As they watched Tengai Shinsei hanging in the sky, the morale of the Allied Shinobi Forces visibly began to collapse. Madara's overwhelming presence earlier, as well as the eerie Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind him, had certainly inspired fear—but even then, the crowd could still barely muster the courage to resist.
But now, witnessing such a colossal meteor hurtling down at terrifying speed under Madara's control, the scene completely exceeded the limits of everyone's understanding.
"It's over… we're all finished."
In an instant, an emotion called despair spread throughout the Allied Shinobi Forces. Just as everyone was sinking into hopelessness, a short, hunched figure slowly yet resolutely rose into the air.
"That's… Lord Tsuchikage?"
Ōnoki forced himself upright and flew toward the meteor. Pressing both hands against it, he roared at the top of his lungs:
"Earth Release: Ultra-Lightweight Rock Technique!"
Pouring every ounce of his strength into the technique, Ōnoki desperately tried to stop the meteor's descent.
Seeing this, Gaara struggled to his feet as well. With a grave expression, he raised his hand and summoned a massive surge of sand to help support the falling meteor alongside Ōnoki.
Under the anxious gaze of the crowd, the rapidly descending meteor finally came to a halt.
Cheers immediately erupted:
"We're saved! Long live the Kazekage! Long live the Tsuchikage!"
But just as the crowd celebrated, Madara mercilessly poured cold water over their joy:
"Did you really think there was only one?"
The jubilant atmosphere froze instantly. Everyone stiffly looked up, only to see a second meteor plummeting downward at the same terrifying speed.
Still holding up the first meteor, Ōnoki hadn't yet realized how dire the situation was, but Mei Terumi and A instantly understood the danger. Ōnoki's aged body was already being pushed to its absolute limit holding back one meteor—another one would kill him on the spot.
With that realization, the two exchanged a glance and immediately sprang into action.
Mei Terumi began spewing Lava Release as if chakra were free, trying her best to erode and reduce the meteor's mass.
At the same time, A activated his Lightning Release Chakra Mode at full power and charged straight toward the second meteor. Across the battlefield, Sasuke and the others also reacted, gathering and unleashing their strongest attacks.
Thanks to the combined efforts of the many elite shinobi of Konoha, the second meteor was finally stopped as well. Everyone watched nervously for a long while, and only after confirming that no third meteor was coming did they dare to breathe a sigh of relief.
At that moment, Madara spoke again in a light, casual tone:
"I was planning to drop another one just for fun. But since my goal of buying time has already been achieved, I won't waste any more effort."
Hearing this, the Allied Shinobi Forces—who had just begun to relax—tensed up once more. They nervously looked toward Madara's position, only to discover in shock that while they had been desperately dealing with the two Tengai Shinsei, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had already completed its transformation.
The statue had now entered its second form. Standing on all fours, it had ten dim, hand-shaped tails whipping wildly behind it. Beneath its single eye was a massive, petal-like maw resembling a carnivorous flower—grotesque no matter how one looked at it.
Strictly speaking, it could no longer be called the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
It was now a semi-complete Ten-Tails.
Madara carefully examined the half-finished Ten-Tails before him, a hint of irritation on his face:
"As expected, the chakra from those two trash isn't enough. It seems I'll still have to capture the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails."
At that thought, Madara shook his head helplessly. He closed his eyes and sensed Naruto's and Killer Bee's positions, then let out a surprised chuckle:
"Oh? They didn't run away—in fact, they're coming straight toward me?"
Madara's remark wasn't loud, but in the eerie silence of the battlefield it carried far. When everyone heard that Naruto and Killer Bee were heading this way, their expressions immediately changed.
Weren't they supposed to be safely staying in the command headquarters? What were they doing coming here to cause trouble?
That said, now that this information was known, no one present could possibly allow Madara to proceed unchecked.
Jiraiya swept his gaze across everyone around him. After confirming that Konoha's strongest fighters had suffered almost no losses, he shouted:
"Everyone! The key to winning this war is making sure that bastard doesn't capture the Eight-Tails and the Nine-Tails! So no matter what, we absolutely cannot let him take another step forward!"
As he spoke, Jiraiya summoned Fukasaku and Shima and entered Sage Mode at top speed.
Seeing this, Sakumo and the others said nothing, silently taking their positions behind Jiraiya.
Madara looked at this all-too-familiar group and raised an eyebrow subconsciously:
"So it's you lot I saw outside Konoha before. I have to say, you're quite to my liking. Since you're so eager to stop me, I suppose I'll warm up a bit before capturing the tailed beasts."
With that, Madara leapt down from the spire and raised his hand:
"Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!"
In the brief moment of his descent, Madara spewed forth a vast sea of flames. Facing such an overwhelming inferno, the Water Release shinobi among the eighty thousand-strong Allied Shinobi Forces all unleashed Water Formation Walls at once, barely managing to block the attack with an enormous combined barrier of water.
But Madara used that moment to charge straight into the crowd.
His entrance was like a tiger among sheep—wherever he passed, there was not a single opponent who could withstand him. Even Sakumo and Kakashi fighting side by side as a father–son duo couldn't last three moves before Madara sent them flying with nothing but his bare hands.
Seeing this, the five Uchiha exchanged glances and dared not hesitate, immediately unleashing their trump card—Susanoo.
The eruption of five differently colored Susanoo finally caused a slight change in Madara's previously unflappable expression. He looked them up and down with a click of his tongue:
"That kind of ocular power… not ordinary Mangekyō. The Uchiha clan actually produced five pairs of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Interesting—very interesting.
But let me tell you a cruel truth: even Susanoo have differences in strength."
Boom!
The moment his words fell, Madara's azure-blue, Perfect Susanoo formed instantly. Facing the five Susanoo charging at him from different directions, Madara made no unnecessary movements—he simply drew the ninja blade at his waist.
One slash.
Just a single slash, yet it precisely cut through all five Susanoo. Under Madara's forty-meter-long blade, the five Susanoo shattered simultaneously.
"You're still far from it."
Leaving behind this casual verdict, Madara dismissed his Susanoo and continued forward as if nothing had happened.
Not only the Allied Shinobi Forces, but even Konoha's all-star lineup couldn't withstand three moves from Madara. Neither Kakashi's Lightning Blade nor Guy's Daytime Tiger managed to leave any real wounds on him.
The eighty thousand-strong Allied Shinobi Forces fell like harvested wheat. In the blink of an eye, only a handful of Konoha's elites—Jiraiya among them—remained standing at the front.
Looking at Jiraiya and the others in Sage Mode, Madara's lips curled into a disdainful smile:
"What's wrong? Do you want to dance as well?"
...
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