Chapter 160 (Patreon)

Boom!

The moment the last of the nine tailed beasts was dragged into the Demonic Statue, Mihawk’s enormous Ranged Slash struck it head-on.

An explosion far more violent than a Tailed Beast Bomb shook the battlefield. A towering mushroom cloud rose into the dim predawn sky, visible from several kilometers away.

The deafening roar rang in the ears of every member of the Allied Shinobi Forces.

“Did it work?”

“Is Madara... dead?”

“Look! The tailed beasts disappeared! Were they sealed again?”

Even after the sound faded, thick dust continued to cover the Demonic Statue.

The nine tailed beasts were nowhere to be seen.

The shinobi stared at the enormous dust cloud with a mixture of anticipation and fear, unable to determine what had happened inside.

Mihawk remained outside the cloud, his Mystic Eyes fixed on the presence hidden within it.

“Everyone, leave this area immediately.”

His voice reached the surrounding shinobi without him turning around.

“The next battle is beyond your ability to interfere.”

A sensor-nin’s face immediately went pale.

“Madara’s chakra is still there!”

Ōnoki took a long look at Mihawk before using the Light-Weight Rock Technique to rise into the air.

“All units, withdraw from the battlefield!”

His voice spread across the Allied Shinobi Forces.

“Get outside the range of their attacks. Don’t lose your lives without even understanding what killed you!”

“Yes!”

The shinobi who had intended to remain could only retreat.

After witnessing Mihawk’s previous attack, none of them doubted Ōnoki’s warning. They quickly gathered the wounded and began evacuating the area.

Mihawk paid no attention to their departure.

His gaze remained fixed on the dust cloud.

It took more than a minute for the smoke and dust to disperse.

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was barely recognizable.

A deep crack stretched from the back of its head to the base of its body. The wood-like flesh inside the wound writhed continuously, slowly repairing the damage.

Half of the statue’s face had been destroyed.

Madara was in little better condition.

His right arm had been torn away by Mihawk’s Ranged Slash. By the time the dust cleared, he had already grafted the arm of a White Zetsu onto his shoulder.

His upper body was bare and covered in countless wounds, as though dozens of blades had torn across his flesh. White steam rose from the injuries as Hashirama’s cells slowly repaired them.

“Heh...”

Madara looked down at Mihawk from the damaged statue.

“You nearly killed me, Nerona Mihawk. You truly are a troublesome bastard.”

Despite his battered appearance, Madara’s presence had not weakened.

“Unfortunately, you still failed.”

He brought his hands together.

“Six Paths Ten-Tails Coffin Seal!”

The Demonic Statue immediately began losing its solid form.

Its enormous body transformed into a massive fluid-like substance before spiraling toward Madara. He stood at the center of the current as the entire statue poured into his body.

White steam erupted around him.

Madara’s hair and skin turned white at a speed visible to the naked eye. A pale Six Paths robe covered his previously bare upper body, decorated with black magatama markings.

Nine black Truth-Seeking Balls appeared behind him.

His damaged right arm regenerated completely, and a black Six Paths staff formed in his hand.

Madara’s presence changed entirely.

He was no longer merely a resurrected shinobi possessing the Rinnegan and Hashirama’s senjutsu chakra.

He had become the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki.

“As expected, it still wasn’t enough.”

Mihawk showed no surprise at Madara’s transformation.

He glanced toward the retreating Allied Shinobi Forces.

Naruto and Killer B lay where their chakra avatars had disappeared, while Sasuke remained collapsed farther away.

Mihawk returned his attention to Madara.

The nine Truth-Seeking Balls would need to be destroyed. Observation Haki and future sight would allow him to anticipate Limbo, while the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception could reveal the death of Madara’s new defenses.

Once an opening appeared, he would strike Madara directly.

Without the slightest hesitation, Mihawk rushed forward.

“So this is the power of the Sage of Six Paths?”

Madara examined his transformed body before looking toward the approaching Mihawk.

A satisfied smile slowly appeared on his face.

“I’ve been forced onto the defensive throughout this battle.”

Madara raised his Six Paths staff.

“Now I can finally enjoy myself.”

“After obtaining your trump card, you finally dare to confront me head-on?”

Mihawk’s voice remained calm as his hand moved toward Nemesis.

Madara snorted.

“Don’t misunderstand.”

He turned the Six Paths staff in his hand.

“I’m merely passing the time while the Ten-Tails finishes settling into my body.”

Madara genuinely believed that the Infinite Tsukuyomi was the only way to bring peace to the shinobi world.

It was a dream shared by countless people, even if their understanding of peace and the methods they chose were entirely different.

But Madara was also a warrior who enjoyed fighting powerful opponents.

The only reason he had avoided confronting Mihawk directly was because he understood the threat posed by the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. A single mistake could result in his death before he ever completed his plan.

Now that he possessed the Ten-Tails’ vitality, the power of both Rinnegan, and the Truth-Seeking Balls, that caution had disappeared.

Until the Ten-Tails completely stabilized within him, Madara intended to enjoy his battle with Mihawk.

Mihawk did not care about Madara’s thoughts.

Once the distance between them had closed, he lowered his body and assumed a drawing stance.

His thumb pushed Nemesis slightly out of its sheath.

Shing!

Mihawk drew his sword in a single fluid motion.

A dark-red Ranged Slash nearly ten meters tall and several meters wide erupted from the blade.

The ground split apart beneath it.

A deep trench spread across the battlefield as the enormous slash raced toward Madara.

Madara calmly raised the Six Paths staff and held it in front of himself.

The staff possessed the same properties as the Truth-Seeking Balls. Through the power of Yin–Yang Release, it could nullify ordinary ninjutsu and destroy most physical matter that came into contact with it.

Madara expected Mihawk’s attack to disappear the moment it struck.

Boom!

The Ranged Slash collided with the Six Paths staff.

However, it was neither erased nor shattered.

Instead, the tremendous force behind the attack sent Madara flying backward.

“What?”

Madara’s expression changed as his body tore through the air.

“How is that possible?”

Even Mihawk, who had immediately followed his Ranged Slash to search for an opening among the Truth-Seeking Balls, paused briefly.

A half-forgotten scene from the original story surfaced in his mind.

It was the battle in which Might Guy had opened all Eight Gates and nearly killed Six Paths Madara.

Becoming the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki granted Madara extraordinary vitality and regenerative power, far surpassing what his Edo Tensei body had possessed. Ordinary ninjutsu was also almost completely useless against him.

Unless someone possessed Six Paths power, there were only two reliable methods of injuring the Ten-Tails’ jinchūriki.

The first was senjutsu, which used natural energy.

The second was an overwhelmingly powerful physical attack.

Might Guy’s Evening Elephant had not been ninjutsu. Each punch compressed the air and launched a devastating air cannon capable of striking Madara directly.

Mihawk’s Ranged Slash followed a similar principle.

It was physical force created by his blade cutting and compressing the air, then strengthened further by Haki. It contained no chakra for the Six Paths staff to nullify.

Madara had already discovered that Haki followed entirely different laws from chakra.

Now, the result of that difference had become clear.

Even without relying solely on the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Mihawk already possessed the power necessary to injure Six Paths Madara.