The battlefield was a scarred wasteland.
The Six Paths stone tablet was deeply embedded in the snowy terrain. The mysterious inscriptions on its surface, though thousands of years old, still glowed faintly with an eerie black light.
At the base of the tablet lay a broken red chakra chain—once connected to the stone—in several pieces. At the other end of those chains, a young man with long black hair lay sprawled unconscious on the snow-covered ground, barely alive and in critical condition.
Despite having mentally rehearsed this battle countless times before, when Uzumaki Heiyan actually faced the technique known as [Outer Path—Edo Tensei], he realized how naive he had been. He had greatly underestimated its true power.
The Rinnegan, also known as the "Eyes of Life and Death," grants each of its wielders a unique supernatural ability.
Amenominaka, Takamimusubi, Time Reversal, Amenotejikara...
For Madara Uchiha, that supernatural technique was [Outer Path—Edo Tensei].
Truth is, compared to other special abilities granted by the Rinnegan, Outer Path—Edo Tensei wasn't particularly impressive—it might even be considered the weakest.
After all, to someone at the Six Paths Tier level, these Outer Path—Edo Tensei clones posed little real threat. They could not only be seen by the Rinnegan itself but also destroyed using Six Paths Chakra—an advanced form of Shadow Clone mixed with Body Flicker Technique.
However, for any ninja below the Six Roads Tier, this seemingly useless jutsu became a truly devastating advantage.
In the original timeline, Madara performed this technique with just one Rinnegan eye and effortlessly defeated all Nine Tails in an instant. He then proceeded to instantly kill Naruto, who had entered Sage Mode while fully unlocking Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, and Sasuke, who possessed the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.
From this perspective, [Outer Path—Edo Tensei] could be described as the ultimate "noob-crusher."
Unbeatable.
Understand this: Uzumaki Heiyan's Sage Transformation was nearly perfect, his overall strength surpassing Hashirama Senju at his peak. In previous battles, he easily defeated the Allied Shinobi Forces and even pushed Madara himself—who possessed the Rinnegan—into retreat multiple times.
It can be said that below the Six Paths level, Hagoromo is almost an unbeatable existence.
But against [Outer Path—Edo Tensei], even a powerhouse like Uzumaki Heiyan was no different from an ordinary genin—both would be instantly killed without resistance.
This is the Wheel of Torture and Border Prison, a technique that instills despair in mortals below the Six Paths level, a technique that makes one feel as if falling into hell.
This was [Outer Path—Edo Tensei], a technique that brought despair to anyone below the Six Paths Tier, a skill that felt like being thrown into hell itself.
However.
Compared to Uzumaki Heiyan, it was Uchiha Madara who had received the greater shock.
Because, he had almost lost.
His infinite confidence stemmed from his deep understanding of the terrifying power of [Outer Path—Edo Tensei]. As long as he activated this technique, not just one Uzumaki Heiyan—even ten together—would only end up instantly slaughtered.
Yet Madara never expected that Uzumaki Heiyan could actually counter this move, taking down three of his "shadows" in one strike, accomplishing what should have been impossible.
This man must not be allowed to live.
Realizing this, Madara Uchiha sprang forward without hesitation. First, he used the power of his Rinnegan to absorb the Six Paths stone tablet, not even pausing to read the final inscription he had longed for day and night. Then, he strode straight toward Heiyan.
Creak.
Madara seized Heiyan by the throat and yanked him off the ground. Activating the ocular power of his Rinnegan once more, he began siphoning Heiyan's chakra.
Chakra Devouring.
This was another powerful ability of the Rinnegan. As long as physical contact with an enemy was established, it could reverse their internal chakra cycle, drawing their energy into his own body to strengthen himself.
Madara's plan was clear—he would drain Heiyan dry, killing him by exhausting all his chakra. That way, Heiyan wouldn't go to waste—he'd be used to the last drop.
"You truly have a body similar to that guy Hashirama. Such vast and pure chakra is absolutely incredible—rarely seen in this world. This chakra belongs to me now — Madara Uchiha! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
As Madara absorbed Heiyan's chakra, astonishment soon spread across his face, and he couldn't help but let out a series of exclamations.
Throwing his head back in wild laughter, Madara reveled in his triumph like a victorious warlord.
Just then—
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of Heiyan's mouth, gripped tightly in Madara's grasp.
Huh?
Still smiling at a time like this?
Seeing this expression, Madara felt a sudden sense of alertness—an instinctive feeling that something was wrong. In the next instant—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
[Celestial Binding Chain]! Several crimson chains erupted from multiple points across Heiyan's body, striking Madara's torso and limbs in an instant and pinning him down in a full-body restraint.
Because they were so close together and Madara had been careless for a moment, he had no chance to react before being bound tightly in every direction by the Celestial Binding Chain.
"Since you want my chakra so badly, I'll just give it all to you."
With these words, Heiyan's smile widened, happily granting Madara's wish—but in a completely different way than expected.
As soon as he finished speaking—
Buzzzzz.
An extremely terrifying surge erupted from within Heiyan, sweeping over Madara like a hurricane. Madara's whole body tensed with dread, a cold shiver running up his spine and straight into his skull.
At that moment, Heiyan ignited his Sage Transformation using his chakra as the flame.
Every cell in his body ignited, each one acting like a microscopic bomb. Trillions of these tiny explosives detonated simultaneously—
Boom!
Heiyan's body vanished, turning into endless bright light that instantly swallowed Madara Uchiha.
Then, the blinding white light burst outward from the exact spot where the two had stood, submerging everything in its path—snow-covered boulders, dense woods, frozen rivers… The sky and earth turned blindingly white.
A colossal mushroom cloud, over twenty kilometers wide, soared into the sky above the frozen wastelands of the Land of Iron.
At that moment, everyone within the borders of the Land of Iron looked toward the horizon in terror at the fiery cloud in the sky. Soon afterward came a deafening explosion and violent tremors shaking the earth.
Heiyan, although not as crazed as Deidara from the original timeline who turned himself into a living bomb, still created an explosion far more intense than Deidara's "Big Bang."
If Deidara had been here to witness Heiyan's spectacular destruction, he'd probably scream that this was art that no one could ever top.
A long while later, the lingering shockwaves of the explosion slowly dissipated into silence.
On the snowy plain, where Uzumaki Heiyan had detonated himself, a massive oval crater twenty kilometers in diameter had formed, as if struck by a colossal meteorite from outer space.
At the center of the crater,
All that remained were scorched earth and rising wisps of smoke. Nothing else stood there.
It appeared as though Uzumaki Heiyan and Madara Uchiha, two of the strongest figures in the world, had perished together in mutual annihilation.
Suddenly,
A ripple-like disturbance stirred the surrounding space. Then—
Bang!
A figure emerged from a pocket dimension and fell to the ground.
"Heh... heh..."
Madara panted, cold sweat pouring from his forehead. Although this body was merely one of his Elephant Path clones, surviving that terrifying explosion still brought even this battle-hardened veteran a rare feeling of relief after escaping death.
After all, inside this clone resided the Six Paths stone tablet he had just reclaimed. If it had been destroyed in the blast, Madara would've gone completely mad.
Shortly before, when Heiyan triggered his self-destruction, Madara activated Outer Path—Edo Tensei once again, replacing his original body with one final shadow clone to bear the full force of the explosion.
Meanwhile, his true body had barely dodged into the Outer Path dimension, emerging completely unscathed.
Uzumaki Heiyan—a truly insane man.
Luckily, that madman had now been reduced to ashes, leaving nothing behind. And the one who finally came out on top...
"is me."
Madara murmured softly.
A sudden thought struck him, and he raised his hand to his forehead again, howling with laughter toward the sky, baring rows of gleaming white teeth.
However, he only laughed for a short moment before suddenly leaning forward, violently coughing and nearly losing his breath.
"Fighting against that lunatic Uzumaki Heiyan consumed too much of my chakra. This clone won't last much longer. I must return to Mist soon to recover. Of course, most importantly, I must continue deciphering the ancestral teachings on the stone tablet and find the true path to peace."
After regaining his composure, Madara muttered to himself.
Without further delay, he vanished from the spot in a flash.
Meanwhile,
Thousands of miles away at Mount Myoboku.
Inside a temple, the frogs of Mount Myoboku gathered around a massive orb of crystal, watching the elliptical crater on the snow-covered plain in stunned silence.
"Daddy," Sage Shima asked, her voice trembling, "could that man who fought Uzumaki Heiyan really be Uchiha Madara—the former clan head of the Uchiha clan who lived decades ago?"
"Madara," Sage Fukasaku murmured, equally incredulous. "It's common knowledge across the entire world that he battled the First Hokage in the Valley of the End for an entire day and night back then, eventually losing and dying. Who would've guessed he never truly died..."
Both Immortal Sages of Mount Myoboku had lived for eight hundred years, and very few figures in the history of the world of shinobi had left such unforgettable impressions on them.
Madara certainly qualified as someone who left a lasting impression.
"Not only did Uchiha Madara not die, but he also awakened the legendary Rinnegan, the same eyes as my foster brother Hagoromo Otsutsuki."
Gamamaru, seated upon the Sage Throne, also spoke up. His voice carried deep concern and wariness over Madara's Rinnegan.
The Six Paths Sage's eyes?
Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima, along with Gamabunta below them, all widened their eyes in shock, exchanging uneasy glances.
"As for Uzumaki Heiyan, his chakra has completely vanished."
Gamamaru added slowly, a faint smile appearing involuntarily at the edge of his lips. "As I foresaw, my prophecy remains unbroken—though a few moments and minor details did shift slightly. Just as I saw in my dreams, Uzumaki Heiyan is finally dead."
"That guy Uzumaki Heiyan really was short-lived."
"When he was cultivating Sage Art here at Mount Myoboku, he acted so arrogantly. Who would have thought that after leaving, he'd last only a few years before meeting such a fate, not even leaving behind ashes. That's what he deserved."
The lesser toads burst into applause, celebrating Heiyan's demise.
Only Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima remained silent, their expressions heavy with sorrow.
After a brief pause,
"Great Elder, Madara Uchiha killed Heiyan and took the Six Paths Sage's stone tablet. Nobody knows what other deeds such a man might commit in the future. In this shinobi world conflict, what should be our stance, and what must we do, Mount Myoboku?"
Sage Fukasaku composed himself, then turned to Gamamaru with a solemn expression and asked seriously.
"Don't interfere with him for now."
Gamamaru waved his hand dismissively, seemingly unconcerned about Madara, emphasizing instead, "What's more urgent right now is the situation regarding Konoha."
As soon as he finished speaking, he swept his hand across the surface of the crystal ball. The vision inside instantly shifted, displaying images of the Leaf Village.
Within the scene, hundreds of thousands of troops encircled Konoha, trapping several thousand ninja and countless ordinary villagers into a desperate predicament.
"Great Elder, shouldn't we go help them immediately?"
Seeing this scene, Sage Shima anxiously asked. After all, Mount Myoboku had always maintained a strong and loyal alliance with Konoha.
"Don't rush; it's not time yet."
Gamamaru, however, said calmly, appearing mysterious and unfathomable.
Fukasaku and Shima exchanged confused glances.
Earlier, the Great Elder had just said the situation in Konoha was urgent, yet now he said not to hurry—what did this mean?
Could it be he simply didn't want to deal with the troublemaker Madara Uchiha, using Konoha's crisis as an excuse?
In reality, the two sages had guessed half correctly.
Gamamaru indeed didn't wish to provoke Madara Uchiha since even he lacked absolute confidence in defeating someone who had awakened the Rinnegan.
Additionally,
In Gamamaru's view, the current situation of Konoha hadn't yet reached the point where Mount Myoboku needed to intervene—because the ninja there hadn't yet reached the brink of despair.
Perhaps too much time had passed. All beings within the world of shinobi had forgotten gratitude, no longer remembering who truly was their savior—the one who saved all these mortals.
Now, it was time for him to step out of seclusion once again.
Gamamaru thought to himself.
Of course, he would wait—until Konoha stood on the brink of ruin, when hope had all but vanished. Only then would he emerge and offer them salvation. That way, the ninja of Konoha would greet him—the Great Toad Sage—with nothing but humility and reverence.
...
In the basement beneath the Penglai Ninja Village,
Heiyan's original body, encased in a protective shell of Xirang, slowly opened his eyes.
Moments ago, he had received a pulse of awareness from thousands of miles away.
In this recent battle against Madara Uchiha, Heiyan appeared to have lost—he had not only lost his real clone but also the Six Paths stone tablet. It was a crushing defeat.
In reality, however, Heiyan had foreseen everything. Everything had played out precisely as he'd predicted.
Back then during the legendary battle at the Valley of the End, it seemed as though Hashirama Senju had emerged victorious while Madara Uchiha perished. In truth, Madara had faked his death through an elaborate scheme, becoming the ultimate winner in the end.
This most famous battle in Konoha's history had inspired Heiyan's plan.
Heiyan intended to recreate the Battle of the Valley of the End. But this time, he wouldn't play Hashirama Senju—he would become Madara.
Madara plotted meticulously—and during the battle, sank his teeth into Hashirama's flesh, thereby obtaining the power of the Senju Clan. Eventually, he successfully awakened the Rinnegan.
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