"Mere grains of dust—how could you compare to me even slightly!"
Madara stood with his arms crossed, the corners of his mouth lifted in a faint smirk, watching the Five Kage opposite him as though they were putting on some trivial performance.
He showed no intention of attacking first. He simply watched.
"Uchiha Madara, enough of your arrogance!"
Ōnoki stepped forward, his hands forming seals.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
A white cube materialized out of thin air and swept straight toward Uchiha Madara.
"So it's that little runt I once scared so badly he wet himself!" Madara formed seals of his own, and four clones appeared beside him. "Very well—I'll let my clones deal with you!"
The Dust Release struck Madara head-on.
In the next second, his body disintegrated into atoms.
"Success?" the Raikage wondered aloud—only to see the clones still standing there, untouched.
"Not bad for a kekkei tōta, but if you think that can kill me, you're still far too naive!" Uchiha Madara reappeared. Compared to before, his eyes held a bit more killing intent.
No one knew exactly what Ōnoki's attack had done to him moments ago—perhaps it had simply provoked him.
"I hope you can at least make my blood boil a little. Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to crush you all!" Madara crooked a finger, and his clones began charging forward.
"Go!"
The Raikage shouted, activating his Lightning Release Chakra Mode. His entire body transformed into a bolt of lightning as he appeared in front of one of Uchiha Madara's clones. If struck by his electric arc, such a clone would vanish.
His plan was sound, but he forgot the man before him was Uchiha Madara.
The battles he had experienced outnumbered all the large and small conflicts from the First to the Third Great Ninja War combined.
And his greatest enemy had been Senju Hashirama—the man known as the God of Shinobi.
How could he possibly be unaware of the weaknesses of shadow clones!
"Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Against mere Kage, Madara saw no need for the Rinnegan. In his eyes, the Mangekyō was more than sufficient.
With the extraordinary perception granted by the Sharingan, his clone clearly read the Raikage's attack pattern. In a flash, he evaded and countered with a single kick—relying purely on taijutsu to suppress the Raikage.
Another clone clashed with Terumī Mei using Fire Release against her Water Release.
Yet another engaged Ōnoki with genjutsu while countering his Dust Release.
"Hashirama's granddaughter! Wood Release isn't exclusive to you!"
After Madara's true body spoke, the final clone formed seals.
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees!"
Surging trees erupted from the ground, rushing toward Tsunade and Gaara in the center.
"Hokage, come with me!"
Seeing a Wood Release even more powerful than Tsunade's, Gaara felt a moment of discouragement—but he did not give up. He was the Fifth Kazekage of Sunagakure. Even if he knew the elders had merely pushed him forward to die, in his heart he had already accepted the role of Fifth Kazekage.
The duty of a Kage was protection—protecting one's village and the shinobi within it.
The yellow sand lifted Tsunade upward. The two soared higher and higher, but the trees below continued growing relentlessly. Soon massive wooden hands emerged, reaching to seize Tsunade and Gaara.
"Lightning Release: Lariat!"
Using his ultimate move again, Raikage finally struck one of Uchiha Madara's clones, freeing himself from the fray.
In the next instant, he charged toward the clone facing Ōnoki.
"Lightning Release: Four-Finger Nukite!"
At this moment, the fastest speed in the shinobi world was on full display. Before the clone could react, the Raikage obliterated it. Ōnoki seized the chance to ascend into the sky.
"Dust Release: Boundary Detachment of the Primitive World!"
A cylindrical crystalline construct formed, erasing the remaining two clones, halting the Wood Release, and incidentally rescuing Tsunade.
In that instant, when the Five Kage looked toward Uchiha Madara once more, their expressions grew grave.
Madara himself had not even truly exerted his strength. Just four insignificant clones had already drained a massive amount of their chakra. If the battle continued like this, they were finished.
"We can't go on like this!"
Tsunade rallied her spirit. Gazing at Uchiha Madara before her, she formed seals once again.
"Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!"
Using the Wood Release created by Madara's clones as a foundation, a colossal wooden giant a hundred meters tall appeared. Nearly a thousand arms formed a halo of Buddhist light. From above, Tsunade looked down upon Uchiha Madara.
"Haaah!"
With Tsunade's explosive shout, giant hands descended from the sky, pressing down towards Uchiha Madara as if to crush him completely.
"Finally... something a little interesting!"
Watching this technique, the corners of Madara's mouth curved upward. In that moment, he saw a shadow of Hashirama in Tsunade.
"But Wood Release without senjutsu to support it is useless against me." As soon as the words left his mouth, a translucent humanoid figure instantly formed around his body.
Susanoo.
*Boom! Boom! Boom!*
One giant hand after another slammed against the Susanoo, only for the Susanoo to remain motionless while the massive hands broke apart one after another.
"Go!"
Unwilling to yield, Tsunade kept commanding the hands to attack.
But as she persisted, her once-vibrant skin gradually wrinkled, and her golden hair turned dull and dry.
"Yang Release is a person's life force. Hashirama's granddaughter, you've expended too much of your Yang Release!" Madara felt a tinge of regret. If Tsunade could use senjutsu, this battle would be even more spectacular.
As for the others—he had already lost interest.
"Time to end this!"
The Susanoo continuously grew larger. Before the eyes of the several Kage, it directly transformed into a nearly hundred-meter-tall warrior with four arms, each holding a long sword.
The blade cleaved through the air, slicing the wooden giant clean in half at the waist and carving a fissure dozens of kilometers long across the ground.
The terror of Susanoo was plain for all to see.
And that was merely one swing. As it raised the next sword, the Kage naturally refused to simply die.
"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Technique!"
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
"Lightning Release: One-Finger Nukite!"
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
Each Kage unleashed their signature technique. Ōnoki's Dust Release struck the left upper body of Susanoo, disintegrating both arms along with the sword into nothingness.
Terumī Mei's Skilled Mist Technique created an acidic fog that dissolved most of the Susanoo, which conventional ninjutsu couldn't harm, exposing Madara inside.
And in that opening, the Raikage's One-Finger Nukite delivered what should have been the final killing blow toward the now-exposed Uchiha Madara.
This was a technique developed by his father, the Third Raikage. The Fourth Raikage was not incapable of using it—he simply rarely did, as it did not suit his usual fighting style. But at this moment, what could possibly be more important than slaying Uchiha Madara!
If he could kill Uchiha Madara, then he—the Fourth Raikage—and Kumogakure would become the new legend of the shinobi world.
For Kumogakure's sake, Uchiha Madara—die!
"Not bad, junior. Not bad technique at all!"
Even on the verge of being struck by the Fourth Raikage, Madara remained calm and composed. The sheer presence he exuded reached its absolute peak.
"I was originally planning to play with you all a bit longer!"
"Shinra Tensei!"