76 - Dancing with the Complete Susanoo
At the beginning, when Kei left the cave to fuse the trait, he left behind two shadow clones. Upon returning, one of the clones was automatically dispelled.
Since the memories of a shadow clone return to the original upon dispelling, this allowed him to quickly understand everything that had happened after he left. The other clone remained hidden, waiting for the right moment to act.
When Madara and Kei were engaged in battle, the moment water and fire first collided, causing a massive surge of mist, the clone swiftly approached the Gedo Statue.
At first, since Kei had not yet fused with [Sage Body], his chakra reserves were not particularly deep. Attempting to transfer a colossal target like the Gedo Statue would inevitably be somewhat slow.
However, thanks to the immense strength of his original body's attacks and his ability to replicate Tobirama's techniques, he firmly held Madara's attention.
Now, the space-time technique had fully activated.
The statue was completely enveloped by the jutsu.
Even if Madara reacted at this moment, it would be too late!
Buzz—!
A powerful spatial fluctuation rippled outward. Like waves in water, the energy spread rapidly through the space.
Originally mid-air, leaping toward the Gedo Statue in his Third Stage Susanoo form, Madara sensed the unusual space-time fluctuation and turned back abruptly.
His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly, and through the mist, he vaguely saw the sealing jutsu enveloping the entire Gedo Statue!
Boom!
Without hesitation, the left foot of Susanoo slammed into the ground, and waves of chakra condensed into an armored battle boot. With a twist of his waist, the magnificent armor fully wrapped around Susanoo's entire form in the blink of an eye.
Not only that, Susanoo's figure suddenly expanded several times over in an instant!
The massive giant, towering over a hundred meters tall, unleashed a blade strike as swift as lightning, slashing directly toward the shadow clone that had activated the Flying Thunder God Technique.
With increased speed, strength, and sheer size, the distance of over a hundred meters closed in an instant!
This was… the Complete Body Susanoo!
"Who the hell can survive this?! You're on your own..."
Swish—!
The urgent voice from the Mind Body Transmission Technique had barely finished, the shadow clone, along with the colossal Gedo Statue, instantly disappeared from the battlefield, leaving behind only an empty, desolate valley.
Boom rumble rumble!
The unstoppable slash landed on the ground, sending a terrifying shockwave spreading hundreds of meters away!
Deep beneath the earth, molten lava faintly surged, striking fear into anyone who gazed upon it.
"This...!" Kei's pupils shrank.
The moment he saw Madara going all out, he immediately activated the Flying Thunder God Technique to flee.
Whether the shadow clone successfully teleported the Gedo Statue didn't matter. That thing—whoever tried to stop it was an idiot!
In the original story, the Complete Body Susanoo almost wiped out the Five Kage.
Mei was so overwhelmed that she nearly gave up on the spot. If not for Ōnoki, standing firm with his legendary persuasion skills and bringing her back to the fight, there wouldn't have been a continuation of the Great Ninja War.
"To think you could force me to such a degree... You truly make me delighted!" Madara's voice was old and hoarse.
Though his words spoke of joy, his entire being radiated an almost tangible killing intent. The stone throne he had been sitting on had long since disappeared the moment the Complete Body Susanoo had begun forming.
Standing at the center of Susanoo's forehead, wrapped in a jewel-like chakra shield, he swung his sword, severing the connection between himself and the Gedo Statue.
His hunched-over figure slowly straightened.
Like a mountain, like an ocean, like an abyss, like a prison... An overwhelming sense of oppression pressed forward.
As the Complete Body Susanoo turned again, its towering form had already exceeded 200 meters in height, Kei gulped hard.
He wanted no part of this! But before he could even react, whether it was because Madara was utterly enraged at being toyed with by an "ant," or because he felt his life force rapidly depleting, without hesitation, Madara once again drove Susanoo into an all-out attack!
The over-200-meter-tall Susanoo moved at a speed so fast it was utterly terrifying.
As he swung his sword, countless Yasaka Magatama were also unleashed, sealing off all escape routes!
Rumble—!
The overwhelming, unstoppable power crushed and annihilated everything in sight. The earth trembled, and all beasts howled in despair. The landscape of the Mountain Graveyard was instantly reshaped.
Under the feet of the Complete Body Susanoo, "destroying the world" was no longer just an exaggerated phrase!
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
Before the dust even settled, countless massive tree branches erupted from the ground, encompassing an attack range of several kilometers. One after another, the massive branches, thicker than Kei's entire body, launched a relentless assault!
Using the Flying Thunder God markings he had prepared in advance, Kei continuously evaded the ceaseless attacks.
Not only was the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees harassing him, but the Complete Body Susanoo was also launching devastating attacks the moment it detected his movements.
He was running for his life, barely holding back the urge to curse aloud.
For heaven's sake!
Even when Madara fought the Five Kage in the original story, he wasn't this serious! And was this really just "Super Kage-level" strength?!
If it was, then how powerful must the Six Paths-level be?! And if it wasn't—how was a mere "Tobirama Plus" version like him supposed to stand a chance?!
Swish—!
Once again, he narrowly dodged an attack from the Complete Body Susanoo. Through his wide-range sensory perception, he detected over a dozen wood clone versions of Madara, rapidly moving in all directions!
Although his sensory ability wasn't refined enough to perfectly distinguish between wood cones and the real body—
Surely Madara's true body couldn't be moving this fast, right?!
Boom—!
Just a momentary distraction, and the Complete Body Susanoo adjusted its trajectory mid-swing, its enormous chakra blade nearly decapitating Kei on the spot.
Wood clones... A barrier? Is he trying to use a space-locking barrier to cut off my escape?
And the flowers from the Advent of a World of Flowering Trees are about to bloom! If the pollen spreads...
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Run? He was reluctant to.
Clearly, he had already forced Madara into a desperate situation. If he could just hold out a little longer, Madara might collapse first, and then, he could achieve the legendary feat of solo-killing the Ghost of the Uchiha!
That would rewrite the entire world's timeline!
But if he didn't run, with Madara's attacks being stronger than even most Ōtsutsuki members from the original story, there was no way he could endure this!
He could keep attacking endlessly, but if he made even a single mistake, it would be game over.
At this point, why am I hesitating?! You have to risk it for the reward! But... damn it, I really don't want to lose these!
Although he was reluctant to part with his two Trait Removal and Trait Downgrade chances, compared to the solo-kill Madara achievement, the choice was obvious.
System! Strip away [Chosen Uchiha] and [Power of Indra]! Downgrade [Sage Body]!
Two faintly visible dark-colored light shadows, along with a dark-blood-colored light, instantly merged into Madara's body.
Crack—
A faint bone-cracking sound echoed—imperceptible in the chaos.
But Kei, who had been focusing his sensory abilities entirely on Madara, clearly "saw" it.
Did Madara... just throw out his back?!