"They're here."
Kiyosuke turned his head. In the distance, a massive crowd was approaching.
It was the Shinobi Allied Forces, returning after completing their missions. Their enemies had already been defeated, and now they were rushing to support Naruto's side.
"First Division—assemble!"
Darui led his teammates forward.
"Second Division—assemble!"
Kitsuchi's deep voice rang out across the battlefield.
Kiyosuke glanced around and grinned.
"Third Division—assemble!"
"Fourth Division!"
Gaara raised his hand high, and the gathered troops roared in unison.
"Fourth Division—assemble!"
Mifune arrived at the battlefield with his samurai.
"Fifth Division and Logistics—assemble!"
After them came the medical corps, the intelligence division, and a steady stream of ninja reinforcements flooding into the area.
Kiyosuke smiled and called out.
"So, Madara—how about this? Satisfied with the crowd?"
Madara chuckled darkly.
"Hahaha… Just a flock of weaklings. If it were you and Hashirama together, perhaps I'd feel a twinge of caution. Still, for dealing with that thing, I suppose they'll do. Well, let's treat this as a bit of entertainment."
"Alright then, everyone—move out! Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique!"
"Shadow Clone Technique!" Tobirama shouted, summoning three clones of his own. He sighed helplessly.
"To think… this old man can only manage this much now."
The Four Red Yang Formation restricted their chakra output, allowing them to split off only small fragments of chakra. As a result, their combat power was significantly reduced.
"Follow my clones!"
Hashirama and Tobirama's clones led the charge, running at the very front of the army as they guided them into the barrier.
A tide of shinobi surged forward.
Kiyosuke stretched his shoulders.
Mei Terumī turned to him.
"Can we fight now?"
"Of course. Let's join in—but my target is Uchiha Madara!"
"Young man, I'll come with you," said Hashirama's wooden clone as he approached.
"Good. Let's go."
The two advanced toward Madara, only to find him sitting casually on the ground, his gunbai resting to the side.
"If it's only a Wood Clone and a weakened Kiyosuke… I can't say I'm interested."
"Really now? Whose fault is it that I'm not at full strength?" Kiyosuke muttered, picking up Madara's fan and examining it closely. "Still, this is a fine piece of craftsmanship."
It was said that Indra had made it from the trunk of the God Tree. The fan had been passed down through generations of the Uchiha clan, until Madara defected and took it with him.
"Of course it's valuable," Hashirama said. "It's one of the Uchiha clan's treasured heirlooms. Every time we fought, he never went without it."
"Hmph." Madara snorted, clearly annoyed at Hashirama's words.
Kiyosuke ignored them both and continued.
"It's made from the God Tree's wood. Handy, sure—but not really suited for me."
Madara raised a brow. Even he hadn't known that detail. How did this kid find out?
"By the way," Kiyosuke asked, "who exactly is that masked guy? He's definitely not from the Uchiha clan, yet he can use the Sharingan and even your Rinnegan like they're his own."
Madara smirked coldly.
"No idea. Just another pawn chosen by Black Zetsu. A clown spouting nonsense about peace—without even knowing what he truly wants. Pathetic. He's a meaningless tool, nothing more."
Kiyosuke sat down cross-legged, no longer in the mood to fight. The Ten-Tails had already gone berserk, and the Allied Forces were locked in fierce combat with its scattered fragments.
At the center of the chaos, the two Children of Prophecy were fighting with all their might.
"Summoning Technique!!" ×3
Three massive creatures appeared on the battlefield—a toad, a slug, and a serpent.
Kiyosuke's eyes widened. "Ohhh! So these are the new generation's Sannin? What a historic sight."
"Sannin?" Hashirama blinked in confusion.
"They were the Third Hokage's disciples," Kiyosuke explained with a grin. "Each had their own summoning beast—a toad, a snake, and a slug. Those three kids are their disciples. Seeing them now… it feels like watching the young Sannin again."
"I see," Hashirama nodded. His gaze softened as he looked toward Sakura standing atop Katsuyu.
"This girl reminds me of Tsunade. No wonder—she's her student."
Madara scoffed. "My Uchiha descendants are in there too. Comparing them to the Sannin is laughable."
And just like that, the two began bickering again.
Kiyosuke sighed, shaking his head.
Cough, cough.
Madara and Hashirama both froze, a chill running down their spines.
Their eyes turned dangerously sharp.
"I can't shake the feeling you're thinking something extremely rude right now," Madara said.
"Of course not! Perish the thought! I'm just… exhausted, that's all. Hashirama-sama, since we're not fighting, how about a nice relaxing game of—uh—Gwent… no, no, dice!"
"We're in the middle of a battle!" Hashirama protested. His expression, however, betrayed temptation.
Madara twitched at the corner of his mouth.
"Do you think this is some kind of casino?"
"You're not fighting anyway," Kiyosuke said, pulling out three dice. "Come on—let's bet on high or low."
"I choose high! No, wait—small! Hold on, give me a second…"
The moment gambling was mentioned, Hashirama's energy returned full force.
Madara finally snapped and kicked him square in the face.
"You idiot! Take a good look around! This isn't the Konoha casino!"
Back when he was Hokage, Hashirama used to sneak off to gamble, leaving Madara and Tobirama to handle all the paperwork. Did he not realize how much that irritated both of them?
Every time Madara wanted to strangle Tobirama, he had to restrain himself. It was maddening.
"Sorry!" Hashirama jumped up and declared, "I pick high!"
"You bastard!" Madara groaned. "It's always like this with you!"
"Alright, alright. One, two, three—small! I win!"
"I knew it! I should've picked small!" Hashirama slumped, devastated. As expected of the ancestor of the Great Money-Loser Clan—Grandpa Fat Sheep himself!
"Damn it, that looks so fun! I wanna go play too!" Hashirama's main body received the clone's memories and nearly dropped everything to join in.
Unfortunately, he still had business to take care of.
Meanwhile, the masked man was reaching his limit. He let out a cold snort.
"If that's how it is… then I'll have to use that."
He jumped onto the Ten-Tails' head and began forming hand seals.
Madara suddenly stood up.
"Wait—didn't Black Zetsu install the cursed seal?!"
That threw everything into chaos.
In the next instant, Orochimaru shouted, "Uchiha Shin!"
The masked man's body froze.
The space around his head twisted—and with a sharp shunk—
An arm fell to the ground.
"Again!" Obito shouted to Kakashi.
"Right!" Kakashi replied.