A blue light shot into the battlefield faster than the eye could follow. While Hashirama was still in shock, it dropped down and wrapped around Madara inside his Susano'o.
Madara frowned as he looked at the glow around him. The chakra in his body started getting hard to control. His Susano'o became unstable and faded away into pure chakra.
He landed on the ground and looked in the direction the light had come from. "Obito… I guess he had no other choice but to revive me early, hoping I'd still have something up my sleeve?"
"Hmph~" Madara gave a low chuckle and a knowing smile. "Still… to push things this far, Naruto and Sasuke really went beyond my expectations."
In front of him, Hashirama jumped down from his wooden golem as soon as he saw the light wrapping around Madara. He landed not far from him. "I can feel life coming from your body. What is that light?"
"Can't you tell? I thought you'd be used to this sort of thing," Madara said, lowering his arms and looking at Hashirama calmly. "It's a Rinnegan technique—Rinne Rebirth. Basically, it brings someone fully back to life."
"Revive someone?" Hashirama looked shocked. "Is that even possible?"
"Why not?" Madara asked, like it was the most normal thing in the world.
That stumped Hashirama. He scratched his head and said carefully, "Because coming back from the dead… that's hard to believe."
"You're still trying to make sense of this world, aren't you, Hashirama?" Madara crossed his arms. The blue light slowly anchored his soul and filled his body with life.
Even now, his tone stayed calm. "This world doesn't make sense. Chakra, ninjas… none of it does. But I guess someone like you wouldn't get that. With your brain, you probably have no idea what I'm trying to do."
The blue glow began to fade, and the feeling of life returned to Madara's body.
Hashirama frowned and looked at Madara angrily. "How do you know I wouldn't understand if you don't even try explaining?"
Madara smiled. "Oh really?"
"You said I wouldn't get it," Hashirama said seriously. "But I think I can."
"Well… it's not impossible," Madara said, touching his chin. His smile grew more cheerful. "To put it simply, this world was originally moving in a completely different direction—one without chakra, without shinobi. But at some point, something showed up and changed the path. That's when chakra was born."
"And at the same time, something else appeared—something we now call 'power.'" Madara looked down at his palm. "That thing called power became something everyone started chasing. So that future—a future where power didn't matter—vanished."
"Hashirama, let me ask you. If the Sage of Six Paths hadn't spread chakra to everyone, what do you think the world would look like now?" Madara turned to him.
Hashirama was stunned. He… couldn't even picture it.
Madara nodded as if he understood. "You can't imagine it. I can't either. But I still want to see it."
"I want to see if that world would be full of war, or peaceful," Madara's smile widened. "Once I see it, I'll know what I'm supposed to do."
Then he asked, "So, do you get it?"
Hashirama: "..."
I want to say I do, but I really don't.
Honestly, that whole speech from Madara just sounded like total nonsense—nonsense no one could even understand.
Madara didn't seem surprised. "Well, I'm not shocked you look so confused."
If it had been Tobirama, he might've at least figured out a little of what I meant. Too bad Hashirama's an airhead.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, Madara suddenly felt weak. Before he could react, his vision dimmed. The Rinnegan in his eyes shattered like glass, falling apart piece by piece.
"So even the Rinnegan disappears after resurrection," Madara muttered, closing his eyes. It wasn't surprising—actually, it would've been weirder if it stayed.
But it didn't matter much. He'd already learned most of the jutsu. Even without his eyes, he could still fight. Maybe he'd be at a slight disadvantage against Hashirama, though.
In the next moment, his chakra surged, his heart started beating again, his blood began to flow warmly through his body—something he couldn't feel while being brought back by Edo Tensei. Feeling that warmth again, Madara laughed—laughed like a madman.
"So this is… life…" Madara couldn't stop laughing. Even without seeing his body, he could feel that precious heartbeat inside him.
It was life itself, something not even Wood Release could create.
His power… had returned.
Hashirama's face grew serious. The blue glow around him faded. Madara had fully come back to life. Even without the Rinnegan, with the level Hashirama was at now, there was almost no way he could beat a Madara at full power.
No one knew how strong Madara really was at his peak better than Hashirama did. And right now, he himself was probably only about 70% of his old strength.
The gap was too big.
Just then, a bolt of lightning flashed in front of Hashirama. The blue lightning turned into a figure—Sasuke stepped out, calm and focused. "So he really did bring you back, huh, Madara?"
"Sasuke, you're done over there?" Hashirama let out a sigh of relief.
Madara stopped laughing, closed his eyes, and turned toward Sasuke's voice. "Oh? I didn't even sense you coming. I guess the difference in levels is just too big. You're so far above us that your chakra naturally blocks others from sensing you?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Well, that's great news. The enemy's suffering brings me joy. You look like a mess, and I love it."
And he wasn't joking.
"Well, it's not like I couldn't sense you at all," Madara said, standing up straight and clenching his fists. "Anyway, Sasuke, fight me for a bit. My body's probably gotten rusty."
"Don't hold back," Madara said casually. "If I die, then I guess I wasn't all that great to begin with."
It was that tone of his—the way he spoke like the whole world was under his control—that really got on Sasuke's nerves.
"Well, since you said that, don't blame me for what happens next!"
Sasuke's purple Tomoe Rinnegan glowed slightly. He pulled out his sword and slashed at what looked like empty space in front of him, like he was venting his anger.
A second later, under Hashirama's surprised gaze, Madara's body suddenly appeared in that exact spot. The blade came down cold and fast, cutting right through Madara's body and slicing off his entire right arm.
He dodged it?
He actually managed to avoid an unexpected Amenotejikara strike?
Sasuke's eyes widened in disbelief.
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