Click... click... click...
A cold, resolute voice echoed as a massive wooden hand clenched tightly.
Madara's Perfect Susanoo—cracked.
Then shattered.
Boom. Boom.
A force of pure annihilation surged forth.
Dozens of massive wooden hands rained down like divine punishment upon Madara.
In mere seconds, his Perfect Susanoo degenerated—first into its third form, then into nothing at all.
Even the great Uchiha Madara couldn't last more than three seconds.
His body, reanimated by the Impure World Reincarnation, was obliterated instantly.
Suddenly, a blinding white light flared—
Impure World Reincarnation… Released!
Naruto's brow furrowed, just as Mu—hidden in the shadows and mid-hand sign—froze in disbelief.
At some point, the massive divine tree behind him had silently grown new roots, which now pierced through his secondary mouth.
His reanimated body shattered like glass.
Kabuto Yakushi: "…"
All of his chess pieces—gone.
But Kabuto didn't panic.
He simply waited in the underground base, silently.
From just one glance, Naruto had already locked onto Kabuto's location via the residual link of the Impure World Reincarnation.
Run?
Kabuto turned and found the underground base completely covered in thick, writhing vegetation.
If he dared move, he would be instantly devoured by it.
"Heh… I failed... Lord Orochimaru, I finally understand why you defected from Konoha."
Kabuto ended the reanimation technique. Yet… Madara's body continued to glow with white light.
"You're trying to undo it yourself?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Did I say you could leave?"
Taking a deep breath, Naruto extended his arms.
In the next instant, a deathly shadow appeared behind him—a grim, god-like spirit.
It grew rapidly, towering like a giant Buddha with a monstrous green face and twin black blades.
Madara, now reduced to a wandering soul, had lost all will to resist.
Everything he once prided himself on… had crumbled.
With a single motion, the reaper's massive hand forced Madara's soul back into his reanimated body.
Once whole again, Naruto's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spun silently.
Madara, against his own will, activated his Perfect Susanoo again.
Boom! Boom!
The wooden hands descended once more.
In the distance, Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju let out long sighs.
"Brother… I think maybe… you owe Kurama an apology."
"Ha... haha... maybe you're right."
"Do you think Naruto will start complaining I'm too powerful next?"
Below, countless shinobi stood in stunned silence.
The ninjas and villagers of Konoha stood tall with pride.
Even the Daimyō and allied commanders exchanged relieved glances.
Thankfully, they'd been "smart" enough to support Konoha early—definitely not surrendering. Nope. Support.
Nearby, the Nine-Tails, still resting in Uzumaki Mito's arms, finally stirred.
She calmed herself and reinforced the inner seal.
Suddenly, the yang half of Kurama opened its eyes.
A chakra hand emerged from Naruto's body, seizing Madara.
"Uchiha Madara... you're too powerful."
"I, Kurama, will seal you myself!"
But… what sealing techniques did Kurama actually know?
None.
He'd come purely to vent.
Madara, in some strange soul-preserving stupor, stood unmoving.
Kurama threw a few punches, but quickly grew bored. With a snort, he reabsorbed his chakra and returned to his human form.
Whoosh—
Mito stared blankly at her now-empty arms, then at the smug Kurama nearby. She fell into deep thought.
Naruto looked down at Madara, now just standing there, and sighed.
He felt bored.
This was a man whose worldview had collapsed. Even pain wouldn't make him flinch anymore.
"…Fine. You're not desperate enough. I'll give you a little hope. Then crush it again."
"I don't believe you can keep that arrogant face after this."
He waved his hand. The grim specter behind him dissolved and returned to his body.
Freed from its suppression, Madara's reanimated body glowed once more.
Moments later, his soul returned to the Pure Land.
Naruto frowned.
He realized that doing something this massive… would be a real headache to deal with after the war.
"…No choice. This is the only way."
He sat cross-legged atop the giant Buddha and closed his eyes.
Focusing inward, he activated the Mori Mori no Mi—the Forest Forest Fruit—at full power.
The Buddha's massive body began to move, channeling its internal life force.
In the blink of an eye, countless nutrients poured into the earth.
Across Konoha, vegetation flourished wildly.
Even the attacking White Zetsu and plant-clone saplings were absorbed and nourished.
Cries of relief and joy rose from below.
Fifteen minutes later, all the Buddha's energy had been spent. The colossal figure turned into ordinary, lifeless wood.
"Kurama, this stuff's high-quality lumber—"
Before Naruto could finish—
"I got it! I know what to do!" Kurama interrupted.
"…Right. I'll leave it to you."
"I need to step out for a while. Madara's resurrection is coming soon."
"Okay~!"
…
This battle would go down in history, marking a turning point in how the ninja world understood power.
In just a few short days, word of the conflict spread like wildfire. Every small nation, hesitant daimyo, and wavering ninja leader packed up and rushed toward Konoha, no longer daring to stand on the sidelines.
But all that—was a matter for later.
After entrusting the dismantled giant Buddha to Kurama, Naruto vanished in a flicker and reappeared beside Hashirama and Tobirama Senju.
"Grandpa, Second Grandpa—come with me. Madara's about to be brought back. We're heading to the Hidden Rain Village."
Tobirama's brows drew together. "Nagato…? Don't tell me—"
Before Hashirama could speak, Tobirama cut in.
"If the Samsara of Life technique is used, Madara will pick up right where he left off."
"The Impure World Reincarnation was just a smokescreen. His subconscious will drive him forward regardless."
"So, once he's revived, let Naruto beat some humility into him—then you can expose the truth. Maybe then, he'll finally listen."
Hashirama let out a long sigh. "Alright. And maybe we can take a look at the new ninja world along the way."
The three Great Sage Realms had all felt the tremors from this battle.
The slugs of the Shikkotsu Forest remained silent as ever, watching with distant concern.
But the Mount Myōboku toads and Ryūchi Cave snakes were not as calm.
It felt like the chaos from the time of Kaguya and Isshiki Ōtsutsuki had returned.
The great sages were panicked.
And far beyond that—within the realm of spirits and death—a terrible presence stirred.
Even with layers of barriers in place, the pressure seeped into the world of ghosts and gods. The gatekeeper Shinigami froze mid-motion, sensing an overwhelming aura lock onto it.
Even the Six Sage Ancestors of the Pure Land stirred in response.
Meanwhile, in the Hidden Cloud Village—
"Mabui! Use the new chakra transmission system—send word to Konoha! 'Uchiha Madara is coming!'"
"Yugito can't hold out much longer!"
"Yes!"
Boom—!
The door burst open.
Dosu crossed his arms, stepping forward with a calm air. "Leave it to us—Uchiha Madara, huh? We've been waiting."
Back in the Hidden Rain Village, Nagato gave everything he had to resist.
But eventually, he caved.
His hand trembled as he removed his protective eye patch and installed the Rinnegan once more. With a final breath, he activated the Samsara of Life Technique.
Uchiha Madara was reborn.
But the man who rose from the grave wasn't the arrogant tyrant of before.
Silent, composed, Madara looked from Nagato to Black Zetsu.
Then he stood.
"Let's go. We don't have much time."
Black Zetsu hesitated. Something about Madara… felt different.
Once they were gone, a clone of Naruto, still in Sage Mode, emerged from the shadows of Amegakure.
Quietly, he transferred all the nutrients from his own body into Nagato, whose life force was rapidly draining away.
"Thanks for holding on, Nagato. Rest now. You've earned it."
Nagato smiled faintly. "I'll be asleep for a while… I'm leaving the Hidden Rain to you… and Konan, too."
Outside the village, Madara suddenly stopped.
"How many Tailed Beasts have we captured?"
All he had left now was the Moon's Eye Plan. As long as the Infinite Tsukuyomi was successful, he could prove to Naruto that his dream was worth believing in.
But Black Zetsu shook his head slowly.
"None. We haven't captured a single one."
"The closest we came was the Nine-Tails… but Obito didn't leave when he had the chance. He caused chaos in Konoha instead."
Madara's eyes narrowed.
"Useless…"
"If he had escaped then, we wouldn't be in this mess."
He clenched his fists.
He had suspected things wouldn't go smoothly when he saw Hashirama and Tobirama revived through Edo Tensei.
But he never imagined they'd fail to capture even one Tailed Beast.
"Forget it. Let's retrieve my eyes first."
"We don't need that puppet anymore. Where is he?"
"Hidden Cloud Village."
"Tch—figures."
Uchiha Madara said nothing.
Black Zetsu stepped forward and offered a plan.
"We can't get the Nine-Tails right now… but we can use a substitute. The trainee monks from the Fire Temple — they've all been infused with traces of the Nine-Tails' chakra. And don't forget the fallen Kumogakure shinobi… Kinkaku and Ginkaku."
"As for the others… the Two-Tails should still be within reach. Obito can take care of that. The Three-Tails, the Four-Tails—"
Before he could finish, Madara cut him off with a wave of his hand.
"Forget it. Release all the White Zetsu. Let them handle the distractions."
"I'll gather the Tailed Beasts myself."
His voice was cold, resolute.
"As long as we can awaken the Rinnegan's Outer Path ability and activate the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path… even with an incomplete Ten-Tails, the plan will succeed."
Madara could feel his blood pumping through his veins again, real and alive. That sensation slowly rebuilt the confidence that had shattered upon his revival.
"Move fast. Head back now and release the 100,000 White Zetsu clones."
"Declare war on the entire ninja world."
"I'll go collect the Tailed Beasts myself. I must finish before he can react!"
But just as his confidence began to surge again, the memories of recent events came flooding back—Naruto's strength, the resurrected Senju brothers, the collapse of every carefully-laid plan.
Madara's expression twisted.
Then, without another word, he vanished in an instant.
Black Zetsu sneered.
"As expected, reviving Uchiha Madara was the best choice. No more depending on weak currencies or disposable pawns."
His voice dropped to a whisper.
"Mother… it's almost time. Madara will bring you back himself."
With that, Black Zetsu sank into the ground, merging once more with White Zetsu.
Deep underground, he soon arrived at the hidden facility housing the army: 100,000 White Zetsu clones, ready to be unleashed.
"It's time to make some noise," Black Zetsu growled, spreading his chakra like a signal flare.
"Let's turn the entire ninja world upside down."
"Even if the world resists, even if every shinobi village fights back… by the time they respond, it will already be too late to stop Mother's return."
BOOM—!
The massive gates groaned open, and 100,000 White Zetsu poured out like a tsunami of living clay.
"Declare war," Black Zetsu said, half to himself. "A good strategy... It'll buy us more time."
"...But the real question is—who's actually going to follow through?"
Outside the base, the White Zetsu began to emerge.
Their voices echoed like children at recess.
"Wooooo! Finally free!"
"Take off~!"
"Air! Real air!"
Then—
"Hmm? That chakra… Whoa, intense. Hehe! But hey, I'm not like those other White Zetsu! I won't betray you!"
"Right! Totally loyal! Promise~!"
"Yup, yup, yup~!"
Black Zetsu's face darkened as he watched.
One hundred thousand clones… and every last one of them a damn chatterbox.
...
TN:
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