Watching the retreating crowd, Uchiha Madara smiled faintly before shifting his gaze to the Five Kage.
"The world is too small," he said calmly. "The land available for expansion is pitiful—barely enough for me to stretch my limbs."
He spread his arms slightly.
"Can you still dance? I won't call this despicable. Five against one is just right for a bit of amusement."
That arrogance ignited fury in the hearts of the Five Kage.
Madara took a step forward.
With each step, the Susanoo behind him became more complete, its oppressive presence growing heavier by the second.
Gaara reacted instantly. Vast torrents of sand surged forward, wrapping tightly around the Susanoo. But before they could fully restrain it, an overwhelming force erupted—
In less than a second, the sand was violently torn apart.
Mei Terumī acted without hesitation.
"Hidden Mist Technique!"
Thick mist spread across the battlefield as she pulled Gaara—who was on the verge of being struck—out of Susanoo's attack range.
"Lightning Release: Lariat!"
The Fourth Raikage roared as he charged, his body wrapped in crackling lightning. His fist slammed into Madara's Susanoo.
Clang!
The sound echoed like metal colliding with a mountain.
The result was horrifying.
Susanoo remained completely unharmed.
Meanwhile, the Raikage was sent flying hundreds of meters away, struck aside by a casual counter from Susanoo.
Ōnoki rapidly formed hand seals.
A massive earth golem rose from the ground, its towering height rivaling Susanoo itself. But before it could even close in—
A Yasaka Magatama streaked through the air.
Boom!!!
The earth golem shattered instantly.
The sheer destructive power left everyone speechless.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground trembled violently.
Gigantic trees burst forth, spreading outward in all directions. In an instant, a dense forest formed, its massive trunks and twisting branches strangling everything in their path.
This disaster-like ninjutsu plunged the surrounding shinobi into despair.
Was this even a battlefield they could participate in?
Without speaking, everyone retreated further back.
This battlefield now belonged solely to Uchiha Madara and the Five Kage.
All hope rested on them.
You must win.
Countless shinobi shouted those words silently in their hearts. Against a monster like Madara, only the Kage stood a chance.
At the same time, inside the Ninja Allied Forces headquarters, intelligence streamed in from every front. Nearly all battlefields were progressing smoothly—but everyone's attention was locked onto Madara's location.
Even Orochimaru was observing the fight.
When he saw Madara's Wood Release—so eerily similar to the First Hokage's—he couldn't help but sigh.
It was nothing like the imperfect experimental subjects he had once created.
So this… is a true legend.
Back on the battlefield, the raging forest slammed into the Five Kage, sending all of them flying.
Madara calmly surveyed them—then fixed his gaze on Tsunade.
"As Hashirama's descendant," he said coldly, "why are you so weak?"
"You can't use Wood Release. Your Medical Ninjutsu doesn't even compare to Hashirama's. He could regenerate without hand seals, instantly recovering from injuries."
"Your so-called Medical Ninjutsu merely delays death."
His voice turned disdainful.
"As Hashirama's descendant, you don't even excite me. You're just a weak woman."
"Weakness is ugly—and a weak Senju is even more so."
Tsunade rose to her feet.
Her fists clenched tightly as she stared straight at Madara, her eyes burning with resolve.
"That's right," she said firmly. "As my grandfather's descendant, I don't possess Wood Release. I don't have his overwhelming power, nor his ability to heal without hand seals."
"But I inherited the Will of Fire he passed down!"
"Don't underestimate the Will of Fire, you bastard!"
For a brief moment, Madara seemed to glimpse Hashirama's shadow in her.
He scoffed.
"So-called will is nothing more than a fantasy born from delusion. The gap between strength can only be crossed with absolute power."
"Power isn't belief—it's the phenomenon created by matter."
Tsunade's voice rang out clearly.
"The dead inspire the living!"
"My Medical Ninjutsu is not as weak as you think!"
"I'll show you the power of a Hokage!"
A brilliant light flared on her forehead.
The Strength of a Hundred Seal activated.
Black markings spread rapidly from her brow, coursing across her body like living veins.
"Bastard—don't look down on me!"
A terrifying aura erupted from Tsunade.
Crimson chakra wrapped around her fist, dense and explosive. Madara's eyes narrowed slightly—this power reminded him faintly of the young man from before.
"…Interesting."
Tsunade drew her arm back.
"Unrivaled Strength!"
Tsunade's fist smashed into Madara's Susanoo.
To Madara's genuine astonishment, her punch pierced straight through the Susanoo's torso, the overwhelming force blasting Madara backward. His body flew hundreds of meters before crashing violently into a sheer rock wall.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Roaring flames erupted in response.
Tsunade charged straight through the inferno and threw another punch.
Boom!
The flames were extinguished in an instant. Madara was sent flying yet again—only managing to stabilize himself at the last moment as a thick layer of Susanoo re-formed around his body.
Tsunade's sudden eruption of power was nothing short of terrifying.
For the first time, Madara's expression sharpened with excitement.
The fully reconstituted Susanoo raised its arm, condensing chakra into a spinning projectile.
A Yasaka Magatama shot forward—an attack only a higher-stage Susanoo could unleash.
Tsunade didn't dodge.
She stepped forward and punched.
The Yasaka Magatama shattered midair.
That was no ordinary strike.
What Tsunade was using at this moment was the divine power she had once awakened—chakra-enhanced strength elevated to an extreme level. With the Strength of a Hundred Seal active, she could continuously unleash this overwhelming force without restraint.
At this moment, Tsunade embodied a terrifying fusion of overwhelming power and explosive speed—combining the Raikage's ferocity with the Hokage's endurance.
The other four Kage were stunned.
They had agreed to stand on equal footing—so how had Tsunade suddenly surged so far ahead?
And wasn't this power… far too monstrous?!
In the next instant, Tsunade vanished.
She reappeared directly behind Madara.
Another punch sent him crashing down.
The ground caved in, forming a massive crater. Tsunade didn't stop—dozens of consecutive punches rained down, each impact deepening the crater further, the earth groaning under the relentless assault.
"Gaara!"
Tsunade shouted.
Gaara reacted instantly.
Sand surged forward, transforming into a golden sealing formation, locking Madara inside the pit.
Tsunade stepped back, gasping for breath as she stared at the sealed figure.
…Was it over?
The reason she had withheld this power until now was simple—to make Uchiha Madara underestimate her.
Just as Tsunade allowed herself a moment of relief—
A massive purple chakra blade suddenly erupted upward, piercing straight through her body.
The battlefield froze.
No one had anticipated this.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Slow, deliberate applause echoed through the air.
Madara's figure emerged unharmed.
"Not bad. Not bad at all," he said calmly.
"To defeat my Wood Clone—I'll acknowledge that much."
He looked at Tsunade with mild approval.
"You're not weak."
"But this… is as far as it goes."
Despair washed over the battlefield.
The crushing realization hit everyone at once—the overwhelming Madara they had fought so desperately was merely a clone.
Crack!
Madara's eyes narrowed in surprise.
Tsunade wasn't dead.
Instead, she grabbed the massive Susanoo blade that had pierced her body—and snapped it apart with brute force.
Her wounds began to close at a terrifying speed.
Flesh regenerated. Blood vanished.
In moments, Tsunade stood upright once more.
That level of regeneration was already comparable to Senju Hashirama's.
The Four Kage exhaled sharply in relief.
None of them had expected Tsunade to possess such resilience.
As expected of the world's strongest Medical Ninja.