Boom—!!
Where the dragon passed, water exploded apart!
The absurdly thick Water Formation Wall was almost completely vaporized the instant it came into contact with Three Dragons Turning Destruction.
Even the resulting steam was boiled away a second time and vanished into the air.
Then came the Earth-Style Wall—
nearly a meter thick and resembling an unbreakable wall of despair.
It lasted only a fraction of a second longer before being crushed apart with overwhelming force.
Large chunks of earth didn't even have time to scatter before the flames burned them into curled, glass-like fragments.
Next came the panda.
And Madara standing behind it—
BOOM—!!!
A deafening explosion like ten thousand cannons firing at once erupted across the battlefield!
A blazing white mushroom cloud rose into the sky like a newborn sun.
Milky-white shockwaves carrying endless light and heat expanded outward in ring after ring, blasting away and incinerating everything around them!
The moment Yuu had begun releasing Three Dragons Turning Destruction,
Black Wing—having already witnessed the technique's power before—reacted immediately.
It grabbed Rin and flew upstream along the river.
Fugaku and the others didn't understand what was happening at first.
They were still hesitating over whether they should follow when the air suddenly shook violently.
A dazzling "sun" rose before their eyes, washing their vision completely white.
Then a ferocious wave of heat slammed into them—
its temperature terrifyingly high!
"Holy shit…"
Fugaku was startled.
He immediately grabbed Shisui with one hand and Hizashi with the other before leaping backward.
Kakashi and Obito followed.
While they were still retreating,
they saw entire patches of forest around them collapse in waves before being burned into ash by the extreme heat.
All that remained were gray-brown charred remnants scattering through the air.
Even more astonishing was the river.
The once-raging current was instantly cut off.
Nearly a hundred meters of river vanished completely, boiled dry in a single moment.
Even the fish and shrimp inside were cooked through, filling the air with an intense burnt smell.
The earth shook violently!
It took quite some time
before the smoke finally began to disperse.
By then,
the surrounding terrain had been completely transformed.
A gigantic crater several hundred meters across had appeared beside the river.
Its overall shape resembled an enormous bowl.
Inside, it was difficult to find even a moderately large stone—
because nearly everything had been pulverized into powder.
Spiderweb-like fissures crisscrossed the area and extended several kilometers into the distance.
But what drew even more attention than the crater was—
"Hey, Kakashi…
"What's that over there?"
Obito suddenly pointed and shouted.
Fugaku and Kakashi followed his finger.
Through the lingering dust, they could faintly make out something blue.
It seemed to be an unbelievably tall giant.
Broken armor covered its body.
Most of its form was still concealed by smoke, making it difficult to see clearly.
Kakashi frowned.
"That thing…
"Is it some kind of special summoned beast?"
"…"
Of the three,
only Fugaku recognized what it was.
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
An indescribably horrified expression appeared on his square face.
"No…
"That's impossible!"
"That man is clearly a Kirigakure ninja.
"How could he possibly…"
How could he possibly use the Uchiha clan's Susanoo?!
Fugaku didn't immediately think of Uchiha Madara.
After all, Konoha's records explicitly marked Madara as dead.
And the one who had killed him was Senju Hashirama himself.
Plenty of Uchiha knew about a dōjutsu like Izanagi, and some had even wondered whether Madara might have used it to overturn the outcome of his death.
But logically speaking…
would such a trick really work in front of the God of Shinobi?
Besides,
Madara had disappeared completely for decades after the battle at the Valley of the End.
So he was probably truly dead.
Which meant Fugaku could only think of another possibility—
Could it be…
that at some point in the past, Uchiha blood had spread into the Land of Water and been secretly cultivated by Kirigakure?
Hmm.
Although the Uchiha clan had fairly strong internal cohesion, there had still been cases of defection and marriage outside the clan.
Across centuries and millennia, dozens of clan members had vanished after leaving.
Among them were several highly talented individuals—
even some who had already awakened the Mangekyō.
If those people had established bloodlines elsewhere, produced descendants with Mangekyō potential, and those descendants were later discovered and cultivated by Kirigakure as secret weapons…
it actually made sense.
That would also explain why this man was so skilled in Fire Release.
The Uchiha were famous for Fire Release to begin with.
Even being born in the Land of Water wouldn't necessarily change one's innate chakra affinity.
However…
this clearly wasn't the time to investigate bloodlines and settle old genealogical accounts.
Even if the opponent truly was an Uchiha who had ended up outside the clan,
he was now standing against Konoha.
A shared bloodline alone wasn't enough to make him suddenly acknowledge his ancestors and return to the clan.
So—
Fugaku quickly composed himself and raised his arm.
"Move!
"Let's go help Captain Yuu!"
Kakashi and the others immediately followed.
Only the more heavily injured Hizashi remained behind with Rin, protected by Black Wing and the Three Kamaitachi Brothers.
Rin had already awakened during the turbulence.
She looked around in confusion, her head still hazy.
"What happened…?
"Over there…
"Is Yuu fighting someone…?"
"I think I just…
"had a dream…"
…
At the center of the battlefield,
Uchiha Madara slowly exhaled.
His expression was extremely complicated.
That was right.
Threatened by the destructive power of Three Dragons Turning Destruction, which surpassed an ordinary Tailed Beast Bomb,
Madara had ultimately been forced to reveal this trump card.
The instant Susanoo manifested,
he pushed it directly to its fourth form—
full-body armor.
That was already the highest level a Shapeshifting Clone could sustain.
After all,
only thirty percent of the original body's chakra could be injected into the clone.
It wasn't enough to activate the final, Perfect Susanoo.
Yet even this form of Susanoo was something ordinary ninja could never hope to challenge.
And still—
under the impact of the magma dragon,
it had been reduced to a wreck.
Its surface was covered in pits and scars.
Its arms, head, neck, and other areas showed signs of melting and distortion.
It looked like a rag doll that had been run over by a locomotive.
If even Susanoo looked like that,
Madara himself naturally wasn't in much better condition.
His black robe had been completely burned away.
Half of his mask had fallen off, revealing the pale face of a White Zetsu underneath.
The four-bladed pinwheel patterns in his eyes were clearly visible.
Bright-red blood tears streamed continuously from his eye sockets.
"Hah…
"That was close.
"You almost killed me!"
Madara swallowed a mouthful of blood and burst into laughter.
"I never expected that someone who had reached the level of a Water Release grandmaster would also achieve such mastery over Fire Release—
"and even develop a combination technique of such terrifying power…"
"When it comes to forbidden-technique research—
"I'm willing to call you the strongest!"
"But this is where it ends."
"There are things in this world that ignorant mortals like you can never reach.
"No matter how much effort you put in, it will never matter."
"For Hashirama's sake,
"I'll arrange a grand finale worthy of you."
"…Huh?"
A question mark slowly appeared over Yuu's head.
What did that mean?
"Water Release grandmaster"?
Him?
Wasn't that supposed to be Senju Tobirama's title?
Wait…
Senju Tobirama?
Could it be that Madara had mistaken him for Tobirama's reincarnation?
Hmm…
Water Release.
Swordsmanship.
Forbidden techniques.
That really did resemble Tobirama's build.
If one didn't know that Yuu had a galgame system cheat, assuming he was the reincarnation of some white-haired Hokage actually made a certain amount of sense.
By pure accident,
Yuu had more or less guessed the "truth" behind Madara's misunderstanding.
On the other side,
Madara inhaled deeply and slowly straightened his body.
The previous clash had consumed enormous amounts of Yuu's chakra and mental strength.
But Madara's own losses had also been considerable.
Even something as simple as standing back up looked somewhat difficult.
However,
once Madara stabilized himself,
the Wood Release power originating from Hashirama's cells began taking effect.
It healed his severely damaged body.
At the same time, his Eternal Mangekyō released what little ocular power remained, gradually restoring the dark-blue skeletal giant around him.
Then—
the legendary Ghost of the Uchiha raised his head and met Yuu's gaze.
With a casual motion of his arm—
he unleashed a vicious blade wave!
Whoosh—!!
Yuu's figure blurred.
He immediately used the Substitution Technique to evade.
The blade wave tore through the air, sliced away part of the crater wall, then continued into the sky.
It didn't finally dissipate until it cleaved apart a low-hanging cloud.
Madara was done pretending.
Since Susanoo had already been exposed,
there was no point continuing the charade.
He leapt into the air above the crater.
The twin swords in Susanoo's hands swung violently toward Yuu.
Yuu dodged again.
At the same time, he drew the Sword of the Thunder God from his back and began searching for an opening.
The previous barrage of ninjutsu had consumed a great deal of his chakra.
He couldn't use Three Dragons Turning Destruction again anytime soon.
But Hatake Swordsmanship was still perfectly usable.
And conveniently—
Yuu really wanted to see what would happen if that slash landed on Susanoo.
Across from him,
Madara no longer focused entirely on Yuu.
He spared a glance toward Fugaku and the others in the distance.
How should he put it…
The instant he decided to activate Susanoo,
his plan had already changed.
Aside from Obito—
everyone had to die.
Only the dead could keep the secret that Uchiha Madara had returned.
Madara was still very confident that he could accomplish this.
Although his current condition wasn't ideal,
the other side looked even worse.
Fugaku and the others weren't worth mentioning.
Only Shisui's Kotoamatsukami deserved some caution, and that shouldn't be usable again anytime soon.
As for the "reincarnation of Senju Tobirama"—
he had indeed developed plenty of "new" techniques.
But compared with Hashirama,
he was still far inferior.
It was merely mortal ingenuity.
And now he was already nearing exhaustion.
If Yuu could still pull out some new method under these circumstances and kill him…
then Uchiha Madara would personally eat this entire Susanoo on the spot!
With that thought,
Madara casually raised one hand.
The dark-blue sword swung lightly.
A fierce blade wave roared toward Fugaku and the others—
intending to cut them all in half at the waist!
"…Dodge!!"
Fugaku shouted and threw himself to the left.
Kakashi and Obito rushed to the right.
Almost the instant they moved,
the blade wave passed between them—
especially close behind Fugaku.
It nearly shaved off half the back of his head.
Then it continued onward and sliced every tree within several hundred meters cleanly in half!
Rumble—!
The sound of collapsing trees continued without end.
Dust surged into the air.
"This…"
Kakashi and Obito lay on the ground and stared back at the devastated forest, still shaken.
Seriously…
who the hell was this guy?
Was he really Kirigakure's Third Mizukage?
The two of them were still technically only chūnin.
What qualifications did they even have to compete on the same stage as someone on this level?
Wasn't the matchmaking system a little broken?
Only Fugaku among the three knew a little of the "truth."
Covered in blood, he climbed out of the crater.
The three tomoe in his eyes flickered as he carefully monitored Madara's movements.
At the same time,
he became trapped in an internal struggle over one question—
Should he activate Susanoo?
Yes.
Fugaku also possessed Susanoo.
After all, it was essentially standard equipment for a Mangekyō user.
The moment the Mangekyō awakened, fragments of genetic memory had already been imprinted into his mind.
There was no such thing as being unable to activate it.
At worst, he was simply inexperienced.
But—
Shisui had already revealed Susanoo in front of everyone earlier.
If Fugaku activated another one now,
Konoha might begin to perceive the Uchiha clan as a threat.
And the clan's hawkish faction would almost certainly use the opportunity to stir up talk of "rebellion," potentially triggering a series of unpredictable consequences.
So Fugaku hesitated.
At that exact moment,
as Madara divided part of his attention toward Fugaku and the others and the force behind his attacks weakened slightly—
Yuu finally found his chance.
He kicked off the ground in an instant.
Overload Pulse activated.
His entire body shot toward Madara like an arrow released from a bow!
"…Trying that move again?
"Too slow!"
"And the same technique will never work twice against the Sharingan!"
Madara snorted disdainfully.
Using the Mangekyō Sharingan's exceptional dynamic vision,
he captured Yuu's trajectory.
Then Susanoo's enormous sword swept horizontally—
smashing directly through Yuu's body.
His entire figure exploded into a splash of water.
"A shadow clone?"
Was it created after using Three Dragons Turning Destruction?
Madara's eyes shifted slightly.
His gaze swept in every direction while his sensory abilities expanded to their absolute limit, searching for Yuu's true position.
The next instant—
a sharp whistle tore through the air!
Madara glanced sideways.
A flickering white light appeared—
Yuu!
He had found the perfect opening and was descending with his blade from behind Susanoo.
His timing and position were so viciously precise that it was already too late for Madara to turn and intercept him with a sword.
However,
Madara possessed absolute confidence in Susanoo's defensive power.
So he didn't panic at all.
He leisurely began turning around while observing Yuu's movement.
He intended to let the brat smash his head against Susanoo's defense first—
show him just how forgiving its defense was—
then cut him into pieces.
However…
Yuu had already entered that state once again—
essence,
energy,
and spirit merging into one.
A mind without thought.
And in the instant before entering Mushin—
he threw a die.
[You rolled the die.]
[Roll Result: Sweep the Table — 10% probability.]
[Destructive power increased by an additional 225–400%.]
[Critical Hit, Penetration, and Splash effects applied.]
~~~
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