The dark clouds overhead grew denser, and though rain poured down heavily, the sky showed no signs of clearing. A powerful wind swept across the plains, slanting the rain sideways onto Uchiha Madara's face. Water streamed down his cheeks, dripping to the ground. Within the thick canopy of clouds, streaks of lightning flashed and rumbled ominously.
Thunder's glow lit up Uchiha Madara's expression. In Gaara's eyes, the cold and fierce man standing before him seemed to carry a trace of sorrow between his brows.
As if sensing something, Madara suddenly ceased injecting chakra into the Gedo Mazo. The fleshy tongues that were pulling Gaara's soul quickly retracted into its mouth, and Gaara's torn soul rapidly returned to his body.
"What's going on?"
Gaara, regaining consciousness, felt a mix of surprise and relief as Madara suddenly halted his extraction.
Madara tossed Gaara aside like a ragdoll, then looked up at the sky.
Boom!!!!
A flash of lightning streaked across the clouds—almost as if it had eyes—and struck Madara directly.
The deafening thunderclap echoed across the battlefield. Everyone turned toward Madara in shock.
Was this divine retribution?
The thought flashed through Gaara's mind.
Far away, Rasa—along with Sasuke, the masked man, and White Zetsu—also sensed the change and looked skyward, eyes solemn.
"This is..."
"Hahahahaha!!"
Rasa propped himself up with shaking arms, but managed to rise, staring at Madara amid the thunder, and laughed out loud with exhilaration.
Gaara looked at his father in confusion. Why would Rasa be laughing now? A lightning strike—even if it hit Madara—surely wasn't enough to kill him. What would change?
But Gaara got his answer soon enough.
As the thunder faded, a new figure silently appeared on the battlefield—not far from Madara.
No one had seen him arrive. He was just suddenly… there.
"It's fast…"
"You predicted my move?"
Within the storm, Madara's voice rang out. He raised his hand, purple chakra flaring and dispersing the lightning that had struck him.
"I hadn't even come for you yet… and you've already come to me."
Madara's eyes narrowed, his body subtly trembling—not in fear, but in excitement. There was only one man left in this world who could truly push him to fight with all his might.
"Uzumaki Raiden!"
Madara growled, naming the red-haired young man who now stood calmly before him.
"I took Shisui's eye—of course I was coming for you," Raiden said. He held his long blade at his side, one hand resting on its hilt, eyes closed.
"Seems you've changed. Did Shisui's eye help?"
He made no move to strike first. Now that he was here, he wouldn't let Madara escape. Raiden poured chakra into the ground discreetly, constructing a barrier.
"Hmph. Uzumaki Raiden… tricks like that are pointless in front of my eyes."
"Don't worry—I'm not going anywhere. I still plan to take the Nine-Tails back."
As Madara replied, two different chakra types burst from his body. Susanoo formed around him, but its form had transformed—the usual purple armor now glowing a fiery red.
It radiated a molten heat that sizzled the rain as it fell, shrouding Susanoo in a cloud of white mist. Its form flickered like a phantom in the storm.
This was unlike any Susanoo Raiden had seen. Most Susanoo were blunt-force tanks. But this one felt different—enhanced, enchanted, dangerous.
Raiden's Kagura Mind's Eye flared. The chakra now radiating from Madara was vastly more intense—and different—from before. He felt like a volcano ready to erupt.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Madara had no patience to wait. Susanoo raised its hand, and a massive suction force pulled at Raiden.
Drawn by the gravity, Raiden's body lifted from the ground and flew toward Madara.
"Still using those old tricks?" Raiden said softly, disappointed.
Madara ignored the taunt and raised Susanoo's blade to strike.
But just as Raiden was about to be impaled, his body turned into streaks of black lightning and vanished.
"What is that?" Madara muttered. He had never seen such a strange jutsu. He activated his Mangekyō and Rinnegan, but his vision was flooded with Raiden's chakra—without a trace of Raiden's body.
Then—whoosh!—a massive, dark-blue barrier surged up around them, enclosing several kilometers of space.
Inside the barrier, Gaara and Rasa felt the space around them twist—and in the next instant, they had been teleported outside the barrier.
Stunned, they looked at one another in silence. Finally, Rasa exhaled deeply.
"This battle is far beyond us now. From here on… it's up to Uzumaki Raiden."
Gaara stared through the barrier at the towering Susanoo, feeling his own powerlessness weigh heavy on him.
Zzzzt!!
BOOM!!!!
Inside the barrier, black lightning suddenly formed before Susanoo—and struck it directly in the chest. The blast blew a hole clean through it, the impact throwing Susanoo back several steps. It collapsed to one knee, creating a shockwave that sprayed rain and gold dust into the air.
Inside the armor, Madara looked stunned. He glanced at Raiden with disbelief, then grimaced and began repairing Susanoo with focused chakra.
Raiden was even stronger than before.
Even without the power of the Nine-Tails, Raiden had pierced Susanoo's defense—that was dangerous.
"Madara, you've changed… but your strength hasn't improved much."
"If you're still clinging to the same tactics, you're not leaving this place."
Raiden spoke with a low chuckle as he drew Sakegari no Tachi, pointing the blade directly at Susanoo.
Inside the barrier, Uchiha Sasuke, the masked man, and White Zetsu remained trapped as well.
The masked man tried to use his space-time ninjutsu to escape—but to his shock, he couldn't open a dimensional gate.
Uzumaki Raiden had sealed the entire field.
White Zetsu tried to sink underground, but even beneath the surface, the barrier held firm.
They couldn't escape.
"Raiden intends to destroy all of us…"
"If Uchiha Madara loses, we're finished."
"Sasuke, White Zetsu—we must assist Lord Madara. He can't fall here."
The masked man's tone was grave. Without his space jutsu, he was vulnerable—and terrified.
"I don't think we can interfere in that kind of battle…"
Sasuke struggled to hide the smirk tugging at his lips. He responded with a forced grim expression. In truth, he had no desire to help Madara.
In front of them, the colossal figure of the Nine-Tails emerged—now clad in golden chakra armor, lightning and chains crackling across its plated form.
Even to Sasuke's Sharingan, the chakra Raiden emitted was overwhelming—far beyond Madara's Susanoo.
The masked man fell silent. With Sharingan of his own, he too saw it clearly.
They were powerless in this fight.
White Zetsu, calm as ever, had half his body submerged underground—ready to escape from the aftershock, if not the battle itself.
"ROAAAR!!"
With a thunderous roar, the golden-armored Nine-Tails charged.
As it lunged, its tails whipped forward, targeting Susanoo.
Despite its massive size, it moved at terrifying speed—closing the gap in moments.
Madara reacted quickly and used Shinra Tensei, releasing a repulsive force that halted the beast's charge for just a moment—just enough to summon twin chakra blades for Susanoo.
He swung to sever the incoming tails.
"Same old moves... no progress!"
Raiden scoffed. At the last second, the tail feint pivoted, slamming into the sand before Susanoo.
The unstable, gold-dust-covered ground collapsed beneath Susanoo's feet.
It stumbled.
Raiden seized the opening.
In a flash, he shot forward—breaking through Susanoo's core with one clawed strike and slamming into Madara's center.
At the same time, the golden chains of Raiden's Kongō Fūsa unraveled from the Nine-Tails' armor, piercing Susanoo and aiming directly for Madara.
Caught off guard, Madara's eyes widened. He roared:
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Wall!"
Massive trees burst up beside Madara, forming layered wooden shields.
Raiden's claw slammed into them, cracking the surface—but not breaking through.
The elastic force rebounded, pushing Raiden back.
At the same time, the golden chains also embedded into the wood, stopped short of piercing the inner shield.
Madara exhaled sharply. He had narrowly blocked the strike.
"Hashirama... this time, I owe you," Madara muttered quietly.
(End Of Chapter)
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