"…This… is also Susanoo?"
Jiraiya raised his head, staring blankly at the sky. Floating above them was a colossal dragon wreathed in armor-like chakra. Its sheer presence left him speechless.
He had never witnessed Susanoo with his own eyes before—only read about it in Konoha's secret archives. According to those records, Susanoo was a towering warrior clad in chakra armor, dozens of meters tall, said to rival even the Tailed Beasts.
But this?
This pink dragon in the sky… just its eyes alone dwarfed a Tailed Beast.
"What… what kind of monster is this…?"
"This is Susanoo," Tsunade murmured, her usually steady voice trembling. "I saw it described in Grandfather's journal. The technique Uchiha Madara once used—he even covered the Nine-Tails with it."
Her eyes widened as she looked again at the dragon cloaked in radiant armor. "But… this doesn't make sense. Susanoo is the manifestation of the Mangekyō Sharingan… so why does a dragon have it? Could a monster really possess such eyes? Or is it being controlled by some Uchiha, just like Madara controlled the Nine-Tails?"
"Control this thing?" Jiraiya barked back, even if she was the woman he admired. "Tsunade, don't kid yourself! Even if Madara himself came back to life, he couldn't control a monster like this. Compared to that dragon, the Nine-Tails would be nothing more than a baby's toy!"
A voice thundered from the heavens, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
"Kid! Are you looking down on me?!"
Both Tsunade and Jiraiya flinched, snapping their gaze upward—only to see something else that made their blood run cold.
Another Susanoo.
At some point, a hundred-meter-tall blue Susanoo had fallen from the sky, slamming into the earth not far from them.
The realization struck like lightning.
"That dragon… it knocked down a complete Susanoo?"
Tsunade's heart pounded as she lifted her gaze to the head of the giant blue warrior. Her breath caught in her throat.
"That face…"
"What's wrong?" Jiraiya asked quickly, noticing her expression.
"…Grandfather once wrote that Susanoo has stages. The first form is the weakest, usually just over ten meters tall. But the strongest—'Complete Susanoo'—stands hundreds of meters tall and can cleave mountains with a single swing of its blade."
Her fists clenched as her eyes locked onto the young, black-haired man standing proudly in the blue Susanoo's core. "And in the history of the shinobi world, only one man has ever awakened a Complete Susanoo. His Susanoo was blue… and that man was Uchiha Madara. This is no secret. And—"
She hesitated, as if doubting her very senses.
"…And I've seen portraits of Madara in his youth. That man's face… is almost identical!"
"W-What?" Jiraiya stammered, forcing a dry laugh. "Come on, Tsunade, this isn't the time for jokes. Are you trying to scare me to death?"
But as he looked again, his throat went dry. The figure in the Susanoo was unmistakable: black hair, crimson Sharingan eyes, and armor straight out of the Warring States era. Jiraiya had no choice but to admit it—this man looked exactly like the legendary Uchiha Madara.
"Hmph. You recognize me? Of course you do—you're Hashirama's granddaughter."
Madara's cold voice echoed from the Susanoo's core. His gaze shifted from Tsunade to the monstrous dragon above.
"I'll get serious now… little girl."
The massive blue Susanoo reached for its weapon. But instead of a sword, it now wielded a colossal fan.
"Bankai—Six Paths of Reincarnation!"
Madara's eyes shifted into a terrifying golden Rinnegan, twelve tomoe swirling around each iris. Behind him, orbs of pure destruction—Truth-Seeking Balls—appeared, crackling with overwhelming power.
A suffocating pressure swept across the battlefield. Even though Madara wasn't aiming at them, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune felt as if death itself had wrapped chains around their throats.
"I-It's… him… it really is Madara Uchiha…" Jiraiya gasped, his face flushed from the sheer force pressing down on him. For the first time in his life, he couldn't even lift a finger.
Tsunade fared only slightly better. She forced herself to keep her head up, her eyes filled with awe and dread. "If that really is Madara… then who on earth is he fighting? Another Uchiha, strong enough to summon a Susanoo in the form of a dragon?"
"Forget who it is!" Jiraiya snapped, forcing himself to glance at Shizune, who lay trembling and unable to move. "Tsunade, you're the only one still on your feet. Take us and run before these monsters level everything!"
"…Sorry, Jiraiya." Tsunade gave him a bitter smile. "I can't move either. Whatever this power is, it's crushing me. I can only turn my head."
"What?!" Jiraiya's eyes widened. "You mean… we're just going to die here?"
Tsunade exhaled, calm in her despair. "Probably. Honestly… that's fine. All my loved ones are gone. I've wanted to see them again for a long time. I just never had the courage to take my own life."
"Nooo! Tsunade!" Jiraiya howled miserably. "I still want to write my books! I still haven't finished peeking at all the women's bathhouses! I can't die yet!"
"…You shameless pervert," Tsunade snapped, her lips twitching despite the danger. "If you die here, it'll be a blessing for every woman in the shinobi world. The only tragedy is that I'd have to die alongside you!"
Madara frowned inside Susanoo's core, irritated by the familiar bickering.
"Tch. So even without his power, Hashirama's granddaughter inherited his irritating voice and personality…"
His expression hardened as he turned back toward the dragon-shaped Susanoo looming in the sky.
It didn't matter. These weaklings would be crushed in the aftershocks soon enough. He had no reason to spare them.
Because for Madara, the only opponent worth his time now… was the dragon above.
"Be careful, Kasumigaoka Utaha! Don't go getting yourself killed—or even seriously injured! If Jaeger comes yelling at me again, it'll be a pain in the ass!"
Muttering a name completely unfamiliar to Tsunade and the others, Madara Uchiha spread his hands. Hundreds of Truth-Seeking Orbs flew outward, merging with the enormous war fan clutched by his Susanoo.
In moments, it forged into a titanic blade of pure blue light—so vast it looked as if it could pierce the heavens themselves.
This was no ordinary technique. After rifling through stolen fragments of memory, Madara had recreated and twisted the concept of Ōtsutsuki Toneri's Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
In essence, it was a fusion beam of raw power—spiritual pressure, chakra, force, and domain energies blended into one apocalyptic cannon.
The crafting of the technique was crude, but the destructive potential was terrifying. By Madara's own measure, it far outclassed Toneri's version. At minimum, this light blade could split two moons in half.
"GEYAAAAAAAAAA——!!"
Kasumigaoka Utaha—her form the pink dragon of Susanoo—answered with a roar that rattled the world. The hurricane winds it birthed tore apart clouds across tens of kilometers.
Inside, Utaha's heart pounded.
[Don't be afraid! As long as Mr. World Noble is here, my mana is limitless. The Twelve Trials will keep reviving me—nine resurrections left!]
The thought of how Jaeger had restored her resurrection stock with his absurd magic over the past two days briefly made her cheeks warm. But the blush vanished instantly, replaced with burning determination. She wasn't the fragile girl she once was.
"Mighty Dragon of Wind, Flame, and Thunder!"
The pink dragon blazed with fresh fury, its entire form clad in Susanoo's armor and layered with elemental power. Flames, lightning, and gale-force winds exploded outward, stacking atop her crushing spiritual pressure. The colossal body dove like a meteor toward Madara.
Madara only sneered.
"Hahaha! Kasumigaoka girl, don't fool yourself! Power isn't just about piling up elements—it's about scale! And mine will always be higher!"
The blue Susanoo swung its fan-sword down.
"Super Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
CRACK——!
The sky itself split open. A jagged line of black tore through the heavens. If not for Jaeger's simulated barrier surrounding the battlefield, the entire ninja world would have seen the sky break apart.
Utaha's eyes sharpened. "Kamui!"
Her vast dragon body flickered, becoming intangible. The titanic light cannon passed straight through her, swallowing her form whole.
Madara narrowed his eyes. "Hmph. The same phase-warping technique as Uchiha Obito? Useless! I know Kamui's weakness—it can't be sustained more than five minutes. I'll outlast her easily."
But the next moment, his smirk faltered.
Utaha dispelled the blur herself—taking the full brunt of the attack head-on.
"—!!"
A rain of blood fell across the battlefield. Her massive dragon form shattered under the light, blown apart into countless pieces. Yet from amidst the devastation, the colossal head of the dragon plummeted faster than before, flesh and scales already knitting back together at a pace that would shock even Tsunade.
Madara's eyes widened. "She's sacrificing her lives… deliberately tanking my attack to close the distance?!"
His instincts screamed. He immediately twisted Susanoo's wrist, hurling the beam upward instead. The redirected strike carved through the land, splitting the earth in two with terrifying ease. A rift yawned open—deep, endless, and nightmarish.
Tsunade's face went pale. "…How could Grandfather ever have defeated something like this?"
The three Sannin and even poor Tonton the pig stood frozen, horrified beyond belief. The blast had passed only dozens of meters away—close enough that they could feel death licking at their skin.
Meanwhile, Utaha's dragon body plummeted closer.
"This distance… should be enough."
With that thought, the flow of time itself froze.
Click.
The world ground to a halt. Clouds, lightning, even the falling rubble—all locked in stillness. Every being was frozen in place, even Danzo in faraway Konoha. Only Jaeger, who shared her authority over time, remained aware.
"Four seconds," Utaha whispered.
In the suspended world, her body fully reformed. Susanoo's armor tightened, flames and lightning surged, and a hurricane carried her faster toward Madara.
Jaeger, watching from afar, chuckled lightly. "So, she can pause time now. But with her strength, she won't kill Madara. At best, she'll embarrass him."
His gaze shifted to the other side of the barrier—where Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Shizune trembled in despair.
"It'd be a shame if they were erased in the crossfire. Jiraiya, the would-be sage and writer of Noble Phantasms… Tsunade, the woman who unites people's hearts… Shizune, so quiet and steady. All wasted."
Jaeger raised his hand, tracing glowing runes in the air. A barrier flared up, encasing them. Then, with a casual step, he ripped the fabric of space and appeared at their side.
At that exact moment, Utaha's dragon form completed its fall.
Click. Time resumed.
"She stopped time!" Madara's eyes widened. "And space itself is bending to Kamui!"
The dragon appeared directly above him, no gap, no warning. He had no counters for time-stopping. No Kamui escape routes. His only choice was to pour his will and spiritual pressure into Susanoo's head, fortifying it desperately.
From below, Tsunade saw it all. Her breath caught—then she noticed Jaeger standing casually in front of them.
"Careful! They're going to crash!" she shouted, and in her panic, she yanked Jaeger straight into her arms.
Jaeger: "…"
…Super soft marshmallows.
"I knew it! His Highness Jaeger is not a good man!"
From behind the other barrier, Uchiha Miyuki sneered greedily, while covering the ears of Kushina and Konan.
Kushina frowned, confused. "Why cover my ears, you creep?"
BOOOOM——!!
Dragon and Susanoo collided. The shockwave was apocalyptic, tearing across heaven and earth alike. Even through the barrier, the explosion deafened them. Kushina and the others toppled to the ground, covering their heads in terror.
Tsunade's heart pounded. She turned down in shock, realizing Jaeger's face was buried in her chest.
"You—you dare take advantage of me at a time like this?!"
Her cheeks burned, fury rising. But before she could shove him away, Jaeger moved faster. With a flick, he pulled Tsunade tightly into his embrace.
"???"
She froze. Why was she nestled against this stranger?
Jaeger didn't flinch. His magic eyes glowed as he raised a single finger.
The world-ending blast—gone.
Like popping a soap bubble, the impossible force dispersed, leaving only silence.
But the bottomless rift carved into the horizon proved it had been real.
Tsunade stared up at him, stunned. "With… one finger…?"
Illusion? Reality? Her thoughts blurred.
Jaeger only smirked faintly, while privately enjoying the soft "marshmallow" pressed against him. Of course, he would never admit that part aloud.
•••
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