Madara Uchiha, Izuna Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, and Tobirama Senju fought Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, while Hamura Ōtsutsuki, who had also come from the mission scroll world, tried to use the opportunity to persuade his mother to give up.
Naruto and his numerous Shadow Clones stood beside Sasuke, Sakura, Young Obito, Young Kakashi, Rin, Adult Obito, Adult Kakashi, Minato Namikaze, and the others, warily blocking the path of Hagoromo and Hamura Ōtsutsuki from this era.
Gamamaru appeared from nowhere, surveyed the situation, and muttered, "Things have become complicated."
"Naruto, what you are doing will indirectly lead to the destruction of this world."
Perhaps it was because the Rikudō Sennin of this era had not yet become the Rikudō Sennin known to later generations, but Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki was nothing like the old man Naruto remembered.
He was unbelievably stubborn.
"You're seriously...!" Naruto snapped, finally losing his temper. "Whether it's your relationship with your mother and brother or the way you treat your own sons, you're so stubborn and self-centered when it comes to family that it's infuriating!"
Because of Naruto's words, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki glanced at Indra and Ashura, who were supposedly his future sons.
Facing his father at the height of his power, with none of his strength sealed away, Indra sensed a threat unlike anything he had ever felt from him before.
He instinctively pushed Ashura behind him and met Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's Rinnegan with his Mangekyō Sharingan, refusing to back down.
Were they to rank the current combat strength of those connected to the Sharingan, it would probably look something like this:
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki at her peak was stronger than Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki with the Rinnegan, who was stronger than Madara Uchiha with the Rinnegan. Beneath them were Indra, Obito Uchiha, and Izuna Uchiha, all with the Mangekyō Sharingan and roughly equal in strength. Sasuke and Young Obito ranked last because neither could use Susanoo yet.
Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki was vastly stronger than Madara Uchiha despite both possessing the Rinnegan. For Indra to challenge the Rinnegan with only the Mangekyō Sharingan was no different from fighting a boss far above his level.
Seeing his future son standing against him, watching him with vigilance and hostility, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki finally understood how Kaguya felt at this moment.
The feeling of being betrayed by one's own son.
For an instant, he nearly demanded to know why Naruto and Indra, as his son and the reincarnation of his son's chakra, were standing against him.
But asking that would make him a hypocrite when he himself intended to seal his mother, so he swallowed the question.
Hagoromo closed his eyes briefly. When he opened them again, his purple Rinnegan exerted an overwhelming pressure upon Indra.
Indra began forming his purple Susanoo first.
Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki was still young and hot-blooded in this era. Although he started forming his pale blue Susanoo a step later, the construct was nearly ten times larger than Indra's, yet both Susanoo blazed with chakra and fully materialized at the exact same moment!
Ever since the trial between the brothers, Indra had rarely experienced such a crushing gap in strength.
His pride was trampled underfoot. Furious, he abandoned all caution and swung his sword at the pale blue Susanoo before him!
"Older Brother!"
Ashura, left behind, stood frozen in place. He did not even have a chance to stop Indra or their father.
He had been slow since childhood and had never understood the importance of hard work. At that moment, he bitterly resented his own uselessness.
Although he was the son of the Rikudō Sennin, without the power his father had given him, he would be nothing more than a failure who could cut down a tree with Wind Release.
Just as Naruto had said, perhaps their father truly was terrible at dealing with family matters.
Ashura possessed neither wisdom nor martial talent. How could he possibly compare to his older brother? How could someone like him be suited to lead ninshū?
Ashura stood there, dejectedly poking at the ground.
When he had seen Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju reconcile, as well as Naruto and Sasuke, he had felt deeply envious.
He had imagined that one day, he and his older brother might reconcile too, returning to the days when they were children and it was just the two of them and Haku.
But now...
Hashirama and Madara, along with Tobirama, Izuna, and their uncle Hamura, were fighting their grandmother Kaguya.
His older brother, Naruto, and the others were all doing their best to stop their father in his youth.
Only Ashura seemed unable to help.
Just like when they were children, his older brother carried every responsibility while Ashura lived without a care in the world.
He had never understood his older brother's pain.
Had their mother still been alive, she probably would not have allowed things to become like this.
Perhaps Ashura could also stand behind his older brother as Izuna and Tobirama stood behind theirs and contribute his own strength.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, the power that the Rikudō Sennin of their era had given him awakened once more.
Powerful Wind Release chakra gathered in Ashura's hands.
Just as the pale blue Susanoo raised its hand to swat aside the purple Susanoo, Ashura's wind protected the lightning surrounding Indra's Susanoo.
Indra's attack successfully struck Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki!
"!!!"
Indra's eyes widened. "Ashura?!"
"I'm sorry, Older Brother. Even though you always tell me to stay behind you, I still want to catch up to you. I want to be like Tobirama and Izuna, instead of doing nothing but enjoying your protection without ever giving anything in return."
Ashura's words left Indra stunned for several seconds.
After a long pause, he finally replied, "Do whatever you want."
Just as Ashura became overjoyed by this small sign of approval from his older brother...
An unexpected turn of events struck in an instant.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki had grown thoroughly irritated by the tactics Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Izuna Uchiha had honed during the Warring States Period.
The four of them naturally formed two pairs. They had been lifelong rivals during the Warring States Period and knew one another better than anyone else. At the same time, each pair consisted of brothers who constantly protected each other.
Facing an overwhelmingly powerful enemy like Kaguya pushed their coordination to its absolute limit!
Every setback helped them find their rhythm.
Rather than weakening their fighting spirit, each failure only made them more determined. They were thoroughly enjoying the battle.
This was the first time Madara and Izuna had fought side by side since both brothers were revived.
The exhilaration and freedom of the battle reminded Madara of the Warring States Period, when he and his brother had carried out military missions together without any hesitation.
In particular, Madara and Izuna each wielded a Gunbai Uchiwa now, making the brothers even more formidable.
When Hashirama and Tobirama were revived, their bodies had also been restored to their twenties, the prime of their strength and vitality.
Hashirama's Wood Release worked in tandem with Tobirama's Water Release, while explosive tags were discreetly plastered across the branches.
Compared to attacks formed from chakra, the physical damage caused by explosive tags was far more troublesome and destructive to Kaguya, who could only analyze chakra.
She repeatedly used Yomotsu Hirasaka to evade attacks that cost Hashirama and Tobirama almost no chakra, leaving her at a growing disadvantage with every exchange.
The most impressive displays, however, came from Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju fighting together, as well as Izuna Uchiha and Tobirama Senju.
While alive, the two pairs had almost never had the chance to fight a common enemy.
Now, after dying and being revived, their first shared opponent was Kaguya Ōtsutsuki at the peak of her power!
At first, Hashirama and Madara, as well as Izuna and Tobirama, struggled to match each other's rhythm.
But their formidable combat instincts soon erased that lack of coordination. The intimate knowledge they had once used to defeat one another now became the foundation of their unrestrained assault!
Wood Release combined with Fire Release. Once the dry timber ignited into a raging inferno, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags were added to fuel the flames.
When the giant Wood Release Buddha slowly rose to its feet, clad in Susanoo as armor, Izuna and Tobirama were so shocked that they nearly forgot to provide support.
Even Naruto and the others watching from a distance felt their blood boil, strengthening their determination to stop Hagoromo and Hamura Ōtsutsuki of this world.
Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique and Izuna's Mangekyō Sharingan complemented each other perfectly.
Neither ability consumed much chakra, yet together they repeatedly caught Kaguya off guard. Their support was arguably even more important than the attacks of Hashirama and Madara.
Under this relentless, perfectly coordinated assault, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who had little battle instinct or experience fighting powerful opponents or working with allies, was finally driven into a rage.
The crimson Rinnegan in the center of her forehead suddenly opened, revealing nine tomoe!
The surrounding landscape shifted into the Root Time-Space, which Naruto and Obito had once seen within an illusion.
Kaguya extended a hand toward Madara Uchiha, who stood directly before her, and fired a dark gray bone spike at him!
Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, and Izuna Uchiha were all unfamiliar with this attack.
Madara did not even consider dodging. He intended to knock the bone spike aside with his Susanoo's wing, then use the opening to counterattack and slam Kaguya into the ground.
But Hashirama Senju thought differently.
Although his instincts were three hundred percent wrong whenever gambling was involved, at times like this, his intuition was almost frighteningly accurate.
Their mutual understanding told him that Madara intended to withstand Kaguya's attack and counter.
At the same time, his instincts screamed that Madara absolutely could not take that attack!
Time seemed to slow.
As the bone spike drew closer, Madara noticed a sinister smile forming on Kaguya's crimson lips.
A terrible sense of danger swept through him.
His eyes shifted, trying to signal Izuna to slow time, but it was already too late. There was no time to speak, or even to wait for Izuna to notice him and exchange a glance.
At that critical moment, Hashirama, who had already sensed something was wrong, used Wood Release to shove Madara out of his Susanoo!
The bone spike pierced Susanoo.
In an instant, even the chakra forming Susanoo turned to stone where the spike touched it, and the petrification rapidly spread outward!
The bone spike tore straight through Madara Uchiha's Susanoo and grazed the Wood Release that Hashirama had summoned from the ground before continuing toward the battlefield behind them.
Like Susanoo, the Wood Release turned to stone and swiftly crumbled into dust.
Perhaps grazing the Wood Release had altered the spike's trajectory.
None of them expected the terrifying bone spike to cross into the other battlefield and pierce Ashura from behind while he fought Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.
Squelch.
"!!!!"
Standing behind Indra, Ashura felt a sudden pain in his back.
Agony spread through every part of his body, nearly robbing him of all control.
…
Madara Uchiha's Gunbai Uchiwa is the one from the mission scroll world, while the one Izuna Uchiha is using was cut from Young Obito's world. I wonder if anyone still remembers that~
Ashura really was caught in the crossfire. He took an arrow to the knee for no reason at all.
Indra: This world must be an illusion.
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