Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
At Heiyan's command, eight golden chains shot forth once more—but their target wasn't Madara's Susanoo.
It was the hundred-meter-tall statue of Madara Uchiha.
More precisely, its enormous head.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Several chains wrapped tightly around the statue's head—from its crown down to its neck.
Then—
"Lift!"
With a sharp shout from Heiyan.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A deafening roar echoed as the colossal head of Madara Uchiha's statue was ripped violently upward. Bound by the Adamantine Sealing Chains, it floated midair—separated from its body.
Headless now.
From this moment onward, the statue of Madara Uchiha in the Valley of the End became a headless one.
Why did Heiyan do this?
Because unlike others, he had clearly known from the very beginning who his true enemy was.
Although Heiyan had never met Nagare, and not even a single word had been exchanged between them, he was absolutely certain—she was Madara Uchiha reborn.
After all, across the ninja world at this time, there only existed one Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan (or perhaps just one eye).
As someone who came from another world, Heiyan was extremely familiar with the pattern of Madara's Mangekyou.
The Eternal Mangekyou, the First Hokage's Wood Release techniques, that unique form of Susanoo—all these signs unmistakably pointed to one truth: this was Nagare, who embodied Madara.
This ancient fox… wasn't he supposed to be buried deep under the earth, cultivating the Rinnegan? Why is he up here now? And what kind of deep grudge could he possibly have with Heiyan?
That was what puzzled Heiyan.
He couldn't figure it out.
But there was no time to dwell on it now.
He shoved every thought aside and zeroed in on the deadly fight ahead.
Even though his opponent was Madara Uchiha—the legendary ninja—he knew he still had a chance to win.
Because this blue-haired woman was clearly not Madara's true body, but rather some kind of clone or projection; therefore, her power was limited.
One could easily deduce this from the form of Susanoo they currently possessed.
Their Susanoo wasn't in its perfected state—it was still relatively primitive.
Still, it shouldn't be underestimated.
"Go!"
With a fierce shout, Heiyan commanded again. He manipulated the eight golden chains, swinging the massive statue head with tremendous force toward the waterfall below.
Swoosh!
The giant head flew like a meteor from heaven, crashing violently down toward Madara's Susanoo.
Inside the Susanoo, Madara's expression twisted into something almost monstrous.
In the reflection of his eyes, his own statue head came closer. Its blank face split open at the crown, the right eye socket hollow and dark—a silent, mocking sight.
"Ahhhh!"
Madara shrieked, an ear-piercing scream. His long flowing blue hair rose up as if alive, wildly whipping behind him like a witch's tresses.
[Two-Sword Dance]!
He slashed the incoming statue head into pieces that scattered into the water below.
Then, stomping hard against the water's surface, both Madara and his Susanoo rocketed skyward together.
Heiyan also took the initiative to engage in battle, diving down from above the waterfall.
The two sides finally engaged in brutal close-range combat.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In an instant, the curved greatsword of Susanoo and the golden chains of [Adamantine Sealing Chains] (golden chains that could seal chakra) collided dozens of times.
Blade auras sliced through the air as golden chains lashed about wildly.
The pair fought from the cliffside waterfall all the way to the riverbank, then into the woods. As they moved, water erupted, boulders shattered, and trees collapsed—one moment of absolute chaos followed another.
"Run now!"
Many fled the terrifying battlefield without even looking back.
Sakumo Hatake had hidden himself in the shadows.
After breaking free from Madara's Wood Release, he immediately rushed over to support Heiyan.
Yet soon, he realized the battle level before him was far beyond his ability to interfere.
As an Anbu deputy captain and high-ranking elder in Konoha, he had access to many secrets—including intelligence on Susanoo.
Susanoo was essentially solidified chakra. Massive chakra formed a humanoid figure that surrounded its user. Most attacks proved utterly ineffective against it.
Madara's Susanoo had extremely strong defensive power. Even the chains of Adamantine Sealing Chains could only leave shallow marks on its surface.
Sakumo looked down at the chakra-infused [tanto] (short blade) in his hand—known as White Fang. Compared to the massive Susanoo, it felt pathetically small, like nothing more than a toothpick.
A crushing wave of helplessness crashed over him.
Indeed, Sakumo Hatake was very powerful.
His fierce and swift [Hatake-ryu Kenjutsu] (Hatake-style swordsmanship) was unmatched across the shinobi world. Even Madara Uchiha had lost an arm to this technique.
However, his strength had limitations—it applied only to regular one-on-one combat scenarios.
When facing enormous entities like Tailed Beasts or large-scale Ninjutsu such as Susanoo, he suddenly became short-handed, lacking effective methods of attack.
He desperately wanted to help but knew his limits were too clear.
Just then, the battle between Madara Uchiha and Heiyan reached a boiling point.
Madara grew increasingly alarmed.
He had originally believed that with Susanoo alone, he could easily kill Heiyan within just a few moves. Unexpectedly, Heiyan stood equal to him in battle.
Those eight golden chains were indeed troublesome—not only did they have immense attacking power, but they could also seal his chakra.
Heiyan grew stronger with every passing moment, seemingly never tiring.
In contrast, Madara's chakra reserves inside his body were nearly depleted—truly running out fast.
His Susanoo wavered unstably.
There was no more time to waste.
"Die!"
Thinking this, Madara risked everything in a final gamble, hurling both of his curved greatswords forward.
Crack!
In an instant, four of the [Adamantine Sealing Chains] were severed clean through.
But at the same time, Heiyan used the remaining four chains to bind Madara's Susanoo tightly and securely.
Madara reacted quickly too—the four arms of his Susanoo grabbed firmly onto the chains of Adamantine Sealing Chains, preventing them from tightening further.
A stalemate formed between them.
"Haha! Let's die together!"
Madara laughed maniacally as countless green flesh buds sprouted rapidly from his body, visibly growing at an incredible rate—a grotesque form of [Self-Destruction] (body explosion).
This was a horrifying variation of the Self-Destruction technique.
Madara Uchiha decided to let the Hashirama cells inside him run completely rampant, spreading wildly and rapidly forming an enormous forest that would devour everything in its path.
At that point, Heiyan was as good as dead—
unless he could first break through the defenses of Susanoo and destroy this sacrificial vessel clone.
But was that even possible?
Madara Uchiha had absolute confidence in his Susanoo.
Unfortunately, he was proven wrong the very next second.
Heiyan inhaled sharply.
His hands flew through a series of hand seals, finally ending in a prayer-like gesture.
Seal completed.
Whoosh!
A blazing blue beam erupted from his mouth, slamming into the towering form of Susanoo just inches away.
[Storm Release: Shockwave Fang]!
Long ago, Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, had created the Water Fang Wave precisely to pierce through the Uchiha clan's Susanoo defense.
The Storm Release: Shockwave Fang was a kekkei jutsu strengthened and improved based on the same ninjutsu principles as the Water Fang Wave.
Its power had reached an even higher level.
So without hesitation—
Crash!
The previously indestructible Susanoo was instantly pierced right through.
"How... is this possible..."
Madara's smile froze.
He stared down at his chest in disbelief—where now gaped a huge hole, smoking with thick, pungent white fumes from the charred flesh.
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