"Fourth" immediately asked, "Then what's that dark thing? A mutated White Zetsu?"
Black Zetsu: "…"
Sasuke knew he was referring to Black Zetsu. He shook his head. "I don't know either. The old man of the Sage never mentioned it…"
"But since it isn't affected by Infinite Tsukuyomi, it's definitely not simple…"
Before Sasuke finished speaking, Uchiha Madara's body landed right in front of him!
Alert, Sasuke used his ocular power to instantly shift dozens of meters away! He reversed his grip on the sword, fully on guard! Ծ‸ Ծ
Following behind Madara, Black Zetsu clicked his tongue.
"Tsk tsk, how scared must you be to run that fast! (￢∀￢)σ"
Madara seemed bored. He looked at Sasuke, smirking.
"You and that blond kid have gained mysterious and powerful new strength, but without him, your own power drops a lot, doesn't it?"
"Now that Infinite Tsukuyomi is complete, the few of you left can't change anything. Behave, hand over that left eye. I don't want this scene to get too bloody! ┑(￣Д ￣)┍"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. "In your dreams!"
"Don't think you've already won!"
"This world still has hope — we're still here! And Shinju is still here! (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ)"
Madara laughed. "That guy — I'd forgotten him if you didn't mention him."
"Speaking of which, the God Tree's Birth covered the entire world, and I didn't sense his chakra anywhere… seems he's hiding in some other dimension…"
"Maybe he sensed my overwhelming power and got scared… started hiding… hahahahaha… ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)"
Madara burst into laughter.
Sasuke fell silent. "You're overthinking it. There's another reason he can't fight…"
Madara: "Oh? What reason? I'd love to hear the excuse he found to avoid the war! (o´Д`o)ノ"
Sasuke: "A prophecy. The prophecy of the Sage."
Madara curled his lip. "Tch, what bullshit prophecy. I never believed in that! (ꐦ°᷄д°᷅)"
"Even if he makes all the excuses he wants, he can't just sit out the destruction of the entire world, right?! (๑`･ᴗ･´๑)"
"He's really not going to care about his little pals?"
"If the world is destroyed, what use is a prophecy! ╭(′▽`)╯"
"Right, I'm a Sage now too, so let me make a prophecy — that red-haired kid will show up soon, and then he'll be defeated by me! ୧⍢⃝୨"
...
Somewhere on the battlefield.
Shinju concealed all traces of his chakra with Senjutsu together with Gamakichi, silently observing the changes on the battlefield.
When he arrived in this world, he happened to catch Madara activating the God Tree's Birth.
At first, he planned to stop it, but after sensing carefully, he realized the people trapped in cocoons weren't dead.
Because of the Great Toad Sage's prophecy, Shinju didn't want to intervene if he didn't have to — he wanted to see if Sasuke and the previous Hokage had a solution…
And then he heard Madara and Sasuke's conversation.
He didn't know what made Sasuke stronger, but he was sure Sasuke wasn't Madara's match! Even with the current Hokage — still not enough!
Immediately after, he heard Madara say: "If the world is destroyed, what use is a prophecy."
Beside him, Gamakichi whispered, "Should we step in?"
Shinju nodded!
...
On the battlefield.
Right after Madara finished his so-called Sage prophecy, Shinju and Gamakichi revealed themselves!!
"Madara, your prophecy is only half right."
No flashy entrance, no exaggerated moves — he simply walked toward Madara…
And that alone was enough pressure!!
Ever since becoming a Sage, Madara's chakra perception was razor-sharp!
So he could sense that terrifying, bottomless chakra within Shinju!
He just stood there, but the chakra radiating from him was comparable to when the Ten-Tails first appeared!
Madara: (≖╻≖;)
"So you're the real body…"
"Your chakra really is far more than that clone… terrifyingly so…"
For some reason, just a moment ago he felt invincible — but now he suddenly felt shaken!
Facing a boy barely over ten years old, his heart was actually uneasy!!
Not even back when he fought Senju Hashirama did he feel like this!
As a battle maniac, Madara quickly steadied himself, swinging the Six Paths staff!!
"Good. Only such an opponent is worthy of the current me! (｡•ˇ‸ˇ•｡)"
...
Not far away.
Sasuke quietly moved closer to the Edo Tensei Hokage.
Second Hokage was surprised. "You're not helping? Isn't he your good teammate? (꒪⌓꒪)"
Sasuke: "Why don't you help? He's your good junior. ┐(´-｀)┌"
Third Hokage summarized, "It's not that we don't want to help — we just feel… we can't!"
Fourth nodded. "We can just cheer quietly instead."
Sasuke curled his lip. "In a moment, we might not even be able to cheer… maybe we'll only shout '**'. ╮(￣▽￣)╭"
...
Madara couldn't hold back any longer — he struck first!
"Shua! Shua! Shua!"
The three black Truth-Seeking Orbs behind him shot straight toward Shinju!!
Shinju raised his hand, creating black matter from nothing — it formed a shield.
"Clang clang clang!"
It blocked Madara's attack!!
Black Zetsu: (⊙o⊙)
Madara: ∑(✘Д✘๑)
"Truth-Seeking Orbs?"
"How do you have them?!"
"When did you learn Six Paths Senjutsu?! (°A°`)"
Hearing that, Shinju looked enlightened.
"So that's what they're called — Truth-Seeking Orbs. Sounds quite sage-like. ●ｖ●"
Madara: ∑(°Д°)
This kid doesn't even know what they are and he can make something that huge?!
"Fine! You're making me excited!"
Stubborn, Madara swung his staff again — controlling all his Truth-Seeking Orbs to strike from different angles!!
Shinju looked totally unfazed — he clapped his hands!
"Swish swish swish——!!"
Dozens of small Truth-Seeking Orbs appeared around Shinju!!
"Senjutsu: Rain of Truth-Seeking Orbs!"
The orbs he summoned shot toward Madara, intercepting Madara's orbs on the way!
Shinju grinned at Madara. "Hope you don't think my raindrops are a bit too hard…"
Second Hokage nearby: "Using Truth-Seeking Orbs, you don't have to shout attack names… ◝₍ᴑ̑ДO͝₎◞"
"Can he not attack without shouting?"
"And this kid's naming sense is terrible…"
Saying that, the Second looked toward the Fourth, waiting for him to comment. (o´Д`o)ノ
He was long used to the Fourth's naming habits!
Fourth: "Naming Truth-Seeking Orb attacks… that's beyond my level… I need to think about this carefully!"
Unlike them, the Third was concentrating on the fight!
Just as the other two were chatting, his expression changed dramatically. He pointed at Madara.
"Look! Black Zetsu…ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!"
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