When the blinding light faded, the world was no longer the same.
The entire battlefield had been reduced to a wasteland... mountains leveled, forests turned to ash, the very earth scorched black and cracked like shattered glass.
Dust choked the sky, thick as fog, and silence reigned for a few agonizing seconds before the moans of the injured broke through.
Scattered across the ruins, the remnants of the Shinobi Alliance slowly emerged from makeshift Earth-Style domes and barrier formations, coughing, bleeding, but still alive although barely.
Some had thrown up walls, others had dug underground in desperation. Many were unconscious. Some hadn't made it.
"Is… is everyone still breathing?" a wounded Chūnin muttered, his face smeared with ash and blood.
A nearby Iwa ninja, limping and missing an arm, gave a weak chuckle. "Somehow... Yeah. We're not all dead."
"Damn... I thought we were dead for sure," one random Kumo shinobi muttered, spitting out blood and dirt.
"Hey… did you guys see that?" one of the alliance shinobi muttered, squinting through the dust. "That red lightning… mixed with the white flash…?"
His voice was shaky like he wasn't even sure if he imagined it.
"Huh? Man, I don't know," someone else groaned nearby, clutching his face.
"I went fucking blind the moment that light hit. My eyes are still bleeding, dude…"
He tried blinking, but red kept leaking down his cheeks.
"…Shit," the first guy mumbled. "So I wasn't the only one seeing stars, huh."
All around, random shinobi stared into the distance, expressions shell-shocked. A few cried.
Most just sat in silence, unable to comprehend the scale of what had just happened
---
"Is everyone okay, Minato?" Jiraiya's voice finally cut through the silence, rough and worried as he looked around at the battered alliance.
In a flash of golden light FWIP—Minato appeared beside him using Flying Thunder God, still calm despite the chaos.
"Yeah. The time was tight, but I had them transferred," he said with a light smile. "No worries."
Before Jiraiya could reply, a loud voice broke through the smoke.
"SENSEIIII!!"
It was Hanabi and Hinata both sprinting toward the crater, eyes glowing, the Byakugan and Tenseigan activated as they tried to peer through the dust cloud in panic.
Tsunade, standing nearby with her hands glowing and slugs crawling over the wounded, glanced at them and said firmly,
"Don't worry about him. He's the strongest out there. Nothing's taking him down."
Though even she had to admit in the back of her mind… that explosion was insane.
"Yeah, Sensei's not gonna lose. No chance." Anko grinned as she wiped dirt from her cheek, hefting Samehada onto her shoulder.
Her face was a mess of dust and scratches but her eyes were full of belief.
Jiraiya and Minato both exchanged a look and chuckled. The concern was there but so was confidence. Guts had proved it too many times already... he didn't go down.
Then Kakashi finally spoke, his voice low.
"Everyone… did you notice something weird about that explosion?" he asked, glancing around.
"With the amount of chakra that was released, we should've been wiped out. Not a trace left."
He looked toward the blast zone, eyes sharp.
"There's no way we survived that just by luck."
"Wait, wait—hold up," Guy said, jogging over and flashing his trademark smile.
"Kakashi, are you okay? Are you saying we should've died?! That's… that's pretty dark, my eternal rival!"
"We should do some youthful bonding when we get back!" he added, clearly worried his friend was spiraling.
But the others didn't laugh.
Because they were all thinking the same thing.
Minato's expression shifted, serious now. "Kakashi… you mean to say—"
"No. I do say it," Minato cut himself off and nodded. "We were saved. Definitely. No question."
The air grew quiet again.
One by one, they looked toward the center of the destruction... the spot where the explosion hit hardest.
They all knew.
Only one man could've done that.
---
In the center of the explosion, inside the massive crater, a burst of red lightning suddenly exploded outward turning every obstacle nearby into dust.
"Ha… hahaha…" Guts laughed as he slowly stood up, his body covered in dust but not a single scratch on him.
"I admit… this was outside my expectations. But it seems you still fell short," he said, casually swatting off the dust as he stretched his muscles.
The moment the explosion hit, he had instantly gone all out coating the nearby area in a mix of Advanced Armament Haki, Ryou, and Conqueror's Haki to contain the blast and stop it from spreading.
Then he vanished,flash, reappearing miles away.
As expected, Obito's body wasn't where it should've been. Taken away by Black Zetsu.
Guts narrowed his eyes. He also knew the Madara from earlier was just a clone, destroyed by Obito.
Suddenly, he felt a presence far off from the battlefield where massive chakra was gathering together.
He smirked and disappeared again.
---
"I still failed to kill him, huh… even after becoming the second Sage of Six Paths…"
Obito coughed up blood, his body beyond repair as he looked into the open sky.
"Hahaha… second Sage of Six Paths? Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" Madara laughed mockingly.
"The Rinnegan's power never truly belonged to you. Let alone the Sage's."
"You're just a naive brat… an easy pawn. Haven't you figured it out yet? You think all of this was a coincidence? I planned your entire life, Obito."
A cold feeling crept up Obito's spine. A bad premonition settled in his chest.
He turned his head with an ugly expression.
"You… what are you saying…?"
"That's right," Madara said with a grin. "I was the one who planned the death of that little girl you loved so much, Obito."
"You've been my pawn since the very beginning. Nothing you did was outside my expectation. And now, your final use is finished."
He ignored Obito's furious glare and turned to Zetsu.
"Did you get the other eye?"
"Yes, Madara-sama. Here it is…" Black and White Zetsu replied, handing over the Rinnegan.
Madara grabbed it and effortlessly transplanted it, now with both of his eyes back.
"Still not enough," Madara muttered to himself. He knew even now… it wasn't enough to face that man.
He'd seen his strength firsthand.
"To think a shinobi could reach this level without any Kekkei Genkai or maybe he does have something special…" Madara said, amused.
Then, without wasting any time, he absorbed the Tailed Beasts he had taken from Obito fusing them into himself.
Guts appeared at the place where he had sensed the massive chakra earlier.
As expected, Obito was lying there, his body covered in wounds, Rinnegan eye missing, hair turned white.
Guts narrowed his eyes.
Looks like Black Zetsu had already used the Rinne Rebirth technique.
Madara was back.
Then he felt it.
A massive presence above.
He didn't even need to look up... he already knew who it was.
"You came a bit too late, Guts," Madara's voice echoed from the sky, heavy with power.
"I've transcended from human to god. The me now... even you can't stop."
His tone was filled with arrogance, feeling the overwhelming power of the Sage of Six Paths flow through him.
"So," Guts smirked, glancing up. "You still think you can win?"
"Do you think you won't lose?" Madara smiled back, calm and composed.
"Sorry," Guts said, cracking his knuckles, grin widening. "But I just can't imagine myself losing to you."
This was it.
The final battle between them.
Winner or loser... everything would be decided here.
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