Chapter 49

It is common knowledge among all nations that the founders of Konoha, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, joined forces to subdue the nine Tailed Beasts that were wreaking havoc upon the world, sealing them all together within an altar in the Land of Fire.

It was not as if no one had considered breaking the seal on the altar, but the area for dozens of miles around was heavily guarded. Furthermore, how could an altar capable of simultaneously suppressing nine Tailed Beasts—including the Nine-Tails, with its infinite chakra—be easily destroyed?

After the Summer Festival concluded, the First temporarily entrusted his duties to Tobirama, while Uchiha Madara settled matters with the clan elders. Madara had also finished packing; he did not have much, and what he did have was stored within the Space Eater. When they finally appeared at the village gate, neither Madara nor Hashirama carried any extra baggage.

The altar was not far from Konoha. Passing through layers of tight security, the group of four arrived at the center of the altar. In truth, the altar that sealed the nine Tailed Beasts looked entirely unremarkable—at least, it was a far cry from the grand, white jade nine-dragon pillar scene Madara had imagined. The circular altar had no carvings other than dense, intricate runes, and its surface was barely larger than a table, just enough for one person to stand upon. Had it not been for the chakra in the air, which was far denser than anywhere else, and an ominous aura that inexplicably stirred one's temper, Madara might have suspected it was merely a decoy set up by Konoha for protection.

Hashirama's expression grew exceptionally grave, his gaze shifting from the altar to the weed-choked ground. Madara followed his line of sight and vaguely understood something.

"The seal—"

"...is underground."

The First, having just finished checking the surrounding environment, turned around at these words and said, "That's right. The true seal is beneath the ground, encompassing an area of ten miles in radius."

So this altar was merely the center of the seal, not the seal itself? No wonder it was so small. Madara pondered for a moment, then realized, "It's Wood Release." It stood to reason that only Wood Release could easily penetrate deep underground to lay out a seal.

"It is not just the work of Wood Release and the sealing formation," he explained. "This formation cleverly utilizes the power of the Tailed Beasts themselves. Not only does the power of the nine beasts suppress one another, but their leaking chakra is also absorbed by the formation... everything is interlinked, allowing the seal to reach its most stable state. If no external force destroys the formation, theoretically, it can operate permanently."

At his mention, Hashirama vaguely recalled something: "This sealing formula... is it a top-secret technique passed down within the Uzumaki Clan?" He seemed to recall the clan elders mentioning that the Uzumaki possessed several ancient sealing formulas and formations that were never taught to outsiders.

Although the Uzumaki Clan was a branch of the Senju and the two were distant relatives, they had developed their own unique style over years of divergence. It would be impossible for the Senju to obtain those ancient legacies without paying a price.

Uchiha Madara gave a slight, cold sneer at these words, though he quickly suppressed it, his face returning to an expressionless mask. The First swept a glance over him, paused for a moment on the surface of the altar, and replied in a low voice, "...Ah, yes."

It was clear at a glance that there was more to the story. Madara and Hashirama were not ignorant of social nuances, so neither pressed the issue.

At this moment, the silent Uchiha Madara spoke in a cold tone: "The formation has a flaw: once a single Tailed Beast is released, the overall balance of power is disrupted, allowing the others to break free. In other words, although you only intend to borrow the Nine-Tails, once the seal is opened, the other beasts will emerge as well. At that point, anything could happen. This is why I could not offer immediate help some time ago." If Uchiha Madara and the First encountered trouble because of this, the consequences for a Konoha that was already on shaky foundations would be unpredictable.

Hashirama looked at the other man in surprise: Was this Uchiha Madara actually speaking up for the First? It seemed their relationship was not as stiff as it appeared on the surface.

Madara raised an eyebrow and nodded generously at the First in acknowledgment: "My apologies, I previously misjudged a gentleman's heart." He had indeed darkly suspected that the First was using this to stall for time and manipulate the two of them into doing his bidding; otherwise, he would not have reached a mutual aid agreement with the First in the form of a half-threat, half-transaction, setting a departure date. He held an instinctive distrust of those who wielded power—not of their promises, but of their motives, for he was such a person himself. In this light, the First was truly magnanimous; like someone else, power could not corrupt the core of his nature.

The First was slightly surprised. He cast a fleeting glance at the still-cold-faced Uchiha Madara, then turned to smile and nod at Madara: "It is no matter. Madara-kun and... Senju-kun have been a great help to Konoha. Both I and Madara are very grateful."

Uchiha Madara let out a cold snort but did not offer a rebuttal.

Since they were leaving, Madara had no interest in dealing with this Uchiha Madara. The two of them were naturally incompatible, finding each other's presence grating; every meeting resulted in biting remarks, and with Izuna as a potential flashpoint—for the sake of world peace, it was better if they never met again.

"Madara-kun and Senju-kun, please help suppress the escaping Tailed Beasts; I will control the power of the formation. The task of undoing the seal is left to you, Madara!"

Uchiha Madara knelt on one knee atop the altar, his fingers tracing the patterns of the runes carved into it, chakra slowly flowing from his fingertips into the formation. His gaze turned red, and his activated Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan locked onto the "eye" at the center of the altar.

As the pattern in the Eternal Mangekyo rotated, the "eye" of the altar began to spin at the same speed in the opposite direction, like a mirror. Simultaneously, a circle of red light emerged from the center, expanding with the rotation until it gradually covered the entire altar. The earth in the area began to tremble, and an invisible pressure descended abruptly, making the air feel stagnant and difficult to breathe. Hashirama and Madara exchanged a look, the scene of the Nine-Tails' arrival flashing through their minds. Thinking of this, the two joined forces to reinforce the defensive perimeter surrounding the area.

The First watched the figure shrouded in red light on the altar with a solemn expression, carefully controlling the Wood Release power he was feeding into the underground formation. Facing nine Tailed Beasts at once, no one dared to be careless. Everyone stared intently at the center of the altar, sharpening their five senses—and their sixth—to the limit.

Uchiha Madara suddenly flipped and leaped off the altar. Nine pillars of chakra in different colors, accompanied by deafening roars, surged toward the sky from the center of the altar, only to be repelled halfway by the pale blue defensive barrier. The barrier shook violently, and Madara could not help but let out a muffled groan, forcing down the discomfort of his soul being violently impacted. To ensure nothing went wrong, he added his spiritual energy to the barrier.

Hashirama looked over with concern. Madara shook his head to indicate he was fine, then fixed his gaze on the crimson pillar of light where the Nine-Tails was slowly taking physical form, his thumb tightening around the Jade Ring.

With the Nine-Tails' infinite chakra and the Star Jade as a medium, injecting the spatial technique into the Space Eater made it highly likely to open a space-time channel. Aside from this, there was no other conclusion that could explain the reason for his arrival in this world. Since he could come, he could certainly leave!

The First and Hashirama simultaneously performed hand seals for Wood Release. Massive, gnarled branches burst through the ground, winding upward to bind five of the light pillars. The night-blue representing Matatabi, the blue representing Chomei, the dark brown representing Han Niu, and the now-materialized Nine-Tails broke free from the Wood Release. Uchiha Madara stepped onto the gnarled branches and leaped upward, dodging the claw that the Nine-Tails swung at him with a roar, and used a space-time shift to appear instantly by its right eye. The yellow beast-eye met the Eternal Mangekyo unexpectedly; the Nine-Tails roared and averted its gaze before it could be fully controlled, swinging a tail horizontally.

The First temporarily suppressed the five Tailed Beasts bound by the branches, allowing Hashirama to free his hands to deal with the remaining three.

The night-blue chakra pillar suddenly accelerated, dodging the Wood Release: Complete Capture, and escaped into mid-air to form its physical body. Matatabi curled its two large tails and sneered at Chomei: "Hey! Little Raccoon, didn't you boast about being just like Boss Nine-Tails? How did you get caught so quickly?"

Chomei roared while hacking away at the wood that kept wrapping around it: "If you've got the guts, come down here! Let's fight and see!"

Matatabi dodged a Tree Binding Eternal Burial and rolled to the side, still shaken. The enemy was too strong—better to leave! "Haha, I'm leaving! You can tell Boss Nine-Tails yourself when you're back in the seal!"

Unfortunately, fate did not favor the cat. The moment it turned around, Matatabi found itself facing a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan and a familiar smile.

Madara said softly, "You are just as sensible in every world, Matatabi."

The gentle tone made the fur all over Matatabi's body stand on end, its wide golden pupils nearly popping out of their sockets. "Damn it! Why is it you!" The words slipped out before it could stop them, and Matatabi clawed at its own face, watching in despair as the smile on Madara's lips turned playful and knowing.

"It seems... before I seal you, we can have a good chat."

"Madara! The Nine-Tails has been trapped!" Hashirama shouted. "Come over quickly!"

Madara glanced at Matatabi. "This area is covered by my spiritual energy; the consequences of escaping are very serious... you understand, don't you?"

Matatabi let out a whimper, lowered its head, and nodded. Madara smiled with satisfaction and turned back to the center of the battlefield.

Ahhh, someone tell me how this monster is here?! Shouldn't he be having a great time conquering another world! Lord Hades, have you abandoned me?! Wuu wuu wuu...

The ground at the center of the battlefield was a mess, littered with traces of Wood Release and craters blasted out by the struggling Tailed Beasts. The First had simultaneously controlled six of the beasts, while Uchiha Madara stood majestically atop a thick branch, suppressing the Eight-Tails with a fan, the Nine-Tails—controlled by the Sharingan—crouching obediently behind him.

Hashirama looked at Madara and nodded. "Begin!"

Uchiha Madara controlled the Nine-Tails to release its energy. The fiery red chakra was drawn by an invisible suction, pouring continuously into the Space Eater. The ring vibrated and emitted a glow, and under the expectant gaze of Madara and Hashirama, it slowly opened a black hole the size of a fist.

"This is it!" Hashirama exclaimed in delight.

The black hole slowly rotated and expanded. When it reached the size of half a person, the light from the ring suddenly overflowed. With a click, the space-time ring on his thumb split into two along the original tiny crack and fell to the ground. Madara's heart trembled.

The black hole vanished instantly.

The sudden change left everyone on the scene unable to react.

"Why did it fail?" Everyone's gaze gathered on his empty thumb.

Bending down to pick up the Space Eater, Madara saw that the tiny, star-like light points on the black Star Jade had all gone out. Madara frowned, lost in thought.

"It's broken..." Hashirama said, shocked. Could it be that they really couldn't go back?

"...It is a problem with the Star Jade." Uchiha Madara steadied his mind and turned toward the First at his side. "Since it is the same world, then the same things should exist here."

The First shook his head. "I have never heard of it." After he finished speaking, he looked at Uchiha Madara, who raised an eyebrow. "Neither have I."

"I know where it is." Uchiha Madara looked at Hashirama. "It seems... we have no choice but to go to the Land of Snow first."

Covering my face—yesterday was spring cleaning, today I'm hosting guests; in short, I've been busy with one thing or another for the New Year until just now... I'm sorry, my dear girls!

There will be an update tomorrow too, mm-hmm!

Did Mo Yu receive the JJ coins from the long reviews a few days ago? Could JJ be glitching? This is my first time using this feature, so I'm not very familiar with it, haha [sweat].

Jing Ying, dear... if there's anything not up to par, just tell me and I'll fix it... Let's not have any negative ratings, okay? [I had such high ambitions that this story wouldn't have a single negative rating until the end, covers face and scurries away]