The bone spear stabbed into Madara's shadow, but after piercing a short distance, it could go no further.
As a creation of the Limbo: Border Jail technique, the shadow possessed immense offensive and defensive power—its defense even surpassed Madara's own.
Relying on that strength, it blocked the bone spear's thrust.
Not only that, it suddenly reached out and grabbed the spear, locking arms with Uchiha Fugaku and preventing him from moving.
Meanwhile, the other three shadows lunged ferociously toward him.
Whoosh—
Fugaku instantly released his hold on the spear and shifted through space, evading the three shadows' attack.
"Spatial ninjutsu? No… this is the illusion technique Uchiha Obito once mentioned! I've fallen under his genjutsu!"
Watching Fugaku reappear a short distance away, Madara recalled what Obito had told him about Fugaku's abilities, and immediately understood the situation.
"Genjutsu Release!"
He activated his Rinnegan, forcefully dispelling the illusion.
Crack—!
The illusory space shattered like glass, and both Madara and Fugaku returned to the real world.
They were standing in the same positions as before.
From the very beginning, Madara had been trapped inside Fugaku's True Illusion Realm.
"Tenseigan Chakra Mode!"
Seeing the illusion broken, Fugaku immediately activated his Tenseigan Chakra Mode.
A brilliant green chakra enveloped him, and nine green Truth-Seeking Orbs floated into formation behind his back.
At his command, the nine orbs radiated with dazzling emerald light and shot toward Madara.
"Limbo: Border Jail!"
The four shadows created during the illusionary battle had vanished, so Madara quickly summoned another four to intercept the incoming orbs.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The fused power of Rinnegan and Tenseigan made Fugaku's Truth-Seeking Orbs far stronger than before.
The shadows that had once easily blocked such attacks were blasted apart by the impact, several orbs slipping through and smashing directly into Madara.
Crack! Crack! Crack—!
Even with his Six Paths–level body, Madara couldn't withstand the onslaught. The force sent him hurtling backward, smashing through dozens of trees before he finally crashed to the ground in a shower of dirt and splintered wood. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
"He's gotten stronger!"
Wiping away the blood, Madara's expression darkened as he watched Fugaku closing in fast.
The increase in repulsive power earlier—combined with the heightened might of his orbs—confirmed it: Fugaku's strength had advanced far beyond their previous battle.
"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
Fugaku recalled the orbs, letting them spin rapidly around his right arm before unleashing the technique.
A silver ring of light appeared, and from its center erupted a massive, spiraling tornado that roared toward Madara.
The four Limbo shadows rushed forward to protect their master, but the raging cyclone flung them away like rag dolls.
If not for their extraordinary durability, they would have been shredded into pieces.
The tornado surged on, crashing directly toward Madara.
"Susanoo!"
Madara summoned his full-body Susanoo—a towering figure over a hundred meters tall—to block the incoming storm.
Crack!
The tornado slammed into the Susanoo. The mighty armor, once nearly indestructible, shattered like glass under the overwhelming pressure.
Inside, Madara's body was torn with deep lacerations as he was hurled violently through the air.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Fugaku extended his hand, pulling one of Madara's scattered drops of blood toward him.
The blood landed neatly in his palm. Fugaku looked down at it—and smiled coldly.
He took out a flask of fresh blood from his ninja pouch and poured it onto the ground, then began drawing a strange sealing formation with his foot.
"He's going to perform a Cursed Seal Sacrifice!"
Coughing blood, Madara's eyes widened as he saw what Fugaku was doing.
Having learned all about Fugaku from Obito, he immediately understood—Fugaku had obtained his blood and was preparing to use the forbidden curse technique against him.
"Stop him!"
Madara charged forward himself, sending his four Limbo shadows to strike at the same time.
"Defense!"
Fugaku commanded the Truth-Seeking Orbs to form a massive hollow sphere around him, completely sealing himself and the ground beneath within its protection.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Madara and the shadows unleashed a flurry of devastating attacks, each blow powerful enough to destroy a forest.
But the emerald sphere—empowered by Fugaku's blue Rinnegan—remained unbroken. Its defense was impenetrable in such a short time.
"Cursed Sacrifice—"
Inside the pitch-black sphere, Fugaku completed the formation and licked Madara's blood from his fingers.
His skin turned a stark pattern of black and white, and from his palm, a razor-sharp bone spike emerged.
He plunged it straight into his own heart.
Pshhk—!
Blood sprayed from his chest, and the curse power surged outward, locking onto Madara.
At the same time, far away, the shinobi alliance from the Five Great Villages arrived at the Ten-Tails' location.
"Attack together! If we can kill it before its evolution completes, do it!"
"If we can't kill it—then we seal it!"
After a brief exchange, the joint forces agreed to strike first and attempt sealing later.
"Magnet Release: Gold Dust!"
The Fourth Kazekage Rasa pressed his hands to the ground. Waves of golden sand erupted upward, climbing the Ten-Tails' legs and binding them tightly.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
The Third Tsuchikage's hands glowed with blinding white light, forming a massive energy cube that shot toward the Ten-Tails.
"Lava Release: Dissolving Monster Technique!"
The Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi formed seals, then spat out streams of molten acid powerful enough to corrode even Susanoo, splattering them across the Ten-Tails' body.
"Sage Mode: Super Giant Rasengan!"
Jiraiya entered Sage Mode with the help of Fukasaku and Shima, hurling a house-sized Rasengan toward the beast.
"Yin Seal: Release!"
"Strength of a Hundred Technique!"
Tsunade broke her Yin Seal, activating her full power, and leapt high into the air—smashing her fist down on the Ten-Tails with earth-shaking force.
"Lightning Release Armor!"
The Fourth Raikage cloaked himself in lightning, his body shining like a thunder god. In a flash of light, he dashed forward and kicked the Ten-Tails with explosive power.
Dozens of powerful jutsu struck the monster all at once.
If their target had been any ordinary shinobi—even a Kage-level one—they would have been obliterated into dust.
But this was the Ten-Tails—the fused embodiment of all nine tailed beasts, its body a fortress of godlike resilience.
Even Onoki's Dust Release, capable of erasing matter itself, only managed to pierce a shallow wound that barely bled.
The assault didn't destroy the Ten-Tails—it enraged it.
Whhhhhh!
Its ten tails whipped through the air with a scream of pressure, each strike faster than sound, sweeping across the battlefield.
Some reacted in time and barely dodged. Others were too slow.
Crack—!
A Suna shinobi and a Kumo shinobi were struck head-on. Their bodies were crushed instantly—reduced to pulp and scattered across the ground.
"Zenbon!"
"Yūtai!"
Their comrades shouted in horror, but before they could turn that grief into fury, the Ten-Tails attacked again.
Its jaws opened wide, and a massive black sphere of compressed chakra—the Tailed Beast Bomb—formed between its fangs.
"Evade—now!"
Everyone's faces turned pale as they scattered in all directions.
Boom—!
Two Iwa shinobi and one Kiri shinobi were too slow. The explosion erased them completely—leaving not even ash behind.
The Tailed Beast Bomb continued flying, carving through mountains and valleys before finally detonating miles away.
The devastation was absolute.
They had no way to fight back.
"This… this is the true power of the Ten-Tails…"
The surviving shinobi of the Five Great Nations retreated hastily, putting distance between themselves and the beast, their faces ashen and drenched in sweat.
They had long heard that the Ten-Tails possessed the power to destroy the world—but seeing it firsthand filled them with bone-deep dread.
Defeating it was impossible. Even sealing it now seemed hopeless.
"What do we do now?"
The Fourth Kazekage asked grimly.
"Only the Hokage might have the power to suppress and seal it," Mei Terumi said, her voice low.
At the Iron Fortress, she had witnessed Uchiha Fugaku's strength firsthand—his overwhelming might when fighting Nagato.
Even if she didn't want to admit it, she had to: the Fifth Hokage was the strongest shinobi in the world.
And now, against this unstoppable monster, only he could stand a chance.
"But he's still fighting Uchiha Madara," Jiraiya said, frowning deeply. "He won't get here anytime soon."
"…If I open the Eighth Gate of Death," Might Guy said after a pause, "I might be able to hold it off—for a while."
He knew it would cost him his life, but for the sake of the village, he didn't hesitate.
"No," Tsunade said firmly. "Opening the final gate means certain death—and even if you do, we still can't seal the Ten-Tails."
Her tone was sharp, pained. Even her medical ninjutsu couldn't save someone who used the Eighth Gate.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The ground shook. The Ten-Tails began to move—each step an earthquake.
Its monstrous eyes fixed on them.
To it, they were nothing but insects.
And it was about to exterminate every last one.
The shinobi's faces turned pale. Their hearts sank like stones.
Boom—!
Just as the Ten-Tails was about to reach them—
A blinding flash erupted.
A massive cloud of white smoke exploded outward—
and when it cleared…
The Ten-Tails was gone.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at patreon.com/c/Xentronix