[Boruto Uzumaki: "Holy—Mizukage and Raikage are insane!!"]
[Sarada Uchiha: "Five Kage vs. the ancestor himself… this lineup is maxed out."]
[Mitsuki: "So this is how our predecessors fought…"]
[Kagura Karatachi: "Too hype. Can Madara really withstand five Kage alone?"]
[Shinki: "Highly unlikely… right?"]
"He's not… dead already, is he?"
Some in the allied ranks wore thin smiles, suddenly unimpressed.
So this was the legendary Madara Uchiha? Disappointing—
—then again, his opponents were the Five Kage.
"Almost there, Hokage?" the Raikage growled, lightning crawling over his frame.
"Just a little longer," Tsunade answered without pausing, palms glowing as she healed.
Mizukage and Raikage bought time. Tsunade stabilized the Kazekage and the Tsuchikage.
Naruto watched, anxious.
"Relax," Tsunade said with a light smile. "This isn't like the Pain fight. I'm only fixing my body and these few injuries. Plenty of chakra left."
"Then patch me up too. Clone or not, I can't vanish yet," Naruto pressed.
"No need," Tsunade cut him off.
Ōnoki's lips curved. "This war isn't just about protecting you anymore."
Before Naruto could parse that, a thunderous blast rolled out. Smoke peeled away—
Madara's Susanoo stood up, blue ribs flexing.
"Lightning speed plus a Lava-Release bloodline, hm…" Madara's mouth tilted, eyes still bored. "The attack power is decent."
He hadn't taken real damage—Susanoo had simply shrugged the blows, offense and defense in one. Fine for these… "super-Kage" matches.
He flicked a wrist. Yasaka Magatama screamed across the earth toward the five.
Gaara and Ōnoki reacted in the same breath—towering sand and stone guardians rose, bracing.
Crack—crack—
Webs of fissures crawled their surfaces, but together they held.
"A twin defense of sand and rock… acceptable," Madara allowed.
Susanoo gathered force again—Ōnoki's face tightened.
"Here he comes. From now—all-out!" he snapped. "Mizukage, Raikage—lean in."
The blue giant blurred, twin blades falling.
Both colossi shattered under the cut.
Gaara's brow knotted. His hand rose; dunes surged, dragging at Susanoo's feet.
Madara hacked through the sand in cold, regular strokes.
Boom—boom—boom!
The ground trembled.
Gaara soared high, palms pressed. Cascades of sand poured down, swallowing Susanoo.
In a heartbeat a pyramid rose, sealing Madara inside.
Light leaked blue from within.
A brutal shockwave detonated—Gaara was hurled away.
The Five Kage already had a plan.
[Boruto Uzumaki: "Five Kage synergy is so sick!!"]
[Sarada Uchiha: "Can they actually beat Grandpa Madara?"]
[Mitsuki: "At this rate… maybe."]
[Shinki: "Please let Father seal Madara…"]
They eyed the rampaging blue giant with wary focus.
"Mizukage," Ōnoki called.
Mei nodded, hands moving. "Hidden Mist Technique."
Dense fog boiled from her lips. Visibility collapsed; desert faded into blank white.
Watching new-gen kids sucked in a breath. One jutsu—terrain erased.
So this is Kage-level…
[Mei Terumi: "Hmph. Our counterattack's just getting started."]
[Tsunade: "You got careless, Madara. That's your weakness."]
[Ōnoki: "You're still too naïve."]
[Deidara: "Old man, stop killing morale."]
[Fourth Raikage A: "Deidara's right. This Madara's just his 'normal state.' He's not that strong, is he?"]
[Hashirama Senju: "Madara, thoughts?"]
[Madara Uchiha: "I don't argue with the weak."]
[Izuna Uchiha: "That's my big brother!"]
[Tobirama Senju: "Heh."]
Ōnoki hopped onto the Raikage's shoulders—
—and lightened him with the Light-Weight Rock Technique.
"Go," Ōnoki said.
A vanished. His speed tripled—no, quadrupled.
He drive-kicked the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, skyward—
then reappeared point-blank on Susanoo's chest. His thunder fist cracked the ribcage; Madara's gaze briefly sharpened.
The Uchiha flew like a cut kite.
The battlefield stared, stunned.
This was Five Kage teamwork:
Hidden Mist to blind; Light-Weight Rock to supercharge A's speed;
and within the whiteout, the Raikage slugged Madara and his avatar clear off their feet.
"Granny, now—give me—" Naruto blurted.
"Listen, Naruto," Ōnoki said, voice low. "At first I joined this coalition only to topple Akatsuki. But fighting beside them… something changed."
His mouth softened.
The villages had been splintered. War had forced them into one body.
A common enemy birthed cooperation—cooperation, the first fragile ties of trust.
Comrades who bled together became bonds.
[Hashirama Senju: "See, Madara? People can understand each other."]
[Madara Uchiha: "You're still naïve, Hashirama."]
[Obito Uchiha: "Ahem. I side with the First Hokage on this one."]
[Itachi Uchiha: "Madara… a man who rejects comrades is doomed to fail. The video proves it."]
Across the lines, shinobi watched, moved in ways they wouldn't admit.
The new generation swallowed hard.
So this… is how our seniors fought.
Because of the Fourth Great Ninja War, villages once at each other's throats finally opened their hearts.
"Dad… how much did you go through to reach this?" Boruto whispered, eyes hot.
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