Naruto: Fatherhood Made me Invincible

Madara's expression remained skeptical, but after a moment of intense consideration, he conceded that Kagami had no logical reason to lie to him. And so, for the first time in a long while, Uchiha Madara fell into a contemplative silence.

Kakashi, who stood nearby nursing his injuries, had overheard their bizarre conversation. He stared at the two powerhouses, his mind reeling in astonishment.

Meanwhile, Obito's voice was a desperate, gurgling rasp. "Help me... I'm really bleeding out! Or just... kill me!"

Several hundred meters away, the remaining Konoha shinobi were in a state of utter confusion.

"What on earth are they talking about?"

"I don't know! We're too far away to hear anything!"

"They've stopped fighting. Should we move closer and see what's happening?"

"Absolutely not! What if they start again? We'd be caught in the crossfire with no chance of escape!"

"He's right..."

After a brief, hushed debate, the group decided that staying put was their only safe option.

Just then, the unthinkable happened.

With a sickening wet crunch, a sharpened wooden branch erupted from Madara's chest, scarlet blood spraying forth like a gruesome fountain. A cold, familiar voice followed, laced with newfound understanding. "I see. So, the world itself has awakened a consciousness."

This sudden, horrific turn of events left everyone frozen, their eyes wide with shock.

"Hashirama... you bastard..."

Madara looked down at the branch impaling his chest, his own eyes wide with utter disbelief. He could not process what was happening. He never imagined, not even in his worst nightmares, that Hashirama Senju would attack him from behind.

The world around him blurred and distorted, but he could feel the potent Yin-Yang Release energy coursing through the wood, devouring his chakra like a black hole. His strength and vitality were being drained away at an alarming rate. Madara's body began to tremble as a profound weakness washed over him, making it nearly impossible to remain standing.

The nature of the attack, however, snapped Madara back to reality. The person who had struck him couldn't be Hashirama. He knew his friend better than anyone; Hashirama had never mastered Yin-Yang Release. Only the Sage of Six Paths could wield a Wood Style technique so heavily infused with the power of the Six Paths.

With immense effort, Madara twisted his head, and the sight that greeted him confirmed his horrifying suspicion. Hashirama Senju's face was now covered in sinister black markings, and his eyes glowed with the distinctive purple ripple pattern of the Rinnegan.

Madara could feel it instantly. Though the face was Hashirama's, the soul within was someone else entirely—a cold, alien presence that filled him with a rage he had never known. It wasn't hard to guess who now occupied his friend's body.

"Sage of Six Paths...you monster..."

He stared at the strange yet familiar figure, his hands clenching into fists so tight the joints audibly cracked. He was certain he had interrupted the Sage's technique. How could the reincarnation have possibly succeeded?

Across the field, Kagami watched the new 'Hashirama Senju' with extreme vigilance. 'Why does everyone in this world have a penchant for stabbing people through the heart?' he complained internally.

He wasted no time. With a swift motion, he raised his hand and launched several blasts of Particle Style directly at the possessed shinobi's vital points. He wasn't trying to save Madara, but he absolutely could not allow the Sage to absorb the Ten-Tails and become even more powerful.

However, 'Hashirama' simply curled his lip into a sneer, a smile full of contempt for Kagami's attack. He slowly raised a hand, and a surging tide of Six Paths power condensed into a massive wooden shield.

Screech—!

The Particle Style beams collided with the shield, producing a deafening shriek of grinding metal as sparks flew wildly. Kagami's powerful jutsu, once capable of disintegrating anything it touched, was now like a mere pebble against a mountain. It failed to leave so much as a scratch.

'My Particle Style can no longer break his defense?'

Kagami's mind raced. He immediately understood that the resurrected Sage, now inhabiting Hashirama's body, was on a completely different level of power. His ordinary ninjutsu was no longer a threat. Unless he could get close enough to land a direct hit with a more powerful Cleave, or unleash his ultimate Space-Time Slash, any attack would likely be nullified by the Sage's Wood Style.

But unfortunately, his cursed technique was still in a burnout state, rendering the Space-Time Slash unusable. However, while one of Sukuna's techniques was on cooldown, another was not.

"It is useless!" the Sage boomed, his gaze locking onto Kagami with a cruel smile. "I am countless times stronger than before. You will all die here today!"

Despite his confident facade, he didn't feel nearly as relaxed as he appeared. He had made two preparations just in case, leaving a 'wedge' on Hashirama's body as a failsafe. He hadn't expected to actually need it. Even with his immense power-up, he wasn't completely certain he could handle both Kagami and Madara at once. That was why he had struck Madara without hesitation—to avenge his earlier demise and, more importantly, to eliminate a powerful foe.

As for the Ten-Tails, its power was of limited use to him beyond increasing his chakra reserves. He knew Kagami would never let him absorb it fully, so his plan was simply to drain what he could while killing Madara.

Seeing Madara's life force fading rapidly, Kagami made a calculated decision. He would save Madara. Not out of compassion, but because the Sage was the greater immediate threat. Besides, the Ten-Tails was still sealed within Madara. If Madara died now, who would resurrect Kaguya Otsutsuki?

His technique was still recovering from the burnout. If Madara could buy him just a few minutes, he could reactivate his Domain. Then, not even this powered-up Sage could withstand a guaranteed-hit Space-Time Slash. He briefly considered using Reversed Cursed Technique to instantly restore his abilities, but the risk was too great. That brain-frying method was dangerously unstable. He wasn't a reckless madman like Satoru Gojo, and the situation wasn't dire enough to risk it all. After all, one mistake could leave him a mindless simpleton, and that would be the end of everything.

Instead, he initiated Ryomen Sukuna's other technique.

While his primary cutting technique was temporarily offline, his fire ability—Open—was unaffected. A terrifying flame condensed in his hand, forming a blazing arrow that warped the very air around it with its sheer destructive power.

"Go!"

With a low shout from Kagami, the fire arrow tore through the sky like a bolt of lightning, aimed directly at the Sage of Six Paths.

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