"What? What did you say his name is?" Nara Shikaku's expression shifted sharply, his tone urgent.
"He said his name is Uchiha Madara! I was too far away to hear their exact words, but I confirmed it through lip-reading," Hizashi replied, his breathing now steadier. "I read Kaito's lips—without a doubt, he said Madara."
A heavy silence fell inside the war tent.
The atmosphere shifted from tense to electrified with dread.
Konoha's high-level officers didn't doubt Hizashi's statement. Lip-reading was a core skill taught within the Hyūga clan's scouting division. If Hizashi claimed it, then it was true.
"Uchiha… Madara?" murmured a voice from the back of the room.
The name echoed like a curse, draining the color from every face present.
Even a young intelligence specialist known for her unshakable calm, froze in shock.
Could the legendary Uchiha Madara—who had supposedly died at the Valley of the End, defeated by the First Hokage himself—still be alive?
It seemed impossible, yet… here they were.
Uchiha Madara wasn't just any shinobi. He had helped end the Warring States period, co-founded the Five Great Nations, and was revered as one of the two original gods of the ninja world.
A loud intake of breath swept through the tent.
"Minato!" Shikaku barked. "Tell Tsunade-sama—immediately!"
He turned to the others. "Everyone else, follow me. We're heading there now!"
For Madara to emerge from the shadows at this moment could only mean one thing—his time was nearly up. Rather than fade away quietly, he wanted a battle that would etch his name in history once more. A final blaze of glory.
In this age, there was only one person in the ninja world strong enough to face him: Ayanami Kaito, the one known by every village as the new god of shinobi.
Shikaku realized this instantly.
The others, slightly slower to piece it together, soon reached the same conclusion. Their eyes flickered with awe.
They sprinted into the coming storm.
---
Far from the war tent, at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth, Kaito stood facing a hunched, armored figure wrapped in white like stone.
The old man's eyes were deep—bottomless, like rotating voids. His mere presence felt as though he commanded the heavens.
Kaito frowned. He had originally planned to bid farewell to Tsunade. But here, at the edge of enemy territory, he appeared.
This man had waited, knowing Kaito would come.
And he was none other than Uchiha Madara—kept alive through unnatural means, aided by the Outer Path statue. A myth now made real.
Kaito remained still. He didn't know if Madara was here to kill him or if there was something else at play. Either way, this encounter couldn't be ignored.
Madara studied Kaito in silence. Then, in a voice deep with aged power, he said, "I didn't expect the Senju bloodline to still produce someone like you."
"You flatter me," Kaito replied calmly. "But if you were defeated by my ancestor, Senju Hashirama, and chose to disappear from history, why reveal yourself now?"
A glint passed through Madara's eyes. "So you recognized me?"
"Your presence. Your chakra. That ancient hairstyle. Combine it with your age and your clan's forbidden technique, Izanami—it wasn't hard to guess," Kaito answered.
Madara's expression didn't change. "You even know about Izanami. You're far sharper than Hashirama ever was. On par with Tobirama."
He gave a quiet chuckle. "So tell me, when did you first realize I was alive?"
Kaito narrowed his eyes. "Do you remember when I first appeared? The battle where the Third Raikage held off tens of thousands from Iwagakure? My perception stretches far. Back then, I felt three chakra signatures underground—yours among them. I didn't know it was you at the time, but I never forgot."
"I see." Madara's voice lowered.
"Then let me ask—why are you here, Madara? Shouldn't you be hiding underground, pulling strings?"
"Your existence disrupts the balance of the world," Madara replied, voice steady, firm. "You are a threat to my plans. I don't like leaving loose ends."
"You want to take me down before you die?" Kaito asked, almost amused.
"You could put it that way," Madara said with a small nod.
"I think it's more likely you won't leave this encounter alive," Kaito replied coldly.
Madara's eyes narrowed. "Young shinobi, never forget—there's always someone stronger."
"If you were in your prime, perhaps I'd be cautious," Kaito said. "But now? You've aged. You've lost the Rinnegan. You're not the threat you once were."
"Junior," Madara said quietly, "you've succeeded in irritating me."
And then—BOOM.
A monstrous pressure exploded from Madara's body, roaring into the sky.
The clouds above burst open from the force, sunlight pouring down over the now-trembling earth.
A hurricane-like shockwave spread out across miles in every direction. Forests bent, rocks shattered, animals fled. It was a display of godlike power.
Kaito stood his ground—and then answered with power of his own.
BOOM.
His aura surged outward, slamming into Madara's with an equally deafening roar.
Two titanic forces clashed in mid-air, neither yielding.
Their spiritual pressure pressed down on the terrain between them like a vice. The ground cracked, spider-webbing out from their feet. Trees were uprooted. Dust and debris spun upward, sucked into the maelstrom of energy.
It was as if two colossal blades of wind were slicing at the air itself.
This was no mere duel.
This was a collision between legends.
---
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