for a brief moment—two colossal giants clashed with thunderous might, the resulting shockwave engulfing the entire battlefield.
The cyan giant, forged from pure natural energy, did not falter in the slightest and met the blow head-on with its massive fist.
"As expected of a manifestation formed from condensed natural energy," Uchiha Kiyo thought, silently giving a nod of approval within.
It was a shame, however, that this form lacked the ability to passively absorb natural energy for self-repair. The damage the giant received still had to be healed through his own chakra reserves.
Still, it was formidable enough. At the very least, it wouldn't collapse easily against a fully-formed Susanoo.
But in the end, battles are decided by contact—by impact.
The cyan giant stepped backward slightly before forming a hand seal.
"Qi Yuan Slash!"
From the giant's hand, a massive slashing disc—spanning dozens of meters—took shape.
Rather than hurling it immediately, Uchiha Kiyo wielded it like a weapon, guiding it through sheer will as the giant waved its arm with fluidity and deadly intent.
On the opposite side, Madara Uchiha responded in kind, unsheathing four ethereal blades from his Susanoo and diving into close-quarters combat with Kiyo's giant.
Each clash between the two titans sent tremors through the ground, and Uchiha Kiyo's Qi Yuan Slash demonstrated terrifying cutting power, slicing into the weapons wielded by Madara's Susanoo.
But Madara's ocular prowess was profound; any damage sustained by his Susanoo repaired itself rapidly under the immense power of his Rinnegan and Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Is this truly a power mortals can wield?" someone from the Allied Shinobi Forces murmured, eyes wide with disbelief.
The battlefield had been reduced to rubble by the two giants. Their strength transcended anything normal shinobi could fathom—it felt divine, apocalyptic. The sentiment rippled through the soldiers as they watched, stunned and awed.
Just as the two giants battled furiously, another front reached a conclusion.
Naruto, Sasuke, and several others burst onto the primary battlefield.
"What… what is this?" Naruto muttered, his face pale with disbelief as he beheld the two titanic chakra constructs engaged in brutal combat.
"Damn you…" Sasuke growled, his Sharingan spinning furiously as he focused on the cyan giant.
He now knew the truth—of the Uchiha Clan's demise, of Itachi's sacrifice. And despite understanding that the man who stood before him—Uchiha Kiyo—may have had noble intentions, hatred still surged in Sasuke's heart.
This man had deceived him. Despite knowing everything, he had kept Sasuke in the dark. His brother's eyes—still in the hands of this man.
Uchiha Kiyo, meanwhile, had completely forgotten about that detail.
He still held Itachi's eyes—preventing Sasuke from awakening the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Would the Sage of Six Paths still grant him the Rinnegan despite that?
Probably… The Sage himself hadn't had a brother's eyes and yet awakened the Rinnegan through sheer power and spiritual enlightenment. If Sasuke could amass enough chakra and resolve, perhaps it would be possible.
But Kiyo overlooked Sasuke's core issue—his mental state.
Years of trauma from the Uchiha massacre had twisted Sasuke's soul. His potential, while vast, had already been heavily taxed. Itachi's actions had accelerated his growth, but at the cost of his emotional stability. He wasn't evolving naturally—his path was forced.
Jumping from the Mangekyō to the Rinnegan would demand an unnatural price.
Far away, the Sage of Six Paths had already begun contemplating action—whether to confront Uchiha Kiyo directly and reclaim Itachi's eyes for Sasuke's sake.
Currently, Sasuke's vision hadn't deteriorated completely, thanks to Kiyo's advanced manipulations of the timeline. His Mangekyō still functioned.
Orochimaru had arrived on the field as well. His eyes narrowed at the ongoing clash, and with a sinister smirk, he decided to add chaos to the fray.
With a series of hand seals, four coffins rose from the earth—Edo Tensei.
The Four Hokage returned.
"Again? Who summoned us this time?" Hashirama asked, frowning as he emerged from the coffin.
Their reappearance was followed by swift introductions, cut short as Tsunade and the others explained the situation, pointing toward the two dueling giants.
"You're saying an Uchiha—named Uchiha Yun—is fighting against Madara?" Tobirama scowled. His disdain for the Uchiha ran deep.
"Yes," Tsunade confirmed. She chose not to mention Uchiha Kiyo's earlier rampage through Konoha, fearing it would sow discord among the reinforcements.
But her omission was meaningless.
Uchiha Kiyo's sensory perception covered the entire battlefield—he had heard everything.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Hahaha… I've got some business to attend to."
He left a shadow clone to control the cyan giant against Madara and teleported directly to the newly resurrected Hokage.
"Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus!"
A blazing lotus erupted where Kiyo had stood, scorching the earth, and Kiyo himself flashed into view before the Hokage.
"Uchiha Yun! What are you thinking!?" Tsunade snapped.
Kiyo ignored her.
"Tsk… Hiruzen Sarutobi. I regret not killing you myself. But I think I have a better idea now."
A wave of unease passed through the assembled group.
"Let's talk this through," Hashirama urged, trying to mediate. "There's no need for bloodshed among us."
"You're wrong, First Hokage," Kiyo said coldly. "There is every reason."
"The Third, along with Danzō and the Elders, orchestrated the massacre of the Uchiha Clan. Not even civilians were spared. They were tortured—to force the evolution of their Sharingan."
Even Sasuke, still bitter toward Kiyo, couldn't refute his words. He clenched his fists in silent agreement.
"For revenge, I've already killed Danzō. Eliminated the two Elders. Destroyed the Shimura Clan."
A deadly silence followed.
Even Tobirama, known for his cold logic, drew a sharp breath. The scale of vengeance was staggering.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's face turned ashen.
"And the Sarutobi Clan?" he asked in a trembling voice.
"They're not completely wiped out," Kiyo replied with a grin. "But I did cast a jutsu on their district. As for the survivors… who knows?"
Tsunade, exhaling, added, "Some did survive. But he's placed a bounty on all of them across the ninja world."
She had withheld that information out of fear, but now it was meaningless.
Kiyo wasn't finished.
"Oh, and Danzō's corpse? I nailed it to the Hokage Rock. Engraved his crimes beneath the faces of every Hokage. Thought the village should know the truth."
"You bastard!" Tsunade shouted, fury overtaking her.
Kiyo merely shrugged.
"I call it justice. Sweet, personal justice."
He suddenly formed a hand seal. The Qi Yuan Slash disc hummed back into existence. In a blink, he appeared beside Hiruzen.
"Not good!" Minato shouted, pushing Hiruzen aside and teleporting himself and the elderly Hokage to safety using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"You want the truth?" Kiyo said. "Your Root ninja drove Nawaki Senju to death. Hollowed out his organs. Just to experiment."
Even Hashirama and Tobirama were stunned to silence.
Before anyone could move, Kiyo's blade flashed again. Sarutobi Hibiki—a member of the Sarutobi Clan—was cleaved into pieces.
"Soul Seal!"
He sealed Hibiki's soul into a scroll, placing it in a visible stasis.
"I'll place this beneath Hokage Rock," Kiyo said with eerie calm. "So his soul can watch the villagers curse his name forever."
With a quick signal, Uchiha Teru appeared, received the scroll, and vanished without a word.
"Well then, we've got a common enemy," Kiyo said with a smirk. "Let's handle that first."
He disappeared in a flicker, reappearing atop the cyan giant and reclaiming control from his shadow clone.
"Now he wants to cooperate?" Tsunade hissed, gritting her teeth.
But there was no time for personal vendettas.
"Birth of the World of Trees!" Hashirama roared.
"The Wood Human Technique!"
He summoned massive wooden avatars that towered beside the titans.
"Wood Dragon Technique!"
Joining the fight, Hashirama aligned with Uchiha Kiyo. Their combined assault forced Madara into retreat, if only momentarily.
Yet despite this temporary alliance, it was clear—Uchiha Kiyo was still leagues beneath the combined might of Madara and Hashirama.
As the battle intensified, Kiyo found himself increasingly sidelined—merely a pawn in a battle of gods.
Each blow from Hashirama's Sage Mode-enhanced Buddha or Madara's Perfect Susanoo threatened to obliterate his cyan giant with sheer force.
And yet, he endured.
But just barely.