On the obsidian Futsu no Mitama, a surge of violet-black lightning crackled, emanating tendrils of annihilating energy.
With the blessing of the Land of Purity, Futsu no Mitama pierced through Ao's Ironfeather Armor and plunged deep into the cerulean Susanoo.
Below, Danzō's face lit up with excitement. "I knew it... I knew it!"
Crash!
The blue Susanoo plummeted from the sky, impaled to the ground by Futsu no Mitama, then shattered into pieces.
Swish!
Madara twisted mid-air in a desperate dodge, leaping from the scattered blue lights just as Futsu no Mitama swung past him again.
Then, his eyes flared with violet light as he clutched his sickle and flaming war fan, yet still defiant.
At that moment, a figure enfolded him from behind.
"Madara, stop being so stubborn. Come back with me!"
Madara stiffened, and the technique he was readying to break free dissipated at once.
"Hashirama..."
Nearby, Tobirama and Kaze shared a silent glance, their lips curling into cold smiles.
[Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!]
A terrifying kinjutsu that summons infinite tags through each detonation, continuously causing explosions until the target is reduced to ashes!
Rustle... rustle... rustle!
Two explosive tags stuck on Hashirama's back stirred without a breeze, continuously spawning fresh tags beneath them.
A swarm of talisman scrolls instantly engulfed Hashirama and Madara.
"(ÒωÓױ)! What in the world?!" Both Madara and Hashirama cried out in shock.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Ear-splitting explosions erupted one after another. Fire surged into the heavens, rattling the earth below.
"Tobirama-sama, please teach this move to my sister!"
Kaze, his Susanoo dispelled, rushed over to Tobirama with excitement.
"No problem."
Tobirama kept his cool, but exhilaration surged within him.
So even that kid Kaze's sister looks up to me, huh?
Tch, damn this damned charm of mine.
"This should surely be enough to cripple Uchiha Madara," Kaze muttered inwardly.
In the original storyline, this hallmark move of Tobirama's was powerful enough to shatter the Torii Gate and injure a fragment of the Ten-Tails.
Now, Madara isn't even the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and has been stripped of ninjutsu use.
Caught completely off-balance by this trick, he certainly won't walk away unscathed.
After a while, the explosions gradually ceased, and much of the smoke dissipated. Everyone could now clearly see what lay within.
Two broken figures sprawled on the ground, barely alive.
Interestingly, one figure was slowly mending itself, while the other was truly on the brink.
"Madara!"
Hashirama hastily got up, kneeling beside Madara and cradling him gently in his arms.
"Hashirama..."
Madara's gaze was unfocused, but he still tried to look at Hashirama, a twisted smirk tugging at his lips.
"So this is your choice again—just like last time... sacrificing me once more with your own hands, just for the village..."
Hashirama stammered, turning sharply.
"NO—I didn't know...!"
Fixing a furious glare on Tobirama and the others behind him, Hashirama's voice cracked with emotion.
"We Konoha people sure are happy today!"
Tobirama and Kaze looked up at the sky, humming a tune as if completely indifferent.
This underhanded plan had been secretly orchestrated by just the two of them—nobody else knew anything about it.
Not even Hashirama—or Tanzō and Hiruzen—knew anything about it.
Tap tap tap.
Kaze stepped forward boldly and stood before Hashirama and Madara. Then he squatted down and reached his hand toward Madara.
Hashirama's expression turned complex. "Little Kaze..."
Madara calmly looked at Kaze. He understood that winning and losing were merely parts of life and could accept his defeat with dignity.
Yet, the next moment, Madara's face shifted to one of shock.
Kaze didn't take his life, nor did he rip out his Rinnegan.
Quite the opposite—he was using Yin-Yang Release to heal him, saving his life instead.
"Why?"
Madara furrowed his brow. He couldn't understand why Kaze would do this.
It wasn't just Madara who was confused—even Tanzō, Kaze's own father, couldn't comprehend his disobedient brat's actions.
"That's right! Why didn't you kill him, Kaze?!"
Tanzō immediately shouted in anger—but after receiving a glare from Hashirama, quickly shut his mouth.
Kaze didn't respond. His eyes glowed red as he locked eyes with Madara.
[Video call incoming. Accept or decline?]
Receiving the message from Kaze, Madara hesitated for a moment before deciding to accept.
Whoosh!
Their consciousnesses twisted, drawing both into a genjutsu space—a private conversation no one else could witness.
"How did you come to know all this?"
Shortly after their conversation ended, Madara's face darkened as he glared at Kaze.
"Hmm..."
Kaze originally wanted to say that he was the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths, and thus Madara's father in a past life.
But common sense stopped him, so he changed his words.
"I received part of the Sage of Six Paths' inheritance," Kaze casually replied.
"Otherwise, how could I freely command Sage Art, Wood Release, and even the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Did Kaze's explanation make sense?
Absolutely—it made perfect sense!
Even the Sage of Six Paths himself—who floated nearby, watching the battle—would have almost believed it, if he hadn't already known the truth.
"I see," Tanzō finally understood.
No wonder this disobedient brat knew so many secrets and progressed so quickly, surpassing even his own father.
Everything finally fit together now!
The only one who didn't seem shocked was Tobirama—he obviously already knew everything, having been told long ago by Kaze.
"Now you understand why we didn't kill you, Madara Uchiha?"
Tobirama walked up to Madara, arms crossed, looking down coldly on him as he spoke.
"Because Little Kaze told me—you weren't born evil. You're just a fool who was played."
Could Madara tolerate being mocked by his most hated enemy—the white-haired brat?
"You're asking for death, Tobirama Senju! Do you really think I won't kill you?"
Struggling, Madara pushed himself up from Hashirama's arms, raising his sickle as he prepared to fight Tobirama head-on.
"You couldn't even beat my grandson—so tell me, do you really think you deserve to fight me?"
Tobirama smirked coldly, standing perfectly still, oozing pure mockery.
"Wait, grandson?"
Tanzō suddenly felt something was off.
"Enough, stop fooling around!"
Hashirama pulled Madara into an embrace again. Madara feigned resistance for a moment but failed to break free.
After all, he was seriously injured. It was only natural he couldn't break free.
He could only glare at Tobirama in fury while being held in Hashirama's arms.
"Alright then, Madara Uchiha."
Kaze spoke, "Now that you know the truth, what will you do? Will you still oppose us?"
Though completely in the dark, Hashirama still murmured, "Madara, stop being so stubborn."
Madara lowered his head and remained silent.
Learning that his life's pursuit had been a fabrication, he struggled to accept it at first.
"Heh, forget it. I lost."
After a long silence, Madara raised his head and gave a bitter chuckle.
[Immortality Dreaming!] The life I lived as Madara Uchiha—how utterly laughable.
"If everything's an illusion, what meaning is left in continuing? Ha… ha… hahahaha!"
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