Chapter 378: Drawing to a Close
One punch! Two punches! Countless punches!
Sage Chakra and lightning energy filled the air as Dana pounded the Madara Uchiha beneath him into a pile of dirt and debris that struggled to reform.
Filthy Edo Tensei dust.
Dana didn't use sealing techniques; he wasn't proficient in them. This was pure venting.
Infinite chakra? Infinite regeneration? That just makes you an infinite sandbag!
"Come on! Where's that 'Prime' you kept talking about?! Why are you nothing but trash now?"
A few minutes ago, it was a ten-meter-tall Thunder God fighting a hundred-meter-tall Susanoo. Now, it was a ten-meter-tall Thunder God hammer-fisting a five-foot-tall pile of reanimated dirt.
After pounding him for nearly five minutes, Dana finally let up. The backfire of the Seventh Gate was kicking in; his entire body felt like it was being stung by a thousand hornets.
The pain was agonizing—the kind of pain where even the wind brushing against his skin felt like a blade. He wasn't sure if this was normal or a result of him forcing the Seventh Gate open for the first time.
Dana reached back and unslung Black Zetsu, who was still trapped in his chakra cocoon. He deactivated the Thunder God form and slumped onto the ground.
Black Zetsu, bound tight by Sage Lightning, writhed like a pupa. Dana summoned his last reserves of energy to manifest five Takemikazuchi Drums, which hovered around the pile of Madara's debris, firing intermittent lasers to prevent the Uchiha from reforming.
Dana panted heavily. Even for a monster like him, this was exhausting.
The reserves in his Yin Seal were nearly dry. While the "Magnetic Star" was effective against giant constructs, its chakra consumption was astronomical. Add to that the strain of the Eight Inner Gates, and even Dana's sea-like chakra reserves had reached their limit.
There was no shame in it. Even the God of Shinobi had died of exhaustion in the past.
His shirt had long since been incinerated in the battle. His pants, protected by the "will of the universe," remained miraculously intact. His lean, powerful muscles were glowing a dull red from the heat, with wisps of white steam rising from his skin.
After this battle, the ninja world should be quiet for a few years. Judging by Onoki's earlier assistance, Iwagakure was likely open to negotiation. If that succeeded, dealing with a weakened Sunagakure would be easy.
Speaking of Onoki, the old man flew down from the sky but maintained a cautious distance, landing a few yards away.
He looked at the pile of debris being systematically blasted apart with a complicated expression. The "Asura of the Ninja World," his lifelong nightmare, had been reduced to this. It felt surreal.
Dana glanced at him and said, "We'll settle things with Iwa later. I'll send someone to talk..."
Onoki instinctively started to retort, "Don't think this old man helped you because—"
"Tsuchikage-dono," Dana interrupted. "There's no need for that. Really."
Onoki shut his mouth.
About ten minutes later, Yotsuki Arashi, Blue Bee, and the other powerhouses arrived at the crater.
Arashi glanced warily at Onoki in the sky, subtly stepping in front of his brother to shield him. He then quickly slapped several Healing Talismans onto Dana's body.
Dana nodded with a smile, feeling the cool energy of the talismans dull the ache. His own supply had been destroyed during the high-intensity combat.
The group formed a protective circle around Dana before turning their attention to the "Madara Pile" and the Black Zetsu cocoon.
Hashirama Senju walked up, looking at the bundle of reanimated dirt with a look of wonder. "That's just tragic... Honestly, he'd be better off just staying dead."
It was unknown if Madara could hear external sounds in that state. If he could, hearing his beloved Hashirama say those words must have been heartbreaking.
Dana looked at Kushina. "Kushina, use your Adamantine Sealing Chains. Bind Madara. My chakra is at rock bottom; I can't keep the drums going much longer."
As Kushina prepared to move, a voice erupted from her stomach. "Let me do it!"
Kurama excitedly seized control of Kushina's body. With somewhat clumsy movements, he manifested the golden chains and wrapped the pile of reanimated dust into a tight ball.
"The tables have turned! Don't you ever look down on a fox again!"
Affected by the sealing chains, the dust stopped trying to reform, becoming a constantly churning sphere of earth.
Everyone let out a collective sigh of relief.
Finally, it was over.
As long as this sphere was sealed, the legend of Madara Uchiha was finished. He was a dead man; once sealed, he would never have another chance to walk the living world.
Black Zetsu would share a similar fate, though Dana planned to have him researched first. As a special lifeform created by Kaguya Otsutsuki in a moment of desperation, he held many secrets.
Dana relaxed completely, lying back on the cracked earth with a smile.
Wiped them all out in one go. Every bit of hardship had been worth it.
"...Wait? Where are the Old Man and the others?"
Izuna Uchiha manipulated his Susanoo, fighting and fleeing simultaneously.
His massive size allowed him to cover vast distances with every stride.
originally, he had been moving toward Madara's battlefield. But when he saw his brother's Susanoo being hammered out of the sky, he sensed the inevitable and changed direction.
Minato Namikaze and the Third Raikage were in hot pursuit.
Although Izuna was no match for the two of them together and was being battered, he was an Edo Tensei with infinite chakra and regeneration. Relying on the Susanoo's high defense, he managed to lead them quite a distance away.
After a significant amount of time, he had left the Land of Iron and reached the coast. By now, Izuna could sense his brother's state through the connection of the reanimation.
Brother has lost.
And it was a crushing defeat.
Risking half of his body being split open by the Third Raikage's axe, Izuna dove headfirst into the ocean.
The Third Raikage and Minato naturally pursued him into the water.
Unfortunately, they were living men. In the deep sea, they were no match for an Edo Tensei who didn't need to breathe. After tracking him for nearly half an hour in the depths, they were forced to resurface for air.
Izuna, meanwhile, followed an ocean current into a deeper trench.
After driving away a massive, nameless deep-sea fish, Izuna crawled into its cave.
"Brother has been defeated... He will likely be sealed."
Although Edo Tensei didn't exist during his lifetime, Madara had explained the technique's traits and weaknesses to him.
"That Black Zetsu was caught too. I don't know the seals for the reanimation. Once Brother is sealed, he will never have the chance to return to the Pure Land..."
Eternal sealing. That would be his end.
As the only reanimation not controlled by Madara's Genjutsu, Izuna had actually wanted to return to the Pure Land from the start. But his brother needed him, so he stayed.
In truth, he had zero interest in his brother's "Eternal Peace" or the Infinite Tsukuyomi Dana had mentioned.
The peace of the ninja world was not his obsession...
Now that his brother had failed, Izuna decided to use his own Mangekyou ability.
The Sharingan is the eye that reflects the heart. Since awakening his Mangekyou, he had never used his unique ability because the opportunity had never arisen.
Madara had asked him what his eyes could do, but Izuna never told his beloved brother. Because this ability was destined to be a secret.
Both of his eyes held the same ability—two sides of the same coin—meaning the power would be exceptionally potent.
In the deep-sea cave, the Mangekyou Sharingan in Izuna's eyes began to rotate slowly.
Faster and faster, until they blurred into a single ring.
Although no blood or tears could flow, his reanimated eye sockets began to crack and crumble, looking horrific.
"Brother! I finally have the chance to use this ability for you."
"NAOBIKAMI!!"