The battle ignited in a heartbeat.
Uchiha Madara materialized high above the Demon Mother Tree. A mountain-toppling force gathered within him as he thrust a single palm downward. The sheer, crushing pressure of the strike felt as if the very heavens were collapsing upon the earth.
The Demon Mother Tree reacted with startling speed. Its sprawling branches and dense foliage retracted instantly, coiling around its massive trunk like a protective cocoon. Simultaneously, it activated every defensive Devil Fruit ability in its arsenal, reinforcing its wooden hide to an invulnerable degree.
BOOM!
A world-ending explosion of power erupted. The Demon Mother Tree's outer foliage was annihilated instantly, and its primary trunk was hammered deep into the ocean. The impact sent a localized tsunami, thousands of meters high, surging outward in every direction.
Suddenly, countless black vines breached the water's surface, lashing out like venomous vipers to ensnare Madara.
"Sage Art: Yin Release Lightning Dispatch!"
Jet-black bolts of lightning crackled from Madara's outstretched hand, sweeping across the horizon. The dark electricity tore through the air, severing the rising tide of vines as easily as a hot knife through butter. At the same time, the Truth-Seeking Orbs orbiting Madara shot forward, plunging into the sea to hunt the Demon Mother Tree's core.
A piercing, shrill shriek echoed from the depths. The Demon Mother Tree tore itself from the seabed, its massive roots uprooting from the ocean floor as it ascended into the sky. In an instant, a chaotic barrage of different Devil Fruit powers erupted from its form once more.
"Power isn't measured by how many tricks you have!"
Madara let out a disdainful sneer. His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spun wildly as the majestic form of the Perfect Susanoo manifested around him. The crystalline titan was further coated in a shimmering, obsidian layer of Armament Haki. Four massive blades, forged from concentrated chakra and hardened by Haki, swept out in a devastating arc.
RUMBLE!
The Demon Mother Tree's multi-elemental assault was cleaved in two. The Haki-clad Susanoo lunged forward, its blades biting deep into the tree's main trunk, leaving a jagged, cavernous gash in the wood.
However, the wound vanished as quickly as it had appeared, mended by the tree's terrifying regenerative factor. Undeterred, the Demon Mother Tree retaliated, weaving various fruit abilities into a complex, synchronized web of destruction aimed directly at Madara.
"That recovery speed... it's as annoying as that idiot Hashirama," Madara muttered, curling his lip in distaste.
Inside his consciousness, the spirit of Senju Hashirama grumbled in protest, though Madara ignored him.
After swatting away another volley of attacks, Madara narrowed his eyes. He and the dual-faced Susanoo began to weave a series of complex hand signs in perfect unison. Above them, the sky let out a low, ominous groan.
A second later, a gargantuan shadow blotted out the sun. A massive meteor had breached the atmosphere, hurtling toward the battlefield with terminal velocity.
"Tengai Shinsei!"
The meteor shrieked through the air, ignited by atmospheric friction into a roaring ball of flame. It plummeted toward the Demon Mother Tree like the fist of a god.
Across the world, those watching the livestream felt their jaws hit the floor.
"Are you kidding me? He just summoned a meteor?!"
"This is terrifying... it looks like the end of the world!"
"A rock that big... surely even that tree can't survive a direct hit?"
Everyone was paralyzed with shock. They had thought Lin Xuan's previous display of power was the peak of strength, but Madara's casual summoning of a celestial body felt like a different level entirely. Or perhaps, Lin Xuan was simply still holding back.
High above the waves, the Demon Mother Tree frantically sprouted thousands of new branches, weaving them together into a colossal wooden hand to intercept the falling star.
CRASH!
The meteor slammed into the wooden palm, sending a catastrophic shockwave through the Demon Mother Tree. The sea buckled under the pressure. Branches shattered and splintered under the weight, but the tree desperately forced new growth upward to patch the cracks and hold the line.
However, just as the Demon Mother Tree seemed to stabilize the first meteor, a second, even more gargantuan star-stone broke through the clouds, slamming into the back of the first.
BOOM!
The double impact drove the Demon Mother Tree back into the depths of the ocean. The resulting splash sent plumes of seawater ten thousand meters into the air, and the entire planet seemed to shudder from the force.
The Demon Mother Tree was pulverized. Its branches were gone, and its massive trunk had snapped like a dry twig. Yet, within seconds, a faint, eerie glow flickered beneath the waves. The tree knitted itself back together, rising once more.
"It's useless!" the Demon Mother Tree roared, its voice echoing with manic laughter. "No matter how hard you struggle, you cannot kill me!"
Madara's brow furrowed. This was becoming tedious. Even complete physical destruction wasn't enough to keep the thing down. He had given Lin Xuan his word that he would handle this; if he failed to uproot this overgrown weed, it would be a stain on the name of Uchiha Madara.
"Hmph. You are indeed persistent. I, Madara, am willing to acknowledge you as a 'strong' opponent," Madara said coldly. "But in my presence, your path ends in death!"
He glanced toward Lin Xuan. Simultaneously, a rift in space opened beside Lin Xuan, and Otsutsuki Kaguya stepped through.
"Is it done?" Lin Xuan asked.
"It is ready," Kaguya replied with a stoic nod.
Lin Xuan smiled and gave Madara a subtle nod of approval. Madara's Rinnegan flared with power as his hands blurred through a final sequence of signs.
"Summoning: Gedo Mazo!"
A colossal plume of white smoke erupted behind Madara, reaching toward the heavens. Emerging from the haze was a towering, primordial tree—the very same God Tree that had been planted as a seed on the Sabaody Archipelago!
Kaguya had just returned from Sabaody to release the seals placed upon it, allowing Madara to summon its full, terrifying form to the battlefield.
As the God Tree manifested, it released an ancient, suffocating aura. For the first time, a flicker of primal, instinctive dread shuddered through the Demon Mother Tree.
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T/N:
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