Chapter 254: An Unstoppable Advance
Suddenly, surrounded by a barrier of violet flames, Uchiha Madara seemed like a bird trapped in a cage, unable to break free.
Yet his face remained calm and indifferent, as though he hadn't taken the appearance of these Konoha shinobi to heart in the slightest.
He folded his arms leisurely, sneering with contempt. "You think the likes of you are worthy to witness my power?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a Konoha ninja outside the barrier shouted to his comrades: "Careful! We need to lock him down even further!"
"Use that jutsu!" another replied.
At once, the other Konoha shinobi moved in concert, unleashing a powerful sealing technique together.
Four of them took up positions at the cardinal directions, forming identical hand seals and shouting in unison: "Lightning Release: Four Pillar Bind!"
With their voices, four massive stone pillars erupted around Uchiha Madara. In the next instant, arcs of crackling lightning surged across the pillars like torrents of current, enclosing him inside.
Now, it seemed he was fully trapped within the barrier, bound by four thunderous pillars. Escape looked impossible.
The few Konoha Anbu who executed the jutsu let out a faint sigh of relief.
"This time he won't break free," one muttered to reassure himself.
Inside the barrier, Madara let out a cold sneer. "Is that so?"
As he spoke, the ground began to quake.
The sudden tremor sent shockwaves through the Anbu ranks; their faces changed drastically.
At that very moment, Madara's body erupted with an overwhelming surge of chakra.
With a deafening boom, the four pillars brimming with lightning shattered instantly under the sheer force of his chakra.
The Lightning Release: Four Pillar Bind, which had seemed capable of imprisoning him, was rendered utterly useless.
Madara brushed aside the wreckage and strode calmly toward the front of the barrier.
His violent destruction of such a powerful technique left the Anbu stunned, frozen in disbelief, afraid to act rashly.
He approached the violet wall of flame. Ignoring the lethal aura of the Four Violet Flames Formation, he seemed intent on walking straight through it.
"This guy—he's actually trying to walk through the barrier?" one Anbu whispered in shock.
"Isn't that better? The flames will consume him!" another answered with hope.
And then, before their eyes, Madara's body touched the barrier's blazing wall.
At once, violet fire engulfed him, consuming his form as though it were made of paper. Within seconds, half his body was reduced to ashes.
Yet Madara's face remained calm, his stride unbroken.
In moments, he passed entirely through the barrier. Though much of his body had been burned away, his remaining frame stood tall, advancing deeper into Konoha.
The Anbu were dumbstruck. Fear gripped them so tightly that none dared make a move.
Then, before their eyes, fragments of Madara's body began swirling back together. In an instant, his form was restored as if nothing had happened.
The moment he was whole again, he unleashed a murderous aura.
"Though you are but insects, leaving you alive is still a nuisance," he said coldly, eyes sweeping across the stunned Anbu.
Just as he prepared to strike them down, the overwhelming threat jolted the Anbu back to their senses.
"Stop him!" their squad captain shouted, leaping forward.
Draped in a white cloak, the captain formed seals at lightning speed and roared: "Lightning Release: Sixteen Pillar Bind!"
The others moved immediately to support, executing the technique in perfect coordination.
This was no ordinary jutsu—it was dozens of times stronger than the Four Pillar Bind, summoning sixteen massive pillars of lightning. Each radiated crushing arcs of electricity, relentlessly striking down anything caught inside.
Clearly, this was a combined technique designed to counter enemies far stronger than themselves. From their precision, it was clear they had used it before.
In a flash, Madara was bound again within the storm of lightning pillars, his body under constant assault.
Though he felt no pain, though his stamina and chakra remained unaffected, irritation began to rise.
His body was blasted apart again.
The damage meant little to his power, but for Madara—the great Uchiha Madara—to be restrained here by nobodies was a humiliation beyond endurance.
His expression hardened. Chakra surged outward, forming a massive giant around him.
In an instant, Susanoo burst forth. With its colossal armored form, Madara broke the Sixteen Pillar Bind as though it were nothing.
Under the crushing might of his chakra avatar—strong enough to suppress even Tailed Beasts and the Demonic Statue—the binding technique was utterly destroyed.
"Boom!"
Furious, Madara launched into slaughter. With a single swing of his blade, he swept aside every enemy before him.
Buildings, streets, everything in his path was obliterated in an instant.
From the distance, Nagato and the others saw Madara advancing relentlessly toward them.
Nagato turned, glancing at the Tailed Beasts and the other jinchūriki behind him.
"Konan, take them and retreat immediately! Don't hesitate!" he ordered, his voice resolute.