Here in Konoha, Shanks stood fully prepared to face Madara. Madara was equally eager; after Hashirama, Shanks was the only worthy opponent left in the world—someone he genuinely anticipated battling. Even with the newly acquired power of the Sage of Six Paths, Madara knew that the only person currently capable of truly matching him was none other than Shanks Uzumaki.
At the same time, Shanks had already detected Madara's approach. Through his God's View, a sensory ability that blanketed the entire continent and its countless surrounding islands, Madara's presence stood out like a beacon, blazing through the sky toward the village.
Turning to Guy and Erza, Shanks said, "You two take care of Naruto and Minato. Erza, start treating Minato immediately. Use the Super Shinobi Serum; it will accelerate his recovery."
Erza nodded and said, "I will do so Onii-chan". The situation was too critical for hesitation. Shanks then gave a brief nod to Guy, who also nodded in return.
The very next moment, Shanks vanished. There was no explosion of chakra, no visible movement, and no warning. One moment he was standing there; the next, he was gone.
Far from Konoha, Madara streaked through the sky at full speed. The wind howled around him as he crossed vast distances in moments, his Rinnegan calmly surveying the horizon. His expression was fixed in an expectant grin.
Then, he came to an abrupt halt. His eyes narrowed.
Directly ahead of him, space itself began to warp. A crown-shaped mark materialized in mid-air, radiating a mysterious pressure before expanding to reveal a figure.
Shanks Uzumaki stood casually in the open sky, facing the strongest man in the world. His hands rested loosely at his sides and his expression was entirely relaxed, as if he had merely stepped out for a casual chat.
The air between them grew suffocatingly heavy. One held the absolute power of the Sage of Six Paths; the other was a wildcard who had repeatedly shattered expectations and overturned fate.
"Well, you came out of nowhere," Madara said, breaking the silence. "I thought I would have to march into Konoha to draw you out. It seems you are just as eager for this fight as I am."
Shanks simply tilted his head. His face remained completely nonchalant. There was no excitement, no anticipation, and no battle lust—nothing that Madara had expected to see. It was as if this clash carried no weight for him at all.
Madara's smile widened slightly. "Looking at you, it seems I was wrong. Regardless, I must admit your existence was never part of my calculations. I expected you to die while fleeing Uzushiogakure. Yet not only did you survive, you gathered the most talented members of the Uzumaki clan—Guy, Antares, Benimaru, Yoko—alongside your powerful siblings. They have nearly ruined my entire plan."
Though his voice remained calm, a vein of genuine frustration pulsed beneath his words. For decades, Madara had manipulated the world from the shadows, accounting for every variable. Yet Shanks had systematically dismantled everything he had carefully arranged.
"Well," Shanks replied, his tone thoughtful and light, "maybe that's because I was never meant to be in this world in the first place." A faint smile touched his lips. "Maybe I'm just an anomaly."
He meant it literally. Having transmigrated into the world of Naruto, his very presence was a cosmic error. He obviously couldn't reveal the meta-truth of his origins to Madara, but calling himself an anomaly was the most honest answer he could give.
Madara stared at him in silence as the wind whipped past them. Two figures hovering high above the earth: one trying to force the world into a destiny of his own making, and one who had rewritten fate at every turn.
The silence broke instantly.
The distance between them vanished in a fraction of a heartbeat. Shanks unsheathed Gryphon just as Madara swung his Sage of Six Paths staff.
BOOM!
The weapons collided head-on. A massive shockwave erupted from the point of impact, tearing through the sky and barreling downward into the terrain below. The earth caved in, cracks tearing through the rocky landscape as enormous chunks of stone exploded upward from the sheer atmospheric pressure.
Neither yielded.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
They exchanged blows at blinding speed, each impact detonating a fresh shockwave that devastated the geography below. Towering stone cliffs were split cleanly in half or shattered into dust; forests were uprooted and sent flying into the sky. Whether through chakra enhancement or pure physical conditioning, both men possessed monstrous strength. Neither could overpower the other.
Clang!
Another collision shook the sky. Recognizing a split-second opening, Madara's eyes narrowed. Without a single outward sign, he activated his signature technique.
Four Limbo clones manifested.
Invisible, untouchable, and existing in a parallel dimension, they were entities that ordinary sensory abilities could never perceive. The four clones closed in on Shanks from multiple angles while Madara kept him engaged in the front. Against anyone else, it would have been a fatal blind spot.
Just as the invisible strikes were about to land, Shanks moved.
Without even turning around, he coated Gryphon in Black Thunder Vitalization. Dark energy surged across the blade, turning it pitch black as crackling, violent lightning illuminated the battlefield.
Crack!
Shanks swung backward in a sweeping arc.
BOOM!
His blade collided solidly with the incoming invisible force, intercepting the attack perfectly.
Madara's eyes widened, genuine shock registering on his face for the first time. The Limbo clones should have been impossible to detect, let alone block.
Noticing his opponent's astonishment, Shanks offered a faint smile. "Do you really think I wouldn't notice an attack from your invisible clone?"
Madara remained silent, his mind racing.
"You've researched me enough to know I can see into the future," Shanks continued, casually parrying another thrust from Madara's staff. "But that was years ago."
Clang!
"Now, I call my sensory ability God's View."
Another invisible clone lunged from his flank. Shanks didn't even look; he simply pivoted and swung, black lightning erupting from Gryphon to meet the blow.
BOOM!
"And do you think I gave it that name without a reason?" Shanks asked, locking eyes with Madara. "I saw your attack in the future. I saw that I would be struck, and that there was an invisible entity landing the blow. So, I adapted." He smiled. "Since your ability originates from the Rinnegan and the Sage powers, I simply infused my strike with Yin-Yang Release."
Madara's jaw tightened. Shanks understood the underlying mechanics of his god-like powers far too well.
"You can use Yin-Yang Release on a conceptual level," Shanks explained calmly, blocking a third invisible clone with an echoing BOOM. "If your ability originates from that energy, then naturally, Yin-Yang Release can interact with it. So no, Madara. You can't expect me to get hit by something just because it's invisible. I already saw it coming."
For the first time, Madara realized that facing Shanks Uzumaki was going to be far more troublesome than he had anticipated.
The tempo of the battle slowed briefly as the two men hovered in the air, reassessing one another.
"If you are willing to explain your abilities, I suppose I can share a little about mine," Madara said, a deceptive smile returning to his face. "My Limbo clones allow me to project three copies of myself into an alternate dimension. They can interact with the physical world, but physical attacks will pass right through them. The only reason you touched one is indeed due to your Yin-Yang Release. Otherwise, they are entirely unreachable."
Madara spoke with absolute confidence. Limbo was his ultimate trump card, a technique that left entire armies helpless.
Shanks listened quietly, his expression passive and relaxed. But inwardly, he was amused.
He said three clones.
It was a blatant lie. Shanks already knew the Rinnegan granted Madara four Limbo clones, not three. In a clash of this magnitude, miscalculating the number of active threats by even one could be a fatal mistake. If an opponent lowered their guard after defending against three attacks, the hidden fourth clone would deliver the killing blow.
Trying to trick me into dropping my guard, huh? Shanks thought. Not a bad attempt.
But Shanks had no intention of exposing the deception. There was no tactical advantage in pointing it out; if Madara believed his lie had succeeded, he would rely on that false sense of security later in the fight.
Shanks simply maintained his calm, unbothered expression, acting as though he had accepted the explanation completely.
The wind howled around them, carrying debris from the shattered earth below. Madara studied Shanks's face for any sign of suspicion, but found absolutely nothing. Satisfied, Madara gripped his staff tighter.
Meanwhile, Shanks had already accounted for all four clones in his mental calculations—and he fully intended to keep playing dumb until the perfect moment to strike.