"Uchiha Shirou!"
Two figures clashed rapidly. Madara shouted with excitement, unleashing the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan, Rinnegan, and Wood Release. On the opposing side, Shirou was equally matched.
Mangekyō Sharingan, Rinnegan, Wood Release—everything Madara had, Shirou had too. And what Madara didn't have, Shirou still possessed.
"Ahahaha, exhilarating! Exhilarating! You surprise this old man."
Though he had fallen to a disadvantage, Madara couldn't help but laugh heartily. At this moment, he was not like in the Chūnin Exams where he needed to hide his strength.
Now, Madara was fully unleashing the power of the Rinnegan, with strength second only to the Sage of Six Paths.
On the other side, Shirou was more fired up than ever. The excitement in his eyes made him grin.
"Madara, I should thank you. Without your secret help back then, I wouldn't have grown so fast."
However, Madara merely sneered at Shirou's words.
"Since I, Uchiha Madara, dared to do it, I'm not afraid of you surpassing me!"
Madara's pride would never let him regret helping someone who grew beyond his control.
If someone surpassed him, it only proved they were stronger; the strong have always had the right to take what they want.
"That golden light sword you just used, and the blue glow in your eyes, that must be a new ability, right?"
Madara looked at Shirou with a calm gaze, not the least bit flustered. Instead, he seemed almost dazed, as if seeing his younger self.
If—if he hadn't walked down his current path, maybe he would have been like Shirou, aiming to unite the shinobi world.
No!
Suddenly, Madara realized something and smiled. Even if he aimed to unify the world, he could never be as meticulous as Shirou.
At this moment, in Shirou, he saw his youthful self combined with Izuna's cunning mind—a perfect Uchiha.
"Madara, now's not the time to be distracted."
Suddenly, Shirou's teasing voice sounded in his ear. Madara's expression changed, and in the next instant—boom!—he was sent flying.
"Good!"
Even though he was struck, Madara was secretly impressed.
Shirou could seize any opportunity.
"Madara!"
As Madara crashed into a boulder, several figures suddenly appeared. Among them, Hashirama, clad in Sengoku red armor, shouted when he saw Madara's figure amid the dust.
"Damn it! Hashirama!"
Confident as Madara was, hearing that familiar voice instantly made him lose his composure.
Madara and Hashirama were fated rivals.
At this moment, Second Hokage Senju Tobirama's Edo Tensei form, along with Tsunade, Uchiha Mikoto, and Uzumaki Kushina, landed around Madara, surrounding him.
When the dust cleared, Madara was surrounded. Hashirama shouted urgently:
"Madara, you've already lost! This is no longer our era!"
At this time, only Hashirama truly cared for him.
But despite the encirclement and Hashirama's concern, Madara was not the least bit worried. Instead, he wore a smile.
"Haha, Hashirama, you're right. This is no longer our era. But between you and me, I still won!"
Madara laughed wildly, looking around at everyone and finally fixing his gaze on Shirou.
"Uchiha Shirou! You are the heir I chose. You have walked the path I only half-finished."
At this moment, other than Infinite Tsukuyomi, Madara's greatest obsession was to completely defeat Hashirama just once.
Madara's laughter made Hashirama sigh, while Tobirama looked frustrated.
"Brother, I warned you about Madara's ambition!"
Tobirama was so frustrated—his beloved granddaughter Tsunade had been taken by the Uchiha, and now it turned out their ancestors were all one family.
In the end, all Tobirama could do was complain about Madara's ambition.
But Hashirama just laughed and scratched his head.
"True, the village we created together was meant to bring peace to the shinobi world, but it failed. Even after our deaths, the wars continued.
Maybe we only take the first step. I don't know what the future holds, but just like us back then, no one knows what we'll bring to the world now. But I believe it will be better!"
Hashirama, with his broad mind, especially after death, was the calmest about the shinobi world's turmoil.
They once drove the development of the shinobi world; now, it was the younger generation's turn.
Just then, a distant scream suddenly shook the battlefield.
"Damn you, Uchiha Obito! You broke the alliance!"
Fourth Raikage A roared in fury as the chains from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path shot out, seemingly aiming for Sasuke and Kushina, the two Nine-Tails jinchūriki.
But the real target was Killer Bee, the Eight-Tails jinchūriki from the Hidden Cloud!
They were supposed to be allies!
"Aniki!"
As the Eight-Tails roared, Killer Bee's voice rang out. Before being swallowed, the Eight-Tails spat out Bee, leaving behind its last tail.
"Killer Bee, survive!"
Hearing the Eight-Tails' final words, Killer Bee was furious, but before he could react, Obito's figure appeared amid a spatial ripple.
"Hehe, I didn't even get the One-Tail or Nine-Tails—your Eight-Tails, I won't waste even a drop of its chakra!"
Shinra Tensei!
With Obito's hand raised, a terrifying repulsive force blasted Killer Bee toward the Demonic Statue's mouth.
"No!"
Fourth Raikage A screamed in rage, and the Cloud ninjas became agitated. They had only held out this long because of the alliance—now the alliance had betrayed them.
Standing atop the Ten-Tails, Obito's eyes were wild.
"Ahahaha, enough! This war should end now!"
As Killer Bee was swallowed, Fourth Raikage A's eyes were bloodshot as he roared:
"Obito! You bastard!"
"Enough!" Obito sneered, showing no respect. "Just a bunch of useless trash—now I win!"
Standing atop the Demonic Statue, Obito looked over the battlefield, especially in Shirou's direction, grinning.
"I admit you're all strong, but in the ninja world, the winner isn't the one who fights hardest, but who has the most chakra left at the end. How much chakra do you have left?"
As Obito's scornful words echoed, Minato's face darkened and he muttered, "From the start, whether it was Hidden Cloud, Edo Tensei, or even the hundred thousand White Zetsu, they were all Obito's pawns, just to wear us down."
Everything Obito had done made even Madara frown, who coldly shouted:
"Obito! What are you trying to do!"
At this moment, there was a clear rift between Obito and Madara.
Or rather, Obito intended to steal the fruits of their labor.
"Hehe, ahahaha—the real war begins now! Let me show you the strongest ultimate weapon of the shinobi world, and..."
Obito smiled evilly, glancing at Madara surrounded in the distance.
"And Madara, it seems you're the pawn now!"
At that moment, the Demonic Statue under Obito's feet roared, unleashing a terrifying aura that forced Kakashi, Minato, and the others to retreat.
"Not good! Everyone fall back!"
"What's happening?!"
In the center, the humanoid Demonic Statue roared madly. After absorbing the Eight-Tails, it began its mutation and evolution.
Though it hadn't captured the full One-Tail and Nine-Tails, some of their chakras had previously been acquired through Nagato.
As a terrifying shockwave swept out, the Demonic Statue visibly evolved, transforming into a massive ten-tailed beast with a single eye, formed from the God Tree, possessing the strongest chakra.
"Not good! This monster's still evolving!"
The monstrous chakra swept across the world—everyone could feel its terror.
With a final roar, it grew even larger, its mouth forming a massive floral cannon that could fire enormous Tailed Beast Bombs—and spawn countless mini-Ten-Tails.
"Ahahaha, what can you use to fight me now? Uchiha Shirou! Give Rin back to me!"
A Ten-Tails tendril connected to Obito's head as he roared in fury.
The Ten-Tails' will was powerful, but the whole world was nothing compared to Rin!
Obsessed with Rin, Obito went insane, even betraying his partnership with Madara.
But Madara, seeing this from afar, only sneered, sitting on a mountaintop, resting his head on his hand as he watched the clown in the distance.
"Idiot!"
In Madara's eyes, his ambition was to realize peace. And now, with Shirou, who inherited his earlier will, he saw a comparison: was Infinite Tsukuyomi correct, or was Shirou's plan to unite the shinobi world the better path?
He wasn't hesitating—just making a comparison. As Shirou had once said, the future could only be known by trying; if you did nothing, you'd never know.
So to Madara, Obito was just a clown, a pawn. Even without any backup plan, he wanted to see which plan would truly drive the wheel of the shinobi world forward.
"Uchiha Shirou! How much chakra do you have left now?!"
From atop the Ten-Tails, Obito's crazed roar rang out. But Shirou only sneered in reply.
"Looks like your pawn isn't just disobedient—he's pretty dumb too."
Ye's taunt made Madara shake his head in exasperation. Obito was a disgrace.
Look at everyone here—their dreams were all grand. Only Obito was fighting for a woman.
If it were for a wife, fine—but he'd never even confirmed a relationship with her, never kissed her!
"Uchiha Shirou, you're strong, but I suggest you recover your chakra first. That last battle must've drained you."
Madara's calm gaze showed he wanted to see Shirou's limits.
"Recover chakra?"
Shirou just smiled.
Seeing Shirou's odd smile, Madara frowned, sensing something was off.
"Could it be!"
Sensing something, Madara looked up, his eyes suddenly shocked.
"What is this?!"
All across the battlefield, everyone noticed something strange. Their faces filled with disbelief as they looked up at the night sky.
Their battle had lasted until night. Now, the silver moon had turned a strange blood red.
At the same time, eerie black patterns appeared on the blood-red moon.
Seeing these patterns, Madara's eyes widened in shock. "That's the same Mangekyō Sharingan pattern as that Uchiha girl from before!"
"Impossible!"
Not only Madara, but countless others on the battlefield realized something, especially the sharpest Jōnin and Kage-level fighters.
Far away atop the Ten-Tails, even Obito stared in disbelief at the blood moon's Mangekyō pattern.
"Impossible! Uchiha Hikari's eye techniques should only be Amaterasu and Kagutsuchi. How can this be?!"
Everyone's gaze turned to Uchiha Hikari, who had long since left the battlefield and was now inside a barrier, Mangekyō spinning as she stared at the moon.
With Hikari's powerful ocular powers reflecting off the moon, the moonlight shined down over the entire battlefield.
Maybe her ability couldn't cover the whole world, but it was more than enough for this battlefield.
"Impossible! This is an even stronger Tsukuyomi than Itachi's!"
Sasuke exclaimed in shock, while Itachi nodded gravely.
Tsukuyomi!
No—it should be Engraved Tsukuyomi!
As the blood moon's light shone down, marks appeared on the backs of everyone's hands, filling many with panic.
"What is this?!"
"Damn it, it won't come off!"
"How can this be?!"
On the battlefield, everyone—friend and foe—had a mark on the back of their hand.
"This energy can't penetrate Susano'o or the Rinnegan!"
Mikoto was the first to notice, but the next moment, she calmly dispelled her Susano'o and extended her arm to accept the energy.
As the mark appeared on her hand, far away, Hikari's eyes streamed blood, but she smiled.
"Lord Shirou, the plan is complete!"
Seeing this, Shirou also smiled, nodding lightly. He looked toward Obito and sneered:
"Obito, you're right. The war has just begun. The warm-up is over!"
In the next moment, a shocking change swept the battlefield, stunning all the ninjas.
Eight Thousand Spears!