Boom! Boom! Boom!
A massive eruption of blue chakra and ocular power surged from Madara Uchiha's body like literal flames, launching him two hundred meters into the air. He halted, suspended in the sky.
Simultaneously, a gigantic blue skeleton materialized around him. Countless lines of chakra interwove to form muscles and skin in the blink of an eye. A colossal Susanoo, standing two hundred meters tall and shrouded in a cloak with hands clasped in seals, towered over the landscape, reaching for the heavens and piercing the clouds.
Sasuke Uchiha, who had scrambled a safe distance away, stopped dead. He stared up at the Susanoo that almost pierced the sky, his mouth agape.
"My Susanoo is barely thirty meters…" the Uchiha muttered, realizing just how dwarfed he was. "If he'd used this from the start, we'd be dead already."
Naruto Uzumaki, standing nearby, was momentarily speechless at the sheer height, but he quickly shook it off, clenching his small fists.
"It doesn't matter how big it is!" Naruto shouted, defiant. "My brother's Susanoo will definitely be bigger! And even if it's not, he's got way more chakra. He'll win!"
"Yeah! That's the spirit!"
Naruto had grasped a fundamental truth: size didn't matter. Endurance was everything.
On the other side, Menma looked up at the massive construct, his voice carrying effortlessly to Madara's position high above.
"Is that all?"
High above, the Susanoo's brow served as Madara's platform. He looked down, expressionless.
"Truly arrogant…" Madara's voice boomed. "But it's not over yet. This form isn't suitable for battle."
He raised his left hand and clenched it. "Freeze."
Whoosh!
In an instant, the giant Susanoo changed. The hood that had been draped over its head unfolded into a Great Tengu mask. The cloak transformed into heavy armor, extending backward into two enormous scale wings. From the tails of those wings, two gigantic hands emerged, gripping slender samurai scabbards.
Susanoo, Great Tengu form.
Madara crossed his arms, looking down disdainfully at Menma below. The Great Tengu Susanoo held its scabbards horizontally, its right hand slowly gripping a hilt.
"Before this, only Hashirama Senju could stop me in this form," Madara declared. "Now, let me see if you, possessing the Rinnegan, excite me as much as Nagato claimed."
The moment the words left his mouth, a massive surge of chakra erupted from the scabbard. A terrifying aura descended, causing the earth itself to tremble.
Whoosh!
The blade sliced through the air with impossible speed. A long, blue sword flashed with blinding light as it slashed downward toward Menma.
BOOM!
A towering pillar of flame erupted where the blade passed. The ground beneath the Great Tengu's feet exploded and shattered. Countless fragments of rock and dirt flew in all directions, shooting straight into the sky.
"Brother!" Naruto shouted, Seventh Gate chakra surging as he prepared to charge forward.
Sasuke, quick-witted and agile, grabbed him by the collar and yanked him back.
"Don't be an idiot! You'll just get in the way. This isn't a battle we can participate in."
As Sasuke spoke, Menma watched the falling blade and moved.
The Nine-Tails chakra and the fox tail behind him contracted violently, concentrating in his right hand. He clenched his fist, swinging it upward to meet the descending blade.
Whoosh!
A sword of gold, red, and black energy materialized in his right hand, nearly a hundred meters long. It intercepted the blue blade with ease.
CLANG!
The sound of clashing metal was deafening, echoing across the valley.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The ground within several kilometers shattered into neat fragments, as if struck by a thousand invisible blades. A gale-force wind—equivalent to a Force 12 hurricane—swept across the entire area. Anyone watching from thousands of meters away was thrown into the air, flying backward uncontrollably.
Intact forest trees were uprooted entirely, leaving barren earth. The neighboring Konoha took further damage; buildings near the gate collapsed, and hanging debris flew into the sky. The ruins, still uncleared from previous battles, scattered like petals into the heart of the village.
"That's Sage Art: Beast Calamity," Madara mused, staring at the hundred-meter blade that had blocked his attack. Astonishment flashed across his face, quickly replaced by anger. "You only manifest a portion of the beast's power to defend? Are you underestimating me?!"
The remaining two hands of the Great Tengu Susanoo drew their second blades, slashing downward at Menma.
Whoosh!
Before the blades could land, a massive golden-red hand appeared, slapping the attack away. The impact sent a secondary hurricane of force raging across the battlefield.
"Since you want respect," Menma's indifferent voice rang out, "I will give you respect."
Whoosh!
A torrent of chakra surged into the sky. A massive black shadow eclipsed the Great Tengu Susanoo, blocking the light. A black-armored giant, nearly three hundred meters tall—half a head taller than the Great Tengu Susanoo—stood upon the earth.
The hundred-meter sword grew in the wind, reaching two hundred meters and matching the Great Tengu's height.
Madara, for the first time, looked up. He was the one being looked down upon, staring at Menma who stood between the black-armored giant's brows.
A maniacal laugh escaped him. "This eye power… this chakra… Hahaha! I, Uchiha Madara, acknowledge you! Come then! Let me see if you can defeat and seal me, just as Hashirama Senju's True Several Thousand Hands did!"
Two longswords swung out from the Great Tengu, slashing toward the black-armored giant's chest. The giant didn't dodge, but gripped its own longswords with both hands and vertically slashed toward Madara's head at the Great Tengu's brow.
Madara quickly switched his swords to defense, parrying the incoming strike.
BOOM!
The moment the twin swords clashed, the force sent the Great Tengu Susanoo crashing to its knees. The ground beneath shattered instantly, creating countless bottomless chasms.
"Such a battle… where a single strike alters the terrain," Tsunade muttered, watching from a distance. She, along with Shikaku Nara and others, had been blown onto Hokage Rock by the wind pressure. A chill ran through her body. "Is this what Grandfather fought against?"
"Madara is already at a disadvantage in just one move," Tsunade whispered, despair filling her voice. She no longer held any hope for Konoha's future.
Behind her, Hyuga Clan Head Hiashi Hyuga watched the distant battle and made a decisive choice. He led his guards to Tsunade and bowed slightly.
"Fifth Hokage, I apologize."
Without waiting for a reply, he ran as fast as he could toward his clan's compound.
As soon as Hiashi Hyuga left, the other clan leaders seemed to wake from a dream, rushing forward to offer hasty apologies before departing.
"You—!" Shizune was furious, stepping forward to berate them.
Tsunade, looking utterly dejected, waved a hand to stop her. "Let them go."
She turned to Shikaku and the others, who were the last to remain. "No need to say more. I don't blame you."
Seeing this, Shikaku and the others said nothing more, and fled as if their lives depended on it. After all, the villagers' ears and the Sarutobi clan's heads were limited; if they were too late, there wouldn't be any left to save.
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