Buzz!
When the third eye on Madara's forehead achieved complete manifestation, the sight that greeted observers defied every category of known dōjutsu. The organ possessed the circular patterns characteristic of the Rinnegan, but incorporated nine black magatama distributed across its blood-red surface in a design that spoke to cosmic powers beyond normal comprehension.
The terrible eye's influence immediately began affecting the celestial body hanging above them. As the blood-red pupil was reflected upon the moon's surface, the originally soft and pure moonlight that had bathed the ninja world for countless centuries began to undergo a fundamental transformation.
The lunar disc itself gradually shifted from its familiar pale silver to an ominous crimson that seemed to pulse with malevolent life, as if the moon had become a cosmic eye staring down at the world with hungry anticipation.
"He's going to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi!"
Minato's voice carried the trembling recognition of someone witnessing the beginning of humanity's end. His analytical mind, enhanced by years of studying the corrupted stone tablet's inscriptions, immediately understood the significance of what was unfolding before them.
Madara's proximity to the moon wasn't coincidental—it was the precise positioning required to project the ultimate genjutsu across the entire planet, trapping every living being in eternal dreams while their life force was slowly drained to feed cosmic entities that viewed humans as nothing more than energy sources.
"The moon..."
The Fourth Hokage's enhanced perception detected the changes beginning to occur in the celestial body above them, watching in horror as the moonlight washing over the battlefield shifted from gentle silver to threatening crimson.
However, given the vast distance between Minato's position and Madara's location near the lunar surface, conventional intervention was already impossible. Even his legendary speed couldn't bridge such a gap before the technique reached completion.
"Please, I have to make it in time..."
"Flying Thunder God Technique!"
Minato suddenly ceased his upward flight and formed seals with hands that moved with desperate precision. This wasn't a conventional application of his signature technique—this was a gamble that would determine whether human freedom could survive the next few moments.
At this same moment, Madara was preparing to form the seals necessary to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, his ancient consciousness savoring the culmination of decades of planning and sacrifice.
However, just as he began the technique that would reshape reality itself, he felt a slight but distinctly unusual fluctuation emanating from somewhere within his enhanced body.
Swish!
The Ten-Tails contained within his form seemed to vibrate with sudden agitation, and in the next instant, both the cosmic entity and Madara's physical form vanished from their position near the moon's surface.
When he reappeared, the person standing directly in front of him was Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash whose persistence had complicated every stage of his carefully orchestrated plan.
BOOM!
At this moment, a violent explosion erupted in the airspace below their relocated position. The light generated by the detonation painted the sky in shades of red that resembled burning clouds, the expanding shockwaves threatening to reach even their elevated altitude.
Under the devastating effects of Naruto's enhanced technique, the four Perfect Susanoo constructs that had been generated by Madara's Limbo clones were gradually collapsing, their ethereal forms unable to maintain cohesion against such overwhelming force.
"How is this possible?"
Madara didn't have time to process the destruction of his dimensional projections, his attention focused entirely on the impossible figure standing before him with expressions of shock and growing fury.
Minato's gaze immediately fell upon the transformed organ in Madara's forehead, taking in every detail of the blood-red eye marked with nine distinctive magatama that seemed to pulse with their own internal light.
"Those eyes..."
The Fourth Hokage's enhanced awareness trembled as he recognized the cosmic implement described in the stone tablet's corrupted inscriptions. According to those ancient texts, once this eye was successfully reflected upon the moon's surface, the Infinite Tsukuyomi would activate immediately and irreversibly.
"Thank goodness I made it in time!"
Relief flooded through Minato's consciousness as he realized the implications of his successful intervention. The technique that would have enslaved every living being on the planet had been prevented at the last possible moment.
Previously, when Minato had extracted Tailed Beast chakra from Madara's enhanced form, he had also deliberately released a small portion of Nine-Tails energy into the cosmic being's spiritual matrix.
Minato had known that the Ten-Tails would inevitably absorb any foreign chakra that entered its host body, a predictable response that Madara wouldn't question during the chaos of their battle.
What the ancient Uchiha hadn't realized was that Minato had also infused a minute amount of Yin-Yang Release energy into that sacrificial chakra, creating a spatial anchor that could serve as a Flying Thunder God marker.
Since Madara had not yet mastered the cosmic principles governing Yin and Yang Release, he had failed to detect the subtle foreign presence hidden within his enhanced form during their successive battles and his focused attempts to eliminate persistent opposition.
It was through this microscopic chakra signature that Minato had launched his desperate Flying Thunder God technique, forcibly transferring Madara away from the moon just as the ultimate genjutsu was about to activate.
However, the foreign chakra would probably be completely consumed by the Ten-Tails within moments, making immediate action essential.
A chakra claw immediately extended from behind Minato's position, reaching toward Madara with the enhanced properties of Yin-Yang Release that could potentially affect even cosmic-level opponents.
"Damn it all!"
Being thwarted by Minato yet again sent Madara's murderous intent to levels that bordered on divine wrath. He swung his Truth-Seeking staff with enough force to shatter dimensions, dispersing the chakra construct before it could make meaningful contact.
Simultaneously, he raised both palms and began channeling chakra fluctuations of such tremendous magnitude that they seemed capable of commanding celestial phenomena themselves.
Swish!
Just as he prepared to unleash an attack that would finally eliminate this persistent obstacle, two massive figures materialized beside Minato's position with the distinctive displacement of enhanced movement techniques.
Sasuke's Perfect Susanoo and Naruto within his Nine-Tails avatar had arrived with perfect timing, their combined presence immediately shifting the tactical balance of the cosmic confrontation.
"Madara is attempting to use the Infinite Tsukuyomi! We cannot allow him to approach the moon again!"
Minato's warning carried the urgency of someone whose analytical mind had calculated the global implications of failure. Even though they possessed knowledge that the ultimate genjutsu could theoretically be broken, the Sage of Six Paths no longer existed in physical form to provide the necessary guidance for such a complex procedure.
They absolutely could not permit Madara to successfully cast the technique that would trap every living being in eternal dreams.
"Understood!"
"I will never allow you to succeed!"
Both young shinobis fixed their enhanced gazes upon Madara with the burning intensity of individuals whose entire worldview centered on protecting those they cared about. The two titanic constructs immediately positioned themselves on Madara's left and right flanks, their coordinated assault falling with enough combined force to reshape continents.
"The Limbo technique is temporarily unavailable... two irritating children!"
Madara's voice carried murderous intent so profound that it seemed to lower the temperature of the surrounding atmosphere. His previous battle with the dimensional clones had exhausted the cosmic energy required to maintain multiple projections simultaneously.
He suddenly raised both arms and unleashed the same devastating chakra fluctuations they had witnessed before, as if he had gained the ability to command weather patterns and celestial forces through sheer force of will.
BOOM! BOOM!
The collision between opposing cosmic forces instantly tore through the explosion effects that had been expanding from below, creating new layers of destruction that painted the sky in impossible colors.
The shockwaves generated by their meeting traveled through multiple dimensions, causing reality itself to ripple like disturbed water.
"Naruto, look for an opportunity to use that technique!"
Sasuke's voice carried across the chaos of their divine-level battle, his tactical mind having already analyzed the current power dynamics with precision that rivaled Minato's legendary strategic abilities.
Now that Madara had absorbed the God Tree and manifested the Eye of the Moon, his capabilities had transcended even those of the Sage of Six Paths and were rapidly approaching the legendary levels once possessed by Kaguya Ōtsutsuki herself.
Conventional techniques, no matter how enhanced, would no longer prove sufficient to eliminate such an opponent.
"Understood!"
Naruto's acknowledgment was followed immediately by the recognition that the tremendous force emanating from Madara's cosmic assault was too overwhelming to simply retreat from. If he withdrew even slightly, the resulting pressure differential would drive him backward and cause serious internal injuries.
"Dad!"
However, since both he and Sasuke had successfully engaged Madara in direct combat, Minato could take advantage of the opening to launch his own assault.
Even as Naruto's call reached him, Minato was already rushing toward their primary opponent with a technique gradually taking shape in the palm of his raised right hand.
"Sage Art: Storm Release: Light Fang!"
At the precise moment when Madara's hands were fully committed to restraining the attacks from Sasuke and Naruto, he opened his mouth and expelled a beam of dark purple light no thicker than a human fingernail.
The speed of this concentrated energy exceeded normal perception, reaching Minato's forehead almost instantaneously despite the distance involved.
Minato's enhanced reflexes screamed warnings as he jerked his body to one side, barely avoiding what would have been a fatal strike by margins measured in millimeters.
However, the purple beam struck the technique forming in his extended palm and passed straight through the developing energy matrix without being deflected or absorbed.
The concentration required to maintain the jutsu was immediately disrupted, the delicate balance of opposing forces lost as energy began rioting within the unstable construct. The technique was about to explode with devastating force.
"I wasn't the primary target from the beginning?"
Understanding dawned on Minato as he realized the true sophistication of Madara's tactical deception. The ancient Uchiha had never intended to strike him directly—the real objective had been to destabilize and weaponize his own technique.
The developing jutsu was about to detonate, and even Minato's enhanced control couldn't recall the explosive energy that was already cascading beyond manageable parameters.
"Be careful!"
Minato's warning echoed across the battlefield as the technique in his hand exploded, creating a chain reaction with the celestial forces erupting from Madara's palms. The combined detonation generated power that defied conventional understanding of destructive capability.
This had been Madara's true strategy all along—to engineer a situation where he could eliminate all three opponents simultaneously through their own enhanced techniques.
BOOM!
The energy cascade immediately affected Madara's ongoing assault, and the resulting linked explosion engulfed Minato, Madara, Sasuke, and Naruto in a sphere of destruction that belonged to the realm of cosmic phenomena.
Just as Madara prepared to exploit this chaotic situation to escape toward the moon once again, fragments of light from the explosion splashed across his enhanced form.
These particles contained chakra that incorporated Minato's Yin-Yang Release energy, cosmic forces that even Madara couldn't immediately neutralize or absorb.
Swish!
The figures of all combatants within the explosion suddenly vanished, reappearing on solid ground as Minato activated another Flying Thunder God technique to relocate the entire battle away from the lunar surface.
"Hah..."
The continuous spatial transfer of objects measuring in the hundreds of meters was proving taxing even for Minato's enhanced capabilities. His breathing gradually became heavier and more labored as the accumulated strain of cosmic-level techniques took its toll.
Swoosh!
At this moment, Madara launched a Truth-Seeking Orb directly toward Minato's position, the cosmic projectile moving with enough velocity to vaporize anything it encountered.
BANG!
However, the dark sphere was intercepted and deflected by one of the Nine-Tails avatar's massive tails, the enhanced appendage possessing sufficient cosmic enhancement to contest even divine-level techniques.
"Sasuke, let's continue!"
Naruto pursued their advantage relentlessly, once again coordinating with Sasuke to launch a combined assault that left no opportunity for their opponent to escape toward his ultimate objective.
Under the coordinated pressure of both enhanced shinobis, Madara found himself forced into purely defensive maneuvers, his cosmic capabilities temporarily insufficient to maintain offensive initiatives while countering such overwhelming coordination.
After an extended chase across the broken landscape, just as Madara was beginning to lose his tactical advantage, his ancient eyes flickered with renewed determination.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The Limbo clones emerged once again from their dimensional space, rushing toward Naruto and Sasuke with the renewed energy that came from brief recovery periods.
Madara finally gained a temporary respite from their relentless assault, and just as he prepared to seek another opportunity to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi, something unprecedented occurred.
A tide of black liquid surged from within his enhanced body, flowing across his form with obvious intelligence and malevolent purpose.
This was Black Zetsu, the entity that had previously merged with Madara's enhanced physiology during the retrieval of his second Rinnegan.
"How much longer do you intend to remain within my body, creature?"
Madara's voice carried growing impatience as he addressed the presence that had been sharing his enhanced form. After being thwarted by Minato, Naruto, and Sasuke multiple times, his legendary patience had gradually eroded toward the breaking point.
However, the dark entity showed no intention of separating from its host. Instead, the black substance continued spreading across Madara's body with purposeful movement, its flow gradually concentrating toward a very specific target.
The direction of its migration was unmistakable—it was gathering around Madara's heart.
"Black Zetsu..."
Madara's expression darkened with anger as he began to understand that something was fundamentally wrong with this situation. His enhanced awareness detected malevolent intent radiating from the entity that was supposed to be his loyal servant.
At this moment, the darkness finally surrounded Madara's heart completely, followed by a sinister laugh that carried undertones of triumph and long-concealed malice.
"Madara, it appears that you are every bit as useless as Obito proved to be!"