A restless wind blew across the land.
The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, stood before the Stone ninja forces, his mood heavy. He had just received news that Konoha's army had begun clearing out all Iwa scouts in their path and was now advancing on the Stone ninja camp as a single unit.
"The war is about to begin..." Onoki sighed faintly.
Kitsuchi stood beside him, looking at his father with confusion. "Why would Konoha attack us first? In terms of numbers alone, our forces here are at least four times theirs."
There were over ten thousand Stone ninjas gathered here. Konoha, having already occupied more than half of the Land of Rain, could only mobilize fewer than three thousand. How dare they initiate an attack?
"Who knows!" Onoki snorted, his face dark. "Perhaps Konoha's forces from other directions have already launched a surprise attack deep into the Land of Earth, and we just haven't received the news yet..."
"Should we break through the enemy and turn back to provide aid?" Kitsuchi asked.
"No!" Onoki shook his head, his voice deep. "After we break through Jiraiya's forces, we will occupy the Land of Rain, take a direct path to the Land of Fire, and besiege Konoha. We will force that thirteen-year-old brat to the negotiating table!" After a pause, Onoki added, "And we must be fast! There can be no delays!"
"That's the only way..." Kitsuchi nodded. Just as he was about to say more, he saw a black shadow land in front of the Iwa forces. It was a kunai.
Two figures appeared abruptly. One of them was just a boy. The other was a man with long hair. The moment he lifted his head, he exuded an aura so powerful that people dared not look at him directly.
"All of you..." The man surveyed the tens of thousands of Stone ninjas, a bloodthirsty smile playing on his lips as he spoke coldly, "...are surrounded."
"..."
The wind howled. The ten thousand Stone ninjas erupted into an uproar.
Onoki's eyes trembled. He stared at the tall man and stammered, "That guy is... Madara Uchiha?"
Kitsuchi asked nervously, "Wait, isn't Madara Uchiha wanted by Konoha? Why would he come here to attack us?"
"I don't know..." The fear in Onoki's eyes gradually faded. Having led the Stone Village for decades, he was no longer the little boy who was once forced to submit to Konoha. Did this man really think he could challenge the entire Stone Village with nothing but the lingering prestige from the founding era? This fool... doesn't he know the times have changed?
The times had indeed changed, but some changes were beyond Onoki's expectations. He could never have imagined that Madara Uchiha, this old relic, would become even stronger after being resurrected.
Sasuke Uchiha stood nonchalantly behind Madara, acting as his overseer. "Hey, if you can't handle it, I can take your place..."
"Brat, no need for taunts." Madara slowly turned his head, revealing his Sharingan. The corner of his mouth twitched up. "I just want to enjoy this rare bit of fun..."
"Hmph, putting on a show," Sasuke said, lifting his head disdainfully.
Madara didn't care that the little brat was disrespectful. He couldn't blame him; Sasuke was one of his few remaining clansmen. His dream of the Project Tsuki no Me had been shattered, so he could only place his hopes on unifying the ninja world. In that case, the growth of the Uchiha clan was rather important.
"Watch closely, brat!" Madara suddenly clenched his fists. A gunbai fan appeared in one hand and a scythe in the other. He spoke slowly, "Now, I'll show you how a true Sharingan user fights!"
As his voice fell, a fierce wind kicked up instantly. Madara's figure pierced through the Stone ninja formation like a sharp arrow. He struck down every incoming shuriken and ninja sword, and countless Stone ninjas were sent flying by his charge. Throughout the process, he didn't take a single hit. In fact, he dodged every single attack.
"Earth Style: Earth and Stone Drop!"
"Earth Style: Earth Spear!"
"Earth Style: Rock Lodging Collapse!"
"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"
One after another, Earth Style ninjutsu were released. Unfortunately, the Stone ninjas were worried about hitting their own comrades, so they had to carefully control the power of their jutsu. While others fought Madara and felt their jutsu was never powerful enough, these ninja were actively weakening theirs.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A torrent of flames instantly destroyed all the Earth Style ninjutsu, and a rolling heatwave swept toward the Stone ninja forces. Hundreds of Stone ninjas quickly jumped out, formed hand seals, and shouted, "Earth Style: Mud Wall!"
Massive mud walls erupted from the ground. The sturdy barriers rose to block the fire-style attack. Sand and dust flew everywhere. The next moment, Madara's figure leaped over the mud wall and dove down into the crowd.
Every swing of the scythe in his hand reaped the life of a Stone ninja, while any counterattack was blocked by the gunbai fan in his other hand. In Madara's grasp, these two weapons became instruments of the ultimate killing art.
Even Sasuke, watching from the sidelines, was shocked by Madara's performance. He could only clearly see Madara's movements by using his own Sharingan. A dancer on the battlefield... No, an Asura of the ninja world.
"Brat!" Madara shouted, swinging his scythe to cut down dozens of charging Stone ninjas. "Witness how a true Uchiha fights! In this world, the era of the Uchiha will never end!"
"..."
Sasuke slowly lowered his head. At that moment, he felt as if his spirit had been struck. Compared to the declarations he had made to Naruto, to Team 7, and to his Konoha comrades, Madara's words were far more domineering, more unrestrained.
This was the legacy of the Uchiha. The Sharingan that could never be defeated.
Unfortunately, just as that thought flashed through his mind, Sasuke remembered Naruto's giant golden Buddha and the thousand Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken in its hands.
What a load of nonsense. Madara himself already surrendered to that.
While Sasuke's mind was wandering, Madara had single-handedly broken through half of the Stone ninja defense line. He finally came face-to-face with the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, who stood in his path.
"This is as far as you go, Madara Uchiha!" Onoki flew into the air, a ball of white light floating in his palm as he said coldly, "This is no longer your era! Dust Style: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
"Ha?" Madara slightly raised his head, looking at Onoki through his bangs with a contemptuous smile. "After all these years, is the Stone Village still learning that trash from the Second Tsuchikage's kekkei tota?"
His figure suddenly vanished. The next moment, a tall, skeletal figure erupted from the ground and sent Onoki flying with a single punch. The Third Tsuchikage coughed up a mouthful of blood but stubbornly held onto the Dust Style ninjutsu in his hand.
Madara looked at the flying Onoki and said nonchalantly, "No matter how many years pass, the legacy of trash can only be trash..."
"You monster!" Onoki cursed under his breath. The Dust Style ninjutsu gathered in his palm finally shot out towards Madara. "The Will of Stone will not be destroyed!"
-----
Bonus:
Madara: You were playing with this decades ago. Why haven't you changed after all this time?
Onoki: The times have changed!
Madara: I don't see how.
Onoki: You think we'll still lose to you?
Madara: What else?
Onoki: Eat my Dust Style!
Madara: Chakra Absorption Technique.
Onoki: What the—how did you get stronger?
Madara: As if you could beat me even if I hadn't gotten stronger...