"Meruem? Chimera Ants? Never heard of them." When Meruem arrived in the Naruto world, Uchiha Madara had long since died, and it had been only a day since Madara's body returned. Not knowing of Meruem and the Chimera Ants was perfectly normal.
"Whoever you are, only I am this world's savior! I don't know how you two avoided Infinite Tsukuyomi, but I'll give you a choice: submit, or be destroyed." Six Paths staff in hand, Uchiha Madara stared expressionlessly at Meruem and Musashi.
Having gained the Six Paths and become the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki, Madara was, in theory, nearly invincible in the Naruto world—second only to Kaguya. Even Asura and Indra together might not beat him one-on-one.
Moreover, upon gaining the Six Paths and Ten-Tails' power, he had intuitively grasped many top-tier techniques. Under such power, they might scarcely be called ninjutsu; even ordinary sage arts were not necessarily stronger.
"I don't know where that confidence comes from. Submit? Be destroyed? By you alone, Uchiha Madara? I'm afraid you don't have that ability." Before Meruem could speak, Musashi did so. The two were one, so it was no different than Meruem saying it himself.
Meruem, however, was an exception. Even without Hamura's power, Six Paths Madara might not have been able to harm him—let alone now.
"Courting death! Since you choose it, feel my invincible power before you die! Perish in endless terror!"
"Sage Art: Yin Release: Thunder Array!" Countless vast black bolts—one of the Six Paths sage arts Uchiha Madara gained—crashed down.
"Not bad at all. Heh, I'm in human form right now. If you want to play ninjutsu, I'll play with you. Sage Art: Yin Release: Thunder Array!" Identical black lightning appeared in the same pattern and tangled with Madara's bolts, neutralizing each other.
"What! How can you possibly know that?" He'd only comprehended that technique upon gaining the Six Paths as the Ten-Tails' jinchuriki.
Though not an ultimate killer, it wasn't something just anyone could wield—much less cast.
Without the Six Paths, even Sage Mode might not suffice to use it.
"Simple. I just watched you do it," Meruem smiled—and indeed, he had learned it after watching Six Paths Madara perform it once.
"Nonsense! Then try learning this! Sage Art: Storm Release: Light Fang!" Madara spat a laser from his mouth at Meruem.
He clearly didn't believe Meruem could learn a technique the instant he used it; he figured it had been a fluke.
"As you wish! Sage Art: Storm Release: Light Fang!" Another identical laser flashed from Meruem's mouth. They collided again—but this time Meruem's beam punched through Madara's and streaked toward him.
"Susanoo!" The purple tengu giant appeared again and intercepted the strike.
"I refuse to believe you can learn my signature as well! Tengai Shinsei!" Madara and his tengu Susanoo formed seals in near unison. Two sky-shrouding meteorites materialized over Meruem.
"Annoying pest—disappear! Tengai Shinsei: Pierce!" A swarm of meteorites of every size appeared over Meruem, seemingly sealing every path.
"They're only rocks. Is this your 'power'?" Unhurried, Meruem met the onrushing meteor storm head-on.
Idiot. No matter how strong you are, you can't survive that. Six Paths Madara dispelled Susanoo and watched Meruem's apparent suicide with a sneer.
But a moment later he realized he was wrong. His foe's strength was beyond his imagination—Meruem emerged from the meteor storm alive.
And unscathed.
"What are you spacing out for, Madara!" In a heartbeat of distraction, Meruem's voice sounded from behind Six Paths Madara.
"When did you—?!" The figure in the distance had only been an afterimage.
"Brother Madara, whose fist is harder—mine, or Hashirama's?" When Madara turned, a fist drew ever closer.
"Almighty Push!" By reflex, Six Paths Madara unleashed the Rinnegan's trademark technique.
But the repulsive force failed against Meruem; his fist smashed into Madara's cheek,
and blasted him like a cannonball through several small peaks before burying him in a towering mountain.
So heavy was Meruem's punch.
"Aaaaaah! I'll kill you!!!" A short time later, battered Madara burst from the mountain. Meruem hadn't dealt irreversible damage,
but to Six Paths Madara it was a grave insult. He could not abide anyone so easily overpowering him. In Hashirama's day, and in the Fourth War, he had always ranked among the very strongest.
And now, after gaining the Six Paths, he'd been wounded easily by some upstart? Unforgivable. Unforgivable!
"All-Attracting Black Pull!" A pull far stronger than Universal Pull! Even Meruem's body was dragged toward Six Paths Madara.
"Limbo: Border Jail." Madara quickly produced several shadows—unseeable without a Rinnegan or similar power.
"Six Paths staff!" A black rod formed in Madara's hand—this time not a staff, but a sword!
It seemed Six Paths Madara intended to finish Meruem in one strike.
"Almighty Push!" Just as Madara's gambit was about to land, a powerful repulsion burst from Meruem himself.
"You—" Six Paths Madara stared, dumbfounded. That had just been a Rinnegan-only technique—the Almighty Push?!
"You're strong, no doubt. I'll get a bit serious." Meruem rolled his shoulders in plain sight.
What followed was a display of overwhelming taijutsu right before Six Paths Madara's eyes.
No matter what Madara used—in truth, in the face of today's Meruem he had almost no way to fight back.
"Asura Path!" Pushed to desperation, Madara abandoned appearances. He had only one goal: kill the enemy. Any means that worked, he would use without hesitation.
Limbo: Border Jail plus the Asura Path's four extra arms specialized in taijutsu barely held Meruem off.
But it didn't change the situation. Six Paths Madara remained on the back foot.
"Try some Konoha-style taijutsu!"
"Leaf Great Whirlwind!" Madara blocked the down-kick, but Meruem's raw power still sent his body flying.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!" With shocking speed and power, Meruem flashed to where Madara's arc would pass and lashed a reverse roundhouse, booting him away like a ball.
"Leaf Rock Ascent!" It was meant to be an elbow strike, but Meruem had adapted it to his knee.
"Morning Peacock." "Daytime Tiger." "Evening Elephant"!!! The mighty taijutsu that normally required the Eight Gates—Meruem executed in a normal state.
The sheer destructive power was laid bare. Short of the final Night Guy, Meruem had wrung Konoha-style taijutsu dry—better, perhaps, than its founder.
"Hey—dead yet?" Meruem asked, gazing at the barely-breathing Six Paths Madara. He hadn't gone for the kill, though he'd used seventy to eighty percent of his strength.
But Six Paths Madara's body wasn't that fragile. In pure might, Kaguya may not have surpassed him by much; the gap lay in secret arts—there Madara couldn't compare.
Though Madara looked half-dead, Meruem knew his body was slowly recovering.
"Black Zetsu. Come out—hurry. He'll be back on his feet soon." Ignoring Madara as he clawed for strength, Meruem spoke a name that made him blanch.
Black Zetsu.
Isn't that my will?
Pfft. Six Paths Madara stared in disbelief at the arm thrust through his own chest—Black Zetsu's arm!
"Thank you, Lord Ant King. Mother will know all you have done. She will surely thank you for your aid." After finishing, Black Zetsu first thanked Meruem. Meruem's power had far exceeded his expectations. He had thought Meruem's help to revive his mother was a bid to fish for advantage—but now it seemed far from simple.
No matter—as long as Mother was revived.
Then, as Madara's body began to change, Black Zetsu laid bare the truth. Madara, who had fancied himself the puppeteer, finally understood.
The man who thought he'd been moving the pieces was only someone else's piece.
He had done the same to Obito moments before—a bitter irony indeed.
(End of Chapter)
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