"That should've worked… right?"
Even Jiraiya sounded uncertain. He then turned toward the Third Hokage.
"Old man, are you serious? You fought that monster for dozens of exchanges before this?"
Based on Jiraiya's judgment, from the strength Madara had displayed so far, no one present could survive more than ten exchanges against him in pure Taijutsu combat.
Perhaps Minato could last longer by relying on Flying Raijin.
But the terrifying part was—
Madara had only been using Taijutsu.
"His strength and speed are even greater than before…" The Third Hokage stared at the hellish flames still devouring the battlefield, his expression remaining grave. "Based on my estimation, when I fought him earlier, he had only recently regained his youthful body."
"He probably wasn't fully accustomed to the sudden surge in power yet."
"Only now…"
Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…is he truly able to use his full strength."
"So he was using you as practice?!" Jiraiya suddenly felt a headache coming on.
"That's the only explanation I can think of."
For a moment, the Third Hokage fell silent before sighing quietly.
"Without personally witnessing the heroes of the Warring States Era… it's impossible to truly comprehend their power."
"If Uchiha Madara is already this terrifying…"
"Then just how powerful must the First Hokage—who defeated him—have been?"
"This…"
"…is what they meant by 'Legendary Shinobi.'"
The strongest Hokage in history?
Perhaps that title was nothing more than a joke.
The Third Hokage's words weighed heavily on everyone present.
Because Madara's overwhelming strength had already become undeniable.
"Old man, sure, the enemy's strong…" Jiraiya suddenly laughed boldly. "But that doesn't mean we're helpless."
"You're the Hokage."
"I'm one of the Sannin."
"There's also Minato, A, and Killer B…"
"And all these shinobi standing here."
Jiraiya's eyes sharpened.
"I believe individual strength always has a limit."
"And our combined power…"
"…is the limit Madara cannot overcome!"
His words instantly reignited the morale of both Konoha and Kumogakure alike.
The despair hanging over the battlefield began to lift once more.
However, Minato still could not understand what he had just witnessed.
"I don't understand. Sensei and I clearly hit him with our Rasengan…"
"So why was he completely unharmed?"
"It was chakra."
The Third Hokage immediately saw through the nature of Madara's defense.
"He used chakra—several times greater than yours, perhaps even more—to neutralize your attacks directly."
Everyone's expressions changed.
How enormous would one's chakra reserves need to be to maintain such a defense?
"The essence of chakra is energy," Hiruzen explained slowly. "Since it can be used to attack, naturally, it can also be used to defend."
"So in theory, as long as someone possesses enough chakra and absolute precision in chakra control…"
"…they could defend against any Ninjutsu attack."
"But in reality, both requirements are beyond the reach of ordinary shinobi."
Such monstrous chakra reserves belonged only to Tailed Beasts.
And that level of chakra control belonged to the realm of supreme Dōjutsu.
To achieve the kind of defense Madara had just displayed—
Both conditions were necessary simultaneously.
And throughout the entire history of the shinobi world, no one had ever heard of such a shinobi existing.
Yet now…
That legend stood directly before them.
As the flames gradually died down, a silhouette could still be seen standing unmoving at the center of the inferno.
Madara was alive.
Everyone's hearts tightened instantly.
At last, the sea of fire completely dispersed.
Madara stood there with both arms raised before him.
Clearly—
To defend against Jiraiya's Sage Art, even he had been forced to use both hands.
Aside from a few minor burns and dozens of bloody cuts across his palms, Madara had suffered no serious injuries at all.
"This guy… is a monster…" Killer B muttered under his breath.
Unlike the stunned crowd around him, Madara himself frowned slightly.
Once again, he could feel the effects of aging creeping back into his body.
To block Jiraiya's Sage Art just now, he had been forced to mobilize an enormous amount of chakra to withstand that terrifying destructive force.
Although he had ultimately defended against it, the strain had pushed his body beyond its current limits. Madara could clearly feel a slight decline in his physical condition.
This…
…was aging.
As expected, he still could not wield all of his power freely.
The power of the Uzumaki clan was, in the end, not truly his own. If he exhausted it excessively, his body would begin deteriorating once again.
It seemed his earlier decision not to reclaim the Rinnegan rashly had been absolutely correct.
This body still could not withstand that level of power.
Madara slowly raised his hands and glanced at the blood staining his palms.
"So…"
"…you all wish to dance as well?"
"Then I'll indulge you."
The moment his words fell—
Madara vanished from where he stood.
…
Valley of the End.
Wood Release Forest.
This forest had originally been created through Tobi's chakra, which meant it naturally interfered with sensory perception and made concealment far easier.
Shimizu Uzuki remained perfectly hidden within the vast sea of trees.
He slowed his breathing to the absolute minimum, gradually blending completely into the surrounding greenery.
After a long while, a pitch-black figure slowly emerged from beneath the earth.
Black Zetsu.
A hidden enemy whose identity had never been revealed—
And one who would inevitably stand against him in the future.
You really do know how to hide…
Shimizu remained motionless, silently observing everything Black Zetsu did.
First, the creature searched the surrounding area for something.
Combining that with Tobi's belief that he was doomed to die—and his final words before death—Shimizu quickly deduced that Black Zetsu was looking for Tobi's corpse.
When the search failed, Black Zetsu immediately summoned two "Kumogakure shinobi."
But those vacant expressions…
There was no way they were real Kumo ninja.
This had to be some kind of secret technique. Ordinary Transformation Jutsu could never achieve such an almost flawless disguise.
Instantly, Shimizu recalled the hundred Ame shinobi he had encountered in the Land of Rivers during the early stages of the Third Shinobi World War.
Aside from the same dull expressions, they were nearly identical.
Then he watched as the two fake "Kumo shinobi" each put on Kumogakure ANBU masks before slowly sinking into the ground.
With those lifeless expressions, they could never pass as ordinary shinobi.
But ANBU, whose faces remained hidden at all times?
That was practically perfect camouflage.
Then Black Zetsu's form began to change again.
In the next moment—
It transformed directly into Obito's appearance.
Obito was one of them?!
The thought surfaced briefly before Shimizu immediately dismissed it.
However, considering Tobi's previous clash with Obito, Shimizu had reason to believe that, just like in the original story, Madara had taken an interest in Obito.
So that idiot's "chosen one" aura still managed to blind Madara after all.
If that deduction was correct, then it meant Tobi's schemes had never truly targeted Rin from the beginning.
The real target had always been Obito.
In their eyes, Rin was merely a tool used to achieve that goal.
Which meant her life or death was ultimately insignificant.
That might also explain why Tobi had not directly tried to kill her.
But then—
Why had Tobi believed he was certain to die?
Who wanted him dead? Madara? Or Black Zetsu?
And now that Black Zetsu had taken Obito's appearance…
Who was it trying to deceive?
Madara, who had yet to appear?
Shimizu silently committed every detail to memory and chose to continue waiting patiently in hiding.
Because the true prey had not yet appeared.
And the real darkness had not yet descended.
Now…
…was not yet the time to reveal himself.
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