The Ten-Tails, having broken free of its seal, stood proudly upon the earth. Its new form had shed the gaunt, grotesque appearance it once possessed.
Its ten tails, which churned the wind and waves, visibly swelled several times over. Its hands, now stripped of claws and no different from those of an ordinary person, slowly came together in a seal. Its once-muscular body bulged anew, covered in sharply defined slabs of flesh.
Power.
Power that made heaven and earth lose their color.
Madara, controlling the Ten-Tails, sensed the new abilities brought by its further evolution. Beneath the mad gleam in his eyes lay a trace of calmness.
The mastermind who had altered the Uchiha Stone Tablet was, as expected, secretly watching him from somewhere on this battlefield.
Yet from atop the Ten-Tails, he could already overlook more than half the Land of Fire.
Neither the Rinnegan nor the Eternal Mangekyo, nor even Hashirama's perception in Sage Mode, could detect his presence.
It was truly terrifying.
Madara struggled to maintain his outward arrogance, but cold sweat continued to drip down his back.
Hashirama's hesitation atop the Great Buddha gave him precious time to think.
One thing was certain.
The mastermind was not particularly powerful. Realizing this, Madara could not help raising an arm to wipe his forehead.
It seemed taking the initiative would not work. Only by exposing a flaw and baiting him into action could he catch that man.
"Gulp!"
The three wooden tubes connected behind his head swelled with flowing chakra. The murmuring sound of water rushing toward his brain brought Madara back to his senses. The Ten-Tails in this state had developed a vague consciousness.
It was yearning.
Following the direction the Ten-Tails had locked onto, he saw the nine pet-like Tailed Beasts by the Great Buddha's feet.