Chapter 370: Even You've Started Ganging Up on Me?
"Wipe us all out in one go?"
Madara Uchiha looked at him as if he had just heard a hilarious joke. "Yotsuki Dana... you've grown arrogant. Arrogance is a terminal taboo for a shinobi."
"Of all people, you're the last one qualified to say that to me, Senpai..."
From the moment Madara appeared, Dana had been secretly transmitting orders through the golden slug. Once he received a confirmation from the Cloud Spire, he turned his gaze back to the trio below.
Everything depended on whether the plan would work. He truly intended to end this here—especially Black Zetsu. He couldn't let that thing escape again.
"I'm just tired," Dana said. "The ninja world is finally changing for the better. Why can't you just return to the Pure Land and stay there in peace, Senpai?"
Madara raised a hand toward the sky, as if trying to grasp the heavens themselves. "This ninja world is a mistake. You've achieved some minor results, but it's nothing more than a mirage of prosperity. Decades from now, after you die, the world will plunge right back into the cycle of pain. Everything I do is to give this world true, eternal peace!"
"Even though my lifespan should be quite long, I'll take a few minutes for some 'Talk-no-Jutsu' before we start," Dana replied, extending a finger toward the three. "You can choose not to listen, but I'm going to say it anyway."
He ignored the unconscious Roshi, who was currently little more than a prop.
"First: Permanent peace does not exist. That kind of dream-talk is as laughable as a three-year-old wishing for a piece of candy that never runs out."
Madara's jaw tightened.
"Second: Senpai, the only reason you can stir up trouble in this world isn't because your philosophy is right—it's simply because you have the power to enforce it. If one day you stopped preaching about 'eternal peace' and just admitted you wanted to rule through absolute force, you'd actually be more charismatic."
"Third: Your philosophy can't convince anyone. Go grab a random person off the street and ask if they want to be trapped in a permanent illusion, rotting away in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. They'll just think you're insane."
Madara's hair bristled with rage. "How do you know about the Infinite Tsukuyomi?!"
Izuna Uchiha looked at his brother's violent reaction. "Brother... what is the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
Madara didn't have time to answer his brother. He reached back and unslung the Uchiha Gunbai.
Dana realized it immediately. He must have snatched it back after I was sealed last time.
Madara pointed the fan at Dana. "Brat, what do you know?! I don't know where you get your information, but the Infinite Tsukuyomi is the only future for this world!"
Dana descended to the ground, landing just a few paces from them. He looked them in the eye and spoke with chilling sincerity:
"They say that a just cause attracts many supporters, while an unjust one finds few. Madara-senpai, you have to use Genjutsu just to control your Edo Tensei summons. What philosophy do you have left to argue? Controlling subordinates with illusions, planning the future with illusions... in the end, are you just using illusions to lie to yourself?"
Madara's breath hitched. The image of the monk Bunpuku's skeletal, serene face flashed in his mind.
'Indulging in the power of illusions will eventually lead you into the void of a dream world...'
Izuna Uchiha didn't hesitate any longer. His katana lashed out toward Dana's neck.
VROOOM!
Dana manipulated the magnetic field of his Takemikazuchi bloodline. Using only three fingers, he caught Izuna's blade mid-air. To the naked eye, it looked like he caught it with his bare hand, but the edge was actually hovering millimeters away from his skin, trapped in a magnetic vice.
Izuna tried to pull the sword back, but it wouldn't budge. "Brother... whatever he says, we finish the fight first!"
Madara finally snapped back to reality, his voice self-deprecating. "Ah... yes. Thank you, Izuna."
A maelstrom of violent chakra erupted from Madara Uchiha. He cast aside his doubts and reclaimed his battle lust.
Izuna nodded, his own aura flaring up. Beside them, Mū, the Second Tsuchikage, followed suit. The unconscious Roshi was slowly swallowed into the earth by Earth Release—a bait Dana intentionally left alone for now.
"In that case, I'll get a little serious too..."
Zzzzt!
A spark of storm light ignited at Dana's fingertips. Rainbow-colored chakra flames swept from his fingers up his arm, enveloping his entire body. Then, a sudden gale blew, dispersing the excess energy.
He had entered Sage Mode.
Madara clapped his hands. "Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The earth shattered as massive vines and ancient trees tore through the ground. Izuna used the distraction to yank his katana back and sprinted through the rising forest.
SHING!
A terrifying beam of lightning swept out from the center of the forest in a perfect circle. Wherever it passed, vines were severed and trees were obliterated. A split second later, a chain of massive explosions followed.
In a single move, more than half of the forest was leveled. The dust cleared to reveal Yotsuki Dana standing tall.
As he ran, Izuna finally understood why his brother compared this man to the legends of their own era.
Madara leaped high from the settling dust, scythe in one hand, his other hand aimed at Dana.
"Bansho Ten'in! (Universal Pull!)"
Dana raised his hand, attempting to counter with his own magnetic force. However, he quickly realized his magnetism couldn't compete with the Rinnegan's absolute gravity. He was yanked off his feet, flying toward Madara.
Mid-air, Madara spun and delivered a powerful kick, sending Dana hurtling back.
Dana flew like a cannonball, smashing through several giant trees for hundreds of meters before coming to a stop.
"My, my... Bansho Ten'in really is a cheat code, isn't it?"
Dana stood up from the rubble, unharmed, and brushed the dust from his shoulders. At least in terms of pulling people, he couldn't beat the Rinnegan.
Before he could say more, a cold glint of steel lunged at him. Dana reached out to grab it.
The katana suddenly shifted trajectory—changing from a thrust to a slash. Izuna used Body Flicker to close the gap, his blade shimmering with chakra as he followed Dana's every movement like a venomous snake.
Dana performed a backflip, his toe catching the hilt of the sword. The blade flew out of Izuna's hand into the air, only to be pulled into Dana's palm via magnetic suction.
Izuna formed a one-handed seal and instantly summoned another katana.
The two blurred across the giant trees, the sound of clashing steel ringing incessantly.
Clang! Clang! Cling!
Izuna's kenjutsu was top-tier, but Dana's reaction speed and raw power were on another level. In less than ten exchanges, Izuna was forced onto the defensive.
"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
A brilliant white light swept toward him. Dana was forced to use a burst of speed to retreat.
Before Particle Style, all are equal.
Boulders and trees were reduced to subatomic dust, triggering a terrifying shockwave. Dana's momentum was hard to stop; his feet dug deep into the earth, plowing two long furrows into the ground.
Before his backward slide even stopped, Dana hurled the captured katana like a railgun projectile. Infused with electromagnetic acceleration, the blade reached Izuna in a heartbeat.
Madara arrived just in time, swinging his scythe to deflect the projectile. The sheer force behind the sword almost sent even Madara flying.
"Izuna! Together!"
Madara and Izuna stood shoulder to shoulder.
"Right, Brother!"
The two formed seals in perfect unison.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!"
Two monstrous walls of flame spewed into the sky, merging into a single inferno. It wasn't just a fire jutsu—it was a tsunami of flame.
Mū hovered above them. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
The wind fanned the flames, and the entire forest was swallowed by the inferno, incinerated in seconds.
However, from the heart of the fire, a tall figure emerged, trailing wisps of blue smoke. His body was encased in shimmering, multicolored armor.
Clad in the Sage Lightning Armor, Dana walked out of the flames unscathed. He swung his Staff of Storm Light, the weapon extending in the wind and forcing the three back with a massive sweep.
"Madara-senpai... even you have started playing the 'righteous ganging up' game?"
Madara sneered. "Taunts are useless, brat. Shinobi have never cared for such things."
"Besides, whether it's one or three, the result will be the same. Did you think you were facing my senile self again? I hope your skills have grown as much as your mouth."
Violent blue chakra erupted from Madara's body, manifesting into a blue spectral giant.
Izuna followed suit, his own chakra becoming almost solid as a deep purple Susanoo rose from the ground.
The Second Tsuchikage formed a seal. "Earth Release: Golem Technique!"
A massive granite giant crawled out of the earth amidst a storm of sand.
Blue, Purple, and Stone-brown. Three different giants loomed over Yotsuki Dana, their combined pressure weighing down on the valley.
Even as a giant among men, Dana had to crane his neck to look up at them.
"One word of disagreement... and the Gundams come out. Three of them at once, no less..."
Dana thought to himself: Where the hell is Black Zetsu...? I'm starting to feel like calling for backup.
Meanwhile, 300 meters underground.
Black Zetsu was hiding within the earth, his mind racing with suspicion.
How is it this guy again?! Did he sense something? He arrived too fast...
He was worried Madara might fail again. After all, last time Madara was in high spirits until he suddenly wasn't.
But Zetsu didn't dare show his face. Backstabbing and heart-piercing were his specialties, but in a head-on fight of this magnitude, he was just a liability. He could only stay hidden.
While stealthily sensing the surface, he began to weigh his options.
"This Yotsuki Dana hasn't called for reinforcements. Is he planning to fight alone again...?"
"The Four-Tails Jinchuriki is still up there. Should I try to snatch him away in secret...?"