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The world of the Reapers. Soul Society.
First Division barracks.
"Well now… that's one terrifying old man," Kyōraku Shunsui said, tilting his straw hat as he watched Ōnoki unleash Dust Release on the screen. There was clear admiration in his eyes. "That whole 'old body, unyielding spirit' vibe. Feels exactly like our Captain-Commander Yamamoto, doesn't it? What do you think, Ukitake?"
"Cough, cough…" Ukitake Jūshirō covered his mouth, smiling gently. "Indeed. That man they call the Tsuchikage may be physically frail, but his will is solid as bedrock. The resolve to burn oneself out completely just to protect others… it's worthy of respect."
The human world.
"So amazing…" Inoue Orihime stared at the screen, eyes wide. "That acid that melts trees, and that blonde woman who can regenerate no matter what… Their power systems are totally different, but they all feel ridiculously strong."
"They are," Rukia said gravely. "They don't have spiritual pressure, but their control over their own energy has reached the extreme. That level of destructive power surpasses most seated officers in Soul Society. It's already brushing up against captain-class."
Ichigo Kurosaki rested Zangetsu on his shoulder and scratched his head, looking annoyed. "Tch. Whether it's that Uchiha Madara dropping meteors or the Tsuchikage firing off laser beams, everything they do looks so flashy. Compared to that, doesn't my Getsuga Tenshō feel kinda plain? All it does is get bigger… or darker…"
…
Onscreen, the battle reignited.
Ōnoki's Dust Release had cleared the field, but it hadn't defeated Uchiha Madara.
His reanimated body was already restoring itself at terrifying speed.
"This level of attack—" Madara began.
Boom!
A green figure crashed down from the sky, shattering the ground with a single stomp.
The Fifth Hokage. Tsunade.
The diamond mark on her forehead was fully released, black seal patterns spreading across her body.
Strength of a Hundred Seal. Release.
"Uchiha Madara!" Tsunade roared. "Don't you dare underestimate the Hokage!"
Chakra surged violently into her fist, carrying monstrous power capable of pulverizing mountains, and she smashed it straight at Madara.
Madara's eyes flickered. Blue chakra ribs formed instantly as Susanoo's defense snapped into place.
Bang!!!
A thunderous explosion echoed. Cracks spread across Susanoo's defense.
Madara was blasted backward dozens of meters. He was unharmed, but the way he looked at Tsunade had changed.
"Slower than the Raikage," he said calmly, "but stronger than him. Hashirama Senju's granddaughter… you're not completely useless."
"I'm not done yet!"
The Mizukage, Terumī Mei, formed seals again.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A massive roaring water dragon surged out and coiled tightly around Madara, binding him in place.
At the same time, Ōnoki landed on the Raikage A's back once more.
"Let's go, old man!"
"Weighted Boulder Jutsu!"
The Raikage's speed and strength skyrocketed again. He became a bolt of lightning, charging forward under the water dragon's restraint and slamming another devastating punch into Madara.
Boom!
Madara was sent flying again. Before his body even hit the ground, the sea of sand below began to churn.
"Desert Layered Imperial Funeral Seal!"
Gaara clapped his hands together.
Endless yellow sand swallowed Madara whole, forming an enormous, majestic pyramid. Dense sealing formulas lit up across its surface.
The seal was complete.
…
In the ninja world, cheers erupted.
"We won! We really won!"
"The Five Kage are insane! Even Uchiha Madara couldn't handle them!"
Sakura stared at the dignified Tsunade onscreen, her eyes sparkling with admiration. "Amazing! Is that Master Tsunade's true strength? I want to become that strong too!"
Kumogakure.
The Fourth Raikage A looked at the screen, rubbing his still-intact left arm, brows tightly knit. "Winning is great and all… but future me actually working that well with that stubborn old Ōnoki? That's just cursed."
Amegakure.
Nagato gazed at the sealed pyramid, his expression indifferent.
"So that's it?"
"If that's all it takes to defeat you, then you were never worthy of being called a 'god,' Uchiha Madara. If you're only this strong, then the pain of this world should be ended by me instead."
As for the masked man pretending to be Madara… Nagato had already sentenced him to death in his heart.
…
Just as everyone thought it was over.
The background music in the video suddenly sank, heavy and oppressive.
Beneath the pyramid.
"The seal… not bad," Madara's voice echoed softly.
"But…"
Shk!
Without warning, a massive blue chakra blade burst up from underground.
It pierced straight through the earth and straight through Tsunade's abdomen as she stood there catching her breath.
"Granny Tsunade!!!" Naruto screamed in horror on the screen.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Tsunade was impaled, hanging in midair on the enormous blade.
But it wasn't over.
"Gah!"
She spat out a mouthful of blood, fear nowhere in her eyes. At that moment, the terrifying vitality of the Strength of a Hundred was on full display. She grabbed the blade that had pierced her with both hands and wrenched it with all her might.
Crack!
The Susanoo sword snapped in half.
She leapt down from the broken blade, the massive wound in her abdomen healing at a visible speed.
"I won't die," Tsunade panted, eyes blazing. "Because I'm the Hokage."
But then—
She looked up.
Her pupils shrank to pinpoints.
Not just her.
The Five Kage, and everyone watching, felt true despair for the first time.
The dust cleared.
Uchiha Madara stood atop a towering rock, looking down at the Five Kage from above.
And around him—
One.
Two.
Five.
Ten.
Twenty-five.
Twenty-five Wood Release clones completely surrounded them.
And that wasn't even the worst part.
Madara looked at the despairing Five Kage and smiled like a demon.
"Five versus one, huh? You seemed to be having a lot of fun just now."
"So, as a little return gift…"
"These twenty-five clones…"
His voice dropped into a chilling whisper.
"Would you like them to use Susanoo… or not?"
Before the Five Kage could answer—
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
All twenty-five clones erupted with blue chakra at once.
Twenty-five towering Susanoo rose from the ground simultaneously.
Even if it was only the first form, twenty-five Susanoo standing together turned the battlefield into a sea of blue despair, their chakra light completely blotting out the sky.
…
Across countless worlds, everyone was left breathless.
One Piece world. The Straw Hat Pirates.
"Waaaaaah!!!"
Usopp clung to Chopper, bawling with snot and tears streaming down his face. "How are you supposed to fight that?! One of them was already impossible! Now there are twenty-five! That's straight-up cheating!"
Luffy pressed down the brim of his straw hat, his body trembling. Not from fear, but from instinct in the face of overwhelming power.
"So strong… this guy is strong in a way that makes no sense."
Marineford.
Crack.
Garp crushed the senbei in his hand. This time, he didn't even feel like eating it.
"This… this is an army, isn't it?"
Akainu Sakazuki stared at the twenty-five giants, sweat seeping down his forehead. For the first time, he doubted the power of his magma fruit. Against monsters like these, how many could his Great Eruption really burn down?
"Hey, hey… cut me some slack."
Kizaru raised his hands in mock surrender, his tone light as ever, but his eyes were deadly serious. "If something like this ever showed up at Marineford, I'd take a leave of absence on the spot. Way too scary."
The New World. Aboard the Moby Dick.
Whitebeard stared at the screen, visibly shaken by the overwhelming force on display.
"Gurararara…"
He stood up abruptly, slamming his bisento into the deck.
Boom!!!
The air trembled. The clouds in the sky were blown apart in an instant.
"Uchiha Madara… what a monster," Whitebeard said, eyes sharp. "If I ever got the chance, I'd love to fight you at your peak. Let's see whether your Susanoo is tougher, or my Tremor-Tremor Fruit!"
…
Back in the video, the slaughter began.
Under the assault of twenty-five Susanoo, the Five Kage collapsed almost instantly.
The Mizukage was smashed away by a single punch, her fate unknown.
Gaara's sand defenses were shattered by multiple swords striking at once.
The Raikage was pinned to the ground by several Susanoo, completely unable to move.
"Damn it!!!"
Ōnoki forced himself into the air, used Dust Release to erase one Susanoo, and saved the Raikage. But his chakra was spent. He fell helplessly from the sky.
Only Tsunade remained.
Relying on the near-immortality of the Strength of a Hundred, she was knocked down again and again, and kept standing back up.
But it was meaningless.
Twenty-five great swords fell at once.
Blood soaked the earth.
The Five Kage were annihilated.
In that ocean of blue despair, Uchiha Madara crossed his arms and gazed down upon the conquered world like a true god.
"....."