Talisman Reclamation Battle (Part 1)

"Enough, humans. That's the end of the warm-up. It's time to take back my Talismans!"

Flames ignited across Shendu's body. Reflections of the Pig and Rooster Talismans appeared in his left and right pupils, and he opened his gaping maw as a scorching stream of fire slowly gathered within.

"His Talismans?!"

"As I thought! The story that the Talismans were heirlooms passed down through generations was just a lie told by that kid, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire!"

Madara had suspected the Talismans' origins from the very beginning.

They had no trace of chakra, and there was no record of them anywhere in the history of the Ninja World.

Madara had even sent White Zetsu to secretly infiltrate the Land of Fire's capital and search its secret library. He had combed through the entire history of the Land of Fire, but there wasn't a single entry—not even one word—that mentioned the Talismans.

"The Talismans aren't some heirlooms passed down by the Daimyos of the Land of Fire. They're the source of a demon's power!"

Although Uchiha Madara had finally learned the truth, it was already meaningless.

A blazing fireball appeared in Shendu's palm, then began swelling larger and larger. In less than half a minute, it had grown enormous, its shadow alone completely blotting out the moon.

The colossal fireball filled Madara's pupils. Scorching heat engulfed him, and the sweat on his body evaporated in an instant. Every Susanoo beneath the fireball melted away in a flash. Even Madara, who had seen more than his share, couldn't help gaping at the sight.

As the fireball fell like sunlight from a sun crashing down upon the earth, Madara felt the Dog Talisman on his chest suddenly disappear. He turned and saw the invisible Shendu slowly take form. After absorbing the Dog Talisman into his body, Shendu said in a low voice, "The power of immortality. A fine start."

The moment the Dog Talisman left his body, Madara lost all his life force and reverted to Old Madara, so feeble he could barely stand. He had no time to try to reclaim the Talisman or dodge the attack.

--Rumble!

The explosion engulfed the entire Mountain Graveyard in an instant. Rocks, trees, earth, animals... The light stretching along the horizon kept growing, and everything in its path vanished in an instant. The blast lit up the night sky like daylight. The blinding flash could even be seen across the Land of Frost and the surrounding countries...

By the time the light gradually faded, the entire area had disappeared, replaced by a bottomless crater.

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path lay exposed, but Shendu paid it no mind. He merely glanced at it from the corner of his eye and remarked, "What an ugly demon!" Then he went to the center of the blast and picked up the Sheep Talisman lying on the ground.

"Lord Madara! Lord Madara! Are you all right?!"

Only after Shendu had ridden off on the Dragon Soldier did White Zetsu, hiding deep underground, dare to speak.

"Haah..."

Deep beneath the ground, the eyes of the elderly Uchiha Madara were utterly dull, with no sign of pupils.

"Izanagi"... It was one of the Uchiha Clan's ultimate, unique ocular techniques. It could turn anything unfavorable that happened to the user within a certain period into something that had never happened, choosing only favorable events to become reality. The duration varied according to the user's ability, but the Sharingan used to cast it would inevitably go blind, making it dangerous. While the technique was active, even death could be rewritten. It was a terrifying ocular technique that could make its user invincible.

Decades ago, Uchiha Madara had used this technique to fool Hashirama into thinking he had died.

Uchiha Madara gasped for breath. Without the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to sustain him, he could clearly feel his life force flickering like a weak flame in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.

His pale lips trembled. He no longer had the strength to speak. Fortunately, White Zetsu found him in time and temporarily "wore" him, supplying him with a little life force. That gave Old Madara the chance to return to the "embrace of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."

Now he was like a salted fish who had lost all hope. He had just regained his youth and vigor after getting it back, only to return to a state where he couldn't even care for himself. The contrast was enormous—and now he was also blind in one eye.

"We'll just have to keep waiting for the right person to appear..."

After instructing Zetsu to cover up the cave again, Madara closed his eyes and slowly drifted into hibernation.

"Next up is the Rabbit Talisman, for high-speed movement...!"

After acquiring the power of immortality to prevent himself from "getting caught off guard," Shendu chose the Rabbit Talisman as his next target.

The Dragon Soldier wasn't slow, but compared with Shendu's own power of super speed, it still wasn't enough.

Land of Earth, Iwagakure.

The instant Shendu rode the Dragon Soldier into the airspace above Iwagakure, the village's defensive barrier immediately detected the gigantic creature.

"Who's there?! This is Iwagakure! No unauthorized entry!"

More than a dozen Iwagakure Anbu immediately surrounded Shendu and questioned him about his intentions. But Shendu obviously wasn't going to answer. He chose to respond with a burst of flames.

--Roar!

The sea of fire spread almost instantly. Many Iwagakure shinobi were swallowed by the flames before they could even react.

"Go report to Lord Tsuchikage! An enemy has invaded the village! The rest of you, follow me! Hold them off as long as you can and wait for reinforcements!"

The leading Iwagakure Anbu immediately gave his orders. The shinobi formed Hand Seals together. "Earth Release: Earth Pillar Explosion!"

Rows upon rows of pointed pillars of earth burst from the ground like bamboo shoots after rain, forming a line that stretched all the way to Shendu's feet before exploding.

It was a tracking technique, so Shendu, who lacked the Rabbit Talisman, couldn't dodge it. But there was no need to dodge such a weak attack anyway.

--Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Earth Pillars exploded in quick succession, striking Shendu from every direction and kicking up clouds of dust. But they couldn't leave so much as a scratch on his body.

"Alright, your turn's over. Now it's mine!"

Shendu raised his thick arm. The Ox Talisman's symbol was reflected in his pupils as he slammed his fist hard into the ground.

--Boom!

The shockwave plunged underground. In an instant, the mountains shook and the earth trembled. The immense force driving downward caused the ground beneath everyone's feet to start collapsing.

Like a gigantic spiderweb, cracks from the collapse spread in every direction, spraying mud and sand into the air along with flying rocks. The Iwagakure shinobi lost their footing and could only endure the assault of soil and shattered stone.

By the time the dust settled, the entire area had been reduced to a wasteland of mud and sand.

"Just who is this guy...?"

The overwhelming force nearly drove the Iwagakure Anbu to despair. That kind of destructive range... Even if all of them used Earth Release together, they probably couldn't manage it.

Just as Shendu opened his mouth again and began gathering flames, a "meteor" suddenly streaked across the sky and hurtled toward him.

"Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!"

It was the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki!

The moment he heard that an unknown creature had invaded the village, Ōnoki burst through a window using "Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock." Then he hardened his right hand into a stone fist and swung it at Shendu with all his strength, shouting, "Earth Release: Rock Fist Technique!"