Just how strong is Blind Madara?
It was shown in the anime: when Madara was first resurrected during the Fourth Ninja World War, he hadn't installed the Rinnegan yet.
Even Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke plus Sage Naruto couldn't defeat Madara.
The combined power of the Nine Tailed Beasts couldn't suppress Madara either.
Madara at that time had one essential condition: he had absorbed Hashirama's Sage Mode Chakra, granting him a Sage Jutsu boost.
But even without Sage Mode Chakra, Madara's advantages were too great.
Super Tailed Beast level Chakra, Hashirama cells plus Wood Release, Fire Release Ninjutsu, and Yin-Yang Release.
Any one of these, taken alone, could grant an ordinary Ninja Kage-level strength.
Take the most inconspicuous one, Fire Release: there are two types of Fire Release in the Ninja World—Madara's, and everyone else's.
A B-rank Fire Release Jutsu could unleash the power of a forbidden jutsu when used by Madara.
Although the current Madara is not as strong as the Eyeless, Sage Jutsu-boosted Madara resurrected during the Fourth War, he is still not someone the initial version of the Sannin can match.
Tsunade had just mastered the Strength of a Hundred Seal state, Orochimaru had just learned Edo Tensei, and Jiraiya's Sage Mode was incomplete.
His face was toad-like, covered in toad warts.
The Sannin were not in their complete forms; they were all rushed into action, essentially a makeshift team.
Jiraiya and Tsunade stood atop their respective summoning creatures. Orochimaru casually summoned a large snake from Ryūchi Cave; it couldn't compare to Manda, but it would have to do.
Manda and Orochimaru had essentially parted ways.
Madara stood in front of the Gedo Statue. Although he was just a small red silhouette, the Sannin felt as if he were looking down on them.
Tsunade shouted, "Uchiha Madara! I never expected you to still be alive after your battle to the death with my grandfather. Truly, good people die young, while scourges last a thousand years."
Madara sneered, "You call me a scourge? Heh, but having lived through the Warring States Period, I have never seen Ninja World Wars like yours."
"A single Ninja World War kills far more people than decades of accumulated conflict during the Warring States Period."
The Warring States Period was chaotic, but the conflicts were centered on mission disputes between Ninja Clans, like two families in a Village fighting over farmland and water sources.
But once the Village era arrived, the intensity of warfare skyrocketed, with national-level powers intervening.
This directly elevated villager brawls to inter-Village armed conflict.
Although it wasn't as messy as before, when fights broke out, they weren't just practice anymore—they were battles to the death.
During the Second Great Ninja War, the Land of Rain was completely devastated, filled with potential talents for blocking bridges and demolishing homes.
...
The Sannin fell silent. Peace in the Ninja World had always been an ethereal illusion.
Jiraiya was the most passionate about peace in the Ninja World, because the Great Toad Sage once prophesied that his disciple would bring revolution to the Ninja World.
He looked at Madara and said, "I apologize that a senior like you couldn't see peace in the Ninja World, but peace will surely come. I firmly believe that there is someone who will bring unprecedented stability to the Ninja World."
Madara sneered, "Ignorant youngsters. As long as there are people, there will be conflict. Peace will never descend, unless... everyone lives in a dream!"
"Ancestor, why are you wasting words on them? Kick them to death! Hurry up and kick them to death!"
Ryou watched from the Gedo Statue, fuming. He was looking forward to Madara displaying his divine power and thoroughly dealing with his three old classmates.
But they were still chatting.
That old man is truly clueless. Is this the time for conversation?
(╬｀д´).
Madara and the Sannin simultaneously turned their heads, looking at Ryou with terrifying gazes.
Judging by those looks, if Ryou dared to interrupt again, Madara might team up with the Sannin just to kick him to death first.
Terrified, Ryou immediately found a crack in the ground and squeezed into it.
After Ryou's interruption, Madara no longer felt like continuing the discussion with the Sannin.
He hadn't fought in almost 50 years and had already forgotten how to perform Ninjutsu.
Tsunade shouted, "Madara, why have you resurrected? This is no longer the Warring States Period. Does a senior like you still intend to cause trouble?"
Madara's goal—to make everyone live in a dream of peace—had already been told to them.
If they couldn't understand Madara, there was nothing he could do.
Madara never repeated himself.
Madara sneered, "What do I want to do? I want to restrain all Ninja under heaven, first by destroying Konoha, and then the other Four Great Ninja Villages, to completely end the destiny of the Ninja."
"Arrogant!"
Jiraiya and Tsunade were furious. Destroying the Five Great Ninja Villages, how was that different from annihilating the Five Great Nations?
Madara scoffed, "Hmph, I want to prove that Hashirama's world is a flawed world."
With a shift in thought, Madara turned into a red shadow and charged toward the Sannin.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Scorching heatwaves swept up the gravel on the ground, and crimson flames erupted from Madara's throat, raging forth like a sea of fire that blotted out the sky.
The gigantic, ten-meter-tall bodies of the Three Toad Brothers seemed insignificant before this rolling cloud of fire.
A trace of fear flashed in Orochimaru's eyes: "Is this still Fire Release?"
Sage Fukusaku couldn't remain calm either: "Madara's Fire Release has already transcended the realm of Ninjutsu. This kind of Fire Release is comparable to Little Jiraiya's Goemon."
Jiraiya's Sage Jutsu: Goemon is no longer considered a Fire Release; it is a composite Ninjutsu, a trinity of Wind, Fire, and Oil.
It wouldn't be wrong to call it a Kekkei Tota.
"Don't just stand there, Little Jiraiya, Little Orochimaru! Use Water Release together!"
"Alright!"
"Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Sage Jutsu: Water Release: Water Bullet!"
The Sannin knew Water Release. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade all possessed Water Nature Chakra, but they rarely used it in normal times.
They had better Ninjutsu alternatives.
Not only did the Sannin use Water Release, but the Three Toad Brothers from Mount Myōboku also deployed Water Release to counter Madara's Great Fire Annihilation.
Tsunade's Katsuyu split apart and attached itself to Jiraiya and Orochimaru, replenishing their Chakra.
Where water met fire, billowing steam rose up, turning the battlefield into a state shrouded in mist.
The battlefield was obscured by the mist, making the situation unclear, so Ryou activated his Sharingan.
The Sharingan possesses the functions of insight, copying, and hypnosis.
Insight doesn't include the abnormal X-ray vision of the Byakugan; it merely allows one to clearly see the opponent's movement details and Chakra flow trajectory.
Unexpectedly, the collision between Madara's Fire Release and the Sannin's Water Release produced so much mist that even the three tomoe Sharingan couldn't perceive the Chakra trajectories within it.
Ryou immediately used the Mayfly Technique to merge with the earth, perceiving the surroundings through underground root systems, water veins, and the network of organic material in the soil.
Amidst the swirling mist, Madara's figure became even harder to track.
Sage Fukusaku and Sage Shima acted as sensors; their Sage Arts detected Madara's location.
"Little Tsunade, Uchiha Madara is behind you!"
Tsunade felt a swift rush of wind approaching, immediately channeling her monstrous strength into her palm, and slammed her fist backward.
Tsunade solidly struck something, but she felt it wasn't flesh, but rather some kind of Chakra defense.
Orochimaru performed Wind Release: Great Breakthrough, blowing away the surrounding mist, and everyone immediately saw what was defending Madara.
It was a deep blue Chakra Giant, about ten meters tall, with four arms, two of which held weapons formed from Chakra.
Tsunade's monstrous strength had just been neutralized by this Chakra Giant.