Uchiha Madara did not choose to continue fighting Shiraishi. After the Susanoo and thirty paths of tomoe were destroyed, Shiraishi looked upon the ruins before him, a rare expression of surprise appearing on his face.
Under the scanning of countless detection devices, the light axis of the disappearing coordinates surfaced on the massive projection system.
It indicated that Uchiha Madara had actually chosen to retreat rather than continue the battle...
Wait, something is wrong with this script.
Isn't Uchiha Madara the most tsundere existence in the ninja world? How could he just retreat?
This is the famous Shinobi Leviathan, the Specter of the Uchiha!
All along, Uchiha Madara had given Shiraishi the impression of being a proud, stubborn figure who preferred direct, head-on confrontations.
He hadn't expected that when faced with the main force of Sunagakure and Shiraishi, Mr. Madara would directly choose to evacuate the battlefield—almost as if he were just visiting, leaving immediately after completing the task of supporting the retreat of the two Hokage.
Of course, if Shiraishi were in Uchiha Madara's shoes, he wouldn't choose to fight a frontal battle while the main forces of Suna were fully present either.
He was currently in an Impure World Reincarnation body, and right now, Suna possessed a unique purification Shrine Maiden on the opposing side, alongside a grand master of the sword who could damage the soul, not to mention a Kazekage whose strength was not inferior to his own and even faintly surpassed it.
Uchiha Madara was no fool, so his retreat was extremely decisive, without any hesitation.
"Shinobi who survived the Warring States period are truly not simple characters."
The chaotic Warring States period was filled with slaughter and betrayal. Countless Kekkei Genkai and bizarre secret techniques had emerged one after another, making it impossible to guard against completely.
As a seasoned veteran of the battlefield, Uchiha Madara's judgment of the situation was incredibly accurate.
Although he hadn't succeeded in resolving those three troublesome individuals all at once, Shiraishi was in no hurry. At the moment, his eighteen-attribute crystal state had not yet been adjusted to its optimal condition.
On another note, within the Sunagakure camp, Uzumaki Menma—sporting black hair and dressed in Suna attire—felt a bit downcast.
The Konoha shinobi who had just appeared on the battlefield was supposed to be his father in this world. He knew very well that they weren't the exact same person, but upon seeing Minato Namikaze, Menma still found it somewhat difficult to control his emotions.
Noticing Menma's low spirits, Ace, who was nearby, let out a loud laugh and threw his arm firmly around him: "Come on, let's keep eating meat, drinking wine, and partying!"
Ace's easygoing optimism gave Menma a bit of a headache. During this entire period, he had been dragged along by this guy to drink and eat meat all day long, barely getting any peace. Surprisingly, a group of drunkards among the Suna shinobi genuinely enjoyed fooling around with Ace.
Slowly landing on the ground, Shiraishi stared toward the distant horizon where Uchiha Madara's figure had vanished, a thoughtful look appearing in his eyes.
"Uchiha Madara... I didn't expect you to make a move."
Out on the distant wilderness, Senju Tobirama and Minato Namikaze, who had just evacuated via the Flying Raijin, happened to run into the similarly retreating Uchiha Madara. Even to Senju Tobirama, it felt like a dream that Uchiha Madara would actually step forward to assist them.
He knew better than anyone how deep Madara's hatred for him ran; after all, a blood debt like Uchiha Izuna's death lay between them.
Uchiha Madara didn't seem to care to speak to Senju Tobirama, directly casting his gaze upon Minato Namikaze.
Sensing Madara's unusual behavior, Tobirama secretly gripped a kunai in his hand before anyone noticed. Noticing Tobirama's movement, Madara finally spoke with cold arrogance: "You are also a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!"
The very first sentence out of Madara's mouth caused Minato Namikaze's expression to shift dramatically. Tobirama instantly raised his kunai, directly assuming a combat stance.
"Madara, do you want to provoke a fight right now?"
In the past, the Nine-Tails attack instigated by Uchiha Obito had been stopped by Minato Namikaze. Minato had summoned the Reaper at the cost of his own life, using the blade of the soul to divide the Nine-Tails into Yin and Yang halves.
The Yin Kurama was born at that moment with attributes opposite to the original body, pulled out by the Reaper's hand and sealed within Minato's spiritual form.
Previously, when Uchiha Madara noticed Minato Namikaze using the Flying Raijin, he had sensed a hidden chakra presence that felt familiar to him.
Originally, Minato's seal was perfect, but due to the disruptions caused by the subspace severance, Minato had almost prepared to utilize an immature Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, leading to Madara catching a trace of that Nine-Tails chakra.
As the standoff between the two sides reached a tipping point, Madara let out a cold laugh: "You should understand clearly that giving the Nine-Tails' power to me is the only opportunity to defeat the Fifth Kazekage."
Minato Namikaze, with his blonde hair, shook his head continuously like a rattle, refusing outright: "I'm very sorry, but I have other arrangements planned for this half of the Nine-Tails' chakra."
The remaining Nine-Tails power inside Minato's body was originally meant to be left for his own son, Uzumaki Naruto. Compared to Uchiha Madara, Minato preferred to believe that his son was the savior of the world.
For a moment, the atmosphere became exceptionally delicate. Just as the two sides were at a standstill, Yakushi Kabuto, Black Zetsu, and numerous Konoha search personnel gradually arrived.
Left with no choice, both sides could only temporarily shelve the matter and return to their respective sectors.
At Mount Myoboku, Uzumaki Naruto, with the assistance of Itachi Uchiha, was communicating with the Nine-Tails over and over again.
Just like the original plot, Naruto had absorbed the key left behind by the Fourth Hokage to undo the seal, opening the restriction within his consciousness space to battle the Nine-Tails.
However, this time, with the help of Itachi Uchiha and his mother, Kushina, Naruto seemingly suppressed the Nine-Tails and could extract its chakra normally, but in reality, the Nine-Tails was secretly helping Naruto.
Naruto was not a perfect Jinchuriki; when he utilized the Nine-Tails' chakra, his own life force was also being consumed by the beast.
After talking with Naruto multiple times only to part on bad terms, the Nine-Tails had accidentally heard Naruto express a genuine desire to understand it, causing it to stop devouring Naruto's life force.
There was even a time within a genjutsu world where Itachi Uchiha had deployed a unique genjutsu to influence the contents of Uzumaki Naruto's mind. Through it all, however, one point remained constant: Uzumaki Naruto had never held any resentment toward the Nine-Tails.
This allowed the Nine-Tails to feel that the Jinchuriki before its eyes was entirely different from those people in the past; perhaps he truly was an existence worthy of trust.
"Big brother Itachi, what's wrong with you?"
Within their daily genjutsu consciousness realm, Uzumaki Naruto suddenly discovered that Itachi Uchiha's demeanor was completely different from before, an almost unbearable pressure radiating from his body.
"The Nine-Tails is a power of misfortune. You do not possess enough talent to command such a power, so I have decided to take it away."
Facing Itachi's oppressive weight, Uzumaki Naruto gritted his teeth fiercely: "It's not misfortune! I have never once thought that being together with it was a misfortune!"
Kid...
At this moment, the Nine-Tails was completely shaken, because it hadn't expected Uzumaki Naruto to say such words.
Recalling Naruto's entire journey up to this point, the Nine-Tails was finally touched by Naruto, a massive red radiance erupting from its body.
At this very moment, Uzumaki Naruto and the Nine-Tails bumped fists, reaching mutual understanding. The Jinchuriki and the Tailed Beast became one, and Naruto became a perfect Jinchuriki, capable of fully controlling the Nine-Tails' power.
Watching the completely successful Uzumaki Naruto before him, Itachi Uchiha slowly withdrew the genjutsu, a faint smile appearing on his face, though it quickly dimmed once more.
Sasuke... where are you?
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