Just how strong was Eyeless Madara?
The anime had shown it. When Madara was first revived during the Fourth Ninja World War, he had yet to receive his Rinnegan.
Even Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke and Sage Naruto together could do nothing to him.
The Nine Great Tailed Beasts combined could not suppress him either.
Back then, Madara had one crucial advantage: he had absorbed Hashirama's Senjutsu Chakra, giving him a boost from Senjutsu.
But even without Senjutsu Chakra, Madara's advantages were overwhelming.
Chakra beyond a Tailed Beast's, Hashirama Cell and Wood Style, Fire Release Ninjutsu, and Yin Yang Release.
Any one of those could give an ordinary ninja Kage-level strength.
Take Fire Style, the least impressive of them. In the Ninja World, there were two kinds of Fire Style: Madara's and everyone else's.
In Madara's hands, a B-rank Fire Style technique could wield the power of a Forbidden Technique.
The Madara before them was not as strong as the eyeless Madara revived during the Fourth War with a Senjutsu boost, but the Sannin at this early stage still could not match him.
Tsunade had only just mastered Hundred Healings, Orochimaru had only just learned Impure World Reincarnation, and Jiraiya's Sage Mode was incomplete.
His face looked like a toad's, covered in toad bumps.
None of the Sannin was at full strength. They had all been thrown into the fight before they were ready.
Jiraiya and Tsunade stood atop their respective Summoning Beasts. Orochimaru had summoned a snake from Ryūchi Cave. It was no Orochi, but it would have to do.
Orochi and Orochimaru had effectively parted ways.
Madara stood before the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Though he was only a small red figure, the Sannin felt as if he were looking down on them.
Tsunade shouted, "Madara Uchiha! I never thought you'd survive that fight to the death with my grandfather. The good die young, while pests live forever."
Madara sneered. "You call me a scourge? Hah. I've lived since the Warring States Period, and I never saw Ninja World Wars like yours back then."
"More people die in one Ninja World War than died across decades of the Warring States Period."
The Warring States Period had been chaotic, but wars then arose from ninja clans fighting over missions, like two families in one village brawling over fields and water.
By the Ninja Village Era, the intensity of war had soared as nations brought their power to bear.
It was no longer villagers trading blows, but entire villages fighting with weapons.
Things were less chaotic than before, but when fighting broke out, no one held back. They fought to kill.
The Second Ninja World War had left the Land of Rain in ruins, full of children who might have grown up in peace.
"..."
The Sannin fell silent. Peace in the Ninja World had always been a distant illusion.
Jiraiya cared most deeply about peace in the Ninja World, because the Great Toad Sage had once told him that one of his disciples would bring change to it.
He looked at Madara. "I'm sorry we couldn't let a senior like you see peace in the Ninja World. But peace will come. I firmly believe someone will bring it a stability it has never known."
Madara sneered. "Ignorant child. Wherever people exist, there will be conflict. Peace will never come unless... everyone lives in a dream!"
"Old man, why are you wasting words on them? Kick them to death! Hurry up and kick them to death!"
Watching from atop the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Liao Wu was getting worked up. He had been looking forward to Madara showing his power and giving his three old classmates a thorough beating.
Instead, they had started chatting.
That old geezer had no sense. Was this the time to talk?
(╬｀д´).
Madara and the Sannin all turned toward Liao Wu, their gazes terrifying.
If Liao Wu interrupted again, those looks said Madara might join forces with the Sannin and kick him to death first.
Terrified, Liao Wu slipped straight into a crack in the ground.
After Liao Wu's interruption, Madara lost all interest in talking to the Sannin.
He had not fought in almost fifty years. He could barely remember how to perform Ninjutsu.
Tsunade shouted, "Madara, what exactly are you trying to do now that you've been revived? This isn't the Warring States Period anymore. Does a senior like you still want to stir up trouble?"
Madara had already told them his goal: to let everyone live in a peaceful dream.
If they could not understand him, that was their problem.
Madara Uchiha never repeated himself.
Madara sneered. "What am I trying to do? I'll bring every ninja in the world to heel. First, I'll destroy the Leaf Village, then the other Four Great Shinobi Villages. I'll end the fate of ninja once and for all."
"Arrogant fool!"
Jiraiya and Tsunade were furious. What difference was there between destroying the Five Great Shinobi Villages and wiping out the Five Great Shinobi Nations?
Madara snorted. "I'll prove that the world Hashirama built was a mistake."
At a thought, Madara became a red blur and charged the Sannin.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A scorching wave blasted loose stones from the ground. Crimson flames erupted from Madara's throat and surged forward like a sea of fire blotting out the sky.
The Toad Three Brothers, each over ten meters tall, looked insignificant before the rolling blaze.
A flicker of fear crossed Orochimaru's eyes. "Is that still Fire Style?"
Even Sage Fukasaku could not stay calm. "Madara's Fire Style has gone beyond ordinary Ninjutsu. It rivals Little Jiraiya's Gama-Gama."
Jiraiya's Sage Art: Gama-Gama could hardly be called Fire Style. It was a Combination Ninjutsu that brought wind, fire, and oil together.
It could even pass for a Kekkei Tōta.
"Don't just stand there, Little Jiraiya, Little Orochimaru! Use Water Style together!"
"Right!"
"Water Release: Iron Cannonball!"
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"
"Sage Art: Water Style: Iron Cannonball!"
All three Sannin could use Water Style. Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade each had water-nature Chakra; they simply rarely used it.
They had better Ninjutsu at their disposal.
The Sannin were not alone. The Toad Three Brothers from Mount Myōboku also used Water Style against Madara's Great Fire Annihilation.
Tsunade's Slug split into smaller bodies and clung to Jiraiya and Orochimaru, replenishing their Chakra.
Water met fire, sending steam billowing upward until mist shrouded the battlefield.
With the mist obscuring the fight, Liao Wu activated his Sharingan.
The Sharingan could perceive, copy, and hypnotize.
Its perception did not offer the Byakugan's extraordinary ability to see through things. It let him read the details of an opponent's movements and the flow of Chakra.
But the clash between Madara's Fire Style and the Sannin's Water Style produced so much mist that even the Three Tomoe Sharingan could not make out the Chakra flowing within it.
Liao Wu used the Mayfly Technique to merge with the earth, sensing through underground roots, waterways, and the Organic Network beneath the ground.
Madara's figure became even harder to track amid the swirling mist.
Sage Fukasaku and Sage Shima took on the role of sensors. Their Senjutsu perception located Madara.
"Little Tsunade, Madara Uchiha is behind you!"
Tsunade heard a sharp rush of air. She channeled her Monstrous Strength into her hand and whipped around with a punch.
Her fist struck something solid, but it did not feel like flesh. It felt more like a defense made of Chakra.
Orochimaru used Wind Style: Great Breakthrough to blow away the surrounding mist. At once, everyone could see what was protecting Madara.
It was a dark-blue Chakra Giant, more than ten meters tall, with four arms. Two of those arms held weapons formed from Chakra.
The Chakra Giant had caught and turned aside Tsunade's punch.
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