Above Konoha, there were no dark clouds.
A blue Chakra giant blotted out the sun.
The hundred-meter-tall Susanoo had merely drawn its sword.
The overflowing Chakra wind pressure alone tore the roofs off three streets below.
Madara Uchiha stood within that blue crystal, his arms folded across his chest.
He looked down at the village beneath his feet.
It was the gaze of someone watching ants build a nest.
It even carried a trace of boredom.
"Hashirama."
Madara's voice pierced through the wind.
"This is what you protected?"
"Weak, crowded, and utterly devoid of beauty."
"I don't even need to act personally. This fragile peace will collapse on its own."
Below.
Hashirama Senju controlled the Wood Human Arhat, desperately bracing against the giant sword capable of splitting mountains apart.
Wood chips flew everywhere.
"Madara! You don't understand at all!"
Veins bulged on Hashirama's forehead, while the Wood Dragon beneath his feet groaned under the strain.
"The children of today possess power beyond anything you can imagine!"
Madara sneered.
Beyond his imagination?
Other than that man, was there anyone else in this world worth his regard?
Just then.
Two green afterimages tore through the smoke filling the sky.
There were no Chakra cloaks.
No hand seals.
Only two bodies tempered through countless trials.
And the heavy metal cases on their backs, coated in matte black paint and marked with yellow lightning bolts.
"Konoha's Azure Beast—Might Guy!"
"Konoha's hardworking genius—Rock Lee!"
With two thunderous shouts, steam erupted instantly.
The Eight Gates, open!
Madara's gaze swept over the two men indifferently.
Taijutsu?
On a battlefield where peak experts were clashing, were they really using taijutsu to throw their lives away?
"A boring trick."
Susanoo's wrist turned slightly.
The giant sword swept sideways.
With that strike, let alone two flesh-and-blood bodies, even an iron