Chapter 139 (Patreon)

At approximately 3:40 p.m., on the Fourth Division’s battlefield.

“He’s here… That chakra is incredibly powerful!”

Hinata, who had been sitting beside Mihawk, suddenly opened her eyes. Her expression became solemn as she looked into the distance.

Mihawk sat cross-legged beside her.

He slowly opened his eyes and turned toward an enormous rock formation ahead of them.

Two figures had appeared at its summit.

The first was Mū, the bandage-covered Second Tsuchikage who should have already been sealed.

The other wore crimson armor over a black, tight-fitting battle suit. His long black hair fell freely down his back, reaching his waist.

Cracks covered his reanimated face, while the darkened eyes unique to Edo Tensei contained a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

He stood with his arms crossed, looking expressionlessly down at the Fourth Division.

The Allied shinobi had been sealing the remaining enemies and preparing to relocate to another battlefield.

When they noticed the two figures standing above them, disbelief spread through their ranks.

Ōnoki’s reaction was even stronger.

His face filled with shock as he shouted, “Impossible! That is… Madara Uchiha!”

“What?”

Gaara immediately looked toward the man standing beside Mū.

His expression became grave.

“So that is what he looks like beneath the mask?”

“Wait…”

Cold sweat appeared across Ōnoki’s forehead.

Shock and confusion filled his eyes as he stared more closely at Madara.

“Look at his eyes.”

Gaara followed Ōnoki’s gaze.

His pupils immediately contracted.

“Those cracks… He was summoned through Edo Tensei?”

“Yes.”

Ōnoki nodded heavily.

“His appearance is exactly as I remember it.”

Naruto’s shadow clone deactivated Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and stared at Madara in confusion.

“Then does that mean the masked Madara is an impostor?”

“Edo Tensei can only summon the dead back into this world,” Gaara replied gravely. “If the man standing before us is the real Madara Uchiha, then the masked man must be someone else.”

“There is no doubt,” Ōnoki declared. “This is the real Madara. I stood before him when I was young. I could never mistake that face or his chakra.”

Naruto looked completely bewildered.

“Then who is the masked guy?”

“I don’t know,” Gaara answered. “But whoever he is, he must have some connection to the Uchiha clan.”

Ōnoki had no time to dwell on the question.

His wary gaze remained fixed on Madara.

While they spoke, Madara was also examining the Allied Shinobi Forces below.

“They wear the same forehead protector, yet their uniforms come from different villages,” Madara observed. “Is this some new allied army?”

“The Five Great Shinobi Villages have united,” Mū replied. “The world is currently at war.”

Madara glanced down at the cracks covering his hand.

“This is not Rinne Rebirth.”

His eyes narrowed slightly.

“Something must have gone wrong with the plan.”

He turned his gaze toward Mū.

“Who cast the Edo Tensei?”

“I don’t know.”

The moment Mū answered, his expression abruptly changed.

His eyes turned blank as Kabuto assumed direct control over his body.

Mū slowly turned toward Madara and smiled.

“My name is Kabuto Yakushi. I am his collaborator.”

Madara remained completely unconcerned.

“Speaking to me through another reanimated corpse… What a distasteful man.”

“I prepared your Edo Tensei body differently from the others,” Kabuto continued through Mū. “Your current body is very special.”

His smile deepened.

“However, you should avoid being cut by two particular shinobi below. There is a possibility that even your body will not regenerate.”

Madara finally showed a trace of interest.

“Oh?”

“Are you saying someone in that army can counter Edo Tensei?”

“Yes.”

Kabuto nodded through Mū.

“Two anomalies have appeared during this war. Both possess unknown dōjutsu unrelated to the Three Great Dōjutsu—the Sharingan, Byakugan, and Rinnegan.”

“The boy possesses icy-blue eyes that allow him to kill whatever his blade cuts. Even the technique sustaining an Edo Tensei body can be destroyed.”

“The girl possesses blue-and-white eyes capable of controlling gravity and repulsion. She can gather incoming ninjutsu into a gravitational field and send it back at its caster.”

“They both are only sixteen years old.”

“Hmph. Two children.”

Madara’s interest immediately faded.

“Unknown dōjutsu have appeared before. Possessing unusual eyes does not mean they understand how to wield true power.”

Kabuto did not argue.

“Perhaps. After all, your current body is even more powerful than it was during your prime.”

Madara slowly turned toward Mū.

His expression darkened.

“You…”

“Have you ever seen me during my prime?”

“No,” Kabuto answered. “That is why I would like you to show me now.”

Whoosh!

Before the conversation could continue, a wave of sand swept toward the rock formation from the side.

Just before it struck, Madara and Mū vanished.

Madara leapt from the summit and descended toward the battlefield.

The moment his feet touched the ground, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan swept across the ten thousand Allied shinobi before him.

A suffocating pressure descended upon the entire army.

Madara’s voice carried across the silent battlefield.

“As you wish.”

“…Hm?”

Madara had only just prepared to attack when his body suddenly stopped.

His feet left the ground.

An invisible force seized him and pulled him into the air.

The sensation resembled the attractive force of the Rinnegan, yet its control and intensity felt distinctly different.

“Gravity?”

Madara raised one eyebrow.

His Sharingan immediately turned toward the source.

Not far from the Allied Shinobi Forces, two figures stood atop a tall rock formation.

One was a young man with a Black Blade resting at his waist.

Beside him stood a girl dressed in white, her blue-and-white patterned eyes shining as she held her right hand toward Madara.

The gravity restraining his body was clearly coming from her.

“So you’re the girl Kabuto mentioned.”

Madara smiled faintly.

“You managed to move me. Not bad for someone so young.”

His gaze briefly shifted toward Mihawk before returning to Hinata.

“However, the two of you are still far too inexperienced to challenge me.”

Madara slowly formed a hand seal.

“As a reward for moving me, I’ll show you the fire of the Uchiha clan.”

He drew in a deep breath.

“Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!”

BOOM!

A concentrated torrent of fire erupted from Madara’s mouth.

The flames expanded violently, forming an enormous blazing spear that followed the direction of Hinata’s gravitational pull and shot toward Mihawk and Hinata at tremendous speed.