The First Allied Training Base.
Madara looked at every person before him.
Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, Darui, Kurotsuchi.
The young ones stood straight, waiting for the exam.
Months of training had ground down their arrogance, polishing them little by little into raw jade.
"Good."
"That's the look I want. Caring about your comrades… and trusting your back to your teammates."
Vast chakra surged from his body, forming a deep-blue skeleton, then wrapping it in a layer of imposing armor.
A perfect Susanoo.
"Let me see just how much you brats have learned from me, Madara Uchiha!"
Two chakra greatswords condensed in the giant's hands.
"Dance!"
The instant his voice fell, Naruto moved.
Golden light exploded from his body, cross-shaped pupils appearing.
Nine black Truth-Seeking Balls floated behind him.
His chakra synchronized perfectly with Kurama's, and senjutsu energy flowed over his body.
"I'm going in!"
His speed became nothing but a golden afterimage.
A highly condensed Rasengan formed in his hand—countless tiny chakra blades spinning at insane speed inside it.
"Starting with a big move right away—let's see how you block this!"
Senpō: Chōōdama Rasenshuriken (Sage Art: Super Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken)!
One of the strongest single-target attacks he could currently use.
It shot straight for the core of Susanoo's chest.
Madara stood inside the diamond crystal at Susanoo's forehead and didn't even move.
The massive chakra giant raised its left hand, the ancient flame fan meeting the incoming golden storm.
Naruto's jutsu—packed with all his power—was absorbed and nullified with ease.
How could that be? It was blocked that easily…
"Naruto, spread out!" Sasuke's calm voice came from the flank.
Naruto instinctively leapt back.
The moment he left his position, Susanoo's other greatsword swept through where he'd been.
Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly as a purple Susanoo rose as well.
His Susanoo was far smaller, but it was coated in tangible nature energy, making it more condensed.
"Kagutsuchi!"
The purple giant drew a bow. An arrow made of Amaterasu black flames shot toward Madara's Susanoo's eye.
He meant to limit Madara's vision.
At the same time, Gaara slammed both hands onto the ground.
"Sand Waterfall Grand Funeral!"
The sand beneath them came alive—two gigantic arms surging up from underground, grabbing at Susanoo's legs.
Kurotsuchi and Darui followed immediately.
"Lava Style: Corrosion Technique!"
"Storm Style: Laser Circus!"
Acidic lava and multiple curving lasers attacked Susanoo's joints from different angles.
Their objective was clear: break the giant's balance and create an opening for Naruto and Sasuke.
It was a combination they'd drilled countless times.
Madara watched it all, approval flickering in his eyes.
The tactics were correct. The timing was precise.
These brats really had grown.
Unfortunately…
their opponent was him.
One Susanoo blade swung upward, its wind precisely shattering the black-flame arrow.
The other blade chopped down, effortlessly slicing Gaara's sand arms apart.
As for the lava and lasers, they couldn't even touch Susanoo's armor before the chakra airflow thrown up by the blade blew them away.
In an instant, the five-man assault was completely dismantled.
"It's not over!" Sasuke barked.
His purple Susanoo charged in, the long sword in its hand wrapped in Chidori lightning as it stabbed for Madara's Susanoo's waist.
Naruto appeared on the other side—his nine Truth-Seeking Balls forming a black shield before him as he slammed into the giant's knee.
Close-quarters engagement.
They were trying to restrict the sweeping range of those massive greatswords.
Madara dismissed the fan and one blade.
The huge blue arm clenched into a fist and smashed directly into Sasuke's Susanoo.
Sasuke raised his sword to block.
The armor on Susanoo's arm cracked apart piece by piece, and Sasuke was blasted backward.
The other blue hand opened, swatting at Naruto like a fly.
Naruto caught it head-on with the Truth-Seeking Ball shield.
A violent shock rippled through him—his organs felt like they'd shifted.
The shield didn't break, but he himself was slammed into the ground, carving out a huge human-shaped crater.
"Gaara!" Darui shouted.
Sand surged. Under Gaara's control it became a soft sand mat that caught the flying Sasuke, dispersing most of the impact.
"Thanks." Sasuke coughed blood and forced himself upright again.
Naruto also jumped out of the crater, blood at the corner of his mouth, but his fighting spirit burned even hotter.
"Again!"
They rushed in once more.
Attack—blocked. Attack again—blocked again.
No matter what tactics or ninjutsu they tried, they couldn't breach the blue giant's defense.
Madara was like an impassable mountain, forcing them to feel their own smallness again and again.
Outside the training field, inside an isolated observation room—
Shinju watched a full holographic screen.
Endless streams of data refreshed rapidly.
"Naruto: chakra output stability increased to 98.7%. Senjutsu utilization rating: S."
"Sasuke: dojutsu perception rating: S+. Susanoo chakra density: A+."
"Gaara: absolute defense range expanded by 30%. Chakra consumption reduced by 15%."
"Team coordination synergy: S-level."
The system evaluated everyone on the battlefield with precision.
Every number represented months of blood and sweat.
Shinju's expression remained calm.
This had never been a battle for victory.
On the field, the situation shifted.
Madara seemed to lose patience.
He dismissed Susanoo. His real body leapt down from the forehead crystal and landed before them.
"Taijutsu." He said only two words.
Naruto's Sage sensing expanded to its limit.
He could sense everything around him—
but he couldn't see Madara's movements.
He only felt danger coming from the right. His body dodged left on instinct.
A sharp pain ripped across his cheek.
He spun as he flew away.
Just a brush from the wind of a punch—and half his face swelled high.
Sasuke's Sharingan caught a black afterimage.
He immediately used Amenotejikara to swap places with a distant rock.
The instant he appeared there, he saw the ground where he'd been standing crushed to powder under Madara's foot.
Too fast.
So fast that even sensing and vision nearly couldn't keep up.
"Together!" Gaara's sand formed dozens of spikes, stabbing in from all directions.
Kurotsuchi and Darui unleashed more ninjutsu, sealing every escape route.
Madara's figure threaded through the gaps between sand spikes and techniques.
He dodged everything effortlessly and appeared before Gaara in an instant.
Gaara activated both sand armor and sand shield at once.
Madara only extended one finger and tapped the sand shield.
A crack appeared.
Then the crack spread rapidly—until the entire shield shattered.
The armor collapsed instantly.
Gaara spat blood and flew backward.
"Gaara!" Naruto roared as his golden figure surged forward again.
This time, he turned all nine Truth-Seeking Balls into offensive spikes and fired them at Madara.
Madara didn't even look.
He drew the flame fan at his waist and flicked it casually.
A burst of repulsion erupted, forcibly batting all nine Truth-Seeking Balls away.
The fight had become total suppression.
Sasuke panted, blood tears running from overusing his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
He looked at his comrades down on the ground—then at Madara, completely uninjured.
The gap was still so big it was suffocating.
But Sasuke didn't give up.
He gathered his last chakra into his right eye.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames erupted under Madara's feet.
Madara glanced down, letting the inextinguishable fire burn over him, then lifted his gaze to Sasuke.
"Is that all?"
He vanished.
Sasuke's danger sense peaked—he felt it behind him!
He spun around hard. Susanoo's ribcage armor flashed into existence.
A palm was already pressed against his chest.
A light, casual palm strike…
carrying terrifying power.
Sasuke felt several ribs snap. His vision went dark, and he lost consciousness completely.
Susanoo's bone frame was smashed to powder, unable to form again.
The last one still standing was Naruto.
"It's not… over!"
He clasped his hands together. Massive chakra began to gather.
This was his final attack.
Madara watched quietly, not interrupting.
A Super Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken fused with senjutsu and a Tailed Beast Bomb formed in Naruto's hand.
The destructive energy made the surrounding space warp.
Naruto threw it with everything he had.
Madara raised his right hand, fingers spread.
"Fūinjutsu Absorption Seal."
Naruto froze.
Even this was useless?
His last trump card was neutralized that easily.
The golden Sage form faded.
He couldn't hold himself up anymore and dropped to one knee.
The exam… finally ended.
Everyone collapsed like deflated balloons.
Madara walked among the battered youths and spoke.
"Pass."
"To reach this level, you brats are already pretty good… but you're still far from enough. The road ahead is long."
Inside the observation room, Shinju closed the scoring system.
The final overall evaluation stopped at an "S" rating.
A team with true top-tier combat power had taken shape.
Now, they had the qualification to face the Otsutsuki.
Just then—
A piercing alarm howled throughout Divine Court headquarters.
Red warning lights flashed wildly in the observation room.
"Alert! Alert! Highest-level spatial fluctuation detected! Target is breaking through the world barrier!"
"Energy level assessment: God-tier!"
The system's icy electronic voice echoed in the room.
Shinju snapped his head up, staring at the central holographic sand table.
A huge, glaring red dot appeared—directly above the Land of Fire.
The system automatically pulled up matching database information.
A name appeared beside the red point.
[Momoshiki Otsutsuki].
(End of Chapter)
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