Total Annihilation! The Twelve Guardian Ninja

"That face! I feel like I've seen it somewhere before!"

Dongmao of the Lightning Release Quartet spoke up.

Although the Twelve Guardian Ninja were all quite young, they were the elite of the Land of Fire. Not only did they possess the strength of the best among their peers, but they were also well-versed in various academic disciplines.

This naturally included the history of the Warring States period and the founding of Konoha. They had seen the faces of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama in portraits countless times. Even though Uchiha Madara was now quite elderly, that vast, terrifying chakra spoke of his identity with every passing second.

"You are! Uchiha Madara?!"

"Dongmao, what nonsense are you spouting?! Uchiha Madara died a long time ago!"

Although the remaining three also sensed Uchiha Madara's astonishing chakra, they were unwilling to believe it was him. After all, what kind of nearly hundred-year-old man could move with such agility, let alone lift a young, strong man and ask if he wanted to dance?

"Oh? You have a bit of an eye for things. Hand over the talisman, and I might spare your lives."

Uchiha Madara, confident to the extreme, cared nothing for the impact his return would have on the Ninja World, nor did he worry about being hunted by the allied nations.

In his eyes, there was only one person who could stop him, and that was Senju Hashirama. As for the others? "Mere gravel is not even half of what I am!"

"Hmph! Uchiha Madara was killed by the First Hokage long ago! Don't think you can play tricks, you old geezer!"

No sooner had Beizi finished speaking than Uchiha Madara rushed before him at a speed the others couldn't react to, letting Beizi experience the same throat-grabbing treatment as Hema.

But the Lightning Release Quartet shared a bond stronger than steel; how could they tolerate Madara's actions? They immediately flung a barrage of Shuriken and Senbon imbued with lightning chakra, attempting to halt his movements.

"What a laughable attack... have the ninja of this era become so weak?"

Uchiha Madara sneered in disdain. Such soft, weightless attacks didn't even require his Susanoo to defend against. In a fraction of a second, he kicked Beizi violently, then activated his Sharingan to perfectly predict the trajectory of their projectiles.

"Pfft!"

Beizi, struck by Uchiha Madara's kick, crashed heavily beneath the waterfall. Blood surged up and sprayed from his mouth, and the lightning-imbued ninja tools all missed their mark.

"Put away your toys and try to entertain me!"

Picking up the scythe he had only used during the era of the Valley of the End, Madara provoked them.

"Damn it! Stop looking down on us!"

"Dongmao, Nanwu! Use Lightning Style together!"

Crackling lightning rapidly spread from the ground toward Uchiha Madara like multiple slithering snakes. However, he did not dodge, simply letting the lightning explode before him.

--BOOM!

Dust and smoke billowed. Xidu watched the dissipating smoke cautiously, sweat dripping down his cheek as he asked, "Did we get him?"

But the next moment, a burst of deep blue chakra manifested, whipping up a gale like the immense strength of Senju Hashirama, completely scattering the smoke.

"Weak! Weak! This attack isn't even one-tenth of what Hashirama could do!"

After gauging the combat power of the contemporary ninja, Uchiha Madara quickly grew bored. He activated the second stage of Susanoo. With its four arms wielding four chakra longswords, Madara spoke slowly from within: "Consider this a reward for entertaining me. Hand over the talisman, and I'll spare your lives."

"Don't even think about it!"

Beizi, who had been lying prone for some time, struggled to crawl up while clutching his stomach. He shouted to his companions, who were panting as they dodged the four longswords of Uchiha Madara's Susanoo--

"Dongmao, Nanwu, Xidu! Use 'Lightning Style: Thunder Dream Thunder Person'!"

"Oh? An S-rank Lightning Style secret technique? Interesting...!"

Lightning Style: Thunder Dream Thunder Person is a lightning ninjutsu performed by the four members of the Lightning Release Quartet occupying four cardinal directions. Although the conditions for the technique are extremely harsh—requiring all four members—the power is astonishing. The four control lightning from their respective positions to form an energy convergence point above the target area, ultimately producing a devastating lightning strike that covers the entire region.

Its power reaches the level of an S-rank secret technique, capable of instantly vaporizing all matter within its range. It is one of the few high-level Lightning Style techniques in the Naruto series that requires multiple ninja to coordinate.

However, this technique requires a long time to charge, making it quite easy to interrupt if one chooses to do so.

But... Uchiha Madara wanted to see just what these juniors were capable of, so he chose not to interrupt.

--RUMBLE!

Four bolts of lightning shot into the sky, converging at a single point. Immediately after, a lightning strike resembling a railgun descended, the dazzling white light expanding toward the horizon. Wherever the light reached, flowers, trees, mountains, and rocks were vaporized under the intense glare.

After the technique concluded, the Lightning Release Quartet all collapsed to the ground in exhaustion. Beizi, already severely wounded by Madara's kick, was even weaker now that his chakra was depleted.

"This... at least we managed to protect the Daimyo's talisman, right...?"

"What a pity..."

The whisper, laced with a sliver of cold intent, drilled into their ears. The next instant, blue chakra erupted from the center of the explosion, dyeing the sky a deep hue.

Uchiha Madara crossed his arms over his chest, his fingers lifting only slightly, and his Susanoo evolved directly into its third stage. Building upon the second stage, it added a lower body and legs. Madara sat within the head of the Susanoo, not only continuing to use the four longswords from the second stage but also covering the defensive gap at his feet.

Under the sturdy shell of the Susanoo, this Lightning Style secret technique, which was on par with a Tailed Beast Bomb, successfully caused damage, but not much.

"How could... this be..."

Despair surged like a tide. Uchiha Madara manipulated the longswords to descend, the sword aura splitting the waterfall in two. A massive volume of water mixed with mud and sand poured down, also causing the statue of Uchiha Madara itself to lose its support and collapse with a roar.

With this single strike, the Twelve Guardian Ninja were nearly wiped out, leaving only Beizi, who held the talisman, clinging to life amidst the rubble.

"Such loyalty. You won't even hand over the talisman in death?"

In Madara's eyes, Beizi was merely foolishly loyal. Still, the Land of Fire's Daimyo was lucky to have such subordinates.

"Damn you...!"

Although the Twelve Guardian Ninja had intended to sacrifice themselves for the Daimyo from the very beginning, watching his comrades fall one by one, he gripped the Rat Talisman and made a decision.

"Go... to hell!"

The Susanoo's longsword pierced through Beizi's body. Before his bodily functions completely ceased, he threw the Rat Talisman away. Because Uchiha Madara was currently maintaining the Susanoo, he could not immediately use the Body Flicker Technique to seize the Rat Talisman.