Side Story: Finale, Part Two

Land of Fields

Northern Stronghold

The stronghold was in ruins, and several people were facing off against each other.

To the east was a force dressed in the same attire. Kakuzu was surrounded by two black-clad, masked figures, with two broken masks and many wooden puppet remains at his feet.

In mid-air, countless figures dressed in red floated about a hundred times, controlled by the device on Sasori of the Red Sands's chest below.

Higher in the sky, a giant white bird carried Deidara, Deidara robes were torn, leaving him in rags.

Hidan, with his silver slicked-back hair, was split in two at the waist and lay motionless on the ground.

To the west was Orochimaru, Orochimaru was breathing slightly heavily. His gaze swept over Kimimaro, who lay motionless below, and the Five-Tails Jinchuriki who had suddenly died.

"Hidan, this immortal man, he actually has this kind of ability... I absolutely cannot let him get my blood..."

Orochimaru was somewhat annoyed that his trump card Five-Tails Jinchuriki, had been killed by Hidan. Hidan's strange appearance and his self-harm must be related to the death of the Five-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Orochimaru, you must already know that you can't escape your fate today, right?"

Sasori of the Red Sands's face remained as calm as ever, and the wooden device that had been activated on his chest was somewhat unexpected, revealing that he himself was also a puppet.

Orochimaru's Sound Four had exhausted their Chakra and were in critical condition, while the enemy only had one insignificant Hidan who was no longer able to fight, and the remaining three were extremely troublesome.

Call out!

A giant white bird swooped down from the sky, its beak opening wide, and spat out another giant white bird, which hurtled towards Orochimaru.

"Drink!"

Deidara formed the Mudra seal with both hands, and the giant bird exploded with a thunderous roar, erupting into a thick ball of fire. After performing his Ninjutsu, Deidara manipulated the giant bird to fly into the sky once more.

The fireball dissipated, Orochimaru was now hidden behind an upright coffin. Although he looked somewhat disheveled, he was unharmed.

"Is it that Ninjutsu again?"

Kakuzu looked at the coffin, a bad feeling rising within him.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

A dense swarm of puppets draped in red robes swooped down from mid-air.

Boom!

The coffin lid suddenly burst open, sending up a cloud of dust. The lid flew towards the group of puppets, shooting down five or six. Sasori of the Red Sands, having lost Orochimaru's sight, manipulated the puppets back.

From inside the coffin, a person wearing black gloves reached out and held onto the edge of the coffin. As the smoke dissipated, the figure inside the coffin was revealed.

This person was wearing a red suit of armor from the Warring States period, had long, curly black hair, appeared to be a middle-aged or young man, and had eyes that emitted a red glow.

"Impure World Reincarnation?"

After the man in red armor climbed out of the coffin, he carefully examined his hands and forearms, his words tinged with doubt.

Orochimaru watched Uchiha Madara figure and sneered:

"Heh heh heh, Uchiha Madara, nice to meet you!"

Uchiha Madara glanced back at Orochimaru and chuckled:

"Did you summon me? Yes..."

Kakuzu three masks, and his defensive heart had been destroyed. Upon seeing the Impure World Reincarnation, he felt apprehensive and began to Hand Seals.

Fire Style: Searing Migraine!

Wind Style: Pressure Damage!

Lightning Release: False Darkness!

Intense flames, like an ocean, were swept up by a raging wind, interspersed with lightning. The Ninjutsu shockwave, like a world-destroying beam of light, swept towards Orochimaru.

"Oops!"

Seeing this imposing force, Orochimaru broke out in a cold sweat and immediately used Earth Style Ninjutsu to sink down.

Uchiha Madara looked at this powerful Ninjutsu with a calm expression, but his eyes changed. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, transforming into a strange Mangekyo pattern.

The red eyes changed again, transforming into wavy eyes.

Kakuzu's devastating Ninjutsu, having just unleashed its power, suddenly began to dissipate.

"Um!?"

With a swing of his right hand, countless black tentacles shot out, wrapping around Hidan's two halves and stitching them back together.

"Ouch, that hurts! What just happened?!"

In the previous fierce battle, Hidan killed the Five-Tails Jinchuriki, but he was also hit hard by the enemy and lost consciousness.

Kakuzu didn't answer Hidan's question. Instead, he looked ahead with a serious expression. Kakuzu knew in his heart that his Ninjutsu had been broken.

Kakuzu's Ninjutsu dissipated extremely quickly; the white light soon disappeared, and apart from the ground being somewhat flattened, nothing else changed.

The red-armored figure in front still stood proudly, and his eyes seemed somewhat familiar to Kakuzu.

"How dare a firefly's flame rival the blazing sun?"

Uchiha Madara used the Rinnegan Absorption Seal and break Kakuzu's Ninjutsu, his face showing a disdainful expression.

"Performance of a Hundred Puppets! Attack!"

Crunch crunch

The puppet in mid-air performed again, charging towards Uchiha Madara.

Uchiha Madara formed a hand seal. Most Fire Style techniques end with the Tiger Seal or the Horse Seal, but Uchiha Madara only formed the Horse Seal, and a strong wind immediately surged in the arena.

Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!

Uchiha Madara flames, which, like a tsunami, bombarded Sasori of the Red Sands's puppet army, not only covering all the puppets but also sweeping towards Kakuzu, Hidan, and Sasori of the Red Sands.

"Ninja Technique: Iron Sand Barrier!"

The only puppet in mid-air, dressed in a gray robe, flew to the front of Sasori of the Red Sands and spat out an Iron Sand Wall barrier, protecting the three of them.

"It wasn't for nothing that I specially modified it; Uchiha Madara's peak form is this strong? Heh heh..."

The soil behind Uchiha Madara surged and coalesced into the figure of Orochimaru.

Hearing the commotion behind him, Uchiha Madara stopped his flame-breathing action, turned around, glanced at Orochimaru, and smiled:

"What an amazing fellow, to repay you for bringing me back to life..."

Uchiha Madara spoke while forming hand Hand Seals.

"Impure World Reincarnation: Release!"

As Uchiha Madara spoke and made his movements, Orochimaru immediately sensed that the connection between his Impure World Reincarnation Jutsu and Uchiha Madara had been severed.

"This is!?"

Orochimaru's pupils widened, knowing what this meant: the previous Tsuchikage, Hokage, Kazekage had been cut off from their connections because they had been sealed away.

While Uchiha Madara was cut off from his communication, this person was still alive and kicking right in front of Orochimaru.

Uchiha Madara turned to look at Orochimaru, his face gentle, and said softly:

"In gratitude for resurrecting me, which is also the price you paid for using forbidden magic, I will make you the nourishment for my garden."

As Uchiha Madara finished speaking, he formed a Snake Seal with his hands and shouted:

"Wood Release Secret Technique: Deep Forest Bloom!"