Kiyosuke crooked a finger at Madara, taunting him.
"If you've got the guts, come at me. You're not the only one who can become the Ten Tails' jinchūriki. You're still missing a complete Eight Tails, aren't you?"
Madara would never tolerate an incomplete form of power. Half of the Nine Tails was gone, and all he had of the Eight Tails was a single severed tentacle. Though the Ten Tails had been revived, he still wanted to complete his collection.
The Fourth Raikage stepped in front of his younger brother protectively.
"Don't even think about it!"
"That's not up to you!"
Even sealed, the Ten Tails' body began to change, shifting into its second form. Its shape grew increasingly grotesque. During this time, Madara moved to capture the Eight Tails' remnants.
"Don't even dream about it!" Kiyosuke snapped.
He fired a black rod from his palm, launching it straight at Madara.
Clang!
Madara deflected the rod with ease.
"Looks like before anything else," he said coolly, "I'll have to reclaim the Rinnegan from you."
Then he charged.
Their clash was instantaneous. Kiyosuke shut his normal eye, relying only on the Rinnegan. The dual perspectives of a normal eye and the Rinnegan made combat awkward—it was easier to fight with just one.
Their taijutsu exchanges were blindingly fast, each strike powerful enough to shatter stone.
Kiyosuke's fist ignited with flames, the chakra laced with a magic-like energy that even Madara dared not block directly.
He drove Madara back with a flaming punch.
"Looks like your time's running out," Kiyosuke said, glancing past him. He noticed Sasuke behind Madara but didn't intervene.
Madara flickered out of sight, dodging Sasuke's surprise attack, and in the same instant drove a black rod clean through Sasuke's chest.
"My foolish kin," he said coldly, pulling the rod free. "You'll never ambush me with tricks like that."
He tossed Sasuke's limp body toward Kiyosuke, then turned and unleashed a roaring Fire Release.
A torrent of blazing fire surged from his mouth. The flames collided midair, erupting in a deafening explosion.
Kiyosuke caught Sasuke and leapt away, landing beside Tobirama.
"Second Hokage-sama," he said quickly, "don't let this kid die. Anchor his soul and find someone with Hashirama's cells to heal him. That'll let his Rinnegan awaken."
Without waiting for an answer, he charged back into the fight.
Tobirama frowned but nodded. He formed seals, invoking the Spirit Transformation Technique to anchor Sasuke's soul to his body.
The technique wasn't only for battle—it could pin a person's soul in place, whether to kill or to save. But it could only hold for a short time before the effect failed.
"Leave it to me," a voice said suddenly.
A man with a snake's head protruding from his stomach rose from the ground.
"Seems I came just in time. Kiyosuke-sama spared me back then—perhaps for this very moment."
It was Kabuto Yakushi, freed from Izanami and now truly reformed. Having found his own path, he'd rushed to the battlefield—and just happened to arrive as Sasuke lay dying. He was the only one capable of saving him.
"Sasuke!"
"Sasuke!!"
"Sasuke!"
Itachi, Fugaku, and Sakura all came running. Itachi saw Kabuto but didn't question why he was here—he only asked,
"How is Sasuke?"
"His condition's terrible. We have to operate now. Sakura, help me."
Wiping away her tears, Sakura joined in, assisting Kabuto as he worked. No one questioned his presence—they could only trust him now.
Tobirama stood.
"Before Madara completely merges with the Ten Tails, we need to kill him."
"Second Hokage-sama, we'll help," Fugaku said firmly.
Father and son activated their Mangekyō Sharingan. Tobirama's brow twitched. In the old days, a single Uchiha with a Mangekyō was enough to give him headaches. Now there were two—and that was not counting the one lying on the ground and the one with space-time ninjutsu.
"Tsunade's got guts, I'll give her that," he muttered. "But maybe this means the Uchiha are no longer a threat to the village. That's something."
He shook his head.
"I'll take you there."
Placing his hands on their shoulders, he teleported them away in an instant.
...
Bang!
Fist met fist. Both men staggered back.
Madara smirked.
"Not bad. Your taijutsu's first-rate too. Seems you've gotten used to the Rinnegan. What terrifying talent."
Even he had to admit—Kiyosuke's strength was extraordinary, one of the few who could rival himself or Hashirama.
Hashirama soon arrived on the battlefield with Tobirama, Mito, and the Uchiha father and son.
Together, they surrounded Madara. Even with Hashirama and Kiyosuke alone, Madara struggled to keep up—let alone with Tobirama flashing in and out of sight.
"Flying Thunder God Slash!"
Tobirama appeared before Madara in a flash, wielding a katana he'd somehow procured. But before he could strike, a black rod pierced his chest, locking his body in place.
"Just like old times," Madara said coldly, ignoring him.
Kiyosuke called out,
"Itachi! Fugaku-san! Get back—I'm going to blow this bastard to pieces!"
The two Uchiha paled and scrambled away. Even Madara flinched slightly—he remembered the power of that explosion.
"Your chakra shouldn't be enough for that level of blast anymore, should it?"
"True," Kiyosuke admitted, "but I've got another way. Behold—the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags!"
He threw a massive bundle of tags into the air.
Tobirama muttered dryly, "Those are my Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags."
Still, it was the perfect move for the situation. Everyone here except Madara was basically unkillable—using this was the smartest choice.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sky filled with exploding tags, each one setting off another in a relentless cascade. Firestorms erupted across the battlefield.
Madara's Susanoo shielded him just in time.
"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"
A giant wooden dragon burst forth, coiling around Susanoo and biting down hard.
Kiyosuke, his body battered, flew in with a flaming punch that shattered the Susanoo's armor, exposing Madara to the explosions.
"Shadow Clone Technique!"
"It's my Shadow Clone Technique," Tobirama interjected.
"Yes, yes," Kiyosuke sighed. "Not the time for credit-taking, Tobirama. The Edo Tensei that started this whole war was your idea too, remember?"
Shadow clones appeared—each one cloaked in raging fire.
Madara frowned. Something felt off.
He leapt back instantly, but the clones were impossibly fast. They flashed before him, smiling faintly—then each one erupted into a blinding explosion.
Madara: "..."
"Exploding clones?" Tobirama said, standing up as Hashirama helped remove the black rod from his chest. "This time, Madara's really in trouble."