"Keh keh… So this is the Allied Shinobi Forces' main camp? I slipped in this easily? So much for your 'alliance.'" From an unknown lake near the Alliance's heartland, a blue-skinned man with a shark's face—almost a shark from head to toe—hauled himself ashore.
The S-rank rogue of Kirigakure, Kisame Hoshigaki. On Obito's orders, he'd come to capture the last jinchuriki—Naruto Uzumaki.
Who knew what got into Obito, but one thing was certain: Naruto's strength now was absolutely beyond what Kisame could handle.
Especially alone—taking Naruto alive was out of the question.
Yet by sheer coincidence, at this very moment Naruto was dealing with his parentage.
Infiltrating the Alliance heartland was dangerous for Kisame, but with Naruto's current state, there was still a sliver of a chance.
"Naruto Uzumaki, huh… Let me show you what I can do." Kisame hefted the massive blade Samehada and eyed the barrier not far away.
Just past that last barrier, he'd find the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki—Naruto Uzumaki.
"These damned white freaks can transform into our comrades!" The White Zetsu spore clones weren't strong individually, but they had numbers—and a universally exquisite Transformation Technique.
Anyone they met—down to their chakra and abilities—they could replicate flawlessly.
Even sensory ninja struggled to tell them apart, let alone ordinary shinobi.
Obito's White Zetsu were a nightmare for the Alliance's counterintelligence.
On the other front, if Obito's hundred thousand White Zetsu gave rank-and-file shinobi headaches, then Kabuto's Edo Tensei army of top Kage-class monsters made life hell for the Alliance's elites.
The Alliance's Kage-class each met their villages' former or former-former Kage.
Dead though they were, and unable to fight at their absolute best, they had two advantages: endless chakra and stamina.
And there were eight of them in total—that was eight Kage.
Beyond that stood two monsters who ran rampant through the Alliance ranks.
Hatake Sakumo and Nagato Uzumaki. The White Fang's kenjutsu and Nagato's Six Paths techniques turned ordinary shinobi into cannon fodder.
Worse, as the battle wore on, Nagato absorbed more chakra and even his body recovered considerably.
Without canon's Itachi, Naruto, and the Eight-Tails jinchuriki Killer B to counter him, anyone else would have to pay in lives to kill or seal Nagato.
Just as the Alliance was being routed by these monsters, a peerless war-god strode onto the field.
Uchiha Musashi finally cut loose!
With overwhelming, decisive force, he intervened and bent the battle's flow.
He matched the White Fang blade for blade, and traded ocular might with Nagato's Rinnegan.
He wrung every drop out of the Mangekyō Sharingan, using its absorption ability to neutralize the Preta Path.
Musashi's ferocity lit a spark of hope in countless hearts across the Alliance.
By the time the other Kage had sealed their predecessors, Musashi had nearly single-handedly dealt with the rest of the Edo Tensei Kage-class.
You could say Musashi now had the right to be called the Alliance's soul. Compared to him, the Fourth Raikage A looked lackluster.
Shinobi worship strength—inevitably so. And this godlike, invincible Musashi was one of their own; the result was obvious.
Musashi's prestige in the Alliance grew quietly yet sharply.
Unlike those former Kage—who were holding back—Musashi's opponents were going for the kill.
Not long after, two more superlative fighters joined the five Kage.
Uchiha Sasuke, with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and Naruto Uzumaki in Kurama Mode.
With Naruto's malice-sensing, those White Zetsu disguised as shinobi were like beacons in the night.
They stood out so clearly that, once the disguises were stripped away, White Zetsu were nothing but fodder before the Alliance.
After the Edo Tensei on the field were handled, Kabuto's pieces were nearly spent, and the hundred thousand White Zetsu were down to scraps.
The once-bleak battle had completely turned around; victory was now only a matter of time.
Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction… until Kabuto summoned the last coffin at his command.
Uchiha Madara.
"Just what is Obito thinking? Instead of using Rinne Rebirth, he had me summoned by Edo Tensei. So much for the plan… Not that it matters. I've returned to this world—that's enough." Stepping from the coffin, Uchiha Madara stood alone before the Alliance.
"So, you're the new 'army'? How underwhelming." He swept a cold gaze across them.
In truth, no shinobi present merited a second glance from him.
"That man… that man…" The Third Tsuchikage, who'd once glimpsed Madara, went weak at the sight.
It was fear from the marrow out.
Before Uchiha Madara, the Allied Shinobi Forces were clay chickens and pottery dogs. In a handful of exchanges, they broke.
Madara didn't even use the Sharingan. With a few simple Fire Releases, he drained most of the Alliance's Water Release users dry.
Madara's Majestic Destroyer Flame wasn't something normal people could resist. Even Naruto, Sasuke, and Musashi had to admit it.
It was absurdly strong. Fire Release beyond reason, monstrous taijutsu, and those eyes already evolved into the Rinnegan.
"What a terrifying opponent… But only power like this can make me feel alive." Uchiha Musashi, who'd been watching Madara intently, suddenly smiled.
"Leave this to me." Faced with a godlike Uchiha Madara who drove men to despair, Musashi alone stepped forward.
"I want to see how strong the man my forebears stood beside really is."
"Oh? Those eyes… You're Uchiha as well? What's that idiot been doing, leaving others around at this point?" Madara was surprised anyone dared step up—more so when he saw the man was Uchiha.
Those eyes—Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Fine. You barely count as passable." After studying Musashi, Madara rendered his verdict.
"But with those eyes as they are, you are no match for me."
"You won't know until you try."
"These juniors grow more arrogant by the day."
Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Musashi finally clashed.
Madara had forged his taijutsu in the Warring States era—supreme by every measure.
But Musashi's sword did not yield either—the very blade that had felled the White Fang.
In raw strength, Madara's Edo Tensei body, while immortal, wasn't a living body; Musashi's, painstakingly refined by Meruem, gave him a slight edge.
Against another foe, Musashi could have widened that edge and won. Against Madara, that sliver never grew.
He clearly held a tiny advantage in power and physique—yet he was suppressed.
"So strong… As expected of Uchiha Madara—the man equal to the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju." Musashi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Do not speak that name before me! Wood Release: Advent of the Divine Tree!" At Hashirama's name, Madara snapped, erupting without warning.
"Hmph. You think you're the only one with trump cards? Secret Art: Flames of Amaterasu!" Ebon fire gushed from Musashi's eyes. He'd used it before,
but the range and pitch-black hue were far greater now. The black flames raged across the forest Madara had raised.
Countless massive roots charred to cinders. Even the Divine Tree's advent could not withstand flames that burned all.
In pure Amaterasu, Musashi had surpassed its creator, Itachi.
"An impressive junior. Well? Interested in my plan? I assume you've been told about it." After several bouts, Madara actually offered Musashi an olive branch.
In other words, Musashi had earned his initial respect.
"That hypocritical, laughable Eye of the Moon Plan? To me, it's self-deception." Not to mention: Infinite Tsukuyomi was only a path to Kaguya's God Tree fruit. Musashi didn't say the last part, but he thought it.
"Hmph. You don't know what's good for you. Then I'll just kill you."
(End of Chapter)
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