Chapter 49

Konoha's founders, Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, joined forces to subdue the Nine Tailed Beasts that had been wreaking havoc across the land, then sealed them all together inside an altar in the Land of Fire. This was common knowledge among all the nations.

It wasn't that no one had ever considered destroying the altar's seal. It was just that the area within a dozen miles of the altar was heavily guarded. Besides, how could an altar capable of sealing all nine Tailed Beasts—including the Nine-Tails, whose chakra was infinite—be destroyed so easily?

Once the Summer Festival had wrapped up, the First temporarily entrusted the Hokage's duties to Tobirama, while Uchiha Madara took care of matters involving the elder families. Madara had packed up as well. He didn't have much, and Space Eater had stored it all away. In the end, when Madara appeared at the village gates, neither he nor Hashirama carried so much as an extra bundle.

The altar wasn't far from Konoha. After passing through layer upon layer of tight security, the four of them reached its center. In truth, the altar that sealed the Nine Tailed Beasts looked utterly unremarkable. At least, it was a far cry from the grand scene Madara had imagined, with nine white jade pillars carved with dragons suppressing the beasts... The circular altar had no decorations beyond its densely packed runes. It was only a little larger than a table, barely big enough for one person to stand on. If not for the chakra in the air being far denser than elsewhere and the inexplicable, ominous aura that made people restless, Madara might have wondered whether this was merely an illusion Konoha had set up to protect the real altar.

Hashirama's expression grew especially grave. His gaze shifted from the altar to the weed-choked ground. Madara followed his line of sight and vaguely understood.

"The seal—"

"...is underground."

The First, who had just finished inspecting the surroundings, turned at their words. "That's right. The real seal is underground. It covers an area ten miles in radius."

So the altar was the center of the seal, not the seal itself? No wonder it was so small. Madara considered this for a moment, then understood. "It's Wood Release." It made sense; only Wood Release could easily reach deep underground to set up a seal.

"It wasn't just thanks to Wood Release and the sealing array," he explained. "This formation cleverly makes use of the Tailed Beasts' own power. The nine Tailed Beasts suppress one another, and the chakra they leak is absorbed by the formation... It all fits together, keeping the seal in its most stable state. If no outside force damages the formation, then theoretically, the seal could run almost indefinitely."

His words stirred a vague recollection in Hashirama. "Is this sealing technique a closely guarded secret passed down within the Uzumaki Clan?" He seemed to remember hearing a clan elder mention that the Uzumaki had preserved several ancient sealing techniques and formations, which they never taught to outsiders.

Although the Uzumaki Clan was an offshoot of the Senju and the two families were distant relatives, years of separation had made them distinct in their own right. The Senju couldn't obtain those ancient teachings without paying a price.

At this, Uchiha Madara gave a faint, cold laugh, then quickly suppressed it, his face expressionless. The First glanced at him, paused briefly over the altar's surface, and replied quietly, "...Yes."

It was obvious there was more to the story. Madara and Hashirama both knew better than to press.

Then Uchiha Madara, who had been silent until now, spoke in a cold tone. "The formation has a weakness, too. If even one Tailed Beast is released, disrupting the balance of power, the others will all be able to break free. In other words, even though you only want to borrow the Nine-Tails, once you open the seal, the other Tailed Beasts will come out as well. Anything could happen then. That's why we couldn't help immediately before." If Uchiha Madara and the First ran into trouble, Konoha—whose foundations were already unstable and whose progress was fraught with difficulty—could face unpredictable consequences.

Hashirama looked at the other man in surprise. Was Uchiha Madara here actually speaking up for the First? It seemed their relationship wasn't as strained as it appeared.

Madara raised an eyebrow and openly nodded to the First. "Sorry. I misjudged you earlier." He really had suspected, in his more cynical moments, that the First was using this to stall for time and take advantage of them. Otherwise, he wouldn't have made a deal with the First that was half threat and half bargain, agreeing to help each other and setting a date to leave. He had an instinctive distrust of people in power—not that he doubted their promises, but that he questioned their motives, because he was the same kind of person himself. Judging by this, the First really was honest and open, just like someone else. Power couldn't corrupt what was in their nature.

The First looked a little surprised. He quickly glanced at Uchiha Madara, who still wore a cold expression, then smiled and nodded to Madara. "It's all right. Madara-kun and... Senju-kun have helped Konoha tremendously. Madara and I are very grateful."

Uchiha Madara snorted, but didn't say anything to refute him.

Since they were leaving anyway, Madara had no interest in dealing with the Uchiha Madara of this world. The two of them were at odds by nature and couldn't stand the sight of each other; whenever they met, they had to trade a few barbs. With Izuna as the added spark... For the sake of world peace, it was better if they never met again.

"Madara-kun and Senju-kun, help suppress the Tailed Beasts that get out. I'll control the formation's power. I'll leave undoing the seal to you, Madara!"

Uchiha Madara knelt on one knee atop the altar, tracing the lines of the runes carved into it with his fingers. Chakra slowly flowed from his fingertips into the markings. His eyes turned red as he opened his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and met the "eye" at the center of the altar.

As the pattern in his Eternal Mangekyō rotated, the altar's "eye" turned in the opposite direction at the same speed, like a mirror image. At the same time, a ring of red light appeared at the center and slowly expanded with the rotation, gradually covering the entire altar. The ground in the area began to tremble. An invisible pressure suddenly bore down on them, and the air grew so heavy it was hard to breathe. Hashirama and Madara exchanged a glance, both recalling the scene when the Nine-Tails had arrived. Thinking of that, they joined forces to reinforce the barrier around the area.

The First watched the figure on the altar, now completely shrouded in red light, his expression grave. He carefully controlled the Wood Release chakra flowing into the underground formation. This time, they were facing all nine Tailed Beasts at once, and no one dared let their guard down. Everyone focused on the center of the altar, sharpening all five senses—and even their sixth—to the utmost.

Uchiha Madara suddenly sprang away from the altar. Nine pillars of chakra in different colors shot skyward from its center amid deafening roars, only to be bounced back halfway by the pale blue barrier. The barrier shuddered violently. Madara couldn't help groaning as he forced down the discomfort of his soul being hit by a powerful shock. To ensure nothing went wrong, he had added his spiritual power to the barrier.

Hashirama looked over with concern. Madara shook his head to show he was fine, then stared at the scarlet pillar as the Nine-Tails slowly took physical form. He clenched the Jade Ring on his thumb.

With the Nine-Tails' infinite chakra, the Star Jade as a medium, and the space technique inside Space Eater, there was a strong chance he could open a space-time passage. There was no other way to explain how he had come to this world. If he could come here, then he had to be able to leave!

The First and Hashirama formed Wood Release Hand Seals at the same time. Massive, twisting branches burst through the ground and wound upward, binding five of the pillars of light. The dark teal pillar representing Matatabi, the blue one representing Chomei, and the dark brown one representing Han Niu, along with the now fully materialized Nine-Tails, broke free of Wood Release. Uchiha Madara leaped up the twisting branches, repeatedly dodging the Nine-Tails' furious swipe. With a space-time transfer, he appeared beside its right eye. The beast's yellow pupil met the Eternal Mangekyō without warning. The Nine-Tails roared and looked away before it could be fully controlled, sweeping one of its tails toward him.

The First temporarily suppressed the five Tailed Beasts caught in the branches, freeing Hashirama to handle the remaining three.

The dark teal pillar of chakra suddenly sped up, slipping past Wood Release: Complete Capture and escaping into the air, where it took physical form. Matatabi curled up its two big tails and mocked Chomei. "Hey, little tanuki! Weren't you always bragging that you were like the Nine-Tails, the boss? How'd you get caught so fast?"

Chomei roared as it hacked apart the pieces of wood that kept winding around it. "If you've got the guts, come down here! Let's see how you do in a fight!"

Matatabi dodged Tree Binding Eternal Burial, then rolled to the side, still shaken. The enemy was too strong—it was time to get out of there! "Haha, I'm leaving! Go talk to the Nine-Tails yourself once you're back in the seal!"

Unfortunately for Matatabi, fate had other plans. As soon as it turned around, it found itself facing a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan and a familiar smile.

Madara said softly, "You know when to quit in every world, don't you, Matatabi?"

His gentle tone made Matatabi's fur stand on end, each strand bristling. Its golden □ pupils widened until they seemed ready to pop out of its eye sockets. "Holy crap! Why are you here?!" The words had already escaped before it could take them back. Matatabi pawed at its face in despair as the smile at Madara's lips turned amused and knowing.

"Looks like... before I seal you away, we can have a nice long chat."

"Madara! The Nine-Tails is trapped!" Hashirama shouted. "Get over here!"

Madara glanced at Matatabi. "My spiritual power covers this whole area. The consequences of escaping would be severe... You know that, don't you?"

Matatabi let out a mournful meow, hung its head, and nodded. Madara smiled in satisfaction and turned back to the center of the battlefield.

Aaaah, someone tell him why this demon is here?! Wasn't he supposed to be having the time of his life conquering things in another world? Lord Hades, have you abandoned me? Waaaah...

The ground at the center of the battlefield was a mess, covered with traces of Wood Release and craters blasted out by the struggling Tailed Beasts. The First was controlling six Tailed Beasts at once. Uchiha Madara stood majestically on a thick, twisting branch, pinning the Eight-Tails down with a fan. The Nine-Tails, controlled by the Sharingan, sat obediently behind him.

Hashirama looked at Madara and nodded. "Let's begin!"

Uchiha Madara made the Nine-Tails release its energy. Its fiery red chakra was drawn by an invisible force, pouring into Space Eater in an endless stream. The ring trembled and began to glow. As Madara and Hashirama watched expectantly, a black hole the size of a fist slowly opened.

"That's it!" Hashirama exclaimed excitedly.

The black hole slowly spun and expanded. When it reached the size of a person, the ring's light suddenly flared out of control. With a click, the space-time ring on his thumb split along the tiny crack that had already been there, and fell to the ground in two pieces. Madara's heart gave a jolt.

The black hole vanished in an instant.

A sudden change had taken place, and everyone present was too stunned to react.

"Why did it fail?" Everyone's eyes turned toward his empty thumb.

Bending down to pick up Space Eater, Madara saw that every tiny starlike point of light in the black Star Jade had gone out. He frowned, lost in thought.

"It broke..." Hashirama said in shock. Did that mean they really couldn't go back?

"...It's the Star Jade." Madara steadied himself and turned to the First. "Since this is the same world, the same thing should exist here."

The First shook his head. "I've never heard of it." He then looked at Uchiha Madara, who raised an eyebrow. "Neither have I."

"I know where it is." Madara looked at Hashirama. "Looks like... we can only go to the Land of Snow first."

Covering my face. Yesterday I did a big cleanup, and today I had guests over. Anyway, I've been busy with this and that before the New Year, and only just managed to update... I'm sorry, my dear girls!

I'll update tomorrow too, mm-hmm!

Did my dear Yuemei receive the jj coins I sent for your long review the other day? Did jj glitch? This is my first time using this feature, so I'm not very familiar with it, haha [wipes sweat].

Crystal girl, um... if there's anything you don't like, just tell me and I'll fix it... Let's not leave a negative review, okay~ [I was so determined to finish this fic without a single negative review, covering my face and slinking away].