Hum!
The moment Madara's voice fell, the white light cloaking his body flickered and vanished. His form stabilized, returning to its complete state.
The coalition shinobi stared in disbelief, their cheers choking into silence.
"H-how is this possible? He… undid Impure World Reincarnation himself?"
"It's over… it's really over!"
Despair rippled through their ranks. Even the Five Kage, who had just tasted fleeting hope, stood frozen. Madara's methods were beyond anything they understood.
Onoki's face paled, his voice trembling. "To think… Impure World Reincarnation could be broken from within…"
Madara crossed his arms, his tone condescending.
"The truth is simple. Any shinobi summoned by Impure World Reincarnation, if they know the hand seal for release, can free themselves. Of course…" His gaze sharpened. "Normally, they wouldn't have the chance. But my summoner lies unconscious. That is their mistake."
The Kage stiffened, their hope crumbling. Above them, the enormous meteorite still loomed, its shadow swallowing the battlefield.
Gaara's calm voice cut through the panic. "Enough staring. Focus on the threat above us."
"Can we even stop that?" Onoki muttered bitterly.
"Tsuchikage!" the Raikage barked. "Don't disgrace yourself with words like that! Even if we die, we fight! That's what it means to carry this title!"
"…You're right," Onoki said at last, determination flickering back in his eyes. "Better to die with pride than despair."
Just then—
Whoosh!
The space in front of them distorted like rippling water. From the vortex stepped a figure with calm, unshaken steps.
"Ayanami Kaito."
His voice was quiet, but it carried across the battlefield like a blade.
"Madara. This game of bullying children ends now."
Madara's stoic face shifted for the first time, his disdain fading into sharp seriousness. His eyes narrowed.
Finally…
Relief washed over the Kage. Their trembling subsided, though their pride burned bitterly. They had thought themselves capable of resisting Madara, but compared to Kaito, they had been little more than distractions—clowns dancing in a hopeless play.
Madara's voice rumbled with cold amusement. "Bullying children? They are Kage. If they cannot bear the weight of that title, then it is nothing but an empty word."
He raised his hand and pointed toward the heavens.
"But since you've arrived, if you wish to protect them, then handle this first."
Above, the second meteorite crashed downward, its monstrous twin still pressing behind it.
Madara's current body had been prepared by White Zetsu specifically for battle. Though an Impure World Reincarnation shell, it retained his peak strength and granted him infinite chakra. In truth, it surpassed his original body.
The last time he faced Kaito, age had already claimed him. Even with temporary rejuvenation, his Rinnegan had not been in his possession, leaving him short of true peak.
This time would be different.
Kaito, however, only chuckled lightly.
"So you still hold resentment toward the Kage. I suppose it's natural. After all, you and Hashirama once stood above the world, yet his ideals kept you from ruling it outright. He was too much like Naruto—naïve, too willing to believe in peace without power."
His eyes narrowed, chakra surging around him in waves.
"But I won't waste words. Children's games have no place before me."
Black and white particles swirled at Kaito's side. Dark violet chakra condensed, spiraling into form—five Tailed Beast Bomb: Rasenshuriken, each one pulsing with devastating wind-natured energy.
He flicked his wrist.
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh!
The five spinning weapons streaked skyward, colliding with the twin meteorites.
BOOOOM!
The explosions rocked the battlefield, thunder and fire tearing through the sky. The colossal stones shattered in an instant, breaking apart into billions of fragments that rained down harmlessly as rubble.
A suffocating cloud of dust surged outward. Kaito raised his hand.
Fwoosh!
A hurricane burst from his palm, sweeping the dust aside and clearing the battlefield in moments.
The shinobi gaped at him. Onoki, the Raikage, and Gaara could only stare, their hearts thundering.
"That… was a Tailed Beast Bomb…" Gaara whispered.
"Not one, but five," Onoki muttered, his voice trembling.
"And he fused them with wind release…"
They exchanged glances, realization dawning. The scale was beyond imagination. Villages had been devastated by a single Tailed Beast Bomb—yet Kaito had unleashed five at once, refined to a sharper, deadlier edge.
Now they understood. Kaito's earlier words had not been arrogance. Compared to him and Madara, the Five Kage truly were nothing more than fragile pawns on a broken board.
Madara watched from atop the stone peak, his lips curling into a rare smile.
"Oh? Tailed Beast Bombs, and refined with attributes… It seems you haven't wasted these last ten years, Kaito."
____
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