Author's Note: Man, I'm so happy how well received the previous two chapters have been. A number of reviews not seen in quite a lot of time. Let's hope this chapter can draw just as many. Enjoy:
Chapter 131:
The Last Battle
or
The part where we blow up our budget for pure spectacle
Site of the Final Battle
"HAAAAAAA!"
With a mighty cry, Madara made his Susanoo deliver a vertical sword strike at his golden hued enemy. The Golden Avatar of Kalika caught the blade with its two upper hands, while it moved to deliver a double palm strike with its lower ones, as it had done before.
Madara, however, wasn't somebody who was easily caught with the same trick twice. He made the Susanoo drop its sword, and jumped backwards, causing the earth to rumble, dodging the double palm hit just in time. As he did so, the Susanoo brought his hands together, summoning several magatama-shaped projectiles between them.
"Yasaka Magatama!"
Taking advantage of the Golden Avatar being momentarily wide open, the Susanoo threw the chakra magatamas at it. Madara, however, wasn't counting with the Avatar's nine long golden lock of hairs that could be used like the tails of Kurama. They raised as if they had life of its own, and quickly whipped the incoming projectiles, deflecting them with well timed strikes and avoiding the subsequent explosions.
Not bothered by the fact that his attacks were not having any effect on his enemies, Madara simply unsheathed his other sword, and charged forward, this time opting for an horizontal swipe once he reached the melee range.
The Golden Avatar, however, managed to deflect the sword strike to the side with a well aimed palm strike to the Susanoo's wrist, before countering with a few more palm strikes to the chest and the head, cracking the Susasoo's armor on each spot it struck, before finishing with a roundhouse kick, which packed so much force, Madara's Susanoo was launched backwards, falling on its back.
"Incredible... such power..." Madara said in awe, as he channeled chakra towards his Susanoo in order to repair its cracked armor, and had him get back on his feet, as the Golden Avatar approached. "I never thought I'd find somebody who would entertain me as much as Hashirama! And unlike that green clad fool, your power won't burn out after just a few hits."
"Don't you dare insult Gai-sensei!" Naruto yelled.
"Why not? He was a weakling," Madara said in disgust. "And weaklings shouldn't be mourned."
"You have no right to call Gai-sensei a weakling when he was close enough to kill you," Hinata rebuked.
"He was unable to match me unless he had to exchange his whole life for a temporal power boost," Madara rebutted. "Yes, he was close enough to kill me. And a ninja truly powerful would have another chance to finish the job given enough time. But not him. He put his life on the line for a desperate gamble, and he lost!"
Naruto's glare pierced Madara. "Be sure to enjoy this fight then, Madara, because I can assure you it's going to be your last."
"You can trust I will," Madara said, as his Susanoo extended his free arm, generating another sword of chakra. The chakra construct then crossed his blades in front of its face. "Susanoo: Twin Blade Dance!"
The Susanoo spread its crossed blades in opposite arcs, releasing a barrage of giant chakrs crescents towards the opposing chakra construct.
The Golden Avatar started to spin around its feet.
"Six Paths: Golden Heavenly Spin!"
The Avatar's spinning speed continued to increase until it turned into a golden tornado of chakra, just in time to deflect the incoming projectiles, which were redirected elsewhere. Once the danger passed, it stopped spinning.
"Our turn," Naruto said, as he started to make hand seals. "Lava Release: Flower Fruit Mountain!"
The Golden Avatar crouched to one knee and slammed the ground with a single palm. Suddenly, a pool of lava formed at Madara's Susanoo's feet, and the blue chakra construct started slowly sink into a pool of molten rock, while the intense heat began to melt its armor. Then, the Golden Avatar rushed towards the Susanoo, the earth shaking with each footstep, as it clenched its two upper fists. Lion heads made of golden chakra formed around them.
"Six Paths: Twin Lion Fists!"
The Avatar of Kalika slammed one of its lion fists onto the Susanoo's stomach, making it to double over, before delivering a devastating left hook to its face, puhsing it upwards. It finished with another punch to the Susanoo's face, which packed so much force, it produced a sonic boom, sending Madara's Susanoo flying backwards.
Despite the brutal attack, Madara channeled more chakra to regenerate his Susanoo, while it forced it to get back on its feet once more.
"Just how much fight is there in this man?" Hinata asked, part astonished and part frustrated at how much punishment the rogue Uchiha could withstand.
"You have no idea, girl. Madara loves to fight against strong opponents, so he's having the time of his life right now," Kurama answered. "He won't stop until either he or his enemies are dead, whatever happens first."
"Then let's make sure it's actually him," Naruto stated.
…
Meanwhile, to the sidelines, from a safe distance, a group of Allied Ninjas, mostly from Konoha, were gathered in order to watch the final battle. Chief among them were Jiraiya, Tsunade, and most members of the Konoha 15.
"Guys!" a familiar voice called.
The group turned towards the direction of the voice, and much to their joy, they saw Shino and Fu coming towards them. Fu looked a bit sick, with her face looking pale and her eyes looking tired, and one arm slung around Shino's shoulder, who was helping her walk. But other than that, she appeared to be okay.
"Fu!" Kiba and Tamaki cried in unison, as they went to greet their friend from Taki.
"Oh man, I can't believe you're awake! I thought you were a goner," Kiba said, with Akamaru barking happily.
"Guess whoever revived all those people revived you as well, huh?" Tamaki asked.
"Chomei," Fu said, ignoring Tamaki's question, as her eyes drifted towards the sky, where the nine planetoids containing one Tailed Beast each were resting. "We need to free her. As well as the others."
"Don't worry, Naruto and Hinata are already on it," Neji said. "Once they defeat Madara, I'm positive the Tailed Beasts will be released."
"By the way, why are we just watching?" Sasuke asked. "Should't we go there and help?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "As they are right now, Naruto, Hinata and Madara are on a completely different league from us. If we intervened, we'd be more of a burden rather than help. But don't worry, I can sense that Naruto and Hinata's combined power is much greater than Madara's. This fight will end soon."
While they didn't like the idea of just being mere observers and let Naruto and Hinata do all the work, they decided to heed Jiraiya's work, and wait until the inevitable victory came. That's it, all of them except Shikamaru, who watched the battle with a critical eye, analyzing every move each of the two chakra colossi made.
"Shikamaru?" Choji asked, noticing his teammate's demeanor. "Something wrong?"
"Yes," was the Nara's reply, his eyes fixed on the seemingly one sided battle. "But right now, I can't discern what."
"What do you mean?" Ino asked, growing a little worried. If Shikamaru saw trouble ahead, it was better not to dismiss his concern. "Don't you believe that Naruto and Hinata can win this?"
"The way the battle is going, yes, I do believe they are on their way to victory, and that's what worries me," Shikamaru said. "This looks way too easy."
Choji's eyes glanced towards the two titanic battlers. The ground shook again when the Golden Avatar parried a double blow from Madara's Susanoo, as cracks started to spread around their feet. "Well, I wouldn't call fighting that thing 'easy'. Even if I used Super Multi Size Jutsu-"
Shikamaru shook his head. "What I mean is, Madara looks rather confident in his chances to win, despite the fact that he's getting his ass whooped. I'm afraid he knows something we're ignoring. He may have one last ace in the hole that we're not considering. Such as..."
Shikamaru's eyes drifted towards the nine planetoids floating high in the sky.
…
The battle of giants continued, with Naruto and Hinata's Golden Avatar of Kalika still dominating the battle. However, no matter how much they battered Madara's Susanoo, the rogue Uchiha continued to fight. In fact, it seemed as if the beatings gave him additional energy.
"Such power at such young age... I get chills to imagine what will you become in a decade..." Madara said with a manic grin. "Unfortunately, neither of us will have the chance to see your progress."
"Why are you talking as if you're winning?" Naruto asked, annoyed.
"Because I have won. You simply haven't realized of it just yet," Madara smugly replied.
"We already defeated the Ten Tails. Beating you will be far less challenging," Hinata confidently added.
"Good! Try to keep that aplomb! Or else, this fight will be boring," Madara said, as he started making hand seals. "Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground around the Golden Avatar quaked for a second, before a large mass of green wooden roots burst from underground, and began to wrap around its legs, body, and all four arms. The chakra giantess tried to break free through brute force, but the roots' pull was strong.
"Now stay still while I deliver the next blow!" Madara said, as his Susanoo started to flap its wings, flying into the air.
The Golden Avatar continued to struggle against the mass of roots as Madara's Susanoo gained altitude. Once it was high enough, Madara commanded it to dive into his golden enemy, both swords aiming downards. Unfortunately, Madara seemed to forget about the Golden Avatar's tail-like hair locks, which Naruto and Hinata used in time to break the roots immobilizing the Avatar, freeing it in time to block the Susanoo's onslaught.
Despite breaking free, the Golden Avatar was unable to stop its foe or dodge in time, and the blue chakra construct slammed into it. Then again, it managed to use its four arms to grab the Susanoo's wrists while also protecting itself from the impact, even if the slam pushed it backwards.
His attack not having the desired effect, Madara tried to pull back, but the Golden Avatar was still holding onto the Susanoo by its wrists. Then, like Hinata had done with Toneri's giant statue, the Avatar started to spin in place, bulding momentum. Unlike the aforementioned battle, it only built enough momentum just to toss Madara a couple hundred meters into the sky, and while the blue Susanoo was in the air, the Avatar brought its four hands together, gathering red and blue chakra in the form of a purple sphere.
"Tailed Beast Ball!"
The Avatar thurst its four hands towards the airborne Susanoo, launching the purple sphere at him. After just regaining balance, the Susanoo was unable to dodge the projectile, and was engulfed inside a massive explosion.
"Yes! Direct hit!" Naruto cheered, pumping his free fist.
Unfortunately, he realized that the battle wasn't over when Hinata's expression didn't change, her eyes focused on the cloud of smoke created by the explosion. And indeed, the moment the smoke cleared, Madara's Susanoo was still there. It was far from unahrmed, having several chunks of its armor tore off, including half its helmet, while only half of its wings remained.
"What an impressive display of power. I never had this much fun since Hashirama. In fact, I'd say that the two of you together are more powerful than I am right now," Madara admitted. "Should this battle continue as it is, I would inevitably lose."
"Then why don't you surrender?" Naruto asked, even if he knew that Madara would never do such a thing. "Or are you the type of ninja that prefers to go down fighting?"
"You are correct on that regard, boy. I only surrendered once in my life, and it's a moment that will haunt me forever," Madara admitted. "Yes, I would fight you to the bitter end even if I knew that I have no chances of beating you. Unfortunately for you..."
Madara made a hand seal, and both Naruto and Hinata shivered upon sensing the sheer amount of chakra that was being moved.
"...I don't plan to lose today."
The nine planetoids with the Tailed Beasts inside them started to crackle with white electricity. Then, the perfectly round asteroids fired a beam of bluish-white chakra each, the nine beams converging into their shared target, Madara's Susanoo. The blue chakra construct started to swell as the power of the Tailed Beasts was pushed into it, quickly regenerating into its complete form. Fire-like chakra of the same color poured from the Susanoo's eyes and mouth.
"What... what the hell is he doing!?" Naruto asked.
"His Susanoo... it's using the Tailed Beasts' chakra to power it up!" Hinata said in realization. "Its power... it's so massive..."
"Yeah... this doesn't look good..." Kurama interceded, sounding positively worried. "If the chakra of the nine Tailed Beasts is combined into one, you produce pure Six Paths chakra, and he's using that chakra to empower his Susanoo"
"So, it's like my chakra... but on a much larger scale?" Naruto asked, before gulping.
They continued to watch in horror as Madara's Susanoo absorbed all that power, triggering yet another form, this time looking as if a being made of pure fire and light was growing out of the armor, with the armor changing its shape in order to adapt to it. Lightning bolts shoot from the Susanoo's new form, as the air around it shimmered. Lastly, two swords which appeared to be made of pure lightning appeared on its hands.
"Ahhhhh... the feeling... it's even better than I could have imagined!" Madara said, spreading his arms, basking in the feeling of power of his new form. He then looked down at the Golden Avatar, and smirked. "Do you understand now? You've lost from the very beginning. I might not be able to become the jinchuriki of the Ten Tails right now, but the power of this Susanoo is a pretty close facsimile... at least, it is to wipe you and those other fools trying to oppose me.
"Thanks to the power of the Tailed Beasts, I managed to break the limits of the Susanoo, creating a form that could crush even Hashirama at his strongest. Now, all it needs is a name. Let's see... given the source of its power... how about Six Paths Perfect Susanoo? A bit of a mouthful, but it will do for the time being."
Naruto and Hinata didn't reply, as they came to terms with the fact that their battle was about to turn around. The two of them could feel the sheer power of Madara's Six Paths Perfect Susanoo, and they were painfully aware that the Uchiha's boasting wasn't undeserved. Still, the two of them were not going to give up.
"Naruto, Hinata... that thing might not be as powerful as the Ten Tails, but Madara will use its power much more efficiently than that monster did. You two better fight like you never did before!" Kurama warned, making the two humans tense up.
The streams of energy began to thin until they disappeared, apparently charging Madara's Susanoo completely. The newly empored Susanoo flexed its limbs, sending a pulse of chakra that crossed the entire continent. It was fell by pretty much every human being, including those that weren't sensory ninja, leaving all of them with a feeling of dread, as if a cold hand grasped their hearts.
Madara's lips formed a deranged smile, as his Rinnegan eyes focused on the Golden Avatar of Kalika. "Shall we dance?"
Despite its sheer size, Madara's Susanoo crossed the distance between it and its opposing chakra construct in little more than a second, and delivered a brutal backhand. The Golden Avatar was flung back as if it was a mere ragdoll, slamming against a rock formation that was shattered into peebles. The two humans inside the construct didn't experience the whole power of that single move, but they didn't come out of the impact unscathed.
"Uh-Ugh..." Hinata croacked.
"Hinata! Are you okay?" Naruto asked in concern, helding her straight.
"Y-Yes... I wasn't just prepared for that..." Hinata replied, as she watched the Six Paths Susanoo walking towards them at a leisure pace. "I'm not confident the Avatar can withstand many more of hits of such force."
"Agreed. That's why we better go on the offensive," Naruto suggested. "Ready to go?"
Hinata simply nodded.
With their combined effort, the Avatar got back on its feet, and before the Susanoo could deliver another blow, it dashed towards it, using its building momentum to deliver a palm strike so powerful, it produced a sonic boom followed by a strong gust of wind.
Too bad it failed to cause any harm on Madara's Susanoo, who didn't even move. Naruto and Hinata were taken aback, and they had the Avatar deliver more palm strikes at the blue and white chakra construct, each hit having the exact same effect as the one before. It was like watching an ordinary man trying to bring down a steel wall with his bare hands.
The Susanoo then smashed the hilt of one of its lightning swords on the Avatar's head, making it double over, following with a brutal kick to the face, sending the Avatar flying away. Naruto and Hinata screamed in unison, before they shared chakra construct slammed backwards onto the ground. Madara laughed upn seeing how easily he was dominating the fight.
"Does it sink yet, how inferior you kids are to me?" Madara taunted. "Or do I need to beat such reality into you for a bit longer? Normally I'm not one to ask for the enemy to surrender, but I don't enjoy facing enemies that can't fight back."
The Golden Avatar of Kalika got back on its feet once more, its wounds slowly closing down as Naruto and Hinata channeled more chakra into it. Then, the Avatar brought two of its hands together, making Naruto's favorite seal, and four more Avatars popped into existence. Madara simply laughed at the new developments.
"You think that multiplying the number of losers is going to change anything?" Madara asked. "If that's the case, then come and try to strike me down."
Two fo the Clone Avatars rushed forward, and flanked Madara's Susanoo before delivering a palm strike each, and like before, it had no effect. The Six Paths Susanoo sank one of its lightning swords into the gut one of the Clone Avatars, while vertically slicing the other one in half, making both of them to disappear. And while he was busy doing this, other two clones rushed forward, grappling an arm each with their arms and locks of hair, leaving the Susanoo seemingly immobilized.
The real Golden Avatar cupped its four hands together, and started to form a Tailed Beast Ball between them.
"Tailed Beast Ball!"
The Golden Avatar launched the sphere of destructive energy at the Six Paths Susanoo, who wasn't even attemtping to break free from the clones keeping it in place. Perhaps Madara was confident none of Naruto and Hinata's attacks could harm his Susanoo in its new form. The Tailed Beast Ball found its mark, resulting in an explosion that, unlike the Golden Avatar's previous attacks, managed to at least make the Susanoo flinch and stumble backwards.
"Look! That caused some harm!" Hinata pointed out excitedly.
"I saw it! Let's do it again!" Naruto agreed.
More Tailed Beast Balls came, each one of them hitting the Six Paths Susanoo, which reacted to the explosions, but leaving only minimal damage. And once again, it appeared that Madara was purposefully testing the limits of his Susanoo's toughness, as once he grew bored of letting his foes play target practice with him, the Susanoo brought its arms together, slamming the two Clone Avatars against each other, before casually tossing them aside.
"Tailed Beast Ball!"
"Yasaka Magatama!"
The Golden Avatar launched yet another Tailed Beast Ball at Madara, while the rogue Uchiha summoned several magatama-like projectiles, and launched them forward. The magatamas slammed into the Tailed Beast Ball, breaking it apart without losing almost any momentum. The Avatar covered itself with its tail-like locks of hair just in time as the magatamas hit, resulting in a chain of explosions that blew said locks into chunks that quickly dissipated into the air, while pushing it backwards.
The Six Paths Susanoo then stabbed one of its swords of light into the ground, sending an underground energy shockwave that traveled in a line towards the Golden Avatar, cracking the earth in half and blowing up chunks of rock and dirt everywhere. The Avatar was unable to regrow its locks of hair to use as protection in time, taking the brunt of the attack and being blasted backwards.
"His attacks are so brutal..." Hinata lamented.
"I know. We can't let him put us on the defensive, or else, he's going to kick our asses really bad!" Naruto said, as he and Hinata commanded the Avatar to get back on its feet again.
"The Tailed Beast Ball appeared to cause some harm. Let's try that again" Hinata suggested. "This time, I'll add to the Ball's power!"
"Got it!"
Once again, the Avatar cupped its four hands together, as it began to form the Tailed Beast Ball. Meanwhile, Hinata's hands formed several hand seals as her Truth Seeking Balls merged into a single, purple glowing orb of chakra.
"Tailed Beast Ball!"
"Amethyst Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
As the Avatar fired the sphere of destruction, Hinata released a mass of purple colored lightnings that wrapped themselves around the ball, giving it a cloak of electricity. The two youths held their breath as their combination attack sailed towards Madara's Susanoo. The Uhciha smirked once again.
"A combination jutsu. Nice. I'm really fond of those myself," Madara replied, as his Susanoo delivered a vertical swipe, slicing the incoming attack in two, the two pieces sailing upwards in opposing angles, before they detonated in the sky. His grin grew wider upon seeing his foes' hopes being crushed once again. "Unfortunately, it won't be enough. Nothing that you do will be enough to defeat me as I am right now!"
"Bullshit! You still haven't seen the best we can do!" Naruto angrily retorted. "Hinata, follow my lead!"
The Avatar brought its hands together once again, except instead of another Tailed Beast Ball, it created a Rasengan, which started to slowly become a Rasenshuriken as Naruto added wind chakra to it, while Hinata added lightning chakra of her own. The air was filled the sound of loud whirrings as well as thundercalps, while the Avatar held a large spinning shuriken of wind charka coated with lightning.
"Take this! Sage Art: Double Elemental Release, Spiraling Tempest!"
Madara watched once again as the whirring shuriken of chakra sailed towards his Susanoo. For some reason, he felt this attack packed a meaner punch than the standard Tailed Beast Ball.
"My my, such an interesting jutsu!" Madara said, amused. "That might do some harm to my Susanoo after all. That is, if I allow it to reach that far!"
Naruto and Hinata shivered as they felt the Six Paths Susanoo gathering chakra, lightning bolts firing from its body in every direction, before it slammed both its swords into the ground, launching a vertical slash of chakra as long as the Susanoo was tall, carving a deep crack on the earth as it sailed forward. The two attacks met, and for a few seconds they struggled against the other. But much to the Konoha ninja's horror, Madara's attack was the one to win the push, breaking their special Rasenshuriken in thousands of tiny shards of chakra, before it slammed against the Golden Avatar flinging it backwards, landing on its back, the impact causing a tremor.
"I imagine that jutsu was your last resort, right?" Madara asked, as he made his Susanoo to move forward, closing the distance between the two titans. "I could see it was quite powerful. Had you used it against my usual Susanoo, it would have destroyed it completely. However-ug?"
For some reason, Madara's Susanoo started to shrink, returning back to its previous form. The confused Uchiha took only a couple seconds to realize what was going on.
"I see," he said, sounding annoyed, as he made a hand seal. The planetoids floating above the ground fired a beam of chakra each into Madara's Susanoo, recharging it, allowing it to return to its empowered form, before it resumed its walk towards it downed enemy.
It seemed that Naruto and Hinata still had some fight in them, as they poured more chakra into the construct in order to regenerate it, while they commanded it to get back on its feet. Except Madara didn't appear to be in the mood to continue the fight, and once it reached them, the Six Path Susanoo kicked it down with great force.
"Sorry, but no," Madara's grin had disappeared, replaced by an unamused scowl. The Susanoo started to brutally kick the golden Avatar while it was down. "I'm tired of this charade. You two will die NOW!"
…
A few minutes earlier
"That's it, I've seen enough!" Sasuke immediately shot forward, ready to assist Naruto and Hinata before Madara could end them for good –and wondering how is that nobody thought in doing so earlier–, but much to his surprise and annoyance, a firm hand kept him in place. Turning around, he saw it was his brother Itachi. "Itachi! What the hell are you doing!?"
"Saving your life, brother. Think for a second! If you went and fought Madara, he would kill you instantly!" Itachi said.
"Then come with me!" Sasuke retorted. "Between all of us, I'm sure we could bring him down!"
"Madara already proved in the past that he's beyond mere numbers," Shisui added, much to the youngest Uchiha's growing annoyance.
"Then what are we supposed to do? Watch how Madara beats Naruto and Hinata down?" Sasuke asked, his Sharingan locked on Madara's Six Paths Susanoo, as he lumbered towards the downed Golden Avatar. "There must be something we can do!"
"I thought in a way that we could provide some support to Naruto and Hinata, but I don't think if it's going to be enough to..." Shikamaru began, but trailed off upon seeing the Susanoo briefly shrinking back to its previous form, before Madara directed more Tailed Beast chakra towards it, reversing the regression. The gears inside Shikamaru's head began to turn once again as a plan, a much improved version of his original idea, formed inside his head, now that he has this new piece of critical information. "Actually, scratch that. I think we may still win this."
"Yeah, I also noticed that Madara's new Susanoo form has a glaring weak point," Jiraiya said, as he walked towards the Nara. "Do you know a way to take advatange of such weakness?"
"I do," was Shikamaru's response. "I'm going to need two things: first, all my former classmates to follow me and do what I say. And two, somebody to keep Madara distracted while we get ready."
"That can be done," Jiraiya said. "Who's going to distract Madara, thought? Because even as a Sage, I'm afraid I don't have the power to even make a scratch on that thing."
"Leave it to us, Hokage-sama," Itachi said, as Shisui nodded behind him.
Hanabi took a step forward. "There's no way I'm standing in the sidelines while my sister and her boyfriend risks their neck for us, I have a Tenseigan too, for Kami's sake!"
"I'll go too. Somebody needs to remind that asshole that he isn't the only one with a Rinnegan," Tsunade said, cracking her knuckles. "Besides, Naruto isn't the only one of my children that son of a bitch has hurt."
As they all moved out, Shino gently helped Fu to sit down.
"I wish I was able to go with you," Fu lamented.
"Don't worry, girl, he has Kiba and I do cover his back," Tamaki confidently stated. "I promise you we will come back in one piece."
Fu forced herself to smile, and nodded. "I know. Please give that guy a punch or two on my behalf, okay?"
The three younger members of the Animal Squad nodded, before they followed the rest of their former classmates.
…
"If it wasn't for you two, I would be the new Sage of the Six Paths, and I would be leading this world to a new golden era of peace," Madara seethed, as his Susanoo continued to stomp on the Golden Avatar. "Resealing the Tailed Beasts on my own may take me weeks... months even! Making sure your deaths are as slow and painful as possible will be a very small consolation..."
The Susanoo lifted its foot, ready to vent Madara's anger on the screaming teens once again. The chakra came down, and then...
"Shinra Tensei!"
Suddenly, the Six Paths Susanoo was pushed back by a gravitational shockwave. Normally, a shockwave of such power wouldn't be enough to move it, but given its precarious balance, it tumbled back several steps, but didn't threaten to fall down. Two emotions filled Madara, the first one being confusion at who else besides him and Obito had access to the power of the Rinnegna. The second being anger, at being interrupted when he was about to finish his prey off.
Enraged, Madara tracked the source of chakra of such attack, and saw a blond woman who placed herself between him and the falled golden chakra construct.
"Don't you dare leay another finger on those children!" the woman bellowed.
Madara's glare pierced her, unamused. "And who are you supposed to be? Their mother?"
"Of one of them, yes," Tsunade said. "But that's not all what I am. My name is Tsunade Senju, and I am Hashirama Senju's granddaughter! And just like my grandfather did in the past, so shall I protect both my loved ones and Konoha from scum like you!"
Madara narrowed his eyes at her. Thanks to the Rinnegan's enhanced vision, he could make most of the woman's facial festures despite how far she was from him. And one thing that drew his attention were those light brown eyes of her. They weren't Hashirama's, but for some reason, they felt familiar to the rogue Uchiha. Then, a memory of the two white haired kids that tried to fight him a few days ago sprung to mind, and the connection was made.
"Oh, I see. So you're the mother of that pair of brats as well, aren't you?" Madara asked. "The ones with white hair. Tell me, woman, do you have any of your kids extraordinary abilities?"
"No, but I don't need Wood Release or an extreme affinity to nature energy to fight you," Tsunade confidently said, as she placed her hands on her hips. "Especially when I'm not fighting you alone."
"Yasaka Magatama!"
"Susanoo: Tsukumo!"
A barrage of green chakra needles as well as red magatama-like projectiles crashed against Madara's Six Path Susanoo. The impact and subsequent explosions didn't do much, but the red and green Susanoos that tackled it in tandem after that managed to push it back, much to Madara's surprise.
"You two again?" Madara said, glaring at Itachi and Shisui, as a look of irritation spread across his face. "You already had your chance to prove your mettle against me on multiple occasions. This fight goes beyond your pathetic level of power and skill!"
"Yeah, excuse us if we disagree on that," Shisui snarked.
Madara snarled, and made his Six Paths Susanoo to slam its fists on each of the opposing chakra constructs, forcing them to release it. Itachi and Shisui's Susanoos stumbled back, but remained firm. The Six Paths Susanoo created a sword of lightning, and swung it down towards Shisui's Senjutsu Susanoo. Shisui's Susanoo summoned its trusty drill-spear while Itachi's Susanoo unsheathed its Sword of Totsuka, and the two of them parried the incoming blow at once.
There was a sonic boom when the chakra weapons clashed, and the Uchiha cousins winced as they felt how their chakra constructs sunk into the ground a little. Madara lifted the lightning sword again, though rather than parrying, Itachi and Shisui decided to dodge by jumping to the sides. The sword hit the ground instead, releasing yet another slash of chakra that cracked the earth as it traveled forward.
"Regardless of my bravado, Madara is right. We're way above our heads trying to fight him. Then again, we aren't fighting to win," Shisui thought.
While Madara was focused on the Uchiha cousins and Tsunade, he didn't notice Hanabi flying just above him. The young Hyuga cancelled the flight, allowing gravity to get a hold of her as she quickly manifested the Avatar of Kalika, the magenta chakra construct landing on the back of the Six Paths Susanoo, wrapping two of its arms around the Susanoo's neck while using its two free hands to smash its head open. Or trying to smash it open.
"This is for the beating you gave me before! And the beating you gave my teammates!" Hanabi shouted, as she vented all the anger she had gathered inside her. "And my sister too!"
"So you've decided to come out at all once. Very well then! If you're so eager to die, then I'll be more than happy to obligue!" Madara said, as he tried to get Hanabi out of his Susanoo's back, while Itachi and Shisui's Susanoos continued to attack him from the sides.
…
Naruto and Hinata watched as the Tsunade, the Uchiha cousins, and Hanabi engaged Madara, buying them some reprieve from the brutal beating they were getting.
"What... what are they doing?" Hinata asked in horror. "They're not match for Madara! He's going to kill all of them! Hanabi-chan, get out of here!"
"Hinata, calm down!" Naruto said, squeezing Hinata's hand with his own, in an attempt to reassure her. "I don't think they're trying to fight him for real, just buying us some time to recover."
"But-"
"There's no time to protest. We can't waste anymore seconds hesitating, or else they will be risking their lives in vain," Naruto told Hinata. The Hyuga clenched her jaw, but ultimately nodded. "Good. How much chakra do you have left?"
"Sadly, not much," Hinata said, looking down. "I believe between the two of us we could rebuild the Golden Avatar one last time."
"Alright, in that case, let's make sure that-"
"Hey, lovebirds, make some room!" a new voice said.
Much to Naruto's shock, Sasuke leaped inside the downed Golden Avatar, followed by Sakura and Karin. Then, Shikamaru, Ino and Choji joined them, as well as the rest of their former classmates, and Team Gai.
"What the... what are you guys doing here?" a confused Naruto asked.
"What do you think, dumbass? Lending you a hand," Sasuke replied. "Because it surely looks like you need one."
"Besides, Shikamaru has a plan to defeat Madara. But he needs all of us to work together," Sakura explained, before her green eyes dirfted towards the people fighting Madara. "They're buying us time for us to get ready, so let's make it count!"
"Indeed. This chakra construct can be the key to beating Madara for good, but it needs some reinforcement first. Let's begin. Ino, link all of our minds!" Shikamaru ordered.
Ino nodded, and made a hand seal. Everybody could feel how their minds were connected towards each other, as if they were sharing a single brain.
"Done!" Ino said, their voice sounding inside everybody else's head.
"Good. Now we don't need to talk out loud and we can coordinate our movements much better," Shikamaru mentally said. "Sakura, your turn!"
Sakura nodded, as she brought her hands, forming the Tiger Seal. "Ninja Art: One Hundred Healings!"
Naruto couldn't help but gape in shock upon seeing his former classmate using one of his mom's most powerful healing jutsu like that. Sakura's body started glow with a red aura, and black lines started to spread around the Golden Avatar, regenerating its missing parts and closing down its wounds.
"With this jutsu active, you won't have to use your own chakra to repair it any time it takes damage!" Sakura mentally said.
"But we're still going to need more chakra as well," Shikamaru added, as he looked at his hand. He smiled upon seeing the small cuts and burns he had gotten over the course of the previous battle quickly closed on their own. "As I imagined, the chakra of the Nine Tails also heals us as well. In that case, Neji, Tenten, Lee! You should be able to open the Celestial Gates without being afraid of the usual backlash! But open only up to the seventh one, we can't risk you guys dying."
Team Gai nodded in unison, and the three of them crossed their arms in front of their face before thrusting them to the sides in one swift motion.
"Gate of Wonder: Open!"
A bright green aura flared around their bodies as chakra poured from them like a torrent, channeling it towards the Golden Avatar, who was starting to get back on its feet.
"Good! Now, Choji, your turn! Use the chakra Neji, Lee and Tenten are releasing!" Shikamaru commanded.
"You got it!" Choji said, clapping his hands together. "Super Multi Size Jutsu!"
Choji, however, didn't grow any bigger. Instead, it was the Golden Avatar who was starting to slowly increase in size. While it was previously a head shorter than Madara's Six Paths Susanoo, it grew until it was now a head taller, about one hundred and twenty meters in height.
"Sasuke! Let's give the final touch!" Shikamaru said.
Sasuke merely nodded, and made a hand seal. His eyes glowed with a red glint as the Mangekyo Sharingan formed, and a deep purple aura washed over his body. "Susanoo: Majestic Attire!"
Purple flames burst at several parts of the Golden Avatar: the legs, its four forearms, its chest, waist and head, the fire quickly coalescending into pieces of armor, partially covering it in Susanoo. Aside from the armor, the Susanoo added an additional pair of arms, each of them holding a sword of chakra each.
Six Paths: Almighty Avatar of Konoha!
"Maybe Naruto-kun and I alone weren't able to beat Madara," Hinata thought, as her Tenseigan focused once again on the rogue Uchiha, who had finally gotten rid of Hanabi, her Avatar of Kalika lying on the ground, and was now pounding Itachi and Shisui's Susanoo with its bare fists. "But with all our friends fighting alongside us... we might have a chance!"
"Itachi, Shisui! Get the hell out of there! We're finished here!" Sasuke warned his fellow Uchiha.
"You too, Hanabi-chan! Thanks for your help, but now you should try to find a safe place to stay!" Hinata added.
It seems they heard the warning, as their chakra constructs disappeared, and the three of them, as well as Tsunade, vacated the battleground. At first Madara attempted to give chase, but his attraction was drawn to the Avatar of Konoha. He smirked in amusement.
"Look at that. You saw me, and decided to add some power to your own construct. The Susanoo armor looks really good on it, I must admit," Madara complimented. "Unfortunately, it will do you no good."
"Alright, here it comes. First phase of the plan: gauge how strong we are compared to Madara," Shikamaru said.
As the two colossi lumbered towards each other, the young Konoha ninjas braced themselves as the Six Paths Susanoo raised one of its lightning swords, and brought it down in a vertical slice. The Avatar's Susanoo arms crossed their swords in front of its face just in place to parry the blow, which produced a shockwave followed by a gust of wind and a tremor, but the Avatar stood in place.
The Konoha ninjas felt a little relief wash over them as they managed to past their first test. But it was only the first of many to come.
"Allow me to deal the first blow," Haku said, as he started to make hand seals. "Ice Release: Freezing Wave!"
One of the Avatar's feet started to glow with chakra, and from it a row of sharp ice as tall as the Avatar itself rocketed towards the Six Paths Susanoo, pushing it backwards and covering it in frots, slowing its movements down.
"Yes, we did it! We finally caused that thing some harm!" Hinata cheered.
"I call dibs on the next move!" Tamaki said.
The Avatar spread its middle arms to the sides, and three long claws made of chakra grew from the back of its hands. The armored chakra construct then rushed forward, delivering a multitude of swipes at the Six Paths Susanoo, each swipes pushing the half frozen Susanoo a little back.
Madara, however, decided he had enough. With a flex of all the Tailed Beast chakra stored inside his Susanoo, he instantly repelled all the frost covering it, while pushing the Avatar of Konoha backwards. The Susanoo then slammed the opposing chakra construct, before rushing forward and deliver a series of punches, forcing the Avatar of Konoha to move backwards.
"Your steps are a bit better than before. But not enough to beat me in this dance!" Madara boasted.
"You haven't seen nothing yet!" Naruto said out loud, as he extended the two lower pair of arms to the sides, using their hands to form two Rasenshurikens, and mentally commanded Hinata and Haku to infuse them with elemental chakra. One of the Rasenshuriken took the shape of a spinning shuriken made of pure purple lightning, while the other appeared to be made of ice. "Lightning Release: Spiraling Thunderstorm! Ice Release: Spiraling Blizzard!"
As the two elemental shuriken barreled towards his Susanoo, Madara simply smirked.
"Impressive. But once again, you fail to realize the difference in power between you and me," Madara boasted, as his Susanoo started to make hand seals. "Susanoo: Fire Release Majestic Destroying Flame!"
The Six Paths Susanoo exhaled a gigantic stream of flames, that moved towards the Avatar of Konoha, incinerating the ground it touched to a crisp, until the wall of fire met the two elemental shuriken, both of them exploding into spheres of spinning ice and lightning. While the elemental spheres threatened to overpower Madara's attack, the Uchiha merely empowered his attack with more Tailed Beast chakra. The flames roared, burning brightly, as they finally managed to overpower the dual elemental attack, and continue its travel towards the Avatar of Konoha unimpeded.
"Water Release users, protect the Avatar!" Naruto commanded.
The command proved to be unnecessary, as Sakura, Ino and Haku were already weaving the seals of the same water jutsu.
"Water Release: Water Colliding Wave!"
A second before Madara's torrent of flames could torch the Avatar of Konoha, a massive vortex of water appeared around it, covering it in its entirely. The flames were put out the moment they crashed against the watery shield, but their heat was so intense that most of the water was instantly vaporized into steam, leaving nothing but a few puddles at the feet of the chakra giantess.
Deciding it was their turn to attack, Naruto used the Avatar to channel yet another Tailed Beast Ball. And just when he was about to toss it, the Susanoo arms launched a pair of chakra slashes at the sphere of destruction, combining with it.
"Tailed Beast Chaos Dance!"
"Another combination," Madara said, rolling his eyes. The Six Path Susanoo held up a hand, and lightning gathered on it, forming a very long spear. "Tell me, kids, did you know I was the one who pioneered that combination? You surely don't think you can use my own weapons against me." The Susanoo then hurled the spear towards the incoming attack, piercing it completely, and keeping enough momentum to continue forward.
"Shit!" Sasuke cursed, as he quickly summoned his Susanoo's shield-bow on the left arm, and used it to intercept the attack. The lightning spear connected, blowing up the shield completely, as well as the hand and part of the Susanoo's forearm, making Sasuke wince.
Fortunately, Sakura's jutsu also affected the Susanoo, which began to slowly regenerate its missing limb.
Rather than another ranged attack, Madara has his Susanoo barrel towards the Avatar of Konoha, tackling it backwards with a powerful shoulder slam, before summoning another sword to one of its hands, and delivering a diagonal upwards swipe.
"What the...?"
But much to Madara's shock, before the sword could connect, the Susanoo was frozen in place, being rendered completely immobile. Looking down, Madara could see that the shadows of the two colossi were now linked by a dark thread.
"Come on guys...!" Shikamaru urged, his voice sounding strained, as beads of sweat ran through his temples, as he struggled to keep his hands forming a hand seal. "I can't hold him for much longer..."
They didn't need to be told anymore, as the Avatar quickly lunged forward and delivered a set of punches and palm strikes with its six arms, pushing the Six Paths Susanoo a little back with each blow.
"Fire Release: Great FireBall Jutsu!"
"Sage Art: Lightning Release Thunder Blast!"
"Ice Release: Freezing Wave!"
From within the chakra construct, Sasuke breathed a massive fireball, while Hinata cast a storm of lightning bolts from her extended hands, while Haku did likewise with a wave of ice. The tri-elemental attack managed to cause some harm on the Susanoo, but nothing that actually lasted.
Madara glared at the teens inside the Avatar of Konoha. "I seriously hope that wasn't the best you have."
"Guys... I think he has a point. None of our attacks are leaving much of a mark on that monstrous Susanoo of his..." Hinata inwardly lamented.
"Just as I feared. Our power simply isn't enough to match him in direct combat," Shikamaru gravely said, However, his lips curved into a smirk that hinted this was something he had already anticipated. "That means that we will have to beat him through indirect means then. Everybody, let's flee to the sky!"
"On it!" Sasuke replied, as two purple wings appeared on the Avatar's back.
The chakra construct then turned around, began to flap its wings, raising powerful gusts of wind and started to fly into the sky, seemingly fleeing away from Madara. Or at least, that's what the rogue Uchiha was led to believe.
"You dare to oppose me, and now that you find yourselves outmatched, you think you can escape from my wrath!?" Madara asked, scowling deeply. His Susanoo leaped into the air, and started to give chase. "I DON'T THINK SO!"
Exactly as Shikamaru had predicted. In his rage and lust for blood, he didn't realize he was being led away from the trapped Tailed Beasts.
"Alright, he's following us!" Karin informed the others.
"But his speed is much greater than ours. He will catch us before we can reach the upper atmospere," Neji added.
"Not good. We need to be as high as possible for the plan to work," Shikamaru said. "We need to do something to delay him a little!"
"I believe this is the moment when I step up to offer my assistance," Shino offered, as a swarm of beetles poured from under his clothes. He made a single hand seal. "Aburame Secret Art: Giant Beetle Growth!"
The jutsu followed by a multitude bursts of smoke, and from the smoke emerged beetles as large as Akamaru, covered in a golden chakra cloak not unlike Naruto's Kurama Cloak, and dived towards the Six Paths Susanoo.
The swarm of giant golden beetles latched onto Madara's Susanoo, and bit on it viciously, slowly draining it of its chakra, forcing it to slow down.
"Do you think an Aburame trick is going to save you from me?" Madara asked, growing more and more angry with the way these impertinent brats were insulting him by using such ineffective tactics and skills. "Think again!"
Once again, the Six Paths Susanoo flexed its chakra, releasing a powerful pulse that violently pushed all the giant golden beetles away, allowing Madara to continue his chase. Of course, the beetles already did their job, even if Madara was unaware of it.
Eventually, the Avatar of Konoha reached the edge of the atmosphere. All its occupants gasped in shock at the breathtaking view of the Earth below them, and took a second to admire and appreciate how beautiful their planet looked from such an altitude. Of course, a second was all they could afford, as Madara's Six Path Susanoo quickly caught up to them.
"End of the chase, children," Madara said, already tasting victory. "Though, I must wonder, where did you plan to go? Were you thinking in fleeing to another planet? Not that it would be that bad of an idea, since there's no place on Earth where you could escape from my wrath."
"There were plenty of people next to the site we were fighting on," Naruto stated. "Here we can go all out without having to worry of collateral damage."
Even if that wasn't the reason behind the battlefield change, it wasn't a lie either.
"Of course. It shouldn't come as a surprise that ninjas indoctrinated in Hashirama's school of thought would care about saving unworthy lives," Madara said, rolling his eyes. "I guess I forgot about how Obito was the first time I met him."
"Saving unworthy lives?" Tenten repeated, her face morphing into a grimace of disgust. "And we're supposed to believe you want nothing but peace and good for the world?"
"Ignore him, Tenten, and focus on the fight," Shikamaru mentally told her. "Now that we have him where we want, let's bait him into expending as much chakra and power as possible!"
The Avatar of Konoha rocketed towards Madara's Six Paths Susanoo at the same time it generated a pair of swords on its purple tSusanoo arms, ready to deliver a double vertical slash. Madara's Six Paths Susanoo created yet another lightning long spear on one of its hands, and raised it to parry the dual strike, which was unable to break through the parry.
While the two chakra constructs struggled against the other, the Avatar of Konoha cupped its four remaining hands togther, summoning yet another Tailed Beast Ball. Madara, however, noticed this and had his Susanoo swat the nascent ball away with its free hand, before pushing the Avatar of Konoha back with a brutal kick, followed by a swing of the lightning spear, which broke the great swords when Sasuke attempted to parry it.
"Yeah, hand to hand combat is definitely not a good idea. Let's keep our distance," Shikamaru suggested, as the Avatar of Konoha floated away from the blue Susanoo.
Madara then made a single hand seal. "Limbo: Border Jail!"
While the jutsu seemingly didn't do anything, Hinata gasped as her eyes widened.
"Those invisible clones again... and he has summoned four of them this time!" the Hyuga said.
"Invisible clones?" Choji asked.
"An ability of Madara's Rinnegan, it seems," Naruto interceded. "Those clones are as powerful as he is, and can't be seen nor detected through normal means. Hinata can see them with her Tenseigan, and I can sense them thanks to my Six Paths Chakra."
"While that sounds worrying, I don't know how those clones can be of any help in a fight like this," Ino mentioned.
Suddenly, four additional Susanoos appeared seemingly out of nowhere, flanking Madara. Fortunately, those were Complete Susanoo rather than Six Paths Susanoo.
Ino facepalmed. "Me and my big mouth..."
"Forget about it! Focus on the fight" Shikamaru told his blond teammate. "Here they come!"
And indeed, the four Limbo Clones, each inside a Complete Susanoo, barreled towards the Avatar of Konoha, each of them carrying a sword on one of its hands. Lion-shaped chakra shrouds that crackled with lightning appeared on the middle hands when they curled into fists, and three long claws sprouted from the back of its lower hands, mimicking Tamaki's bladed gauntlets.
When the first Susanoo arrived, sword ready to skewer it, the Avatar merely moved aside and decked it on its faceplate with a chakra lion-coated first, sending it sprawling down. Immediately after that, a second Susanoo appeared, delivering an upwards diagonal swift. The sword strike was parried with one of the Avatar's lower hands, while it stabbed the three blades on the Susanoo's face, before sending it backwards with a kick to the chest.
Unfortunately, the Avatar was unable to dodge the third Susanoo, who slammed its shoulder against the Avatar's chest, reeling it backwards, while the fourth Susanoo delivered a powerful kick to the face, sending it flying backwards.
While the Konoha ninjas panicked upon taking not one but two fairly powerful hits, Karin saw an opportunity to help. She commanded the avatar to dispel the lion fists and to aim its hands towards the two Susanoos.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains!"
Two golden chains shot from the extended hands, and arced towards the two nearby Susanoo, wrapped themselves around them, pinning their arms to their bodies, and dragging them with the Avatar. Meanwhile, the rest of her friends worked on regaining balance, and once they did, the Avatar propelled forward, while the two Susanoo limbo clones were still dragged towards it.
Sasuke once again summoned two swords to the Susanoo arms, while some of his teammates channeled elemental chakra to the blades in order to increase their power. Once the two blue Susanoo were in range, the Avatar delivered a dual horizontal chop, leaving a trail of flames and lightning as they moved, obliteraring their targets the moment the swords made contact in a storm of elemental fury.
"That takes care of those," Naruto said.
The blond could sense how his girlfriend panicked a little. "Yes, but now we need to take care of THOSE!"
Hinata pointed upwards, and they saw several perfectly round meteors falling towards them. Now they realized the Limbo Clones were just a diversion, and while they were fighting them, Madara used Chibaku Tensei to pull several nearby asteroids into several large meteors.
"Don't worry guys, leave them to me!" Kiba said, excited to finally getting his time to shine, as he commanded the Avatar to move towards the incoming meteors. "Fang Passing Fang!"
The Avatar of Konoha started to spin, slowly at first, but progressively faster, until it turned into a blurry drill of gold and purple. The ninjas inside, however, didn't spin with the chakra construct, remaining completely stationary, much to their relief.
As the meteors came closer, the spinning Avatar drilled through them, grinding them into small rocks and pebbles that burned up when they reentered the atmosphere. Despite the number of meteors the rogue Uchiha had created, the Avatar didn't lose any momentum and destroyed all of them completeley, before it stopped spinning once there were no more.
Madara gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist in anger. Images of the green clad Konoha fool who nearly killed him destroying his meteors replayed in his mind, and felt his blood boil with rage. What happened next didn't help either.
"Is that all you have, old man?" Naruto taunted. "You're making me feel kind of bad over the fact that Hinata and I alone couldn't beat you on your own if you're so weak!"
Not happy with being the one responsible to undo his decades-long plan for world peace and unity, this impertinent brat dared to mock him? To call him weak? It was about time for somebody to give that loudmouth blond a lesson. With an angry grunt, Madara extended his hands upwards, creating a single marble sized gravity core.
"CHIBAKU TENSEI!"
The gravity core shot upwards, and began to draw asteroids floating around them towards it, forming yet another meteor. This gravity core, however, had been empowered with the combined Tailed Beasts chakra of all nine beasts, and thus its strength was much greater than the normal Chibaku Tensei, to the point that Naruto and his friends could feel the gravitational pull.
In a few seconds, the nascent planetoid drew enough asteroids to reach the size of the standard Chibaku Tensei, but it didn't stop there and continued to increase its mass and size at a continuous pace, as more asteroids kept slamming against it, much to the Konoha ninjas' growing discomfort and worry. It was growing so big that Madara needed to hold it together with multiple thick wooden vines created by Wood Release.
Once it was done, the Konoha ninjas were looking up to a meteor that could easily house the entirety of Konoha inside it.
"Naruto-niisan..." Karin stammered, as beads of sweat trickled down her face. "I think you did a too good of a job taunting him into going all out..."
Madara grinned savagely. "Maybe I should have done this from the very beginning and be done with it. NOW DISAPPEAR, YOU MEDDLESOME INSECTS!"
And with an arm motion, he send the gigantic meteor towards the Avatar of Konoha.
"Is that guy insane!? If a meteor that size hits the Earth from this altitude, it will wipe out the entire continent at the very least!" Sakura said in horror.
"That means we can't just dodge it then," Hinata added, trying to stay calm.
"It's okay, we don't need to!" Naruto said, trying to instill his friends with confidence. "Because we're going to stop it! This is going to be our winning move, guys! Now do as I say!"
Using the Avatar of Konoha, Naruto started to create another Tailed Beast Ball bewteen its hands.
"Now, pour elemental chakra into the ball, quickly!" Naruto commanded.
Shikamaru, Choji and Tamaki added fire. Sakura and Ino added Water. Shino, Kiba, Neji and Karin added Earth. Hinata, Tenten and Sasuke added Lightning, with the latter also adding Amaterasu flames for good measure. Haku added Ice. On top of Wind, Naruto also added Lava, Steam and Magnet which he still had from the Tailed Beast shards within him. Eventually, the Tailed Beast Ball was bursting with elemental chakra, creating an incredibly unstable mix.
"And now, the final touch!" Naruto said, as he sent his own Truth Seeking Balls into the massive combination.
The black orbs merged with the mix, stabilizing it completely, resulting in a huge black sphere with a golden core, with blue sparks of lightning crackling around it, before it was finally fired towards the incoming meteor.
"Six Paths: Almighty Spirit Blast!"
The comparatively tiny sphere of destructive chakra slammed against the colossal meteor, struggling against it while slowly digging into it. At first, the meteor didn't appear to stop anytime soon, but little by little, it started to reduce its speed, until it stopped completely. Then, to the sheer joy of the Konoha ninjas, the sphere of destruction, now deep inside the meteor's crust, began to push it back towards Madara.
"Yes, yes!" Ino cheered, and clapped in joy. "We're going to do it!"
As the combined jutsu dug even deeper into the meteor, the gigantc mass of rock started to turn red, as streams of lava shot across the surface, forming small volcanoes, forming rivers of molten rock.
Meanwhile, Madara couldn't do anything but watch in both horror and sheer incomprehension how his ultimate attack was pushed back at him. And in his disbelief, he hadn't noticed that he had already spent most of the chakra he had drained from the captive Tailed Beasts, and his Susanoo was slowly reversing back to its Complete Form.
"How...?" Madara asked, as the burning meteor slammed into his Susanoo. "How can a bunch of brats could-"
The sphere of destruction inside the meteor finally detonated, producing a blast of fiery burning death twice as big as the mass of rock it was buried under. However, the joy of Madara being finally defeated was short lived as they realized that the explosion continued expanding, and in a few seconds, it would engulf them as well.
Fortunately, Shikamaru had already foreseen this as well.
"Hinata, quickly! Pull all of us towards you, and then form a protective shell around us with your Truth Seeking Balls!" he commanded out loud.
Hinata didn't have to be told twice, and did as Shikamaru asked, with Naruto using his chakra arms to help as well. As the fifteen teens were smashed against each other in a ball of tangled bodies, Hinata's Truth Seeking Balls began to form a sphere around them. They would be extremely uncomfortable for a while, but needless to say, if they survived it would be worth it.
…
Earth
Meanwhile, back on the site where the Ninja Alliance had fought the Ten Tails, the remaining members of the Alliance had their eyes locked into the sky, trying to discern the battle between Madara and the Konoha 15. However, all they could see were brief flashes of light of different colors, which they could assume were jutsu being thrown at each other.
Needless to say, the fact that they couldn't see if the Konoha 15 were winning or not was quite frustrating.
Then, the ninjas on Earth were blinded by a flash of light so bright and potent, the entirety of the sky turned white for a few seconds, blowing every cloud in the sky away. It was then followed by a pulse of chakra, and a deafening thunder.
"What... what the hell was that...?" Jiraiya asked, praying to whatever deity could hear him that it meant that Naruto and his friends had finally won.
"Hey, Fu, wait!" Jiraiya heard Rin's voice said.
Turning around, Jiraiya saw the former jinchuriki of the Seven Tails running away. Looking in the direction he was running for, he realized her reasons to do so, and chased after her.
Author's Note:And thus, the final battle is here! And yeah, I had Madara do the same thing with the Tailed Beasts Sasuke did in canon (the fact that he also trapped them inside planetoids should have been a pretty big hint), mostly because I liked it a lot. In fact, a good chunk of the final battle was also inspired by the final Naruto vs Sasuke duel as well, since it was a really good fight, at least in a vacuum.
The fact that the final battle would be Konoha 15 vs Madara was something I already decided even before I started to write the first chapter, and boy, you have no idea how happy I am to see this idea finally out of my mind. I know most of you expected the final battle to be between Naruto, Hinata and Madara exclusively, but I wanted to include the rest of the Konoha 15 as well. Not just because for the sake of it, but because it fits with the theme of love versus power. Besides, I wanted the two sides of the final battle to be as much foils to each other as possible: Madara is the last member of a generation long gone that stayed alive by unnaturally prolonging his life, the Konoha 15 are part of the youngest generation of ninjas; Madara fights alone, the Konoha 15 fight as a group; Madara only saw his associantes as either minions or pawns, the Konoha 15 are genuine friends
Did you expect the Golden Avatar of Kalika to have yet another upgrade? Given the swell reception the Golden Avatar got, what do you think about the Almighty Avatar of Konoha? Did it improve even further, or did it ruin a perfectly good jutsu?
Those who played Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 can tell that the last clash between the heroes and Madara is inspired by the game's take on the final fight between Naruto, Sasuke and Ten Tails Madara.
Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.
So, what did you think of the final battle? Are the Konoha 15 going to be ok? Is Madara really dead? Find out next Monday! In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!