The cube suddenly exploded beneath Susanoo!
BOOM!
One of Susanoo's feet was blown to pieces. The giant figure instantly lost its balance and dropped heavily to one knee.
Madara's expression finally turned completely serious.
"You... have taken advantage of my carelessness again and again..."
Mu panted as he took several steps back, but the corners of his mouth curled upward.
"Uchiha Madara, this is the price of looking down on others."
Madara was silent for a moment, then let out a low laugh.
"Interesting... very interesting."
"Looks like I can't deal with you using half-baked strength today."
The light in Madara's Sharingan grew fiercer.
"Come on, Uchiha Madara."
"Let me see just how strong you really are."
Dust and smoke rose again across the open ground.
The two figures collided once more.
The battle between Mu and Madara had already spread from the edge of the village.
Their figures crossed rapidly through the forest.
Mu knew clearly that he was no match for Madara, at least not against Uchiha Madara when he was going all out.
More importantly, he had to buy enough time for his split clone.
"The split clone... has already taken Onoki toward safety."
Mu confirmed this in his mind once more, a look of determination flashing through his eyes.
He deliberately exposed an opening, retreated, and moved toward the depths of the wild forest, away from Konoha.
Madara indeed followed.
"Trying to run?" Madara's voice carried a hint of amusement. "Too late."
Susanoo's giant sword swept across, and every tree in its path was severed.
Mu narrowly blocked one strike with a Dust Release cube. The force sent his entire body flying backward, and blood spilled from his mouth.
After landing, he did not stop. His hands quickly formed seals, and chakra surged wildly.
"Now..."
Mu suddenly leaped into the air and spread his arms.
"Earth Release: Planetary Devastation."
This was a forbidden technique he had created himself after combining Earth Release with his own understanding of Planetary Devastation.
Countless tiny particles of dust in the air were instantly forced together, forming a huge sphere of earth.
Powerful gravity erupted from the center of the sphere. Broken stones, fallen trees, and even dust in the air were all violently sucked inside.
Madara's figure was instantly engulfed.
The sphere rapidly contracted and compressed, trapping Madara and his Susanoo together at its core.
Mu floated in midair, his chest heaving heavily, but the corners of his mouth curled upward.
"Success..."
He muttered to himself, his eyes carrying a trace of tired relief.
At that very moment...
BOOM!!!
A dazzling blue light suddenly burst from inside the sphere.
The next second, countless cracks appeared across the surface of the sphere.
Break!
With a muffled explosion, the giant sword of Perfect Susanoo pierced straight through the sphere from within.
Immediately afterward, a Complete Susanoo dozens of meters tall took shape with a thunderous roar. Its blue armor shone brightly under the sunlight. The giant figure swung the long sword in its hand, completely tearing apart the remains of the sphere.
The smoke and dust dispersed.
Uchiha Madara stood at the forehead of Susanoo, his robes billowing in the wind, cold light flashing in his Sharingan.
He looked down at Mu below. His voice was not loud, yet it clearly reached Mu's ears.
"Not bad. But restraints of this level... are still nowhere near enough."
Mu gave a bitter laugh. When he landed, he touched one knee lightly to the ground and steadied himself.
He raised his head and looked at the Complete Susanoo that seemed capable of destroying heaven and earth, yet calmly nodded to himself.
"Fortunately... the split clone has already taken Onoki far away."
"And besides..."
Mu closed his eyes as his perception quietly spread outward.
In the distance, two enormous chakra signatures were rapidly approaching.
Senju Hashirama.
Senju Tobirama.
They were almost here.
Mu opened his eyes again and looked at Madara high above him. The bitter smile at the corners of his mouth gradually faded, replaced by a faint sense of relief.
"Uchiha Madara, today... we'll stop here."
"The next act should be handed over to someone else."
After saying this, he made no further preparations to attack. He simply stood there quietly, waiting for those two familiar presences to fully arrive.
The shadow of Complete Susanoo fell over the area, but Madara did not attack immediately.
He seemed to have sensed something as well. His brows furrowed slightly, and his gaze turned toward Konoha.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The next second...
Hashirama and Tobirama appeared at the edge of the battlefield almost simultaneously.
The moment Hashirama landed, his eyes locked onto the Complete Susanoo towering above and Mu, who was kneeling on one knee beneath Susanoo with his robes torn.
His expression changed drastically.
"Madara, stop!"
Hashirama's voice rang out like a great bell.
"Mu is a friend of Konoha! The Iwagakure envoy is not an enemy!", Senju Hashirama immediately said.
Tobirama followed close behind. His cold eyes swept over Madara's Susanoo, while his right hand had already quietly settled on the hilt of his sword, ready to use Flying Raijin at any moment.
Madara stood at Susanoo's forehead and slowly lowered his head, looking at the two who had suddenly appeared.
His Sharingan shifted slightly, and his tone carried a hint of lazy mockery.
"Friend?"
"Hashirama, you're saying such childish things again."
"He's an envoy who came to visit, not to start a war. You must have been the one who used your pressure to intimidate him first, which is why things turned out like this!"
Hashirama strode forward and stood beside Mu, reaching out to support his shoulder as he said in a deep voice, "Madara, we've already agreed to establish a village. What the village needs is peace, not endless fighting."
Madara gave a cold laugh. The giant sword of Complete Susanoo rose slightly, its tip faintly pointing toward Mu.
"Peace?"
"You think a few nice words will make everyone listen to you?"
"If someone from Iwagakure dares to fight me on Konoha's territory, then he should be prepared to be crushed.", Uchiha Madara said flatly.
"Uchiha Madara, your current state is already beyond control. If this continues, you'll only destroy the village we just established."
"Big Brother has already given you enough face. Don't force us to act.", Tobirama finally could not hold back any longer and spoke in a cold, stern voice.
Madara's gaze slowly shifted to Tobirama, and a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes.
"Gloomy bastard, stop butting in." Uchiha Madara said coldly.
"Madara... enough."
"Mu has already stopped. He hasn't continued attacking you, which means he doesn't want to make things worse either."
"As Hokage, I guarantee that this matter ends here. The relationship between Iwagakure and Konoha will not be broken because of today's conflict."
"If you still want to continue, then you'll be opposing all of Konoha, including me.", Senju Hashirama said seriously.
Madara was silent for a moment.
The light of Complete Susanoo flickered slightly. He lowered his head and looked into Hashirama's serious eyes, then glanced at the silent Mu beside him.
After a long while, Madara suddenly let out a low laugh.
"Naive... this really isn't interesting."
Complete Susanoo suddenly dispersed, turning into countless blue chakra particles that scattered in the wind.
Madara landed on the ground, his robes billowing in the wind.
He did not look at Mu again. He merely cast a cold glance at Hashirama and Tobirama, his voice carrying a trace of disdain.
"Have it your way."
"If anyone dares to act presumptuously in front of me next time, they won't be so lucky."
After saying this, Madara turned around, and his figure disappeared into the forest, leaving only a cold snort echoing across the empty battlefield.
Hashirama breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to Mu and asked softly, "Mu, are you all right?"
Mu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Still alive. Thanks to the two of you arriving in time."
Tobirama gave Mu a cold look but said nothing.