Susanoo within, Makora Kuro!

As the white light faded, the cratered earth was now shrouded in scorching heat.

A dark red light emanated from the cracks in the ground, and the pebbles were baked white, crumbling into dust with the slightest breeze.

With his long Long Halberd supporting him, he stood amidst the scorched earth.

His body was still emitting crimson steam, constantly collapsing under the dual backlash of the "Magatsuhi God's" Space Collapse and the power of the Eight Gates.

Dark red blood seeped from the crimson cracks, but the cracks were quickly repaired by the Hashirama Cells and Zero-Tails.

This process should have been extremely painful, but Ban's face did not change at all. His bloodshot heterochromatic eyes stared straight ahead at the dark sphere suspended in mid-air.

Under Ban's solemn gaze, the sphere formed by the ball path jade rapidly changed, transforming back into eight independent spheres that surrounded Kou's back.

"Tsk, he's still alive? That old geezer's really resilient..."

He tapped and looked at the spots, speaking with obvious displeasure, but his eyes showed no surprise, as if he had expected this outcome.

After all, although he had already transformed into the Six Paths, in terms of numerical strength, he was still no match for Prisoner Madara, who had opened all Eight Gates.

If he were to get close, even in my current state, I'd probably be beaten to death by his wild punches...

Looking at the Long Halberd in Ban's hand, he frowned, feeling a sense of trouble.

That Long Halberd was forged by Black Zetsu, who incorporated the Yin -Yin–Yang Release power of Otsutsuki Kaguya; it was a "divine weapon" capable of contending with Truth-Seeking Orb Balls.

If it weren't for that Long Halberd, he could have used the Truth-Seeking Ball to Prisoner Madara the Truth-Seeking Orb.

Even though he had opened the Eight Gates, he was still just a "mortal body" and could not withstand the terrifying destructive power of the Truth-Seeking Orb.

However, given the current situation, the Truth-Seeking Orb is clearly not going to be of much use.

"... Are we going to have to fight a protracted war?"

Kou murmured softly, observing the increasingly prominent cracks on Ban's body, his eyes narrowing slightly.

The red cracks were widening, and the flesh at the edges of the cracks was no longer healing as quickly as before.

The side effects of using all Eight Gates ' power have already manifested in Madara.

If the fighting continues, even with Zero-Tails's repairs, this old thing won't last much longer.

As long as we can stall until he can't hold on any longer, then final victory... is only a matter of time.

"Looks like we'll have to resort to that tactic."

With a firm resolve, he clasped his hands together, a slight smile playing on his lips, and fully mobilized the power of his Six-Tomoe Rinnegan.

Although this move was only a previous idea and had not been put into practice.

But now I am fully confident that I can apply it in actual combat!

"Even though it'll probably hurt a lot, it'll be worth it."

"Enjoy it properly, old man."

Kouching stared intently at the spotted figure ahead, and coldly shouted:

"My, the Uchiha's... supreme power!!"

As Kou finished speaking, a beam of azure light shot up from his body, enveloping him completely.

Within the pillar of light, the faint phantom of the fully formed Susanoo emerging.

A phantom rose from behind Kou, its bones, muscles, and armor condensing layer by layer within the pillar of light, like a war god emerging from an ancient legend.

Madara noticed the unusual movement ahead, and his expression changed slightly.

"That's... Susanoo?"

But as he muttered to himself, a clear look of doubt appeared in his eyes.

What on earth is this kid up to?

In front of himself with Eight Gates open, Susanoo, the supreme power of the Uchiha, was nothing more than a paper toy, utterly useless.

This is something that Koujue could not possibly be unaware of.

"Unless he..."

Before Ban could finish his thoughtful words, he suddenly felt a sharp pain surge up.

He suddenly lowered his head and looked at his own body.

The crimson lines faintly revealed a hint of blood, and dark red blood seeped from the edges of the cracks.

The wound did not heal as before; blood seeped from the cracks, trickling down his skin and dripping onto the scorched earth, where it was instantly evaporated by the intense heat upon contact with the ground.

"Tsk, it can't hold on much longer, can it?"

Ban's expression darkened.

The state of having Eight Gates open has lasted for far too long, and the already strained life force within him is irreversibly and rapidly draining away.

If this delay continues, before the Eye of the Moon Plan can even be implemented, I might already be facing death in such a wretched state...

Thinking of this, Ban frowned deeply, shifted his gaze from his own body, and looked up at the blue pillar of light in front of him.

The pillar of light continued to rise, and within it, Kou's figure appeared somewhat blurry, with only the phantom of the complete Susanoo and disappearing within the pillar of light.

"It seems we must finish this quickly."

Ban spoke solemnly, took a step, the ground shattered beneath his feet, and he soared into the sky.

The crimson steam surged up again, condensing into a giant dragon shape around him.

A crimson dragon coiled around the giant halberd, exuding a scorching aura that seemed capable of burning everything to ashes.

"Candle Dragon!!"

With a loud shout, Ban, wielding his halberd and carrying the crimson dragon, attacked the vaguely humanoid figure within the pillar of light.

Under the overwhelming power of the Eight Gates being fully opened, the blue pillar of light and the Susanoo suddenly dissipated.

Blue light spots scattered in all directions as the crimson dragon charged straight in, carrying the momentum to crush everything, and crashed directly into the vague human figure in the pillar of light.

To Ban's astonishment, Kou's figure was easily pierced by the red dragon, and under the terrifying impact, he turned into countless specks of light, scattering and falling.

Then, all fell silent.

On the empty battlefield, only Ban remained.

He stood amidst the scorched earth, the Long Halberd in his hand still radiating a crimson warmth, the red steam emanating from his body slowly dissipating.

"This, this..."

Ban stared blankly at the empty space ahead, his expression unusually vacant.

"That kid, he's dead?"

After a moment, Madara slowly came to his senses, muttering in disbelief as he surveyed the deserted battlefield, which had been repeatedly trampled over:

"How is this possible? That kid couldn't possibly have been defeated so easily!"

Ban frowned and continued to carefully observe his surroundings.

His senses were pushed to their limit, but in the end he couldn't perceive anything.

The sound of knocking disappeared completely, as if it had been swallowed up by the white light, leaving not a trace.

Ban was completely stunned.

"That kid... is probably really dead."

Ban did not feel the elation of victory; he simply stood quietly and slowly lowered his head.

"Ha, is this your final stand?"

Ban chuckled and shook his head helplessly:

"Destroy the Ten-Tails within you through suicide, to prevent me from becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and unleashing Infinite Tsukuyomi...?"

"I underestimated you. I never expected that a coward like you, who has always been afraid of death, would have such awareness."

"I have to admit, I did lose."

"Puff!!"

Before he could finish speaking, a blue fist struck him in the face from the side.

Ban's body was suddenly thrown backward, tumbling twice in mid-air before crashing heavily onto the scorched earth in the distance, leaving a long trench in its wake.

"What are you chattering about, you old hag! You're the one who's dead, your whole family is dead!!"

Kouchi's figure once again stood on the battlefield, raising his middle finger at the disheveled Madara as he rose to his feet, a smug smile spreading across his lips:

"Unlike you, you old codger about to be buried, I, your brother, have a long life ahead of me. Living another twenty thousand years wouldn't be a problem!"

"Tsk, that damn brat!!"

Ban stood up from the scorched earth, about to utter another curse, but his expression changed instantly when his gaze fell on Kou in front of him.

He knocked, but was unharmed.

He still possessed the same Six Paths presence, his white robes fluttering gently in the wind, and the eight Truth-Seeking Orb quietly rotating behind him.

The only difference was that his pale body was covered with blue lines.

Those patterns spread from his chest to his entire body, emanating an aura that shared the same origin as the Susanoo phantom from before.

What caused Ban to lose his composure was neither the change in his appearance nor the fact that he was still alive.

Instead, it was the power contained within his body that was far more immense than before!