Myth Reappears

Even so, the Six Paths Sage had no intention of stepping in to stop his two sons, choosing instead to watch as their chakra continuously bolstered the strength of their respective hosts.

The chakra of his two sons, Indra and Asura, reincarnated endlessly, locked in a perpetual struggle across this world.

The current incarnations of Indra and Asura were none other than Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju—the very same chakra Li Ke felt constantly elevating the power of Hashirama, himself, and Madara Uchiha.

And so—

"Ha!!"

Two long blades clashed once more. Forced by the situation, Li Ke shrouded his own body in Susanoo to prevent himself from suffering any direct attacks.

The two rapidly exchanged the power of their blades, and the mere collision of such force was enough to drain the strength from every living creature in the vicinity!

At the same time, a flame-forged magatama appeared in the hand of Madara Uchiha's Susanoo. Not to be outdone, Li Ke imbued his own sword with massive amounts of chakra and unleashed a blade of energy!

The energy blade and the flaming magatama collided, triggering another earth-shattering explosion.

Yet, such offense and defense were meaningless!

Li Ke felt the chakra within him. After clashing with Madara Uchiha, he realized that if he could strengthen the armor of his Susanoo, he could ignore Madara Uchiha's current attacks and blade strikes!

But at this moment, he also understood.

Simple collisions between two behemoths were not enough to effectively counter Madara Uchiha!

These were merely two massive torrents of chakra colliding!

In a battle between experts of their caliber, the only utility Susanoo retained was its defensive capability!

Therefore, to kill Madara Uchiha, he had to use other powers! He needed to release all his strength in one go.

"But the problem is—"

Watching Madara Uchiha manipulate his Susanoo to launch continuous blade strikes—each one capable of leveling mountains and annihilating countless ninja—Li Ke bit his lip.

Madara Uchiha still possessed the power of Izanagi.

Therefore, he had to master a power capable of sealing even Izanagi!

And as for the power of the Sharingan...

Just as Li Ke was deep in thought, Madara Uchiha's power surged once again!

"Is that all you've got?!"

Madara Uchiha's eyes swirled. The two additional arms formed by the wings on his Susanoo's back drew two more long blades and hacked down toward Li Ke's position.

This time, before the blades even fell, the clouds in the sky were sliced apart, and the distant mountain peaks were directly severed and collapsed!

The mere shockwave possessed a destructive force beyond the reach of conventional Kage or ninja. To this, Li Ke's response was simple.

Since he had to face the power of the Sharingan, he would counter it with the power of the Sharingan!

And since the Sharingan was nothing more than the manifestation of the heart's power, then—

It was a collision of wills!

"Katanas? Such feeble weapons..."

Li Ke pressed his palms together, exerting force. The next moment, new heads and arms sprouted from the King of Martial Formation beneath his feet.

Martial God Manifestation: True Body of Three Heads and Six Arms!

Six arms brandished different powers. Under the infusion of vast amounts of chakra, the power of Li Ke's Four-pointed Star Sharingan began to truly manifest as he poured his absolute belief into his will!

The weapons in the six arms shifted instantly. The two arms on the left manifested a mace and a hammer, while the right arm held a long spear.

The central arm sprouted a long sword. Furthermore, an umbrella-like armament appeared at Li Ke's waist.

The left and right arms swung their weapons simultaneously to parry and counterattack, while the long blade in Li Ke's hand transformed into a long sword at this very moment.

The armaments held by the Wood Golem were all so-called divine artifacts formed by Li Ke's own heart!

However, at this moment, only one of these weapons could fully unleash its potential.

"...Too weak!"

As the hammer and mace collided, the Susanoo's katana caught between them shattered instantly. The other katana was parried aside by Li Ke's spear, the tip thrusting directly toward Madara Uchiha, who sat within the gem on the Susanoo's forehead!

As for the central katana, Li Ke abandoned defense entirely, allowing the Susanoo's blade to strike the Wood Golem. Using the golem's body and the Susanoo's armor to forcibly tank the blow, he backhanded two sword strikes into the body of Madara Uchiha's Susanoo!

A katana, regardless of the material used to forge it, was ultimately only good for bullying unarmored units!

The chakra composing the Susanoo shattered instantly. Madara Uchiha immediately manipulated the Susanoo's arm to parry the spear, but the upper half of the Susanoo was sent flying, crashing directly into a massive mountain.

The long spear in Li Ke's hand extended continuously, pinning Madara Uchiha deeper into the mountain, while Li Ke prepared his new technique.

"A chaotic world should be governed by the King's Way. Madara Uchiha! Witness my power here!"

A fervent wish gathered in Li Ke's eyes. The four-pointed star within them grew increasingly sharp, and even in this state, his eyes could not help but shed tears of blood.

This was the Eye of Mind's Reflection!

"Tai'a!"

The 'divine artifact' in his hand ignited with golden light. A terrifying power adhered to it; the forces of Yin and Yang reshaped the long sword in Li Ke's hand, and the power of his heart followed suit.

Li Ke didn't even know what technique he had used or what principle he had invoked, but at this moment, the only thing he knew was—

I have unleashed my full power!

Striking with everything I have, a violent golden beam surged directly toward the spot where Madara Uchiha stood. That golden radiance carried a majestic, overwhelming momentum as it barreled toward him. Just as Madara Uchiha attempted to dodge, he saw the space around him begin to warp; his arms began to buckle before they had even made contact with that immense power!

For a fleeting moment, his eyes shifted back into the Rinnegan—the eyes of a Sage—but just as before, his current false state could not sustain such powerful eyes!

Fortunately, he had already prepared a jutsu!

"Don't look down on me, brat!"

Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!

At that moment, Madara Uchiha summoned the massive husk of the Ten-Tails, placing it in front of himself as a shield.

Even though this was part of his plan, if he could not defeat Li Ke here, then everything would be meaningless!

Yet, it was utterly useless!

Without having absorbed enough chakra, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was nothing more than a giant target, instantly pierced and cleaved apart by the golden beam!

But this split second of time was exactly what Madara Uchiha needed!

After piercing through the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, the golden beam was blocked by a layer of black shielding. Two massive forces of chakra collided continuously, and Madara Uchiha, having reconnected his body to the Demonic Statue, exhausted every ounce of his Yin-Yang Release power just to barely withstand this sword strike!

And it appeared, for a moment, that he had blocked it.

But at this very moment, Li Ke saw it clearly: even with the power of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Madara Uchiha absolutely could not withstand this strike.

Unless he could absorb the chakra of seven or eight Tailed Beasts right now and swap in the Rinnegan, all of this was merely in vain.

"It is useless, Madara Uchiha. Your wishes, your madness, everything you want to hate, and the insanity you wish to vent—all of it is meaningless under the will of this sword."

Li Ke calmly raised his sword fingers, pointing them at Madara Uchiha.

"This is the will of the people, the power to unify the world!"

Your will is beneath mine!!

Madara Uchiha realized this as well. His eyes widened, yet he still could not resist the golden sword light. In the end, he could only watch as his black shield shattered bit by bit, revealing the infinite golden light behind it!

Every sliver of this golden radiance that leaked out carried immense power. A stray bit of sword qi that brushed past Madara Uchiha's cheek even sliced a mountain peak in half!

Furthermore, this sword qi was imbued with Sage Art and sealing power. His cheek was only grazed, yet the power of Izanagi was partially sealed, causing his youthful face to wither with age!

"You damn brat!! This little bit of power isn't enough! Your will is the one that is false!"

Madara Uchiha roared in madness. His youthful face was gradually overtaken by an aged visage as the golden sword qi continuously pierced his body, stripping away his false power and burying his ambitions.

Li Ke showed no mercy. He knew clearly that he had reached the limit of his body's current age, so there was no possibility of holding back.

The base of his Sharingan gradually turned white, and the Four-pointed Star within his eyes finally transformed into pure gold at this final moment.

"Lord Madara, sleep eternally now!"

The black shield before Madara Uchiha shattered completely. His ambitions, his madness, his rage, and the proud love of the Uchiha were all utterly pulverized at this moment by the Tai'a in Li Ke's hand!

"Murata Qingtan!!!!"

The crazed demon god let out a venomous roar. He was unwilling, refusing to leave the stage like this. Those people still did not understand his rage, did not understand his sorrow; this world had not yet truly tasted the meaning of true peace.

He would never be reconciled! He refused to die at the hands of some brat who had suddenly appeared, refused to be defeated in such an inexplicable way!

He wanted to live, to continue growing stronger, to continue the battle!

However, it was useless.

There were too many regrets drowned in this world; his would not be missed.

Madara Uchiha realized this at that very moment.

The sword qi of Tai'a completely pierced through his body, drowning him in the golden radiance.

The golden sword qi instantly bored through the mountain before him, surging from the territory of Konoha Village toward the distant ocean. Along the way, it split mountains and shattered rocks, tearing through everything that stood in its path—every obstacle, even several unlucky small islands were instantly severed!

The ocean and the sky were parted; the earth and the peaks were torn asunder!

The Kirigakure ninjas and the Konoha ninjas pursuing them witnessed the most incredible sight of their lives!

The ocean before them was parted by the golden light, and the endless waves rose high as a result!

The golden light seemed infinite; while tearing the ocean apart, it also surged toward the distant horizon, shredding the clouds and leaving the planet behind.

All these ninjas could do was gape in awe at this miracle.

The map and terrain of the land had been changed forever!

Just then, Minato Namikaze, who had rushed over using the Flying Raijin after sensing the massive chakra, also witnessed the ocean being parted.

He looked at the abyss of the seabed exposed by the ocean, the sea surface that refused to close, and the abyssal canyon carved into the earth by the sword strike; even he could not help but be stunned.

"The ocean... it was, it was parted?!"

The perpetrator of all this, the moment Madara Uchiha's chakra signature vanished, instantly felt something leave him.

"Ugh..."

The moment this power departed, the pillar supporting the massive energy within his body vanished. The immense chakra consumption caused Li Ke to collapse to one knee in weakness. The power in his eyes rapidly disintegrated and faded, and the order of that vast chakra shattered instantly.

If not for Hashirama Senju and Senju Tobirama helping him purge the excess chakra from his body, his physical form would have been torn apart by the out-of-control, violent chakra the very moment he lost the ability to use his Dojutsu!

He had just unleashed power that he was not yet qualified to wield!

"You are pushing yourself too hard... Qingtan. Your body has not fully matured yet; using power that exceeds your physical limits is not a good idea."

Hashirama Senju spoke with concern, as he had not anticipated this either; it was actually quite detrimental to Li Ke's body.

In reality, his heart had already been torn apart. If not for Senju Tobirama and Hashirama Senju immediately using their Reanimation Jutsu bodies to patch him up, and the powerful regenerative force brought by Hashirama Senju working within him to rapidly repair his heart and other areas, he likely would have died again.

"Mm, thank you for your concern, First Hokage, but I can still hold on."

Li Ke nodded while gasping for breath, yet his body uncontrollably slipped out of Sage Mode, and the Wood Golem beneath his feet began to gradually transform into a giant tree due to the surge of chakra.

So, Wood Release really is useful...

Li Ke muttered to himself, sensing the chakra within his body; although it was a bit of a stretch, the remaining amount was sufficient.

However, his mental energy was depleted, so he clutched his head and spoke to Senju Tobirama within his body.

"Lord Tobirama, I must trouble you. If Lord Madara intentionally lured us away, then I believe there is a high probability that the girl I marked last time is in danger, because among the people she knows, there is an Uchiha who is exceptionally naive and believes in love and the village."

Senju Tobirama immediately understood what Li Ke meant, but he asked after sensing Li Ke's chakra.

"No problem, but can your body hold up?"

Li Ke, sensing the power and vitality that had inexplicably emerged as his body recovered, nodded.

"No problem!"

He was certain.

His 'talent' was the ability to unearth the power of his bloodline!