Naruto: Fatherhood Made me Invincible

The Sage of Six Paths' expression tightened. He could feel the terrifying, destructive power contained within the blazing arrow and knew better than to face it head-on. He hurriedly summoned his Wood Style, condensing a thick wooden wall in front of himself in an attempt to block the attack.

However, the fire arrow seemed to possess an unnatural penetrative force. It tore straight through the dense wood wall with undiminished momentum, continuing its path directly toward the Sage. The Sage was forced into a hasty retreat as the arrow's fiery wake shattered the surrounding trees and rocks into splinters.

While the Sage was preoccupied with dodging the attack, Kagami used the opening to flash directly to Madara's side.

'This boy's abilities are truly terrifying!' The Sage thought, his precognitive eyes having foreseen Kagami's move. He watched with a grim expression, a sliver of fear creeping into his thoughts. He hadn't expected Kagami to possess not only a space-sealing technique but also such a devastatingly powerful fire-based attack. Even his Wood Style, reinforced with the power of the Six Paths, couldn't withstand that terrifying heat. And just like the cutting technique, this flame could not be absorbed by his Rinnegan.

He had originally believed that once he took possession of Hashirama Senju's body, he could easily defeat Kagami as long as he could endure that strange, unabsorbable slash. But Kagami's sudden display of fire power made him realize he had gravely underestimated his opponent.

Still, he wasn't concerned about Kagami saving Madara. Madara's heart had been completely destroyed; survival was impossible. Unless Kagami could somehow create a new heart from thin air, Madara Uchiha was doomed.

At this moment, Madara was barely clinging to life. His breathing was incredibly faint, each shallow gasp a final, desperate struggle against the encroaching darkness. His complexion was rapidly draining of color, becoming ashen and lifeless like a leaf in the dead of winter. Those once-piercing eyes, sharp as a hawk's, were now dim and vacant, threatening to slip into eternal darkness at any moment.

"It's no use... I'm beyond saving..." Madara rasped, each word a monumental effort. His voice was strangely calm, devoid of anger or regret, as if he had already accepted his fate. Even with the power of the Six Paths, the complete obliteration of his heart was an insurmountable injury. He could feel his life force slipping away like sand through his fingers, an irreversible cascade. He knew his time was short and didn't want Kagami wasting precious moments on a lost cause.

Kagami said nothing. He simply reached out and gripped the wooden branch still embedded in Madara's chest. While losing a heart might be a fatal wound in the Shinobi World, for someone who could wield Reversed Cursed Technique, there was still hope as long as the soul had not departed.

The branch, now devoid of the Sage's power, was easily pulled free, leaving a gaping, horrific hole in Madara's chest. Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining Madara's armor and the ground around them crimson.

Kagami seemed to pay it no mind. Just as Madara's life was about to flicker out completely, Kagami placed a hand over the wound.

The Reversed Cursed Technique activated.

The Sage of Six Paths, whose foresight allowed him to see what was about to happen, watched in abject shock as he realized Kagami could actually heal Madara. His usually placid face twisted with unconcealable astonishment. His eyes, burning with intensity, were fixed on the two Uchiha. He could no longer remain idle. If Madara survived, he would have to face both of them at once. While he wasn't afraid, it would certainly complicate matters.

Without a moment's hesitation, he clapped his hands together. "Six Paths Art: Grafting Technique!"

Instantly, countless wooden spikes erupted from the ground from all directions, screaming through the air like a volley of deadly spears as they converged on Kagami and Madara.

Fortunately, Kagami had anticipated this. As the spikes closed in, they seemed to hit an invisible, unbreakable barrier a meter away from him, unable to penetrate any further. He had preemptively activated the defensive aspect of his Mangekyo Sharingan to avoid being disturbed.

Without even glancing at the Sage, Kagami pressed his palm firmly against Madara's wound. A pure, potent wave of positive energy, reversed from his cursed power, surged into Madara's body like a tidal wave. Under its influence, Madara's heart began to regenerate at an incredible rate. Severed blood vessels and torn muscle fibers were rewoven by an invisible hand, and the flickering candle of his life force roared back to life. The ghastly wound began to close at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Madara's eyes widened in disbelief. He could feel a warm, mysterious power mending his body from the inside out, replenishing the vitality that had been rapidly draining away. In the blink of an eye, the wound on his chest vanished completely, and color returned to his face. He looked down at his chest, now smooth and unblemished, as if the fatal injury had never occurred.

"This... this is..." Madara was too shocked to speak, unable to believe what he was seeing. He had been certain of his death, yet Kagami had repaired an injury as fatal as a destroyed heart.

However, the Sage had absorbed a significant amount of his life force. Even with Kagami's healing, his lifespan was now severely shortened. But Madara didn't care. As long as he could live long enough to kill the Sage and avenge Hashirama, that was all that mattered.

When the Sage saw that his all-out assault had failed to even cause a ripple in Kagami's defense, his face became impossibly dark. His eyes flashed with incredulous rage.

"Damn it! How does he possess such troublesome abilities?" the Sage snarled through gritted teeth. This ability, which could nullify any attack, was a thousand times more problematic than Obito's unpredictable Kamui. With this power, Kagami was functionally invincible, not to mention he still had that terrifying Space-Time Slash.

For the first time, the Sage of Six Paths felt a sense of utter helplessness against Kagami.

But he quickly forced himself to calm down and began to analyze the situation, searching for a weakness. He refused to believe Kagami's abilities were without flaws. He intensified his attacks, continuing his barrage in a desperate attept to test the upper limits of Kagami's defenses.