Chapter 149 (Patreon)

BOOM!

The gigantic meteorite crashed down upon the Ten-Tails.

Its enormous body almost filled the entire interior of the Four Red Yang Formation. It descended like a mountain falling from the heavens and struck the Ten-Tails directly from above.

The impact shook the entire battlefield.

The ground rolled beneath everyone’s feet with far greater force than an ordinary earthquake. Countless shinobi staggered, while deep cracks raced across the surrounding land.

Even the four crimson walls of the barrier trembled beneath the collision.

A vast cloud of dust and pulverized stone filled the Four Red Yang Formation, completely obscuring everything inside. From the outside, only shifting shadows could be seen through the barrier’s transparent red walls.

It took several moments for the dust to begin settling.

When the interior finally became visible again, the Allied Shinobi Forces fell silent.

The meteorite had shattered into countless boulders upon impact, burying nearly the entire body of the Ten-Tails.

Only its enormous head remained exposed.

Its body was trapped beneath both the crimson torii gates created by Hashirama’s Sage Art: Gate of the Great God and the mountain of shattered rock brought down by Hinata’s Tengai Shinsei.

No matter how violently the Ten-Tails struggled, it could not move.

“Everyone, now is our chance!”

Hashirama’s voice rang across the battlefield.

He opened another passage in the Four Red Yang Formation.

This time, the opening appeared several meters above the ground. The lower section of the barrier had already been blocked by the mountain of rubble surrounding the Ten-Tails.

The shock upon the faces of the Allied Shinobi Forces immediately gave way to excitement.

“Let’s go!”

One after another, they rushed toward Hashirama’s position.

The shinobi gathered chakra beneath their feet and leaped through the elevated passage, transforming into countless afterimages as they entered the barrier.

However, the strongest shinobi on the battlefield could not stop themselves from looking toward Hinata.

Those who already knew her felt as though they were seeing her for the first time.

Those who had never met her would never forget her after tonight.

The previous Hokage and the current Five Kage were no exception.

Mihawk and Hinata’s intervention during the earlier battle in the desert had changed the course of the war.

The Fourth Division had escaped the devastation Madara would otherwise have inflicted upon it.

Madara had also never received the opportunity to confront all Five Kage together. As a result, none of them had suffered the terrible injuries that would have prevented them from participating in tonight’s battle.

They had all witnessed Hinata’s control over gravity.

The Five Kage understood better than most how much power had been required to pull a meteorite from beyond the atmosphere and guide it precisely into the Four Red Yang Formation.

Hinata no longer merely possessed strength comparable to a Kage.

She had already surpassed that level.

However, Hashirama and Tobirama understood the true significance of her power more clearly than anyone else.

While maintaining his section of the barrier, Tobirama looked toward Hinata.

“Brother, did you notice that girl’s dōjutsu?”

“Yes.”

Hashirama nodded, his expression becoming thoughtful.

“Those eyes aren’t the Rinnegan. They’re something entirely different.”

He continued studying the blue-and-white patterns within Hinata’s eyes.

“I’ve never seen or heard of a dōjutsu like that.”

Tobirama turned toward Hiruzen.

“Monkey, which village does that girl belong to? Do you recognize her?”

Hiruzen stared at Hinata for several seconds.

“She seems familiar...”

Hinata had still been a child when Hiruzen died. Her appearance had changed considerably since then, and the unknown dōjutsu made it even harder for him to recognize her from such a distance.

Hiruzen eventually shook his head.

“I can’t place her.”

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

A succession of explosions suddenly interrupted their conversation.

Dazzling blue light erupted from the distant cliff as Madara’s Perfect Susanoo spread its wings and soared into the night sky.

“Mihawk!”

Madara’s voice carried across the battlefield.

“I won’t let you get close this time! If you intend to defeat me, then come and face me in the sky!”

The Perfect Susanoo raised its enormous hands.

Several blue magatama condensed between its palms before being hurled toward Mihawk.

“Yasaka Magatama!”

The magatama descended like enormous streaks of blue light.

Mihawk stepped upon the air with Geppo and changed direction instantly.

One magatama passed beside him and struck the cliff below.

BOOM!

The upper half of the cliff disappeared within a violent explosion of blue chakra.

More magatama followed, but Mihawk moved through the air as naturally as though he were walking across solid ground.

Every attack missed him by a narrow margin before crashing into the wasteland below.

Hiruzen’s eyes widened when he heard Madara call Mihawk’s name.

“Mihawk... I understand now.”

He stared at the young swordsman moving through the sky.

“That’s Nerona Mihawk. He was still a child when I died, but he was already one of Konoha’s most promising shinobi.”

Despite agreeing to conserve her strength, Hinata had never completely taken her attention away from Mihawk and Madara.

She hovered near the Allied Shinobi Forces while carefully watching the battle with her Tenseigan.

Hinata understood that Mihawk wanted to face Madara alone.

However, she still searched for any opening that might allow her to support him without interfering directly.

Madara’s Perfect Susanoo turned in the air to continue pursuing Mihawk.

For a single instant, the crystal containing Madara became exposed from Hinata’s direction.

“It’s now.”

Hinata raised her slender hand and spread her fingers.

She gently closed them around the distant Perfect Susanoo.

An immense gravitational force immediately descended upon Madara.

The air surrounding the Perfect Susanoo warped as its enormous body was dragged downward.

Madara’s Rinnegan shifted toward Hinata.

“Hmph. I’ve been watching you.”

His eyes widened.

“Shinra Tensei!”

A powerful repulsive force erupted from the Perfect Susanoo.

The invisible forces collided in midair.

Hinata’s gravity was forced away from Madara, bending toward the side before dispersing across the sky.

“Hinata.”

A familiar voice reached her ears.

Hinata looked toward Mihawk.

He stood upon the air below Madara’s Perfect Susanoo, his expression completely calm.

Mihawk gave her a slight shake of his head.

Hinata immediately remembered what he had told her before they reached the battlefield.

Unless the situation became truly dangerous, she was supposed to preserve her chakra.

Hinata released her gravitational hold.

Madara’s Perfect Susanoo steadied itself in the air.

Mihawk gave a small nod of approval before turning his attention back toward Madara.

Hiruzen had also heard Mihawk call Hinata’s name.

His gaze returned to the girl floating above the Allied Shinobi Forces.

“Hinata... Of course.”

The image of the young girl from his memories finally overlapped with the person before him.

“That girl is Hinata Hyūga, the eldest daughter of the Hyūga Clan’s main family.”

“Hyūga?”

Tobirama raised an eyebrow.

“Are you saying the Byakugan can evolve in the same way as the Sharingan?”

His expression became increasingly doubtful.

“But throughout the entire history of the Hyūga Clan, there has never been a record of such an evolution.”

“None that I know of,” Hiruzen answered.

“The Byakugan has always remained the Byakugan. I’ve never heard of it transforming into a completely different dōjutsu.”

Hashirama’s face immediately brightened.

“So Mihawk and that powerful girl are both from Konoha?”

A broad smile appeared upon his face.

“That’s wonderful! Our village has produced some truly incredible shinobi!”

High above the battlefield, Madara continued maintaining his distance from Mihawk.

After their previous battle, Madara understood how dangerous it would be to allow Mihawk into close range.

He also had no intention of facing Mihawk and Hinata together.

By remaining in the sky and constantly attacking from a distance, Madara hoped to force Mihawk into spending more strength pursuing him.

Mihawk had already seen through that intention.

Madara’s plan would not prevent Mihawk from reaching him. Geppo allowed Mihawk to move through the air freely, and his Ranged Slashes could cross the distance between them in an instant.

However, forcing the battle to continue in the sky would make defeating Madara far more exhausting.

Madara was already aware that Mihawk had not completely recovered from their previous battle.

He was trying to stall for time.

The Ten-Tails was now within reach, and Madara’s plan lacked only two final steps—returning fully to life and becoming the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki.

There was no reason for Madara to risk everything in another direct confrontation before achieving that goal.

Whether Madara attempted to delay him, ordered Black Zetsu to launch a surprise attack from underground, or coordinated with Obito, Mihawk had already considered those possibilities.

His eyes shifted toward the Ten-Tails inside the Four Red Yang Formation.

If events continued as he remembered, Kakashi and Obito would soon return from the Kamui dimension.

Obito would emerge with terrible injuries before seizing control of the Ten-Tails and becoming its second jinchūriki.

Madara would then begin searching for an opportunity to force Obito to resurrect him.

Even after Madara returned fully to life and became the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki, Mihawk did not believe that he and Hinata would be powerless against him.

Madara was unquestionably dangerous.

His experience, intelligence, and willingness to use any available tactic made him an even more troublesome opponent than someone with greater raw power.

However, once Madara cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Black Zetsu would make its move.

That would mark the collapse of Madara’s plan and the beginning of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s return.

Kaguya possessed greater power, but Mihawk had already concluded that her lack of battle experience made her less unpredictable than Madara.

There was no reason to exhaust himself by chasing Madara now.

Mihawk lowered Nemesis and stopped pursuing the Perfect Susanoo.

Using Geppo, he descended calmly from the sky and landed upon the battlefield.

Madara remained above, watching him from within the crystal on the Perfect Susanoo’s forehead.

Mihawk spread his Observation Haki across the surrounding area.

Part of his awareness remained fixed upon Madara, while the rest penetrated beneath the battlefield to guard against Black Zetsu approaching from underground.

His gaze settled upon the imprisoned Ten-Tails.

For now, he would conserve his strength.

All he needed to do was wait for Obito to return.