— — — — — — —
"Hey! You little rats hiding underground! Isn't it about time you came out to get some fresh air?"
"I've already cleared the battlefield! Let's settle this once and for all!"
After Kakashi and the others had run more than a thousand meters away, Renzo used his loudspeaker to issue a challenge to Madara and his group hidden 250 meters below the surface.
---
"Oh?"
"Little rats? How arrogant. No one's ever dared to call me that before."
Madara raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise. "So, this kid is Uchiha Renzo, huh? Looks like he noticed us a while ago."
"Makes sense. Even White Zetsu got detected so easily. He must have some kind of special sensory ability. No surprise he found us!"
"Any idea what that giant hunk of metal is?" Madara asked Black and White Zetsu.
"Well..."
Black Zetsu shrugged. "No clue! Couldn't get close! Every White Zetsu that tried got obliterated instantly! That thing is strong—practically a puppet version of Susanoo!"
"But at the end of the day, it's either a puppet or something similar to the Chakra Armor from the Land of Snow. Just... bigger and stronger."
He had never seen anything like it before.
"To think he managed to build something like that in secret… Pretty impressive. I guess I haven't been paying enough attention to him. I need to learn from this mistake."
Black Zetsu made a mental note to keep better track of Renzo in the future.
"Whatever. Doesn't matter."
Madara waved his hand dismissively and stood up. "This kid doesn't seem like an easy opponent. Even from a distance, I can feel the terrifying power in his eyes."
"He must've already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan! And with that metal thing, I'll have to go all out."
He turned to Black and White Zetsu. "After this fight, my time will be up. The rest of the plan is in your hands."
"If Obito works out, great. If not, find someone else."
"Konoha is about to send some Uchiha to the Land of Water battlefield, right? Pick a few from our list and see if they can be molded."
He never insisted on Obito specifically—Obito had just seemed like a good fit.
A deeply loving and kind-hearted Uchiha, once consumed by darkness, would inevitably swing to the opposite extreme.
Naïve fools were the easiest to manipulate.
"Understood, Lord Madara!"
Black and White Zetsu immediately acknowledged the order and began withdrawing from the underground base.
Above ground, Renzo sensed their retreat but ignored them for now. His focus remained locked on Madara, waiting for him to surface.
Meanwhile, deep below, Madara used the Gedo Statue to inject a massive amount of life force into his body. In mere moments, his withered, old frame rapidly regained its youthful state.
"Ah, this feeling! Too bad it's only temporary."
Madara clenched his fist, relishing the surge of power and vitality.
"Just wait… The next time I return, the entire ninja world will kneel at my feet!"
Muttering to himself, he abruptly severed the tubes keeping him alive.
---
Aboveground, Renzo raised an eyebrow and smacked his lips. "Damn. Looks like I missed my chance to earn the legendary achievement of pulling the plug on Madara!"
BOOM!!
The ground trembled violently.
A moment later, the earth split apart as a towering, blue chakra giant emerged, standing just a few dozen meters from Renzo.
Madara, clad in his signature red armor, hovered proudly within the crystal on Susanoo's forehead. Arms crossed, he looked down at Renzo's 20-meter-tall Gundam with a cold expression.
"Brat! My name is—"
Renzo instantly recognized that Madara was trying to make a dramatic entrance.
No way he was going to let that happen.
Cutting him off mid-sentence, Renzo's Gundam shot into the air until it was level with Madara.
"Uchiha Madara! Do you want to dance?"
Madara: "…"
This brat stole my line?!
Unforgivable!
Infuriated, Madara didn't bother with pleasantries. He immediately drew Susanoo's twin energy swords and slashed at Renzo's Gundam.
Slash!!!
"Whoa! Madara, you got no honor! Attacking without a word?!"
Renzo instantly maneuvered his mech 200 meters away.
Then, with a thought—"Susanoo!"
A golden Susanoo flared to life around his Gundam, seamlessly fusing with it and rapidly expanding.
As it grew, complex sealing patterns lit up across the Gundam's surface.
Moments later, massive mechanical parts were teleported in, assembling around the Gundam as its core.
In less than 30 seconds, a colossal 120-meter-tall mecha loomed over Madara.
The battlefield had just leveled up.
"Oh?"
At first, Madara scoffed when he saw Renzo's Susanoo.
A tiny Susanoo like that? Pure garbage.
But in just seconds, Renzo's Susanoo rapidly expanded, evolving into its full form.
Now, it stood at nearly the same height as Madara's own.
Finally, Madara's expression changed.
Throughout this transformation, he made no attempt to attack.
After all, he was Uchiha Madara—if he was going to defeat his opponent, he would do so when they were at their strongest!
"Hahaha! Kid, you're interesting! You actually created something this incredible!"
Looking at the fully armored Gundam wrapped in a complete Susanoo, Madara laughed heartily. Ever since Hashirama died, it had been a long time since he had encountered such an exciting opponent!
"Then let's fight!!"
The next moment, the two colossal warriors clashed fists—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
They started exchanging blows with pure hand-to-hand combat.
Every punch and kick carried a tremendous force, sending shockwaves through the air.
The sky itself trembled, the clouds above shattered, and the ground quaked violently.
---
"Shit!"
"Fall back!! Keep retreating!!"
Kakashi and his team were knocked off their feet by the sheer force of the battle.
Without hesitation, he led Obito and Rin even further away.
At the same time, he thought to himself, "No wonder Renzo told us to run. Damn it… We were too naive! This isn't even ninja-level combat anymore!"
His entire perception of what it meant to be a ninja was crumbling.
This—THIS is what a real ninja battle looks like?!
Just then—
SWOOSH!
The Flying Thunder God kunai at Kakashi's waist flashed with light.
A split second later, a golden figure appeared in front of them.
"Yo! Kakashi! Obito! Rin! I'm not too late, am I?"
Namikaze Minato had arrived.
Still unaware of the situation, he tried to greet his three students in his usual cool and casual way—
BOOM!!!
Another deafening impact echoed from the battlefield, shaking the ground violently once more.
Minato, caught off guard, stumbled and nearly fell flat on his face.
Luckily, his quick reflexes saved him. With a backflip, he managed to regain his balance.
Lowering his stance, he looked up at the two towering giants—both over 100 meters tall—trading blows like gods in a catastrophic battle.
His face went blank.
Then, in utter disbelief, he muttered: "What… the actual hell… are those things?!"
He couldn't even be bothered to keep his words polite.
The sheer sight of these colossal warriors was too overwhelming.
Why the hell are there two monsters duking it out like this?!
"Uh…"
Kakashi and the others exchanged glances.
Eventually, Rin spoke up: "Those two over there… they're both ninjas. The blue one is Uchiha Madara. And the golden one covered in that white thing? That's Renzo."
"Huh??"
Minato was even more stunned.
He turned to Kakashi, eyes wide.
"You're telling me that platinum-and-gold giant… is Renzo?! How the hell did he build something like that?!"
"And as for the other guy…"
Minato's expression suddenly turned serious. He glanced at his three students and asked:
"I didn't mishear, did I? You said his name is Uchiha Madara?"
"That's a name you don't forget easily. Are you absolutely sure?"
Kakashi nodded.
"Renzo called him that directly. There's no reason to doubt it."
.
.
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