Uchiha Madara was, after all, a ninja who had been famous for decades. His combat experience was unfathomably deep, so he would never naïvely believe that Arata would spare him in his weakened state.
The moment Arata charged toward him, Madara bit down hard on his right thumb, drawing blood.
He then slammed his hand onto the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
With a thunderous boom, a colossal monster appeared.
Even seated, the creature was noticeably taller than the Nine-Tails. If it stood upright, it would easily exceed a hundred meters in height. Most unsettling of all, its head bore nine tightly closed eyes, giving it an eerie, unnatural appearance.
Arata was just about to finish Madara off—but the instant he saw this, he stopped.
Because this creature was anything but ordinary.
It was the core of the entire original storyline.
This monster was none other than the Gedo Statue—the husk of the Ten-Tails. Once all nine tailed beasts were sealed within it, it would transform into the God Tree itself—the Ten-Tails.
At present, no tailed beast had yet been sealed inside, which was why all nine eyes remained closed. Still, that didn't stop Madara from channeling chakra into it.
The moment the statue appeared, Arata instinctively sensed it—and was shocked to discover that the chakra within the Gedo Statue surpassed even that of the Nine-Tails.
He immediately recalled that, around this point in the original timeline, Madara had already begun supplying chakra to the statue in order to mass-produce White Zetsu.
Those hundred thousand White Zetsu soldiers had largely been created during this period.
As for the statue supplying chakra back to Madara—that wouldn't happen until the Third Great Ninja War, still more than a decade away.
This was Madara's final trump card.
The chakra stored within the Gedo Statue had been accumulated over many years, serving a role similar to Uzumaki Mito's Yin Seal—a reserve that could be tapped in times of need.
However, the statue itself was essentially a half-dead entity. It could not regenerate chakra on its own, meaning every bit spent was permanently lost.
Unless absolutely necessary, Madara would never want to use it.
But now, it was clear—Arata intended to fight him to the death.
At this point, Madara could no longer afford restraint.
Just then, White Zetsu—who had been observing from afar—appeared beside Madara. It was clear he had seen enough. Now that the battle had reached its decisive stage, he could no longer remain a spectator.
Though White Zetsu appeared unimpressive, the fact that it was the ideal material for Edo Tensei proved its worth.
And in the original story, White Zetsu had even controlled Yamato to unleash techniques resembling True Several Thousand Hands. At the very least, this spiral-faced White Zetsu possessed real combat ability.
Seeing Madara in such a battered state, White Zetsu joked lightly:
"Ahhh~ who would've thought Madara would ever meet someone like this?"
Surprisingly, Madara didn't get angry this time.
Instead, he stared intently at Arata, breathing heavily.
Seeing this, White Zetsu was briefly stunned—then understood.
Madara had entered a state of absolute combat focus.
Turning toward Arata, White Zetsu spoke with genuine admiration:
"What a terrifying kid… hard to believe he's just a civilian with no bloodline~"
This praise was sincere. Suppressing an elderly Madara was already astonishing—after all, even in this state, Madara was still firmly at peak transcendent Kage-level.
An existence that should have been invincible in the shinobi world.
Yet Arata had reached this realm at nineteen years old.
In truth, he had already surpassed Madara. His future achievements might even exceed Madara's own.
Arata ignored White Zetsu's praise and instead said calmly:
"Uchiha Madara—can you tell me now why you targeted me?"
Arata still had strength left to fight, but Madara was not yet completely exhausted either. If Madara truly joined forces with the Gedo Statue, the outcome would be uncertain—especially given how much Arata had already expended.
More importantly, Arata had no allies left.
Madara, on the other hand, still had White Zetsu.
Having read the original story, Arata would never underestimate this White Zetsu.
Madara, breathing heavily, replied:
"I originally wanted you to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan for me. But now… it seems you wouldn't be willing to serve under me, would you?"
Madara knew Arata wouldn't understand the Eye of the Moon Plan yet, but that didn't matter. With the strength Arata had just displayed, Madara could no longer suppress him anyway.
And such a subordinate?
He wouldn't dare accept one.
If Arata ever turned on him, Madara would be utterly annihilated.
Arata finally understood Madara's intentions.
Though he knew what the Eye of the Moon Plan was, he had no interest in working for Madara—especially with the Hokage position practically within reach.
Agreeing now would mean abandoning rewards that were already in his grasp.
"You're right," Arata replied flatly.
And with that, he showed no interest in further conversation.
Madara immediately sensed it.
This kid had killing intent.
If Madara were in Arata's position, he wouldn't allow such a powerful old monster to continue lurking somewhere in the shinobi world either.
Still, Madara wasn't afraid.
He turned to White Zetsu and asked:
"Is that thing ready?"
White Zetsu scratched his head.
"It's ready… but do we really need to use it now? Isn't it still too early?"
Madara fell silent, clearly weighing the consequences. Whatever they were considering—even he had to think carefully.
Arata seized the moment.
He unleashed three more slashes.
After doing so, his Lightning Armor shrank once again, now standing at roughly one hundred meters.
The reason was simple—the earlier massive form had been sustained by borrowed natural lightning. That energy was reaching its limit. If he didn't release it, it would be wasted.
Facing these three slashes, Madara remained calm.
Then he said to White Zetsu:
"Let's withdraw. Continuing this fight serves no purpose."
White Zetsu immediately nodded.
Drawing on the chakra of the Gedo Statue, Madara rapidly formed hand seals.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
With a resounding shout, countless tree roots burst forth from the ground before Madara. Among them bloomed strange flowers that instantly opened and released clouds of yellowish pollen.
As the jutsu activated, the Gedo Statue vanished.
At the same time, White Zetsu wrapped himself around Madara—
And the two of them sank back into the earth, disappearing once more.