On Madara Uchiha's side,
With the arrival of the First and Third Hokage, Madara was immediately put at a disadvantage. Although Black Zetsu and Obito had left behind several Edo Tensei ninja to assist him, they were no match for the Hokage.
Under the combined sealing techniques of the Second and Fourth Hokage, many of the Edo Tensei ninja were sealed away. However, defeating Madara completely was still far from easy.
With a loud shout, Madara unleashed the Wood Clone Technique. While his clones tangled with the Second and Fourth Hokage, his true body activated Susanoo and launched an attack on the First Hokage.
In response, the First Hokage used Wood Release and transformed into a massive wooden humanoid to clash against Susanoo.
Standing atop the head of the wooden giant, Hashirama shouted to Madara, "Madara, come back to the Pure Land with me. The dead have no reason to interfere with the Shinobi World. The Eye of the Moon Plan must be a trap designed by someone else."
Madara sneered, "Hashirama, I thought when we met again, we'd have a proper talk, but I didn't expect you to question the Eye of the Moon Plan. That plan is recorded in the Uchiha Stone Tablet. Are you trying to deny the Uchiha on behalf of the Senju Clan?"
"I'm not denying the Uchiha's ideals. Why are you still so stubborn after all these years?"
Hashirama frowned and tried to reason with him, "If you're as obsessed as you were back then, I will again force you to withdraw. You should know, you can't beat me."
"You mean you can kill me at any time?"
Madara locked eyes with Hashirama and revealed his Rinnegan with a cold smile, "Maybe I couldn't defeat you at the Valley of the End back then. But after decades of effort, I've awakened the Rinnegan. And you've stayed exactly the same. Do you really think I haven't changed?"
Before he finished speaking, Madara launched his attack. This time, his assault was fiercer than ever. The towering Susanoo, over a hundred meters tall, swung its massive blade at the wooden giant.
Hashirama sighed lightly. His wooden giant also rapidly grew, transforming into a wrathful guardian deity.
Two colossal beings, each over a hundred meters tall, clashed. Every blow reshaped the surrounding terrain, mountains leveled into plains, plains collapsed into canyons.
At this point, the battle had become so intense that even the Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage could barely intervene. Any attempt to sneak attack Susanoo was swept away by the overwhelming shockwaves.
Watching the Second and Fourth Hokage's bodies being crushed and slowly regenerating in place, the Third Hokage grew hesitant. Unlike them, he had a flesh-and-blood body and couldn't take the same reckless risks.
A few breaths later, the regenerated Second Hokage returned to the Third and said, "Hiruren, it seems we can't participate in the battle between Big Brother and Madara. But the scale of their fight might affect the Allied Shinobi Forces. We should erect the Four Red Yang Formation for protection."
"The Four Red Yang Formation?"
The Third and Fourth Hokage exchanged glances and agreed to the Second's suggestion.
As Hokage, they were well acquainted with this barrier technique. When cast by four elite jonin, it was known as the Four Purple Flame Formation, capable of limiting even Kage-level shinobi.
However, the Four Purple Flame Formation wouldn't be enough against Madara, so they had to use the more powerful Four Red Yang Formation.
But this jutsu came with a steep requirement: it could only be performed by four individuals with Hokage-level strength.
Just as they were about to return to the Allied Shinobi Forces' camp, the three Hokage stopped in their tracks.
Ahead of them appeared two red-haired figures. One of them was very familiar to them; the other wore an Akatsuki uniform and looked mysterious.
The familiar one was clearly Kushina Uzumaki, and the other was Akane Uzumaki.
(AN: Akane is Akane's mother. Since it has been a long time, I thought most of you had forgotten her.)
Back when the war began, the two of them had arrived at the battlefield, waiting for orders from Byakuya. But after his chakra vanished, they never received further instructions.
With no other choice, the two decided to join the Allied Forces and assist where they could.
At this moment, Kushina noticed the presence of the Fourth Hokage and the others. She froze slightly and was about to vanish, but Akane raised a hand to stop her and said, "Kushina, Byakuya-sama already gave you the order, you're free now."
Hearing that, Kushina walked toward the Fourth Hokage and said, "Minato, it's been over ten years, hasn't it?"
"Over ten years… you didn't die back then?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Fourth Hokage regretted it and stood there awkwardly.
Kushina shook her head and said, "I didn't die, but after losing the Nine-Tails, I spent most of my time unconscious. Looking back, I was only truly awake for two or three years total."
The Third Hokage stepped forward with confusion, "Kushina, since you were still alive, why didn't you return to the village? If you had, the village would've done everything it could to heal you."
Kushina replied bluntly, "Return just to watch you bully Naruto? Besides, I don't owe Konoha anything. It's been fine outside the village, and I spared you the trouble of dealing with me as a former Hokage's wife."
The Third Hokage was left speechless.
It was true, Kushina didn't owe Konoha anything. If anything, Konoha owed the Uzumaki clan. Back then, Lady Mito had brought Kushina to the village solely to groom her into the next jinchūriki.
The Fourth Hokage hugged Kushina and said, "I'm sorry. If I'd been stronger, or if I'd realized Obito's scheme earlier, maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this."
Kushina shook her head, "It's not your fault. No one could've predicted Obito would attack us. When we find him, let's teach him a lesson together, make sure he never dares to do this again."
The Second Hokage didn't interrupt the couple's reunion but turned his gaze toward Akane and asked, "You must also be from the Uzumaki clan. What's your relationship with Nagato and Byakuya?"
Akane replied calmly, "I'm the medical chief of Akatsuki. Just call me Akane. After Byakuya-sama rescued me from Kusagakure, I've served under him, always following his will."
The Second Hokage nodded thoughtfully and asked, "Since you serve Byakuya, do you know his exact plans? Is he alive or dead? Did he leave behind any contingency?"
"I can't sense Byakuya-sama's chakra anymore. As for contingencies…"
Akane glanced at the Second Hokage and said, "You're likely the contingency. Byakuya-sama anticipated he might fail, so he had Orochimaru defect from Akatsuki to avoid having you all fall under Madara Uchiha's control."
The Second Hokage widened his eyes.
Akane's reasoning made sense, as they were probably Byakuya's backup plan. If even they had been resurrected by Obito, there would be no one left in the Shinobi World capable of resisting Madara.
Still, he had many lingering questions for Akane and Kushina to answer.
After some brief conversation, the group brought Kushina and Akane back to the Allied Forces' camp. As they pondered how to deploy the Four Red Yang Formation for defense, they also began strategizing with the current Five Kage.
After the situation calmed slightly, the Five Kage and Yahiko received reports from their respective villages.
All six great shinobi villages had come under attack by the White Zetsu army, even the daimyō residences had been struck. Fortunately, the White Zetsu forces weren't particularly powerful and were soon repelled by the stationed defense units.
This news made everyone realize that this was truly a war engulfing the entire shinobi world.
---
Elsewhere.
Using the Reverse Summoning technique of Ryūchi Cave, a group of shinobi successfully arrived in an underground cavern. Their first challenge was the harsh environment.
Visibility was extremely low, and the air was thick and hard to breathe.
Fortunately, Orochimaru and the others were all top-tier shinobi who quickly adapted to the suffocating conditions underground and began their search for Obito and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
A few minutes later, they finally located the statue and Obito.
At this moment, Obito had already transplanted the Rinnegan and was standing atop the statue, focusing on controlling it. With just a little more effort, he would be able to transform the Demonic Statue into the Ten Tails.
Noticing Orochimaru and the others, Obito frowned slightly and immediately ordered White Zetsu (Tobi) to step forward and, after forming hand seals, conjured a massive wooden statue that unleashed an elemental attack of Five Nature Transformations. In the narrow confines of the cavern, dodging was nearly impossible, so Orochimaru's team had no choice but to confront the attack head-on.
After exchanging glances, Kabuto and Sasuke launched counterattacks. Kabuto utilized Inorganic Reincarnation, activating the terrain around them and hurling waves of earth and rock at Tobi. Sasuke unleashed Amaterasu, a black flame ignited directly on Tobi's body, burning fiercely. As the black flames clung to him like a curse, Tobi panicked and rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish them, but the flames clung stubbornly.
Realizing this, Tobi sliced off half of his body.
Once the flames consumed the severed portion, they extinguished. Kabuto took the opportunity to drag the statue conjured by Tobi deep underground.
With the path clear, the team surged toward Obito.
Facing Obito and the legendary Demonic Statue, Orochimaru didn't dare hold back. He transformed into his massive serpent form and slithered toward Obito.
His goal was obvious: the Rinnegan.
From the moment he laid eyes on it, he had desired it, and even after joining the Allied Shinobi Forces, that ambition had never wavered.
Without hesitation, Sasuke and Shisui both activated their Susanoo, completely surrounding the Demonic Statue.
Kakashi turned to Jiraiya and said, "Jiraiya-sama, come with me to Kamui space to stop Obito. We can't let him escape this time."
Jiraiya nodded, and the two of them stepped into a swirling vortex and disappeared.
Sensing the incoming chakra, Obito opened his eyes slowly. Seeing several Kage-level shinobi launching attacks at him, he remained calm.
Before transplanting the Rinnegan and controlling the Demonic Statue, perhaps he would have been no match for them.
But that was then, now, he had acquired a portion of the Ten Tails' power. Even just that portion made him feel he had already surpassed both Byakuya and Madara Uchiha, becoming the strongest shinobi in the world.
With a thought, Obito had the Demonic Statue release clones, splintered forms of the Ten Tails.
Each of these clones had at least jōnin-level strength, enough to hold the attackers back. All Obito needed to do was continue deepening his connection with the statue.
Very soon, battle broke out between the clones and Orochimaru's team.
Though the Ten Tails' clones were fierce and unafraid of death, they were no match for these Kage-level shinobi. In mere moments, they were annihilated.
Seeing this, Obito frowned and turned toward Orochimaru, who was rushing at him.
He was still controlling the Ten Tails and could not retreat into Kamui space, besides, that dimension was no longer safe. Kakashi had already deduced his identity and was surely lying in wait.
Obito glanced down at the Demonic Statue and made a grim decision.
Conventional tactics wouldn't work, and summoning Black Zetsu likely wouldn't help either.
His only choice was to take a dangerous gamble and use the Ten Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb here and now.
With that resolve, Obito began channeling chakra through the statue, and it quickly formed a pitch-black Tailed Beast Bomb.
The orb emanated a sinister aura, and the chakra surging from it made its danger all too apparent.
Unlike the small orbs used by regular tailed beasts, this one was the size of a truck, and its destructive power was dozens of times greater.
Orochimaru's face changed the instant he saw it. Kabuto's expression also shifted.
The power contained within this one orb rivaled the natural energy across a five-kilometer radius. If it exploded, it was hard to say whether anyone present could survive it.
Did Obito not care that he might destroy himself and the Demonic Statue in the process?
There was no time to wonder, Kabuto was already considering how to escape.
He entered Sage Mode, then looked toward Sasuke and Shisui. If he created a wall and hid inside their Susanoo, maybe they stood a chance.
Shisui and Sasuke had the same thought. They turned toward Kabuto and rushed to regroup. Three seconds later, the Tailed Beast Bomb exploded in the underground cavern. The once-dark cave turned to blinding white, and then, nothing.
The blast collapsed the entire underground space.
On the surface above, a massive sinkhole several kilometers wide appeared where flat land once lay.