[Boruto Uzumaki: "If we just stall him… Madara will fade away, right?"]
[Mitsuki: "Not sure. From earlier clips, he might get revived again later."]
[Obito Uchiha: "This just got complicated…"]
Most assumed Madara would vanish.
Edo Tensei had been dispelled; a little longer and he should dissolve into white motes.
So the later "Six Paths Madara"… must be from a separate resurrection—right?
Who brought him back?
[Mei Terumi: "That light… what is it?"]
[Ōnoki: "Susanoo has vanished—and the Edo dust is scattering. No doubt… the Reanimation was undone."]
Madara studied his hands, faintly surprised.
[A (Fourth Raikage): "Kabuto's still unaccounted for. Finding him this fast is one thing—stopping the jutsu this soon? Who pulled that off?"]
[Tsunade: "…"]
None of them imagined the one who ended Edo Tensei… was also an Edo Tensei soul.
"Whoever it was—he protected the shinobi world," Ōnoki said. "He's a hero. Seems the heavens haven't abandoned us yet."
Madara snorted. "You do have capable people among you, it seems… a pity."
[Izuna Uchiha: "Please. Who else but the Uchiha could manage that?"]
[Iwabe Yuino: "He's not wrong. The Uchiha are ridiculous…"]
[Denki Kaminarimon: "We really thought they were washed. Turns out… not even close."]
[Sakura Haruno: "…"]
[Mei Terumi: "So—ready to stand down?"]
"Not finished," Ōnoki snapped. "He'll thrash about before he goes."
Madara blurred—diving like a comet as white light leaked from his seams.
"Everyone, move!" Ōnoki shouted.
[Hashirama Senju: "Madara—enough. You're almost gone."]
[Tobirama Senju: "Hmph. Even on the edge of death, he wants to take a few with him."]
[Madara Uchiha: "Heh."]
He held back a laugh. Not yet.
Forty seconds more.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song Technique!"
A chorus of blazing dragon-head fireballs howled down.
Mei drew breath—too late.
Among the Five Kage, she was the worst positioned.
Tsunade surged forward, ignoring the shredded ache in her arm, and punched a dragon aside.
Blackened flesh knitted fast under violet lines.
"I'm fine," she said, even as her chakra guttered out.
[Jiraiya: "This is bad—Tsunade's tapped!"]
[Orochimaru: "So. What now?"]
[Kato Dan: "My turn."]
[Tsunade: "…Dan."]
Madara's soul began to lift from its vessel.
"Either way," Tsunade whispered, swaying, "we've won."
Susanoo flared one last time—its blade lancing down.
A launched to intercept—
—and Tsunade moved in a heartbeat she didn't have, leaping clear as the sword hammered earth.
"What was that?!" A stared.
"She was unconscious," Ōnoki said, stunned.
"I couldn't even twitch… so how…" Tsunade murmured.
"It's been a while, Tsunade." A warm voice. Calm. Familiar.
[Asuma Sarutobi: "What's happening?"]
[Kato Dan: "Spirit Transformation Technique. I pulled her clear."]
[Mitsuki: "Spirit… what?"]
[New Gen: "Never heard of that jutsu!"]
[Kato Dan: "It lets my spirit leave my body for a time."]
[Tobirama Senju: "Interesting… that gives me an idea—"]
[Hashirama Senju: "Banned."]
[Tobirama Senju: "You'll regret this, big brother!!"]
"Dan—why are you here?" Tsunade's voice trembled.
"Edo Tensei was released. I flew here with Spirit Transformation," he said softly. "That was close."
Time was short; his words were simple.
They spoke the wishes left undone. Even through a screen, eyes stung.
So this was the wound Tsunade had carried.
"After you died, I kept running from the pain," Tsunade said. "But I've changed. I can try again—to finish what you couldn't."
"I became Hokage, but—"
"That's enough," Dan interrupted, smiling. "Thank you, Tsunade. You've done more for my dreams than I ever could."
[Sarada Uchiha: "I'm crying… was that Lady Tsunade's boyfriend?"]
[Mitsuki: "They look perfect together."]
[Boruto Uzumaki: "Kato Dan-senpai is handsome…"]
[Jiraiya: "…"]
Jiraiya watched in silence, nursing a bottle. Everyone knew he'd chased Tsunade for years. She'd never said yes.
Iruka hovered at his elbow, uneasy. "Ero-Sennin… maybe go easy?"
"I'm sorry," Dan said. "For all the hurt my memory caused you."
"I'll be waiting over there—but don't come too soon. You are my dream."
He kissed Tsunade's forehead.
The loop closed; once, long ago, she had kissed his.
"Protecting you at the end… then this Reanimation had meaning after all."
He laughed softly, lighter than air—and then was gone.
Tsunade's eyes opened. Clear. Determined.
Madara Uchiha… I'm not letting you walk over us.
"You all right, Hokage?" A asked.
"Back on her feet—and topped off with chakra?" Madara's eyes were cold.
"I saw an old friend," Tsunade said, a small smile at the corner of her mouth.
"Then you'll meet him again soon."
A wrongness tugged at the watchers.
Why was Madara still here? Shouldn't he have ascended already?
[Ōnoki: "What is this? A bug in the jutsu?"]
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