"Is this... the Impure World Reincarnation being dispelled?"
As the dazzling white light enveloped his body, Madara Uchiha, who had been preparing to swiftly eliminate Naruto and Sasuke but was temporarily held back by their stubborn resistance using the Armored Susanoo, raised an eyebrow. "Did something happen to the caster?"
After saying this, Madara prepared to use the Impure World Reincarnation technique to transform himself into an entity free from anyone's control, yet still possessing an immortal body and infinite chakra.
"Wait, no... this is the Rinne Rebirth technique!"
In the next moment, Madara seemed to sense something, his pupils contracting slightly as a grin spread across his face. "It seems that over the years, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu haven't been idle after all!"
The white light quickly faded, replaced by white smoke emanating from Madara's body.
Under this smoke, the cracks and fissures covering Madara's body began to heal at a visible pace.
The decay and aura of age that had clung to him for so many years also rapidly dissipated, as if a withered tree had suddenly regained its vitality.
At the same time, Madara's Rinnegan began to peel away like the shell of an egg, fragmenting and falling off piece by piece.
However, beneath the purple shell was not the white of an egg but a dark, empty void.
With the disappearance of the Rinnegan and the restoration of his body's vitality, the colossal Complete Body — Susanoo also vanished, and Madara's figure descended from the sky.
Seeing this, Naruto and Sasuke, who were standing side by side within the Armored Susanoo, both widened their eyes in shock.
Naruto, confused, asked, "What's happening? Is he giving up?"
"The cracks on his body are disappearing, and his chakra is weakening..."
Sasuke, with his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and exceptional dynamic vision, noticed the critical detail and exclaimed in disbelief, "He... he's been revived!"
"What?!"
Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "How did he revive? He was just fighting us a moment ago, doing nothing, and no one was near him!"
"Someone used the Rinne Rebirth technique from a distance to revive him," Kurama, who had materialized outside Sasuke's body and merged with his Complete Body — Susanoo, explained gravely. "The Rinnegan is the eye that controls life and death, capable of reviving the dead. Since that masked man only has one Rinnegan, someone must have used the other Rinnegan to perform the Rinne Rebirth technique."
"Naruto, Sasuke, this is our chance. Kill him now!" Kurama urged.
Hearing this, Naruto and Sasuke seemed to realize something, their eyes lighting up. They exchanged a glance and, without hesitation, manipulated the golden Nine-Tails and the Complete Body — Susanoo to form a massive Truth-Seeking Ball. They then infused it with Yin Release chakra, creating a swirling purple Rasenshuriken, and launched it toward Madara.
"Amaterasu!"
At the moment the Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken was launched, Sasuke increased the output of his ocular power, transforming it into black, inextinguishable flames. Using Kagutsuchi, he coated the Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken with the flames, sending it hurtling toward Madara with three layers of power.
Boom—
The Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken moved at incredible speed, propelled like a Tailed Beast Bomb.
In the next moment, an earth-shattering explosion, second only to the detonation of a Truth-Seeking Ball, erupted.
A brilliant mushroom cloud rose into the sky, and the intense tremors caused Hinata and the other three girls maintaining the Four Red Yang Formation to stagger slightly.
After steadying themselves, their eyes were filled with shock.
Clearly, they hadn't expected Naruto and Sasuke to possess such power.
This combined technique, centered around the Tailed Beast Bomb, was almost on par with Yagyu's Sage Art Dust Release: Rasenshuriken and the masked man's Truth-Seeking Ball explosion.
Thinking this, the four girls couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.
Their powerful sensory abilities were fully unleashed.
In the next moment, however, their eyes dimmed with disappointment.
It was clear that the Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken had failed to kill Madara as they had hoped.
From within the mushroom cloud, a blue beam shot out, surrounded by swirling smoke.
Upon closer inspection, it was the third stage of the Susanoo, now with arms and legs but without its armor.
"How is this possible?!"
Sasuke exclaimed in shock once more. "He just revived, and he doesn't have eyes anymore! How can he still use the Susanoo?!"
"Don't be surprised," Kurama said. "As much as I hate that guy, I have to admit that he's pushed the Sharingan to its limits. No matter how unbelievable it seems, anything is possible with him."
Although the blue Susanoo had emerged from the mushroom cloud, it wasn't in great condition.
Its body was riddled with damage from the explosion.
Even Madara, who was inside the Susanoo, had his armor shattered beyond repair. His clothes were tattered, and his exposed skin was covered in burns from the intense heat.
However, these burns were healing at a visible rate, just like when he was in his reanimated body.
Because his clothes were torn, his chest was exposed, revealing a face that resembled Hashirama Senju's.
Although only his chest bore Hashirama's face, the amount of Hashirama's cells within Madara's body was no less than that of Obito Uchiha, and their quality was even more astonishing.
The fact that Madara could use Wood Release: Advent of a World of Trees and Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique was proof enough.
Obito, whose body was half-composed of Hashirama's cells, also possessed immense chakra, but he could only perform basic Wood Release techniques, far inferior to Yamato's Wood Release.
Compared to Spiral Zetsu, Obito wasn't even in the same league.
Just as Madara, after being revived in the original story, had his arm severed by the Tailed Beasts' combined attack but quickly healed the sand-inflicted wounds, the Hashirama cells within him granted him a weakened version of instant regeneration.
The wounds he had now were healing rapidly due to the effects of these cells.
"Hmph, hmph, hahaha..."
Feeling the pain from his wounds, Madara, with his eyes closed, let out a low chuckle that soon turned into hearty laughter. "This is the feeling I've missed—the pain, the boiling blood. This is the body and the battle I've longed for."
Although the reanimated body had infinite chakra and immortality, Madara despised the lack of pain and sensation.
This wasn't the body he wanted. Even a crippled living body would be better than this decaying corpse that felt no bloodlust, no matter the enemy.
Now, he had finally been revived, his body restored to its prime from decades ago.
The sensations of pain, touch, the beating of his heart, the boiling of his blood, and the instinctive warnings—this was the body he desired!
With this thought, Madara prepared to control the third stage of the Susanoo and charge toward Naruto and Sasuke, eager to engage in a proper battle with these two brats.
Even without the Rinnegan and unable to use the Complete Body — Susanoo due to the lack of Yin Release chakra, Madara's fighting spirit burned fiercely. He didn't even consider Naruto and Sasuke a threat.
This was the strength and pride of the Asura of the Ninja World.
Even if his weapons were inferior, he was certain of victory.
"Lord Madara..."
Just as Madara was about to act, Black Zetsu's hoarse voice reached his ears.
Instantly, Madara's heated emotions cooled, as if doused with cold water.
He dispelled the Susanoo and landed on the ground once more.
Beside him, the upper half of Black and White Zetsu emerged from the ground.
"Lord Madara, here are your eyes."
Black Zetsu handed the Rinnegan to Madara.
Madara took the Rinnegan and inserted it into his right eye socket, asking, "How did you manage this?"
Thanks to the Hashirama cells and his instant regeneration, Madara's eye nerves repaired themselves instantly, allowing him to use the Rinnegan immediately.
As a line of bloody tears streamed down his face, Madara regained half of his vision.
Terrifying Yin Release chakra transformed into immense ocular power.
Even from a distance, Kurama, Naruto, and Sasuke shuddered.
They had a bad feeling.
Kurama, as a beast, instinctively opened his mouth and formed another Tailed Beast Bomb, launching it toward Madara.
Watching the Tailed Beast Bomb, which was slower than the previous Tailed Beast Rasenshuriken, Black Zetsu paid it no mind and chuckled hoarsely. "Obito's ocular technique was too troublesome, and Yagyu's transformation was beyond our expectations. Plus, his Wood Release can detect our Mayfly Technique. I thought your plan would be difficult to succeed."
"So, I took the liberty of transplanting the Rinnegan into one of Konoha's Wood Release experiment subjects and had myself and White Zetsu possess him to perform the Rinne Rebirth technique."
"I see. Well done," Madara said with a nod, smiling. "You are my will. If you thought it wouldn't work, then it wouldn't. It was the right choice not to take risks. Good job."
After saying this, Madara stepped forward and caught the incoming Tailed Beast Bomb with his hand.
In an instant, the Tailed Beast Bomb, filled with immense chakra, was absorbed by Madara using the Preta Path.
Glancing at the other battlefield, where a fierce battle was raging—a battle far beyond the level of the one here—Madara's fighting spirit surged once more. He grinned and said, "I originally wanted Yagyu to weaken Obito for me so I could reap the benefits later."
"But since I've been revived early, there's no need for that."
Madara looked at the Armored Susanoo, where Naruto and Sasuke stood with grim expressions, clearly unsure of what to do next. He sneered, "This game of make-believe ends now. I'll finish you in an instant."
With that, Madara widened his right eye and shouted, "Limbo: Border Jail!"
In an instant, Naruto and Sasuke's bodies broke out in goosebumps. Their instincts screamed warnings, and their expressions turned to panic.
Naruto, who had activated Sage Mode and heightened his senses to the extreme, barely sensed something and shouted, "Watch out! Something's coming!"
Unfortunately, his Sage Mode was just the ordinary version, far from the otherworldly Six Paths Sage Mode.
He could sense danger but couldn't perceive the Limbo clones.
Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was similarly ineffective.
Boom—
In the next moment, both of their faces twisted in pain, their features distorting.
Then, two black afterimages shot out like arrows from the golden Nine-Tails clad in purple armor, crashing into the ground with loud impacts and sending up clouds of dust.
The speed at which they were sent flying was so fast and sudden that the Armored Susanoo, formed from their chakra, instantly dissipated.
As the chakra faded, Kurama's expression was one of utter shock.
Not just them, but even Black and White Zetsu, who had been standing beside Madara, were stunned.
After all, Madara had only awakened the Rinnegan shortly before his death.
Aside from him, no one knew what his Rinnegan's unique ocular technique was.
Even Nagato and Obito, who had transplanted his Rinnegan, and even Black Zetsu and Spiral Zetsu, had no knowledge of it and couldn't use it.
Seeing Madara instantly defeat Naruto and Sasuke from a distance, without even damaging the Nine-Tails or the Armored Susanoo, Black Zetsu muttered, "Is Lord Madara's ocular technique also a space-time type?"
Whoosh—
A gust of wind blew away the dust kicked up by Naruto's landing, revealing Madara holding Naruto by the neck with one hand. Naruto's face was unrecognizable, and he was barely conscious.
Madara was absorbing Naruto's Sage chakra with one hand while quickly forming hand seals with the other. He grinned viciously and said, "Time to come out, beast."
With that, he slammed his palm onto Naruto's stomach.
As tadpole-like seals spread across Naruto's body, his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
Soon, red chakra began to be pulled out of Naruto's body by Madara.
Whoosh—Boom!
Just as Madara was extracting the Nine-Tails' chakra from Naruto, Sasuke, who had been lying in another crater, forced himself to his feet despite his dizziness. Gripping the Kusanagi Sword, he charged at Madara.
But in the next moment, his body froze, and he was struck by an invisible force again, vomiting bile as his eyes rolled back.
Throughout it all, Madara didn't even glance at him.
In just two moves, Naruto and Sasuke, who had reached the Kage level, were completely incapacitated.
The Asura of the Ninja World had demonstrated his overwhelming power.