Crushing Majestic Destroyer Flame Barehanded! Madara, the Living Have Rules for the Living!

"Such immense... such evil Chakra!"

Hinata's eyes bulged with veins, and two streams of bloody tears slid down her cheeks. The mental shock that had traveled across half the Shinobi World had nearly severed her optic nerve.

Naruto strode to her side, his golden hand decisively pressing against her temple. The purest Yang Release Chakra forcefully broke through the blocked meridians, forcibly evaporating the evil, chilling aura.

"Lightning Cloud Gorge." Naruto didn't turn around, but his eyes were chillingly cold. "That bastard Obito airdropped that coffin with the character 'Madara' on it right in Sasuke's and the Eight-Tails' faces."

Upon hearing this, the air in the hall seemed to freeze.

"Killer B!" Raikage A roared, his berserk Lightning Armor erupting instantly, smashing the table in front of him as he charged out.

"Bang!"

Naruto slammed his palm down on the Raikage's broad chest. A golden Chakra Chains phantom flashed by, pinning the enraged black-skinned bull to the spot.

"At your current speed, you won't even have time to warm up the corpses by the time you reach Lightning Cloud Gorge." Naruto stared directly into the Raikage's fiery eyes. "Stay here! Send all your Lightning Release engineers to the front lines to dig trenches! I'll rescue Sasuke and the Eight-Tails!"

Raikage gritted his teeth, his chest heaving violently, and finally slammed his fist on the broken table, causing his Lightning Armor to dissipate with a bang. He knew better than anyone that, in terms of mobility, the Flying Thunder God Technique was the only solution.

Naruto released his grip and turned to walk out of the hall.

"Hidden Leaf brat!" Ōnoki floated in mid-air, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty. "The Iwagakure defenses still need to be set up..."

Before Ōnoki could finish speaking, a nimble figure leaped over his head and chased after Naruto into the snowstorm outside the garden.

"That brat!" Ōnoki was so angry that his beard trembled.

The Land of Iron are shrouded in wind and snow as sharp as knives.

Just as Naruto formed the starting hand seals for the Flying Thunder God, a heavy cloth bag came crashing down on the back of his head with a whooshing sound.

He didn't even turn his head, but caught it steadily with his backhand.

"A voucher for a full thousand of these high-purity barrier stones specially made by Iwagakure." Kurotsuchi stepped forward, her short hair whipping in the wind, her bright black eyes fixed on Naruto. "Iwagakure is willing to provide materials and engineers to establish a joint defense line with your Uzumaki Clan."

Naruto tossed the cloth bag in his hand. "Ōnoki Onoki agree?"

"He's senile, but I'm still lucid." Kurotsuchi curled her lip. "But there are conditions to this deal. Iwagakure won't guard against Hidden Leaf, but Hidden Leaf shouldn't take this opportunity to infiltrate Iwagakure's Anbu. We'll learn your Sealing Jutsu, but only for war defense; we're not allowed to interfere in internal affairs."

(Thinking to himself: This brat from Hidden Leaf may be incredibly arrogant, but he's still much more agreeable than that old man's indecisive and petty ways. The enemy is practically right in front of him, and he's still scheming over a few measly things.)

Naruto's lips curled into a smile as he shoved the cloth bag into his ninja tool pouch, "Don't worry, I don't have time to manage the village for you."

Kurotsuchi narrowed his eyes and sized him up. "You'd better keep your word. You don't look like someone who'll stay put."

"I'm restless, but I'm a negotiator." Naruto's fingertips already glowed with the azure runes of the Flying Thunder God. "If you want to learn the Uzumaki formation, you'll have to pass Karin's sealing safety test first. If you can't, forget it."

"An assessment? Who do you think you are?" Kurotsuchi raised an eyebrow, confidently lifting his chin. "You wait, I'll pass you in three days."

Bite.

A crisp notification sound rang in Naruto's mind.

[New ally's trust level increased, side quest unlocked: Iwagakure Joint Defense Line.]

[Mission Objective: Complete the handover of the defense lines between the two villages and successfully intercept the vanguard of the White Zetsu. Rewards will be awarded based on the success of the interception.]

"The defense line is now in your hands."

Before he could finish speaking, a golden light exploded in the snowstorm. Naruto's figure vanished instantly, leaving only a ring of melted snow.

Kurotsuchi looked at the circle of charred footprints on the ground and clicked his tongue. "What a decisive and madman."

Meanwhile, in the Land of Lightning, at the site of Lightning Cloud Gorge.

This can no longer be called a canyon.

Most of the mountain peak was crushed into dust by the blood-red wooden coffin that flew in from the sky. In the center of the huge meteorite crater, Madara Uchiha twisted his cracked neck, his dark red armor untouched by even a speck of dust.

"Don't young people these days even know basic manners?"

Madara slowly raised his head, his scarlet Sharingan revealing an arrogant indifference.

Opposite him, two enormous figures were struggling to steady themselves.

On the left is Sasuke's purple Susanoo, and on the right is Itachi Uchiha's red Susanoo. The two brothers forcibly activated their Mangekyo Sharingan to create Absolute Defense the moment the wooden coffin crashed down, barely managing to block the earth-shattering shockwave.

"Madara Uchiha..." Sasuke felt a sharp pain in his left eye as he stared at the legendary man. "Is this dead man Obito's trump card?"

Itachi's Mangekyou Mangekyo Sharingan, dripping with blood and tears, stared at Madara, his voice hoarse. "It's not a pure Impure World Reincarnation. The Chakra fluctuations emanating from him are chilling."

"Oh?" Madara's gaze swept over the two, lingering a second longer on Itachi's Susanoo. A mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips. "Uchiha juniors, your eye power is so-so, but looking like this, panting for breath, is truly shameful."

Underground, the Eight-Tails roared furiously, and a huge octopus tentacle burst from the ground, lashing out at Madara like a whip.

"Beasts should stay in cages."

Ban didn't even turn around; he simply raised his right hand casually.

"Boom!"

The raging Chakra transformed into a giant blue Chakra hand, which gripped the thick Eight-Tails tentacle tightly. Accompanied by a tooth-grinding cracking sound, the tentacle, powerful enough to shatter mountains, was crushed into a cloud of blood mist!

The Eight-Tails let out a painful groan from the ground.

"He suppressed the Tailed Beast with just basic Chakra without even Sharingan?" Sasuke's pupils constricted.

(Thinking to himself: How did Orochimaru come up with his theories about monsters of this caliber? This is simply beyond the scope of Ninjutsu!)

"Warm-up complete." Ban clasped his hands together abruptly, his chest bulging, the surrounding air instantly sucked away, and the temperature skyrocketed at an alarming rate.

Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!

There were no complicated Hand Seals, only the purest and most violent Chakra pouring out.

A terrifying sea of fire, hundreds of meters wide, erupted from Madara's mouth like an apocalyptic tsunami. This was no Ninjutsu; it was a moving ocean of magma! The remaining rocks of Lightning Cloud Gorge were instantly vaporized into ashes upon contact with the sea of fire.

Sasuke and Itachi's Susanoo like two small boats in a storm when faced with the sea of fire.

"Amaterasu!"

"Kagutsuchi!"

The two brothers simultaneously unleashed their ultimate eye power, and black flames transformed into a massive black flame shield in Susanoo, attempting to tear apart this sea of fire.

However, the Chakra density contained in Madara's Fire Release was too terrifying. The black flame shield began to tremble violently the moment it made contact, and gradually showed signs of being swallowed up.

"It's unstoppable." Itachi coughed violently, the blood at the corner of his eye turning even thicker.

Just as the sea of fire was about to engulf the two Susanoo, a sonic boom that shattered eardrums suddenly rang out in mid-air!

"Sizzle--"

Space seemed to be brutally torn apart by an invisible giant hand.

A dazzling golden light, carrying a pure yang aura a thousand times hotter than the Majestic Destroyer Flame, crashed into the very center of the sea of fire like a falling sun!

"Bang!"

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.

Immediately afterwards, the Majestic Destroyer Flame, and like glass struck by a giant hammer, it shattered inch by inch from the center, turning into countless cold sparks that scattered in all directions.

A fierce wind howled, scattering the smoke and dust.

In front of Sasuke and Itachi's Susanoo stood a figure wearing a tattered cloak.

His golden Chakra Cloak burned like a raging flame, and nine incredibly solid Chakra Chains lashed out behind him. The ground beneath his feet had transformed into a crystal-like sheet of glass.

Naruto slowly straightened up, twisted his wrist, and his knuckles cracked crisply.

He raised his head, his deep blue eyes, reflecting the cross-shaped starlight, fixed intently on Madara Uchiha not far away.

"The ancestor of the Uchiha, right?"

Naruto grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth, his tone brimming with undisguised arrogance and killing intent.

"I have a quirk: I love teaching you dead people who crawled out of the ground how to follow the rules of the living."

Madara's indifferent crimson eyes finally stirred with a violent ripple the moment he saw the layer of golden Chakra on Naruto's body.

His gaze suddenly swept towards Naruto's chest, and long-buried memories in his mind were suddenly awakened. That extremely domineering Yang Release aura was exactly the same as that of the man who had pinned him down and beaten him in the Valley of the End!

"Hashirama Senju... no, you brat from the Uzumaki Clan..."

Ban's arrogance subsided slightly, and for the first time, his eyes turned dangerous.

The transplanted First skin on his chest throbbed violently and uncontrollably as it sensed the Yang Release Chakra of the same origin. Faintly, the Impure World Impure World Reincarnation binding Madara's soul began to subtly distort.

Naruto keenly noticed the unusual movement on Madara's chest. He sneered, and the nine Adamantine Sealing Chains instantly taut like spears.

It's time to turn the page on this dead man's scheme.