A sound suddenly arose from the Heavenly Screen...
"You're already dead, so—stop spreading hatred!"
With a furious roar, Tsunade's fist slammed into Edo Madara's chest, the terrifying Monstrous Strength instantly blasting half of his body into pieces! Edo Madara's body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, the Impure World Reincarnation fragments of his Edo Tensei scattering in the air.
Raikage A saw an opportunity. "Kazekage! Seize the moment!"
"Understood!" Gaara's eyes sharpened, and the sand surged like waves.
Gaara waved his hands, and yellow sand coiled upwards like a giant python, enveloping the blasted Edo Madara layer by layer. The sand grains rapidly compressed, forming an airtight cage.
Desert Layered Imperial Funeral!
Boom--!
A sandstorm surged into the sky, and a colossal sand pyramid rose from the ground, completely suppressing the Edo Madara within!
"It's sealed!" Gaara said in a deep voice.
"Alright!" Tsunade curled into a smile, her fists still clenched.
However--
"Pfft!"
A piercing tearing sound suddenly rang out!
The pupils of all four figures contracted simultaneously.
A massive, deep blue Chakra sword suddenly shot out from the ground, piercing straight through Tsunade's abdomen!
Blood splattered as Tsunade's body was lifted high into the air by the Chakra sword, suspended there!
"What...?!" Raikage and the others stared at the scene before them, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Rustle--
The giant tree not far away slowly twisted, and the figure of Edo Madara emerged from it, his Rinnegan filled with cold mockery.
"What you've imprisoned is merely a Wood Release Clone that Hashirama once used," he said calmly. "That thing was indeed incredibly realistic."
The four figures gritted their teeth, staring intently at him.
Edo Madara continued, "Only I, as an enemy, saw through it—with my eye power alone."
He slowly raised his hand, and the light from the Chakra sword became even more dazzling.
"Alright, now the other shadows are doomed."
However--
"Drink up!"
A furious shout suddenly rang out!
Chakra sword, suddenly looked up and slashed down with Tsunade left hand like a knife!
"Snap!"
The Chakra sword shattered instantly!
Immediately afterwards, she grabbed the sword blade in her abdomen with her right hand and forcefully pushed it out of her body, while her left hand grabbed the broken blade. Blood dripped from between her fingers, but her eyes were sharper than ever!
"What?!" Edo Madara's Rinnegan widened slightly, clearly not expecting her to be able to counterattack even when she was severely injured.
The four Kage were equally shocked, Mei Terumi even subconsciously took a step forward.
But the next second--
"Whoosh!"
Several Chakra Tomoe shot out from Edo Madara's hand, striking Tsunade's body hard!
"Bang!"
The immense impact sent her flying, crashing heavily into the distant rock wall, raising clouds of dust!
Edo Madara coldly observed all of this.
Boom!
Amidst the smoke and dust of the rock face, a figure pushed aside a boulder and slowly stood up.
Blood trickled from Tsunade's mouth, but the patterns on her Strength of a Hundred Technique were brighter than before, and the wound was healing at a visible speed.
Edo Madara stared at Tsunade as her wounds healed rapidly, a hint of surprise flashing in his Rinnegan.
"Why can you still move?"
Tsunade, blood dripping from her chin, only to be evaporated in mid-air by the Chakra of the Strength of a Hundred Technique. Her eyes were sharp as knives, her voice low and firm:
"I told you—you're wrong."
Ban's gaze fell on her gradually healing abdomen, his pupils contracting slightly.
"A regenerated being that doesn't use the seal... I understand." His voice held a hint of realization. "This is what the fourth rule refers to... your ability?"
"The same as Hashirama's ability."
Tsunade sneered, her fists clenching so tightly they cracked. "I thought I could create an opening with this move..."
A mocking smile curved Madara's lips, "Trying to kill me with my magic?"
However, just as he finished speaking—
"I can do it with my technique!"
Ōnoki's fierce shout suddenly rang out from behind Madara!
"Dust Release Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique!"
A blinding white light erupted from the Tsuchikage's palm, and the cube-shaped beam of light instantly enveloped the Edo Madara!
"Excellent!" Raikage A's eyes flashed with wild joy, his fists clenched tightly.
A rare look of triumph appeared on Ōnoki's aged face, as if the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of Madara decades ago had finally been washed away.
But the next second, his smile froze.
"Is he getting senile, Ōnoki?"
Within the pillar of light, Edo Madara's figure remained unharmed, the ripples of his Rinnegan slowly rotating, and the Chakra of Dust Release flowing into his body like water.
"The Rinnegan can absorb all Ninjutsu." His voice was cold and mocking. "Such techniques are ineffective against me."
"You should know that the only way to defeat me is to knock me down and seal me away, right?"
Cold sweat beaded on Ōnoki's forehead as he gritted his teeth and said, "My Dust Release grazed your chest earlier... the Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique can't have failed!"
Ban chuckled lightly, his tone as casual as if discussing the weather. "That... well..."
"That's because I wanted you to see Hashirama's face."
He raised his hand and pressed it against his chest, where the Dust Release had pierced through, exposing the cells of Hashirama Senju.
"I thought I could dampen your morale..." His gaze swept over the crowd, "But unexpectedly, it inspired you instead."
Tsunade stepped forward, her bloodstained fist clenching again. "I have a question for you."
"You used Wood Release Clone to evade our combined attack, that's a fact."
"But from another perspective—her gaze was sharp as a knife; you could say it was because you were forced into a corner, and had no choice but to create a clone to deal with the situation."
"Am I right?"
Edo Madara was silent for a moment.
He didn't answer, but slowly looked around.
The Five Kage each occupied a corner, surrounding him in the middle.
The real Shinobi World...
Above the Heavenly Screen, the battle between the Five Kage and Edo Madara was constantly changing, and people all over the Shinobi World looked up to watch, their expressions varied.
Sunagakure
"As expected of the Five Kage..." a Sunagakure murmured, his eyes flashing with awe. "But that legendary Madara is too strong. Even the five strongest Shinobi World combined could only barely contend with that monster."
"That Madara... he's terrifyingly strong." His companion's voice trembled. "The battle between him and the First Hokage that was shown on the Heavenly Screen a while ago was practically a fight between gods!"
Iwagakure
"You guys say..." an Iwagakure Ninja whispered to the person next to him, "Is the Edo Madara playing on the Heavenly Screen not fully recovered yet? After all, he can still control the Nine-Tails!"
"Nine-Tails?" Another person gasped. "Right, the battle between the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and Akatsuki Nagato was also shown on the Heavenly Screen before... That scene was absolutely earth-shattering!"
"Konoha was beaten so badly..." someone added in a low voice, their tone complicated.
In the small towns and countries without the protection of powerful ninjas, the common people gathered in the square, their faces pale as they looked up at the earth-shattering battle in the Heavenly Screen.
"These ninjas... they're terrifying..." a middle-aged man dressed as a merchant said, trembling. "A single Ninjutsu from them could destroy our entire town."
"The Third Shinobi World Wars..." An old man sighed, pain welling in his cloudy eyes. "In every war, our small countries are always the first to suffer."
"If..." a young man suddenly spoke, his voice filled with suppressed anger, "If all these ninjas were dead, wouldn't the Shinobi World be more peaceful?"
The surroundings fell silent instantly.
Some looked thoughtful, some had agreement in their eyes, but others shook their heads in horror. "Don't talk nonsense! Without ninjas, we can't even handle bandits!"
Konoha
On the streets of Konoha, the ninjas silently gazed at the Heavenly Screen.
"Are we... really protecting them?" a young genin asked in Genin voice, his gaze sweeping over the fearful eyes of the civilians in the distance.
"Power itself is not wrong," Kakashi appeared behind him unnoticed, his one eye fixed on the Heavenly Screen. "What's wrong is the way power is used."
He looked up at the sky, where footage of Tsunade fighting a bloody battle was playing.
"It is because of ninjas like them standing at the forefront that the Shinobi World enjoys the peace it has today."