Chapter 115: The Power of a God
The Fourth Division battlefield was a storm of yellow sand. Each breath felt like swallowing knives. In this harsh landscape, the Allied Shinobi had just finished their battle with the former Kage. Through their concerted efforts, they had finally sealed the Edo Tensei reincarnations of the Second Tsuchikage Mu, the Second Mizukage, the Third Raikage, and the Fourth Kazekage.
Medical-nin rushed forward to treat the wounded while the rest stood guard, wary of the enemy's next move.
Deep in the desert, hidden in the shadow of a wind-eroded rock, a clone of Mu pressed one hand to the sand. He wore a solemn expression as his other hand swiftly formed hand signs.
"Summoning Technique!"
A thick cloud of white smoke billowed up. As it gradually dispersed, a single wooden coffin rose from the ground.
Before Mu could react, the coffin lid cracked like a spiderweb. With several sharp "clack" sounds, it exploded violently.
Boom!
Wood splinters and dust flew everywhere. A tall figure clad in crimson Sengoku-era armor emerged from the smoke, exuding a chillingly powerful aura. He had deep black hair, red armor, and a pair of scarlet Sharingan.
His identity was unmistakable: Uchiha Madara.
Madara clenched his fists, feeling his reborn body. "That brat Nagato has finally grown up, it seems."
He paused, detecting an abnormality.
"I didn't expect it would be you summoned this time," Mu sighed. "It seems the Edo Tensei user understands war."
Madara's gaze fell upon Mu. "Edo Tensei?" he frowned. "Not Rinne Rebirth?"
...
Back at Allied Forces Headquarters, the mood was optimistic.
"The Fourth Division has rendezvoused with Naruto's clone, and all former Kage on that front have been sealed," an intelligence ninja reported.
"With Renji's help, the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Divisions have cleared all White Zetsu infiltrators. Now, the Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki's clones are on every battlefield, taking over from Renji to prevent further infiltration. Our forces are advancing with overwhelming momentum."
"After Hasumi Maki was restrained by Renji, the Third Division gained the upper hand."
"The Fifth Division also has the advantage."
"The Medical Unit has suppressed all enemies."
Shikaku looked at the recently returned Raikage and Hokage, a relaxed smile finally appearing on his face. "Our decisions were correct. The situation has reversed, and we hold the overwhelming advantage. Now, we just need to concentrate our remaining power on the masked Madara and his Edo Tensei Jinchuriki."
"Please wait!" the intelligence ninja suddenly shouted, sweat beading on his forehead, his voice trembling.
"What's wrong?" Tsunade demanded.
"Gaara's Fourth Division... a new enemy has appeared!" the ninja stammered, sensing the terrifying, unleashed chakra.
...
On the Fourth Division battlefield.
"What is that?" a sensory-nin behind Ōnoki suddenly tensed, staring at the top of a giant, wind-eroded rock.
"There!" he pointed.
Under the gaze of the entire allied army, the Second Tsuchikage Mu emerged.
"That's the Second Tsuchikage!" Naruto yelled, looking at Gaara in confusion. "Wasn't he sealed by you?"
Gaara said nothing.
"Lord Mu's body can create clones through splitting!" Ōnoki explained, his voice tight.
"It's not him!" the sensory-nin's voice suddenly trembled with fear. "It's... it's another person!"
A strange figure slowly emerged from behind Mu. Uchiha Madara looked down on the allied army from above.
Naruto stared in surprise, but he noticed that the old Tsuchikage's expression had turned to one of absolute, bone-chilling dread.
Cold sweat trickled down Ōnoki's forehead. "That... that's..."
"Who?" Naruto asked urgently.
"Uchiha... Madara!" Ōnoki clenched his teeth, finally uttering the name.
He stared, unblinking, at Madara's eyes. "He's been revived by Edo Tensei!"
"Two Madaras?" Naruto immediately reacted.
Gaara added, "Clearly, among the two, the one wearing a mask is fake."
"Then who is the one wearing the mask?" Naruto asked.
"I don't know," Gaara replied expressionlessly.
"The 'Ninja' forehead protector, but the attire is from all Five Great Nations... is this the Ninja Allied Forces?" Madara mused, looking down at the group.
"Because this is war," Mu replied.
"Since that guy did it, his plan must not be going smoothly," Madara said, displeased. "To revive me in this manner... Who is the caster of this jutsu?"
Mu stiffened, and his voice changed, becoming Kabuto's. "I am Kabuto, caster of this jutsu."
Madara finally spared him a glance. "To speak with me through a reanimation. How shady."
"Your Edo Tensei is special," Kabuto boasted. "Your current power is even greater than during your prime."
Madara's scarlet Sharingan stared, and Kabuto, miles away, felt a powerful sense of threat. "You've... seen my prime?"
"No," Kabuto said, suppressing his fear. "So now, please let me witness the legendary power of the Uchiha."
Madara leaped down, landing steadily on the sand. "Very well. Let's play a little then."
…
The sun seemed to vanish, obscured by a thick, leaden cloud. A vast, deep shadow fell over the army. Tens of thousands of ninja faced one man, yet it was the army that was filled with fear.
The air grew heavy. Their legs felt as if they were stuck in quicksand. Hearts pounded.
Finally, under the extreme tension, one ninja could no longer bear it. He let out a deafening roar and charged.
Immediately following, the second, third, and fourth... the entire army surged forward.
Amidst the tide of shinobi, Madara moved as if in an uninhabited land. With a swing of his blade, a flash of cold light, blood splattered, and lives were reaped. Using pure taijutsu, he tore a massive rift in the allied defenses.
Temari hit him with a powerful Wind Release Ninjutsu. Madara agilely flipped, landed, and casually brushed the dust from his armor. He formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
In an instant, a blazing, overwhelming sea of fire erupted from his mouth, surging toward the entire Allied Forces.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Dozens of Water Release users combined their jutsu, raising a massive water wall to meet the flames. Water and fire collided, erupting in a deafening roar and a cloud of thick steam that instantly blinded the battlefield.
"Did it stop?"
Before the words were finished, countless giant fireballs suddenly emerged from the smoke, Madara's figure mixed among them, and the slaughter resumed.
"Massive Rasengan!"
"Earth Release: Earth Flow Wave!"
A mound of earth erupted under Madara, sending him high into the sky, right as Naruto's Rasengan struck.
But Madara just stared coldly. A colossal, blue giant—the Susanoo—rose from the ground. The powerful wind from its manifestation alone batted Naruto away. The Susanoo drew its twin blades and swept them across the battlefield like slicing gourds, and hundreds of ninja lives vanished.
"If his Susanoo is indestructible from the outside, we just need to pull him out!" Ōnoki yelled at Gaara.
Gaara extended his hands. A giant hand of sand surged up from below, plunging into the Susanoo's feet and yanking Madara's physical body free.
"Naruto!" Ōnoki shouted.
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
Naruto leaped up and hurled the screaming jutsu. As the intense white light struck, Madara's pupils changed. The Sharingan was gone, replaced by the rippling purple of the Rinnegan.
The Rasenshuriken was absorbed completely.
"How is that possible?" Naruto stared in disbelief.
"Just as I guessed," Kabuto's voice came from Mu. "The ultimate form of the Sharingan is the Rinnegan."
"I only awakened these eyes shortly before I died," Madara said. "Kabuto, right? What did you do to my body?"
"As I said, I made you even stronger than your prime," Kabuto said meaningfully.
Madara understood. "You, a rat who couldn't even decipher the Uchiha tablet, uncovered my secret?"
"I merely hypothesized based on Lord Orochimaru's and my years of research data," Kabuto replied, unable to contain his agitation. "And now, you have proven my hypothesis. The Sage of Six Paths... I can finally glimpse his divine power."
"Don't misunderstand," Madara said, his gaze falling back on the army as he formed new hand seals. "This power wasn't created by you."
His Susanoo mirrored the seals.
Darkness descended abruptly. A thick black curtain enveloped the vast land. Everyone felt their vision dim. They looked up, filled with fear and doubt.
In that brief instant, a series of crisp, metallic sounds echoed across the desert.
Those were the sounds of weapons dropping to the ground.
"Damn it... You're kidding, right?"
"What is this?" someone cried out in terror.
"Our strength... it's not even on the same dimension!"
"Is this the power of a god?"
A colossal meteor was breaking through the layers of clouds at an astonishing speed. In front of it, humans were nothing but insignificant ants, powerless to stop the impending catastrophe.
Despair spread rapidly.
"It's not over yet!" Ōnoki roared, his voice cutting through the panic. "What discouraging words! Are you just going to throw away your lives? Think of something you can do!"
He leaped up, flying straight toward the descending meteor.
"Lord Tsuchikage!"
"Everyone, run as far as you can!" Gaara commanded.
The ninja scrambled.
Ōnoki's hands landed on the meteor. "Earth Release: Super Light-Weight Rock Technique!"
It was too heavy. Blood vessels burst from under his fingernails, but the meteor's descent noticeably slowed.
At the same time, countless sands solidified into a large hand, rising up to catch the meteor from below. Gaara coughed, panting heavily from the strain.
"Not bad," Uchiha Madara said, a faint smile on his lips. "You caught it."
The surviving ninja, sitting on the ground, began to cheer.
"Alright," Madara's smile turned malicious. "But what can you do about the second one, Ōnoki?"
A loud bang. A powerful pressure came from above, and a second meteor, unseen, crashed through the clouds, slamming into the first.
The violent tremor spread all the way to the command center, hundreds of miles away.
"What happened?!" Shikaku shouted.
"A relay intelligence unit sent a message!" an intel-nin yelled. "A meteor, almost obscuring the sky, fell on the Fourth Division! The tremor was from that!"
"Are there any follow-up messages?" the Raikage demanded, his eyes filled with worry.
"No."
Not receiving a message meant... The intelligence ninja gritted his teeth, cold sweat and tears falling simultaneously.
"No, wait!" he suddenly shouted, his voice filled with bewilderment.
"What?"
"The meteor... it disappeared!"
Disappeared? How could such a massive meteor just disappear?
The next second, a powerful gust of wind and ocean spray hit the command center itself. The Raikage stared out at the distant sea, where a giant, steaming meteor now sat.
"It's Renji!" the intelligence ninja's voice was filled with unparalleled excitement. "He transferred that meteor away!"
Tsunade stood abruptly. "I almost forgot! Renji mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique that made the Fourth Hokage famous! It's an S-rank space-time ninjutsu that can instantly move large targets!"
The Raikage let out a long sigh of relief.
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