The already tense atmosphere, coupled with Uchiha Sogetsu's words, suddenly shifted in an unpredictable direction.
As the legendary shinobi of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Madara had never feared anyone. Facing a challenge from a younger generation, he accepted it with poise and let out a bold, mocking laugh.
"Alright, alright. When I first brought you into the plan, I saw your ambition. Today, let's see how much of what I taught you you've truly learned."
"Please, instruct me," Sogetsu replied, pushing up his glasses and adopting a combat stance.
With the atmosphere already this charged, a fight was inevitable.
Besides, having just been "resurrected" and inactive for so long, this was the perfect opportunity to move and stretch.
But what exactly was the relationship between these two?
Even someone as dense as Tsunade could get a rough idea from their exchange.
The Fourth Hokage of Konoha… was somehow connected to Uchiha Madara?
And it sounded like a teacher-student bond.
In that instant, Tsunade felt as if an invisible net had spread across the entire village, enveloping everyone without their awareness.
It was a net that tugged at the fate of all.
Then, in the next moment, the silence was shattered.
A thunderous roar ripped across the sky.
The explosive shockwave slammed into the ruins, creating concentric waves visible to the naked eye.
Two figures clashed at speeds impossible for the human eye to follow, fighting intensely within mere inches of each other.
In just a few dozen seconds, they had exchanged hundreds of strikes.
Even with Uchiha Sasuke activating her Mangekyō Sharingan, she could only track the paths of their movements.
The first round of combat focused on taijutsu.
Perhaps due to an unspoken understanding between them, both Madara and Sogetsu carefully controlled the range of their attacks.
Yet even so, whenever their fists collided, the chakra that surged like a tidal wave obliterated the carved Hokage faces with every clash.
Soon, Madara seemed to grow bored, glancing at the completely destroyed Hokage carvings around him.
It wasn't just Tsunade's imagination—there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.
"Warm-up's over," he said.
Madara casually brushed the dust off his layered armor, then looked at Sogetsu, who appeared equally relaxed, and said coolly, "Next, it's time to get serious."
"Alright," Sogetsu replied. "I've been wanting to witness firsthand just how formidable Uchiha Madara was at his peak."
Uchiha Sogetsu watched him with keen interest, a spark of battle intent igniting in his eyes.
"Good boy!"
Uchiha Madara seemed extremely excited.
From their clash just now, he could already sense that Uchiha Sogetsu's strength was immense.
Even compared to Hashirama back in the day, he was on equal footing.
And being someone Madara had personally trained, newly revived and still stiff all over, how could he hold back at this moment?
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
In the next moment, towering flames surged as if they were about to sweep across the entire sky.
The sky over half of Konoha turned crimson, as if an endless wave of heat was rolling in!
Facing such a terrifying sea of fire, Naruto and Sasuke, who were watching from nearby, both showed expressions of shock.
"Tch, I'm not very good with Water Release," Uchiha Sogetsu muttered, frowning slightly.
But then he stepped forward, curling his five fingers inward.
"Wind Release: Vertical Decapitation Blade!"
The finely honed, razor-thin wind blades cut the raging flames in front of him directly in half.
The rest of the power remained undiminished. Like a torrent sweeping across the horizon, it struck Uchiha Madara, slicing him in two at the waist.
The mountain behind him was cleaved flat by a single strike!
Boom!!!
"How's that for a move?"
Uchiha Sogetsu flexed his hand and looked at the split Madara, laughing loudly.
"Not bad. A very strong jutsu."
Although Madara's body had been cut in half, with Edo Tensei he quickly returned to his original form.
But the battle intent on his face hadn't lessened in the slightest—it had only grown stronger.
"Finally, since Hashirama, there's someone worthy of me giving my all!"
"Looks like I can't make you sit still unless I defeat you," Uchiha Sogetsu said, his smile fading.
Chakra burned around him like a flame, gradually forming into a skeletal structure.
"This is more like it!"
Uchiha Madara said arrogantly, "The Uchiha clan never wastes words. Let our strength speak for itself!"
At the same time, deep blue chakra surged out like a flood, coalescing around him into the form of a skeleton.
"Susanoo!"
"Susanoo!"
At that same moment, the people of Konoha once again saw two towering armored warriors, each as massive as mountains!
"Hmm, the one on the right… looks kind of familiar!"
An older ninja adjusted his glasses, staring at the golden Susanoo. After a moment, his face changed drastically.
"No… that's the Fourth Hokage's Susanoo. Quick, alert everyone in the village! Retreat immediately!"
Having survived the invasion of Kumo's ninjas years ago, he knew all too well the result of two Susanoo fighting in Konoha.
At best, the village would be completely rebuilt.
At worst… most likely, Konoha would cease to exist from this moment on!
Boom—!!!
The explosive shockwave erupted atop the Hokage Rock, sending visible ripples through the air.
The clouds hundreds of miles away were shredded by the force of the blast!
But the truly terrifying part was yet to come. The two Susanoo, each over a hundred meters tall, began clashing with each other!
A punch. A kick.
It seemed ordinary, even weaker than a child's fight on the street, yet the impact was devastating!
The thunderous roars shook the heavens, almost flipping the sky itself.
A relentless torrent of air rushed down like a waterfall from the high skies. Had it not been restrained within the Hokage Rock region, Konoha would have been utterly destroyed!
Meanwhile, on the other side…
Everyone looked toward the distance, where a mountain peak had been sliced flat.
Naruto and Sasuke instinctively opened their mouths in shock, their faces filled with disbelief.
*******
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