Sunagakure was in a state of chaos.
The ninjas of Suna weren't able to eradicate White Zetsus yet. It could be said that in terms of military strength, they were the weakest among all five major hidden villages.
Sand was soaked in blood. With White Zetsus dissolving upon their deaths, all the blood shed so far belonged to the ninjas of Suna.
"Fight!! Fight until the end!!"
"If we lose, there is no tomorrow to Suna!!"
Refusing to give in, the ninjas let out war cries. Although death was scary, losing their precious ones was scarier.
Yet, the doom seemed near. Unlike the ninjas whose stamina had limits, White Zetsus seemed to not know how to grow tired. Just like zombies, they rushed forth relentlessly, uncaring if they die.
'Fuck...!'
One of the jonins of Suna felt his end approaching as the near-most Zetsu's arm morphed into sharp spikes. He realized the attack far too late, and now, he was about to face a full blow to the face, which would lead to his death.
Just then, before the attack connected, a wave of gold sand blasted said Zetsu away from the jonin.
That wasn't the end. There were numerous streams of gold sand that simultaneously struck a huge number of White Zetsus, effectively killing them.
There was only one who could manipulate gold sand in today's world. Overjoyed, the Suna ninjas exclaimed,
"Kazekage-sama!"
"Huff... huff... I hope I'm not too late."
The fourth Kazekage of the village, Rasa, made his appearance. Although he looked quite exhausted, his eyes didn't yield as he faced the still approaching army of White Zetsus.
"Leave the rest to me!"
From beneath him, the gold dust arose in a way that resembled a nimbus cloud. It carried Rasa up high in the air.
He made a lifting motion. Correspondingly, the wave of gold sand erupted from the plains of sand all around. A huge batch off gold sand now hovered over the army of White Zetsus.
Rasa then formed a hand seal.
"Magnet Release: Giant Gold Dust Burial!"
The huge volume of gold sand fell down atop of the White Zetsu army at once, crushing them from the underneath.
That wasn't the end. The gold sand continued to crush downward, pushing down the sandy plain underneath and creating a huge pit by the end. This was possible because the gold sand was heavier than the usual sand.
Rasa, landing back on the ground, caught his breath as he fell to one knee. He huffed as the sweat dripped down from his body.
"Kazekage-sama!"
"I'm... fine...! Check whoever's in a dire need, not... me...!"
With the arrival of Rasa, the situation in Suna seemed to be resolved.
"What now, Madara?"
From afar, White Zetsu asked.
"We used up everything we had."
"You'll see."
Uchiha Madara, with his long and spiky hair, stood. Wearing a full-on battle armor and holding onto his infamous Gunbai, he appeared mighty, as if he were to be the incarnation of war god.
Now, Madara's charcoal-black eyes morphed into the fearsome Mangekyo Sharingans.
Their location at the moment was peculiar. They were close enough to monitor the situation of Suna ninjas who were located around the village for the sake of protection. At the same time, they were high enough to view the inside of the village.
Just as any other hidden villages, are, the central tower is the Kazekage's office. During Rasa's absence, his wife, Karura, was in charge for the administrative tasks, and therefore, she occupied the office.
Currently, Karura was standing in front of the window, spectating the battle and sighing in relief upon witnessing Suna's victory.
She then raised her eyes and discovered Madara and Zetsu from afar. She froze.
Madara's Sharingans spun.
Then, there was an eruption in the middle of Suna.
The central tower collapsed as the huge, monstrous creature suddenly appeared.
One tail was released, roaring in the middle of the village.
"...!"
Rasa and Suna ninjas turned, not having expected such a development.
"One tail...! How did it—"
Rasa, turning his head away from the one tail, discovered Madara at last. His eyes trembled in a mix of fear and rage.
"MADARA!!!"
"Don't yell too loudly, Kazekage. It makes you seem even punier than before."
Madara hopped down the peak of the dune, casually.
"So, with me at the front and one tail at the back, what would you do?"
Rasa growled, seemingly conflicted.
The Suna ninjas were devastated, unable to believe that the village that they successfully defended was now in the process of destruction.
"Hahahah!!! At last, I am free!!!"
Rasa clenched his fists so tight that his nails dug into his palm, drawing blood. He glared at Madara with all the rage he had, and Madara looked back at him coldly, snorting as he did so.
"Kazekage."
Then, two people landed by Rasa's side.
They, wearing the black cloaks that had the symbols of red cloud all over, were Kisame and Hidan.
Kisame, in particular, was holding onto Karura, who was in a nigh-death state due to the forced exit of one tail.
"Here. Take your wife."
"You are..."
Rasa immediately took over Karura, who was unconscious.
Kisame, grinning, pointed his sword at Madara, unbothered by the Suna ninjas who stared at them in confusion.
"So you're the Uchiha Madara?"
"What if I am?"
Revealing his jagged teeth, Kisame spoke,
"Hidan."
"Sent it."
Hidan, unsheathing Kiba swords, stepped up to join Kisame.
"Well, what are you waiting for?"
Kisame then eyed Rasa,
"Help us in holding our own against that monster. Leave one tail to your ninjas."
Rasa nodded, knowing that Kisame's suggestion was the most logical choice.
"...Why are you helping us? Akatsuki who recently assaulted Konohagakure... I never expected to be joining force with you."
"Because we share the common interest. And that common interest is Uchiha Madara."
"Fair enough."
Rasa had one of the nearest ninjas take Karura for him and ordered them to focus on dealing with one tail. There was no time to be emotional. Grimly, with quivering lips, Rasa glared at Madara as he vowed to fight.
"Hm..."
Madara, simply watching as they made accommodations, rubbed his chin.
"You are probably thinking of stalling time until Akashi arrives, no?"
"Heh, so what?"
"Well..."
Madara chuckled,
"What if I tell you that I am omnipresent?"
__________
"Hah... don't try to fool me, Uchiha Madara!!"
The newly appointed fourth Raikage, A, roared.
Kumo was currently in the dilemma of its own. Madara somehow managed to cast genjutsu on two tails, who was in good terms with its jinchuriki Nii Yugito, and forcibly tore the tailed beast out of Yugito's seal.
The jinchuriki of eight tails, B, was in an attempt to subdue two tails, but given how strong tailed beasts are at their unleashed forms, it wasn't an easy task.
"You killed my dad and Raikage, unleashed the beast in my village, and now, are trying to mock me?!"
"Believe what you want."
Madara shrugged apathetically. He looked rather amused by A's outrage, if anything.
"Well then, shall we begin?"
__________
"One after the other... haha... perhaps, Kiri is destined to be doomed."
One civilian muttered with his raised to the sky as he saw the gigantic six tails rampaging in the middle of the village.
"Fifth Mizukage is dead, and now, this? Uchiha Madara... haha... this can't be true, right?"
Buildings collapsed one by one. Given how close Kiri was to the body of water, the impact generated waves, crashing back and forth wildly.
The current ruling class of the village, Kaguya Clan and Funato Clan, brashly charged in at Madara and were annihilated in a matter of seconds.
With Kiri having casted away their precious bloodline limits and the last advocate for peace, Terumi Mei, there was no one capable enough to fend off the threat any longer.
People wondered if they were getting punished by the heaven.
"Tch... useless people and useless village..."
A man with Kubikiribocho set a foot in this location. Clothed lightly, he, Momochi Zabuza, stood before Madara who was practically floating in the air with his arms crossed.
"And you are?"
"Momochi Zabuza. Just your average ninja."
"Yes... you do seem average."
Zabuza's face twitched at that.
"Fucker..."
"So? What business would the average ninja have with me?"
Zabuza turned to witness the crazed form of six tails. The village has always known that six tails was relatively calm and agreeable.
The fact that six tails was in such a state meant that Madara managed to put the beast under the genjutsu, no matter how ridiculous it sounded.
"Either I live or die."
Zabuza slammed Kubikiribocho on the ground, generating a light crack.
"I'll entertain you for a while, Madara."
__________
Takigakure, the Village Hidden By a Waterfall.
It was the village covered in green everywhere. it could be said that it was one of the most nature-friendly villages, and were, to some extent, even more well-versed in fighting in the forest than the ninjas of Konohagakure.
The atmosphere, however, wasn't as peaceful as it was supposed to be.
People shrieked in terror as the menace flew in the sky.
The seven tails was flapping its insect wings as its shadow loomed over the entire village.
It then dove, slamming its horn into the nearby building. It completely shattered and those who were unfortunate got crushed under the shattered pieces. The earth quaked slightly, showcasing how impactful the slam was.
"Taki was given seven tails because of how the village is known for frequently producing skilled jonins."
Seated atop the edge of one of the intact buildings, Madara remarked.
"Think about it. Be it a genin or jonin, they are equally weak in front of those at my calibre. Yet, that foolish Hashirama... hmph."
Madara looked down, at Gai and Dai who were glaring at him from below.
"Akatsuki. If you are wishing for a daybreak, why are you trying to stop me? My act would bring peace to the world. It will be the ultimate daylight. The new dawn. Whatever you want to call it."
"Don't try to fool us. The life within genjutsu isn't the life. The choices we make are, regardless of how good or bad they may be, what define the life itself."
"Oh really? Even after all that Konoha did to you?"
"...Looks like someone pried into my past."
Dai gnarled his teeth. Gai scowled, unable to keep himself calm even though he knew that Madara was trying to provoke them.
"There is no point in talking any longer. Gai, let's do this!"
"Yeah!"
The father and son clenched their fists as the potent and vibrant energies exploded out of their bodies.
"Eight Gates..."
Madara narrowed his eyes.
__________
Konoha has gone completely silent.
Thankfully, unlike the other villages right now, they weren't suffering from the rampages of tailed beasts.
Instead, due to having experienced Obito's assault previously, they were well prepared.
Ninjas were armed. Even with them having scattered throughout the Land of Fire to deal with White Zetsus, they were quite formidable.
"So you are Uchiha Madara."
Namikaze Minato stood across Uchiha Madara, as he wore the white cloak with flames engraved on its edges.
"Why are you doing all this? Why would you be willing to go to this extent?"
As Minato questioned with a cold expression on the outside, he inwardly grimaced.
'...The White Zetsu Army's purpose was to keep our feet tied. I wasn't able to head to Ame and visit Akashi. Now, Madara is here...'
"I've heard about you, Yellow Flash."
Madara, fearless in front of countless ninjas that had even the members of Uchiha Clan mixed among them, smirked as he leaned into his Gunbai that was in contact with the ground.
"Flying Thunder God, huh? Guess who found Tobirama's scroll."
"...So you do know."
"How could I not? When the purpose of that technique is to counter the Uchiha Clan's Sharingans?"
"What?"
That, Minato didn't know. He briefly lost his composure, although he immediately regained it.
"Well, not that it matters. After experiencing it a couple of times, it tends to get quite repetitive, especially since you can only travel to those specialized kunais."
"Let's test out then,"
Minato flipped out his tri-pronged kunais and held two, one on each hand,
"If the same applies with me."
Madara grinned, finding an excitement before the opportunity for a fine battle.
__________
"...What?"
Mei frowned as she checked the communication paper once more. In confusion and disbelief, she turned to Akashi who was in standby.
"Madara... he appeared in Taki as well!"
"How?!"
Yahiko shouted, unable to believe what he heard.
"Konoha too... Madara is sighted."
Konan added on, viewing the same communication paper as Mei—one that was originally in Akashi's possession.
The bird—Ao's summon—then appeared at the site with a puff of smoke.
"Lady Mei, I came to deliver you the message that Madara showed up in Kumo!"
As if that wasn't enough, Zabuza's wolf too appeared.
"Madara! Madara! Woof woof!"
"...What is going on?"
Nagato pulled his hair in frustration.
"Which one is real?!"
"One is real, while the others are clones of some sort..."
Akashi closed his eyes, thinking.
"The clones are special, if they are unable to discern whether Madara they saw is a clone or not."
There were many means to strengthen clones. Akashi assumed as someone who lived and researched for years, Madara had methods to create replicas that were almost as strong as himself.
Mei looked at Akashi, looking for a solution.
"...Then what now, Akashi?"
Everyone seemed to be lost.
Where to head off at?
They knew that if even the world's strongest leaders couldn't handle him, they couldn't. Akashi was the only one, and he was only one person.
"Simple."
However, Akashi didn't share their sentiment.
The moment he received that there are Madaras in all the sites with tailed beasts, he formulated the answer in his mind.
"I, too, send clones of my own."
The premise was simple. Generate shadow clones, but with the life-imbued Yin-Yang chakra.
Lifting his hands, Akashi formed the hand seal.
Yin-Yang Release: Shadow Clone technique.
It was the time for a counterattack.