The wooden beams of the attic creaked in the wind, mingling with the muffled crash of the collapsing city walls in the distance, like a dying lament. Madara Uchiha sank into the faded tatami mat, the charred patch on his chest spreading visibly. The Golden Crow Fire Poison had burned through his armor, even the veins throbbing beneath his skin glowing with an eerie golden-red. Moonlight filtering through the eaves fell on his face, the bloodshot veins in his Rinnegan swirling like Spiderweb around his pupils, and his breathing produced a rattling sound like a broken bellows in his throat.
Tian Uguisu knelt before him, the acrid smell of burnt blood lingering around her nose. Her fingertips hovered half an inch above the charred area, feeling the scorching heat that distorted even the air. The White Phosphorus Snake was coiled in the corner, its tongue flicking rapidly, yet it dared not approach the poisonous fire, its scales gleaming with a cold, fearful light in the moonlight.
"Master," Tian Uguisu's voice was so low it sounded like sandpaper. She finally touched him, and her fingertips trembled as soon as they touched the spotted skin. "The fire poison... can't be suppressed anymore?"
Ban's eyelashes trembled, and he barely managed to open his eyes a crack. His Rinnegan shone eerily in the dim light, yet it couldn't conceal the deep weariness within. " The Golden Crow... is a manifestation of a celestial phenomenon, and that fire poison... is not something mortals can cure." He coughed twice, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth. "You can't defeat it."
Tian Uguisu clenched her fists tightly, her nails digging into her palms until blood beaded. When she looked up, the pale blue snake-like markings on her forehead were gradually deepening, a sign that the Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu had been pushed to its limit. "Even if we can't win, we have to fight." Her voice was hoarse, yet carried a fierce edge. "You lie here, while it burns Iwagakure outside—I was trained by you, there's no reason for me to just stand by and watch."
Ban's gaze fell on her face, and those eyes, which had seen countless battlefields, now showed a slight ripple. He wanted to say something, but in the end, he only tugged at the corner of his mouth, as if he were smiling, yet also as if he were coughing up blood. "Stubbornness... just like me."
Tian Uguisu bent down and gently touched his hand, which wasn't affected by the fire poison, with her forehead, just like she had done before each mission years ago. "Wait for me to come back." As soon as she finished speaking, the snake pattern on her forehead suddenly lit up, and her figure transformed into a pale blue stream of light, crashing through the paper door and disappearing into the night.
Outside the window, above the plains beyond Iwagakure, the black sun hung in the center of the sky. It wasn't the sun, but it was more scorching than the sun, its black flames rolling and licking the clouds, dyeing half the night sky a deathly inky black.
Tian Uguisu's figure solidified behind the black sun, her Senjutsu Chakra surging within her, carrying the chilling aura unique to Ryūchi Cave. She raised her hand and pulled open her sleeve, the Earth Spirit Spear sliding down her forearm into her palm, its shaft gleaming with an earthy yellow halo that had absorbed the power of the earth. The " Snake Molt: Void " teleportation allowed her to avoid the most intense flames surrounding the Golden Crow, but even just getting close was enough to scorch her exposed neck.
" Sage Art: White Phosphorus Snake Serpent Shadow Devourer!" she uttered in a low voice. Earth Spirit Spear Senjutsu Chakra surged along the spear shaft, instantly transforming into a hundred-foot-long white serpent with scales as white as phosphorus and fangs gleaming coldly. This was no ordinary Senjutsu Chakra Ninjutsu; it was the true essence of Ryūchi Cave's inheritance, specifically designed to devour the shadow of a spirit— the Golden Crow, though not a physical entity, possessed a shadow, and that shadow was the foundation of its power.
The white serpent hissed and lunged forward, its massive jaws precisely biting the distorted black shadow cast by the black sun. The Golden Crow suddenly let out a cry that pierced the clouds and shattered rocks, and black flames exploded, countless fiery blades raining down on the Tian Uguisu. The Tian Uguisu's pupils shrank drastically as she frantically blocked the black flame blades, Rinnegan the Shinra Tensei, but the black flames burned through her and struck her left arm. A sharp pain shot through her left arm, as if she had been thrown into a furnace. She didn't even see the trajectory of the flames before her entire arm turned into Mars.
"Tsk." She groaned, enduring the excruciating pain to activate her teleportation. When she reappeared a hundred feet away, her right hand was already pressed firmly against her empty left shoulder. The blood hadn't even had time to gush out before it was evaporated by the high temperature, leaving a ring of charred wounds. As for the white snake, it was burned to ashes by the black flames in no time, leaving not even a trace of phosphorescence.
The Golden Crow turned around, and a giant eye seemed to open within the black sun, locking onto her intently. Tian Uguisu bit her tongue, using the pain to suppress her dizziness. " Sage Art: Dragon-Snake Reverse Scale Shield!" Her remaining right arm quickly Hand Seals, and the earth suddenly trembled violently. Countless clods of earth surged up from the ground, condensing into a huge shield in front of her. The surface of the shield was covered with patterns resembling snake scales, each scale gleaming with an earthy yellow halo—it was a defense formed from the hardest Earth Spirit Soil deep underground in Iwagakure, capable of withstanding even Tailed Beast Bomb for a moment.
But the Golden Crow merely tilted its head slightly, its sharp beak slicing across the shield like a meteor. "Crack—" A crisp cracking sound echoed across the plain, and the surface of the Reverse Scale Shield was instantly covered with Spiderweb -like cracks, with dust falling in a flurry. The Tian Uguisu felt a sweet taste in her throat and was jolted back several steps. Her feet had barely touched the ground when the Golden Crow's wings swept over.
The wings, wreathed in black flames that seemed to burn everything, slammed into the Earth Spirit Armor on her chest. The armor shattered instantly, and the Tian Uguisu was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string. The excruciating pain of her shattered ribs made her vision go black, and blood gushed from her mouth and nose, staining half the sky red. She felt like a block of ice thrown into a furnace, her whole body melting away. Her Chakra was almost completely depleted, and even maintaining her Senjutsu Mode became difficult.
"It's not over yet..." She gritted her teeth, using her last bit of strength to Hand Seals, her figure becoming ethereal once more. This time, the teleportation was off-target, and she landed heavily beside a cave, kicking up a cloud of dust. Vines from the cave walls hung down, carrying damp moisture that entwined her body, and fragments of the Earth Spirit Set lay scattered on the ground, slowly absorbing the earth's power, condensing into pale golden particles of light at her wounds.
"I hope... I get better soon..." In her hazy state of consciousness, Tian Uguisu seemed to hear the cry of the Golden Crow again, a voice full of violence, as if it wanted to drag the entire Iwagakure into a sea of fire.
Meanwhile, outside Iwagakure, the Golden Crow was flapping its wings, ready to pounce, its black flames already licking at the ruins at the village entrance. Just then, a black flame suddenly rose from the ground, weaving into a huge cage that trapped the Golden Crow firmly in its center. That flame was purer and colder than the Golden Crow's black flames, carrying a domineering power that could destroy everything.
Outside the cage, Madara Uchiha stood at the valley entrance, leaning on his fan. Half of his body was charred black by the Golden Crow Fire Poison, and he staggered as he walked, but his Rinnegan shone with an astonishing brightness, like two burning Xingchen. He raised his head, looking at the Golden Crow frantically charging inside the cage, a cold smile playing on his lips, "What's the rush?"
His voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible, yet it carried an undeniable authority. "Your opponents... aren't all dead yet."
The black flame cage trembled violently, and the Golden Crow's beak slammed against the wall of fire again and again, producing dull, deafening thuds. Ban's body swayed, and the blood he coughed up dripped onto the fan, splattering into tiny droplets. He knew he couldn't hold on much longer; the fire poison was already spreading to his heart, and every movement felt like countless red-hot needles piercing him. But he couldn't fall, at least not now.
Tian Uguisu was still healing her wounds, and the remnants of the Iwagakure army were still holding the city walls. If he fell, Iwagakure would truly become a living hell.
The black flame cage finally cracked open, and the Golden Crow's flame blade shot out through the crack, grazing Ban's side and tearing away a patch of charred flesh. He groaned, tightening his grip on the fan, and formed a hand Hand Seals with his other hand, causing more black flames to surge up and temporarily block the crack.
" Madara Uchiha..." Golden Crow's voice was like countless flames burning, "You with your crippled body, you still want to stop a chariot with your bare hands?"
Madara didn't answer, but simply raised his fan. His Rinnegan spun, and the rubble on the ground suddenly floated up. A tremendous suction force pulled at the Golden Crow and the Chibaku Tensei. He was using his last bit of Chakra to sustain the battle, and each attack accelerated the loss of his life. The fire poison in his chest was burning him to the point where he was about to lose consciousness.
After an unknown amount of time, Tian Uguisu dragged her body, which had not yet been fully repaired by the power of the earth, back, this was the scene she saw: the Chibaku Tensei Cage was shattered, Madara Uchiha was kneeling on the ground, his Gunbai stuck in the soil to support his body, half of his body was almost burned to a crisp, only his Rinnegan was still faintly flickering. The Golden Crow hovered in mid-air, seemingly having also exhausted a lot of power, its black flames dimmer than before.
"Master!" Tian Uguisu roared and rushed over, her Senjutsu Chakra surging out wildly, forming an earth shield in front of Madara.
Ban slowly turned his head, noticing the empty sleeve on her left shoulder, a flicker of pity crossing his cloudy eyes. "Why did you come back..." His voice was as soft as a sigh, "Didn't I tell you... not to come back?"
"I won't go back!" Tian Uguisu knelt beside him, frantically trying to press on the wound on his chest, but the burn made her pull her hand back. Tears finally streamed down her face. "You can't hold on anymore, I'll take your place—"
"I can't take your place." Madara interrupted her, raising his hand to press down on her head, the temperature of his palm frighteningly high. " Golden Crow... is not something you or I can kill. The old white snake of Ryūchi Cave... has awakened from its seclusion, it will guard Iwagakure for a while... You need to use the Earth Spirit Armor to absorb the power of the earth to heal your injuries, take Tenchu and leave quickly."
Tian Uguisu suddenly looked up, following his gaze to the center of Iwagakure, in the direction of the Tsuchikage Building. A massive amount of Senjutsu Chakra was soaring into the sky, a power hundreds of times stronger than hers, carrying the unique azure-gold light of the Yamata no Hakami (Yamata White Snake Sage).
"Return to Konoha." Madara's voice trailed off, the light of his Rinnegan gradually dimming. "Tell them... the gods of the world... are no longer just legends... tell them... to prepare themselves."
His hand fell to his side, his body swayed, and he leaned against Tian Uguisu's chest. Tian Uguisu could feel his breathing growing weaker and weaker, and the fire poison in his chest was still spreading, which even her Earth Spirit power could not suppress.
"Master..." she choked back tears, burying her face in his charred clothes, "I won't leave... we'll go together..."
Madara didn't speak again, but took one last look at the sky. The black sun still hung high, while the western horizon was illuminated by the purple flames of the Star Ninja. Black mist of cursed warriors rose from the southern plains, and the netherfire in the north stretched into a sea—the horns of the Three Nations Allied Forces were coming from all directions, like the drumbeats of death.
Tian Uguisu sat down against the stone wall of the Tsuchikage Building, resting Ban's head on her lap. She had barely managed to conjure a blurry outline of her left arm with her Senjutsu, but it was impossible to restore it to its original state. In the distance, shouts of battle and explosions rose and fell, and the ruins cast distorted Kageko in the Kakkō.
"You said it," she whispered, as if to herself, "As long as you're still standing, you haven't lost."
Ban had his eyes closed, his breathing so faint it was almost imperceptible, yet he still managed a soft "hmm."
The horns sounded again outside the city walls, and the cry of the Golden Crow pierced the night sky. Tian Uguisu looked up at the dark sun and reached out to grasp the last remaining half of the Earth Spirit Spear at her waist. She knew that her master was right; she had to go back alive and tell Konoha everything that had happened here.
But before that, she had to protect her master's last breath and hold onto this ruined city, even if only for one night.
The golden light of the Yamata White Snake Sage shone in the center of the village, intertwining with the light of the black sun. Tian Uguisu looked down at the fading Rinnegan markings on Madara's face and smiled gently.
"Master, look, we can hold on a little longer before dawn."