The enormous shockwave tossed the giant turtle into the air—it slid across the ocean surface toward Kakashi and his group. Though the winds made standing impossible, they were still outside the worst of the blast. Using teleportation, they escaped.
Meanwhile, Madara Uchiha (Obito) sneered, tracking Kakashi and the others without needing to flee. His body dissolved in space, reappearing behind Naruto. Though Naruto had begun mastering the Nine-Tails' chakra, he remained inexperienced—and he didn't yet wield his full power as a jinchūriki.
Obito flicked his finger, summoning countless chained nails raining down like a deadly torrent. Even as Naruto reacted, he couldn't dodge in time. Suddenly, the Eight-Tails' tentacles wrapped him and pulled him toward Killer Bee—but Obito vanished again, and the nails impaled the tentacles, halting them. The wind subsided. Killer Bee, too, found himself trapped.
Meanwhile, the Ten-Tails construct began transforming—evolving visibly toward true tailed-beast form. If things dragged on, Obito might soon assume the Ten-Tails jinchūriki mantle.
Members of the Akatsuki feared for Tō. That last jutsu— even more powerful than her Supreme Enlightenment Buddha—combined with Madara's Beast power and Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Slash, made injury seem inevitable. Yet they had faith in her. She had stood toe-to-toe with four Hokages; she wasn't about to die easily.
With a muffled crash, the sea calmed. A clear voice cut through:
"So it was you all who caused this!" With a crack, the nails restraining the Eight-Tails snapped.
White-haired Jiraiya leapt onto the Eight-Tails' head, glaring at Obito with hard eyes—and also looking toward Orochimaru.
Obito sneered at Jiraiya's presence, saying nothing. Jiraiya's attention flicked among Naruto, the others, and Orochimaru. Orochimaru paused, stunned—why hadn't Madara ended Jiraiya yet? He could have easily killed him long ago.
The ocean fell still. Tō knelt halfway above the surface. The First Hokage and Madara likewise knelt. The sight stunned even Orochimaru—it was clear the four legends and Tō had ended in a stalemate.
The power she unleashed seconds earlier would crush almost anyone—even Nagato would have had difficulty with it. Coupled with Madara's Beast power and Tobirama's speed, her endurance left everyone in awe.
Tō spat blood—but the First and Second Hokages struggled more, without any visible signs of damage. Victory lay plain. Orochimaru exhaled slowly.
"With our three signature techniques unleashed—and you still held against us... I truly respect you now. Who would have thought there remains such a person in this ninja world?" Madara stood, arms folded, speaking softly.
That he—the great Madara—admired Tō would shake the ninja world. But Tō didn't feel triumphant; her chakra reserves were nearly empty. The First Hokage looked resigned—he and his brother could barely control their bodies, forced to obey Orochimaru's control, while Tō had no choice but to endure to protect Naruto and others.
Tō rose slowly, wiping blood, and smirked coldly:
"As I said... the entire ninja world may be shaken by Orochimaru. Jiraiya—you're too late. Right now, you probably couldn't even beat your student!"
Her words hung heavily. Jiraiya bowed his head in shame.
The Fourth Hokage stood beside him, looking equally helpless.
Then Tō turned to Obito. She admitted that—even though Madara and the First and Second Hokages had enough chakra to keep fighting—her greatest fear remained that Obito would become the Ten-Tails jinchūriki. If Naruto and the others defeated Obito, Madara might seize that power for himself. She'd have to give everything to stop that.
And now, the Ten-Tails was undergoing its final transformation... Tō gripped her Wind God Sword firmly. Her Mangekyō Sharingan began to spin in her retinas.
That last clash—Madara's Beast power combined with her Enlightenment Buddha—had been enormously consuming. The strain on her body, worsened by repeated use of her "air-palm" jutsu and Shadow Lotus kicks, had nearly exhausted her.
She knew it was time to unleash her true ocular power.
Tō's Mangekyō Sharingan surpassed even Itachi and Sasuke's illusion techniques. Her genjutsu could suppress those of Shin Uchiha (Shisui) and Itachi—but she couldn't target them directly, as they remained aware of their real and illusionary selves.
However, Tō's other eye held a lethal ability: the instant she perceived a wound, she could cause it to erupt into dust, destroying the target instantly. She might even take down Madara with one gaze... though it wasn't certain to work even against eternal Mangekyō or Rinnegan.
Yet she would test the limit.
Her gaze flicked to Madara. Instantly, the face of the First Hokage emblazoned on Obito's chest began to crack—like a miniature explosive, his visage crumbled and vanished. Even Madara blinked, stunned.
Within a second, half of the First Hokage's face was gone. Madara teleported out of her sight—but Tō's Mangekyō was not fake.
Her eye snapped to Madara again.
At the same moment, the First and Second Hokages—still under Orochimaru's control—loomed and launched jutsu toward her. Tō did not know their weak points.
In the distance, Orochimaru finally looked strained. Jiraiya shot toward him, intent on stopping him.
But the Fourth Hokage rematerialized beside Jiraiya—and struck his neck with a kunai. A clash followed: Jiraiya blocked by throwing out a kunai, even as he tried to kick the Fourth—but the Fourth vanished and reappeared elsewhere.
"Orochimaru, you want trouble too?" Orochimaru licked his lips, voice low, and a grin spread across his face, as though victory was imminent.
He eyed Tō's burning requiem for her Mangekyō...