Chapter 349: Perfect Form
Boom!
Tailed Beast Bombs collided.
Rumble!
The entire landscape shifted; the dense forest was ground into a desert. Naruto and Killer Bee were locked in a fierce battle with Obito. The Gedo Mazo had been summoned by Obito's summoning jutsu. Faced with the Gedo Mazo, six reanimated Jinchuriki, and Obito himself, Naruto and Bee were stretched to their absolute limits.
"It's over." Obito reached out toward Naruto.
"Leaf Strong Whirlwind!"
At the critical moment, Might Guy appeared just in time. Obito was forced to abandon his opening and phase through Guy's attack.
"Raikiri!"
Clang! Clang!
Bang!
Rumble!
Inside the dark cavern, Itachi Uchiha once again severed Kabuto's dragon horn.
"How is this possible?" Kabuto touched his head, then looked at the horn lying on the ground. It should have been cut off long ago.
"Sasuke, stay by my side. I told you, those who cannot face their true selves will wander forever in a world of their own delusions..." Itachi said to Kabuto.
"Impossible! I will not fail! I have surpassed Lord Orochimaru; I have evolved into a dragon!"
"Sage Art: Inorganic Reincarnation!"
Kabuto roared in disbelief, unleashing the signature Sage Art of Ryuchi Cave. The inanimate objects in the space took on a life of their own, surging toward the brothers.
Swish! Swish!
Bang!
Clang!
Dodge, strike—Itachi and Kabuto clashed again. Once more, a horn was sliced off by Itachi. Kabuto touched the missing horn, the look of disbelief on his face deepening. He refused to accept this reality.
The Desert Battlefield.
"Particle Style!"
The other Kage bolstered Ohnoki with their chakra, allowing him to strike at Madara's Susanoo clones.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
With a single sweep of the light, the clones vanished. Throughout the fight, the constant music continued to suppress and lower the potency of Madara's techniques.
"Thanks to Tonbo's Genjutsu, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to break through his defense," Ohnoki muttered, looking at Uchiha Madara, who now had a hole blasted through his chest. Ultimately, Madara had managed to evade the full brunt of the Particle Style.
"Troublesome fellow... Wood Style: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
Madara slammed his palms onto the ground. Through the extended combat, he had finally adapted to Tonbo's Genjutsu that disrupted the balance of mental and physical energy. He was now able to adjust both energies at will to maintain a stable chakra extraction, refusing to be dominated by the illusion.
Massive flowers rose from the earth. As they bloomed, clouds of yellow pollen were sprayed across the battlefield, spreading with frightening speed.
"Careful, everyone! It's toxic!"
"Don't worry, look at me. Phantasm-Taijutsu: Toxin Resistance."
Tonbo's voice rang out. The melody of the genjutsu shifted; instead of suppressing Madara, it moved to buff his own allies. Using Genjutsu to hyper-activate the ninjas' immune systems, the body was tricked into rapidly secreting antibodies to counteract the toxin.
"Genjutsu: Decadent Sound."
After planting the seeds in his allies, Tonbo's music shifted again—this time into a luxurious, decadent melody.
"What is this music? I feel like I'm having a second youth!" Motoi exclaimed. As the Decadent Sound echoed, he felt his body reacting; he felt... aroused.
It wasn't just him. Every member of the Alliance, male or female, young or old, felt a sudden, primal surge of desire. The Alliance members were already struggling, but as the primary target of the attack, Uchiha Madara felt it tenfold.
"Even a reanimated body can experience this? I acknowledge you... as the strongest Genjutsu user outside of the Uchiha."
Madara felt a surge of masculine impulse—a violent one. Even the Edo Tensei vessel couldn't fully suppress the sensation. Looking at Tsunade, Mei Terumi, or the women of the Alliance, his mind was flooded with intrusive carnal illusions. His entire body felt out of control.
However, a man of a hundred battles knew he could not succumb. If he did, his legendary reputation would be ruined. Even if he intended to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi on the world, he couldn't live with himself if he lost here.
Suddenly, a skeletal Susanoo frame began to assemble around him. It grew more complete by the second. Finally, a Perfect Susanoo towered over the battlefield. Its massive form surpassed mountains and seemed to pierce the clouds. Compared to it, the Shinobi Alliance looked like mere ants.
"I wanted to experiment with other jutsu, but time is up. Let me see the true extent of your caliber." Madara spoke from within the Susanoo.
"This is..."
Tsunade and the other Kage felt a wave of despair.
"It's over... this chakra..."
"Is this the power that rivaled my grandfather?"
"This is the legend, Uchiha Madara..."
"Dammit, this is a real headache!"
Gaara remained resolute: "Everyone, do your best. Stalling for time is all we can do. We must find a way to counter him." The Kage realized that until now, Madara had simply been playing with them.
Tonbo Tobitake heard Madara's mutterings and twitched his mouth. You really love to pose, don't you? 'Strongest outside the Uchiha' my foot.
However, the Susanoo before him was undeniably powerful. The old internet fan theories about a Susanoo-clad Wood Golem destroying the four nations seemed entirely plausible now. In his perception, the Perfect Susanoo was a structure of absolute defense. Even sound-based Genjutsu couldn't penetrate to reach Madara inside that armor. This required raw power.
"I guess if I don't use 'Forced Execution', I'll have to use Sage Art to fight him." To go toe-to-toe with Madara, Tonbo had to stop holding back.
"Hokage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage, Raikage, Mizukage—I have a way to block him. Watch me."
Tonbo called out to the Five Kage. They were stunned. Against this, there was still a way? Even the Alliance ninjas providing chakra behind him found it hard to believe.
Whoosh!
Regardless, Tonbo was a leader of the Alliance and a proven powerhouse. The Five Kage gathered around him.
"What do we do?" Tsunade asked.
"Don't resist. Give me your chakra. I'll block him."
Tonbo's nerves connected to the Five Kage. Massive amounts of data flooded his mind as he began the extraction.
"Uchiha Madara, stop acting like a big shot. Let me show you the power of the new generation. Sage Art: Nekosanoo (Fortune Cat Susanoo)!"
With the chakra of ten thousand ninjas, the Five Kage, and Tonbo himself, plus Natural Energy—Boom!
The entire Alliance was lifted by a tide of chakra. They suddenly found themselves, much like Madara, standing inside a colossal aggregate of energy. While Madara's was a samurai, theirs was a gargantuan Maneki-neko (Fortune Cat).
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