Golden sand filled the sky, and weathered rocks towered everywhere.
On this day, both sides of the Allied Shinobi Forces gathered on the boundless battlefield.
Atop a tall rock structure, the Fourth Raikage, A, looked at the distant, assembling Allied Shinobi Forces, frowning and speaking in a deep voice:
"Obito! All the border defenses have been breached—this is the last line. Once this is broken, the entire Land of Lightning will be under the noses of the Allied Shinobi Forces."
No one expected that, even with an army of 100,000 White Zetsus, 30,000 Kumogakure shinobi, plus over 50,000 ninjas from the daimyo and nobles—totaling 180,000—defeat would come this swiftly.
Or perhaps, the enemy simply had too many super Kage-level powerhouses, who shattered every defense all at once.
"This is the final battleground! We cannot retreat a single step further!"
With a furious roar from the Fourth Raikage, the Kumo ninja also roared with rage. Any retreat now would mean total defeat.
They were not ordinary people; for them, defeat meant no way out. In the Land of Lightning, they stood above all, but if they lost, they'd be trampled into the mud, never to rise again.
"Heh heh, so this is the final battleground."
With a hoarse laugh, masked Obito formed hand seals. Instantly, rows of terrifying coffins burst from the ground behind him.
...
"Countless powerful chakras detected ahead, including the Third Raikage who fought before, and... it seems the enemy has summoned even more powerful forces with Edo Tensei—no! There's an incredibly strong chakra!"
Far away in the sand, the sensory ninjas among the Allied Forces were reporting, when suddenly, after sensing that terrifying chakra, they cried out in shock.
"Such powerful chakra! This chakra is even greater than any previous Kage!"
...
Bang! Bang!
Coffin lids hit the ground, scattering sand and dust. One by one, fallen powerhouses appeared, causing the Kumogakure ninja to exclaim in shock.
But when the Fourth Raikage saw his village's former powerhouses—especially his father—reanimated, his face twisted in anger.
At that moment, one coffin exploded open, alerting many Kumogakure guards—even the Fourth Raikage frowned.
Only Uchiha Obito remained indifferent, watching as the person inside, not wanting to waste a single second, kicked the coffin lid off.
"Finally out. What time is it now!?"
As the domineering voice echoed, Black Zetsu slowly rose from the ground. Seeing the figure step out of the coffin, he let out a raspy laugh.
Uchiha Madara had finally emerged, letting Black Zetsu secretly breathe a sigh of relief. Obito had been a disappointment, and now only Madara could finish everything.
"Heh heh, Lord Madara, this is the final battle of the Shinobi World. At the same time…"
As Black Zetsu reported in his raspy voice, the Fourth Raikage was shocked by the person stepping out of the coffin.
The blood-red armored figure of Uchiha Madara appeared, and from Black Zetsu's explanation, it seemed this long-dead Madara was well aware of everything that had happened in the shinobi world.
When the coffin lid fell, Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, just revived from confusion, froze at the scene before him. Then, seeing the familiar figure beside him, he burst into exaggerated laughter.
"Haha, Madara, you're here too!"
Summoned by Edo Tensei again, Hashirama was delighted to see Madara at first glance.
Good grief—Madara's imposing entrance was completely undercut by Hashirama's loud laughter.
"Hashirama!"
"Big brother! Something feels off," Tobirama Senju immediately noticed something wrong and quickly frowned, warning his brother not to be careless.
"Uchiha Madara, what is your real plan? Why does this black substance monster know you so well? And the person who performed Edo Tensei—what exactly are you plotting together?"
As expected of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju—just from a few words, he sensed the unusual relationship between Uchiha Madara and the one who performed Edo Tensei.
Hashirama, on the side, scratched his head in confusion:
"Tobirama, are you overthinking again? Madara died even before we did—how could he have anything to do with people from now?"
"Big brother!"
Tobirama was speechless; the situation was obvious, yet his big brother still didn't get it.
The domineering Madara, looking at the clueless Hashirama, couldn't help but break character.
"Hashirama! You idiot!"
Even the ever-imposing Madara couldn't keep a straight face.
Madara's fierce gaze swept toward the distant Allied Shinobi Forces, and when he spotted Uchiha Shirou, he couldn't help but smirk.
"Hahahahaha!"
Madara's classic maniacal laughter echoed across the rocks, leaving Hashirama suspicious and Tobirama's face dark.
"Big brother, something's wrong!"
Listening to Black Zetsu and analyzing the situation, Tobirama's face grew even gloomier.
Obito, on the side, coldly snorted at Madara's laughter.
"Madara, our plan has hit an obstacle—Uchiha Shirou is our greatest enemy!"
As Obito spoke, everyone's faces changed—even Hashirama finally realized and stared at Madara in disbelief.
Seeing Hashirama's shock, Madara felt a surge of satisfaction, as if he'd just chugged a cold soda on a hot day.
"As expected, Uchiha Shirou didn't disappoint me. The ambition to unify the shinobi world and rewrite the rules—hahaha!"
Madara grew more excited. Back then, he'd seen Uchiha Shirou as his successor—now, he realized Shirou was even more incredible than he'd thought.
With a perfected new world order, if not for Madara's plans, Shirou might have already accomplished this epic feat.
At his age, with such a dream, even Madara couldn't help but praise him. Back then, at that age, he was only just beginning Konoha with Hashirama.
"This outstanding successor is remarkably calm. Even now, he attributes everything to standing on the shoulders of historical giants and creating a world of great peace, never becoming arrogant."
Madara nodded in appreciation, making Obito's face even uglier.
"Madara, I'm the one you chose to execute the plan, not Uchiha Shirou!"
Obito had always wondered why he wasn't chosen, even though he awakened the Mangekyo early.
But Black Zetsu told him: Uchiha Shirou is Madara's recognized successor, and Obito is merely the one to fulfill the dream.
To put it bluntly, Uchiha Shirou was Madara's perfect inheritor, while Obito was just a pawn!
Seeing Obito's ugly expression, Madara sneered with open contempt in his eyes.
"Big brother, Uchiha Madara is the mastermind behind all this!"
Finally understanding the whole story, Tobirama couldn't help but curse in anger. But when he tried to struggle, an even stronger Edo Tensei body restrained him.
"Heh heh, Second Hokage, did you think I didn't know the weaknesses of Edo Tensei?"
Obito coldly formed hand seals, clearly enhancing the bodies of these reanimated powerhouses.
But unexpectedly, amidst this great conspiracy, Hashirama simply laughed heartily:
"Haha, we're already dead. It's great just to see the next generation again. Tsuna's husband is pretty impressive—he even said our era of founding shinobi villages was only half a step forward."
That was Hashirama—maybe naïve, but a great man.
"But Madara, you're dead too. Why not let this youngster push the shinobi world forward?"
In Hashirama's eyes, Madara's ambition always stemmed from a desire for peace—they were both seekers of peace.
Sure enough, Madara paused at these words, then smiled with renewed arrogance.
"Peace! Just like Uchiha Shirou said—who can say what's right? But whether my path or his, right or wrong doesn't matter anymore. What matters is—now, standing at the summit, are we, the Uchiha!"
Madara was most elated to see Hashirama's defeat—the system of Five Great Shinobi Villages had completely failed.
And Tobirama, the schemer, now had to watch the Uchiha stand atop the shinobi world—not just one, but two—and even Konoha, their creation, was now Uchiha's.
"Madara!"
Hashirama wanted to say more, but Madara just snorted coldly.
For a moment, he seemed to think of something, and with a mocking glance at Tobirama, looked at him as if he were a clown.
Then, Madara stepped forward, pointing into the distance with a laugh:
"Uchiha Shirou, you truly are my most satisfying successor. That girl beside you must be your daughter with Tsunade, huh? Not bad!"
Madara's sudden arrogant laughter left the distant Allied Shinobi Forces confused and made Shirou's eye twitch.
That old bastard must be referring to Uchiha Hikari standing in front of him.
"Lord Shirou!?"
Hikari looked up at Shirou in confusion, as if to ask if the person opposite was crazy.
But Shirou just smiled, affectionately ruffling Hikari's hair, and said softly:
"Hikari, go give that old bastard a shock in a minute."
"Okay!"
Their exchange went unnoticed by those on the rocks in the distance—only Madara's laughter drew the attention of Hashirama, who suddenly grew excited.
"NANI! Tsuna's daughter? Where?"
Hashirama excitedly looked into the distance, and upon seeing Hikari, laughed without thinking:
"As expected of lTsuna's descendant—she must have a strong physique!"
Upon hearing this, Madara bristled like a cat with its tail stepped on, angrily retorting:
"Idiot! Didn't you see the Uchiha clan crest? That girl's awakened the Sharingan for sure!"
Their bickering made Tobirama's face go green with fury as he glared at his idiot big brother.
"Big brother! Do you even know what's happening right now?"
Just imagining his granddaughter Tsunade giving birth to a little girl with red Sharingan eyes made Tobirama want to explode!
Unforgivable!
Meanwhile, Tsunade herself saw her grandfather and granduncle. The joy of their reunion was instantly ruined by those two old fools.
Tsunade's face darkened in anger. "Hikari, go teach that old man a lesson for me!"
In her rage, she wanted Hikari to teach Madara a lesson and let him experience what it's like to be disciplined by a great-great-granddaughter of Uchiha.
But when Hikari heard Tsunade, she instinctively turned to look at Shirou—clearly, only Shirou could command her here.
When Shirou gave her a gentle nod, Hikari took a deep breath, her expression resolute.
"I understand, Lord Shirou. I won't let you down."
Shirou smiled, turning to Tsunade:
"Tsunade, you'd better watch closely. Above the Mangekyo is the Rinnegan, but that's not the only path. Sometimes, the Mangekyo can blaze a new trail."
As Shirou's voice echoed, Hikari slowly made her way toward the front of the battlefield, drawing the eyes of both armies.
"Mangekyo!?"
Tsunade frowned in confusion, while Shirou looked at Hikari's back, smiling confidently.
"Hikari's Mangekyo is not inferior to the Rinnegan. Her eyes have taken a different path—maybe they'll surprise even the First Hokage and Madara."
As Shirou and Tsunade spoke, Madara frowned in the distance, and Hashirama's eyes widened.
"What's Tsuna doing—why is she sending her daughter out!?"
Hashirama was simply misled by Madara, or perhaps Hikari's youthful face and close position to Shirou made Madara assume she was a daughter.
The wind blew, making Hikari's long hair flutter, adding a touch of dominance to her young face, especially with the Uchiha fan on her back.
Madara and Hashirama were even more convinced. This was the Uchiha clan's symbol—now in the hands of a young girl. Who'd believe she wasn't Shirou's daughter?
Even Tobirama couldn't help but frown, staring at the dazzling figure at the front. The Uchiha crest and fan made him angry, but just thinking she might be Tsunade's daughter made him frown even more.