Kakashi had just returned from the site where the latest construction project had been inspected and accepted. He was leaning against a utility pole by the side of the street, casually flipping through a small book with an orange cover.
It was rare for Kakashi to have some hard-earned free time to himself.
He turned the pages one by one, intending to see whether the latest volume had come up with any new tricks.
Suddenly, he sensed a surge of chakra.
Kakashi's brows immediately furrowed.
Something was wrong.
There was an enemy inside the village!
Almost instinctively, Kakashi looked toward the source of the chakra. To his surprise, it was coming from the mountain near the Naka River.
"Kakashi-senpai!"
Tenzo came running from the other end of the street, an unmistakable look of tension on his face.
"The Sensory Division just sent word. Three chakra signatures on the level of Kage are clashing upstream from the Naka River, outside the village. They suspect that Uchiha Madara has invaded. Lord Shisui and Lord Izuna are already engaging him."
"I already know."
Kakashi pulled his mask a little higher.
"Notify all jōnin immediately and have them enter combat readiness. You go find Minato-sensei. I'll notify the ANBU."
He paused for a moment before adding, "Have the shinobi evacuate the civilians from the Third Ring commercial district. Move everyone to the underground shelters. Do it as quickly as possible."
"Understood!"
Tenzo turned around and disappeared from the spot.
Kakashi also used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished.
For a moment, the village became filled with the occasional sight of shinobi leaping across the rooftops.
Even the ordinary civilians within the village could hear the tremendous sounds that occasionally came from outside.
At that moment, Kiyohara's expression shifted slightly.
He turned his head and looked through the living room window toward the outskirts of Konoha.
"We have guests."
Kiyohara's voice was calm when he said those words.
Kaguya also put down her bottle of soda. Her pure white eyes turned toward the same direction.
She could sense two enormous chakra signatures violently colliding there.
Tsunade's sensory abilities were inferior to those of the other two, but she could tell from Kiyohara's tone that something was unusual.
"Who?"
"Madara."
Kiyohara stood up and walked over to the window.
"To be precise, it is Madara in revived through Edo Tensei. There is another chakra signature as well. That one belongs to Shisui."
Tsunade's pupils contracted slightly.
"Madara? You mean that Uchiha Madara? He's fighting Shisui?"
"Not just Shisui."
Kiyohara closed his eyes and sensed the battlefield more carefully.
"There is also Izuna."
"Are you not going over there to take a look, Kiyohara?"
Tsunade asked.
"I'll go."
Kiyohara nodded.
There was no way Shisui and Izuna could stop Madara by themselves.
Even though Madara was currently in his Edo Tensei state, he was still capable of using the dojutsu techniques of the Rinnegan.
…
Meanwhile, at the battlefield near the Naka River...
Minato, Kushina, and Fugaku arrived at the edge of the sealing barrier at their fastest speed.
They stood on a hill and could clearly see the three enormous Susanoo fighting fiercely above the Naka River.
The blue-white and green Susanoo were clearly at a disadvantage. They were being relentlessly suppressed by the dark blue Susanoo.
"That's another Susanoo."
Fugaku's expression became extremely solemn as he unconsciously tightened his grip around the sword in his hand.
As the clan head of the Uchiha, he understood the power of Susanoo better than almost anyone else.
"No. We have to help them."
Fugaku took a step forward, his Mangekyō Sharingan already activated.
The situation had become extremely dangerous.
A Susanoo could cleave through nearby mountains with a single sword strike. If no one stopped them, the entire Konoha would suffer devastating damage.
More importantly, this was the territory of the Uchiha clan!
As the head of the Uchiha clan, Fugaku absolutely would not allow anything to happen to his people.
Therefore, he had no intention of hiding his Mangekyō any longer.
"I'll take you inside."
Minato placed one hand on Fugaku's shoulder.
With his other hand, he formed a seal, preparing to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to pass through the sealing barrier.
"Wait, Minato."
Kushina stopped him.
Golden chakra surged from her abdomen, spreading across her body and forming a translucent layer of tailed-beast chakra.
"Let's use the Four Red Yang Formation to completely seal off this area first. We cannot allow their battle to affect Konoha. Even if the sealing barrier can block the shockwaves, the impact created by a battle between three Susanoo of this level is simply too great."
Minato glanced toward the battlefield and quickly made his decision.
"You're right. Kakashi should be here soon. With the three of us, that makes four people exactly."
As soon as he finished speaking, a silver-white flash of light appeared, and Kakashi materialized beside Minato.
His forehead protector had already been pushed up, revealing the transplanted Sharingan beneath it.
"Minato-sensei, I've already sent someone to notify Lady Tsunade. The Hokage should know about the situation by now as well. What should we do?"
"The Four Red Yang Formation."
Minato removed his hand from Fugaku's shoulder and began forming hand seals with both hands.
"Kakashi, Kushina, Fugaku, the three of you will join me. With the area where the Susanoo are fighting as the center, we will deploy the Four Red Yang Formation."
"This is a high-level barrier ninjutsu that requires four shinobi with Kage-level strength to activate together. Kakashi, I believe you have already reached that level."
Kakashi was slightly stunned.
Then a smile appeared on his face.
"Understood."
The four of them spread out to the four directions surrounding the battlefield and began forming hand seals simultaneously.
The moment they completed their seals, all four shouted together.
"Four Red Yang Formation!"
Four crimson pillars of light shot into the sky from the positions where the four shinobi stood.
The four pillars converged high above the battlefield, forming an enormous dome-shaped barrier.
Then, four brilliant red walls of light stretched outward between the pillars, completely enclosing the entire battlefield as well as several kilometers of territory upstream along the Naka River.
Red light flowed continuously across the surface of the barrier.
This was a powerful advanced barrier ninjutsu jointly activated by four Kage-level shinobi. Its defensive strength was even enough to temporarily withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb from the Ten-Tails.
The three Susanoo were now completely enclosed within the barrier.
Madara raised his head and glanced at the crimson barrier wall.
A hint of disdain curled at the corner of his mouth.
"The Four Red Yang Formation? Hmph. The struggles of a bunch of insects."
Although he said that, Madara made no attempt to stop them.
His Wood Clone had only been a move made to test Kiyohara.
Being sealed inside the barrier was not necessarily a bad thing. At least he would not have to worry about the aftermath of the battle causing excessive civilian casualties in Konoha.
Although Madara was ruthless, he had not fallen to the point of indiscriminately slaughtering innocent people.
Besides, his objectives had always been only two things.
Take Izuna away.
And test Kiyohara's strength.
Madara's Wood Clone took a deep breath.
The chakra of the dark blue Susanoo surged once again.
This time, he was no longer holding back.
BOOM!
The instant his power erupted, the armor covering the dark blue Susanoo became even thicker.
The two chakra wings on its back spread wide.
The entire Susanoo grew another size larger.
Madara brought his hands together.
The two chakra swords held by the Susanoo merged into one enormous blade.
"Izuna, Shisui, get back!"
Fugaku shouted.
He leaped directly from the hill.
While still in midair, he activated his own Susanoo.
It was a dark purple Susanoo.
Its size was slightly smaller than Shisui's green Susanoo, but the patterns covering its armor were far more intricate. In its hand was an enormous chakra shield.
Fugaku positioned himself in front of Izuna and Shisui and raised the shield to meet Madara's great sword.
Boom!!
The moment the great sword collided with the shield, the entire valley surrounding the Naka River trembled violently.
The ground beneath the dark purple Susanoo cracked inch by inch. The fractures spread all the way to the walls of the Four Red Yang Formation, causing the crimson barrier to ripple violently from the impact.
Fugaku gritted his teeth as the muscles in both of his arms bulged to their limits.
After only a single exchange, he had already experienced firsthand just how terrifying Madara's strength was.
Although this man possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan just like him, the quality and quantity of their chakra were on completely different levels.
"Finally, you've come out."
Madara looked at the dark purple Susanoo before him, his tone carrying a hint of amusement.
"Let me see just how much ability the current head of the Uchiha clan possesses."
He withdrew his great sword.
Then he swung it down again.
This time, the attack was more than twice as fast as the previous one.
A crack appeared across the shield of the dark purple Susanoo.
Fugaku, together with his Susanoo, was sent flying backward dozens of meters.
"Fugaku-sama!"
Shisui burst out from the riverbed.
Although his green Susanoo was already on the verge of collapsing, he still charged forward and attacked Madara from the side.
The spiral spear thrust toward the ribs of the dark blue Susanoo.
Madara casually swung his great sword and knocked the spear aside.
Then, with a powerful knee strike, he sent the green Susanoo flying backward.
The blue-white Susanoo immediately rushed forward.
Izuna's chakra blade slashed toward Madara's Susanoo.
Madara tilted his head and avoided the attack.
The Susanoo's hand then shot forward and grabbed the blade of the blue-white Susanoo.
With a forceful squeeze, he crushed the chakra blade.
Fragments of chakra scattered through the air, resembling a rain of blue and white light.
"None of you are my opponents."
Madara stood calmly in the midst of the three Susanoo.
Izuna struggled free from the shattered mountainside.
Most of the shoulder armor of his blue-white Susanoo had already been destroyed, exposing the skeletal chakra structure underneath.
He dropped to one knee on the riverbank.
Cracks spread across his Edo Tensei body, running from his neck all the way toward the corner of his eye. Fine dust continuously fell from the fractures.
The next moment, however, those particles were pulled back by the invisible force of Edo Tensei. They gathered together and once again filled the damaged areas, restoring his skin to its original condition.
Izuna raised his head and looked toward the enormous dark blue figure standing opposite him.
Madara stood within the diamond-shaped crystal on the forehead of his Susanoo.
His arms were folded across his chest, while his long black hair fluttered wildly behind him in the currents of chakra.
"Izuna."
Madara finally spoke.
"You've already tried. You can't stop me."
Izuna gritted his teeth, placing one hand against his knee as he slowly forced himself back to his feet.
The Mangekyō Sharingan in his eyes continued to spin. Blue-white chakra once again surged from within his body, attempting to repair the shattered armor of his Susanoo.
"Even if I can't stop you, I still have to try."
Izuna spoke through clenched teeth.
"I don't care if you kill me here. I've already died once anyway. But, Brother, I cannot let you continue down the wrong path."
Madara's brows furrowed slightly.
"I am not wrong."
Madara shook his head.
"The very nature of this world is hell. The endless slaughter between shinobi, the betrayals between clans, the wars between countries. From the time we were children until now, nothing has truly changed."
"The Eye of the Moon Plan is the only way out. Why can't you understand that?"
"Because that isn't a way out!"
Izuna suddenly raised his head.
The Mangekyō pattern in his eyes spun faster due to the intense emotions surging through him.
"That is nothing more than running away! You intend to trap everyone inside a false dream using genjutsu. How is that any different from killing them?"
Madara fell silent for a moment.
"Even false peace is better than war."
When Izuna heard those words, he already knew that Madara had fallen too deeply into his own obsession.
"Enough."
Madara's voice became cold once again.
"Since you refuse to come with me, I will seal you away first. Once the Eye of the Moon Plan is complete, you will understand."
Another sword strike came crashing down.
Shisui rushed forward.
The green Susanoo crossed both arms in front of its body, attempting to use the armor that remained to block the attack.
Rumble!
The ground beneath Shisui's feet cracked apart in a spiderweb pattern.
His legs were forced downward under the tremendous pressure, and the knees of his Susanoo nearly sank into the earth.
"Hold on!"
Fugaku's dark purple Susanoo raised its shield and joined Shisui in blocking Madara's sword.
Madara gave a cold snort.
The dark blue Susanoo raised its other hand, and a second blue magatama began forming within its palm.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared beside Izuna.
"I heard you were looking for me, Madara."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
Shisui had a Flying Thunder God seal that Kiyohara had left on him, allowing Kiyohara to teleport directly to the battlefield.
"Finally, I get to meet you."
Madara spoke, and there was an unmistakable excitement hidden beneath his voice.
As a powerful warrior, Madara had always enjoyed fighting against other powerful opponents.
Only battles against people of comparable strength could truly make his blood boil.
Although he had no blood flowing through his body at the moment and was technically nothing more than a reanimated corpse, Kiyohara's appearance still managed to stir up Madara's excitement.
"Fourth Hokage. No, I suppose I should call you Emperor now."
"So you came to meet me using nothing more than a Wood Clone?"
Kiyohara's gaze swept over Madara from head to toe.
"Are you looking down on me that much?"
Madara's expression froze slightly.
He had not expected Kiyohara to see through his Wood Clone with a single glance.
Back then, during his battle against Hashirama at the Valley of the End, neither of them had been able to see through Hashirama's Wood Clone.
Now, Madara was using exactly the same technique as Hashirama.
Yet Kiyohara had identified it with such ease.
"You really are not ordinary."
Madara's smile disappeared.
"Very well. One of my purposes in coming here today was to see just how strong you are."
The moment his words fell, the dark blue Susanoo moved.
The enormous chakra sword came crashing down from high above, carrying enough force to split the entire valley in two.
Before the blade itself even arrived, the sword pressure had already cleaved the waters of the Naka River down the middle, exposing the wet pebbles and layers of mud beneath the riverbed.
The river water surged violently toward both sides, forming two enormous walls of water more than ten meters high.
Kiyohara stood where he was without dodging.
He raised his right hand.
Fire Release chakra surged through the network of his body's chakra pathways before gathering within his palm.
That mass of chakra transformed into a flaming sword more than ten meters long.
Kiyohara grasped the flaming blade and swung it upward in a reverse slash.
Boom!!
The instant the two swords collided, a massive shockwave erupted from the point of impact.
It spread outward in every direction before slamming into the walls of the Four Red Yang Formation, causing visible ripples to spread across all four crimson barrier walls.
After Fugaku had left to assist the others, only Kushina, Minato, Kakashi, and one of Kushina's Shadow Clones remained responsible for maintaining the barrier.
All four of them felt their bodies shake violently from the impact.
The enormous chakra sword was knocked out of Madara's hand.
It spun through the air for dozens of meters before crashing heavily into the mountain wall on the opposite side.
Half of the mountain wall exploded into countless fragments of stone.
Madara's eyes widened.
He lowered his head and looked at the empty right hand of his Susanoo.
Then he raised his gaze toward the flaming sword in Kiyohara's hand.
Kiyohara casually swung the flaming sword to the side.
The flames covering the blade immediately broke apart into sparks and disappeared into the air.
"Use your true strength."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
Madara's eyes began to change.
The magatama pattern of his Mangekyō Sharingan rotated rapidly before gradually merging and transforming.
The pattern eventually became a series of purple concentric circles.
The Rinnegan!
A Wood Clone could use all of the abilities possessed by the original body.
Although this was a Rinnegan being used while Madara was in an Edo Tensei state, its ocular power had already far surpassed that of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
The instant Izuna saw those eyes, his entire body trembled.
"Those eyes..."
"The eyes of the legendary Sage of Six Paths. How is that possible?"
"Nothing is impossible."
Madara raised his right hand.
The ocular power of the Rinnegan gathered within his palm.
"Yasaka Magatama!"
Dozens of blue magatama shot out from Madara's palm.
The immense power contained within each of them was enough to flatten an entire mountain.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The moment the magatama exploded simultaneously, the entire valley of the Naka River was swallowed by dazzling blue light.
Shockwaves spread outward one after another.
Dense cracks appeared across the walls of the Four Red Yang Formation.
The four people maintaining the barrier were forced to increase their chakra output simultaneously, barely managing to stabilize the formation.
"Hokage-sama!"
Shisui shouted, his voice filled with concern.
"Trust him."
Fugaku placed a hand on Shisui's shoulder.
The smoke slowly cleared.
Kiyohara stood in a shallow crater at the center of the explosion.
Several pieces of fabric had been blown away from his Hokage robes, but aside from that, he was completely unharmed.
There was not even the slightest scratch on his skin.
Madara's Rinnegan narrowed slightly.
"Is that Steel Release?"
He slowly spoke.
"No. Even Steel Release shouldn't be capable of completely withstanding the direct impact of Yasaka Magatama. You have another defensive ability."
Kiyohara did not answer.
He merely smiled.
He did indeed possess the Steel Release Kekkei Genkai.
However, he had not used it just now.
The only thing he had relied upon was the physical defensive power of his body at its current level.
Even if he had actually suffered an injury, the self-healing mechanism within his body would have restored him faster than even an instant healing technique without the need for hand seals.
"I would call you the strongest defense."
Madara spoke.
"Among everyone I have ever encountered, no one is more deserving of that title than you."
Green chakra began appearing around Kiyohara's body.
Madara suddenly had a strange premonition.
This green chakra seemed to exist on the same level as the Rinnegan.
It might even be something superior.
"What is that?"
Izuna muttered.
His Mangekyō Sharingan attempted to see through the nature of the green chakra.
However, the moment his gaze touched its outer edge, an invisible force immediately repelled his perception.
"I don't know."
Shisui answered.
"But I know that Kiyohara-sama will not lose."
Izuna turned his head and glanced at Shisui.
There was absolute and unquestioning trust on Shisui's face.
Izuna remained silent for a moment.
Then he gave a slight nod.
"All right."
He spoke quietly.
"I choose to believe in this young man."
At the same time, at the edge of the battlefield, the four people maintaining the Four Red Yang Formation were engaged in a tense exchange.
Kakashi's forehead protector had been pushed completely above his forehead.
Both his transplanted Sharingan and his left eye were wide open, staring intently at the green chakra surrounding the center of the battlefield.
The chakra inside his body was being consumed at an astonishing rate, yet he did not even have time to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
Meanwhile, Fugaku's dark purple Susanoo could no longer be maintained.
The chakra consumption had simply become too great.
Piece by piece, the armor of the Susanoo peeled away.
In the end, only the skeletal frame remained.
Then even the skeleton transformed into countless points of light and disappeared into the air.
Fugaku dropped to one knee on the riverbank, breathing heavily.
"Is this your trump card?"
Madara asked.
"Interesting. This is very interesting."
The next moment, an invisible repulsive force spread outward from his body.
This was the Rinnegan's Shinra Tensei!
Although the Rinnegan simulated by the Wood Clone could not unleash the full power of a genuine Shinra Tensei, the repulsive force was still powerful enough to push away everything in the surrounding area.
However, something unexpected happened.
Kiyohara released a repulsive force of his own.
Rumble!
The two opposing forces collided.
Madara's expression changed slightly.
He discovered that his Shinra Tensei was actually unable to overpower Kiyohara's repulsive force.
Meanwhile, outside the barrier, Tsunade had also arrived.
Unlike Kaguya, who could observe the battlefield from a distance using her Byakugan, Tsunade had no choice but to come here personally.
She stood atop a hill with more than a dozen jōnin from Konoha's security forces behind her.
Her gaze passed through the barrier wall and fell upon the valley that had already been transformed beyond recognition.
The course of the Naka River had been completely altered.
The mountain walls had shattered into countless enormous chunks of rock.
And in the center of the battlefield, Kiyohara was fighting against the gigantic Susanoo.
...
At that very moment, three figures suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the vastness of space.
They were floating in the void not far from Earth's atmosphere.
Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki stood at the very front.
His skin was pale as paper, while his long hair floated slowly in the weightless environment.
Two curved horns grew from the top of his head.
He wore a white Ōtsutsuki robe embroidered with the magatama patterns characteristic of the Ōtsutsuki clan.
His eyes were pure white Byakugan, completely devoid of any impurity.
At this moment, those eyes were coldly scanning the blue planet below.
Standing behind Momoshiki was Ōtsutsuki Kinshiki.
Kinshiki's body was nearly twice the size of Momoshiki's.
His arms were extraordinarily thick and muscular, and with a single hand he could easily crush a person's skull.
However, his expression was dull and emotionless, making him look like a servant who existed solely to follow orders.
Beside the two of them, Ōtsutsuki Urashiki floated lazily in midair.
His Byakugan was half closed, and a carefree smile hung at the corner of his mouth.
"Urashiki."
Momoshiki's voice was calm and cold.
"You sensed the fluctuations in space-time without authorization and entered this parallel world without permission. You have already delayed the clan's mission."
Urashiki spread his hands and responded with a playful grin.
"Don't be so serious, Momoshiki-senpai. This timeline doesn't have Naruto or Sasuke. To us, it is practically an untouched land waiting to be harvested."
He flipped one hand.
A red fishing rod suddenly appeared in his palm, with a small red hook hanging from its end.
"We can investigate the reason behind the formation of this space-time divergence while also easily plundering a complete Chakra Fruit. With such a wonderful opportunity right in front of us, wouldn't it be a waste to let it slip away?"
Momoshiki gave him a cold glance.
"That traitor Kaguya has yet to receive her punishment. She stole the Chakra Fruit for herself and used the entire planet as her own training ground. That is a betrayal of the clan."
"We must find Kaguya, recover her chakra, and cultivate the fruit again."
Urashiki casually spun his fishing rod once before resting it across his shoulder.
He tilted his head and looked at Momoshiki.
"Come on, Momoshiki-senpai, you're always so cold. Don't you really want to taste a complete Chakra Fruit for yourself? The quality of this planet is different from the others, you know."
Momoshiki remained silent for a moment.
The higher the quality of a planet, the better the Chakra Fruit it produced would naturally be.
However, the best fruits normally had to be offered to the higher-ranking members of the clan.
Although Momoshiki's status was more prestigious than Kaguya's, he could not simply eat a Chakra Fruit of this quality whenever he pleased.
Moreover, he had never tasted a Chakra Fruit of this level before.
(End of Chapter)