The battlefield within the Land of Fire was chaos incarnate. Naruto, working in perfect sync with Killer Bee, yanked out the black rods controlling the tailed beasts one by one, freeing them from their shackles.
But Obito didn't flinch. With icy composure, he commanded the towering Demonic Statue of the Outer Path at his back. Its monstrous maw gaped open, and pale purple chakra chains erupted, snapping around the necks of the tailed beasts like nooses.
The chains tightened. The beasts struggled, but the statue devoured them effortlessly, swallowing their massive forms whole.
In that instant, six of the nine eyes on the Demonic Statue's head snapped open, glowing ominously. Then, the statue lifted its immense hand and tossed several objects into its bottomless mouth—Wind-Thunder Chains, the Purple-Gold Gourd, the Glass Purification Bottle, and even a chunk of octopus tentacle.
As these chakra-infused items were absorbed, the remaining three eyes strained, cracking open just a sliver.
"ROAAAAR!"
The Demonic Statue howled skyward, its roar splitting the heavens like primordial thunder. The earth trembled beneath its rage.
As this monstrous titan clutched its head, beginning its transformation, Naruto and the others launched a coordinated assault on Obito. The clash was fierce and unrelenting—until, suddenly, a shadow fell over the battlefield.
A figure descended from the sky, dust billowing in its wake.
Uchiha Madara landed with chilling authority.
He surveyed the battlefield, eyes cold as steel, watching both sides trade blows. With a contemptuous curl of his lips, Madara spoke, his tone sharp and impatient:
"Obito, you still haven't captured the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails?"
Obito, leveraging his intangibility, retreated swiftly to Madara's side, glancing at him with cool indifference.
"And the Two-Tails?"
Madara scoffed. "With the Wind-Thunder Chains, we don't need the Two-Tails anymore. The Nine-Tails is the key. Enough waiting—I'll handle this myself."
Without another word, Madara pushed off, launching himself at Naruto with blinding speed.
Obito didn't hesitate. He surged forward toward Kakashi, silent and deadly.
They needed time. The Ten-Tails was still transforming, its power incomplete. Missing the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails chakra was a setback, but the absence of the Nine-Tails was the real problem—it would drag out the transformation.
But for Madara, this was a mere inconvenience. The Nine-Tails? Strong, sure—but compared to him, it was nothing. Fifty years ago, during his legendary battle with Hashirama, the Nine-Tails was just a side note—first subdued by his genjutsu, then handled like a toy by Hashirama's Thousand-Armed Buddha.
Back then, the Nine-Tails barely put up a fight—hardly launched any Tailed Beast Bombs. Now, with a jinchūriki, it fought like it had forgotten its old adversaries.
War erupted. Smoke and chakra filled the air. Tailed Beast Bombs, Nine-Tails Mode, Susanoo, Daytime Tiger—light and fury exploded in every direction. Even Deidara would've called it a masterpiece.
Madara, who'd been harried by Rinjin for so long, was done playing games. He summoned his Complete Susanoo—no hesitation, no restraint.
The great tengu drew its sword, and with a single swing, a distant mountain split in two like a block of tofu.
The Allied Shinobi Forces, fresh from their battle with the White Zetsu, arrived just in time to witness this spectacle. They were stunned.
"This can't be real…"
"Heh… heh… heh…"
"Is this even human power?"
The Susanoo, a colossal avatar of chakra, loomed over them, eyes blazing, its gaze sweeping across the hundreds of meters between them.
Madara wasn't about to let Rinjin catch him off guard again. He was ready to end this, fast.
But then—the ground shuddered violently beneath his feet.
Madara's brow twitched. He glanced aside, eyes narrowing.
The Demonic Statue was evolving, morphing into the Ten-Tails' first stage. But this incomplete form was not what Madara wanted.
He lost interest instantly. The Susanoo's chakra faded as he leapt onto the Ten-Tails' head, joined by Obito, whose mask had been shattered in the melee.
As they landed, a thick wooden tube burst from the Ten-Tails' skull, plunging deep into the backs of their heads.
With the incomplete Ten-Tails now active, Madara didn't rush. If Rinjin wasn't lurking, he might've forced Obito to use the Rinne Rebirth and revive him immediately. But with that unpredictable threat still at large, Madara chose caution.
Let Obito test the waters first. The Allied Shinobi Forces and the Five Kage would keep him busy for a while.
Madara was prideful to a fault—pride was his armor and his mask. He never bothered to lie, even to enemies, so no one ever doubted his words. That was exactly how he'd fooled Obito.
Across the battlefield, Naruto and Killer Bee saw Madara and Obito land atop the Ten-Tails. They weren't backing down. With a roar, they unleashed their tailed beast forms, bombarding the Ten-Tails with a relentless volley of Tailed Beast Bombs.
But the Ten-Tails was a monster among monsters. On all fours, it looked almost comically grotesque, like a garlic-headed turtle. Its maw opened wide, and a Tailed Beast Bomb ten times larger than normal began to form.
In a heartbeat, the massive sphere was complete. The Ten-Tails swallowed it whole, then unleashed a colossal beam from its mouth—a blast so powerful it vaporized the incoming Tailed Beast Bombs in an instant.
Naruto and Killer Bee dove in front of Kakashi and Guy, shielding them from the onslaught.
The beam exploded outward, crashing like tidal waves against stone, scattering debris and light everywhere.
As the blinding brilliance faded, Naruto and Killer Bee dropped out of their tailed beast forms, collapsing from exhaustion. But the Ten-Tails, its chakra seemingly endless, didn't give them a moment to breathe—another super Tailed Beast Bomb began to form.
Just as the second bomb was about to fire, Ino arrived with the Allied Shinobi Forces. She acted instantly, using her Mind Transfer Technique to seize control of Obito, forcing the Ten-Tails' aim off target.
At the same time, the Allied Shinobi Forces launched their attack, coordinated perfectly by the command unit in the rear.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Pillar!"
"Storm Release: Laser Circus!"
"Earth Release: Earth Moving Core!"
The sky was thick with dust and smoke as swarms of tiny insects surged toward the Ten-Tails. Blinding lightning flared, obscuring the vision of Madara, Obito, and the Ten-Tails. Cloud ninja fired laser beams in rapid succession. The earth quaked, and the ground beneath the Ten-Tails sank in on itself.
Then, in perfect harmony, the Allied Shinobi Forces unleashed lime, water, and flames—an awe-inspiring display of elemental power.
The war had truly begun.
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