Pick one prize—too human!
SSS Character Card – Uchiha Madara (Edo Tensei)!
This was nothing short of a dream character card!
Hashirama Senju's power combined with Madara's cunning—a super overpowered combination!
Besides, if you could fully fuse an SS-level Edo Tensei Madara, wouldn't that mean inheriting Indra's power?
What use would Indra himself be then?
[Fusion of SSS-level characters – Uchiha Madara (Edo Tensei) does not grant Indra's power.]
Ryoma frowned. So the Edo Tensei version of Madara didn't possess Indra's might.
Was it simply because he wasn't alive?
It seemed likely. After all, even Edo Tensei Hashirama was far weaker than in life. Perhaps Indra's and Asura's true powers could not be resurrected.
That meant both options were essentially the same…
But still—the first choice was far too tempting.
It was like abandoning Konoha itself.
Wait—why couldn't he just pursue Uchiha Madara, defeat him, and protect Konoha from this heavenly calamity?
Adults, I'll take it!
As Ryoma contemplated, Madara had already leapt from the heart of Konoha!
At the same moment, thousands of White Zetsu burst forth, a backup plan for Madara's retreat!
In every direction, pale figures surged. Tens of thousands encircled Konoha in suffocating waves.
The sheer number was horrifying—densely packed, each one carrying power above a typical chunin.
And above their heads, a colossal meteor loomed like a blade about to fall.
It was a perfect trap—inescapable.
If Ryoma didn't intervene, Konoha would be annihilated.
This was no improvisation. Madara had planned every move—absorbing the Two-Tails, the Eight-Tails, and the Nine-Tails, then unleashing the meteor alongside an army of White Zetsu.
It was his second contingency. If he couldn't overpower Ryoma—as at the Valley of the End—then he would escape.
And he still had a third backup…
Even as he retreated, Madara cast a defiant look back at Ryoma.
"The reincarnation of Hashirama Senju… show me if you still walk the same path of a ninja!"
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Twenty-five Madara clones scattered in every direction.
"I'm going to lose it—this guy uses every legendary jutsu just to run away?"
Ryoma hadn't expected that even the so-called king of dominance was Konoha's greatest escape artist.
"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The Yin Seal on Ryoma's forehead flared open.
"Creation Rebirth – Strength of a Hundred Seal!"
The stored chakra erupted like a flood.
Ryoma instantly split into a hundred shadow clones, each one pursuing Madara's fleeing doubles.
"Four against one… Let's see if you can escape now, King of Flight."
Madara's eyes widened in disbelief.
This chakra… more outrageous than Hashirama's?!
After unleashing True Thousand Hands and Susanoo, he still had power to create hundreds of clones to hunt him down?
"Impossible!"
Madara quickened his pace, unease gnawing at his heart.
Meanwhile, Ryoma's true body remained within Konoha.
He appeared in front of the villagers in a flash.
"Ryoma-sama!"
"Lord Ryoma!"
The people's eyes shone with reverence.
He had become their savior—the guardian of Konoha. His status in their hearts now eclipsed even the Third Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi had fought bravely, but his power could not match Ryoma's overwhelming might.
Ryoma carried the aura of Hashirama's legacy, the strength of the Senju, and the mystery of sage mode intertwined with the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
To them, he was like a god of war.
Even Kushina and Mikoto's eyes sparkled with admiration, and many kunoichi looked at Ryoma as if seeing him for the first time.
Handsome and divine.
"Lord Ryoma, what should we do now?"
He nodded at Kushina, then calmly told everyone:
"Fall back."
His clone raised a hand.
"Wood Release – Tree World!"
BOOM!
The earth trembled violently. The ground split apart, and titanic trees erupted from below, instantly transforming the battlefield into a dense forest fortress.
Roots and vines lashed out, ensnaring White Zetsu one after another, draining their chakra to husks.
"Handle the stragglers," Ryoma commanded coldly.
But the numbers were endless. The first wave of trees cracked under their assault, vines snapping as White Zetsu swarmed forward in countless ranks.
"Move! We can't just watch!"
Tsunade roared, activating her own Strength of a Hundred Seal as she charged in. Her fist smashed through a White Zetsu, sending its body crashing into several more before it exploded apart.
Hiruzen followed, unleashing Five-Element Great Bullet, a storm of elemental chakra blasting through the enemy ranks.
Under their lead, the Konoha shinobi rallied. Protected by the Tree World, they launched jutsu after jutsu at the encroaching White Zetsu.
Even Kushina and Mikoto rushed forward.
"Charge!"
"Kill them all!"
Kakashi and Obito of Team Seven dashed into the fray, stunning many veterans.
"Those kids? Already fighting like this…"
Hiruzen's gaze lingered on Obito's Sharingan as he cut down Zetsu after Zetsu. He recalled how Madara had rejected killing him earlier and felt a pang of doubt.
Maybe… the Uchiha weren't the threat everyone believed them to be.
The younger generation showed no malice toward Konoha. Even the current clan leaders sought peace.
Perhaps it was not the Uchiha who were dangerous, but Danzo's Shimura, Homura's Mitokado, and Koharu's Utatane—those who twisted power after Tobirama's time.
Had their master been wrong? Had they all been wrong?
Self-doubt weighed heavily on him.
Meanwhile, Rin worked tirelessly, healing the wounded.
Even Terumi and the other captured Mist ninja hesitated only a moment before joining the fight.
Within Ryoma's Tree World, Konoha had become a fortress, dividing the White Zetsu horde into smaller groups that could be managed.
Kushina's eyes never left Ryoma's back, admiration glowing brighter with every breath.
However, Ryoma's figure flickered—and vanished again.
Rumble!
A thunderous roar erupted above. Everyone's eyes turned skyward, faces paling as a colossal meteor descended from the heavens.
It was enormous.
The entire sky darkened as the massive rock blotted out the sun, casting Konoha into shadow.
If it struck, the village would be utterly destroyed.
"Can Ryoma block it…?"
"He must!"
Ryoma narrowed his eyes at the falling meteor, grit his teeth, and pressed his hands against the head of the towering Wooden Buddha.
"True Thousand Hands… Top Transcendence! Rise!"
Crack!
The colossal Thousand-Armed Buddha, reaching into the clouds, stirred to life. Its movement alone shook the very earth.
From the shadows, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu stared upward, stunned by the sight of a thousand hands reaching to stop the heavens themselves.
The second time they had witnessed True Thousand Hands, and still the sight shook them to the core.
"Too powerful… even Uchiha Madara pales before this…"
Suddenly—slash!
A gust of wind cut behind them, and their body was ripped apart!
"Water Style – Water Blade Slash!"
A shadow clone of Ryoma stood behind them, blade dripping.
But even torn apart, Black Zetsu slipped into the earth and vanished.
Ryoma exhaled. He knew better than to believe Black Zetsu could be killed so easily. No matter how many times he destroyed it, another fragment would remain.
But he wouldn't let the creature spy unchecked.
The thousand wooden hands thrust upward and pressed against the meteor.
CRASH!
The instant they touched, the titanic force shattered them like twigs.
Ryoma's Yin Seal flared open, flooding his body with surging chakra.
Broken hands regrew in an instant, sprouting anew beneath the meteor, but each was crushed again as soon as it met the overwhelming mass.
The meteor still plummeted.
"Wood Release – Giant Wood Pillar Technique!"
Colossal pillars of timber erupted into the sky.
BOOM!
But the instant they struck the meteor's surface, they splintered and collapsed.
It wasn't useless—the meteor's descent slowed slightly—but only slightly.
Still, it fell.
"Ryoma, you must resist it!"
"Ryoma!"
Kushina and Mikoto pressed their hands over their hearts, praying desperately.
"Lord Ryoma, protect us!"
Their cries became a chorus as the people of Konoha raised their voices in prayer.
The chakra of thousands of villagers shimmered like motes of starlight, drifting upward, merging into Ryoma's body.
"This is…?"
His exhausted chakra surged back to life, strengthened by the hope of the village itself.
Natural energy fused with it, flooding into his body.
"Wood Release – Multiple Wood Clone Jutsu!"
Hundreds of clones burst forth, each racing up the massive wooden hands to press against the falling star.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
One after another, the clones were obliterated, crushed beneath the weight.
"Haah!!"
Ryoma roared as Konoha's prayers continued. The chakra of the people—pure, countless—poured into him like a tide.
"Wood Release – Multiple Wood Clone Jutsu!"
This time—thousands of clones erupted, surging upward in waves.
Gasps filled the battlefield.
Thousands of Wood Clones—an impossible sight.
"Haah!!"
Together, thousands of Ryomas spread their arms wide, pressing their hands against the meteor, dense wood chakra reinforcing every strike.
The descent slowed.
Bit by bit.
Clones shattered, new ones rose, the cycle unending.
Finally—
BOOM!
The meteor stopped.
Ryoma himself pressed both hands against its surface, his entire being straining.
The Tree World below withered, all its chakra spent.
Ryoma's body trembled, but he held it firm.
Elsewhere, four of Ryoma's clones clashed with one of Madara's.
BOOM! Two clones dispersed, leaving two standing.
Madara smirked.
"Konoha won't withstand it…"
But at that moment, time itself seemed to halt.
Everyone turned, gazes locked on the impossible sight above.
The meteor—halted in midair.
And beneath it, one lone figure held it back.
"Ryoma…"
The White Zetsu forces faltered, retreating under the crushing pressure of the scene.
Konoha's shinobi stood battered and bloodied, but hope burned bright in their eyes.
With the meteor suspended, Ryoma roared one last time, summoning all his strength.
"Haah!!"
He hurled the Heavenly Obstruction Star sideways, away from the village.
RUMBLE!
The earth shook as the titanic mass slammed into the distant wilderness.
The whole ground shook.
Smoke and dust billowed through the air.
When it finally cleared, the scene left everyone stunned.
The Heavenly Barrier Earthquake Star had smashed half of Konoha Village into a massive depression, reshaping the entire terrain. What had once been a single mountain now stood as two—Fire Shadow Rock on one side, and on the other, the new hill formed by the devastating technique.
Everyone's hearts, which had been clenched in fear, finally eased.
"Lord Ryoma is incredible!"
"Long live Lord Ryoma!"
"Teacher Ryoma is invincible!"
Cries of admiration erupted as people rushed forward.
At the very front were Kushina and Team Seven, charging toward him.
Tsunade stood quietly beside Uzumaki Mito, simply watching with a faint smile.
Sarutobi Hiruzen collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. Staring at Ryoma's back, he couldn't help but murmur, "I'm… old."
His mind wandered back to the words of his teacher, Tobirama Senju, after the Fire–Thunder Summit:
Ape Hiruzen, you must love this village and protect those who believe in you. At the same time, you must nurture those who can carry the future. From tomorrow onward, you will be Hokage.
…
Bang!
The colossal wood construct—Sage Art: Wood Release, True Several Thousand Hands—beneath Ryoma's feet crumbled away as the jutsu finally dissipated.
[Ding! Option 2 completed—Help Konoha resist the Heavenly Barrier Earthquake Star. Reward: Indra's Power!]
[Ding! Do you wish to immediately activate Indra's Power?]
"Not yet, System. I still have Option 1 ongoing!"
[Ding! Option 1 is active. Fulfill the conditions to receive the reward.]
Ryoma exhaled in relief.
Uchiha, just you wait.
Earlier, his squads of shadow clones had each engaged Uchiha Madara's doppelgangers. Each team of four managed to destroy at least two, sending back crucial intel before dispersing. Even the clones that Madara himself had destroyed had relayed vital information.
Piecing it all together, Ryoma now had a clear idea where Madara's true body was hiding.
Kushina rushed forward and embraced him tightly, ignoring the dust and blood that clung to his robes.
"It's okay," Ryoma said with a gentle smile, ruffling her hair. "Just one last thing. Wait for me."
"Wait—!"
Before he could move, Kushina stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.
"Ugh…"
Behind them, Obito froze, his jaw dropping as envy and jealousy churned inside him. Watching Kushina kiss Ryoma so openly was almost unbearable.
Without realizing it, his gaze flicked toward Rin—but she was watching Ryoma and Kushina with the same envious eyes.
"I wish I had a boyfriend as strong and handsome as Sensei…" she muttered softly.
Obito clenched his fists. I'll surpass Sensei one day. I swear it!
…
Meanwhile, Madara was retreating toward the Land of Water. Though he had already destroyed two of Ryoma's clones, more and more kept appearing, hounding him relentlessly.
"Persistent… like flies," Madara growled. "But how many shadow clones can you possibly create? Is your chakra infinite?"
Another of Ryoma's clones lunged—only to be obliterated in a flash of power.
"Tch… tiresome."
Suddenly, a kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God seal came whistling out of nowhere.
…
Back in Konoha, silence reigned as Ryoma and Kushina lingered in each other's embrace. Nobody dared disturb them.
After a long moment, Kushina broke the kiss, her cheeks flushed red. "Come back quickly," she whispered.
Ryoma nodded—and vanished.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
No matter the distance, as long as a seal was present, he could appear in an instant.
"Madara!" Ryoma's voice roared through the void. "Prepare to die!"
...
TN:
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