Under the vast sky, the Village Hidden in Leaves—scarred by war—now burned with flames and thick smoke rising into the air.
On the city walls lay piles of corpses—Konoha ninja and soldiers from the Land of Fire. Broken weapons and shattered armor scattered across the ground, soaked with blood.
Finally, after several nights of relentless siege, the invading army had been driven back.
But in a dramatic twist, it wasn't Konoha who repelled them—it was the battlefield marshal personally appointed by the Daimyo, the so-called "Protective God of the Land of Fire." More than a hundred thousand were killed or wounded.
In this situation, the morale of the Land of Fire's forces completely collapsed. Countless soldiers abandoned their armor and fled the battlefield without looking back.
Madara didn't care.
For the sake of realizing the great Moon Eye Plan, no sacrifice was too great. For true peace, this massacre was nothing.
Not only did Madara feel no guilt—he believed every life was just an ant under his boot.
As he saw Hiashi and Fugaku narrowly evade the Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star attack, he immediately frowned and prepared to chase them down, ready to kill—but just then—
Boom!
A wooden giant arhat over dozens of meters tall suddenly struck from the side, landing a heavy punch on Susanoo, sending both Madara and his Susanoo flying.
"Ugh..."
Madara rose from the ground, shaking his head in surprise as he stared at the wooden arhat.
"To be able to use even the wooden golem technique... It seems I underestimated your potential," he finally regarded Tsunade with serious intent, recognizing her as a true opponent.
"Today is your day to die!"
Without another word, Tsunade leapt onto the wooden golem and charged forward, once again clashing fiercely with Madara's Susanoo.
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the battlefield…
"Fugaku, are you okay?" Hiashi asked with concern after leading Fugaku away from the chaos.
"I'm fine. Thank you for saving my life," Fugaku replied, gratitude in his eyes, glancing nervously at the massive meteorite that had crashed onto the battlefield.
"Fugaku, I'm going to use that ultimate move."
At this moment, Hiashi seemed to have made a decisive choice. He took a deep breath and said firmly to Fugaku, "To defeat Madara Uchiha, we must open the Death Gate—it is the only way to unleash the ultimate Taijutsu!"
Upon hearing this, Fugaku's expression changed drastically. Then, placing one hand on Hiashi's shoulder, he solemnly pledged:
"Don't worry, Hiashi! I will protect you with these eyes—I swear it!"
His Mangekyou Sharingan blazed with unshakable resolve.
"Brother, I believe you."
Hiashi nodded heavily, then without hesitation, motioned for Fugaku to step back before suddenly roaring with might: "Wonder Gate, Open!"
As those words rang out, an even more powerful chakra erupted from his body, blue steam rising from him as sweat evaporated into the air.
While Tsunade kept Madara occupied, Hiashi unlocked the Seventh Gate of the Eight Gates Chakra System. And he wouldn't stop—next came the final gate, the Death Gate, to be opened in one unstoppable burst.
Back in the main battlefield...
The wooden golem and Susanoo clashed all the way into the distant suburbs of Konoha, far beyond the village.
Under Tsunade's fierce assault, Madara's second-stage Susanoo was clearly outmatched and quickly overwhelmed.
Boom.
At one moment, the wooden giant arhat seized the opportunity, grabbing the Susanoo's head and slamming it heavily into the ground.
Then, the wooden golem even stomped hard on Susanoo's face, humiliating it severely. At the same time, the wooden dragon coiled around the arhat's arm flew out, biting onto the Susanoo's body and devouring its chakra.
As Madara's Susanoo seemed about to be destroyed,
"Indeed, to deal with this wooden technique, I must activate Perfect Susanoo."
Madara knelt halfway on the ground, gazing upward at the towering wooden arhat as he murmured. The next instant, his Rinnegan emitted intense ocular power fluctuations that spread throughout the Susanoo's entire body.
In an instant, the fallen Susanoo erupted again with tremendous force, actually shaking the wooden golem backward for over a hundred meters.
Buzzzzz.
The Susanoo rose up, glowing brightly with blue chakra all over. Its body rapidly grew taller—sixty meters, eighty meters—until reaching a full hundred meters.
Soon, a hundred-meter tall divine warrior appeared on the battlefield. Clad in armor with massive wings spread behind it and twin blades in hand, its mere aura completely overshadowed Tsunade's wooden arhat.
[Perfect Susanoo]
"It's been a long time since I fought in this form."
Inside the Susanoo's forehead chamber, Madara couldn't help but exclaim emotionally, then coldly fixed his gaze on the distant wooden figure.
The moment passed. Whoosh!
The Susanoo warrior leaned forward and shot straight ahead. Its pair of wings unfolded behind him like a mighty eagle diving down from the sky, moving at an incredible speed across the surface.
Here it comes.
Tsunade, no longer holding back, drove her wooden giant arhat forward as the divine Susanoo flew toward her. She clasped both hands together, burning her own cells furiously as she charged.
Swish!
The divine Susanoo and the wooden arhat clashed instantly on the plains far outside Konoha before passing each other. They kept sliding forward for hundreds of meters after impact.
On the battlefield, both figures maintained their attacking stances—the scene fell deathly silent.
Then—
The wooden arhat's lower half stood firm on the earth while its upper half tilted forward, collapsing like a falling mountain and crashing onto the ground.
The wooden arhat had been cut in half at the waist.
This was the terrifying power of Perfect Susanoo.
Controlled by Madara, the divine Susanoo could soar swiftly through the skies, and its dual swords effortlessly sliced through mountains and meteorites.
Compared to Hashirama and Hagoromo, Tsunade's Sage Transformation still had significant gaps. Therefore, her wooden golem technique couldn't stand up to Perfect Susanoo.
"I told you," Madara declared as he rode the divine warrior flying closer, raising his sword high, proclaiming Tsunade's fate:
"So the game is over. Die!"
Is this... really the end?
Tsunade lay on the ground. Despite all her unwillingness, anger, and hatred, she had already suffered severe injuries and could no longer fight. She was left with no choice but to await her fate.
Heiyan, Nawaki... I'm coming to join you now.
At this moment, she murmured silently in her heart, slowly closing her eyes as a smile of relief appeared on her face.
Just then—
"U-Uchiha... Madara!"
An earth-shaking roar erupted from behind Susanoo's divine form, carrying with it an overwhelming surge of battle will.
Hmm?
Instinctively, Madara sensed an intense danger.
He swiftly turned Susanoo around—just in time to see a blazing crimson meteor hurtling down from the sky.
It was Hiashi who had unleashed the Death Gate.
When all Eight Gates were fully opened, known as the [Eight Gates Formation!], the user's body would emit red mist created by evaporated blood while gaining strength surpassing even dozens of Kages.
"Haaa!"
Facing Susanoo, as tall as a mountain, Hiashi showed no fear whatsoever and charged forward unflinchingly, throwing a punch with all his might.
His mighty fist, though striking only thin air, unleashed a devastating shockwave over thirty meters wide. It shot straight at the forehead of Susanoo, aiming to crush both the head of the giant and Madara atop it.
Madara was startled and immediately ordered Susanoo to raise its sword and deflect the incoming air blast.
The sheer impact sent Susanoo staggering backward, almost losing its footing.
The deflected shockwave crashed onto the nearby ground, instantly creating a bottomless crater.
Even Madara couldn't suppress a flicker of dread at witnessing such terrifying power.
But Hiashi's assault was far from over—it had only just begun.
"ROOOAAAR!!"
Mid-air, Hiashi looked like a raging crimson beast. Launching consecutive punches from afar at Susanoo's massive body, he landed over a hundred blows one after another.
Each strike carried his full strength.
In the air, as Nichi Ashi swung his fists wildly, he generated numerous air blasts. These air blasts took the form of giant red fists, resembling a spectacular meteor shower.
This technique rivalled even Kaguya Otsutsuki's legendary Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.
With the Death Gate open, Hiashi's taijutsu power had already reached Six Paths Tier.
[Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!]
Countless red-fisted meteors rained down upon Susanoo's massive form, one after another, relentlessly bombarding it. Under such rapid and fierce attacks, the colossal divine body had no chance to dodge.
Every single strike hit dead-on.
As a result, the once majestic and imposing Susanoo became dimmed within seconds.
Its ornate armor completely shattered and peeled off; the sword in its hand snapped into a dozen pieces scattered across the battlefield. Even the pair of mighty wings on its back were pierced with dozens of holes, leaving them permanently grounded—never again able to soar into the skies.
"How could this be..."
Madara's face paled with horror. His entire body, together with the colossal Susanoo, crashed down like a falling mountain onto the ground.
Crunch!
The fallen Susanoo quickly shattered like a broken mirror, turning into countless chakra fragments before vanishing completely.
In the air.
"Hiss..."
Hiashi grimaced in pain. Both his arms had turned pitch-black, the sound of breaking bones echoing from inside. The physical burden from opening the Death Gate was beyond what ordinary people could ever endure.
But he knew the last strike still wasn't enough to kill Madara Uchiha.
If he was going to sacrifice his life, he'd do so completely.
With that thought, Hiashi's Byakugan pierced through the thick clouds of dust rising from the ground, locking onto Madara below.
Then, his entire body shot downward like a meteor, streaking toward Madara.
Chiiii!
As he fell, the red mist surrounding Hiashi roared against the wind, taking the shape of a massive dragon around him. It transformed him into a blazing crimson dragon descending from the skies.
Boom!
Hiashi rushed straight toward Madara and threw another punch. The force of this strike was earth-shaking—space itself warped under its pressure.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Madara roared desperately, pouring every last ounce of his remaining ocular power from the Rinnegan into a final struggle for survival.
But the outcome was clear.
Hiashi's punch easily shattered the repulsive force field of the Shinra Tensei, crashing ruthlessly into Madara's body. It blasted a huge hole straight through his mid-torso.
Boom!
Even after piercing through Madara, the violent force didn't stop—it carved out a long, deep fissure stretching hundreds of meters across the land behind him.
"So... this is the [Eight Gates Formation]..." Madara coughed violently. "Impressive... truly worthy of being called the jutsu that sacrifices life to gain power."
Blood poured from his mouth as he spoke unevenly to Hiashi. "As far as taijutsu goes, I, Madara Uchiha... willingly acknowledge you as... the strongest."
Before him, Hiashi's body looked like a burnt tree reduced to charcoal—slowly crumbling apart, turning into black ash.
Just then—
"Hiashi!"
Fugaku rushed from afar. His Mangekyou Sharingan locked onto Hiashi, surging with powerful ocular energy.
[River of Three Paths!]
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
This Mangekyou genjutsu immediately rewound Hiashi's current state, returning him to three minutes ago.
From near total annihilation, to fully restored with all Eight Gates open, and even before he had unlocked the Death Gate.
Thus, Hiashi's flame of life, already nearing extinction, burned brightly once again.
"He actually managed to reverse time itself..."
Witnessing this scene, Madara stared in shock before finally collapsing—his death filled with disbelief.
Plop.
Right after Madara fell, Hiashi himself dropped down onto one knee, panting heavily with sweat pouring down his face.
Although Fugaku had pulled him back from the edge of death, the immense toll from opening the Death Gate still weighed heavily upon both his body and mind.
At this moment, his body was riddled with multiple fractures and he could no longer ignite his power.
Not far away,
After using his dojutsu to rescue Hiashi just in time, Fugaku let out a sigh of relief before suddenly feeling an immense dizziness. Covering his bleeding right eye, he collapsed onto the ground as well.
Even farther off, Tsunade struggled to rise from the ground. Although also severely injured, her physical condition wasn't as bad as Fugaku's or Hiashi's thanks to Sage Transformation's powerful recovery abilities.
Still, it was only slightly better.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Soon after, badly injured, Hiruzen Sarutobi arrived with his subordinates.
Though not strong enough to join the fight directly, he did everything he could—guarding Konoha's walls and keeping a single enemy from setting foot inside the village.
Following Hiruzen's orders, medical ninja carefully lifted Tsunade and the other two onto stretchers, carrying them back to the village for treatment.
Then, after leaving some personnel behind to clean up the battlefield, Hiruzen returned to the village and announced victory in this war to every ninja and civilian in Konoha.
Before long, deafening cheers erupted from Konoha, echoing across the skies.
And with that, the legendary battle that raged across both the Land of Iron and Konoha finally came to a close.
Compared to last year's battle at Uzugakure, this war triggered during the Five Kage Summit involved not only the high-ranking elders of the Land of Iron and all five Great Ninja Villages, but also spread flames of war to Konoha itself. In terms of scale, casualties, and potential consequences, it significantly surpassed the previous conflict.
On the enemy side, the war concluded with the loss of three Kage, four Tailed Beast Jinchuriki critically wounded, the Land of Fire's army collapsing after suffering 200,000 casualties, and Madara Uchiha losing one Elephant Path clone.
Konoha's cost was—Uzumaki Heiyan, once Konoha's hero, perished on the battlefield in the Land of Iron.
Other than that, Tsunade and other top-tier fighters sustained serious injuries, but none were life-threatening. After a period of rest and recuperation they would recover. Additionally, although Konoha's defending forces suffered hundreds of casualties, compared to the enemy's losses, these numbers were practically negligible.
At least, from outsiders' perspectives—
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