Madara's side, throwing a specially made kunai that glinted coldly toward his throat.
"Flying Thunder God?"
Madara's Rinnegan shifted slightly, and a blue Susanoo arm materialized behind him, catching Minato's kunai.
"The Second Hokage's technique... Though it is fast, it is meaningless before these eyes."
Madara sneered as another Susanoo arm clenched into a fist and swung toward Minato.
But just as the fist was about to connect, Minato's figure vanished again.
This time, he appeared directly above Madara's head.
"Sage Art: Rasengan!"
A massive Rasengan infused with natural energy surged with a piercing whistle as it was slammed toward Madara's crown.
"Oh? Senjutsu?"
A trace of surprise flashed through Madara's eyes.
He hadn't expected this young Hokage to not only know the Flying Thunder God but also master Senjutsu.
However, he did not panic.
"Limbo: Border Jail!"
With a single thought from Madara...
In a world visible only to the Rinnegan, an invisible shadow split from Madara's body and punched toward Minato in mid-air.
This strike was formless and shadowless; physical attacks could not defend against it, and even sensory ninjutsu could not detect it.
An ordinary Kage-level expert would have already had their bones shattered.
But Minato Namikaze was currently in his perfect Sage Mode.
Under the perception of natural energy, that invisible shadow appeared as a faint, flickering presence.
"On the right!"
Minato forcibly twisted his body in mid-air, dodging the Limbo shadow's fist with an incredibly bizarre posture.
Simultaneously, the Rasengan in his hand did not dissipate; instead, he slammed it into the invisible shadow.
Thud!
A muffled sound echoed.
Although the Limbo shadows cannot be harmed by physical attacks, Sage Chakra was their natural nemesis.
The shadow was sent flying, and even Madara's physical body felt a slight recoil, causing him to stagger.
"What?!"
Madara's expression shifted.
His proud Limbo technique had actually been dodged? And even countered?
"It's not over yet!"
Minato's voice rang in Madara's ear.
Without anyone noticing, a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God formula had fallen at Madara's feet.
Swish!
Minato teleported again, this time at zero distance.
He pressed one hand against the center of Madara's back as a black seal began to spread rapidly from his palm.
"Contract Seal!"
This was the sealing technique Minato had used to sever the connection between Obito and the Nine-Tails; it was specifically designed for summoning contracts and chakra links.
While it couldn't seal Madara, it was enough to interfere with his internal chakra flow.
Sizzle...
Madara felt his chakra stagnate instantly, and even his Susanoo began to show signs of cracking.
"You bastard!"
Madara was enraged.
Having just been revived, he had actually suffered a setback at the hands of a junior.
This sense of humiliation caused his fighting spirit to boil over instantly.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!"
Madara forcibly broke through the interference of the seal and spat out a sea of flames.
This was no ordinary fireball; it was an ultimate flame capable of incinerating an entire forest into ash in an instant.
Minato didn't take it head-on. Grabbing Gamakon, he activated the Flying Thunder God and flashed to a tree trunk a hundred meters away.
The sea of fire swept through, turning the ground where the two had just stood into molten lava.
Madara stood in the center of the flames, his long hair dancing in the heat waves.
He didn't give chase. Instead, he looked down at the charred handprint on the chest of his clothing.
Minato had left that behind just now.
Though it dealt no real damage, the insult was extreme.
"Minato Namikaze..."
Madara slowly uttered the name, the contempt in his eyes completely vanishing.
"Your speed is indeed impressive."
"Among the shinobi I have fought, none are faster than you, save for Tobirama Senju."
"I acknowledge you."
Madara looked up, his Rinnegan shimmering with a dangerous light. "You are worthy of dancing before me, Madara Uchiha."
Minato stood on the branch, his expression solemn.
Although the exchange was brief, he had already tested the depths of his opponent.
This Madara Uchiha was absurdly strong.
Whether it was chakra capacity, reaction speed, or those bizarre invisible attacks, he far surpassed the previous Pain.
If he didn't use that thing, it would be difficult to defeat him on his own.
"Whew..."
Minato took a deep breath and slowly clapped his hands together.
He was prepared to use his final trump card.
That was the Six Paths Power that Orochimaru and Jiraiya had analyzed after countless experiments following the retrieval of the Tenseigan from the moon.
Though it could only achieve a brief fusion for now, the level of this power far surpassed that of ordinary chakra.
Hum!
As Minato focused his mind, a faint green aura began to surface on his body.
The surrounding space actually began to vibrate slightly due to the emergence of this energy.
"Oh?"
In the distance, Madara Uchiha keenly sensed the change in the atmosphere.
He narrowed his Rinnegan.
"This feeling... is it Six Paths power?"
Madara's interest was fully piqued.
"Interesting."
The Susanoo behind Madara suddenly expanded, blue chakra armor quickly covering its entire body as it transformed into a semi-complete form dozens of meters high.
"Then let me see just how far this so-called trump card of yours can go!"
The massive Susanoo drew a chakra blade and swung it down toward Minato's head.
The wind from the blade howled, even cutting through the clouds in the sky.
Minato's eyes narrowed as he prepared to erupt with the Six Paths Sage Chakra to meet the attack.
Just then—
Rumble rumble!!!
A roar even more violent than the Susanoo suddenly erupted from the rear of the Hidden Leaf Village.
The sound was too immense, sounding like some prehistoric behemoth running at full speed.
The ground began to shake violently, and debris bounced wildly.
"Hmm?"
Minato paused, and Madara's descending blade instinctively stopped in mid-air.
The two turned their heads simultaneously to look toward the source of the noise.
They saw a streak of crimson light racing across the ground at an inconceivable speed.
Everywhere the red light passed, rocks, trees, and ruins alike were smashed to pieces.
It trailed two long, deep-blue exhaust flames behind it, and the dust it kicked up formed a dragon of earth tens of meters high, blotting out the sun.
"That is..."
'Crap, does that idiot Jiraiya think no one will attack his main body?'
'Even if he is joining the fight, he shouldn't be using a mecha!'
Gamakon was dumbfounded.
Before anyone could react.
The red light had already burst into the battlefield.
Accompanied by the screeching of metal and the hiss of hydraulic pistons, the massive object skidded hundreds of meters across the ground, carving out two deep trenches before coming to a steady halt between Minato and Madara.
The dust settled.
A twenty-meter-tall iron giant revealed itself to everyone's sight.
Painted in a flashy crimson, the metallic beast reflected a cold and violent luster under the sunlight.
Konoha Unit Zero: Custom.
Or as Jiraiya called it, the Sage Unit!
"Wahahahaha!!!"
A burst of laughter, amplified by speakers, erupted from the mecha's head, making the surrounding air hum.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Minato!"
The massive mecha raised its right arm, striking an incredibly flamboyant kabuki pose while pointing at Madara Uchiha.
"The Toad Sage, Lord Jiraiya, has arrived! Madara Uchiha, your opponent is me!"