"This is..." Madara whispered, his ancient eyes widening as he witnessed something that challenged even his vast experience.
Before his gaze, the fractured remnants of Sasuke's Susanoo and the golden chakra radiating from the Nine-Tails began to merge in ways that defied conventional understanding. The two distinct energies—one ethereal and purple, the other primal and golden—were gradually interweaving like threads in an cosmic tapestry.
The sensation stirring within Madara was hauntingly familiar, triggering memories from decades past. This phenomenon reminded him of his own legendary partnership with Hashirama, those brief moments when their combined power had transcended individual limitations and approached something truly divine.
"Naruto, seize this feeling now!" Kurama's urgent voice echoed through their mental connection, the ancient bijuu immediately recognizing the unprecedented opportunity that was manifesting.
For a moment, Naruto was stunned by the magnitude of what was occurring. Only gradually did he become aware that the Nine-Tails chakra under his control was no longer operating independently—it was actively blending with Sasuke's Susanoo energy, creating something entirely new.
"Sasuke!" he called out sharply, turning his head to lock eyes with his closest friend and greatest rival.
At that crucial moment, Sasuke's awareness crystallized around the extraordinary development. The patterns within his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan suddenly froze into perfect clarity, allowing him to observe the gradual fusion of their chakras with the most acute visual perception possible.
Through his enhanced sight, he could see the individual streams of energy as they wound around each other, seeking perfect balance and harmony despite their fundamentally different natures.
Within the Nine-Tails' chakra construct, Minato's expression shifted to one of profound amazement. His analytical mind struggled to process the implications of what he was witnessing.
Each individual's chakra possessed unique characteristics—signature frequencies, elemental affinities, and spiritual resonances that were as distinctive as fingerprints. For two people to successfully combine their powers into a unified whole typically required incredibly sophisticated coordination developed through years of intensive practice.
There was simply no shortcut to achieving such perfect synchronization. Even married couples who had spent decades together rarely managed to blend their chakras so seamlessly.
However, while Naruto and Sasuke had indeed grown up together and possessed an intuitive understanding of each other's thoughts and motivations, the specific powers they were now wielding had been acquired only recently. By all conventional wisdom, achieving this level of fusion should have been impossible.
At that moment, the two giant forms that had been stubbornly resisting the thousand-armed statue's overwhelming assault began to overlap with increasing precision and purpose.
"Sasuke and Naruto are actually..." Itachi breathed, his voice filled with wonder as he watched his younger brother achieve something that transcended normal shinobi capabilities.
Shisui and the other observers found themselves equally captivated by the unprecedented display unfolding before them.
Whoosh!
The golden radiance of the Nine-Tails and the lavender energy of the complete Susanoo intertwined with increasing intensity, their lights dancing around each other in complex patterns that created new colors and harmonics.
ROAR!
A tremendous bellow echoed across the battlefield, but this wasn't the familiar cry of the Nine-Tails alone. The sound carried new undertones, harmonics that spoke of unity and shared purpose.
Where moments before there had been two distinct giant forms blocking the thousand-armed statue's path, now there stood a single, transformed entity that surpassed either of its component parts.
The lavender light gradually spread across the Nine-Tails' enormous golden form like liquid armor, coating every surface with ethereal energy that seemed to pulse with its own inner life. The transformation was both beautiful and terrifying, creating something that appeared to be a fusion of beast and samurai warrior.
At the head of this magnificent hybrid construct, Sasuke and Naruto stood side by side, their forms illuminated by the combined radiance of their merged powers.
"Majestic Attire: Susanoo!" they declared in perfect unison, their voices harmonizing as their techniques had done.
The lavender armor now completely encased the Nine-Tails' body, transforming the primal beast into something resembling a legendary samurai of impossible scale and power. Every detail of the armor was perfectly formed, from the intricate patterns etched into its surface to the way it moved with fluid grace despite its enormous size.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The nine massive tails, now also encased in Susanoo armor, suddenly lashed out with coordinated precision to meet the descending barrage of wooden fists that continued to rain down from above.
Each tail moved with the skill of a master swordsman, parrying and striking with techniques that combined the Nine-Tails' raw power with Susanoo's tactical precision.
Within the swirling chakra light, Sasuke and Naruto's eyes met and locked, both pairs of eyes blazing with shared determination and understanding.
The power of the nine tails alone had proven insufficient to withstand the dense wooden assault of the First Hokage. But together, unified through will and friendship, they had achieved something greater than the sum of their parts.
Clang!
As their consciousness synchronized to an even deeper level, the armored Nine-Tails began to rise from its quadrupedal stance, gradually adopting a more humanoid posture. Its massive hands clenched into fists, and within its palms, the intertwined chakras of two colors began to bloom and condense.
The energy took shape with deliberate purpose, forming into two colossal samurai swords that gleamed with otherworldly power. Each blade was perfectly balanced, their surfaces reflecting both golden and purple light in mesmerizing patterns.
With weapons now manifested, the armored Nine-Tails began to move with increasing speed and precision. The massive samurai swords swept through the air in complex patterns, each movement executed with the skill of a legendary swordmaster magnified to titanic proportions.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Hundreds of meters above the battlefield, intensive collisions continued without pause. The armored Nine-Tails was systematically destroying the wooden palms with surgical precision, its enhanced capabilities allowing it to match and even exceed the First Hokage's overwhelming technique.
The fusion of Naruto and Sasuke's power had finally achieved the level necessary to compete directly with the legendary God of Shinobi.
Observing from within the Nine-Tails' chakra construct, Minato couldn't suppress a smile of profound relief as he watched the backs of the two young warriors who stood before him.
There was no doubt that in this current era, thanks to his own efforts and leadership, Konoha had become the undisputed strongest ninja village among the five great nations. Their military power, technological advancement, and diplomatic influence far exceeded that of their rivals.
However, Minato understood with crystal clarity that such dominance couldn't continue indefinitely. Using superior force to intimidate other nations would only breed new resentments and create the seeds of future conflicts.
The most important legacy he could leave wasn't military supremacy, but rather the continuation of ideals and principles that could outlast any individual leader.
People would eventually die, and even the mightiest techniques would one day be forgotten, but regardless of how much time passed, the Will of Fire would continue to be transmitted from one generation to the next.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The collisions continued intermittently, their intensity gradually wearing down both combatants. Slowly but inevitably, the wooden palms extending from the thousand-armed statue's back were being exhausted through the sustained assault.
Simultaneously, the weapons in the Nine-Tails' hands were showing signs of deterioration, their perfect forms beginning to develop stress fractures from the continuous impacts.
Finally, both colossal samurai swords shattered simultaneously, their fragments dissolving into motes of light that drifted away like falling stars. The Susanoo armor covering the nine massive tails also began to crack and break away, leaving the appendages once again exposed.
"They actually managed to hold it off!" the Second Hokage exclaimed, his voice filled with genuine amazement.
Regardless of any other considerations, Naruto and Sasuke had successfully blocked the First Hokage's most powerful senjutsu technique, a feat that should have been impossible for anyone in the current generation.
However, the cost of their victory was evident. Both young warriors had expended enormous amounts of energy in sustaining their fusion technique, and the Susanoo armor covering the Nine-Tails' main body was gradually becoming more translucent and unstable.
BANG!
At that critical moment, brilliant purple chakra erupted from atop the wooden giant once again. Madara leaped down from his elevated position with predatory grace, his form condensing into the familiar shape of a complete Susanoo as he positioned himself directly before the thousand-armed statue.
"Madara!" both Naruto and Sasuke called out in unison, their voices carrying equal measures of determination and wariness as they faced the legendary Uchiha in his ultimate form.
"Well done, both of you," came an unexpected voice that cut through the tension.
Minato appeared before the two exhausted warriors, his presence radiating calm confidence despite the overwhelming odds they still faced. When he turned to look at his son and his son's closest friend, his expression carried a smile filled with genuine pride.
"Leave the rest to me," he said with quiet authority.
"It falls to you to liberate them from Madara's control!"
As soon as the words left his lips, Minato burst forth from the Nine-Tails' chakra construct, and the very air around him seemed to accelerate in response to his movement.
After the brief respite, Madara had successfully regulated his breathing and restored both his ocular power and his ability to absorb natural energy. He was once again operating at peak efficiency.
Minato raised his arm with fluid precision, and the dark golden chakra surrounding him condensed into the form of a giant fist that blazed with concentrated power. The construct collided with Madara's complete Susanoo with tremendous force.
Swish!
The moment of contact triggered another spatial displacement. Both Madara's complete Susanoo and Minato vanished from their position in front of Naruto and Sasuke, relocating their battle to avoid collateral damage.
BANG!
The sound of their renewed collision echoed from within the massive basin created by their previous exchange, confirming that Minato had once again moved their battlefield to a more isolated location.
"Come on, Sasuke," Naruto said, his gaze never wavering from the thousand-armed statue, though a confident smile played at the corners of his mouth. "It's time to settle this once and for all!"
Sasuke's eyes remained fixed on their legendary opponent, but the smile on his face was almost identical to his friend's—a expression that spoke of absolute trust and shared determination.
"I understand!"
At that moment, Kushina—who had been standing nearby under Tsunade's protective care—gradually rose to her feet, her own face illuminated by a radiant smile.
"Kyubi, thank you," she murmured internally, her thoughts directed toward the bijuu sealed within her. "No... I should call you by your true name now."
Hehe...
The Nine-Tails within her consciousness responded with a gentle laugh that carried none of its former hostility or resentment.
Naruto's actions throughout this battle had earned the recognition and respect of the Nine-Tails half within his own body. But equally important, Kushina had demonstrated her willingness to cooperate fully with her son's efforts to save the other tailed beasts, even at the risk of her own life.
Therefore, when Naruto achieved true partnership with his half of the Nine-Tails, the other half—which had always been one consciousness with the first—also extended its recognition to both Naruto and his mother.
Buzz!
As a smile spread across Kushina's features, dark golden chakra light began to surge outward from her form, creating new patterns of energy that danced around her like living flames.
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama," she said, turning to give the legendary medic a grateful wink before immediately transforming into a ray of pure light that streaked toward where Naruto and Sasuke stood before the thousand-armed statue.
During the extended battle between Naruto, Sasuke, and the First Hokage, the Nine-Tails sealed within Kushina had been continuously recovering its chakra reserves. By this moment, its power had returned to absolute peak levels.
Although the thousand-armed statue had exhausted all of its extending wooden hands, its massive main body still possessed tremendous power. The construct's form, which towered above even the surrounding mountains, began to move with ominous purpose.
Its enormous arms spread wide like the wings of some primordial god, and then it lunged forward toward the armored Nine-Tails with crushing intent!