As Obito's chanting sped up, the formation's light grew sharper and brighter.
Then, with a thunderous boom, a towering figure rose slowly from the array, chakra rolling off him like a tidal wave.
Madara Uchiha.
The legendary shinobi who had once made the entire world tremble.
Madara opened his eyes, his gaze burning as he swept the surroundings. When he saw Obito, his brow tightened slightly.
"Obito. Why did you change the plan without permission?"
His voice was low and commanding—an unquestionable accusation.
Obito drew a deep breath. "Madara… Shuoye Uchiha exists now. Our original plan can't be executed cleanly anymore. His strength is beyond what we expected."
Interest flickered in Madara's eyes.
"Oh? The Uchiha produced a successor of that caliber?" His lips curved. "Interesting. Then I'll see for myself what he can do."
Obito hurried to stop him. "Madara, please reconsider. Going straight to Konoha is too reckless. We should prepare first—"
Madara only laughed, disdainful.
"Who do you think I am? I am Madara Uchiha. What in this world can stop me?"
He vanished in a blur, leaving only a faint afterimage behind.
Obito and Nagato exchanged a glance, both helpless.
It seemed the decisive battle would begin early.
In a quiet corner of Konoha, Shuoye Uchiha stood by a window. Moonlight spilled over him, draping his silhouette in silver.
After long training and refinement, he had finally fused his Haki, spiritual pressure, and chakra into a single, seamless force—something new, something terrifying.
It wasn't just power. It was the peak of spirit, soul, and body… and the hope he would one day use to face the Ōtsutsuki clan.
As he sank into that understanding, a massive chakra surge tore through the night's stillness.
"This chakra…"
Even Shuoye felt pressure from it.
His mind sharpened at once.
The arrival was hostile—and it could only be the name he'd heard whispered for so long.
Madara Uchiha.
Shuoye didn't waste a breath. He immediately alerted Fugaku Uchiha and the other leaders, ordering Konoha into full readiness.
Then he went alone, stepping outside the village to meet the challenge head-on.
When Madara finally entered his sight, approval flashed in the older Uchiha's eyes.
"Not bad, brat. Your strength is worth my personal attention."
His voice carried weight, as if it could crush distance itself.
Shuoye smiled faintly. "Madara. Your strength is worthy of respect—but you don't understand your situation."
A warning lay beneath the calm.
Madara's brow creased, then smoothed into a cold smile. "And what, exactly, don't I understand?"
Shuoye met his eyes without blinking. "Black Zetsu is using you. You believe he's the product of your will—but he has his own goal. His own plan."
Madara's face darkened for a heartbeat, then he scoffed.
"Hmph. You think you can drive a wedge between me and my creation? Black Zetsu is mine. I know what he is. Enough. Stop your tricks and surrender."
Shuoye shook his head. "So you won't believe me. Fine."
"Then we'll speak with strength."
"Strength?" Madara's voice sharpened. "Brat, you have no idea who you're facing!"
He struck first.
Hands clapping together, he spewed a sea of flames—an overwhelming wall of fire that drowned the battlefield.
Great Fire Annihilation.
Shuoye didn't flinch.
"Try harder, Madara."
He swung his blade once. A faint glow washed over the edge—and the raging fire was pulled in, absorbed as if the sword were drinking it dry.
"That doesn't mean anything to me anymore," Shuoye said, unhurried.
Madara laughed, clapping his hands as if entertained.
"Good. Then I'll get serious."
His laughter echoed through the night, amused—and contemptuous.
He raised his hands.
A colossal Susanoo rose behind him like a mountain, pressure crashing down with it.
"Dance, brat!"
Madara's voice boomed from the Susanoo's chest, like thunder inside a storm.
Shuoye's smile didn't fade. He lifted his hands as well, and an immense surge answered his will.
His Susanoo formed beside him—massive, armored in radiant gold, like a war god pulled from myth.
"Then come," Shuoye said. "Let's see."
The two Susanoo collided.
The impact shook the earth. The sound was a rupture—like the world itself cracking.
Their battle was catastrophe made visible, turning the field into chaos.
"Brat… your power—"
Madara's expression tightened.
Shuoye's Susanoo was forcing him back.
Each exchange pressed heavier than the last, hammering Madara with pressure he hadn't expected to feel again.
Madara's body was crushed again and again by the violence of the clash—only to re-form, restored by the nature of his revived state.
Shock and fury churned in him.
He had never imagined anyone could overpower him like this.
Just as Madara began to slip into a disadvantage, another presence cut into the battlefield.
Nagato arrived—six Paths of Pain moving like six reapers, closing in to surround Shuoye.
"Pathetic," Shuoye said, voice cold.
He had already read Nagato's intention.
His Susanoo shifted, locking onto one target immediately—
The Naraka Path.
The core that could restore the others.
Shuoye's Susanoo raised a massive blade of light and cleaved down like a bolt from the sky.
"Damn it!" Nagato's breath caught.
He hadn't expected Shuoye to pinpoint the Naraka Path so fast.
But it was too late.
The Naraka Path was cut down in a single strike.
The six fell into disorder.
Shuoye pressed the advantage, his Susanoo tearing through them with merciless efficiency.
The Animal Path fell.
The Preta Path fell.
The Human Path fell.
Only the Deva Path and the Asura Path remained, barely holding on.
Nagato stared, horror spreading through him.
He had never believed the Six Paths of Pain—his greatest weapon—could be dismantled so easily.
"Then… what about this?!" he forced out.
In desperation, he reached for his final trump card.
Earlier, he and Obito had retreated too quickly to see how Shuoye had dominated multiple Kage-level fighters with the Rinnegan.
Now, the Deva Path clasped its hands.
A massive black sphere formed in the sky, like a void opening its mouth.
Planetary Devastation.
Shuoye's mouth curved.
"Only you can do that?"
He lifted his hand.
"Almighty Push."
A violent repulsive wave erupted from Shuoye, shattering the pull of Planetary Devastation and blasting the Deva Path away like a broken doll.
Nagato's heart sank into despair.
Shuoye had mastered the Rinnegan too quickly—and used it far too smoothly.
"That… the Rinnegan?!" Madara stared, stunned.
He had never imagined someone besides himself could wield that power.
And Shuoye's strength—was even more frightening than Madara had judged.
The Deva Path rolled through the air, hit the ground, and barely managed to stabilize—already too damaged to fight.
Shuoye's Susanoo advanced, step by step, closing on Nagato to end it.
Then—
Madara's eyes flicked sideways.
He gave Obito a look.
Obito hesitated, then nodded.
A black mass surged out from within Obito—Black Zetsu, slithering like a poisonous serpent straight toward Nagato.
"Obito! What are you doing?!" Konan cried, shocked.
She moved—
But she was too late.
Black Zetsu seized control of Nagato's body.
"Nagato… use what you have left."
"Rinne Rebirth."
A massive King of Hell manifested.
Light poured from it, flooding the battlefield.
"Hahahaha! Well done, Black Zetsu!"
"This is me—my power!"
When the light faded, Madara stood restored, fully alive.
His presence was heavier than before—vast enough to grind the world beneath his heel.
"What…? No—!" Konoha's side stiffened, fear rising.
Madara had truly been revived.
And the moment he returned, it was clear—he was stronger than before.
Madara laughed, wild with satisfaction.
"Looks like fortune favors me."
"Brat, you're interesting. I acknowledge you."
"You're qualified to slaughter with me."
Shuoye watched him, eyes steady.
He knew it.
This was only the beginning.
"Madara," Shuoye said quietly, "do you think revival changes anything?"
"Today, I'll show you what real power is."
Madara's gaze burned with arrogance and disdain.
"Shuoye—now the real slaughter begins."
His Rinnegan spun.
"Limbo: Border Jail!"
Several invisible shadows—identical to Madara—burst from the void and struck at Shuoye.
Shuoye didn't move from his spot.
He smiled, unimpressed.
With the Rinnegan active, his vision was razor-clear.
Those shadows weren't fast.
Not to him.
He shifted once, cleanly slipping past the attacks, movements so smooth it looked like his body merged with the air.
Madara's eyes narrowed.
"Then how about this?"
His hands formed seals again.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
The ground trembled.
Countless massive trees erupted, spreading across the battlefield in an instant—branches and blossoms swallowing everything.
A forbidden Wood Release technique.
Konoha's side froze in disbelief.
"How is that possible?!"
Madara had the Rinnegan—and now Wood Release as well, wielded with terrifying mastery, as if he were its living incarnation.
"Is that all?" Shuoye's smile turned sharp.
He pressed both hands forward.
Space itself quivered. Ripples of vibration rolled outward like a tide.
"This is slaughter."
He spoke low, then roared:
"Tremor Fruit—Grand Tremor Burst!"
The world detonated.
A colossal shockwave tore through the battlefield, flinging Madara's Limbo shadows one after another until they dispersed into nothing.
Everyone went still, stunned by the sheer violence of it.
Obito's face twisted in shock. The battle he thought he understood was breaking apart.
Madara, too, felt the pressure—his chakra vast enough to keep him standing, but Shuoye's strength was far beyond expectation.
Obito's eyes sharpened.
Then I'll push this further.
He formed seals, chakra gathering thick and cold.
"Impure World Reincarnation—rise!"
The soil churned.
Two familiar figures broke free from the earth.
Senju Hashirama.
Senju Tobirama.
They looked unchanged—faces stern, presence overwhelming.
The battlefield's atmosphere shifted instantly.
"That's… the First and Second Hokage!"
A wave of awe and disbelief swept through the onlookers.
And then—
Madara erupted.
"Obito! Who gave you permission?! Are you trying to die?!"
"That brat is my prey!"
To Madara, this wasn't help.
It was humiliation.
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