Chapter 376: Don't Underestimate This Old Man
Thunder God Dana, leading a torrential stream of steel, tore through one Susanoo after another across the sky. Madara Uchiha was soon reduced to his primary body, while the pods of Dana's "Magnetic Star" were also running low.
Both possessed the power of flight, moving at blinding speeds across a massive range. It was truly a clash of gods. In their fervor, they had lost track of their location, drifting far from the original battlefield.
Dana noticed a town appearing below and took a breath to refocus. Through the Katsuyu Sage, he confirmed the coordinates.
"The Land of Iron, huh...?"
The "Magnetic Star" was replenished by a new wave of incoming pods. Dana manipulated the countless metallic hulls, gathering them behind him to form a pair of steel "wings" over a hundred meters wide.
With a snap of the wings, Dana spun like a drill, rocketed toward the final Susanoo in the sky.
Despite being the smaller combatant, Dana held the advantage in raw force. The Thunder God drove the Susanoo backward. The wings behind him scattered and reorganized, enveloping the Susanoo in a metallic sphere.
Countless pods fired inward, subjecting the Susanoo to a relentless bombardment of explosions, barriers, and sealing jutsu.
Madara Uchiha struggled to counter Dana's direct strikes while being constantly harassed by the chaotic effects of the pods. His offense and defense began to slip.
"Damn it! SUPER! ALMIGHTY PUSH (SHINRA TENSEI)!"
The horrific repulsive force blasted almost everything away. Even Dana was sent into a tumble, but it didn't change the fact that Madara was surrounded.
Many of the pods, after being blown back, curved in mid-air and returned. Only a small fraction had been destroyed; after all, steel delivery pods were far more durable than human bodies, and mid-air collisions were rare.
"Madara-senpai! Give up! You can't win!" Dana shouted. "Your Edo Tensei followers are likely already sealed. Is there any point in continuing this struggle?"
Madara roared in fury, "Brat! Who do you think I am?!"
The two battled fiercely amidst the howling gales. The durability of a Perfect Susanoo was beyond imagination; even if Dana shattered parts of it, it would regenerate in moments. He needed a strike of pure lightning to obliterate it in one go.
But for now, Dana couldn't find the opening.
"Do you really think Black Zetsu is the manifestation of your will? Then why can't you create another one? I'm telling you the truth: that thing is a total fraud. You've been played for decades! His real goal is just to find a pawn to achieve the Infinite Tsukuyomi for him! He wove a web of lies about saving the world just to use you!"
Madara's heart shook violently, but he could not—would not—believe the words of a brat like Yotsuki Dana.
As Dana had said before, a man like Madara wouldn't even listen to his family or best friends, let alone an enemy.
"NONSENSE!"
Madara's response was a more vicious arc of chakra fire from his blade.
Unbeknownst to them, they had drifted over a large metropolitan area. The majesty of their battle was like a natural disaster to those below. Civilians fled in terror.
"Run!"
"What is that?!"
"Mom! MOM! Where are you?"
"Forget our things! Just run!"
The panic of over a hundred thousand people caused severe stampedes.
The samurai leader, Mifune, stared blankly at the horrific battle in the heavens, his spirit wavering. "Who is fighting up there...? Is this the power of humans...?"
Then, the shock in his eyes turned to pure, unadulterated terror.
"Is that... the end of the world???"
A colossal, mountain-sized meteor broke through the atmosphere, tearing through the clouds. It descended with the high heat of friction, glowing like a second sun.
A furious roar echoed through the heavens:
"TENGAI SHINSEI (HEAVENLY OBSTACLE QUAKING STAR)!"
Thousands of miles away, in the Great Desert.
Black Iron Sand and golden Gold Dust collided in mid-air like two opposing floods.
Several puppets darted in and out, harrying the Third Kazekage within his iron sand. Poison needles and hidden weapons were constant. Occasionally, a massive Scorch Release fireball exploded, melting the iron sand into liquid iron that dripped into the dunes.
The three most talented ninja of the Suna's younger generation were currently wielding their blades against the man who had meticulously raised them.
Facing the interrogation of his village's youth, the Third Kazekage remained unmoved. His strikes were merciless.
A giant hand formed of iron sand surged from beneath the dunes, clamping around Sasori, who was focused on his puppets.
In an instant, Sasori's legs were crushed by the horrific force.
"AHH!"
The scream made Pakura's heart tighten. She roared, "I'll kill you!"
A massive fireball flew at the Kazekage, but a vast amount of iron sand transformed into a giant sword, detonating the fireball mid-air.
As the explosion rocked the area, Rasa hurriedly protected the three of them with a shield of gold dust.
When the gale cleared, the Third Kazekage still stood proudly atop his iron sand, while the three young ninja were battered and bloodied.
Sasori used his puppet threads to manipulate his broken legs, forcing his body to stand straight. Pakura's brow was covered in blood. Rasa's supply of gold dust was nearly exhausted.
Pakura cried out in grief and rage, "WHY! Why have you become like this?!"
The Third Kazekage's eyes held zero emotion. He replied coldly, "Traitors of the village have no right to speak."
Onoki hovered within the clouds, using them as cover.
The battle between Madara Uchiha and Yotsuki Dana made him feel a chill that reached his soul—a coldness far deeper than the mist around him.
Having received personal instruction from the First and Second Tsuchikage since childhood, the arrogant Onoki had once seen his confidence trampled into dust by Madara Uchiha.
But as the legends faded, Onoki had become one of the top powerhouses in the ninja world. He had spent decades building his confidence back up through his own hard work and the development of Iwagakure.
But what he saw today plunged him back into a abyss of confusion.
Madara's resurrection, Yotsuki Dana's terrifying strength, the fact that his own mentor (Mū) was being controlled...
This was already a do-or-die war. Iwa's condition was no better than Suna's. Every Iwa ninja was gritting their teeth to maintain this war under Onoki's orders. But today, it all looked so laughable.
Where is the hope? Where is the way out? What is the meaning of all this?
Why, after decades of my diligent, hard work, is my beloved Iwa being discarded by the era instead...?
A boundless sense of desolation crushed Onoki. His already aged frame seemed to wither even further in an instant.
Suddenly, he saw the sky... No, he saw the horrific meteor falling from the high heavens!
That mountain-sized meteor spoke of the divine power of a god. Beneath it, Yotsuki Dana looked as tiny as an ant.
And below them was the capital of the Land of Iron. Over a hundred thousand civilians were wailing and fleeing...
"With Yotsuki Dana's character... he will definitely not dodge! He will certainly try to stop that meteor from hitting the city!"
Sure enough, Dana abandoned his assault on Madara. He didn't flee. Instead, he flew proactively beneath the meteor!
"If he... blocks the meteor... he won't be able to dodge. If a powerful enough attack hits him then... maybe..."
A look of absolute resolve appeared in Onoki's eyes. His hands clenched so tight they shook, his face twisting into a grimace!
The cries of the hundred thousand below were drowned out by the roar of the high-altitude winds.
"TENGAI SHINSEI!"
Madara manipulated his Susanoo to mirror his movements, both pairs of hands reaching high toward the sky.
A horrific shadow enveloped the entire earth.
Dana's face turned grim instantly!
He couldn't tell if Madara had been pushed to desperation or if he had specifically chosen to release this move over a city.
Even Dana was shocked by the sheer scale of the meteor.
"This must be several kilometers wide! A meteor of this magnitude...!"
He looked down. Below was the capital of the Land of Iron. The cries of the masses were deafening; even from the sky, Dana could hear them clearly.
"Papa! Where are you?"
"Don't block me! Get out of the way!"
"Let us through! There are women and children in this carriage!"
"Don't steal my things! This is all I have!"
Dana, in his Thunder God form, narrowed his eyes and sighed. Instead of retreating, he charged toward the falling rock.
BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!
Dana's speed increased, leaving a trail of sonic booms as he rocketed toward the heavens!
"Madara Uchiha! You've gone too far!"
Yotsuki Dana, leading his "Steel Torrent" behind him, slammed head-on into the meteor.
Countless pods burrowed into the rock. Dana controlled them to push upward with him.
The meteor's descent slowed slightly, but it continued to fall.
It's too heavy!
A meteor weighing millions, perhaps tens of millions of tons. It was easy to pull it from the weightless void of space, but against the gravity of the planet, trying to lift it was a hundred times harder.
Dana pressed his entire body against the base of the meteor. His surging chakra flames flared higher, yet he still couldn't stop the descent.
Madara stood within the Susanoo's forehead, looking down at Dana with cold indifference.
"Despair, brat!"
Dana's veins bulged.
"SEVENTH GATE: GATE OF WONDER, OPEN!"
Chakra flames erupted again, turning into a massive torch behind Dana.
Dana's face turned a violent, contorted red! He had never opened the Seventh Gate before; forcing it open just now had already caused him internal damage.
"GET... THE HELL... BACK!"
Finally, the horrific meteor began to be pushed back toward the sky.
Victory was in sight!
Madara laughed maniacally. "Not bad! Then how about this! TENGAI SHINSEI!"
A second meteor plummeted from the high heavens, directly on top of the first one.
Dana's face went pale. A wave of pure fury erupted from him.
"MADARA UCHIHA! You better hope I never catch you! I'm going to beat your face into pulp!"
Even if the Tengai Shinsei landed, it couldn't kill him with the Sage Lightning Armor protecting him. Madara knew this.
Yet he still released it over the city, showing total disregard for the lives of ordinary people.
Furious, Dana immediately ordered all the pods to detonate!
He couldn't hold the weight of two meteors. He had to destroy at least one. At this point, he couldn't even care about the secondary damage the falling debris would cause.
But before the plan could take effect, the second meteor slammed into the top of the first.
Already near his limit, the pressure skyrocketed!
Even with the Seventh Gate open, even with all his strength, Dana was being crushed downward by the combined weight of the two meteors.
The city below drew closer. Dana could even see the individual faces of the terrified people.
"Let me through! I'm a noble!"
"Forget me! Just run!"
"Get away! I don't want to die!"
The impact was now inevitable. But he hadn't given up yet.
"At least... I must slow it down!"
Dana braced himself, squeezing out every last drop of his chakra.
"AHHHH!"
Suddenly, the near-limit Dana sensed a figure approaching at high speed.
He looked over. It was Onoki!
Dana's heart skipped a beat. Why is he here? Why now?!
Dana was currently at full exertion, unable to dodge. If Onoki seized the chance to ambush him with Particle Style... the consequences would be catastrophic!
I'm doing everything to save a hundred thousand people, and these guys still want to cause trouble!
"One after another! All of you! It's because of people like you that the ninja world is a war-torn mess!"
But Onoki didn't attack.
Ignoring Dana's wariness, the small figure slammed his hands against the bottom of the meteor beside Dana.
"SUPER! LIGHT-WEIGHT ROCK TECHNIQUE! RISE!!!"
Onoki's roar echoed through the sky.
"Don't underestimate this old man! I AM... THE TSUCHIKAGE!"