"What are you trying to do, Madara?!"
Hashirama's expression turned serious as his hands flew through a flurry of hand seals. He pushed his chakra to the absolute limit.
"You'll see soon enough."
As Uchiha Madara poured chakra into the Ten Tails, its form began to shift once again. A terrifying aura spread through the air like a creeping fog.
"What's going on?" Naruto couldn't help but ask. "Something's not right. This feeling... it's way too strange."
"Naruto, are you okay?" Minato asked gently.
"Dad, it's not me," Naruto murmured, placing a hand over his stomach. "It's the Nine-Tails. He's uneasy… it's like he's scared."
"Nonsense!"
The Nine-Tails roared from within Naruto, "I am the mighty Nine Tails! Me? Afraid? Brat, if you keep spouting nonsense, I'll—"
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Don't forget, we've linked before. I can feel your emotions now too. Who are you trying to fool?"
He wasn't the least bit afraid of the Nine-Tails.
Nine-Tails: "..."
This is why I didn't want to work with you.
And seriously, what kind of phrasing is 'linked before'? That's just weird.
[Rumble...]
By now, the Ten Tails had completed its transformation.
It had turned into a tree—an enormous, motionless tree rooted firmly into the earth.
"What... what is that?"
Everyone watching widened their eyes in disbelief.
How could a massive tailed beast suddenly become a tree?
"Big brother!"
Tobirama stepped up beside Hashirama and whispered, "Do you remember that old legend?"
"Which one?"
"...You forgot something that important?! The one about the Sage of Six Paths! I told you to memorize it!"
Hashirama scratched his head and gave a sheepish laugh.
"Second Hokage, what's going on?" Minato asked on behalf of the others.
Tobirama glanced around and said gravely, "It's a long story, but to put it simply: when the Sage of Six Paths sealed the Ten Tails long ago, it was recorded that a God Tree appeared. I didn't think... I didn't expect the Ten Tails itself was that tree."
"That's it?"
"It's ancient history. Most of the records are lost, and clearly someone didn't want this knowledge passed down."
Tobirama's tone carried deep frustration. He'd combed through countless scrolls and ancient texts for his forbidden jutsu research, collecting obscure legends—including the sealing of the Ten Tails.
Only someone like Tobirama—Second Hokage, brother to Hashirama—could've pulled that off. He'd traveled across the entire shinobi world, visiting every clan, big and small.
But still—
He'd found no answers to the most critical parts. It was as if someone had deliberately erased them.
"So what do we do now?" Hashirama said helplessly. "Funan said we had to slowly wear down its power, but that clearly isn't possible anymore."
Just thinking about the earlier battle made Hashirama's head hurt.
What even was that?
Some sort of ping-pong match?
They kept attacking, and the other side kept batting everything away. It felt more like playing a game than fighting a war.
But of course, the Ten Tails itself wasn't amused.
Each time it deflected an attack, it took damage too.
[Buzz!]
Now, the Ten Tails' transformation was fully complete.
The God Tree stood tall and grotesque. Several gaping holes lined its massive trunk, each one oozing a powerful, destructive force.
If the Ten Tails before had been a hundred meters tall, now it soared nearly a kilometer into the sky.
Madara stood with his arms crossed. Another straw-like appendage emerged from his body, connecting him to the Divine Tree. A tremendous amount of energy began to flow from him into the Ten Tails.
With this surge of power, the Divine Tree's bark smoothed and pulsed with vitality—it was brimming with life.
"Hashirama," Madara said coolly, "Why don't you savor the Ten Tails' world-ending power for yourself?"
"Madara, what are you doing?!" Hashirama shouted. "What is this thing?!"
"This is the Ten Tails' true form," Madara said calmly. "According to legend, the Ten Tails was a Divine Tree—source of all chakra. It didn't originally need my power, but now? The Ten Tails we have is just a hollow shell. Its strength is limited."
Madara's cold eyes shifted toward the tailed beasts.
Animals… all of them.
"Raaaargh!"
The tailed beasts roared in fury.
What kind of look was that?
This bastard Madara… is he treating us like—
Prey?
No.
Food.
Or worse—
Tools.
Damn him!
"Stop this, Madara! Are you trying to destroy the entire world?!"
"Bring it on, Hashirama," Madara replied indifferently.
Suddenly, from the holes in the Divine Tree, an immense force began to gather.
Several massive Tailed Beast Bombs slowly formed—far larger than usual.
Even the tailed beasts couldn't contain their shock. Bombs of this size were far beyond the capability of the Seven Tails—only the Eight Tails or Nine Tails could pull something like this off.
Yet the Ten Tails had conjured four at once.
"You're all finished," Madara said with icy finality.
"Detonate."
[BOOM!!!]
The four Tailed Beast Bombs exploded outward in all directions, aiming to obliterate everything in sight.
"Wood Release!"
Hashirama's face shifted, sage markings flaring across his skin. With a roar, he unleashed his Wood Release, managing to knock one of the bombs away with sheer force.
"Fourth! Work with me!"
Tobirama shouted.
"Got it!"
Minato responded immediately.
Both men appeared at the front of another bomb. Pressing their hands against it, layers of glowing seals began to emerge, slowly wrapping around the deadly orb.
Flying Thunder God Technique!!!
[Whoosh!]
A Tailed Beast Bomb was forcibly teleported away.
Minato and Tobirama were so exhausted, they almost collapsed.
That was an enormous Tailed Beast Bomb, filled with terrifying power. If not for sheer luck, they wouldn't have been able to move it at all.
As for the last Tailed Beast Bomb...
[Boom!]
The Eight-Tails, charged in and blocked it head-on, managing to forcefully stop it in its tracks.
"Now!"
"Got it!"
The other Tailed Beasts and the ninja forces moved in one after another.
Everyone unleashed their strongest jutsu.
Rasenshuriken!
Susanoo!
Scorch Release!
...
Even the regular shinobi used the most destructive techniques they had at their disposal.
Those who weren't skilled in large-scale attacks simply threw out dozens of explosive tags!
[Boom!]
[Boom! Boom! Boom!]
Amid the continuous blasts, the Tailed Beast Bomb was blown away.
"We made it through!"
Hashirama let out a deep breath, though his expression didn't show a trace of relief.
They had stopped the attack, yes—but the cost had been immense.
Minato and Tobirama, being Edo Tensei, didn't mind much.
But everyone else…
Including the Tailed Beasts had taken a heavy toll.
Hashirama couldn't help but glance at Naruto.
The Jinchūriki was still bouncing around, shouting loudly to rally the others.
Truly, a child of the Uzumaki clan.
"First Hokage!"
A fiery red figure appeared in front of Hashirama.
"You're... Uzumaki Yako?"
Hashirama nodded slightly at the woman. "Say what's on your mind."
He had been in Konoha long enough to know who she was—Uchiha Funan's chief aide, responsible for the village's overall operations.
Even the Nara clan's top strategist took orders from her.
Only Uchiha Itachi outranked her—but that was because he was Funan's designated successor. A different matter entirely.
"Yes!"
With no time for pleasantries, Yako spoke urgently, "First Hokage, we need you to hold off Uchiha Madara. He said it himself—this Ten-Tails is nothing but a shell. If he's not supplying it with power, that kind of attack shouldn't happen again."
Hashirama gave a small nod. "Tobirama, back me up. We'll hold off Madara together."
"Understood!"
Tobirama turned to Yako. "You're Uzumaki Yako, right? Get the regular shinobi out of here. That last attack..."
He didn't finish the sentence.
But Yako understood.
That massive Tailed Beast Bomb—the regular ninja tried their best, but their efforts barely made a dent.
It was the coordinated attacks from the Tailed Beasts, One through Eight, that really made the difference.
The Susanoo users played a key role too.
The gap in power between Kage-level shinobi and the rest was just too big.
Instead of forcing the elites to protect the weaker ones, it was better to pull them out entirely.
"I understand."
Hashirama shouted, "Madara! Face me!"
Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!
He summoned a massive wooden humanoid and charged straight at Uchiha Madara.
Madara began to tremble.
With excitement.
No Uchiha Funan. Just him and Hashirama.
Finally—a real fight, unrestrained!
A world with only the two of them!
"Haha!" Madara laughed wildly. "Hashirama, the current you is no match for me! Let me show you... the true power of the Uchiha!"
Perfect Susanoo emerged in full force.
The two of them clashed in an instant.
"My idiot brother…"
Tobirama muttered helplessly from the shadows.
At this level of battle, even he couldn't intervene.
Yet Hashirama expected him to assist from the sidelines?
Wasn't that a bit much?
Still...
Seeing his brother gradually pushed back by Madara, Tobirama let out a long sigh.
He silently waited for the right moment.
...
[Rumble!]
Another violent explosion shook the earth.
Covered in dust and soot, Guy and Kakashi staggered out of the smoke.
Obito watched them coldly. His mood—gloomy up until now—was finally starting to lift.
"Obito!"
Black Zetsu emerged from underground. "How long are you planning to keep playing around?"
"You've got time to nag me, but not him?"
Obito sneered, glancing at Madara in the distance.
Even from here, did Zetsu seriously not know what was happening over there?
Black Zetsu: "…"
Why is this so hard?
Why can't you people act normal for once?
Damn it, is there any normal Uchiha?
Despite his deep frustration, Black Zetsu said nothing more.
He was simply too weak to argue.
"Are we abandoning the Eye of the Moon Plan?" Black Zetsu asked.
"Hmph!"
Obito snorted coldly, eyes shifting from the Divine Tree to Madara.
"With things in this mess, thanks to Madara... can the Eye of the Moon Plan even still happen?"
"The Ten-Tails is still the Ten-Tails," Black Zetsu said grimly. "No matter how its form changes, its essence remains the same."
"You've come this far. Paid this much. Are you really going to give up now?"
Obito fell silent.
Reaching this point had come at an immense cost.
So many people had been sacrificed along the way.
Deidara was severely injured—no one knew where he was hiding now. Just recently, White Zetsu managed to recover one of his arms.
Kisame was besieged by the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and perished along with two of them.
Sasori… had died in battle.
Killed by Chiyo. Of course, Chiyo died as well.
Konan had defected.
Nagato and Jūzō Biwa had been killed—by him.
Just moments ago, Orochimaru clashed with Jiraiya and Tsunade in a final, desperate confrontation. The outcome remained uncertain.
Only Hiruko seemed to have escaped.
"So many lives lost…"
Obito muttered under his breath.
"What about your choice, Obito?"
Obito stared at Kakashi and Guy for a long time before responding in a low voice, "…Begin the operation."
"Understood."
Black and White Zetsu immediately vanished into the ground.
"What are you trying to do, Obito?"
Kakashi's expression hardened. "What more can you possibly do?"
The White Zetsu army had already been wiped out.
A few stragglers had escaped, but they posed no real threat.
The Bloodline monsters had all been personally eliminated by Fugaku.
The Edo Tensei resurrected shinobi had each been sealed away.
The Akatsuki—those who hadn't fallen in battle had deserted.
This war had dragged on to the bitter end.
Now was the time to capture Obito alive.
Now was the time to seal away Uchiha Madara.
It was time for everything… to end.
"Heh…"
Obito let out a cold chuckle.
"Kakashi… did you really think this was all I had? You were wrong. I haven't even revealed my trump ca—ghk!"
Before Obito could finish, a violent cough burst from his throat—followed by a mouthful of blood.
Clutching his chest, he looked stunned, disbelief etched across his face.
"Obito!" Kakashi cried out.
Guy grabbed his shoulder and said in a low voice, "Don't move. It could be a trap—we haven't done anything to him."
Kakashi was just about to reply when his eyes widened in shock. "This—this is…"
Guy was stunned too.
Even Black and White Zetsu, who had just burrowed underground, froze in confusion.
There was now a massive hole in Obito's chest.
His heart—completely destroyed.
"What… what just happened? Who did this?!"
Zetsu roared in fury.
Obito couldn't die now! If he died, what would happen to the plan?
How were they supposed to carry it out?
More importantly—how was Uchiha Madara supposed to be resurrected now?
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