"I... damn it..."
At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi really wanted to curse.
What did I do to deserve this?
Why are the two of you fixated on me?
You beat me up, immediately started sealing me, and when others intervened, you only fought them briefly. But the moment I recovered, you aimed at me again.
Why?
Kakashi, if you're doing this because of your father, I won't say much.
But Tsunade, what's your reason?
What did I do to make you so angry with me?
Your father's death? That had nothing to do with me!
He asked, but Tsunade didn't respond at all, just kept throwing punch after punch.
"Hiruzen, what exactly did you do?"
Danzo's voice was low and full of anger.
He felt deceived.
Judging from Tsunade's attitude, Sarutobi must've done something to wrong her again.
Otherwise, why would she be so furious?
She definitely wouldn't!
But whatever he did, Danzo had no idea.
How could this be?
Do you even respect me?
Danzo glared at Hiruzen with rage, and the seal on his body began to loosen.
"If you don't explain everything to me today, I won't let this go."
"Get the hell out of my face!"
The Third Hokage was so angry he almost coughed up blood.
Is this ever going to end?
Kakashi and Tsunade are still causing trouble, and now you're joining in too? What are you trying to do?
Do you really think I, Sarutobi Hiruzen, the strongest Hokage in history, am easy to bully?
"You dare to yell at me?"
Danzo's one eye widened in shock.
He couldn't hold back anymore!
There was no way he could tolerate this.
Immediately, Danzo prepared to confront Hiruzen, determined to find out what wrongs he had committed against everyone, and why he had kept them from him.
Unforgivable!
...
Swoosh!
The crisp sound of a sword echoed.
Mifune and Hanzo of the Salamander were in the middle of a fierce battle.
This time, things were completely different from the original story.
Mifune was almost completely overpowering Hanzo.
Before the fight, Itsuki had shared all the information he knew about Hanzo with everyone.
With their abilities being fairly equal, once one side knew the other inside and out, the battle didn't need to drag on.
Boom!
With a heavy thud, Mifune slashed Hanzo.
However...
When the sealing team approached to finish sealing Hanzo, Gari suddenly struck, breaking the sealing scroll.
"This battle won't be as easy as we thought!"
Mifune's expression was firm.
"Yeah, looks like a long fight!"
Kakashi sighed in frustration.
They wanted to end the fight quickly and go help on the other side, but they just couldn't.
"Fire Release!"
The Inoha brothers went wild, unleashing Fire Release techniques repeatedly.
"If once isn't enough, we'll do it twice. If twice isn't enough, we'll try three times!"
Tetsuhiko sneered. "I don't believe they can dodge every time. If we can seal just one or two of them, the rest will be easy."
"That's the plan!"
Kakashi's hand crackled with lightning, his gaze turning cold.
They needed to finish this fight soon—he still had to face Obito.
Obito's fate was his to decide.
Boom!
...
Amidst the wrecked battlefield, Obito stepped out of the void.
He silently observed the massive Buddha statue before him.
"This is... beyond words!"
Black Zetsu emerged from the ground, staring at the destroyed statue with undisguised shock in his voice.
This had been one of their trump cards!
A specially nurtured White Zetsu.
One of a kind!
Extremely powerful.
Though they never fully tested its strength, Black Zetsu estimated it was definitely no weaker than any tailed beast.
Yet such a strong Wood Release-enhanced White Zetsu had been quickly defeated by Itsuki Uchiha.
Just how strong was Itsuki Uchiha?
For the first time, Black Zetsu felt a deep sense of crisis.
He had thought that once Madara Uchiha was revived, everything would end.
But now, that seemed impossible!
Itsuki Uchiha's power rivaled that of Madara Uchiha.
Or perhaps... could Madara really defeat Itsuki Uchiha?
The more he thought about it, the more unsettled Black Zetsu became.
"What's going on with Madara?"
Obito's mood wasn't any better, his voice tense.
"What else? He's obviously dominating," Black Zetsu sneered. "But Obito, when are you planning to make your move? Or are you just going to keep watching?"
Obito's eyes grew cold. "Are you giving me orders now?"
Black Zetsu stared back, unshaken.
The two stood in cold silence.
Obito spoke slowly and deliberately, "What I do is none of your concern, Black Zetsu. You'd better remember your place."
After a long pause, Black Zetsu lowered his head. "I understand. But you should remember—Madara Uchiha doesn't have much patience."
"Hmph!"
Obito snorted.
But he knew he couldn't drag this out much longer.
Since Black Zetsu had said as much, it likely reflected Madara's attitude as well.
"Damn it!"
Obito's heart burned with anger and helplessness.
There was nothing he could do, though. He wasn't strong enough.
Even with his newly transplanted Rinnegan, Obito knew he stood no chance against Madara.
Where was his path to victory?
Obito narrowed his eyes, silently contemplating.
...
Splat!
The sound of a blade cutting through flesh echoed.
Madara Uchiha stared coldly at the figure before him.
Chiyo!
In the final moments of the battle, just as Madara was about to strike down Sasori, Chiyo appeared and took the blow for him.
"Old hag!"
Sasori's eyes filled with bloodshot rage.
At that moment, his puppet body seemed to come alive.
"How touching," Madara sneered coldly. "But don't worry, you'll all die. It's just a matter of time."
"Is that so?"
Chiyo grinned, showing her toothless mouth.
"How about you and I die first?"
"Clack clack clack!"
Countless puppet parts appeared around the two of them.
These parts were from the puppets of both Chiyo and Sasori, which had just been shattered by Madara Uchiha.
But.
Broken parts don't mean they are completely unusable!
"Hmm?"
Madara Uchiha, still in the stance of stabbing Chiyo, glanced around.
"What is this?"
He asked lightly, as if he didn't take any of it seriously.
"It's a seal to trap part of you. Once these parts come together, it forms a complete seal!"
Chiyo laughed darkly and made a hand sign.
"Buzz!"
Instantly, those parts started releasing chakra.
In the blink of an eye, a barrier enveloped both Madara and Chiyo.
"Madara Uchiha, you'll be sealed away with this old lady!" Chiyo laughed out loud.
"Seal!"
The barrier began to glow and, in a flash, it solidified into a near-tangible form.
Chiyo was skilled in sealing techniques, and her ability in this area was extraordinary.
Back then, she was the one who sealed the One-Tailed Shukaku into Gaara's body.
"Old hag!" Sasori shouted, but he was powerless.
Since Chiyo had already activated the sealing technique, she had prepared everything thoroughly, leaving no chance for interference.
Once the seal began, it could only be completed.
At that moment, Sasori's emotions were conflicted.
He vaguely realized that, even though he had become a puppet, he still had feelings.
Perhaps his soul still existed within that puppet body.
"Is the seal complete?"
The others weren't as complicated as Sasori, instead, they were excited as they looked at the enormous seal that had formed.
If they could seal Madara Uchiha, it wouldn't matter if Chiyo was sacrificed—or even her grandson.
"Poof!"
Just as their excitement was building, a massive blade pierced through the seal.
"Poof, poof, poof!"
One after another, four long blades shot out from within, shattering the seal into pieces.
"Boom!"
With a deep, heavy sound, Madara Uchiha walked out.
"You all look happy?" Madara tilted his head and sneered at everyone present. "What are you so happy about?"
"Damn it!"
Seeing Madara unharmed, a chill ran down everyone's spine.
Deep within the endless cold, despair grew.
Facing someone like him, facing a shinobi like this, what could they possibly do?
"We can't beat him!"
"We can't win at all!"
"We're not even on the same level as this guy!"
From the beginning of the fight, too many of their comrades had already fallen.
Yet Madara Uchiha seemed like a tireless machine.
He had been fighting nonstop, killing nonstop!
Even though their side had top-tier ninjas, in front of Madara, they seemed so weak.
Can this work?
Absolutely not!
We can't keep fighting like this.
We'll die!
We're all going to die!
The ninjas began to tremble.
Standing beside their fallen comrades, they couldn't stop themselves from shaking.
Even though they had prepared to die on the battlefield, facing such a monster, they couldn't help but feel fear.
"Hey, what's wrong with you guys?" Madara glared at everyone, chuckling at first, then bursting into maniacal laughter.
He looked to the sky and laughed wildly. "Come on, don't be afraid, let's keep dancing."
At this point, Mei Terumi and Pakura exchanged glances, sighed softly, and stepped forward.
"What now?"
Madara looked at them with interest. "I don't underestimate women, but just the two of you? Seems pointless, don't you think?"
"We know we're not your match!" Pakura admitted, "But there's someone who is."
"Someone?" Madara's interest was piqued. "Who? Where? Hashirama? He's not in any condition to move right now."
"Not the First Hokage, but the First Mokage!" Mei Terumi spoke calmly, pulling out a scroll.
"Hmm? First Mokage?" Madara stroked his chin. "I remember the Uchiha clan had a brat who founded a shinobi village and became the First Mokage. Uchiha Itsuki, right?"
This name was far too familiar to Madara.
Ever since his resurrection, many people had mentioned it to him.
Some said Uchiha Itsuki was very similar to him.
Others spoke of Itsuki's greatness.
Some even said that Madara resembled Itsuki.
What nonsense is this?
Madara sneered. "Uchiha Itsuki, huh? Alright, I'd like to meet him. Where is he? Bring him here, or I'll go find him!"
"He's right here!" Pakura also pulled out a scroll and placed it in front of Madara alongside Mei Terumi's.
Then, they opened them.
"Boom!"
Two clouds of white smoke rose.
Next, two figures appeared before everyone.
"That... that is..."
Everyone was stunned at first, but their expressions soon turned excited.
Itsuki!
Uchiha Itsuki!
The figure that emerged from the scroll was none other than Uchiha Itsuki.
Yawning lazily, he said, "Mei and Pakura? You actually summoned me together."
"Wake up, Itsuki!" Mei Terumi barked. "Look at your opponent."
"I see him!" Itsuki replied lazily. "Madara Uchiha, the Dance King. One of the Five Laughing Madmen of the Uchiha."
"What kind of nonsense is that?" Pakura couldn't help but comment, "Though, it's not too hard to understand."
Dance King?
Madara had repeatedly taunted them to "dance" throughout the battle.
As for the laughing part...
Madara sure loved to laugh maniacally.
But Five Laughing Madmen?
Who are the other four?
"Yo, nice to meet you, Madara Uchiha." Itsuki waved at Madara. "You're my elder, so I should show some respect, but what you've done has made me so angry I can't muster any."
His gaze shifted to the fallen ninjas around him.
The deaths of ninjas from other villages didn't bother him.
But a lot of ninjas from the Fire Village seemed to have died too.
That was something Uchiha Itsuki couldn't accept.
He turned his cold eyes to Madara.
His Sharingan activated, automatically forming three tomoe as the powerful ocular force swirled in his eyes.
"Hmm?" Madara raised an eyebrow, interested. "Is this a clone? Fascinating. You've sealed two of your clones and had these two women carry them around."
"Nothing surprising there," Itsuki replied calmly. "They're my women. Of course, I'd give them something to protect themselves with."
"But these clones are interesting!" Madara scrutinized them. "The best clone I've ever seen was Hashirama's Wood Clone, but yours seems..."
He couldn't quite describe it.
In most ninja villages, clones had clear differences from their original bodies.
Even if they looked identical.
But.
Even with his Sharingan, Madara couldn't detect any flaws in Itsuki's clones.
They seemed like real people.
Even better than Wood Clones.
"Interesting, very interesting!"
In just a few moments, Itsuki had managed to pique Madara's interest.
Madara beckoned to Itsuki. "Come on, let's try it out!"
"Try it out, and you'll die!"
Itsuki's eyes spun, locking into the Mangekyō Sharingan. "In the Uchiha clan, we naturally communicate with our eyes, right, Madara?"
"Of course!" Madara's eyes also shifted into the Mangekyō.
"Let's talk with our eyes then!"
(End of chapter)