Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the massive stone wall was shattered by Minato's Rasengan.
"You're really not going to make fun of that ridiculous name, Minato-sensei?" Kiyosuke said, raising an eyebrow.
Clearly, even Minato wasn't perfect. At the very least… he was terrible at naming things.
In that alternate world, the Naruto who ended up being named Menma—that must've been because Minato didn't take inspiration from Jiraiya's novels and instead just made something up himself...
"We're used to it by now."
Anyone who'd done missions with Minato was familiar with hearing him shout out bizarre jutsu names—he had a knack for over-the-top drama!
"What... is that?!"
Minato sucked in a sharp breath. With Sage Mode sensory perception, he could clearly detect the chakra within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—and the presence of the hidden Uchiha Madara. It left him stunned.
"Obito!!"
"Obito!"
Kakashi and Rin rushed toward the fake Obito lying on the hospital bed. At first, they were overwhelmed with joy to see him alive, but the moment they touched his cold, lifeless "body," it felt like falling into an icy abyss.
"Obito… is dead…" Rin said, trembling.
Kiyosuke frowned and stepped closer. He checked the pulse.
Nothing. Cold to the touch. Absolutely lifeless.
But... there was no way Obito was actually dead. Uchiha Madara needed him to carry out his plan. Even with the life-extending chakra of the Demonic Statue, Madara's body surely couldn't last much longer. Obito had to be his final choice.
Madara had probably been watching the Uchiha clan for a long time, searching for a suitable candidate.
Eventually, he chose Obito—because his personality made him easy to manipulate and control. If Madara had picked someone too sharp or stubborn, it wouldn't have worked. A pliable tool like Obito? Incredibly rare. Madara wouldn't let someone like that die.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of his way to save him.
In short, this body was a fake!
Kiyosuke drew a kunai and drove it straight into "Obito's" heart. Kakashi and Rin gasped in shock.
Kakashi roared, "What the hell are you doing, Kiyosuke!?"
Stabbing Obito's corpse—how could he disrespect him like that?
"Shut up. This is a fake! Look closely!"
Sure enough, the body slowly transformed into a pale, humanoid creature.
"What is that?"
"Who knows. Minato-sensei, what were you looking at just now?" Kiyosuke asked.
"There... someone's there." Minato stepped forward protectively. "Come out. I can already sense your presence."
"Well, looks like Konoha still has some sharp ones left after all."
Uchiha Madara emerged from the shadows, clad in a white Zetsu battle suit, leaning on a scythe.
The moment he appeared, an overwhelming killing intent spread through the cavern, making Minato tense as if facing a deadly enemy.
"Who are you?"
"Just a ghost of the Uchiha." Madara didn't offer his name. His lone Sharingan eye focused on Kiyosuke.
"That guy's disguise was nearly flawless. How did you see through it?"
He was genuinely curious—how could a mere kid have seen through White Zetsu's perfect mimicry?
Kiyosuke answered, "If you were really the one who saved Obito, then you wouldn't let him die. You clearly had a purpose in keeping him alive. If he were dead, then saving him would've been pointless. And if it were really Obito's corpse, you'd never just leave it lying around like that."
"Interesting. So it was a wasted effort on my part?"
Madara chuckled.
He felt it now—he was getting old. The Madara of his youth would never have made such a mistake. Was he starting to grow cautious in his old age?
Time waits for no one.
"Your name."
"Asakawa Kiyosuke."
"I'll remember you."
Even now, the old man carried himself with the same overwhelming arrogance as before. Though aged and near death, he still looked down on the world with absolute confidence.
He scanned the group with his Sharingan.
"You all actually tracked me down. Looks like I really am getting old."
Minato asked again, "Who are you, really?"
"Who knows?" Madara replied cryptically.
He formed a hand seal and opened his mouth—
"Fire Style: Majestic Flame Annihilation!"
Kiyosuke charged forward, fist blazing.
Two seas of fire erupted in the vast cavern, illuminating the darkness with blazing fury.
As the flames died down, Madara arched a brow.
"Seems you earned your title as the Arsonist for a reason. If only you were one of the Uchiha…"
If Kiyosuke had been born into the Uchiha, perhaps he would've made a better pawn than Obito.
"You want to use me as a pawn? So Obito was one of yours too, huh?"
"Smart boy. I'm starting to like you more and more."
A tri-pronged kunai flew toward him. Madara raised his scythe and swatted it away—just in time for Minato to appear mid-air, catch the kunai, and hurl it again.
"Flying Thunder God, is it?"
His expression darkened. That jutsu brought back some unpleasant memories.
Even with just one Sharingan, he could still track Minato's movements. Despite his age, Madara could still put up a fight—but he had to be extremely cautious.
His life was being sustained by the Demonic Statue's chakra, constantly fed into his body. If that supply was cut, he would die instantly. That was his death sentence. Compared to his younger self, he was a shadow—immeasurably weaker.
Kiyosuke and Kakashi rushed forward.
Kakashi pushed up his forehead protector, revealing a two-tomoe Sharingan. His palm sparked with piercing lightning—Chidori!
Kiyosuke's entire body became engulfed in flames, ready to explode at any moment. He leapt high into the air, forming a massive hand of fire that slammed down toward Madara. The heat distorted the very air—like it could incinerate everything in its path.
Madara dodged.
Kakashi darted in, using his Sharingan's enhanced vision to track him even at Chidori-speed. He aimed straight for Madara's heart.
"Rasengan!"
Minato appeared behind Madara, Rasengan spinning in his hand—coordinating with Kakashi for a pincer strike.
And overhead—Kiyosuke, gripping a blazing spear.
A death trap from three directions!
"Don't underestimate me!!"
A skeletal blue ribcage flared into existence around Madara—Susanoo!
Chakra erupted violently, blasting the three attackers backward.
Minato flashed in and caught both Kakashi and Kiyosuke before they hit the ground.
Kakashi groaned, "Damn… how the hell are we supposed to fight that?"
That was Susanoo—Uchiha Madara's Susanoo.
To awaken Susanoo, one needed Mangekyō Sharingan. But once awakened, it could still be used even after losing one's eyes—though the cost was steep.
Just like how Shisui could use Susanoo with one eye, and even after Madara's resurrection, he could still use it despite being blind.
The Mangekyō Sharingan was merely the key that unlocked Susanoo. Once opened, it no longer required such harsh conditions.
Faced with that towering titan of chakra, Kiyosuke felt an overwhelming sense of dread.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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