Kushina, who had just returned to Konoha, saw Uzumaki Mito awaken. Tears welled in her eyes as she rushed forward.
"Grandma Mito!"
She threw her arms around the elder, clinging tightly.
Mito smiled kindly, patting her on the back. "It's alright."
"Lady Kushina, careful," a medical-nin cautioned. "Mito-sama has only just woken."
Kushina quickly loosened her hold. "Granny, are you okay?"
Mito shook her head gently. "I'm fine—"
But her words froze as her eyes widened in shock. A towering blue skeletal figure rose above the village.
"This… this is Susanoo!"
Everyone followed her gaze, their faces blanching in terror.
A colossal skeleton of condensed blue chakra, ten stories tall, loomed over them. Its oppressive presence blotted out the sky.
The Uchiha clan members trembled.
Susanoo—the ultimate technique of the Uchiha clan, said to manifest only to those who awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. For generations, it had been nothing more than legend.
But now, the legend had returned.
And the man within… his appearance was identical to the portrait of Uchiha Madara that hung in the clan archives.
It was him.
He had just crushed the current clan head without effort.
The Uchiha were paralyzed with dread. Was Madara's return the clan's rebirth—or its destruction?
The Hyūga clan, watching from afar, were equally shaken. "Uchiha… Madara?!"
The skeletal giant's very presence radiated annihilation.
Hiruzen Sarutobi, still under treatment, shuddered as he stared upward. The medics and ANBU around him recoiled in fright.
Minato had just carried the unconscious Fourth Raikage into the village when his steps faltered. His eyes widened.
"What… what is that?!"
Though a top student of the Academy and a genius on the battlefield, even Minato had never seen such power before.
The resurgence of the Uchiha's ancient might left Konoha reeling.
Hidden spies from other villages, disguised within Konoha, watched in horror. Many immediately dispatched reports through carrier pigeons, summons, or coded messengers.
Today's news was earth-shattering.
Uchiha Madara had reappeared. The Demonic Statue had descended. Konoha lay in ruins. And now, Madara had manifested Susanoo itself—the fabled forbidden power of the Uchiha clan.
High above, within Susanoo, Madara looked down coldly at the village.
He had not expected to return only to find Konoha so devastated. The sight stirred memories of his last battle at the Valley of the End.
He recalled the final clash with Hashirama Senju. Both of them exhausted, reduced to trading blows with bare fists.
Hashirama's blade pierced his heart.
"I must protect our village!" Hashirama had said.
"To me, protecting the village means protecting its people—the shinobi, the children, my friends, my brothers, even my own family! Anyone who threatens the village will find me standing in their way!"
"You've changed, Hashirama…" Madara had spat back.
"You've confused the cause with the effect. One day, this 'village' will drown itself in darkness."
He had fallen, faking death by sacrificing an eye, while Hashirama himself did not live much longer afterward.
Now, however, Madara faced someone who bore Hashirama's likeness—yet was not Hashirama. Ryoma.
"Is this… reincarnation?"
Madara's Susanoo raised its massive blue blade and brought it crashing down toward Ryoma.
Even before the strike landed, its killing intent turned faces pale.
"Run!"
Hiruzen, still weakened, grabbed the nearest medic-nin and yanked them out of the strike zone.
BOOM!
The blade split the ground apart, carving a deep ravine into Konoha. Entire sections of the battlefield were obliterated.
Though Madara's target was Ryoma, Hiruzen nearly perished as collateral.
His frantic rescue attempt was misunderstood, the medic he'd pulled to safety striking him in panic.
"Naruto-sama! How could you—?!"
"I was saving you…" Hiruzen muttered, deeply aggrieved.
Meanwhile, Ryoma had used the Body Flicker Technique to dodge, scooping Kushina into his arms as he retreated over a hundred meters in a flash.
"Be careful!" Kushina gasped. Then, hesitating, she leaned in and kissed him.
"You must be careful…"
Ryoma felt his spirit ignite like a spark catching fire. He nodded firmly.
Madara smirked. "So, the boy has some skill. Let's see how far it goes. Fire Style—Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
A colossal wave of fire roared from Madara's mouth, far more powerful than anything Hiruzen had endured earlier.
The sea of flames lit the entire battlefield white.
"Wood Release—Tree World Wall!"
Ryoma slammed his palms down, and massive trees erupted from the earth. Towering trunks intertwined, forming a colossal barrier that split Konoha in half—Ryoma's allies on one side, Madara on the other.
The wall withstood the inferno, though the searing heat still washed over them, blistering even at a distance.
At that moment, a young voice rang out.
"I've got him!"
Nara Shikaku, freshly promoted to jōnin, had trapped Madara's shadow with his Shadow Imitation Technique. Under the blazing sun, their silhouettes overlapped, binding Madara's movement.
The other two of the Ino–Shika–Chō formation moved instantly.
"Mind Body Switch Technique!" Yamanaka Hiashi projected his spirit forward, attempting to seize control of Madara's body.
"Multi-Size Technique!" Akimichi Chōza expanded, his body swelling to titanic size.
"Konoha Style—Human Bullet Tank!"
Chōza curled into a massive ball of flesh and hurled himself forward, spinning with crushing force.
The Ino–Shika–Chō trio had combined their might!
Everyone held their breath, eyes wide.
"Get out of my way!" Madara roared.
Nara Shikaku advanced toward Uchiha Madara, forcing Madara to step outside his own Susanoo.
Yet Madara remained still, smiling faintly as though addressing a child.
"Meat Tank? What a nostalgic taijutsu. Did your ancestors never tell you? The Ino–Shika–Chō formation is useless against me."
At those words, the faces of the shinobi around him turned grim.
Susanoo raised its massive blade and brought it crashing down.
Boom!
Akimichi Chōza's enlarged body was smashed backward, slamming into the Tree World's wall, leaving a deep dent in its surface.
"Chōza!"
Ryoma quickly pulled him back for treatment. From Chōza's forehead down to his legs ran a terrible sword wound, bloody and deep enough to cleave him in half. He had lost consciousness on the spot.
The medical-nin paled at the sight, thinking Madara had killed him outright—until they noticed the faint rise and fall of breath.
Madara's eyes narrowed slightly. "Not bad. You've got the grit of your ancestors. Though, your forebear was nearly cut down by me as well."
At that moment, Yamanaka Hiashi coughed up blood—the Mind Transfer Jutsu had failed.
"Shadow Imitation? Don't make me laugh."
Madara extended a hand, and Shikaku was wrenched forward uncontrollably, drawn straight toward him.
"No!"
Panic erupted. Madara's overwhelming power left everyone horrified.
But before Shikaku could reach him, a yellow flash blazed across the battlefield.
The Fourth Hokage appeared, whisking Shikaku away with the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Madara's smile vanished, replaced with a flash of cold hatred. "Flying Thunder God, is it? That cursed technique... you inherited it from that Senju trash!"
He flickered forward, appearing right in front of Minato, and lashed out with a brutal kick.
Minato's eyes widened—too late. He and Shikaku were sent flying, Minato's chest caving under the impact as he spat blood.
A single strike had left the Hokage gravely wounded.
In less than ten seconds, Madara had crippled four jōnin-level opponents. His terrifying strength imprinted itself upon every heart.
Then—
Boom!
Madara was knocked back, blood at the corner of his lips.
Ryoma stood before him, fists still clenched.
Madara steadied himself in midair, eyes flashing. In the next instant, he surged forward, colliding with Ryoma at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
Fist met fist. Blow met blow. The sky rang with the sound of flesh and bone colliding, sparks bursting like firecrackers.
The shinobi below could see nothing of their movements—only shockwaves, and the deafening percussion of two titans clashing.
It was true taijutsu, on a scale that made everything before seem like child's play.
On the ground, Tsunade frantically healed Minato, who lay bloodied and gasping. Kushina and Mikoto clasped their hands tight, silently praying for Ryoma to prevail.
For over a minute, the two combatants exchanged thousands of blows before springing apart.
Madara wiped blood from his mouth, his lips curling into a grin. "Refreshing."
Ryoma touched the blood at his lip, his expression calm. "You're strong."
It was his first time fighting with everything he had—and Madara truly rivaled Hashirama Senju himself.
Madara, too, was shaken. This man… no, this warrior, felt even more formidable than when he had fought the First Hokage.
"Come again!"
Despite being slightly outmatched, Madara's spirit blazed. This was who he was—Uchiha Madara, the man who never retreated.
They vanished once more, their movements beyond comprehension.
Sarutobi Hiruzen, who could see the most clearly, trembled. This isn't Ryoma versus Madara… it's Hashirama versus Madara all over again!
Ryoma held the upper hand—seven strikes to Madara's three. An unbelievable exchange.
The sheer scale of Ryoma's power, his Wood Release, his presence—it all echoed Hashirama. Hiruzen felt the same helpless awe he had felt long ago.
With another thunderous blow, Madara was sent crashing back, coughing blood, yet smiling all the same.
"Good! You're the second man I acknowledge as my enemy, after Hashirama. You're one of my strongest opponents!"
Weaving hand seals, Madara unleashed a surge of chakra so vast it became visible, thick and heavy in the air.
"Complete Susanoo!"
The pressure was suffocating. From afar, Uzumaki Mito's eyes widened in dread. She knew immediately what Madara intended.
The colossal Susanoo towered into existence—over a hundred meters tall, armored like a war god, with wings unfurled and twin swords at its sides. Its very presence crushed the will of those who gazed upon it.
Ryoma's eyes gleamed with equal resolve.
"A complete Susanoo? Then I'll answer with Sage Art: True Several Thousand Hands!"
The earth split apart as the monumental Buddha erupted skyward, Ryoma's wooden avatar perched atop its crown.
"Fall back!" Hiruzen commanded, leading the Konoha forces away from the battlefield. They remembered all too well the devastation wrought the last time Ryoma had unleashed this technique.
Now, it was no longer men fighting—this was a battle of gods.
Hiruzen's face tightened with despair as the Thousand-Armed Buddha loomed into the sky once more. Even after seeing it twice, the sheer scale left him powerless.
A single hand is larger than a house… how do you fight something like this?
Madara's eyes widened, a rare look of astonishment flickering across his face.
"This… the True Thousand Hands…"
Among the elders of the Uchiha clan, many fell to their knees. Before them stood the image of their ancestral rival—the godlike power of Hashirama Senju reborn.
For the first time, Madara Uchiha beheld the emergence of Ryoma's True Several Thousand Hands up close. His eyes twitched uncontrollably.
The usually arrogant Madara, who always carried himself with unshakable confidence, found himself momentarily speechless.
It's too massive…
Compared to his own Perfect Susanoo, the Thousand-Armed Buddha continued to grow—towering higher, its countless hands slowly stirring as though the heavens themselves bent beneath their weight.
A foreboding chill crept into Madara's heart.
"Come!" he roared.
He couldn't afford to wait any longer. If the statue fully manifested, he would lose!
Chakra flared violently across his Perfect Susanoo, its dark-blue aura blazing like wildfire. The giant warrior drew its sword in a single fluid motion and slashed upward at the rising Buddha.
The blade's swing split the sky with a deafening crash, shaking the earth to its core.
The shockwave carved a scar across the landscape, slicing through distant peaks.
Rumble!
A mountain in the far horizon collapsed instantly into rubble.
Kushina turned pale, staring at the Buddha's colossal back.
Beside her, Uzumaki Mito spoke calmly, "Do not fear. Ryoma can withstand this. Against the True Several Thousand Hands, even Susanoo is no match."
As she said, the sword's massive gouge across the Buddha's body vanished in seconds—the wood regenerating as though the strike had never happened.
Madara's expression grew darker. He unleashed blow after blow, driving his Perfect Susanoo into a frenzy of attacks.
Ryoma only raised his voice slightly. "You've had your turn. Now it's mine."
Time itself seemed to freeze.
Faces stiffened. Even Madara's eyes widened with unease.
The sky darkened, as if the heavens recoiled. An aura, vast and crushing, spilled across the continent—rolling like waves of thunder against the shore.
The Thousand-Armed Buddha had fully risen. Compared to it, the Perfect Susanoo was like a child beside a mountain.
A thousand colossal palms eclipsed the sky, casting the battlefield into shadow.
The assault began.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fists fell like an ocean crashing against a stone. Susanoo was drowned beneath a storm of divine strikes.
The sound was apocalyptic—smoke and dust rising as if millions of tons of explosives had detonated at once.
Rumble!
The very ground of Konoha vanished, reduced to rubble.
But the shinobi had already retreated to the outskirts. Around the ruined village, towering wooden walls rose from the earth, shielding them from the worst of the destruction.
The sky glowed red from the aftershocks, painting the horizon like a burning sunset.
It lasted barely a minute.
The Perfect Susanoo collapsed in a single instant, shattering into fragments.
Madara spat blood, his body gripped tight in the wooden avatar's colossal hands.
Bang!
But the figure in its grasp burst into smoke.
A Shadow Clone.
The real Madara reappeared at a distance—his armor torn, blood dripping from his lips, but his expression steady as ever.
Behind him, two Susanoo avatars materialized, standing back-to-back.
Ryoma narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong.
Madara and the dual Susanoo moved in unison, weaving signs.
"Kushina…" Mito whispered.
Kushina's hand pressed to her chest, her breath catching. She too sensed it—something terrifying. Her gaze was drawn upward.
One by one, every shinobi lifted their eyes to the heavens.
And then—
Among the storm clouds, a vast shadow appeared.
A monstrous silhouette stirred within the darkness, so immense that its presence froze the blood in every vein.
...
TN:
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