The moment Akira's voice appeared on the battlefield, the world itself seemed to hesitate.
Akira vanished—along with his complete Susanoo—and reappeared nearly two kilometer away from Madara in a single, soundless transition. There was no flash, no distortion of light. One instant he was there; the next, he simply wasn't.
And then—
Everything stopped.
The space surrounding Madara and the true Ten-Thousand-Handed Buddha froze solid, as if reality itself had been locked inside invisible ice. Air, chakra, light—nothing moved. Even the colossal Buddha, divine and furious, was suspended mid-motion.
Yet despite the frozen space, the ground below continued to betray Madara.
From the depths, countless dark hands surged upward, wrapping around the Buddha's massive form, dragging it downward inch by inch—slow, relentless, merciless—like the pull of hell claiming what dared to stand above it.
Seconds passed.
Madara's eyes narrowed.
With a violent surge of Six Paths chakra, he shattered the frozen space, cracks spreading through the air itself as motion returned in a thunderous release. The pressure exploded outward, tearing apart the immobilized void.
But before Madara could fully stabilize—
A shadow swallowed the battlefield.
Madara looked up.
Above him hung a sun.
Not an illusion.
Not fire.
Not light.
A true condensed star, hundreds of meters in diameter, blazing with overwhelming authority, its surface boiling with divine wrath.
And it was falling.
There was no time to evade. No space to escape.
The sun descended—
BOOM.
The impact shook the world.
Light drowned the horizon. The earth screamed. Mountains miles away cracked under the pressure wave, and the sky itself seemed to tear as divine heat and force collided with Six Paths power.
For an instant, there was only white.
---
Minutes passed in complete silence.
Slowly, the overwhelming brightness faded away.
Everyone—those trapped inside the battlefield and those watching helplessly from beyond the barrier—turned their eyes toward the point where Akira's attack had landed.
What they saw made their breaths stop.
The land was no longer land.
The ground had turned crimson, molten and alive. Rivers of lava flowed endlessly, merging into a vast, churning lake of magma. The heat distorted the air, and waves of scorching energy radiated outward without mercy.
A lava lake nearly one kilometer in radius had formed.
There was no trace of the Ten-Thousand-Handed Buddha.
No trace of Madara.
No trace of Akira's earlier Six Paths technique—Ten Thousand Despair Hell.
It was as if everything that had existed there had been completely erased…
evaporated by that single attack.
Even Akira stared at the scene in confusion.
For the first time, uncertainty crossed his mind.
He didn't know whether Madara had survived.
If this were the Madara from the Naruto anime, Akira would have been certain of his survival. Back then, Madara possessed not only Senjutsu and Six Paths regeneration, but also the overwhelming healing power of the Ten-Tails.
But now—
Madara had only Senjutsu healing and Six Paths–level regeneration.
And there was an enormous difference between having a tailed beast…
and standing alone.
A few more seconds passed.
Then—
The magma lake began to boil violently.
Bubbles the size of houses burst apart, and the lava surged upward as if something beneath it was awakening.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted from the center of the lake.
A figure shot into the sky.
Madara.
But his condition was completely different.
Burn marks covered his entire body. His upper torso looked as if the flesh itself had been scorched, skin charred and cracked. Smoke rose continuously from him, his chakra flickering unevenly.
One of his arms was completely gone, burned away to nothing.
And it wasn't regenerating.
Yet—
There was no pain on his face.
No despair.
No fear.
Instead…
Madara laughed.
"Hahahahahha
YAHAHAHAHAHA…"
He looked at Akira, eyes burning brighter than ever.
"AKIRA UCHIHA," Madara said, his voice filled with exhilaration rather than anger.
"OF ALL WHO HAVE FOUGHT ME, NONE SURPASS YOU IN ANYTHING!!!!
I, MADARA, DECLARE YOU THE STRONGEST!"
---
The battlefield, still burning and molten, fell into an unnatural silence.
Akira looked at Madara steadily.
His voice was calm.
Decided.
"Madara."
Madara lifted his gaze.
"Even in this state," Akira continued, "I know you still wish to fight."
The air around Akira grew heavy.
"So I've made my decision."
Akira raised his hand slightly.
"Take this final attack from me."
Madara's eyes sharpened.
"If you survive it—" Akira said, his voice unwavering,
"if you win—"
A faint smile touched Akira's lips.
"Then the Ten Tails… will be yours."
For a moment, Madara said nothing.
Then—
He raised his remaining hand.
All remaining Truth-Seeking Orbs responded.
They gathered ahead of him, compressing, twisting, merging—until they formed a single flawless spear. Black, absolute, humming with annihilation itself.
Madara didn't hesitate.
On the other side—
Akira summoned a Truth-Seeking Orb as well.
But unlike Madara—
He did not shape it into a weapon.
Akira raised both hands toward the orb.
And spoke.
"Six Paths—
Forbidden Technique."
The air trembled.
"First Heaven Beast : Heavenly Titan Ant "
The orb began to expand.
Slowly at first.
Then faster.
It swelled, growing larger and larger, devouring space around it—until it became colossal.
A massive, living construct of Yin-Yang chakra.
A Heavenly Titan Ant.
Its body alone was the size of a mountain, towering like a living god, radiating pressure so intense that the molten ground below began to crack and collapse further.
Madara stared.
His excitement surged—but so did confusion.
"…This presence," Madara muttered.
"It feels… similar to the Ten-Tails."
He looked at Akira.
"Akira," Madara said calmly, "you called this the First Heaven."
His eyes gleamed.
"That means there are stronger ones."
Akira smiled.
But this time—
There was exhaustion behind it.
"This," Akira said honestly, "is the only Heaven Beast I can form alone—with all of my remaining chakra."
Madara listened intently.
"If I want to use the Second Heaven and beyond," Akira continued,
"I must invoke my Mangekyō technique… and summon my future self."
Madara fell silent.
Then he asked, quietly—
"What is the highest Heaven?"
Akira's smile widened faintly.
"After the First Heaven," he said,
"every Heaven follows the Cube Law."
Madara's brow furrowed.
"A cube… requires cube numbers."
Akira raised a finger.
"The Second Heaven requires eight of myself."
Another finger.
"The Third Heaven—twenty-seven."
"The Fourth—sixty-four."
His voice remained steady.
"…The Ninth Heaven requires seven hundred twenty-nine."
Madara's breath slowed.
"And the Tenth Heaven?" he asked.
Akira met his gaze.
"One thousand."
Silence.
"You could say," Akira continued softly,
"the Tenth Heaven is my current absolute strongest attack."
He paused.
"But you could also say… I can only use it once."
Akira exhaled.
Madara smiled.
"…Like the Eight Gates."
Akira nodded.
"But the power it grants," he said quietly,
"is beyond reach."
Madara's excitement burned brighter.
"And your safe limit?" he asked.
Akira answered without hesitation.
"My body can endure up to the Fourth Heaven."
His smile faded slightly.
"Beyond that… even if my body survives—
time, backlash, and energy collapse will slowly destroy this body."
Madara nodded slowly.
Understanding.
Acceptance.
Then—
Madara raised his spear.
A grin spread across his face.
"Then…"
He straightened fully, smoke still rising from his burned body.
"Akira Uchiha."
The battlefield trembled as both forces responded.
"Let's end it."
His eyes burned with joy.
"Right here."
---