Chapter 415: Madara Dancing on the Battlefield
Just as the Gobi Desert echoed with cries of "the advantage is ours," a figure wrapped head to toe in bandages, resembling a mummy, appeared on higher ground.
Crouching down, the figure slapped a hand on the ground, summoning a coffin from beneath.
Crack!
Boom!
The coffin lid shattered, flying several meters away, stirring up a storm of sand and dust that obscured the figure within.
Slowly, a young man clad in black battle armor layered with red plates stepped out of the coffin.
His spiked hairstyle radiated arrogance, and his flamboyant, self-assured entrance was unrivaled.
It was none other than Uchiha Madara himself, the legendary figure once on par with the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama!
Madara, who had eagerly awaited his revival, was exhilarated. The moment his Edo Tensei resurrection was complete, he could barely contain his excitement.
"At last... I've waited for this day for so long."
Nearby, the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, was taken aback when he saw Madara. "I didn't expect this…."
As he spoke, his gaze fell upon the Anti-Konoha Alliance forces in the distance, and he couldn't help but marvel.
"This Edo Tensei summoner truly understands war, deploying the dead to face the living."
"To think even you, Uchiha Madara, have been brought into this!"
Madara, however, was unfazed. Hearing "Edo Tensei," he chuckled and remarked, "Edo Tensei? Not the Rinne Tensei? It seems Obito must have encountered some setbacks."
This discrepancy from his original expectations intrigued him.
Had Obito acted on his own initiative, or had unforeseen changes unfolded in the ninja world?
And then there was the peculiar sight before him—a coalition of ninjas from different villages, all wearing different headbands yet fighting together.
This curious scene piqued Madara's interest further.
Retracting his gaze from the alliance, he turned to Mū and asked, "Who's the one behind this Edo Tensei?"
"I don't know," Mū replied. At that moment, his Edo Tensei body was overtaken by Kabuto, who spoke through him:
"I am Kabuto. Your Edo Tensei body has been specifically prepared to enhance your strength beyond even your prime."
Madara smirked. "Oh? Have you ever seen me at my peak?"
"Well then, let's see if you're right," Madara said, his smirk widening. His eyes swept across the 50,000-strong army. "Taking care of this army of 50,000… was this his idea?"
"You mean Obito?"
"So, his real name is Uchiha Obito? A man who supposedly died during the Third Great Ninja War… how amusing."
As Madara and Kabuto conversed, the Fourth Raikage couldn't contain himself any longer.
Activating his Lightning Chakra Mode, the Raikage unleashed his Lightning Release: Lariat, moving like a streak of lightning and reaching Madara in an instant.
Madara, unimpressed, scoffed. "Speed? Against the Sharingan?"
The moment those words left his lips, Madara casually sidestepped the Raikage's attack, grabbed his wrist mid-strike, and flung him aside.
As the Raikage stumbled in midair, Madara delivered a powerful kick, sending him flying dozens of meters away.
With his arms crossed and his flamboyant spiked hair swaying in the wind, Madara remarked:
"So this is the speed you're so proud of? Not even a fraction of Hashirama's."
"Boring."
Madara didn't bother pursuing the Raikage, allowing him to retreat to the safety of the alliance forces.
His Sharingan then zeroed in on Han, the Five-Tails Jinchūriki standing amidst the alliance.
"They didn't even capture the Five-Tails? Utter incompetence."
Leaping down, Madara transitioned from a walk to a sprint, charging straight into the alliance forces toward Han.
The sight of Madara, a single man, charging toward them caused the once-confident alliance to grow tense. Some even shouted nervously.
Despite their fear, the ninja alliance stood their ground. These were seasoned shinobi, trained in countless missions, their professionalism ingrained.
Against this overwhelming foe, they didn't retreat or flee. Instead, they charged forward to meet him head-on.
Madara's three-tomoe Sharingan spun as he analyzed the incoming attacks and identified the weakest points in their formation.
With the Sharingan's dynamic vision, Madara tore through the alliance ranks with precision and efficiency, killing and maiming multiple ninjas with every passing second.
At one point, he grabbed a discarded scythe from the ground, using it to dispatch enemies even faster as he closed in on Han.
When one ninja attempted to seize an opening by throwing a kunai rigged with an explosive tag, Madara caught the kunai effortlessly. He peeled off the explosive tag, slapped it onto a nearby enemy, and then returned the kunai to its owner.
Boom!
Madara emerged unscathed, while both the kunai-throwing ninja and his teammates perished in the explosion.
In just thirty seconds, Madara had already killed over a hundred ninjas on the battlefield.
The Fourth Raikage, unable to stand idly by, launched himself back into the fray. As the alliance's commander, he couldn't afford to let the situation spiral further out of control.
If he didn't act now, he feared this day would mirror the utter humiliation they had once suffered at the hands of Uchiha Haneda.
Seizing an opportunity amid the chaos, the Raikage delivered a powerful kick that sent Madara flying over a hundred meters away.
Madara crashed into the ground, skidding several meters before coming to a stop. Calmly, he brushed the dust off his armor and remarked:
"You're the ones who resorted to ninjutsu first, so don't blame me for what comes next."
With that, Madara began weaving hand signs.
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
A massive inferno surged forth, like a tidal wave of fire engulfing the alliance forces, consuming nearly a tenth of their army in flames.
It took an entire squad of water-release specialists—over a hundred Mist ninja—to finally extinguish the blaze.
"Pathetic. If it were Hashirama, he'd never allow his clansmen to interfere with my ninjutsu," Madara's voice carried disdain as he prepared his next attack.
Emerging from the steam, a dozen colossal, dragon-shaped fireballs streaked toward the alliance like meteors.
The impact and ensuing flames caused massive devastation, throwing the alliance into disarray.
Leaping back into the fray, Madara resumed his lethal dance among the ranks of his enemies.
Unable to remain idle, Han locked eyes with the Raikage, signaling his intent to act.
Seizing the moment while Madara was distracted by his "dance," Han summoned a massive earth pillar beneath Madara's feet, launching him skyward.
The Raikage, capitalizing on this, delivered a powerful Lightning Release: Elbow strike.
Madara, recognizing he couldn't dodge in time, braced himself. He knew his Edo Tensei body was immortal and could regenerate from any injury.
But Madara was too proud to simply take the hit. Activating his Mangekyō Sharingan, he summoned the blue spectral form of Susanoo to shield himself.
Crack!
The Raikage's elbow shattered part of Susanoo's skeletal structure. Madara glanced at the Raikage with a smirk.
"Do you want to join my dance?"
With that, Susanoo sprouted six arms and launched the Raikage into the air with one punch, before slamming him back down with another.
If Han hadn't caught the Raikage in his transformed tailed-beast state, the Raikage might have crashed into the very podium where he'd confidently declared their advantage earlier.
"Brother!!"
In the distance, Killer Bee had arrived, shouting loudly.
"Bee! What are you doing here?!" the Raikage barked, furious.
"Big bro! I'm here to back you up!"
Transforming into his full tailed-beast form, Killer Bee coordinated with Han.
The two launched a joint attack, with Bee's eight tails entangling Madara's six-armed Susanoo while Han prepared a tailed-beast bomb, the black sphere rapidly forming at his mouth.