Chapter 33
"Denizu-sensei! Kakashi-sensei! Bushier Brow-sensei! You came!" Naruto says.
"You know I can't just sit back and relax while my student from Team 7 is working hard!" Kakashi smiles back at Naruto.
"There's no way we're letting you do this alone!" I also smile back at Naruto.
Naruto stares at us for a moment and then grins. He then points over at the fake Madara.
"Oh! Him! He's got a Sharingan and a Rinnegan that are linked, left eye to right eye!" he begins. "And! And there's a rod sticking out of the left side of the chest! And...!"
"Calm down. You're not making any sense," Guy says to Naruto.
"The right eye is Sharingan. The left eye is Rinnegan. And he has the same rod Pain had in his chest. So I see," Kakashi observes.
"Gotta hand it to you, Kakashi. Your skills of deduction are impressive!" Guy exclaims.
A massive white creature with five tails runs in our direction.
"Here it comes!" I say.
"Judging by the number of tails...that's the Five Tails!" Guy says.
He then turns to Naruto and lifts his arm up.
"Leaf Rock Crush!" he elbows the hard, white material on Naruto's back and breaks it off.
"Thanks!" Naruto stands up.
Kakashi and I continue to watch the Five Tails charge, but to our surprise, it's not charging for us.
"It's after the Eight Tails!" I say.
The fake Madara then summons a massive chain from his hands and uses it to subdue the Five Tails, bringing it down hard to the ground.
"He tried to attack the fake Madara," Kakashi realizes.
The Eight Tails then closes his hand which the masked man is standing in.
"There! He did it!" Guy says.
The Five Tails then begins to change into a black and orange outlined form. The masked man then walks right through the Eight Tails' closed fist, still holding on to the purple chakra covered chain that's wrapped around the Five Tails' neck.
"Why would he suppress the Tailed Beast's power?" Guy wonders.
"That's a good question..." I say.
"He doesn't seem to have the Tailed Beast completely under control," Kakashi notes.
"Maybe that's why." I say.
The chain then breaks off as the other five Tailed Beasts in the same smaller form approach. We stand ready. I then hear Naruto laughing to himself.
"Naruto?" I question as he laughs.
"What're you mumbling about, Naruto?" Kakashi asks. "The enemy is approaching!"
"Right!" Naruto stops laughing.
"Just because we're here doesn't mean you can breathe easy. We need to confirm which one is going to use which one of Pain's jutsu!" Kakashi explains. "Got it Denizu? Guy?"
"I'm not good at remembering faces..." Guy says. "And they all look the same to me."
"I'm set to go," I say.
I cover my right fist with red chakra flames and charge at one of the Tailed Beasts. Kakashi charges at another one with his Lightning Blade ready in his right hand. Guy charges at another as his chakra turns green and his skin turns red. I land my punch on the beast and send it flying back. Two other Tailed Beast manage to jump over us toward Naruto.
"Three heading your way, Naruto!" I shout.
The Tailed Beast I hit jumps at me, but I dodge and slide back. Kakashi and Guy are sent back as well.
"Why?!" Guy exclaims as we stand our ground. "They're not using any of Pain's jutsu!"
"Maybe...they can't," Kakashi suggests.
"Maybe he's shrewd enough not to waste any chakra on Pain's jutsu since we already know how to counter them."
"Yeah. In order to control six Tailed Beasts with just his visual prowess, he must use an enormous amount of chakra," Kakashi concludes.
"Gotta hand it to you, Kakashi," I say. "Your deductive skills are sharp."
The masked man then causes a wave of wind that blows away the dirt around us. Two Tailed Beasts begin to roar loudly. Suddenly, the ground beneath us breaks and mud spurs out. The two Tailed Beasts are now in their massive forms, as big as the Eight Tails. We are sent flying back to the ground on our sides. We get up on one knee as we look up at the slug-like Tailed Beast in surprise. It then exhales a pink smoke-like substance from its mouth at us.
"What heck is that?!" Guy exclaims.
"Whatever you do, don't let it touch you!" Kakashi warns us.
We jump back to get away. My attention then turns to the Monkey Tailed Beast far away and spot Naruto in its mouth. He is trying to hold its mouth open so it doesn't chomp him up. I feel a sense of worry upon seeing this.
"Naruto!" I shout.
"We gotta help him!" Guy says.
"We have to deal with this side first!" Kakashi says. "This is bad too!"
I then look back behind us and am stunned to see one of the smaller-form Tailed Beasts arms coming at us.
"We're being surrounded!" I say.
We turn our gaze to a tree that's about to be consumed in the pink smoke-like substance. The tree disintegrates and sizzles away.
"The tree wilted instantly!" Guy exclaims. "Is it a corrosive gas?"
We stop about half way between the two surrounding sides, watching as they close in on us.
"Shadow Clone jutsu!" Kakashi makes a clone appear next to him.
"Kakashi?" I am perplexed.
"Denizu...Guy," he says. "We have to guard each other's backs and focus only on what's in front of us."
We stand back-to-back. I am standing on the real Kakashi's right as we face the smaller Tailed beast form. Guy faces the pink smoke-like substance.
"Any complaints?" Kakashi asks us.
"Nope!" Guy and I answer.
With that, we lunge at our targets. Kakashi and his shadow clone run a few feet apart, side by side, as they activate their own Lightning Blades. They connect to one another, forming a cable-like formation connecting them two. I run close behind them and blow fire on to the lightning cable, causing it to become more fierce. Kakashi uses the fiery Lightning Cable to cut through some of the smaller-form Tailed Beast's stretching arms. We stop for a bit and see how the attack affected. I turn my head back to Guy and see that he's cleared up some of the pink smoke as he has his Sixth Gate open again.
"Here comes the next wave!" Kakashi warns as I turn back.
"Same here!" Guy says.
"Let's wrap this up and help Naruto!"
"No problem!" I have a confident, stern gaze at the Tailed Beast.
The Tailed Beast charges at me and Kakashi. We stand side-by-side, ready to engage.
"I don't have a whole lot of chakra left," Kakashi tells me.
"Then I'll make sure to protect you," I say. "I won't stop until my chakra reaches zero. I won't give up until your safe."
"Denizu..." Kakashi looks at me with a soft gaze.
I dart forward at the Tailed Beast and begin to land punches and kicks to it. Kakashi then jumps in on the fight as we support one another. I kick another arm away and so does Kakashi, leaving us standing side-by-side again. We then turn our attention to where Naruto is. He is on the monkey Tailed Beast's head by its neck. To our dismay, Naruto is caught in the masked man's purple chakra chains.
"Damn it!" I mutter.
"One problem after another!" Kakashi says as we dodge a punch from a stretching arm.
The ground then begins to tremble, causing us to cease fighting.
"Let's regroup with Guy!" Kakashi says.
We head over next to Guy and watch the massive Tailed Beasts as the ground trembles.
"What's going on?!" Guy exclaims.
There is dirt blown everywhere suddenly, causing us to cover our faces. Just as the dirt clears up, we open our eyes and are stunned to see five Tailed Beasts in their massive, full forms. They begin to form massive, dark purple orbs, all aimed at us.
"This is really bad!" Guy says.
"Don't move!" Kakashi tells us. "I'm going to blow them away with my left eye with Kamui!"
"Kakashi! No! You'll drain your chakra even more!" I say. "There are too many of them for me to even take on at the same time! Let alone you! If you're using that, then I'm using my Kamui to send most of them into a pocket dimension."
"In that case, I'll open up the Eighth Gate," Guy says.
"Idiot!" Kakashi and I shout at him.
"You'll die after you do that!" Kakashi says to him.
"At least Kakashi and I will survive with our chakra. You won't!" I say.
We then just stand ready as we watch the Tailed Beasts finish forming the dark purple orbs. They are then fired at us. Just as they're close to where we're standing, something bright and fast deflects them off, causing gusts of wind and dirt.
"What was that?! So fast!" Guy says.
Kakashi and I then open our eyes in shock as we see a familiar person in front of us.
"Minato-sensei?!" Kakashi and I state.
Just as the area clears up, we see that it's actually Naruto. His new chakra form has created a long cloak with black markings on it. We look around at the deflected balls as they blow up in different locations, some hitting mountains.
"The mountain..." Kakashi says. "So this is the power of the Tailed Beasts!"
The Tailed Beasts in front of us then begin to charge.
"Here they come!" Guy says.
We are then blinded by a ray of yellow and orange light as it consumes us. After a few seconds, we open our eyes to see that we're surrounded in yellow and orange chakra.
"What's going on?!" Guy is surprised.
"Are we inside the Nine Tails chakra?" I wonder.
We then watch as Naruto and the Eight Tails team up and fight the other Tailed Beasts.
"This is like an all-out monster smack down!" Guy says.
After some fighting, the controlled Tailed Beasts get together and form one massive dark purple orb.
"Hey... Don't you think that's pretty big for one of those things?" Guy questions in awe.
"Are they pooling their power into a single point?" Kakashi asks.
"What now, Naruto?!" I call out to him.
Naruto has the Nine Tails form its own massive large purple orb. It grows to the same size as the Tailed Beasts'. They fly at each other and collide, causing a massive impact; the orbs have cancelled out. Naruto then has the Nine Tails' long arms extend out to the controlled beasts to pull out rods from their necks. After some tugs, the rods finally come off. The Tailed Beasts then collapse to the ground. Naruto changes out of his Nine Tails mode to his normal self and we land on the ground together. I am standing in-between Kakashi and Guy while Naruto stands in front of us. I stare at him in awe as a faint image of the Fourth lays over him, the cloak fluttering calmly.
'Naruto...' I smile warmly at him. 'You really are...Minato-sensei's son.'
"I never thought you'd be able to completely control the Nine Tails," the masked man says to Naruto as he stands on top of a massive statue. "However, it looks like you still can't maintain it for too long. Same old, same old."
The statue opens its mouth, creating a bright light that shoots out chakra chains. The chains wrap around the controlled Tailed Beasts' necks and then drag them inside.
"It's not the same old, same old..." Naruto says as he places a hand on his stomach. "I just learned a whole lot of hard names all at once!"
"Difficult names?" Masked Madara questions. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"You don't know them, don't you?" Naruto points at him with a smug look, then sticking his tongue out. "I'm not gonna tell you!"
Kakashi, Guy and I watch Naruto from behind.
"Naruto gaining such experience and strength makes me feel old and feeble," Guy smiles.
"Hm. Makes sense since you're the oldest out of us three," I tease.
"What's the matter, Guy? You're not being yourself," Kakashi asks. "It may sound funny coming from me, but...the springtime of our youth is far from over! We still have a lot of–"
"Quiet! Do you want to make me feel even worse?" Guy says.
Kakashi and I scoff with a smile.
"That's the Guy we know," I say.
It suddenly begins to rain hard. I look up at the darkening sky as rain drops hit my face.
"After this war, there will be no past or future," 'Masked Madara says. "Nothing that exists now will matter then!"
The four of us stand side-by-side, gazing up at the masked man. From our left to our right, it's Kakashi, me, Naruto, then Guy. We are ready to take this man down. I look over at Kakashi and see his Sharingan eye is closed, clearly exhausted.
"Rest it for a while," I tell him.
"But..."
"You got an Uchiha here. You've done enough," I give him a wink and grin.
Kakashi stares at me for a moment, knowing he has to rest his eye for later use, and then nods to me. The ox-octopus Eight Tails moves his hand to our right side, prompting us that he's ready to engage. The Masked Madara raises large portions of the ground and launches a barrage of them at us.
"Get ready!" Kakashi shouts.
I dart forward and leap onto the rocks, jumping from one to another. I cover my fists with red chakra flames and punch any that get in my way, shattering them to pieces. Kakashi, Guy, and Naruto are also jumping and breaking through the rocks. I leap forward, gliding at Masked Madara's direction. Suddenly, a larger boulder comes flying at me from my right. Guy then appears in between me and the boulder and lands a massive kick on it, destroying it into pieces.
"Thanks!" I say as we land on the ground.
"You owe me!" he jokes.
I see a large boulder flying at him and immediately jump, punch it with my chakra covered fist, and break it.
"We're even!" I say.
He grins as Kakashi and Naruto then regroup with us.
"He's not letting us get close to him," Kakashi says.
The ox-octopus comes closer behind us, protecting us from the last boulders by knocking them away with one of its tentacles. Naruto jumps up on the Eight Tails' head when suddenly the bodies of the Jinchuriki in the Eight Tails' tentacles begin to glow. We turn to them in surprise as rays of light beam down from the sky and extract what looks like their souls.
"They're being..." Kakashi says.
"Looks like the Reanimation Jutsu has been released," I say in awe. "But...how?"
Masked Madara looks over at the Jinchuriki in surprise. The Gedo statue then approaches in our direction.
"It's coming!" Kakashi warns. "Everyone take a location to attack it. I'll get one of its arms."
"I'll take the other," I say.
"I'll take his foot!" Guy says.
"Very well. Let's go!" Kakashi shouts.
Guy activates one of his gates and lunges at his target. Kakashi and I head toward the statue and sprint up its legs. I reach its right arm and perform hand signs.
"Flaming Dragon!" I quickly spin my body as I jump up and form a massive fire dragon.
I collide with the Gedo's arm and burn it badly, leaving a black stain and causing the statue to groan. Kakashi has just used his Lightning Cable on one of the hands and damages it. I see the Gedo move its hand toward Kakashi with intent to hit him. I immediately charge at it in my dragon form and knock the hand away. I change back to my normal form as Kakashi and I land next to Guy on the tentacles of the Eight Tails and watch the Gedo statue fall back on to the ground with the help of the Eight Tails and Naruto. I see that Naruto is back to his Nine Tails chakra form and is on the ground, facing the direction of Masked Madara.
"Heh. You don't look too happy!" he says.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Masked Madara asks.
"Since you're hiding your face, I can only guess. If you feel insulted, take off that mask and show us how composed you are! Stupid!"
"I told him not to rile up his opponent..." Kakashi says to us as he looks down at Naruto.
"Well, that's Naruto for you," I chuckle a bit.
Masked Madara then summons a gourd on his right in a puff of smoke.
"Well...it seems I have no choice but to use it," he says.
"What is that?" Guy asks.
"A giant gourd and a bottle..." I wonder.
"Frankly, I wanted to revive this when the conditions were perfect," Masked Madara holds a hand sign. "It's only a fragment, but it's not lacking in power."
The Gedo statue eats the bottle and gourd, then rises up with a loud roar.
"What the hell is he planning now?!" I mutter.
Portions of the ground begin to fly up rapidly around Masked Madara as he continues to hold a hand sign. The statue begins to place its hands on the sides of its head as it continues to roar and fluster.
"The statue's been acting weird since it swallowed something earlier..." Guy says.
"Don't tell me..." Kakashi says sternly.
"Watch closely and feel it through your skin..." Masked Madara says. "The return of the Ten Tails! And the beginning of the end!"
"So that's it!" Kakashi exclaims. "The statue was the Ten Tails body!"
"Huh?! What's the Ten Tails?!" Naruto asks.
"But what's going on?" Kakashi wonders. "When he declared war at the Five Kage Summit... The purpose of this war was to collect all nine Tailed Beasts' chakra in order to revive the Ten Tails! He doesn't possess the Eight Tails or Nine Tails yet... Is he bluffing?"
"Oh..." the Eight Tails says. "The chakra from a tentacle was taken, just a little bit. I may not look it, I admit I am flustered a bit."
"He took the chakra from one of Eight Tail's tentacle arms..." Kakashi says. "Does that mean only a portion of a Tailed Beast is sufficient?"
"Listen up, everyone!" we hear a deep voice come from Naruto.
"That voice!" Kakashi turns to him.
"Naruto switched places with Nine Tails, pow!" we hear Bee say. "He'll explain everything to us. Naruto and Nine Tails are tight now!"
'Is that so?' I think in awe as I stare at Naruto.
"If even just a portion of the Tailed Beast is sufficient..." Nine Tails continues. "Then that statue already has a piece of Eight Tail's and my chakra inside it."
"The Nine Tails too?!" I exclaim.
"The gourd and bottle that guy summoned and fed to the statue just now..." Eight Tails continues. "Were two of Old Man Six Path's treasured tools. They both posses powerful Sealing Jutsu that can seal away anything and everything. Once you get put inside either one of them, you can't get out no matter what. So...sealed inside the bottle was a guy named Kinkaku. And Ginkaku was sealed inside the gourd. I suspect they were reanimated using the Reanimation Jutsu, used in the war, and then sealed away."
"Kinkaku and Ginkaku, and the Sage of Six Paths," I say. "They're all legendary names. But what's the connection with the Nine Tails' chakra?"
"There was a time when the brothers challenged me to a battle," Nine Tails continues to explain. "Naturally, I devoured them. However...they survived and fed on me from the inside and absorbed my chakra."
"So Kinkaku and Ginkaku had some of your chakra," Kakashi says. "And the masked guy took them as insurance for the revival of the Nine Tails from Darui's First Company. That's consistent with the report we got from HQ."
"But given that they're just fragments of Eight Tails' and my chakra..." Nine Tails responds. "Who knows what form or shape the revived Ten Tails will take."
"We must act before Ten Tails fully comes back to life," Kakashi he readies his right hand.
"Kakashi..." Masked Madara calls out. "You speak your mind way too easily. You're a man for whom a life full of regrets is fitting!"
"Just who the hell are you anyway?" I'm bothered.
"What's the point in telling someone who can't remember faces?" Masked Madara replies.
"Kakashi, like you said, if we're going to make a move, now's the chance," Nine Tails says. "Before the Ten Tails is revived fully, Old Man Six Path's used to say that Ten Tails' full revival would signify the end of the world."
"Is the Ten Tails really that terrible?" I ask. "I understand that he's got Ten Tails, but just how powerful is he?"
"He's the aggregate of the chakra of all the Tailed Beasts," Nine Tails replies. "One Tail through me. He was the beginning of chakra and a creator-god of many nations. Amenohitotsunokami... Datara... Deidarabotchi... He has many names. He drank oceans, split open the earth, and hoisted up mountains... He is the progenitor who is said to have created this very land. Simply put, he has the total power of all nine Tailed Beasts. Honestly, I couldn't take him on by myself and hope to win. But he only has a piece of Eight Tails and me, who has the most chakra out of the nine. It might be worth a try."
"You're all mistaken," Masked Madara says. "For me, the revival of the Ten Tails doesn't need to be complete."
We gaze at him in shock.
"My end goal is a Super Genjutsu," Masked Madara continues. "The Infinite Tsukuyomi! I will put every human on this planet under a single genjutsu. A single world that belongs to nobody. One perfect world without war or ill feelings. Only within a single collective conscious where the individual has been cast aside, can truth be found! The world no longer needs hope, a future or famous heroes. Even if incomplete, once Ten Tails is revived, the Infinite Tsukuyomi Jutsu can be achieved. Then reality will come to an end...and all that exists will be a single unending dream that will last for all eternity!"
I stare sternly at the masked man as the ground continues to break apart and pieces fly upward around him.
"I had Dad, Mom, and Pervy Sage..." Naruto says. "Kids love looking up to their hero. That's why I can keep running forward without hesitation. I will become the greatest Hokage of them all! That's my dream, you idiot!" he looks straight at Masked Madara with a confident expression.
"Even if you don't want your youth to end," Guy says. "Dreams must come to and end at some point!"
"Yeah... Dreams must be fulfilled," Kakashi says.
"No matter how big and high they may be," I add.
"Dreams, dreams, lots o' dreams abound," Bee chimes in. "I dream of grown woman's boobs... So round! When dreams are fulfilled, that's where the truth is found!"
"You've got guts, Bee..." Eight Tails says. "Telling us about your preferences at a time like this..."
"Individuality makes you lose sight of the truth," Masked Madara retorts. "My words as a nobody...are words guided by the truth of the world."
Naruto suddenly transforms back into his Nine Tails chakra form, lunges toward Masked Madara, and leaps high in the air, heading toward the statue with his Rasengan ready. His attack is quickly blocked by the gourd shaped fan of Masked Madara and deflects Naruto back, but he manages to land on his feet.
"I guess cracking that mask of yours will have to come first," Naruto says.
"You will not touch the statue!" Masked Madara says as he retracts his fan in his left hand.
The statue then begins to roar more as its mouth begins to stretch open. Its multiple eyes begin to bleed and parts begin to stem out of its body. The ground around us begins to break up into pieces up into the air. Naruto then summons a Shadow Clone.
"Naruto! You know about his abilities, right?" Kakashi calls out to him. "Your window of opportunity is the instant he tries to suck you inside himself. That's when he's solid."
"If you attack him normally, you'll just pass right through him," I add.
"So it's like you're aiming for a counterattack," Guy puts in. "Diversionary tactics are a must!"
"Create an opening through continuos close combat," I continue. "Avoid big moves."
"I know. That's why I made a clone," Naruto says.
He and his shadow clone form a ball of dark purple chakra.
"Bee! Please raise me up high!" Kakashi turns to the Eight Tails.
"Kakashi?" I turn to him in question.
"You help Guy," he quickly tells me.
I stare at him for a few seconds before nodding. Kakashi jumps on Eight Tails' hand and is raised up. I turn to Guy and stand ready to his right.
"We should avoid attacks that touch him directly," Guy says.
We watch as Naruto lunges at Masked Madara with his dark purple orb, but he misses.
"Let's deal with this fake," I tell Guy.
"Ladies first," he says.
I then take out my katana. Guy then takes out his pair of numb-chucks and stands ready. We dart forward as we see Masked Madara trying to reach out to touch Naruto's head. At the very moment he's about to touch him, Guy and I are about to strike him with our weapons but we pass right through him; this causes his hand to pass through Naruto and not touch him. Naruto gets away while Guy and I begin to attack Masked Madara. He uses his gourd shaped fan to block our hits. Guy lunges forward to attack, but he passes right through the large fan. Masked Madara jumps back and throws kunai at him, but I step in and block them with my katana.
"I'll deal with you first..." Masked Madara says looking at Guy.
With great speed, Guy appears in front of him and strikes one of his numb-chucks at Masked Madara's head. It passes right through and Masked Madara tries to reach out and grab Guy. Guy quickly reacts by kicking the numb-chuck back in the direction of Masked Madara's head, making it pass through and not touch Guy. They pass one another in mid air and Masked Madara throws the fan at Guy's back. Guy quickly blocks it with one of his numb-chucks.
'Nice save, Guy!' I think to myself.
"Watch out, Denizu-sensei!" Naruto says.
I turn to him and see that his chakra arm stretches out toward Masked Madara with a dark purple Rasengan ready. I then look over at the statue's head and see that it's being distorted in a swirl.
'Is that-?' I am surprised as I then gaze up at Kakashi on Eight Tails' head. 'He's using Kamui to gouge the statue's head!'
Naruto's Rasengan passes right through Masked Madara. I turn back to the statue's head and the distorted swirl effect suddenly stops.
'Kakashi!' I see him drop to his knees on top of Eight Tails' head.
Masked Madara jumps onto one of the levitating rocks and Naruto shatters the rock with his Rasengan. As the rock breaks apart, we don't see Masked Madara anywhere.
"He vanished?" I wonder.
He then emerges from the ground under Naruto, catching him by surprise, and tries to grab him. Naruto reacts quickly and jumps back.
"Naruto!" Guy and I yell as he is chased by masked Madara.
I leap on the levitating rocks to catch up to them.
'Damn rocks are in the way!' I grimace. 'Makes it difficult to maneuver and see!'
From afar, I see Masked Madara swing his fan through a levitating rock and hit Naruto. He blocks the fan with his arms, but chains then appear around Naruto. Masked Madara leaps toward him quickly. Kakashi then appears, cutting through a boulder with a kunai covered in blue lightning. I turn to the Eight Tails and see that he launched Kakashi in Naruto's direction.
'He cut through that boulder with his Lightning Blade,' I think. 'Nice!'
Seeing that he's not going to make it, Kakashi throws the lightning covered kunai at Masked Madara's head. It passes right through it, not letting him get a hold of Naruto. Naruto takes this chance to jump back away from him.
"Naruto! Just keep going!" Kakashi shouts. "I'll take care of the kunai!"
At that moment, Masked Madara kicks the lightning covered kunai at Naruto. Naruto reaches out with one of his stretching chakra arms to Masked Madara. The kunai then disappears in a distorted swirl manner. Despite this, Naruto's chakra arm passes right through Masked Madara's head.
'Damn it!' I think. 'Still no hit!'
"He's really strong," Naruto lands on a boulder. "I can't get my attacks to hit him."
Kakashi, Guy and I land on the boulder with Naruto as we gaze at Masked Madara.
"Are you all right?" I ask Kakashi.
"Yeah..." he answers. "But even if that attack is no good..."
"Even I don't understand how he's able to dematerialize so quickly and often," I say.
"What can we do?!" Naruto exclaims.
Masked Madara lands on a boulder with his back facing us. I stare at the Uchiha crest on the back of his purple cloak.
'If he isn't the real Madara...' I think. 'Then who the hell is he if he is an Uchiha?!'
He turns to us slowly, and to my surprise, a crack appears on his mask just under his left Rinnegan eye. The levitating boulder we're on begins to tilt, as do the other ones as they begin to fall and shatter. The four of us land on the ground as we keep our gaze at our enemy.
"What's happening all of a sudden?!" Naruto asks.
Masked Madara lands on the ground as well, gazing back at us.
"Hey...did you guys see that?" Guy asks.
"Yeah," Kakashi and I nod.
"Huh?" Naruto is confused and deactivates his chakra form.
"There's a crack on his mask," I say.
"Huh? Where?! Where?!" Naruto exclaims as he tries to peer at Masked Madara's mask carefully. "You're right! On the left side!"
"Looks like Naruto's earlier attack grazed him before it passed through!" Guy says with his thumb up. "Nice going, Naruto! Let's keep it up just like that!"
"Alright! Now I feel like we have a chance!" Naruto is excited.
"To be honest, it didn't look to me like Naruto's attack landed," Kakashi says.
"You're doing it again..." Guy says to him. "You always say things like that!"
"Are you saying it was something else?" I ask.
"What's going on?" Guy questions.
"From the looks of it," Kakashi closes his eyes. "That crack isn't from Naruto's punch. It looks like it was cut with something sharp..."
Kakashi then opens his eyes wide in surprise.
"What is it, Kakashi?" I ask.
Masked Madara then raises his hand. There is blue chakra at the tip of his fingers. The Eight Tails then begins to move quickly behind us.
"You're wide open!" it yells as it goes to punch the statue.
"Don't mock me!" Masked Madara yells.
His hand then slams on the ground and red flames appear around the statue.
"That's the Uchiha Flame Formation!" I exclaim. "Stop!"
Eight Tails' fist collides with the flaming barrier, burning up his arm. Eight Tails' moves back quickly away as he shakes his hand to extinguish the flames. From the force of Eight Tails sliding back, we cover ourselves from the dirt and rocks.
"Are you all right, Octopops and Eight-o?!" Naruto yells.
"Do I look all right?!" Eight Tails continues to shake the flames away from his fist.
"Now that's he's erected a barrier," I say. "We have no choice but to attack the masked guy first."
"That's been my plan from the beginning, ya know!" Naruto says. "Damn it!"
I stand there as we all gaze at the masked man.
'How was he able to stop Kakashi's Kamui earlier?' I think back.
"Denizu, Guy, Naruto, Bee," Kakashi interrupts my thoughts.
"Yeah?" we answer turning to him.
"There's something I want to test," he says as he touches his headband. "Help me out."
I stare at Kakashi in wonder but then nod with a firm gaze.