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Humanity is a species brimming with infinite potential.
Without being cornered, who can truly know the depths of their own power?
Obito was supposed to meet his end. But at the very last second, he absorbed the Ten-Tails and became its jinchūriki.
With the Ten-Tails absorbed, the Four Red Yang Formation that required four Hokage to maintain was no longer necessary.
Hashirama Senju's true body finally arrived, standing opposite Madara.
"Finally, you're here!"
Madara slung his weapon onto his back.
Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha faced each other.
This fated showdown was almost too much for Qianyu to watch.
"Girl!"
"I am your opponent!"
The moment Qianyu thought about turning to leave, Tobirama Senju's figure materialized before him.
A vein throbbed on Qianyu's forehead.
What did Tobirama Senju just call him?
Girl?
Qianyu's face darkened.
"Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A massive dragon formed of churning water swung its head, let out a roar toward the sky, and surged at Qianyu.
A golden pillar of light, to Tobirama's shock, absorbed the water dragon completely.
Before Tobirama could dodge, an even larger water dragon hurtled back at him.
"Water Style: Great Waterfall!"
A towering column of water erupted, scattering the dragon's form.
Tobirama's eyes narrowed. "As expected. You're not simple."
"Water Style: Heavenly Weeping!"
Needles of water shot suddenly from Tobirama's mouth.
A golden, curved barrier expanded from Qianyu's hand.
At the same moment, a kunai engraved with a Flying Thunder God mark embedded itself in the ground by Qianyu's foot.
"Flying Thunder God Slash!"
The sharp blade glinted coldly.
A flash before Qianyu's eyes—the short sword thrust straight for his heart.
Tobirama's gaze froze. He stared, incredulous, at the scene before him.
An invisible, intangible film seemed to separate him from his target.
His blade could not advance another inch.
"Nani?"
Tobirama focused intently on the distance between himself and Qianyu.
No.
It wasn't that he couldn't move forward.
He was moving forward.
The thing warping was the distance itself.
It was close, yet it kept stretching, elongating, turning a finite distance into an endless road. Tobirama threw himself backward a split second before a silver-white beam of light could pierce his body.
As a man who could develop countless forbidden jutsu, his mind was far from ordinary.
"A technique like that… it renders one practically untouchable!"
Tobirama stared gravely at Qianyu. "But can such a technique be maintained indefinitely?"
His figure vanished from the spot once more.
Qianyu tilted his head, evading Tobirama's sudden ambush. He caught Tobirama's wrist, and golden light pierced through half of Tobirama's body in an instant.
Tobirama's figure disappeared again.
Qianyu: "…"
The Flying Thunder God was the most annoying fighting style ever.
Tobirama waited for his half-destroyed body to regenerate. The moment never came.
"How…?"
Tobirama was stunned.
The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, appeared beside him. "Sensei, her attacks seem to prevent the Edo Tensei body from regenerating!"
Tobirama looked at his one remaining arm. "So it seems."
A massive shockwave hit, making Qianyu's robes whip violently.
Beside them, a Susano'o and a wooden giant were locked in a fierce struggle.
Every one of their clashes reshaped the landscape.
"Too terrifying!"
"Is this… the level of our ancestors' battles?"
"We're not even in the same league!"
"They're too strong!"
The fight between Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha was an eye-opener for the Allied Shinobi Forces.
On another part of the battlefield, Obito, now the Ten-Tails jinchūriki, was even more formidable.
"Looking at it this way… do we even stand a chance?"
Despair crept into the hearts of some in the Allied Forces.
First, there was the Edo Tensei Madara, who even the God of Shinobi couldn't defeat. Then the former Fifth Hokage. And now, a Ten-Tails jinchūriki.
"No!"
"They all have weaknesses!"
"We are not without hope!" Naruto shouted.
Even when the power gap was vast, you never gave up.
Naruto had already found the Ten-Tails jinchūriki's flaw. "Senjutsu attacks work on him!" he told his father.
Minato Namikaze had noticed too. "Right! Senjutsu can break through the defense of his Truth-Seeking Orbs!"
The existence of a flaw made the Ten-Tails jinchūriki seem less invincible. It also slightly dispelled the Allied Shinobi Forces' fear of him.
"Wait!"
"What is he doing?"
The Truth-Seeking Orbs, coated in red chakra flames, shot out and embedded themselves in the ground around the battlefield.
"Six Red Yang Formation!"
Crimson barriers instantly erupted from the earth, trapping everyone inside the formation. Including Obito himself.
Above the chakra tree, multiple Tailed Beast Balls were coalescing.
"Time to end this."
Obito's figure was completely enveloped by a protective sphere formed of Truth-Seeking Orbs.
"It seems he doesn't care about his ally's life either?"
Tobirama glanced at Qianyu. Obito's attack targeted everyone, including Qianyu. Madara Uchiha had an Edo Tensei body, but Qianyu was flesh and blood.
"And how do you know I can't avoid it?" Qianyu sneered at him.
Even if he was trying to sow discord, there was no point saying it to him. Looking at Obito now, he seemed to have severed all earthly attachments. No one could stop him.
Except maybe Naruto's Talk-no-Jutsu.
Suddenly, space itself seemed to warp.
The world before them blurred completely.
A blinding white light stabbed at their eyes. They could see nothing. Then came a deafening roar that stole all sound. Their whole bodies vibrated with the explosion, their senses utterly overwhelmed in an instant.
BOOM!
A colossal mushroom cloud punched into the sky.
The world fell into dead silence.
"Turn to ashes!"
"The world!"
Obito's voice scattered on the wind.
The shockwaves settled. The black Truth-Seeking Orbs slowly dissolved.
Obito stared, dumbfounded.
Before him were clusters of the Allied Shinobi Forces, each shrouded in the Nine-Tails' fiery red chakra. They had been teleported outside the barrier by the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God.
"So strong!"
"The Fourth Hokage saved us!"
"And Naruto!"
The shinobi who had cheated death looked on with relief and awe.
Within the barrier, the golden shield around Qianyu dissipated. He and Madara stood where they were.
"Not bad," Madara said, looking at the two most brilliant presences among the Allied Forces. "Not bad at all, that kid."
"Indeed," Qianyu agreed.
That crybaby from back then… he really had grown up.
Or was this just the power of a father's presence?
Qianyu's mouth twitched.
In the world of shinobi, there was no absolutely invincible power. If there was, it only had one name—bonds.
Qianyu broke out in full-body goosebumps. He couldn't help but shudder.
Madara Uchiha looked at him. "?"
Qianyu returned the look with a complicated expression. "…"
Don't give me that clueless look. You've got your own fated bond with Hashirama Senju, you know.
Madara narrowed his eyes. He had a feeling Qianyu was thinking something very unflattering.
"Father and son reunited. A touching scene, isn't it?" Madara watched the ill-timed display of affection between Minato and Naruto across the way. "And who was it that reincarnated them with Edo Tensei?"
Qianyu could guess with his toes. "Probably Orochimaru."
Orochimaru's allegiances were always a mystery. He seemed to be on Qianyu's side, yet he could help the Allied Shinobi Forces at critical moments. It all depended on his whims. After all, in Snake Uncle's eyes, a mere whim was enough to change his own gender. Nothing was off the table.
"Orochimaru?" Madara repeated the name idly. His expression made it clear he didn't give it a second thought.
"That brat is becoming too much of a nuisance." Madara's eyes turned cold. He looked at Qianyu, a smirk playing on his lips. "Will you go deal with him, or shall I?"
Qianyu: "…"
You're hinting so obviously, what else can I say?
Besides, Madara probably wouldn't be able to shake off Hashirama anyway.
Qianyu's figure vanished.
Hashirama's appeared before Madara the next second.
"Madara, we who are already dead shouldn't interfere in their war."
Madara: "I won't be 'already dead' for long."
Hashirama: "Madara, don't try to revive. We are both gone."
…
Minato and Naruto simultaneously gathered senjutsu chakra. Two massive Rasengans took shape in the air.
"Second Hokage-sama! Please!" Naruto called to Tobirama.
Tobirama's figure appeared between the two Rasengans. On Obito's back, from before he became the jinchūriki, was a Flying Thunder God mark left by Tobirama. He was the perfect carrier for the two attacks.
Tobirama suddenly materialized behind the Six Paths Obito.
Red senjutsu flames morphed into a giant hand, swatting toward him.
As if anticipating this, the Yin Nine-Tails chakra from Minato and the Yang Nine-Tails chakra from Naruto lashed out simultaneously, blocking Obito's senjutsu flames.
The senjutsu power began corroding Obito's defenses.
Incredulity flashed in Obito's eyes.
He… got hit by them?
Obito's body was flung back dozens of steps.
A Nine-Tails Tailed Beast Ball infused with senjutsu shot toward him.
Suddenly, a golden pillar of light erupted skyward.
The senjutsu-enhanced Tailed Beast Ball aimed at Obito was enveloped by the golden radiance.
Qianyu's figure appeared beside Obito. In the next moment, an even larger Tailed Beast Ball materialized before him.
"Off you go."
Qianyu flicked a finger.
WHOOSH!
The Tailed Beast Ball, trailing a hurricane, instantly appeared before Minato Namikaze and Naruto Uzumaki.
"Kurama!" Naruto's eyes widened.
The air seemed to tear open a mouth. It swallowed the Tailed Beast Ball whole.
The ball vanished into the void.
BOOM!
The ground shook. In the distance, the sound of the Tailed Beast Ball's explosion echoed.
"Dad?" Naruto looked at Minato beside him.
"I teleported it away." Minato gave Naruto a strained smile. A bead of sweat traced a line down his temple. Teleporting an amplified senjutsu Tailed Beast Ball was no easy feat.
"Retract the barrier for now," Qianyu said to Obito. "Clearing the battlefield quickly isn't feasible."
Obito's expression was cold. "It's not infeasible. You simply refuse to use your full power."
Qianyu: "Is it necessary? Once the Infinite Tsukuyomi is cast, the entire world will fall into genjutsu. At that point, what difference is there between life and death?"
Obito said nothing, but he dispelled the Six Red Yang Formation.
"I've waited long enough." Disgust flashed in Obito's eyes.
A spatial rift slowly opened behind him. The colossal form of the Ten-Tails emerged.
A gigantic bud unfurled. Countless vines sprouted from the Ten-Tails' body. The vines, breaking through the earth, immediately targeted the Allied Shinobi Forces, drawn to the sources of chakra.
Countless shinobi had their chakra sucked dry in an instant. The battlefield was littered with new corpses. In mere moments, the Ten-Tails drained the chakra from the majority of the shinobi. Even those who remained standing had no strength left to fight.
One could say the Ten-Tails accomplished the task of clearing the battlefield in a flash.
At the very top of the tree, the bud of the Infinite Tsukuyomi faced the moon, awaiting its final bloom. When it opened, the eye within would be reflected upon the moon, and the light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi would envelop every living being.
Elsewhere, the Five Kage, rescued by Orochimaru, were moving toward the God Tree.
"What is that?" Tsunade asked, staring at the enormous structure ahead.
"Don't know. We'll ask Gaara and the others when we get there," Rasa replied.
"The era of shinobi is over!" Obito floated in the air, indifferent to the carnage below. "Shinobi have no reason to exist!"
"Abandon your futile resistance," he said, looking down at the few remaining fighters. Even depleted, they still intended to fight.
"Qianyu."
A voice suddenly echoed in Qianyu's mind. He immediately sought its source.
Madara stood on a branch of the God Tree, looking in his direction.
"Now, I will replace Obito as the Ten-Tails jinchūriki."
Qianyu: "…"
Oh, great. Using me as a tool again.
"So?" Qianyu asked, genuinely curious. What did he need to do? Hold Obito still?
"Hmph." Qianyu's reaction was exactly what Madara expected. He smiled. "You don't need to do anything. Just keep the Allied Forces in check."
After all, swapping out the Ten-Tails jinchūriki wasn't something Qianyu could interfere with.
"Your opponent is me now."
Qianyu's figure swept past Obito, landing before the remaining forces. Facing him were Naruto in his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and Sasuke within his complete Susano'o.
"Even if it's you, Qianyu-nee, I'll still change your mind!" Naruto shouted, clenching his fists. "Countless shinobi have lost their lives! Is this the beautiful world you speak of?!"
Qianyu: "It's precisely because of your stubborn resistance that so many have died."
"That's not true!" Naruto yelled. "You started this war!"
Qianyu couldn't be bothered with a war of words. "Oh? And so what? What can you possibly do?"
"You don't actually see yourself as some kind of savior, do you, Naruto?" Qianyu's smile was mocking. "What a laughable notion."
Naruto gritted his teeth. "I'm not the same as before! I don't want to be a savior. I just want to protect everyone!"
Sasuke looked at Qianyu. "I don't know what happened to you. But I know what you're doing now is wrong."
"And we have never believed we cannot change!"
Confidence blazed in Sasuke's eyes. He had reason for it. He had secretly, quietly awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan. And then, by some unknown means, performed an eye exchange with his similarly awakened brother, Itachi. This gave birth to two pairs of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
The former Uchiha edge-lord had inexplicably evolved into the Uchiha stealth-king.
This was something Qianyu hadn't anticipated.
"Is that so?" Qianyu regarded them. "What childish ideals."
Perfect. There was a new move he hadn't tried yet.
He'd use these two as test subjects.
System: "…"
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