Chapter 377: Smashed! Madara's Face!
"Don't underestimate this old man! I AM... THE TSUCHIKAGE!!!"
With the activation of the Super Light-Weight Rock Technique, Dana felt the crushing pressure vanish almost instantly. The two mountain-sized meteors finally halted their descent, and under the combined might of the two men, they began to reverse direction, soaring back toward the heavens.
Madara Uchiha roared in fury, "Interfering pest!"
He drove the Susanoo forward, intending to intercept them.
Dana manipulated every remaining delivery pod in the vicinity, sending them in waves to block Madara's path. He didn't care about the inventory anymore; he commanded them to self-detonate in a continuous chain of explosions to keep the Uchiha at bay.
Together, Yotsuki Dana and Onoki pushed the two colossal stones higher and higher. They tore through the clouds, then the stratosphere.
With one final, world-shaking heave, Dana thrust the meteors completely out of the planet's orbit.
Here, the sky was no longer blue, but a deep, infinite black. Dana had been here once before during his wedding. From this altitude, even the moon seemed closer.
Onoki, lacking Dana's monstrous constitution, was already shivering violently from the extreme cold, unable to even speak. Dana glanced at him and said, "We'll settle things with Iwa later! For now, I'm going to end Madara Uchiha!"
With that, Dana dove headfirst back toward the planet.
As he fell, he added two words:
"Thank you..."
Onoki froze for a long moment. Before he could turn into an ice sculpture, he snapped back to reality and began his own descent, his face a complicated mask of conflicting emotions.
Dana fell faster and faster.
He hadn't been lying to Madara. He was truly, deeply furious.
He was going to make Madara Uchiha understand that there were consequences for endangering his people!
BOOM!
He left a series of sonic booms in his wake.
VROOOM!!!
He punched a massive hole through the clouds of the stratosphere.
The wind howled in his ears, moving so fast that his Sage Lightning Armor began to emit a high-pitched hum. The friction against the atmosphere ignited the air around him, turning him into a living fireball.
At this moment, he was a comet of vengeance.
The side effects of the Seventh Gate were starting to take hold. His entire body was a map of agony, every muscle screaming. He had to end this now!
His "Pulse" Vision scanned the earth. The target was locked.
"MADARA UCHIHA!!"
Within his Susanoo, Madara sensed the incoming threat and roared a challenge back.
"YOTSUKI DANA!!"
Dana descended with the weight of the heavens behind him.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A massive shockwave silenced the hundred thousand terrified civilians below.
The colossal Susanoo was no match for the momentum of the "Thunder God." It was slammed into the earth, crushing a mountain into rubble upon impact.
The landing triggered a dust storm that rose like a wall of sand. Fortunately, they were far enough from the city, but the display of raw power left the fleeing masses paralyzed in awe.
One punch!
WHAM!
Two punches!
CRACK!
Dana finally shattered the crystal pentagon on the Susanoo's forehead. His iron fist slammed directly into Madara Uchiha's face.
With a single blow, half of Madara's Edo Tensei face was pulverized into dust.
"Brat! Do not be so arro—"
The only response was another iron fist.
"How dare you! I—"
BOOM!
"You actually—!"
WHAM!
"If I were in my prime, you would never—"
"SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT YOUR PRIME!!!"
Dana's fists fell like a torrential storm. Even a legend like Madara was helpless under the onslaught.
One hit, two hits! Every strike was saturated with Yotsuki Dana's rage.
10 punches... Madara's arms were shattered, though they struggled to reform.
20 punches... His lower half was reduced to dust.
30 punches... The Edo Tensei regeneration could no longer keep up with the speed of destruction. Madara was being systematically erased.
40 punches... Madara entered a daze, his entire face a ruin of cracked clay.
50... 100... 200...
Dana had lost count. He no longer knew if he was pummeling the Asura of the Ninja World or simply pounding a pile of dirt that refused to stay broken.
Dozens of kilometers away, the ground battlefield.
The scarred earth here was in no better shape than the other front.
Nine world-class powerhouses had besieged the God of Shinobi, yet they were still losing.
Might Duy's Seventh Gate had backfired, leaving him paralyzed. Sakumo Hatake's arm was broken, his blade shattered. Yagura Karatachi was in full Tailed Beast form but was being slowly strangled by the Wood Dragon.
They had managed to injure Hashirama Senju several times, but as an Edo Tensei, he feared no pain, and they could never create a window for the Sealing Corps to move in. They were at a dead end.
Hashirama held his brother, Tobirama, by the throat, lifting him into the air. His purple Rinnegan eyes looked at his struggling sibling with absolute coldness.
"My foolish brother..."
Suddenly, just as he was about to crush Tobirama's neck for the seventh time, Hashirama paused.
"Eh?"
The purple hue in his eyes receded instantly, vanishing without a trace.
Dozens of kilometers away, Madara had been beaten into such a fine powder that he could no longer maintain the contract's control.
Hashirama quickly set his brother down and scratched the back of his head. He looked awkwardly at the battered Federation forces around him.
"Um... sorry about that. I caused everyone a lot of trouble, didn't I?"
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. Even though they were looking at him, they could barely reconcile this goofy, smiling man with the terrifying deity who had just wiped the floor with them.
Tobirama massaged his neck. "Brother... are you sure you won't be controlled again?"
"I don't think so!" Hashirama said hurriedly. "Something went wrong on Madara's end. I'm back to normal! Man, this is embarrassing. I just said my goodbyes to the students at the Academy and went back to the Pure Land... and then I'm back again. So awkward!"
Tobirama sighed. "Now isn't the time for that. We need to check on the Consul."
In the Desert.
The Third Kazekage manipulated his Iron Sand, binding Pakura and Rasa. Both were unconscious, completely drained of their ability to fight.
Only Sasori remained, though he was at his absolute limit.
Both of his legs were broken, yet he used his puppet threads to force his body to stay upright. His puppets were nothing but splinters. He was reduced to trying to fight with Taijutsu—a field he never trained in.
Pain. Every movement felt like a hot iron in his marrow.
But Sasori gritted his teeth. He was the last hope. If he fell, Pakura was dead.
The Third Kazekage was toying with him now, a mocking smile on his lips. An iron sand hammer smashed into Sasori's frail frame, sending him tumbling through the dunes. Blood stained the sand. His puppet arm was shattered; only his left hand remained.
He looked like a broken doll.
"Do you still have illusions of victory, Sasori? I heard you were in pain after your parents died. Don't you want revenge? Kill Pakura and Rasa, and I'll forgive your insolence today. You can vent your rage on Konoha as much as you like. Sakumo Hatake is still alive, after all."
Sasori staggered to his feet... no, he used puppet strings to pull himself up like a marionette.
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Sasori rasped, "Yes... when my parents died, I was in pain. But if I don't defeat you today... my parents, my grandmother, Pakura-nee, the entire village—everyone will be in pain! I'm hurting enough for all of them! I won't let the people beside me feel what I feel!!"
The Kazekage sneered. "Pity. You're too weak. The three of you die here."
Iron sand gathered into lethal spikes behind the Kazekage, ready to fire.
Just as he was about to execute Sasori, the Third Kazekage froze. His eyes gradually regained their clarity.
A flood of memories rushed back, threatening to burst his skull.
The manipulation. The absurd orders he gave. How he sold out the village's interests. How he sent hundreds of Suna ninja to their deaths in a foreign land.
The weight of it all forced him to his knees, his head throbbing with agony.
Sasori didn't notice the change. With nothing left, he gripped a kunai taken from a broken puppet and charged.
Amidst the mental torrent, the Kazekage's instincts took over, parrying Sasori's disorganized strikes.
Sasori was fighting like a madman, swinging wildly, his eyes fixed on the ground.
More memories surfaced for the Kazekage. The questions from his confidants whom he sent to certain-death missions. The village's heritage he handed over to Madara. The voices of dissent he silenced with his own hands.
His beloved village, the home he spent half his life building, had been ruined by his own hand.
No one would ever trust him again. No one would trust the high command.
The Kazekage's arms grew heavy. His movements slowed.
But the frenzied Sasori grew faster.
During the struggle, the Third Kazekage looked at the boy with one wooden arm, fighting to the death. He remembered Sasori's words.
'I won't let the people beside me feel what I feel!'
A trace of gratification flashed in the Kazekage's eyes, followed by absolute resolve.
Suddenly, the Third Kazekage spread his arms wide, as if welcoming an embrace, and completely abandoned his defense.
Sasori's kunai buried itself deep into the Third Kazekage's chest.
The sudden turn of events stunned even Sasori. He couldn't believe it.
"This feeling... the heart? I... I won?"
He looked up at the Kazekage and saw a peaceful smile on his face.
With blood trickling from his mouth, the Kazekage looked at the dazed Sasori. "Sasori... you won. I'm sorry... for the trouble... I caused all of you... and the village..."
Sasori lost his strength and slumped onto the sand.
The Third Kazekage pulled a talisman from his sleeve and, to Sasori's shock, slapped it onto the boy's chest.
"You—!"
The Kazekage glanced at the unconscious Rasa and Pakura. Seeing they were alive, he let out a breath of relief. He whispered to Sasori, "Hush... these words... cough... are for our ears only."
"I was... controlled by Genjutsu. I did things I can never take back. I lost the right to be a Kage. In the future, beware a man named Madara Uchiha... cough... Check those around you for Genjutsu constantly..."
The Healing Talisman allowed Sasori to regain some strength, but his mind was spinning. The sudden shift was too much to process.
The Kazekage's breathing grew faint.
"Listen... regarding my control, tell no one. Let the village believe I was simply a madman. After I die, you will be the Fourth Kazekage. You are a genius puppet master, and you have the support of Chiyo and Ebizo. You can hold the position... Afterward... take the village and join the Cloud-Thunder Federation. Suna cannot withstand Madara Uchiha alone... only the Federation can protect you."
Sasori finally found his voice. "But... but since you're back to yourself, why don't you—"
The Kazekage interrupted him. "A wound to the heart cannot be healed by a talisman... cough! And only if I die will the Federation truly accept Sunagakure. Only if I die will the village have a hero as their new Kage, rather than a pathetic wretch who was a puppet. Only if I die will the people's anger and pain have an outlet..."
"You can tell the Cloud high command about the Genjutsu—tell their Consul—but never let our people know. Remember, I was not controlled; I was the wicked Third. And you... are the one who saved the village from me. You are... the Fourth..."
The Third Kazekage touched Sasori's red hair, the light in his eyes fading as he lost focus.
"Sorry... for the trouble... The village... the village is in your hands..."
Finally, he fell silent forever.