The Complete Body Susanoo, clad in chakra armor, crushed the Senju clan's assembly hall beneath one foot, and flattened two courtyards beneath the other.
The two Senju households within those courtyards were stomped into the earth along with the ruins—reduced to pulp.
The Susanoo raised its blade—
And brought it down toward Kushina, who had fallen to the ground.
At that moment—
A sharp shout rang out.
Tsunade leapt from midair, her fist slamming into the side of the massive blade.
The impact knocked the blade away, flattening rows of nearby houses as it swept across the ground.
Tsunade's expression was grim.
If Fox hadn't warned her in advance, Kushina would have been killed instantly.
Minato appeared beside Kushina in a flash.
"Minato! Take Kushina and get out! Head for the shelter! This battle is beyond you!"
Minato immediately helped Kushina up and leapt back.
But just as they moved—
The Susanoo's blade came down again, aimed directly at Kushina.
At that instant—
The Adamantine Staff struck once more, deflecting the attack.
Boom!
The blade carved through more than a dozen houses, leaving a massive trench across the Senju compound.
Sarutobi Hiruzen.
Hatake Sakumo.
Koharu Utatane.
The three arrived.
Hiruzen glanced at the trench—over ten meters wide, several meters deep, stretching dozens of meters—and shouted:
"We can't fight inside the village! Cover me—I'll push it out!"
The Adamantine Staff extended—
Driving into the Susanoo's abdomen, forcing it backward.
Madara's eyes flickered with faint interest.
"Sarutobi Hiruzen…"
"Heh. Do you think wielding the Adamantine Staff makes you Sarutobi Sasuke?"
"Put it back in his grave."
"You're only disgracing him."
"You swing that thing like a child trying to stir the ocean."
The Susanoo only stepped back once—
Then stood firm.
For a brief moment, doubt flickered in Hiruzen's heart.
His father had once told him—
He was no match for Uchiha Madara.
But in the next instant—
His gaze hardened.
He poured more chakra into the staff, pushing with all his strength.
His father had warned him—
Madara excelled at breaking one's will.
In battle, do not look into his eyes.
Do not listen to his words.
Or you wouldn't even be able to use your strength.
Yet—
Even as the staff bent into an arc—
The Susanoo did not move.
A sense of helplessness gripped him.
He had given everything—
And was still overpowered.
Seeing the destruction beneath its retreating steps, Tsunade clenched her teeth.
She leapt forward—
And struck the Susanoo's knee with a full-powered punch.
Shock filled her eyes.
It didn't break.
What kind of technique was this?
Her right arm fell limp as she quickly channeled medical chakra to dull the pain.
How had her grandfather ever defeated something like this?
She pressed a hand to her forehead.
It was time—
To release the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
The Susanoo raised its hand.
Within its palm, three tomoe spun rapidly—
Yasaka Magatama.
Hiruzen's heart tightened.
He had seen this technique before.
Its destructive power rivaled a Tailed Beast Bomb.
The Susanoo's strongest ranged attack.
The massive chakra condensed—
And aimed directly at him.
Sakumo drew his White Fang blade, wondering—
He could cut apart a Tailed Beast Bomb the size of a human head…
But could he handle this?
Then—
Two dragon roars tore through the night.
Wooden dragons burst forth from behind, coiling around the Susanoo's shoulders.
The Susanoo staggered—
Its aim thrown off.
The Yasaka Magatama fired upward—
Grazing the Hokage Tower and flying toward the right side of Hokage Rock.
Yako caught the final motion of Madara's hand.
Even now—
Madara had instinctively angled the attack away from Hashirama's face.
Their bond… still lingered.
Choosing Shelter No. 1 beneath Hashirama's statue had been the right decision.
The Yasaka Magatama exploded within the forest atop Hokage Rock.
A fifth of the cliffside was obliterated.
Hiruzen's statue lost half its face.
"Well done! Fox!"
With Fox here—
Hiruzen felt a weight lift from his shoulders.
Across from the Senju compound lay the Uchiha district.
Uchiha Kagen stood atop the gate, his three-tomoe Sharingan fixed on the battle over two hundred meters away.
"Clan Head…"
Hearing Uchiha Tōki's voice, Kagen turned.
"Tōki. Follow the Hokage's orders."
"The Police Force is not to enter the battlefield. Focus on evacuating civilians."
Tōki clenched his jaw.
"Understood."
He turned and left.
Madara was attacking Konoha—
And yet the Uchiha were forbidden from fighting.
It was clear.
The village did not trust them.
But they couldn't disobey.
Charging into battle would only cause chaos—and suspicion.
Kagen remained atop the gate, his Sharingan spinning.
After this battle—
The Uchiha's situation would only worsen.
While the village burned—
They would be seen as standing aside.
Resentment would deepen.
He had never used Susanoo.
This was a chance to learn.
Perhaps he would never need it—
Like water left untouched in a courtyard basin, never used to put out a fire.
But he had to master it.
Back on the battlefield—
"All together! Push Madara out of the village!" Hiruzen shouted.
With wooden dragons pulling from behind—
And the Adamantine Staff driving from the front—
The Susanoo began to move eastward.
Each step shook the earth.
Madara glanced at the twin dragons.
"Hashirama…"
"The only techniques that can trouble me… are still yours."
The Susanoo's chakra rapidly drained—
Absorbed by the wooden dragons.
On the surface—
The staff, Tsunade's fists, Sakumo's blade—
All seemed powerful.
But the true damage—
Came from the wooden dragons.
Madara remained calm.
His eyes, beneath white hair—
Shifted downward.
In the next instant—
A figure emerged silently from within a tree.
Guruguru.
Behind his spiral mask, the Mangekyō Sharingan spun.
"Eternal Mangekyō: Island of Miasmic Collapse."
A black dot appeared beneath Hiruzen's feet.
It expanded instantly—
Forming a dark, viscous domain.
"Watch out!"
Koharu Utatane reacted first.
Among Tobirama's six guards, she had always been the medic.
She observed, analyzed, and always reacted first.
She saw it—
Without hesitation—
She threw herself forward, pushing Hiruzen out of the black zone.
She wasn't strong.
A traditional medic.
Her only offensive technique was the chakra scalpel.
Hiruzen stumbled as she struck his shoulder—
Then leapt aside.
The staff slipped—
The Susanoo stopped moving.
He didn't have time to think.
But when he turned—
He saw it.
Koharu had stepped into the black domain.
In the next moment—
She was gone.
Collapsed—
Flattened into a thin layer of flesh.
Only the outline of her twin buns remained.
Blood rushed to Hiruzen's head.
Sound vanished—
Replaced by a ringing hum.
Dead.
She died—
To save him.
He looked forward—
And saw the eyes behind the spiral mask.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
Just as Fox had warned—
The eyes that once belonged to Uchiha Gogo.
Why?
Why did this keep happening?
Mitokado Homura.
Koharu Utatane.
One after another—
Dead.
Guruguru spoke, his tone almost regretful.
"How fortunate you are, Sarutobi Hiruzen."
"Someone was willing to die for you."
"If I had killed you just now, Konoha would've been crippled."
"Pity… that old woman was perceptive enough to take your place."
Old woman…
Hiruzen's lips trembled.
Koharu had carried the village's administrative burden for years.
Recently, after losing her daughter and son-in-law—
She had aged rapidly.
But once—
She had loved beauty.
At the academy—
She was just like any other girl.
Bright.
Alive.
Those memories flooded his mind.
His vision blurred.
Tears welled in dry eyes.
He had seen countless deaths.
When Homura died—
He grieved.
But he understood.
That was a shinobi's fate.
But this—
This was different.
She died in front of him.
For him.
They had once sworn—
To protect her.
They had boasted—
That they would die before she ever did.
The Adamantine Staff trembled.
Then—
Shrank.
Returning to its true form.
Enma saw the shape on the ground.
Closed his eyes.
There were no words.
None that mattered.
Give him a few seconds—
And he would recover.
He always did.
The staff extended again—
Smashing toward Guruguru.
But he had already retreated into the tree.
The tree exploded into splinters.
Hiruzen lowered his gaze—
Then slowly raised his head.
"Black Ant."
"Notify Fox."
"Madara is mine."
"Have him track and eliminate Guruguru."
"Do not let him assassinate others."
Only Fox could detect him.
If left unchecked—
The slaughter would be unimaginable.
Black Ant nodded and vanished.
Sakumo appeared beside Hiruzen—
Only to freeze.
The Hokage's eyes—
Burned with killing intent.
"Hatake Sakumo."
"At any cost—kill Uchiha Madara."
"At any cost."
"Our era… is ending."
"After this… the future is yours."
Sakumo's eyes sharpened.