Obito Uchiha was using every trick he had left.
Whether it was the Divine Tree behind him rapidly forming Ten-Tails Tailed Beast Bombs or the Truth-Seeking Balls hovering in front of him, these were his final reserves of power to use against Shirou.
He knew he wasn't suited for combat at this level. Against an opponent of this caliber, ordinary jutsu were useless, and he hadn't had time to properly acclimate to his new power. To make matters worse, Obito couldn't get any Six Paths-level fighting advice from Black Zetsu or Shirou; he was forced to improvise.
Shirou's palm struck the Six Red Yang Formation.
The barrier, as fragile as glass, instantly shattered.
The moment the formation broke, the Truth-Seeking Balls flew directly at Shirou, and four crimson Tailed Beast Bombs from the Ten-Tails crashed down upon him. This was the strongest attack Obito could muster.
A flash of white light erupted from Shirou's black sword. The blade, a streak of black and white, sliced through all four beast bombs and every Truth-Seeking Ball in an instant.
That slash… was especially vicious.
But even it couldn't stop the explosions. The resulting mushroom clouds from the detonations were as scorching as the sun. Far in the distance, the approaching shinobi alliance could see the towering pillar of flame.
The whole earth trembled as an unimaginably huge explosion swept over the land, and every person present felt the ground shake beneath them.
"What is that?!" the Fourth Raikage shouted from the front of the alliance, his eyes wide with disbelief as the force of the shockwave flung him away.
"Prepare your defenses!" Tsunade's voice echoed forcefully through the ranks.
Earth Style ninja rushed forward and began to cast jutsu in unison, trying to block the oncoming dust and debris.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Dense earthen walls formed at the front of the shinobi alliance, but the shockwaves from the distant explosion tore through them in an instant.
More and more ninja had to step up and reinforce the defenses. Only when Jiraiya and Kitsuchi led a group to create a giant wall blocking the entire front of the army did the alliance finally halt the shockwave's advance.
"How far are we… from that?!" Onoki, the Third Tsuchikage, asked, his voice trembling as he glanced at the blast.
"..."
No one could answer. All eyes were fixed on the rising mushroom cloud.
The alliance, still charging from afar, was awestruck. Those observing from nearby had it even rougher; every individual was doing their best just to defend themselves. In the end, their hope for survival rested on only two people…
Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju.
"!!!"
Realizing the situation was dire, Madara instantly summoned his Perfect Susanoo to shield all the Akatsuki members, its wings folding tightly around them. But even the Susanoo's armor began to fracture under the force of the explosion. This war god, nearly invincible in the past, was now battered and falling apart.
On the other side, Tobirama Senju and Minato Namikaze used the Flying Thunder God technique together, instantly transporting the alliance's strike team to safety behind Hashirama.
Minato also spotted a stranded Sasuke Uchiha and, without hesitation, moved him behind the First Hokage as well.
As for Kisame Hoshigaki… he looked at Obito, his longtime leader, and then smiled. Calmly welcoming death, he chose only to fuse the Samehada blade into his own body.
Hashirama, feeling an unmatched pressure, hurriedly performed hand signs and unleashed his Rashomon. "Summoning Jutsu: Fivefold Rashomon!"
Five giant demonic gates shot up from the ground, but the massive gates were instantly destroyed.
"Wood Style: Wood Human Technique!"
Hashirama then triggered the Wood Human Technique to block for everyone behind him, but even it was destroyed in an instant by the shockwave.
"Wood Style: Shield Technique!"
Hashirama cast more massive wooden shields. The power of the Ten-Tails was on full display. Even Madara and Hashirama, for all their strength, struggled to withstand the residual force of Obito's attack.
This younger Obito Uchiha wasn't as good as Shirou… but he was still second only to him.
Obito watched the blast, his eyes sharp, feeling for Shirou's chakra within the inferno. He knew this attack wouldn't be enough to finish Shirou.
At this level, all these ninja had monstrous recovery abilities.
However...
"Even for you…" Obito's face showed a trace of pride as he shouted, trying to recover some dignity. "That had to hurt, right?"
But he was worried. He couldn't sense Shirou's chakra.
Did this mean Shirou had actually been killed by his attack?
Could that really have happened?
"It was a bit rough," Shirou's voice whispered right by Obito's ear.
"When?!" Obito turned instinctively, hearing Shirou speak from behind him. He spun around to defend himself, afraid Shirou's hand would pierce his heart again.
But this time, it wasn't his heart.
As Obito turned, he saw Shirou's Akatsuki cloak, lightly dusted with dirt. A hand, filled with chakra, landed on his body.
"Six Paths: Tailed Beast Extraction Seal."
Shirou's palm ripped a stream of chakra from Obito. It was the Ten-Tails' chakra, being forcibly torn out.
"You!" Obito's expression changed instantly.
But behind Shirou, a huge, black Truth-Seeking Ball appeared. Chains made of Yin-Yang chakra tightly bound Obito to the Ball, locking him in place. He couldn't move; he could only watch as a pitch-black vortex opened on his abdomen.
Obito's eyes flashed with fear. He recognized this eerie feeling. He remembered… this was how he had extracted the Nine-Tails from Kushina Uzumaki. Now, it was his turn to suffer the same fate.
The Ten-Tails was ripped out of him like a rushing current. The beast, just extracted, instantly howled and tried to attack Shirou. But the chains binding Obito snapped around its body, trapping it in place to roar helplessly.
"Haa..." Obito, pale and gasping for air, felt his life draining away. The loss of a tailed beast meant certain death. However, a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki was different.
Having received Six Paths chakra, Obito could barely survive, though it would reduce him to a mere tool.
"Madara!" Black Zetsu instantly alerted Madara.
But Madara was already ready. His expression was cold, he knew he needed to seize this chance.
Crack!
Yin-Yang chakra swirled around Obito's arm, and his body automatically started forming the hand signs for the Rinne Rebirth jutsu.
As Obito performed the seals, a white light radiated from Madara's body, and a smile appeared in his eyes.
"Finally…" Madara glanced quietly at Shirou.
At this moment, only Shirou could stop his resurrection. Though Shirou had guided him as a comrade, Madara was forced to consider whether Shirou might block another powerful threat from arising.
Luckily, Shirou seemed uninterested in stopping Madara's wish.
After a burst of white light, Madara's reanimated body turned to flesh and blood, and the Rinnegan in his eye sockets dissipated into dust.
"Madara." After Madara's full revival, Shirou casually plucked the Rinnegan from Obito's eye socket and tossed it to him. "Your eye."
Madara caught the Rinnegan and immediately placed it in his eye socket, glancing at the Ten-Tails still bound by Shirou's chains.
"Do it, Madara," Black Zetsu urged, even assuring Shirou, "He won't fight you for the Ten-Tails' power..."
Madara's mouth twitched wryly. After seeing Obito's powerlessness before Shirou, he wasn't so sure he could master the Ten-Tails any better.
"Lord Shirou probably doesn't even want this kind of power..." Madara muttered, but had already begun forming the seals to become the Ten-Tails' new jinchuriki—only for Shirou's hand to grab his arm.
"Lord Shirou!" Madara's face darkened.
"Shirou!" Black Zetsu's expression shifted, too.
"No," Shirou said, shaking his head softly. "Isn't the Ten-Tails missing the Nine-Tails' chakra? The power Obito had is a bit too weak. Even if you become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki now, do you have enough chakra to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
Madara's expression loosened.
He realized Shirou was right and remembered that the revived Ten-Tails wasn't at full power. There was still a beast out there. Obito's Ten-Tails was incomplete.
"Summoning Technique!" Madara bit his finger, quickly performed the summoning jutsu, and began sensing the Nine-Tails he had once bonded with.
"Got it!" Madara's gaze locked in one direction. And in that direction… was Konoha's Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Minato's face changed. He realized Madara had sensed the half of the Nine-Tails' chakra sealed inside him.
"And also…" Madara turned, looking to where the alliance approached. His lips curled in a mocking smile. "Just a mob, but they've managed to make a big scene."
"The Five Great Nations joined forces?" Shirou sensed the approaching alliance but spoke calmly as he gave orders. "Find a White Zetsu clone, have him check up on Kabuto, and tell him to send Madara's other Rinnegan back."
"Understood!" A White Zetsu clone popped out of the ground and dove back in.
"There are a lot of new arrivals. Want to summon an army?" Black Zetsu quietly reminded Shirou. "Now that we have the Ten-Tails, we could use it to create a whole army..."
"Is that necessary?" Shirou asked, sounding surprised.
"There's really no need..." Madara's face broke into a fierce grin as he slowly moved his fingers. "Lord Shirou has done enough. Leave the rest to me."