"Transformation? Genjutsu? Or some forbidden technique…"
Danzō forced himself to remain calm, his hoarse, ominous voice steady.
"No matter who you are, impersonating someone long dead is sheer folly."
'Naruto' tilted his head, a cocky smirk tugging at his lips.
"Decades have passed, and the trash of Konoha can't even recognize my voice?"
Danzō's pupils contracted slightly, but he sneered.
"Pathetic. Uchiha Madara has long perished at the Valley of the End. That is a fact of history."
"History?" 'Naruto' laughed low, as if hearing a joke.
"History is nothing but a fairytale written by the victors."
Chakra erupted violently from his body, whipping the surrounding air into a furious storm.
Danzō's expression finally shifted.
That unmistakable chakra signature…
But reason quickly suppressed his shock.
Even if this really was Uchiha Madara… so what?
Now, he was nothing more than a fragment clinging to the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, while Danzō…
"Kill him." Danzō's command sliced through the air like ice.
"The jinchūriki is out of control. Kill on sight."
Six remaining Root operatives lunged instantly.
'Naruto'—or rather, Madara—had expected this battle to be as easy as crushing ants.
Ever since Konoha was founded, no one had dared act against him once they knew his name.
Not even the Five Kage of old.
Especially back during the Five Kage summit—if he had been there as the Hokage's bodyguard, those fools wouldn't have dared talk about dividing the Tailed Beasts.
To hell with their nonsense!
"I'll admit your courage…"
However, as Madara raised his hands to form a seal, he noticed a critical flaw.
Naruto's hands were too small!
The intricate hand seals of an adult could not flow naturally through a child's body.
Before he could complete a single "未" seal, the first Root ninja had already closed in, kunai stabbing for the throat!
Madara was forced to break his seals and evade sideways.
But Naruto's body coordination was far inferior to his original one.
Even though his consciousness reacted, his movements were half a beat slow—
The kunai grazed his shoulder, drawing a spray of blood.
The Nine-Tails roared with glee, rolling and laughing uncontrollably:
"Hahaha! The legendary Uchiha Madara, cut by a weakling?!"
Madara's face darkened like a burnt cauldron.
"…Shut up, beast."
He could tolerate anyone mocking him—except the Nine-Tails.
Quickly, he readjusted his stance, but the second and third Root operatives were already attacking in coordination.
Wind and Earth combination jutsu sealed off all escape routes, forcing him to jump back continuously.
"Troublesome brat's body…" Madara ground his teeth.
The difference in limb length almost made him misstep entirely.
Suddenly, the fourth ninja burst from the ground, a long blade swinging straight down!
Madara jerked back, the edge scraping past his nose.
He kicked the attacker's chest, but Naruto's weak leg strength only pushed him back a few steps.
"Still too forced…"
Danzō watched from afar, his single eye gleaming with contempt.
"Pathetic."
Yet very soon, Danzō would pay a steep price for underestimating him.
Though Madara's control of Naruto's body was initially clumsy, it was only temporary.
After a short period of activity, he began to move with complete fluidity.
After a series of backflips to dodge a Root member's Fire Style, Madara—kneeling slightly—smirked.
He had finally adapted to Naruto's body.
"The game ends now."
He shook the blood from his hands, his eyes turning blue again to match Naruto's body…
Then, the three-tomoe Sharingan flickered into view once more.
Six Root operatives simultaneously formed hand seals, ready to unleash a massive combination jutsu.
But Madara's speed was faster.
Hands interlacing, he formed the final "午" seal at his chest—
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
WHOOSH—BOOM!!!
Unlike any ordinary Fire Style, this attack was catastrophic.
A towering wall of flames instantly engulfed the battlefield, the heat warping the very air.
"Water Style: Water Formation Wall!"
The Root operatives' hastily coordinated barrier evaporated the instant it touched the flames.
White steam surged like a raging flood, blotting out all vision.
"Damn it! Fall back!"
Too late.
Through the misty battlefield, Madara's Sharingan traced red streaks in the vapor.
He moved Naruto's small fingers with precise cruelty, lips curling into a vicious smile.
"First one."
The nearest Root operative hadn't even finished his seal.
Madara propelled Naruto's petite body forward, his index and middle fingers striking like venom, plunging into the man's throat.
Root member A's pupils widened in shock as his windpipe was pierced.
Madara twisted his wrist—the spine snapped crisply.
"Second one."
Root member B, skilled in Wind Style, had barely completed half his seal when Madara appeared behind him.
A small hand struck like a blade across the third vertebrae, paralyzing him instantly.
As he fell, Madara's kunai slit his throat.
"Third one."
Root member C, realizing his teammates were dead, activated a Water Style barrier.
But the moment it burst, Madara was already in front of him, arms around his head.
A chakra-infused knee smashed down on his skull.
Mask fragments and flesh scattered into the water mist.
"Fourth one."
The assassin Root member D spotted Naruto.
When his poison blade was three inches from Naruto's back, Madara vanished.
Next second, the kunai pierced his jaw, exiting the crown of his head.
Madara manipulated him like a puppet.
"Fifth one."
Seeing his comrades die one by one, Root member E tore open his clothing, revealing a cache of explosive tags.
Madara drove his kunai into the man's elbows.
As he cried out, a punch to the face planted one of the explosives in him.
BOOM!!!
The explosion lit the battlefield—Madara was already gone.
"Sixth one."
The final Root operative F tried to flee.
Madara's thrown kunai struck both ankles.
As he collapsed, Madara crushed his spine like snapping a dry branch.
Six bodies fell almost simultaneously.
Madara stood amidst a pool of blood, Naruto's golden hair dripping crimson.
From start to finish—less than five seconds.
The precision of this execution exceeded Danzō's expectations.
Madara's gaze swept the battlefield, finally resting on the direction Danzō had fled.
The bottle containing the Sharingan in his hand gleamed conspicuously.
In an instant, he disappeared, reappearing before Danzō!
Danzō's eye widened in shock.
He hadn't imagined Madara could move so fast!
"Uchiha Madara…!"
Without a word, Madara reached for Danzō's neck.
Recalling how the others had died, Danzō knew this jinchūriki could easily snap his neck.
He had no time to think—he released a massive Wood Style jutsu.
Trees erupted from the ground, forcing Madara backward.
Before stepping back, however, Madara tore Danzō's hand from the bottle.
"This monster…"
Danzō was both shocked and furious, but knowing he couldn't match Madara, he bit his finger and slammed his palm to the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu: Baku!"
A massive cloud of smoke erupted.
Madara frowned slightly and stepped back.
When the smoke cleared, Danzō had vanished.
"Quick escape."
Madara snorted coldly, lowering his gaze to the Sharingan in his hand.
The Mangekyō pattern had dimmed, but the power within was still palpable.
"Hmph… finally retrieved it."
Inside the sealing space, Madara turned to boast to Naruto…
But then froze.
Naruto's consciousness had awakened.
He stood atop the water's surface, pale and trembling, eyes fixed on the carnage outside.
Bodies strewn everywhere, the ground soaked in blood… and the Sharingan still dripping in Madara's hand.
"Da… Dad…"
Naruto's voice quivered, blue eyes wide with terror.
Madara had planned to gloat, to show him what real battle looked like.
But seeing the fear in Naruto's eyes, the words stuck in his throat.
His proud expression froze, replaced by a rare, unfamiliar… uncertainty.
Even the Nine-Tails did not mock this time.
Instead, it coiled around Naruto, soothing his panic.
The beast looked at Madara's retreating figure and murmured:
"Hey, old man… you scared him."
Madara was silent for a long moment, then merely snorted, turning deeper into the shadows.
"Brats are always troublesome."
Yet his voice was lower than usual.