Chapter 146

At this moment on the battlefield,

The Nine-Tails' phantom's massive body was sent flying like a kite with its string cut, crashing into the ground several kilometers away.

"Hah." Minato panted heavily, his voice carrying a trace of lingering fear. "Good thing we moved away from the village earlier. Otherwise."

Minato envisioned the scene of the village being razed to the ground, and his heart instantly trembled.

At this moment, Kushina stared dead at the explosion's center: "An explosion of this degree, even Uchiha Madara"

"Worthy of a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, this power indeed makes me feel a slight surprise."

Upon hearing this, Minato and Kushina's pupils suddenly contracted. They looked in disbelief toward the direction the voice came from, only to see a figure slowly walking out from the smoke and dust.

"Crack"

A piece of shattered armor fell from that figure, hitting the ground with a crisp sound. As the smoke further dissipated, Uchiha Madara's figure finally fully appeared before everyone's eyes.

Madara's armor was already in tatters, bloodstains covered his body, and in some places even charred wounds were visible. However, his movements were not affected in the slightest, as if these injuries had no effect on him at all.

"If it were the former me facing this blow directly, I might have already lost combat capability, right." Madara's voice carried a trace of amusement, the corner of his mouth hooking into a smile that was not quite a smile.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone present, a heart-palpitating light flashing in his eyes. "However, the current me"

Madara's voice had not yet fallen, the wounds on his body actually healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, those originally fatal injuries disappeared without a trace.

Just at this moment, Kushina suddenly noticed an abnormality on Madara's chest. "What is that?"

Following Kushina's gaze, there, a human face was faintly visible.

"Th-this is" Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was filled with shock. "First Hokage-sama's face!"

Madara lowered his head to look at his chest, his expression calm. "Oh, this. This is the bond between me and Hashirama, and also the source of my power."

Kushina couldn't help but blurt out: "Growing someone else's face on your own body, feels a bit perverted."

Hearing Kushina's words, Uchiha Madara's face instantly darkened. "For you to reach this step, it counts as having some ability."

Madara's voice suddenly turned cold, a suffocating oppressive feeling following: "But, the game should end now."

Voice not yet fallen, Madara suddenly widened his eyes, the pattern in his pupils rotating rapidly, he uttered two words in a low voice: "Limbo!"

Minato sensed a strange aura suddenly permeating the air, and warily surveyed the surroundings. He quickly shouted to Kushina and Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Careful, unknown what effect it has!"

Voice not yet fallen, a deafening explosion suddenly erupted around the three.

"Boom!"

A terrifying shockwave instantly swept over. The Nine-Tails' phantom shattered like glass under this power, dissolving into specks of light. Kushina crashed heavily onto the ground, spraying a large mouthful of fresh blood.

Minato and Hiruzen Sarutobi were likewise struck, their bodies instantly blown backward.

"Crack!"

Accompanied by a series of crisp bone-fracturing sounds, Minato crashed heavily onto the ground.

"Ugh." Minato struggled to rise, but found himself unable to move. He clearly realized his ribs were probably all broken.

Not far away, Hiruzen Sarutobi likewise lay on the ground. "Damn it. What ninjutsu is this."

Uchiha Madara stood in the distance, coldly watching the three fallen. He slowly raised his hands to form Hand Seals, shouting in a low voice: "Come!"

In the distance, that massive Gedo Mazo suddenly let out an earth-shaking roar. Its huge mouth slowly opened, several pitch-black chains whistling out like shells from a barrel.

"No! Kushina! Dodge quickly!" Minato barely lifted his head, seeing this scene, his pupils suddenly contracted. He exerted all his strength trying to activate Flying Thunder God, but his limbs seemed beyond his control.

Madara stood in the distance, the corner of his mouth hooking a cold smile. "Now, let me take back what belongs to me."

Pfft! The chains deeply pierced Kushina's abdomen, a terrifying power beginning to forcibly extract the Nine-Tails from her body. Kushina's body was lifted into mid-air, trembling violently, a pained wail instantly echoing across the entire battlefield.

"Kushina!" Minato's eyes were bloodshot, his voice hoarse. He struggled desperately, yet still could not move a fraction.

Just at this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice suddenly rang out: "Minato, I still have one last Forbidden Jutsu I haven't used."

Minato abruptly turned his head to look at Hiruzen Sarutobi, his pupils suddenly contracting. "Could it be that one"

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not answer Minato's question, but slowly stood up, his hands beginning to form Hand Seals. "Minato." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice at this time was incomparably low. "As Hokage, protecting the village is my duty. Even at the cost of my life"

His hand gesture suddenly changed, a terrifying chakra fluctuation erupting from his body. The Third Hokage's face revealed a resolute expression, he shouted loudly: "Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"

With Hiruzen Sarutobi's Hand Seals, the air suddenly turned incomparably cold. A hair-raising aura instantly enveloped the entire battlefield. Behind him, a tall and blurry figure slowly manifested — precisely the legendary Death God.

The Death God's hollow and cold eyes stared dead at Uchiha Madara, as if to devour his soul. Hiruzen Sarutobi's breathing became rapid, sweat continuously flowing down his forehead. He muttered to himself: "Uchiha Madara, I will use this move to take you away with me"

Voice not yet fallen, the Death God's hand suddenly swung, unhesitatingly passing through the Third's body, heading straight for Uchiha Madara.

However, facing this scene enough to make ordinary people's courage fail, Madara's face showed not the slightest panic. He coldly laughed: "Death God? Merely a thing long since useless."

Voice not yet fallen, the Rinnegan in Madara's eyes suddenly released intense light. With the eruption of his ocular power, a giant human head phantom slowly manifested behind him, on that head conspicuously written a "Yan" character.

The Death God's movement abruptly halted, its hollow eyes staring dead at Madara's Rinnegan, the scene before it making it recall some bad memories.

Next second, a scene that made everyone disbelieving occurred. The Death God actually began to slowly retreat. Its figure gradually turned transparent, finally dissipating into the air.

"How is this possible" Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi widened his eyes, disbelievingly watching all this. "Even Dead Demon Consuming Seal"

Words not finished, Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice suddenly turned weak. His body swayed a few times, collapsing onto the ground, the light in his eyes rapidly dimming.

Madara stood in place, coldly watching all this. His face carried a trace of contemptuous smile. "Truly laughable, to actually want to use this kind of method against me."

At this moment, an earth-shaking loud boom suddenly rang out. The Nine-Tails' massive body was completely extracted from Kushina's body, orange-red chakra tumbling in the air like raging flames. The Gedo Mazo opened its huge mouth, swallowing the Nine-Tails into its belly.

"Bang!"

Kushina's body fell from mid-air like a puppet with its strings cut, heavily crashing onto the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Minato's eyes were bloodshot, dead staring at the scene before him. His chest heaved violently, teeth clenched until they nearly shattered. "Damn it. Damn it!"

At this moment, Kushina's breathing grew weaker and weaker, her face pale as paper. Her fingers twitched slightly toward Minato, as if wanting to grasp something, yet only able to powerlessly scrape across the ground.

"Kushina!" Minato hoarsely shouted. He wanted to struggle to crawl to her side, utterly disregarding his fingernails tearing and fresh blood seeping out. "Why. Why did it become like this"

"Why? Let me tell you!" Madara's voice suddenly rang out.

Madara coldly observed all this from the side. He slowly walked to Minato's front, looking down at Minato from above. "As long as the concept of a victor exists, there must simultaneously exist a loser. This is an eternal unchanging principle."

Minato raised his head to glare at Madara, the rage in his eyes almost materializing, yet Madara paid no heed, continuing: "What you want to protect is precisely the root of this war. The selfishness of wanting to maintain peace will only provoke new wars."

Madara's voice was cold and ruthless. "You people, desperately protecting so-called 'love', yet don't realize this is precisely the seed that produces hatred. The more you protect, the more you lose. This is the ninja's destiny."

"Face reality," Madara's gaze swept over Kushina lying on the ground at death's door, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold sneer: "This world never goes as one wishes. The longer you live, the more you experience the helplessness, pain, and emptiness of the world. So-called hope and ideals are nothing but self-deception."

Madara's eyes grew even sharper: "The rules of all things in the world cannot be defied. Where there is light, there must be shadow."

He stared straight into Minato's eyes: "Your insufficient power is the cause of all this tragedy. Precisely because you lacked enough power, you could only watch helplessly as your loved ones died, unable to change anything."

Minato gritted his teeth, the rage in his eyes burning brighter, but his body still could not move. Every word from Madara was like a sharp blade, piercing deep into his heart.

"True peace cannot be achieved by weak ideals like yours," Madara continued, "Only by possessing absolute power can true peace be created. And you cannot even accomplish that much."

Next second, a glint of fanatical light flashed through Uchiha Madara's eyes.

"However, this tragic reality will soon be completely ended by me. In the Infinite Tsukuyomi's world, all pain, hatred, and war will cease to exist."

"In that world, no one will ever lose their loved ones again, no children will become sacrifices of war. Everyone can be with those they love forever, never again suffering the pain of separation."

Madara's voice grew increasingly impassioned: "This is true salvation! I will end this cycle filled with suffering, and create a perfect world!"

Boom! A deafening huge sound suddenly interrupted Uchiha Madara's words, a green figure like a bolt of lightning descended from the sky, landing heavily behind Uchiha Madara.

The smoke and dust dispersed, revealing a burly figure clad in a green tight suit. That person placed hands on hips, striking an exaggerated pose, and shouted in a loud voice:

"Konoha Genin · Maito Dai arrives"

(Chapter End)