The world held its breath as Hatake Kakashi's eyes locked onto Obito's across the ruined battlefield. The dust had yet to settle, chakra still vibrated in the air, and not even the wounded dared to move. Every heartbeat felt like a drumbeat of fate.
But the tension shattered like glass when Obito's gaze fell on the three identical figures standing near the Orochimaru clone.
"Madara!?" His voice rose, raw with disbelief.
Black Zetsu, coiled behind Obito like a shadowy parasite, twitched violently. Madara? What the? His single golden eye blinked twice, and his mouth nearly dropped open. That's impossible… I never sensed Madara's chakra. Those aren't reanimations…then he froze. They cloned him? Kakashi… you snake.
The realization slammed into Black Zetsu like a falling boulder. There had been no true conflict between Orochimaru and the Konoha forces, he'd been duped.
"Damn you, Hatake Kakashi," he hissed inwardly. "Playing everyone like pawns… even me!"
Meanwhile, hidden on a nearby cliff, the real Orochimaru was twitching for a different reason.
The moment his slitted eyes caught the "graceful noble" demeanor of his clone, standing like a scholar-warrior amidst three perfect Madara lookalikes, his blood pressure spiked.
"That smug bastard…" He hissed, fangs baring.
Images of the last letter the clone had sent him flashed through his mind. A letter that read: 'You were a necessary template, but I have evolved beyond you. Please continue playing with serpents. I have gods to mold.'
Veins bulged on Orochimaru's forehead.
Watching his clone bow gracefully, mockingly, in his direction while controlling three Madaras with perfect chakra regulation was unbearable.
That thing! That overpolished, mock-serpent!
"This is… betrayal of the highest class." He clutched his chest dramatically.
The clone, aware of the real Orochimaru's scrutiny, gave an elegant bow in his direction. But the smile on his lips was sharp, and mockery glittered in his amber eyes. The real Orochimaru's eyebrow twitched furiously.
On the battlefield, Obito had regained his composure, though his face was stiff with suppressed rage. His eyes flicked from the Orochimaru clone to Kakashi. His fists clenched.
"You cloned Madara…" he said, his voice low, dangerous. "You dare play with the Ghost of Uchiha?"
"Let's just say we've adapted. Unlike you." Kakashi turned slightly, his Sharingans gleaming.
He glanced at the clone and gave a small nod. The Orochimaru clone responded with crisp efficiency.
"Engage," he said simply.
UM01, UM02, and UM03 blurred forward. One surged with wood-style chakra, another shimmered with the icy bite of Ice Release, and the third crackled with Storm Release.
Like divine wrath given form, the three Madaras launched themselves toward the Gedo Mazo, chakra shaking the land with each step.
Seeing the tide turn, Raikage A let out a loud, relieved grunt.
"Finally! Reinforcements!" he bellowed.
Onoki floated closer, his eyes wide behind his glasses as he gazed upon the three Madara clones.
"This… this is lunacy… what is Konoha doing?" he muttered. "Playing with fire…"
Samui, still behind the frontline, looked up at Kakashi with widened eyes. Her heart fluttered in her chest. She touched her hand over her heart, cheeks flushed.
'It's silly,' she thought, but that hero moment… the warmth…
She looked again at Kakashi's silver hair, the cool expression on his face. Her heart beat faster.
On the other side, Obito stood still, watching the clones hammer into the Gedo Mazo. Black Zetsu, crouched behind him like a slinking rodent, narrowed his eyes as he scanned their movements.
'They're strong. Too strong. But this is fine,' he thought. Let them soften the beast. And when Obito falls, I'll make my move…
A twisted, eerie chuckle slipped from Black Zetsu's lipless mouth.
Obito finally stepped forward. The air trembled around him.
"So we finally meet, Hatake Kakashi," he said, deepening his voice into the echoing, raspy tone he had used as "Madara."
But Kakashi didn't flinch. He raised a brow.
"Stop pretending, Obito," he said flatly.
Obito's breath caught.
The world seemed to slow.
"What… do you mean?" he asked, voice faltering.
"I've known it was you from the beginning," Kakashi said, voice calm but firm. "You didn't fool me. You never could, you don't have that capacity."
The words sliced deeper than a kunai.
Obito trembled. With clenched teeth, he ripped off the remaining half of his mask, revealing his shattered features, the scars, the disfigured face, the pain twisted into every inch of flesh.
"Hmph," he muttered. "So what if you knew? It doesn't change anything."
He vanished, warping space around himself.
In a blink, he reappeared atop Gedo Mazo's head, standing above the battlefield like a demon king. His Rinnegan pulsed with anticipation.
Obito turned to the real Orochimaru, who gave him a slow, twisted smile.
Wordlessly, Orochimaru raised both hands.
With a flash of light and dark ash, Ginkaku and Kinkaku's coffins appeared, revived by Edo Tensei. Their monstrous chakra flared around them, stained with the Nine Tails' chakra they had once consumed.
Gedo Mazo roared.
Chains shot from its mouth, wrapping around the two brothers. They struggled, snarling, trying to escape. But the chains dragged them forward.
"Now." Obito raised a single hand.
The Gedo Mazo's mouth opened wider. Chakra chains forced Ginkaku and Kinkaku inside. Their bodies were shredded, absorbed by the beast. Their chakra, tainted and potent, was devoured. Even their souls were not spared.
The ground shuddered.
The Gedo Mazo wailed, a bone-deep, haunting cry that chilled even the bravest shinobi.
Kakashi's eyes widened. "Fall back!" he shouted.
The Orochimaru clone immediately ordered the three Madara clones to disengage and leap away from the beast.
Even Tobirama took a step back, sensing the violent distortion of nature.
Then it began.
The Gedo Mazo convulsed. Its twisted body cracked and expanded. Bones twisted and reformed, new flesh bulging from its form.
Its tail stumps writhed, growing, elongating, until they became fully formed ten tails. Its back swelled, deforming into mountains of muscle and sinew. Its face contorted, splitting and reshaping into a warped skull mask with a single, hollow hole for a mouth.
A third eye began to form on its forehead.
The sky darkened. The wind stopped.
Nature itself recoiled.
"Is that… the Ten Tails?" Onoki whispered, terror in his voice.
Tsunade's letter had warned them of this. But seeing it… was another matter entirely.
The creature gave a guttural screech that made the very earth cry. Shockwaves pulsed from its body. Trees were uprooted. Rock shattered. Clouds were ripped apart by pure malice.
And in the midst of it, standing upon its head, was Obito, arms outstretched, as if welcoming the apocalypse.
"It's time," he whispered.
The Ten-Tails had returned.