Battle Against Madara (4)

Inside a room Hyuga Clan the Hyuga mansion, Neji stood by the window, his long hair swaying gently in the still air. In his Tenseigan, a pale blue light shone like a swirling nebula in the deep sea, reflecting every detail of the battlefield in the Land of Rivers hundreds of miles away.

He saw Naruto's pained face when the Nine-Tails was extracted, the resentment in Sasuke's eyes as his own Kusanagi Sword pierced his chest, the despair of Sakura kneeling beside them, weeping uncontrollably, and the resolute determination of Kakashi and Guy as they charged towards Six Paths Madara...

We also saw the Sage Mode markings appear Hashirama Madara Uchiha's chest when he absorbed Naruto's Senjutsu.

"I miscalculated," Neji muttered to himself, his voice revealing little emotion.

He did indeed speak with Kurama. During that conversation in the consciousness space, he explicitly told the proud fox: Madara Uchiha has been resurrected, Wood Release has an innate advantage against Tailed Beast. If she doesn't want to be resealed into the Ten-Tails' belly, she should take the initiative to cooperate with Naruto and master Sage Fox Mode or even Kurama Mode in advance.

Kurama agreed at the time, though reluctantly.

But plans can't keep up with changes. Naruto mastered the Nine-Tails' power step by step under Neji's guidance—from initially only being able to borrow a Chakra, to being able to enter Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, and then to being able to Full Tailed-Beast Transformation after reconciling with the Nine-Tails. During this process, Kurama didn't actually have time to tell Naruto the specific method for "Sage Fox Mode," or rather... that fox probably felt it wasn't necessary yet.

The result is as follows: Naruto had his Nine-Tails extracted, Senjutsu absorbed his Sage Mode, Sasuke was pierced through the heart by a sword; both boys are now "dead."

"But it's alright." Neji shook his head, a knowing glint in his Tenseigan. "Although Madara Uchiha absorbed Senjutsu Mode, it's just icing on the cake. The real trouble is..."

His gaze pierced through the void, looking towards a higher dimension—where the soul of the Sage of Six Paths, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki, was quietly watching everything. That savior from a thousand years ago should now be ready to bestow the Yin-Yang Power upon the reincarnations of Naruto and Sasuke respectively.

"Since Madara has already reached the Six Paths Tier," Neji said with a smile, "I might as well play along. Anyway, once Naruto and Sasuke resurrected and return with the power-ups given to them by the Sage of Six Paths, crushing him will be a piece of cake."

He lifted his foot and took a step forward.

It wasn't the Body Flicker Technique, nor the Flying Thunder God, but something more fundamental. "Movement." Space folded beneath his feet, distance lost its meaning. With a single step, the rooms of the Hyuga Clan's old mansion receded into the distance, Konoha's barrier closed behind him, and mountains and rivers transformed into streams of light in his vision—

Next, he stood in the sky above the battlefield of the Land of Rivers.

The night wind howled, carrying the heavy stench of blood and scorched earth. The ground beneath their feet was ravaged by the battle—forests were leveled, rocks were exposed, and huge craters were everywhere. In the center of the battlefield, the dark red Chakra storm was slowly subsiding, and a new figure emerged from it.

Madara Uchiha floated in mid-air.

He changed into a pure white haori, the wide sleeves and hem fluttering in the night wind. His once frizzy black hair had turned pure white, hanging long down to his waist. Most striking was the nine black Truth- Truth-Seeking Orb behind him, silently floating and slowly rotating like planets orbiting a star. Even with his eyes closed, a purple light still emanated from them.

Six Paths Madara was born.

Meanwhile, in the shadows at the edge of the battlefield, Black Zetsu quietly emerged from the ground. His black and white face was now filled with barely suppressed excitement—his single yellow eye was fixed on the spot in the sky, and his body trembled slightly with excitement.

"It's a success... it's finally a success..." Black Zetsu's voice was hoarse and trembling. "Lord Madara has become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, reaching the Six Paths Tier... the seal on Mother... there's finally hope of breaking..."

A millennium of planning, a millennium of waiting. From the day Kaguya was sealed away, Black Zetsu has been plotting, waiting, and searching for the right pawn. Indra Ōtsutsuki, Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha... one after another, failed, tried again, failed again.

And now, Madara has succeeded. He has become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, possessing Six Paths Tier power. All he needs to do is complete the Infinite Tsukuyomi, dragging everyone into Genjutsu world and gathering all their Chakra...

Mother will return!

Black Zetsu suppressed his elation, quietly retreated, and re-entered the shadows. The plan had reached its most crucial moment; there could be no mistakes.

In mid-air, Ban slowly opened his eyes.

What kind of eyes were those? Purple Rinnegan, slowly rotating, so deep they seemed capable of devouring souls. He looked down at his hands, feeling the unprecedented power surging within him. The Ten-Tails 'Chakra, the Natural Energy of Senjutsu, the power of the Rinnegan, the life force of Hashirama Cells... all these powers merged perfectly, forming a completely new "Six Paths Power" that transcended mortal comprehension.

"This is... the feeling of a god," Madara murmured to himself, his voice amplified by Chakra and echoing across the entire battlefield.

Then he looked up and saw two figures rushing towards him— Kakashi's back was condensing into the nascent blue Susanoo, which, although not yet complete, was already taking shape; Guy was enveloped in blue steam, his Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder, fully open, and his speed was so fast that he left a trail of afterimages in the night sky.

Two... ants.

A cold smile curled at the corner of Ban's lips. He raised his right hand and lightly tapped with his index finger.

"Immortal Technique: Yin Release: Lightning Dispatch"

It wasn't Hand Seals, nor was it gathering power; it was simply a thought. A vast expanse of purple lightning appeared out of thin air, cascading down like a waterfall! Wherever the lightning passed, the air ionized, releasing a pungent ozone odor, and the ground was plowed with deep scorch marks. Its power far surpassed any conventional Lightning Release.

Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply. His Sharingan could clearly see the destructive energy contained within the lightning—it wasn't ordinary Chakra conversion, but Senjutsu attack that combined Natural Energy and Yin Release properties. With his half-finished Susanoo, a single touch would mean annihilation.

"Kai! Come in!"

Kakashi's reaction was lightning fast. The Mangekyo Sharingan pattern in his right eye spun wildly, and Kamui was activated! Space twisted into Uzumaki —not an attack, not a defense, but—

Pulling both himself and Kai into another dimension!

"Whoosh!"

The two figures vanished in the last instant before the purple lightning struck. The lightning slammed into the ground, blasting out a giant crater a hundred meters in diameter. Lava gushed from the bottom of the crater, turning everything around into a sea of fire.

At the same spot where the lightning waterfall fell, a white figure silently appeared.

Neji stood in the air, looking at the spot where Kakashi and Guy had disappeared, a hint of approval flashing in his Tenseigan.

"Not bad in combat intelligence," he commented softly. "But now that I'm here, you don't need to take any more risks."

He raised his hand, and a Truth-Seeking Orb with green patterns on its surface separated from behind him and flew towards the edge of the battlefield—there, Sakura was kneeling beside Naruto and Sasuke, her medical Chakra exhausted, and she could only press on the two boys' no-beating hearts in vain.

The Truth-Seeking Orb flew above the five people, unfolding into a hemispherical protective shield that enveloped Sakura, Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi and Guy, who had just emerged from another dimension.

"Neji!" Kakashi looked up at the white figure in the air, his voice hoarse with excitement, "Naruto and Sasuke are dead! You... you don't have anything to say?!"

His tone was filled with suppressed anger and despair. If Neji had acted sooner, if Neji hadn't been in Konoha practicing Kunai Tenten, if...

Neji glanced down at Kakashi, a hint of helplessness flashing in his Tenseigan.

What nonsense! Do you expect me to tell you that Naruto and Sasuke are the protagonists of this world, the reincarnations of Asura Ōtsutsuki and Indra Ōtsutsuki, currently receiving power-ups from the Sage of Six Paths, and will soon be fully resurrected with upgrades? Besides, I never said they wouldn't die. Do you understand "temporary death"?

But he couldn't say those words. Neji could only sigh, his voice carrying across the battlefield through his Chakra:

"Take good care of them. They... will wake up soon."

His tone was flat, as if he were saying, "The food will be ready in a little while."

Kakashi froze. He stared at Neji's calm face outside the protective barrier, then looked down at the two gradually cooling corpses beside him, a sense of absurdity washing over him. Dead people, wake up after a while? What kind of logic is that?

But before he could press further, the standoff in the air had already shifted.

Madara Uchiha coldly stared at Neji had suddenly appeared.

The white-clad youth stood casually in the air, facing him from afar. He made no Hand Seals, no preparations, and didn't even emit much Chakra —but Madara could sense the extremely restrained danger within him. Like the deep sea, calm on the surface, yet turbulent beneath.

Neither of them moved.

The night wind swept across the battlefield, stirring up scorched earth and ashes. Moonlight shone on the two, casting long shadows behind them. Madara, surrounded by nine black Truth-Seeking Orb, and Neji, with seven pale green Truth-Seeking Orb floating behind him, silently gazed at each other.

Three minutes.

There were no words, no movements, only a clash of eyes. It was a mutual probing between Six Paths Tier powerhouses, a mutual perception of the essence of power, and a collision of understandings of the rules.

Madara could sense that Neji's Chakra was unique—it wasn't just simple Tenseigan Chakra, but also incorporated Natural Energy, a change in the nature of Yang Release, and even... a trace of the Otsutsuki Clan's aura. Neji, could "see" that while Madara's power was immense, it wasn't pure enough; the Ten-Tails' restlessness, the rejection of Senjutsu, and the residual effects of Hashirama Cells... were all subtly revealed.

Finally, Ban's patience ran out.

He couldn't stand Neji's indifferent gaze—as if the power he had gained through sheer hard work was nothing more than that in Neji's eyes. As if his millennia-long plan, his ultimate evolution, was nothing but a... joke.

"Sage Art: Storm Release: Light Fang!"

Madara opened his mouth, and an extremely thin laser beam shot out! It was no ordinary beam of light, but an attack that combined the properties of Storm Release and Senjutsu Chakra. It was as thin as a hair, yet it contained a sharpness capable of slicing through space. Wherever the beam passed, the air was ionized and emitted a blinding purple light, and the clouds in its path were directly pierced, leaving traces that lingered for a long time.

Neji's figure vanished the instant the beam of light struck him.

It wasn't a dodge, nor Body Flicker Technique, but true "spatial teleportation." He appeared in the air a hundred meters away, blue light swirling in his Tenseigan, a sneer curling at the corner of his lips:

"Celestial magic? Anyone can do that."

As soon as he finished speaking, Neji Hand Seals —an ancient hand seal unlike any other in the Shinobi World. As the Hand Seals were completed, the skin on his forehead split open, and two jade dragon horns slowly grew out. In the center of the pale blue nebula pattern in his pupils, a vertical snake eye appeared.

Senjutsu Mode - Ryūchi Cave!

"Immortal Technique: Inorganic Reincarnation"

Neji pressed one hand into the void. The ground below began to tremble, and rocks, soil, gravel... all inorganic matter seemed to be given life, twisting, deforming, and growing! Countless sharp stone spikes burst from the ground, shooting towards Madara in the air like a torrential rain. Each one was empowered by Senjutsu Chakra, and its speed was so fast that it tore through the air with a shriek.

Madara's expression changed slightly. With a thought, the nine Truth-Seeking Orb behind him instantly converged and merged into a huge black sphere in front of him, completely enveloping him.

"Bang bang bang bang bang--!"

The stone spikes pounded against the absolute defense formed by the Truth-Seeking Orb, producing a dense, drum-like impact. Each stone spike shattered the moment it made contact, but more spikes followed one after another. Tiny ripples began to appear on the surface of the Truth-Seeking Orb, a sign that the defense was being continuously impacted.

But that's not all.

Neji raised his other hand, palm up. Pale green Chakra gathered, compressed, and underwent a qualitative change in his palm...

"Immortal Technique: Dust Release - Technique of Detachment of the Primitive World"

A cone-shaped beam of light shot out from Neji's palm, its surface swirling with green Senjutsu runes. It wasn't Ōnoki's Dust Release, but rather Six Paths Tier Dust Release Tenseigan combined the power of the Tenseigan, Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu, and Neji's own understanding of the nature of matter!

The beam of light struck the Truth-Seeking Orb defensive sphere silently.

There was no explosion, no loud noise, only a teeth-grinding "sizzling" sound. The surface of the Truth-Seeking Orb, with its supposedly absolute defense that "immunes to Ninjutsu," began to melt away as if corroded by strong acid! The black substance was broken down into its most basic particles, turning into specks of light and dissipating.

"What?!" The pupils inside the protective sphere contracted sharply.

He could feel his Truth-Seeking Orb being destroyed! That decomposing power had touched the fundamental rules of the existence of matter, and even Six Paths Tier defense could not completely withstand it!

"Click..."

A crack spread across the surface of the Truth-Seeking Orb Sphere. Then, a second, a third...

"Bang!"

The moment the sphere shattered, the Dust Release beam grazed Madara's left shoulder. His white haori was disintegrated; skin, muscles, bones... all vanished the instant they touched the beam. Madara groaned, a bowl-sized hole appearing in his left shoulder, from which blood gushed forth like a fountain.

He retreated rapidly, Truth-Seeking Orb disintegrated into nine pieces, gathering at the wound to forcibly stop the bleeding. However, the injury had already been caused, and the pain of being disintegrated was unbearable even for Six Paths Tier body.

Ban's face turned extremely pale.

Both being at the Six Paths Tier, his attack was easily dodged, while the opponent's attack managed to injure him. The difference in skill... could it really be that great?

And at that moment—

"Buzz..."

A strange fluctuation emanated from the edge of the battlefield.

Madara and Neji turned their heads simultaneously to look at the area protected by the Truth-Seeking Orb Ball shield. Inside the shield, Sakura, Kakashi, and Guy also sensed something and looked down at the ground.

Naruto and Sasuke's bodies are glowing.

It wasn't the light of Chakra, but a warmer, more sacred light. Golden light emanated from Naruto's body, while purple light surged from Sasuke's body. The two lights intertwined and merged in the air, forming a pattern resembling a yin-yang symbol.

Then, the light faded.

Naruto opened his eyes. Deep within his blue pupils, a cross-shaped pattern appeared—a characteristic of the Six Paths Sage Mode. His golden Chakra Cloak transformed into a platinum-gold haori, and six black Truth-Seeking Orb floated behind him.

Sasuke opened his eyes as well. His left eye was the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and his right eye... was a purple Rinnegan! Not Madara's Rinne Sharingan, but a pure and profound Rinnegan. Although there were only three Truth-Seeking Orbs on his back, each one was incredibly solid.

The two slowly stood up from the ground.

Sakura covered her mouth, tears welling up again, but this time they were tears of joy. Kakashi's eyes widened, his jaw almost dropping to the ground—he had just been mentally cursing Neji for talking nonsense, and now... now the two "dead" people had really come back to life, and even become stronger?!

Might Guy opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end he only managed to stammer out, "This... is this the power of youth?"

Neji, watching from outside the protective shield, nodded in satisfaction. He waved his hand, and the Truth-Seeking Orb protecting everyone flew back to his side, merging back into the halo behind him.

"Alright," Neji said, a hint of relief in his voice, "The main character is here, so this extra can leave the stage."

He was indeed a little disappointed. He had originally wanted to exchange a few more blows with Madara and see what it felt like to fight between Six Paths Tier. But now that Naruto and Sasuke had been resurrected and returned with the power-ups given to them by the Sage of Six Paths, this battle was no longer relevant to him.

Stealing the spotlight from the main character? That's so boring.

In the air, Sasuke looked up at Neji, a complex light flashing in his Rinnegan.

He recalled Neji's words, "You will have Space-Time Ninjutsu that suits you better." At the time, he thought it was just an excuse, but now... after possessing the Rinnegan, he could indeed feel that his perception and understanding of space had reached a completely new level. It felt like a thin veil that had been covering his eyes had been lifted.

"Is he a prophet?" This question arose in Sasuke's mind.

Naruto, however, didn't think that far ahead. He clenched his fist, feeling the surging, unprecedented power within him, his blue eyes fixed on Madara Uchiha in the sky, his fighting spirit burning fiercely.

"Madara!" Naruto shouted, his voice brimming with energy, "This time I'm going to defeat you! And then... I'm going back to the village for Ichiraku Ramen! I'm starving!"

Everyone: "..."

This is so Naruto.

Madara's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He looked at Neji, then at Naruto, then at Sasuke, and finally at his injured left shoulder.

One against three? And all three are at the Six Paths Tier?

This battle doesn't seem so easy to win anymore.