The colossal fists of the Top Transformed Buddha blotted out the sky, making the eighteen kamikaze Tailed Beast Balls look hopelessly outmatched.
But Naruto hadn't given those Tailed Beast Balls souls just for brute force—they were meant for cunning maneuvers!
The Tailed Beast Balls tried to weave through the barrage, looking for gaps, but the sheer coverage of those fists left them nowhere to run.
So, Naruto drove Kurama to unleash a wild volley of Tailed Beast Balls skyward, each one embedded with a tomoe from Susanoo no Mikoto for extra punch.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The enhanced torrent of Tailed Beast Balls clashed head-on with the fists of the Top Transformed Buddha—the scene almost a mirror of that legendary battle between Hashirama and Madara at the Valley of the End.
Under Naruto's covering fire, the eighteen kamikaze Tailed Beast Balls finally broke through the defenses!
"Charge—!!"
Crack! Crack! Crack! Like pinballs, they shot through the wooden Kannon's body, tearing holes straight through it!
Soon, the massive statue was riddled with gaping wounds.
"Undermining the foundation, huh? So that's your plan…"
Atop the wooden Kannon, within his Susanoo, Madara quickly caught on. Bow in hand, he anticipated the next move—Amenonohoko loosed an arrow into empty space!
One kamikaze Tailed Beast Ball burst out from the Kannon's shoulder—only to see an arrow screaming toward it. "I'm gonna blow!!" it shouted.
BOOM!
Arrow and Tailed Beast Ball collided in a mighty blast, shearing off the left arm of the True Several Thousand Hands.
But Madara barely flinched. Arrow after arrow, he picked off the Tailed Beast Balls one by one.
In less than a minute, more than half had been destroyed.
Madara scoffed, "Hmph… Takoyaki balls—nothing special after all!"
The fists of the Top Transformed Buddha smashed through the Tailed Beast Ball barrage and hammered into Majestic Attire: Kurama.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Susanoo's armor shattered and peeled away, and Kurama was driven back—his massive body crashing into the mountainside!
The earth shook. Behind the mountain, inside the Daimyo's mansion, Uesugi Kenshin and his advisors cowered behind cover, trembling.
"This is madness!! Ninja battles are pure madness!!!"
"Where's the Mizukage? Has she arrived yet?!"
"If she doesn't show soon, we might as well commit seppuku!!"
On the battlefield—
Kurama was now embedded in the mountain, his Susanoo armor almost completely stripped away.
But the True Several Thousand Hands had spent nearly all its arms as well.
"Naruto, the terrain may have cramped your style, but this outcome was your choice. This is my victory…"
Crack! The oval plate separated from the main body. True Several Thousand Hands shed its armor, left only with its right arm, which now reached for the exposed Kurama.
"It's time…"
A sly smile tugged at Naruto's lips.
CRACK! Suddenly, the last kamikaze Tailed Beast Ball burst through the crown of the True Several Thousand Hands!
"Hm!?"
Madara reacted instantly, piloting Susanoo to leap away from the statue's head!
Whoosh!
But Naruto, with Kurama, teleported from the Flying Thunder God tomoe embedded in that kamikaze Tailed Beast Ball. Kurama caught the ball, leapt atop the Kannon's head, and shot skyward!
The kamikaze Tailed Beast Ball was slammed by Kurama straight into the chest plate of Madara'sSusanoo!
CRACK…!
Fissures spread instantly as the Tailed Beast Ball, driven by Kurama, wedged itself deep inside Susanoo's armor!
As they fell, Kurama's form dissipated. Naruto landed, voice ringing with conviction: "Now taste the power of those takoyaki balls you looked down on!!"
The kamikaze Tailed Beast Ball shouted, "Remember, I'm Number Eighteen!!"
KABOOOOOM!
Number Eighteen, filled with pride, detonated inside Madara'sSusanoo!
Susanoo shattered in midair. Madara used the Rinnegan's Preta Path to absorb the explosion's aftershocks and landed safely.
The mountain itself was nearly split in two.
Naruto and Madara stood on opposite halves of the ruined precipice, glaring at each other.
Sizzle! The Sage Mode markings on the Hashirama face at Madara's chest faded away.
At the same time, Naruto, having only exhausted Kurama's chakra, now activated his own Sage Mode.
He spoke with perfect calm, "Madara, your sage power is spent. But for me, this is just the beginning."
Madara's Six Tomoe Rinnegan locked onto Naruto, not the slightest hint of fear. "You might have me beat in chakra, but when it comes to ocular power, you've got no edge."
Naruto's eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Then let's see how far you can push Sasuke's dōjutsu."
Madara's left eye widened. "Brat, don't take that high-and-mighty tone with me!"
—Mōkabere!
BOOM! A pillar of deep blue lightning crashed down from the heavens, striking Naruto's flesh dead-on!
The shattered cliff where Naruto stood was obliterated, leaving only a smoking basin!
Naruto sat at the bottom, feeling the pain ripple through his body. He murmured, "So this is Mōkabere… So fast, it's nearly unavoidable, and the power's nothing to sneeze at. Sasuke never awakened this because he got the Rinnegan too early—what a shame."
That's right—he'd deliberately taken the hit, just to test it out!
Madara saw through him at once, calling down from above: "Why didn't you dodge? With your reflexes, you could've used the Flying Thunder God to escape!"
Naruto stood up unhurriedly, his wounds already healing from the Mōkabere strike.
He smiled, voice low and teasing, "Why, you ask? Maybe I should ask you: when the Tailed Beast Ball hit your Susanoo earlier, why didn't you use my Flying Thunder God to teleport away? Instead, you used the Preta Path to absorb it. Don't tell me it was to recharge your chakra—Preta Path's 'devouring' only works on people. Against jutsu, it's really 'Sealing Technique Absorption'—that's sealing, not chakra absorption!"
Madara finally admitted, "Flying Thunder God—every time I use that jutsu, it stains my noble character. So I choose to forget it!"
Naruto laughed, "So, the taste of seawater wasn't so sweet after all. But even if you fell in again, you wouldn't get hauled out in a net these days!"
"Say what you want. I own my mistakes. But today, you're getting out of my way—!!" Madara drew his sickle and swung it at the air in front of him!
"That move… I knew it!"
Naruto's eyes narrowed. In the blink of an eye, he ducked low!
—Amenotejikara!
Whoosh!
Naruto was yanked through space, appearing right in front of Madara!
But that seemingly inescapable sickle only grazed a few hairs off Naruto's head!
Whoosh!
Madara could hardly believe what he was seeing. "What?? How is this possible?!"
His attack was still in its recovery frame.
"You think I haven't seen Amenotejikara enough times to know how to counter it…"
Naruto's gaze was cool and deep. Seizing the opening, he slammed an uppercut straight into Madara's jaw!
CRACK…!!
That was the sound of a jawbone shattering!
Uchiha Madara was sent flying, straight up into the night sky!
Thud!
When he landed, Madara staggered backward three steps, barely keeping his footing, disbelief etched across his face. "You… why…"
"Just now, in that instant, you're wondering why I didn't just gouge out your eyes, or slice your throat, right?"
Naruto smiled serenely and sat down cross-legged.
"The moon's beautiful tonight. Let's stop fighting for a bit and just… talk."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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