BOOM!
A devastating explosion swept across the heavens with such tremendous force that it seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth itself. The massive release of energy expanded outward in all directions, directly enveloping everything within a radius of several kilometers in an inferno of pure destruction.
Every structure, every piece of terrain, every trace of life that existed within that zone of annihilation was completely obliterated by the overwhelming power of the combined Tailed Beast Ball. The scale of devastation defied comprehension—this was not merely a battle technique, but a force capable of reshaping the physical world.
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu had already dove deep underground and fled to a safe distance long before the explosion reached its peak, their survival instincts warning them that remaining anywhere near the blast radius would mean certain death.
Even Madara, who stood at the very epicenter of the explosion and had been the one to orchestrate this incredible display of power, found his body completely engulfed by the raging energies that his own technique had unleashed.
The explosion continued for a full minute—sixty seconds of continuous, earth-shattering destruction that seemed to go on for an eternity. When it finally began to subside, the entire sky had been dyed a deep crimson red by the flames and superheated gases that filled the atmosphere.
Darkness fell across the landscape as smoke and debris blocked out the sun itself. When the explosion finally dissipated completely, the affected area appeared to be completely empty—as if reality itself had been temporarily erased from existence.
Where mountains and forests had once stood, there was now only a massive crater with a diameter stretching several kilometers in every direction. The sheer depth of the excavation suggested that the explosion had penetrated deep into the earth's crust, creating a wound in the planet that would remain visible for generations.
The tremendous heat generated by the explosion had caused water vapor to rise into the atmosphere and form dark storm clouds overhead. A continuous drizzle began falling from the sky, as if the heavens themselves were weeping for the destruction that had been wrought upon the land.
In the center of the enormous crater, a faint blue chakra light gradually began to dissipate, revealing Madara's form still protected by a thin, transparent barrier that had absorbed and deflected the worst effects of the explosion. His defensive technique had proven sufficient to protect him even from the devastating power of his own ultimate attack.
He raised his eyes with characteristic indifference and observed the scene around him, quickly locating what he had been searching for. Not far from his position, fragments of paper were beginning to gather and swirl together in a pattern that he recognized immediately.
The paper scraps condensed at supernatural speed, and under Madara's deliberate manipulation through the Edo Tensei technique, they gradually assembled themselves into the recognizable form of the First Hokage. The forbidden jutsu was reconstructing Hashirama's body from the damage it had sustained.
As the reanimation process completed itself, it became clear that the First Hokage had already exited Sage Mode due to the overwhelming trauma he had experienced. His reconstructed form collapsed to the ground, lacking the strength to maintain a standing position.
Madara began walking toward his defeated opponent with slow, measured steps, his movements conveying absolute confidence in his victory.
"Hashirama, you have lost," he stated with cold finality, his voice carrying no trace of emotion or satisfaction—only the simple acknowledgment of an inevitable outcome.
The First Hokage stared up at Madara's indifferent expression, his eyes filled with a mixture of frustration, anger, and profound sadness. Despite all of his legendary power, despite techniques that had once been capable of reshaping the world itself, he had been thoroughly and decisively defeated.
"You bastard!" he snarled, his voice barely more than a whisper but carrying decades of accumulated rage and disappointment.
Suddenly, a surge of chakra that seemed almost solid in its intensity erupted from his damaged and reconstructed body. The energy was so dense and powerful that it created visible distortions in the air around him.
"Attempting to resist the control of Edo Tensei?" Madara observed with mild interest. "You truly are exceptional, just as I expected."
Even someone with Madara's incredible abilities could not easily control the First Hokage using only the standard sealing mechanisms of the Edo Tensei technique. The forbidden jutsu developed by the Second Hokage possessed a fundamental flaw that became apparent when dealing with truly powerful individuals.
When the summoned person became strong enough, the caster could no longer maintain absolute control over their actions and thoughts. This limitation was precisely why Mukade's attempts to manipulate Madara during his own reanimation would have been doomed to failure.
The level of power that both Madara and the First Hokage possessed was simply too great to be easily suppressed or controlled through conventional means.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Madara raised his palm and extended it toward the struggling First Hokage. A series of black chakra receivers shot forth from his hand with deadly precision, each one aimed at a vital point on Hashirama's body.
The black rods pierced through the First Hokage's torso and limbs, and their chakra-disrupting properties immediately began interfering with his ability to resist the Edo Tensei's control mechanisms. His desperate struggle to break free from the technique's influence was systematically neutralized.
"What are you planning to do with—" the First Hokage began, his voice strained with pain and effort.
But before he could complete his question, Madara crouched down beside him, bringing his face close enough that the patterns of his Rinnegan eye quickly expanded to fill Hashirama's entire field of vision.
"I don't have time for extended conversation right now," Madara murmured, his voice carrying a note of urgent practicality.
The battle between himself and the First Hokage had been far too loud and destructive to go unnoticed. The scale of their confrontation had undoubtedly sent shockwaves throughout the ninja world, and he was certain that the current Hokage of Konoha would be unable to remain passive in the face of such obvious threats.
However, even for someone of Minato's exceptional abilities, reaching this location without the benefit of pre-placed spatial markers would require considerable time. Madara estimated that he had at least a few minutes to complete his objectives and withdraw to a more secure position.
Bang!
He pressed his palms together in a final hand seal, and the ground beneath them cracked and split. A wooden coffin rose from the earth, its ornate surface decorated with sealing formulas that would ensure the First Hokage's complete subjugation.
The coffin enveloped Hashirama's defeated form and then gradually sank back into the ground, disappearing from view as if it had never existed.
"We should leave this area immediately," Madara commanded, glancing back at the distinctive black and white figures that had emerged from the underground where they had taken shelter during the explosion.
With his primary objective accomplished, he launched himself into the air and began flying quickly toward a distant location where he could continue his preparations without interference.
Swish!
Meanwhile, at the border between the Land of Hot Springs and the Land of Frost, a figure radiating golden chakra energy crossed territorial boundaries with incredible speed. Minato's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode allowed him to travel faster than almost any other ninja technique, but even he required time to traverse the vast distances involved.
He paused momentarily as his enhanced senses detected the massive chakra signature that still lingered in the air around him. The residual energy was so powerful that it created noticeable distortions in the natural flow of chakra throughout the region.
"This chakra signature... could it really be..." he whispered, his pupils contracting with shock and growing concern.
At the same time, his Sage Mode training allowed him to perceive the severe abnormalities in the natural energy patterns of this area. Something of tremendous power had been unleashed here recently, leaving scars in the very fabric of natural chakra flow.
Immediately, Minato resumed his rapid movement, his Nine-Tails enhanced speed carrying him forward with renewed urgency. The Nine-Tails within his consciousness chose this moment to speak, its ancient voice carrying notes of recognition and surprise.
"There can be no mistake about it," Kurama declared with absolute certainty. "This is the chakra signature of the First Hokage."
The Nine-Tails had been controlled by Madara during their legendary battle at the Valley of the End decades earlier, and such traumatic experiences left indelible impressions on even the most powerful bijuu. It would certainly never forget the distinctive energy patterns of the man whose Wood Release techniques had been capable of completely suppressing its immense power.
"I was right!" Minato responded grimly, his mental voice carrying the weight of strategic implications that extended far beyond this single incident.
Throughout the recorded history of the ninja world, only two individuals had ever demonstrated the ability to use Sage Mode techniques on such a massive scale that their battles could be detected from hundreds of kilometers away. Minato himself was one of them, and the First Hokage was the other.
The Land of Frost was a relatively small nation that served as a buffer zone between the larger and more powerful Land of Earth and Land of Lightning. Despite its minor political significance, Minato had previously placed Flying Thunder God markers throughout the country as part of his comprehensive defense network.
However, when he attempted to sense those markers now, he discovered that they had all been systematically erased or destroyed. There was no doubt about who possessed both the knowledge and capability to neutralize his spatial anchors so thoroughly.
"Madara has been fighting against a First Hokage resurrected through Edo Tensei," Minato realized with growing alarm. "It seems he wants to completely control and utilize that legendary power for his own purposes!"
Although he had not yet reached the actual battlefield where the two had fought, Minato's analytical mind had already begun piecing together Madara's likely objectives and methods.
After running at maximum speed for approximately ten minutes, Minato finally arrived at the site of their battle and found himself staring down into an enormous crater that stretched several kilometers in every direction.
He gazed at the massive excavation with an expression of stunned amazement, taking in the full scope of destruction that had been wrought upon the landscape. Gradually, his expression shifted from surprise to something approaching grim determination.
Just as he had suspected, even without Mukade's assistance, Madara possessed the knowledge and power necessary to control the Edo Tensei technique independently. The quality of the reanimation was clearly far superior to anything that Orochimaru had achieved during his previous uses of the forbidden jutsu.
Based on the scale of the battle that had taken place here, the First Hokage who had been resurrected through Edo Tensei had engaged in a tremendous conflict with Madara that actually exceeded the scope of their legendary encounter at the Valley of the End decades earlier.
The First Hokage's manipulation of such enormous quantities of natural energy demonstrated that the strength of this particular reanimation was approaching the full power that Hashirama had possessed during his lifetime. This represented a level of Edo Tensei mastery that made the reanimated warriors nearly as dangerous as they had been when alive.
Minato's expression grew more solemn than it had ever been as he contemplated the strategic implications of what he was witnessing.
Even though the five major ninja nations had successfully formed their alliance, the modern ninja world was still populated by numerous powerful individuals who could pose significant threats in the wrong hands. However, the number of legendary warriors that Madara could potentially raise through his Edo Tensei army would likely be far more overwhelming than anything the current generation could field.
Since the end of the Warring States period, the ninja world had produced countless powerful and famous individuals over the span of several decades. Each era had contributed its own legendary figures, and many of those warriors had left behind genetic material or remains that could potentially be used for reanimation purposes.
Minato had no doubt that Madara, having successfully subjugated the First Hokage, would make optimal use of every legendary warrior available to him throughout history. The ninja alliance would essentially be facing the combined might of the past several generations of ninja excellence.
What the unified forces would have to confront was nothing less than the accumulated military history of the entire ninja world turned against them.
As Minato stood contemplating these troubling developments, the ground beneath his feet began to move and ripple like water, creating circular patterns that spread outward from a central point.
White Zetsu's distinctive head poked up from the shifting earth, emerging just far enough to make visual contact with the Fourth Hokage.
Bang!
In the next instant, White Zetsu was forcibly extracted from the ground by a chakra construct shaped like a massive claw. The Nine-Tails' golden energy formed a grasping appendage that seized the pale figure and brought him directly in front of Minato for interrogation.
Minato studied White Zetsu carefully, his expression growing increasingly troubled as he observed the creature's unnatural appearance and obvious artificial origins.
At this moment, White Zetsu began to speak, but the voice that emerged was completely different from what anyone would have expected from such a being.
"You arrived more quickly than I anticipated," the voice said with cold amusement.
"Madara!" Minato's eyes narrowed dangerously as he recognized the distinctive tone and inflection that could only belong to his greatest enemy.
The voice emanating from White Zetsu's mouth was unmistakably Madara's, suggesting some form of remote communication or consciousness projection that allowed him to speak through his artificial subordinates.
"The Ninja Alliance that you have created represents an impressive achievement," White Zetsu continued with Madara's voice, the words dripping with sarcasm. "Uniting the ninjas from all five major countries under a single banner is truly worthy of someone who has earned the title 'God of Ninja' in this era."
Minato understood immediately that these seemingly complimentary words were actually filled with mockery and contempt. Madara was dismissing their alliance as an ultimately futile gesture.
"What do you think of the proposal I made to you earlier?" Madara's voice asked through White Zetsu's form.
"Since you have chosen to continue this path of resistance rather than accepting the inevitable, I don't mind taking the time to defeat you—the second opponent worthy of my serious attention—before I proceed with the destruction of this world."
The voice grew darker and more ominous as Madara's true intentions became clear. Looking at White Zetsu's expressionless face, Minato could almost visualize Madara's cold smile in whatever distant location he was currently occupying.
"So tell me, Minato," the voice concluded with chilling finality, "are you and the entire ninja world prepared for the Fourth Ninja World War?"