Ascend to Immortality!
The Land of Rice Border - Battlefield
The crimson light slowly dissipated, and the dust that had been thrown into the sky by the explosion was slowly settling back down, like a snowfall.
Everything on the ground was redrawn; the cratered basins were even deeper than before, and the epicenter of the explosion even revealed fractures in the underlying rock layers.
Kou stood in front of the Hashirama, one hand in front of him, the hem of his robe fluttering gently in the aftershocks of the explosion, without even a tear.
Kou's face was very calm, his Six-Tomoe Rinnegan staring at Ban in front of him, deep and reserved, as if containing a galaxy.
"Uchiha... knock."
Madara looked at the young man who had suddenly appeared in front of him and solemnly called out Kou's name.
So, this kid has finally shown up.
No, that's not the problem. The important thing is --
Why was he able to withstand that move so easily?
Ban's brows furrowed tightly, and a sense of doubt arose in his heart.
Even in his temporary state of possessing the Six Paths Power last time, he shouldn't have been able to withstand that attack so easily.
Has he... gotten stronger again?
Madara's heart sank, and he murmured softly:
"Kou, what exactly happened to you?"
At the same time, Kou didn't pay attention to Ban's wary look.
No, to be precise, it's just that there's no way to care about it for the time being.
"Ouch, that really hurts..."
He felt the numbness in his arm and inwardly groaned.
"That old bastard Ban, he really went all out."
He mentally reviewed that moment and couldn't help but feel a little regretful.
"Sigh, if I'd known, I wouldn't have bothered showing off. Wouldn't it have been better to just use the Flying Thunder God to take the big pillar away directly?"
This is a disaster...
He sighed deeply in his heart, trying his best to maintain a calm demeanor.
Now that things have come to this, I guess I'll just have to keep pretending.
We can't lose face!
"Knock!!"
Just as he was lost in thought while knocking, a joyful shout suddenly came from behind him.
He turned his head and gave a relaxed smile to the Hashirama behind him:
"Thank you for your hard work, Lord First. Are you alright?"
"Thank goodness!"
Hashirama shook his head repeatedly, then eagerly took a step closer to Koko and asked impatiently:
"Compared to this, you now—"
"Ah, it's done."
He looked intently at the Hashirama and said earnestly:
"Thanks to you for buying us time, the plan was able to be completed smoothly."
"I now possess the power to defeat that old bastard, Madara!"
As he spoke, Kou looked at Ban again, the smile on his lips quickly vanishing, and his voice turning cold:
"Lord First, you should go and support Naruto and Sasuke first."
"You can leave that old bastard Ban to me without worry."
Hashirama Koto's confident words, Hashirama breathed a sigh of relief and nodded earnestly to Koto.
"I understand. I'll leave this place to you, Madara!"
"Ah."
After receiving a response to the knock, Hashirama subconsciously prepared to leave.
He paused slightly, taking one last look at Ban before turning around.
Hashirama looked at the burning fighting spirit and determination in Madara's eyes, sighed sadly, and then vanished from the battlefield in an instant...
Knock sensed Hashirama heading towards the battlefield where Naruto and Sasuke were, stretched his neck, and said coldly to Madara:
"Now, we can finally begin."
"Our final battle!!"
Hearing Kou's words, Madara turned his gaze away from the direction Hashirama had left, and frowned unhappily:
"You actually managed to get rid of Hashirama and think you could face me alone? You've really underestimated me."
"Hmph, what an arrogant brat."
Madara's gaze slowly moved over Kokoro, trying to find the reason why he dared to be so arrogant:
"Although I don't know exactly what happened to make you so confident."
But I, Uchiha Madara... am not as easy to deal with as you think!
The moment he finished speaking, even more intense crimson steam erupted from Madara's body!
The ground cracked, and the cracks spread in all directions, distorting the surrounding space and causing the light to refract into eerie colors.
Although Kou's face remained calm, his eyes couldn't help but become a little serious.
He could feel the weight and ferocity of that power, a power that surpassed the ordinary Six Paths, obtained by burning life force to its limit!
Even now, he has to admit that Madara does indeed have the right to be arrogant.
"You'd better come up with some methods that will satisfy me."
Ban looked down at Kou, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes:
"Those tactics you used before won't work a second time!"
"... Don't worry, I won't let you down."
He paused, then slowly lowered his head, a cold killing intent flashing in his eyes:
"After all, I've been looking forward to this for a long time."
"This grand funeral prepared for you!!"
As Kou finished speaking, an immense aura suddenly erupted from his body!
That aura was completely different from Ban's extremely aggressive pressure; it was vast and profound, like a bottomless ocean.
Although that aura did not appear sharp, the power it contained was in no way inferior to Madara's, and in some ways, it was even more imposing than Madara's aura.
Ban felt a chill run down his spine as he sensed the oppressive aura emanating from Kou.
During the previous war in the Land of Whirlpools, he had sensed a similar aura from Kō.
Compared to before, this power, though not as pure, seemed more stable, and also more unsettling.
This is not borrowed Six Paths Power.
"This is unique to Kou... the Six Paths Power?!"
Ban seemed to have thought of something, and his pupils suddenly contracted as he looked at Kou in front of him.
"This kid, could it be—!!"
Under Madara's astonished gaze, Koko's body began to change.
Two horns sprouted from his forehead, gleaming with a soft, moonlit glow. His skin began to turn pale, and a white robe with flowing down trim appeared out of thin air, covering his entire body.
The robe was made of a material between silk and sheen, fluttering gently in the wind. The back of the robe was embroidered with Tomo patterns symbolizing the Six Paths Power.
Eight Truth-Seeking Orb slowly rotated behind him. Each Truth-Seeking Orb was a fist-sized black sphere, exuding an aura of destruction and reconstruction of All-Encompassing Phenomena.
He slowly opened his eyes, holding the unique scepter transformed from the Truth-Seeking Orb in his hand.
The moment it opened, a dazzling purple light flashed across its Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, before quickly returning to calm.
He gazed at the spotted figure ahead, a slight smile playing at the corners of his lips.
"Ready for the funeral, old man?"
Ban stared intently at Kou's current state, suppressing the shock in his heart, and shouted in a deep voice:
"The Ten-Tails '... Jinchuriki!!"
This is a supplement to yesterday's chapter; there was another chapter yesterday, which I will add today.
I originally intended to post this last night, but I couldn't stay awake and fell asleep.
Sigh, I feel old...