Shiyan wasn't joking when he said that.
Back then, he had witnessed with his own eyes Arata's battle against the Eight-Tails. Compared to today's explosion, that fight could only be called small-scale.
Before leaving, Arata had already warned him that the enemy he would face this time would be anything but simple—possibly several levels stronger than the Eight-Tails. That was why Shiyan had been explicitly instructed to protect Shizune at all costs.
As for Kushina—since Arata himself had brought her along, she was naturally included under protection as well.
Even Shiyan hadn't expected that Arata's words—"several levels stronger than the Eight-Tails"—would turn out to mean this.
Even Konoha had been affected.
It was hard to imagine just how terrifying the power at the center of the explosion truly was.
Shiyan was only in his thirties. When the Battle of the Valley of the End took place, he had been too young to remember it clearly. He had never personally witnessed what a true Super-Kage–level clash looked like.
Kushina was only a genin at this point, and Shizune hadn't even reached genin rank yet. Neither of them could possibly understand what was really happening.
But they didn't question Shiyan's judgment.
They quickly followed him as he led them away from the Senju estate.
...
The scene shifted back to the center of the explosion.
The area had already been reduced to a massive crater.
The pit alone was nearly a kilometer in diameter, plunging hundreds of meters deep.
And this was only the opening exchange.
If the battle continued, it was impossible to imagine how much suffering the shinobi world would still have to endure.
Another Valley of the End might very well be born here.
Far from the crater's center, after the shockwaves finally dissipated, White Zetsu emerged from the ground, surveying the devastation with a sigh of admiration.
"Just as expected of Madara… A casual move, and the damage is already on this scale. This fight is going to be spectacular."
At the heart of the battlefield, Arata had fully entered Lightning Armor: Second Gear.
A body formed of lightning, towering over a hundred and twenty meters tall.
Samurai armor.
A tengu mask.
Crackling arcs of lightning.
Everything was intact—radiating overwhelming pressure.
The explosion earlier had been devastating, but Arata's ability had already awakened. In this second-gear Lightning Armor, blocking that attack hadn't been a problem at all.
Not a single crack marred his lightning armor—let alone his true body.
His gaze was fixed firmly ahead.
Not far from him, the Nine-Tails still stood tall—though now it had shifted into a bipedal stance.
And covering its body was a full suit of blue armor.
Wings spread across its back.
Three pairs of arms.
That familiar blue plating.
There was no mistake about it.
The moment Madara made his move, he had activated Perfect Susanoo Armament, enveloping the Nine-Tails entirely within it.
With Susanoo cloaking the Nine-Tails, its presence surged yet again—its height rivaling Arata's Lightning Armor form.
And with the Nine-Tails' virtually limitless chakra at his disposal, Madara hardly needed to expend his own energy. He could unleash Tailed Beast Bombs endlessly.
For someone as old as him, this was the most efficient approach.
Madara carefully examined Arata's Lightning Armor.
Even earlier, when Arata had fought the allied forces, Madara had nearly mistaken it for a form of Susanoo.
But the lightning dancing across its surface made it clear—this wasn't Yin Release chakra shaping.
It was pure lightning.
Only now did Madara truly acknowledge Arata's strength.
That immense chakra pool.
That level of lightning control—even beyond what Madara himself could easily achieve.
Arata was worthy of being treated as an equal.
Still, despite that recognition, Madara couldn't help sneering at the sight of Arata's form.
"Hmph. In the end, it's just an imitation. Compared to the real Susanoo, it's far inferior."
Arata naturally heard him.
He knew Madara was still looking down on his Lightning Armor.
But Arata didn't believe for a second that his form was inferior to Perfect Susanoo.
After all, his Lightning Armor body was made of true lightning—and in terms of raw offensive power, that surpassed Yin Release chakra by a clear margin.
Even defensively, with elemental transformation and Armament Haki reinforcing him, he wasn't losing out to Susanoo in the slightest.
With a calm expression, Arata replied:
"Who says the knockoff can't beat the original?"
As he spoke, the thunder dragon overhead finished reshaping the sky.
Within a radius of dozens of kilometers, storm clouds completely swallowed the heavens. Beneath the pitch-black clouds, blinding bolts of lightning flashed again and again.
The battlefield had fully shifted into terrain favorable to Arata.
Madara glanced at the sky, then scoffed.
"Parlor tricks. Do you really think this will help you defeat me?"
He stopped holding back.
This ignorant upstart needed a lesson.
The Nine-Tails began charging another Tailed Beast Bomb, while Susanoo drew its blade—and pressed it directly against the forming sphere.
Arata, having read the original history, immediately understood what was coming.
This was the fusion of Susanoo's slash and a Tailed Beast Bomb—an attack whose power and penetration were massively amplified.
Even Hashirama, without using True Thousand Hands, could only redirect it—not block it head-on.
But Arata didn't dodge.
He wanted to see it for himself.
Which was stronger—
The Lightning Armor's strike…
or the combined might of Susanoo and the Tailed Beast Bomb?
...
As the Nine-Tails gathered chakra, weapons appeared in both of Arata's hands.
A pair of uniquely shaped blades.
Thunder Blades: Kiba—the weapons he had taken from Yoshida Eiichi.
They exceeded all expectations.
To Arata's surprise, even in Lightning Armor, the blades expanded alongside him.
Holding them felt as natural as gripping lightning itself, as though they had been crafted specifically for him.
The blades' affinity for lightning further amplified his control over thunder.
With a thought, their shape shifted—transforming into the short-blade form Arata preferred.
Just as he had expected.
These blades were manifestations of lightning itself, fully responsive to his control.
After reshaping them, Arata resheathed both blades.
Crossing his arms, he gripped one blade in each hand, his presence sharply condensing.
"Iaido: Thunder Burial!"
With a thunderous shout, both blades were drawn simultaneously.
Two colossal blue slashes erupted into the sky, crossing into a massive X-shaped arc as they tore toward Madara.
Infused with sword intent and amplified by lightning, the attack was unstoppable—leaving devastation in its wake.
Madara narrowed his eyes.
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