Had this in my head for a while – please enjoy and leave a review.
Beneath the Bleeding Sky
Prologue: Deception & Defeat
….
A storm, not of clouds, but of wills, echoed across the battlefield. A wasteland of ideals, hopes, dreams and sacrifices. Naruto stood, eyes ablaze with an inner fire that mirrored the electric crackling of the air around him. He looked up with his steely red eyes with a confident smirk. He enjoyed this? An unnatural, almost unhuman-like desire to test himself welled inside him. His muscles coiled, the weight of years of battle in his bones, but his spirit—untouched, unbroken—burned brighter than ever. The ground beneath him groaned, shaking with the force of his energy, but still, he stood firm. His voice cut through the chaos like a blade. This was not a battle fought in isolation—ninjas from all over the world were caught in the chaos. They fought not just for survival, but for their homes, their families, and everything they had ever known. The clash of jutsu rang out from all directions, the air thick with the sounds of battle.
"Madara," he said, each syllable carrying the weight of his resolve. "You thought you could bend the world to your will. But this world...isn't yours to shape."
Madara's lips twisted into a smile—dark, knowing. His sharingan gleamed like a pair of dead stars, cold and calculating. His voice was low, laced with scorn. "You speak as though the world will listen to the likes of you, Naruto. You've always been a child of idealism. This same idealism has cost you this world." His form shimmered as he vanished, appearing behind Naruto in a blink. "Let me show you the price of that delusion."
Naruto's stance was low, his body alive with the vibrant hum of energy, every fiber of his being crackling with lightning chakra, ready to explode. He was no longer the brash, carefree ninja of his youth. In his eyes, there was only one thing: defeat Madara.
Across from him stood Madara Uchiha, his chakra dark as night, a cold smile playing on his lips as he regarded his opponent. The former warlord, the one who had shaped the world from shadows, was still a titan of power.
"Can you hear them boy? The sound of your comrades fighting in this distance? Once I'm done with you – I'll massacre every one of them," he taunted.
Before Naruto could react, Madara's fist collided with the air, the sound like the cracking of thunder. But Naruto wasn't there anymore. In an instant, the world warped around him—lightning flashing as he vanished, leaving behind only the echo of his defiance. Madara followed suit as the pair of them took to the air trading a flurry blows, scaling several stories before Madara managed to get on top of Naruto. Slamming him to the ground with sickening force, Naruto used a pulse of chakra to break his fall. The dust around him recoiling as Madara appeared behind him again.
"Still so green," he chuckled with a hint of enjoyment.
The ground beneath them shuddered as the two warriors locked eyes locked with the weight of a thousand battles between them.
"I've seen warriors far stronger than you," Madara sneered, his voice cutting through the still air. "But you... you're nothing but a fleeting spark."
Naruto didn't respond with words. He didn't need to. His body was already in motion, flickering in a flash of yellow as he vanished, only to reappear inches from Madara's chest. The lightning that surged from his hand was like a thunderclap, aimed straight for Madara's heart. But Madara was already moving—his fist collided with Naruto's strike, the impact like two meteors crashing together, an explosion of energy that sent shockwaves across the battlefield. Naruto remained stoic, calculating. Amid battle. What was next? The air itself seemed to shatter, and for a split second, the world was nothing but raw, crackling power.
Naruto's eyes blazed with intensity as he teleported again, his body a blur, appearing behind Madara this time. He landed a heavy strike to Madara's back, his fist charged with lightning. But Madara twisted with incredible speed, catching Naruto's arm mid-strike and flipping him onto the ground in a blur of motion. The ground cracked, the impact leaving a crater beneath Naruto's body, but in an instant, he shot back up, launching himself toward Madara once again. His fists were a blur of lightning and raw force, each punch aimed at Madara's head, each strike so fast it seemed as if Naruto had split into a dozen versions of himself.
"Don't be in such a hurry," Madara said coldly, his eyes focused. His own chakra flared as he met each punch with the precision of a master. His hands were like blades, slicing through the air with incredible speed, the pressure of his strikes sending violent gusts of wind in every direction.
Naruto wasn't fazed. His body shifted again—teleporting once more—reappearing above Madara. He slammed his foot down like a hammer, aiming for Madara's skull. But Madara blocked, his arm rising with a force that could tear mountains apart. The collision sent shockwaves across the battlefield, ripping apart the earth beneath their feet.
Madara jumped back landing on a rock nearby. Naruto staggered back, trying to hide the strain of using the teleportation jutsu this frequently. Madara's solemn demeanour changed slightly as he felt the smallest drop of his own blood fall from his lips.
"All that for a drop," Madara's lip curled into a smile, his eyes cold with disdain.
With a smirk that only someone as dangerous as he could wear, he raised his hand to the sky, his chakra flaring, swirling around him like a violent storm. His eyes gleamed with that trademark arrogance, the type that only someone who had seen and caused so much destruction could possess.
"You're quick, boy. But no matter how fast you are, you can't outrun this." Madara's voice was a low growl, full of cold certainty.
Naruto didn't have time to react before Madara slammed his palm forward.
"Great Fire Annihilation!"
In an instant, the air around them seemed to distort as Madara unleashed a torrent of blazing flames, the fire twisting and coiling like a dragon in the sky. The inferno surged toward Naruto with incredible speed, its heat so intense that it made the air shimmer and crack. The sheer force of the flames was enough to set the very ground alight, turning the battlefield into a hellish landscape in a heartbeat. Naruto's eyes widened for the briefest moment, but only for a second. The heat was unbearable, but he didn't flinch. His body was already in motion—his chakra flickering with lightning, a low hum of energy that seemed to charge the air around him as he teleported instantly to the side, narrowly avoiding the initial onslaught of flames.
But Madara's jutsu wasn't just an attack; it was a storm—a wild, unrelenting blaze that spread across the battlefield, filling the air with scorching heat and forcing Naruto to constantly keep moving. He couldn't keep dodging forever; the flames were closing in around him, and even the air was beginning to burn.
"Damn it," Naruto growled under his breath, feeling the heat intensify, the flames licking at the edges of his skin. The sweat on his forehead was stinging his eyes, and for the first time in this fight, he felt a small crack in his resolve. The fire was getting too close. The scope Madara's attack suddenly expanded.
Naruto's eyes narrowed. He needed a way to get closer—to break through the wall of flames Madara had unleashed. And then, in a split second, he had an idea.
With a grit of his teeth, Naruto ripped off his shirt, tearing it in half with a brutal motion, exposing his upper body. The action was quick, decisive, and yet it carried a strange sense of purpose. As soon as the fabric was gone, Naruto's chakra surged—this time not just around him, but within him, igniting his body with a surge of electricity.
It was an old tactic; one he had perfected in his earlier years when he needed greater mobility and freedom of movement in battles that pushed him to his limits. Without the fabric restricting his body, he could move faster, more freely, dodging and countering with precision. More importantly, the bare skin allowed his chakra to flow more easily, allowing him to generate more power.
The flames crashed down on him in an unrelenting wave. Naruto's body flickering like lightning as he teleported again, narrowly dodging the flames that threatened to swallow him whole. The intense heat was suffocating, the air heavy with the burning scent of charred earth.
Before Madara could react, Naruto vanished again—this time appearing behind Madara in a flash of yellow lightning. His knee struck Madara's spine with a force that shook the earth. But Madara twisted in mid-air, grabbing Naruto's knee and using his momentum to slam him into the ground with a powerful spinning throw.
The impact sent Naruto skidding across the cracked earth, but in a single, fluid motion, he pushed himself back to his feet, his body radiating power. He didn't waste a single moment—he charged again, moving at blinding speed, his fist trailing lightning as he struck toward Madara's face.
Madara, unyielding, caught Naruto's fist with his palm, but the force of the punch sent shockwaves through the air, causing the earth to tremble. Their gazes met for a split second, and in that moment, the world held its breath.
Madara smirked as his sharingan began to spin violently. The blonde felt the world around him become distorted and warped. His body began moving on its own. Time and space worked against him. Madara's fist connected with his gut. Naruto's body was sent rocketing backward, crashing through the rocky terrain, his body skidding across the ground like a ragdoll. He regained his footing. Jumping back behind a rocky outcropping with sweat dripping down his body.
'At this rate,' he thought to himself as he sensed Madara closing in rapidly.
'Under no circumstances are you to use that technique. I mean maybe to impress a girl…..okay two circumstances to impress a girl and to defend our world. Surely, you'll never have to use it then because girl's run at the sight of your glum looks.' Jiraya's boisterous laugh rang through his head as he jumped up onto a rocky cliff. Madara appeared below him.
"To think – you're zipping around using such a means that you'd needn't bother with those tags. Still, looks painful," he taunted crossing his arms.
Naruto clenched both of his fists.
"I don't have a choice then," Madara raised an eyebrow as the wind started blow behind him toward Naruto. The blonde's muscles began to swell as his chakra began to erupt from him in a violent torrent.
….
The Five Shinobi Nations' headquarters was alive with a quiet, tense energy. The large central command room, filled with high-ranking shinobi from all across the nations, was the heart of the operation. Tsunade stood rigid before the glowing Hokage Crystal Ball, her hands clenched into tight fists. Her eyes were fixed on the image within the sphere, and her mind was torn—caught between pride for Naruto's indomitable spirit and a deep, growing fear for the toll his reckless actions were taking on his body.
With each passing second, the strain on his body became more visible. His movements were blindingly fast, each strike a blur of power, but Tsunade could see it—his chakra was burning out, and his body was paying the price.
"Naruto…" Tsunade whispered under her breath, her voice a mixture of awe and concern. She'd seen him fight before, seen him unleash devastating techniques, but this was different. This wasn't just raw power—this was something else, something that took far more than just chakra. This was Naruto pushing himself to the absolute limit, ignoring the very warning signs of his body breaking down.
"What in the world is he doing?" Tsunade muttered again, more to herself than anyone else, her eyes still fixed on the scene unfolding in the ball.
"A dangerous gamble," commented the Fourth Raikage.
"But a necessary one," she retorted.
Inoichi, standing to one side, watched the readings closely, his brow furrowing as he monitored Naruto's chakra levels. The numbers were off the charts—far beyond what any human body could handle without consequence. The strain on his nervous system was visible in the data, but what worried him most was the spike in physical damage.
"It's like he's throwing everything he has at the wall, hoping it sticks," Inoichi said softly, almost to himself, but his voice carried a hint of disbelief. "This technique is dangerous—more than anyone's realised."
At her side, Raikage Ay, arms crossed tightly, watched Naruto's form flicker across the battlefield. His red eyes narrowed, his brow creased in concern. As a leader who understood the cost of battle, he could sense the immense toll this fight was taking on Naruto's body, and he didn't like it.
"This is too much. His body can't take it." Ay growled, his voice heavy with disbelief.
Ayame Namikaze, Naruto's younger sister, paced back and forth behind them, her fists clenched tightly at her sides. Her blonde hair, wild and curly, bounced with each step she took. Unlike Naruto, Ayame wore her emotions on her sleeve. Her violet eyes were blazing with urgency and anger as she watched her older brother's form flicker in and out of focus on the crystal ball.
"What is he doing?!" Ayame snapped, her voice filled with a mix of frustration and fear. She turned on Tsunade, her face a storm of emotion.
Tsunade's expression remained grim as she continued to watch. "He can't stop. Not now."
Ayame's eyes widened in disbelief. "What do you mean he can't stop? Why is no one stopping him?!"
Shukaku, who had been quietly observing from the corner of the room, spoke up. His voice was calm, but there was a weight to his words that could not be ignored. "It's a technique called the Thunderflash Impact. It amplifies his chakra and physical power immensely, but the price is steep—too steep. His body can't handle the strain for long. He's gambling everything on this move."
Ayame's stomach turned. "So… he's willingly destroying his body just to win?" Her voice shook with a raw mixture of anger and pain.
Tsunade's lips pressed into a thin line. She knew exactly how Ayame felt. "Naruto doesn't know when to stop. Jiraiya warned him not to use that technique. He's backed into a corner."
Ayame shook her head, her chest tight with the frustration of seeing her brother's reckless decisions play out before her. "He never listens! He never stops! Why does he always have to do this—fight alone?" Her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles went white.
Shukaku's voice softened, a rare sadness creeping in. "The technique gives him everything, but it takes everything in return. Every movement, every strike... it costs him. His body isn't built for this kind of power – even if his last name is Namikaze."
Ayame gritted her teeth, struggling to hold back the tide of emotion threatening to overwhelm her as tears began to well in her violet eyes.
Tsunade's gaze softened, though her expression remained stern. "Because he's Naruto. He believes if he doesn't fight like this... everyone will die. He feels like he has no choice but to give everything, even if it means sacrificing himself."
Ayame's breath hitched. She felt her heart twist painfully in her chest. She could hear the weight of Tsunade's words, but it didn't make it any easier to accept.
"I hate this," Ayame muttered, her voice trembling with frustration and fear. She turned back toward the crystal ball, her eyes burning as she watched Naruto continue to fight against a foe that seemed almost too powerful for him to overcome. "Why does he always do this alone?" Her fists clenched at her sides again, but this time, there was a quiet resolve in her movements.
Tsunade placed a hand on Ayame's shoulder, a gesture of comfort, but even she couldn't hide the sadness in her eyes. "He's made his choice. All we can do now is hope he can survive it."
….
"Is this it?" Madara scoffed, taunting. "You've pushed yourself so far—look at you. You're done."
Naruto staggered; his breath sharp, ragged. His body was covered in cuts and bruises, his movements slower, but his resolve never wavered. With a final breath, he clenched his fists—hands crackling with the last remnants of his chakra.
"Not… yet."
In an instant, the air around Naruto shuddered as the ground shook beneath him. His eyes, once wide with desperation, narrowed into focused slits. The energy that had been leaking out of his body began to concentrate—no longer a flicker of blue, but a vibrating red aura that flared like wildfire. His chakra exploded around him, rippling through the air in violent waves, like a storm of fire ready to consume everything in its path.
The battlefield trembled as Naruto's chakra began to surge, rippling in violent waves around him. His body radiated with explosive power, a violent mixture of yellow lightning and crimson flame. Naruto began to grit his teeth as pain began to rip through his body. The air around him shimmered, as though the world itself couldn't bear the energy he was unleashing. Madara paused, narrowing his eyes in disbelief.
"What is this?" His voice was cold, but his calm was beginning to crack as the pressure of Naruto's rising power became impossible to ignore. The ground underneath him began to shake as he lost his foot for a second.
In an instant, Naruto's aura flared. The chakra wrapped around him like a violent storm—fiery red energy cascading from his body in a way that distorted the air itself. His skin crackled with yellow lightning as he let out a primal roar, pushing himself to his absolute limits. The world seemed to hold its breath as Naruto's energy continued to rise, burning brighter, hotter, faster. His body pulsed with raw, chaotic strength, his muscles tensing and expanding, pushing his physical form to the edge. Then—he moved.
Naruto blurred into motion. His speed was overwhelming. In a heartbeat, he was behind Madara, fist raised, glowing with the intensity of his energy. Madara turned his sharingan unable to follow him. The punch that followed was more than just a physical strike—it was an eruption of power. The ground shattered under the impact, sending a shockwave that blasted across the battlefield. Madara barely had time to react before Naruto was on him again, his foot connecting with Madara's chest, sending him flying backward. The force was so immense that the very earth beneath them cracked and split, a wave of destruction radiating from the impact.
Madara regained his footing and flipped backward skidding across the charged ground. He coughed as more blood fell from his mouth. He ducked another fist from the blonde as he pivoted as Naruto took another wild swing. The Uchiha jumped back again. Naruto was already upon him. A flurry of punches followed, each one a devastating blow. The pair tore the rocky terrain a part as Naruto pursed his foe relentlessly. Madara blocked and parried with quick, sharp movements, but Naruto's power was overwhelming. His fists crackled with yellow lightning, each blow striking like a thunderclap.
Madara staggered back, his feet sliding across the ground as the force of Naruto's attacks began to push him back for the first time in this fight. Madara's sharingan flared in an attempt to predict the next move. But Naruto's strikes were too fast, too unpredictable. Naruto's fist slammed into Madara's side with such force that the Uchiha was sent flying. He hit the ground, rolling several meters before coming to a stop, blood dripping from his mouth.
'He's damaged me,' he thought.
Madara glared, struggling to regain his footing. "You won't be able to keep this up forever, Naruto," he spat, trying to gather his own chakra. The next series of blows came so quickly that Madara had no chance to defend himself. Naruto's chakra was an inferno now, surrounding him in a whirl of red flames and yellow lightning. He teleported again, this time appearing in front of Madara with a roaring punch aimed straight for his face. Madara barely had time to raise his arm, the force of the blow knocking him back once more. His body hit the ground hard, sending a ripple through the earth.
For a moment, there was silence. The battlefield felt like it had frozen in time as Naruto stood, chest heaving, chakra flickering like a dying flame. He was exhausted—he could feel his body screaming at him to stop. Every muscle in his body was burning. His stamina was depleting fast. But the red fire around him was still blazing. Naruto fell to the ground; his body began to reject the sheer amount of chakra that had been sent through it.
Madara's figure slowly rose from the ground, his body battered but not broken. He glared at Naruto, his expression shifting from shock to cold calculation. "Impressive… But it's over," Naruto took a step forward, his eyes locked on Madara, his breath sharp and ragged.
The battlefield fell silent. The red aura around Naruto flickered and dimmed, his body dropping to one knee from exhaustion. Naruto's chest heaved as he staggered back, his breath ragged, his body screaming in protest. His energy was spent, every muscle aching, but there was a fire still burning in his eyes. He was barely standing, but he refused to fall. He wouldn't give Madara the satisfaction.
Madara, though, was different. His once untouchable composure was slipping. His eyes, once cold and confident, now flickered with something darker—anger, frustration. The battle had taken its toll on him, but it was more than just physical pain. It was the sting of his pride being shattered. For the first time in a long while, Madara had been pushed to his limits.
Madara clenched his fists, blood dripping from his lips, and his expression twisted in a sneer. "You've gone too far, boy," his voice was low, but there was an unmistakable venom in it now, a fury that crackled like lightning.
Naruto, barely holding himself up, still managed to glare at Madara.
But Madara's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're more arrogant than I gave you credit for," he hissed, his voice dripping with disdain. "You think you've won because you managed to land a few hits? You think this is enough? Your insolence just cost you your body and now it'll cost you every person on this battlefield!"
Naruto said nothing, his breathing shallow, but his resolve remained unwavering.
Madara stepped forward, slowly, deliberately. The ground beneath him seemed to crack with each step. "You think that you're the hero in this story, but you're nothing more than a child hiding his deepest insecurities! You're not Jiraya the Gallant or the Yellow Flash – you're just what's left of them. Nothing," His voice grew louder, seething with fury. "I gave you respect once, but now—" He spit on the ground, the remnants of his blood staining the earth. "—now I see you for what you are. A fool."
Naruto's jaw tightened, but he held his ground. He had no strength left for words. His body was breaking down, but his will was iron.
Madara's eyes burned with rage, his sharingan flaring brighter as his anger flared. His three tomoe began changing and morphing into its mangekyou form "You think you can just overpower me, that your strength can take me down. You think you can win because of your so-called resolve." He took a step closer, his voice growing colder, more cutting. "That's arrogance, Naruto. Absolute arrogance."
Madara's hands clenched, his chakra flaring around him as his fury built. "I'll show you what happens when someone like you, who thinks they're the hero, faces the consequences of their own pride!"
Naruto's breathing quickened. He could barely keep himself upright, but Madara's words hit him like a slap. Madara was right about one thing. He had been pushing his limits, trusting in his strength to win the battle. He thought that sheer force would be enough to defeat Madara, but now, as his body screamed for rest, he realised something—there was still so much about this fight he didn't understand.
Madara's fury erupted like a wildfire. "I am the world's greatest power! I am the end of this pitiful era. Your resolve, your foolish pride—nothing but insects before my will!" Madara's Susanoo appeared, each head forming its own hand sign.
The ground trembled as Madara stood motionless, his chakra swirling around him in an oppressive maelstrom. For a moment, the air was still—eerily still. It was as though the very world had frozen in anticipation of the calamity that was about to be unleashed.
Madara's eyes gleamed with cold confidence as he raised his hands high into the sky. His fingers curled slightly, the fingers of a master who had long since perfected his art. The mangekyou sharingan in his eyes flickered, its hypnotic power glowing with a crimson intensity that seemed to ripple through the air, pulling at the very fabric of reality. They changed again, the Rinnegan appeared – another thing he had never intended to use in this fight.
Madara's lips curled into a slow, predatory smile. This technique had taken years of refinement, and now, he would show Naruto the full extent of his might.
He muttered under his breath, and a low, almost imperceptible hum filled the air—like the sound of a storm gathering in the distance. The sky above them began to darken, clouds swirling and twisting as if drawn toward the vortex of energy Madara had created.
Madara's eyes narrowed with focus, and his fingers extended further into the air. From the rift he had torn open in the sky, massive chunks of space itself began to fall. These were not mere boulders, but fragments of reality—giant, jagged pieces of the sky, the atmosphere, the very fabric of existence itself.
Madara's voice, a quiet and menacing whisper, echoed over the battlefield, almost drowned out by the thunderous noise of his technique. "Shattered Heavens..." The words were like a death sentence, each syllable dripping with malice.
The sheer weight of these cosmic fragments made the air oppressive, the ground beneath them shaking violently as though it too were struggling to remain intact. "This is the end, Naruto Namikaze. You should have known your limits long ago." Madara wrapped himself in his Susanoo armour as he watched the blonde from a far.
"I can't teleport away. If I do…
In the midst of the fighting, the air was filled with a strange tension. The destruction of the sky cast an ominous shadow over the battlefield, and the raging winds seemed to intensify as Madara's massive meteors fell toward the earth. Even the bravest warriors couldn't help but glance up at the cataclysmic event above them. They all stopped. Hopeless. Unable to do anything.
Naruto's legs wobbled beneath him. He could feel his energy slipping away, his body on the verge of collapse. Every muscle burned from exertion. His chakra reserves were nearly gone—he could barely stand, let alone fight. But in the back of his mind, he knew: there was no way out. He had to fight.
Madara, watching from a distance, gave a cruel smile. "What are you waiting for, hero. You could run – try again another day? The blood of thousands will be on your hands – what's worse the shame!"
There was nowhere to run.
Naruto's breathing came in short, shallow gasps. His hand trembled, but his resolve didn't waver. "Not yet...Not, now," he muttered to himself, his vision blurry.
"Let's see what you're made of, Naruto the Hero," Madara taunted.
Naruto staggered forward, his body shaking, every step feeling like it could be his last. He could hear the thunderous noise of the heavens splitting above him, the pieces falling faster. The ground beneath him cracked as the first chunk of reality neared its crash course toward him.
His hand shot out, and with what little chakra he had left, he drew upon the familiar feeling—the flicker of lightning in his veins, the pulse of raw energy.
"Lightning Spear...Thrust!" His voice strained, but still firm.
But this time, there was a twist. Instead of the familiar blade, Naruto poured more chakra into the technique than ever before—too much chakra. His hand crackled with blue and white energy as the blade shifted into a spear, elongated and tipped with jagged bolts of electricity. It wasn't a simple Lightning Blade—it was a Lightning Spear, a weapon of pure, unrelenting force.
The spear shot up into the sky, the air around it shuddering with the raw power. The ground shook beneath him as his arm trembled under the strain. The spear's energy was unstable, the sheer volume of chakra coursing through it threatening to tear him apart, but he didn't care.
Naruto raised the spear high, the lightning flashing across the sky, illuminating his face with a demonic intensity as he thrust it forward. "Thunderflash Impact!" he shouted, the spear's energy magnified by the force of his desperation, the attack crashing into the incoming fragment of the heavens with an explosive roar.
….
The weight of the situation was crushing. Tsunade stood before the Hokage Crystal Ball, her eyes narrowed with intense focus, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. Every flicker of Naruto's movements on the battlefield sent a shiver of concern through her. She had never seen him fight like this—not with such desperation, such reckless abandon. His body was already pushed to its limits, but now, with Madara's Shattered Heaven technique hanging overhead, Naruto had no choice but to push even harder. His chakra flared around him, crackling with raw energy, his new technique in hand—a spear of pure lightning, more dangerous than anything he'd ever wielded before. It was a move born of desperation, designed to counter the meteor falling from the sky—the massive, world-shattering force of Madara's Shattered Heaven. But even as he threw everything he had into the attack, Tsunade knew it wasn't going to be enough.
"Naruto…" Tsunade's voice was barely a whisper, heavy with both pride and fear. His body was already starting to flicker with instability, his movements more erratic as the energy from his Lightning Spear tore through him. But he wasn't done yet.
He couldn't afford to be.
"Naruto, you can't—" Tsunade began, but her words were drowned out by the loud crackle of lightning as the spear crackled in his hands, glowing dangerously with unstable energy. It was unlike anything she had seen before. The Lightning Spear was a technique that Naruto had developed himself, one born from his desperation to stop Madara's unstoppable attack. But the price of using it was far too high.
Behind her, Ayame Namikaze paced, her anxiety building with every moment that passed. Her fists were clenched so tightly her knuckles were white, her violet eyes locked on the crystal ball. She couldn't stay still as she watched her brother's form flicker in and out of focus on the screen. The battle was reaching its boiling point, and she could feel her heart racing in her chest.
"What is he doing?!" Ayame shouted, her voice rising with a mix of fear and anger. She spun toward Tsunade, her face flushed with frustration.
Tsunade's eyes didn't leave the ball. She had seen it too—the signs of Naruto's body giving way under the strain of his own technique. Every movement he made now was like a gamble, a dangerous bet with his own life. The Lightning Spear was a final, desperate attempt to destroy Madara's Shattered Heaven. It threatened to crush their forces, their soldiers, and their very world.
"He can't stop," Tsunade said quietly, her voice a mixture of understanding and sorrow. "Not now."
Ayame's eyes widened in disbelief. "Why not? He has to! Why doesn't he just teleport away and let the others handle it? Why doesn't he run before he kills himself?"
Tsunade's expression darkened as she turned toward Ayame. "If he teleports away now, Madara will crush everything. The impact is too wide. The shockwaves will obliterate our soldiers, our allies... It will be a massacre, they're putting their lives on the line too. Naruto's the only one who can even come close to stopping it in time."
Inoichi stepped forward, his voice filled with quiet urgency. "The Shattered Heaven technique must be one of Madara's most powerful jutsu. It's not just the meteor itself—it's the barrier that surrounds it, the overwhelming pressure. Even if Naruto did teleport away, the forces would be decimated in seconds. The battlefield would be lost, and everyone would be wiped out. Madara knows this – it's a brilliant strategy."
Ayame's breath caught in her throat as the weight of Inoichi's words hit her. She could see it now—Naruto wasn't just fighting for his own life. He was fighting for everyone's survival. The sheer scale of Madara's attack left him with no choice.
….
Back on the battlefield, Naruto's Lightning Spear crashed into the falling shard of the heavens with an earth-shaking explosion. The shockwave radiated outward, tearing through the air as the lightning tore into the chunk of the sky. The ground beneath Naruto cracked, a deafening roar echoing in the distance.
For a moment, it seemed like the attack might just shatter the fragment.
But the shard held firm, its massive size too much for even Naruto's raw, desperate power to break. The spear cracked, its tip splintering as the jagged bolts of electricity surged wildly across the massive rock.
Naruto's knees buckled beneath him, his body screaming in protest. His chest heaved as he fought to stay on his feet, his chakra slipping further out of control. The energy he had poured into the spear had drained him almost entirely—he was running on fumes, each second feeling like an eternity.
"No..." he groaned, his voice low. "Not... enough..."
He pushed harder, gathering the last of his chakra and pouring it into the spear, struggling to stabilize it. The lightning flashed brighter, the jagged bolts crackling wildly.
The fragment shuddered as his power struck again and again, breaking the rock's outer layers apart—but the massive size of the meteor still threatened to overwhelm him.
Madara's eyes narrowed, watching as Naruto's body began to falter. He felt a sliver of satisfaction. "This is it," he thought. "This is where you fall, Naruto Namikaze."
But then, with a final surge of determination, Naruto pushed his chakra one last time—forcing the Lightning Spear to expand in a final explosion of power.
The meteor cracked.
The air ignited.
And the heavens themselves seemed to scream.
The fragment of the heavens shattered, splintering into a thousand pieces as Naruto's Lightning Spear tore through it like a divine fury. The shockwave from the explosion rattled the earth, sending waves of destruction rippling through the battlefield.
Naruto dropped to his knees, his chest heaving, blood dripping from his mouth as the sheer effort of the attack left him broken. His vision blurred as he looked up to see the remnants of Madara's attack scattered across the sky. He had diverted the bulk of the attack away from the battlefield, but he hadn't enough strength left to destroy a smaller remnant that rushed toward him.
His body screamed for him to move, but the sheer weight of his own chakra-drained state left him paralyzed.
There was no escape. There was no time.
It was the end.
But then, a voice broke through the noise—the voice of someone who had never once abandoned him.
"Naruto! Get down!"
Naruto's bleary eyes snapped open. Through the haze of his exhaustion, he saw a flash of pink hair, and before he could react, Sakura was there, her face set with the kind of fierce determination he had come to know all too well.
She was moving faster than he had ever seen her move before—faster than the meteors, faster than even his own reflexes could process. In an instant, she was in front of him, her entire body glowing with raw chakra, the air around her crackling with energy. Without hesitation, she drew back her fist, her chakra focused into it like a tidal wave of power.
Sakura's fist shot out with a roar of pure energy. The impact was deafening.
Her punch collided with the meteor shard with a force that could only be described as cataclysmic. The sound of the collision was like thunder cracking through the sky. The force of it sent a shockwave across the battlefield, sending debris flying in every direction. The ground beneath her feet shattered, her chakra flaring outward in a blinding wave of light.
For a moment, the world seemed to still—everything hung in the balance.
Then, with a sound like the breaking of the very heavens, the massive meteor fractured under the power of Sakura's punch. The shard splintered into a thousand smaller pieces, the debris scattering in every direction, their descent slowed and shattered by her overwhelming strike.
Sakura stood there, her stance unwavering, her fist still extended, smoke rising from the point of impact. Her chest heaved with the effort, but she didn't falter.
Naruto blinked, stunned and still unable to fully process what had just happened. Sakura had just shattered a meteor—something that should have been far beyond anyone's strength.
She turned to him, her expression as fierce as ever. "Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help me finish this?"
Naruto's breath hitched as he saw her standing there—fiercely protecting him, her face a mixture of exhaustion and determination. In that moment, the full weight of her sacrifice hit him.
"Sakura..." He couldn't find the words. For a split second, the ground seemed to fall away beneath him. She had just saved his life.
Sakura gave him a sharp look, her voice cutting through the silence. " Get up. We still have a fight to finish."
Naruto's eyes burned with renewed energy. Her strength, her will—it reminded him of why he fought. He couldn't let her down.
With a shaky breath, he pushed himself to his feet, his legs trembling from the effort, but his resolve burning brighter than ever. He looked at the remnants of the meteor that had nearly crushed him, now scattered across the battlefield, and then at Sakura, who stood firmly beside him.
He nodded.
"Alright."
Madara looked down his breathing laboured. He was angry. In fact, he was utterly furious at the predicament he had found himself in here. Nagato had revived him. Obito had sacrificed himself for him. The world had bent to his will – but these ninja refused, and his pride was wounded.
The battlefield was still for a moment. The massive meteor shard had been shattered; its remnants scattered across the field. The dust was thick, the silence heavy. Sakura stood firm, chest heaving with the aftermath of her attack, while Naruto staggered slightly, still fighting to stay upright. Their eyes locked, silently reaffirming their resolve.
Madara hovered above them, his expression unreadable at first, but there was an unmistakable flicker of annoyance in his eyes. He had expected this battle to end with the crushing weight of his meteors, but instead, they had stopped it.
His lips curled into a small sneer. "Pathetic." Madara's gaze shifted, narrowing as he regarded Sakura. "You think you can protect him?" His tone was dripping with scorn, his voice cold but laced with contempt.
Sakura's eyes narrowed. She didn't flinch under his gaze, but the words still cut deeper than she cared to admit. Still, she stood her ground.
Madara continued, his words as sharp as the blade of a kunai. "Just another distraction. A weakness. A crutch." His voice dropped lower, more venomous. "This hope you people cling to, clouds your judgment, makes you sloppy. These eyes can see more than you'll ever know."
Madara watched Naruto's face contort in slight confusion and he began to laugh.
"Tragic. Just pitifully tragic. What a time to be alive! Look at this – the boy who thinks he's a hero and the girl who thinks she's useful," Sakura almost buckled under his harsh words. Before Naruto could offer a counter she spoke with fiery resolve.
Sakura clenched her fists, but her expression didn't change. She was used to this kind of rhetoric, but it didn't make it any easier to hear. Madara could sense the tension in the air. He saw it in their eyes—Naruto's unwavering defiance, Sakura's quiet fury.
"That's the trade off – only the weak accept good and reject bad. That's all a part of the human experience. You erase any part of that – you erase our humanity. We are what we are," she retorted angrily.
"You don't understand," Madara said, as though speaking to himself now. "I used to believe in that nonsense too. I thought the bonds I shared with others meant something. I thought love could change the world." His expression darkened. "But the world doesn't care about love. It only cares about power. And when you're too weak to protect what matters, you're left with nothing."
He glanced at Naruto. "You think you're strong enough to protect her? You can't even protect yourself." His eyes flickered to Sakura. "And you—what's your plan here? To die for him? What does that solve?"
Madara took a step forward, his presence heavy, his gaze cutting. "You're fool girl – thinking your presence here has made a difference to the outcome of this fight."
Naruto's fists clenched tighter. His voice was quieter now, but the edge was there. "You're wrong."
Madara raised an eyebrow. "Am I?"
Naruto's eyes burned with an intensity that could've set the world on fire. "It's not weakness. You're vulnerable in your new body Madara. I can feel you slipping. Nagato's jutsu wasn't perfect was it?"
Madara's Rinnegan pulsed angrily. He was running out of time. Despite his power he was only just newly revived, and his body was beginning to give out. He needed to end this quickly.
Sakura leaned over toward him. "You're talking a big game here. I can't even sense chakra and I can tell you've got nothing left." Sakura whispered as Madara began to gather his chakra. "Got any secret plans, jutsu or anything else up your sleeve here?" She asked nervously.
"To be honest – it's empty bluster at this point. I need a moment to heal myself," he explained.
"Maybe we could ask him for a water break?" She joked. "How long do you need?" She asked.
"It's not an exact science. I think the damage I've done might be permanent but in terms of how much chakra I have. I can probably get it up to twenty percent if you stall him….for five minutes…." He calculated.
….
The voice of Shikaku echoed in the room, breaking through the tension. He was in the war room, watching the battle unfold from a different perspective. "It's clear that Naruto and Sakura can't defeat Madara head-on—not in this state. But maybe we can exploit his arrogance, it's already our only viable option."
Ayame's eyes flicked over to Shikaku, the ever-calm strategist
Shikaku glanced at Inoichi, who had been silently observing the situation. "I have an idea, but it's going to take more than just brute force. We need to change the way we're approaching Madara."
Tsunade was already deep in thought, analysing every word as she turned to Shikaku. "Go on."
Shikaku nodded. "Madara is a master of arrogance. The more you let him believe he's already won, the more careless he becomes. From what we've read about him as children – it's look a far cry from the ninja that could erase the fabric of time and space with his visual prowess. If we can trick him into thinking that the fight is over, he'll drop his guard. Now that Madara is revived he has access to all the power he once had – but he's vulnerable now. He's man and a man with such power, given enough time, he'll be he's not able to be challenged."
Ayame's eyes narrowed. "You want us to make him think we're defeated?"
Shikaku's gaze was serious. "Exactly. He'll underestimate Naruto. If Sakura can stall for a little longer, I'm sure we'll have a chance to strike—but only if Madara's ego is allowed to lead him into making that mistake."
"This is your brilliant strategy – hope that Madara lets his guard down, hope that Naruto has enough power to be kill him, hope the girl survives long enough and hope that this happens in a series of convenient events?" Asked Ay in a sceptical tone.
"It'll work – like I said, Madara is a man. And every man has their weakness," said Tsunade.
….
Back on the battlefield Naruto had finished explaining himself to Sakura. "Five whole minutes. Maybe I'd been better striking from the shadows, but I couldn't help but take a page out of your book," she pushed back her pink hair. She took several steps forward crouching down into her fighting stance.
"Let me guess – you'll stall me. Distract me from attacking Naruto so he can gather some chakra. Then in one last ditch effort you unleash a secret stratagem," he clapped his hands still trying to get a rise out of her.
"Are you intimated that someone has rattled you," Madara smirked.
"Maybe you're right," he chuckled. "Maybe a small part of me knows what you're up to."
Naruto grit his teeth as he sat cross-legged, bringing his hands together.
Sakura stood firm, her chest rising and falling with every breath, but despite the adrenaline coursing through her, she knew this wasn't a fight she could win head-on. Madara's speed, power, and experience far outstripped hers. If she tried to challenge him directly, she'd be crushed in seconds.
But she wasn't here to win with raw strength—she was here to outsmart him. To be fair – he'd probably still crush. But it was now or never.
With a snap of his fingers, Madara conjured a dark blue chakra, sending tendrils of blue energy toward Sakura, each strand crackling with destructive force. He didn't even need to move; his chakra was more than enough to threaten her. His eyes locked onto her, and he couldn't help but smile—the girl thought she could dodge him.
"Foolish," he muttered under his breath.
The blue tendrils shot forward in a blur of speed. Sakura's eyes widened. There was no way to evade them all—she had to think, move, act.
At the last possible moment, Sakura leapt backward, twisting her body mid-air to avoid the first wave of tendrils. They passed dangerously close, the sharp energy grazing her cheek, leaving a stinging burn. But she didn't have time to react to the pain. She needed to move again.
She landed in a crouch, feeling the tingling sensation of chakra rushing through her system, but the ground beneath her cracked as Madara's energy rained down. He wasn't holding back.
Her mind raced—she couldn't outpower him, but maybe she could outthink him.
Sakura took a deep breath and began weaving signs, fast but controlled. She needed a distraction. A way to throw him off balance—she wasn't about to play Madara's game.
"You think you can dodge forever?" Madara sneered, raising his hand to cast another wave of black energy.
But Sakura had already prepared.
With a sudden burst of speed, she disappeared from view, a smoke bomb exploding in the air behind her—but it was a feint. In that instant, Sakura didn't just rely on speed; she relied on her knowledge of her environment, something Madara was underestimating.
Instead of escaping the immediate area, Sakura had used the smoke as cover to launch herself toward one of the ruined structures in the distance—a toppled tower from earlier blasts. Madara's eyes flickered with slight confusion—he hadn't seen her move.
Her chakra began to surge as she adjusted her position behind the rubble, using the environment to mask her presence and recalibrate her attack. She was never going to defeat Madara head-on, but she was capable of using his overconfidence against him.
She wasn't just trying to survive anymore—she was manipulating the flow of the battle.
Naruto, still reeling from his earlier move, was barely able to keep his eyes open. His body ached, and his chakra was running dangerously low. But even from where he lay, he could feel it—the fight was shifting. Sakura wasn't standing still. She was learning. She was adapting.
"Sakura..." Naruto whispered under his breath, his voice barely a croak. He tried to push himself up, but it was useless. He could only watch for now at this point – he could only manage two percent of his power.
….
Ayame's eyes shut in frustration. Her emotions welling up to near unexplored heights. She felt herself suddenly pulled into her mind.
"So, you finally reach out. Kushina's chakra is truly amazing." Kurama, the Nine-Tails barred his teeth at her.
Ayame startled at the deep, rumbling tone, but she quickly steadied herself. "Kurama?" Ayame clenched her fists. "Madara's no different than any other opponent. He's just another obstacle!" She blurted out causing him to roar with laughter.
"You think that's all he is?" His voice dropped low, tinged with anger. "I've seen them all—each one too proud, too blind to see their own flaws. Goodness me, here I thought you'd like to make some conversation. Time doesn't pass in here the same way out there you know."
Ayame narrowed her eyes. "Then tell me if you have anything to offer – or are you still under his control!"
Kurama was quiet for a moment, his disdain for the Uchiha palpable even now after his imprisonment. Then he spoke again, his voice steady but filled with ancient bitterness.
"I can offer your brother a power boost. One that might give your idiotic and hopeful strategy a chance at working."
Ayame listened closely, feeling the weight of Kurama's words. Her fiery nature wasn't about to be swayed by caution, but if she could help, it could make the difference.
"I can send your brother some of my chakra. You see, your mother – bless her was unable to stop some of my chakra from leaking into her womb. Your father developed such a powerful, new sealing jutsu after he had found this out to stop the same thing from happening to you. But it wasn't me he should've worried about now, was it?" He jabbed back. Ayame offered no response.
"Unfortunately for you, you must trust me to send this chakra by using your body as a conduit. Your Uzumaki heritage may help you survive, but it might overwhelm you, or worse rip your chakra network a part," he chuckled.
"Why would you risk killing me?" She asked.
"Because I detest Madara even more than being here ! Now will you allow me to help or are you going watch your brother die!" He roared.
Ayame closed her eyes and took a deep breath, feeling her chakra surge through her veins as Kurama's presence within her mind guided her actions. It was time to turn the tables.
….
Ayame didn't hesitate. Her eyes shot open.
"Naruto! Get ready. You're going to receive some of Nine-Tail's chakra. We need to end this now!"
Shikaku glanced over to Inoichi, who was silently preparing the mental communication to Naruto. He looked at Tsunade, who nodded at him to proceed.
"How-
Ay questioned the young girl's comment as Shikaku understood immediately.
"This is it," Shikaku muttered, more to himself than anyone else. "If the Nine-Tais is willing to cooperate, all the better. This will give us the chance we need."
Inoichi spoke up, his voice calm but with an undercurrent of urgency. "I'm opening the link to Naruto now."
In an instant, Inoichi's jutsu connected with Naruto's mind. His voice rang clear in his head. "Naruto, listen to me."
"Inoichi," he questioned as he continued to gather up what little strength he had left.
"Listen, the strategy is this: You need to feign defeat. Pretend like you've exhausted all your chakra and you have no strength left. You need to make Madara think that you're done."
Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion, but Inoichi continued, his tone firm. "Let him believe he's won. He's going to drop his guard. Once he does, that's when we'll strike back. Look Sakura has already begun to exploit this weakness. Is it really the smartest idea to allow you to get back into this fight?"
Naruto's hands were shaking, and he could feel his chakra reserves depleting rapidly. But in the distance, Madara was watching him with amusement, clearly sensing that his fight with Sakura nearing its end.
"I know this isn't your way, but we must play with the pieces that we have," Naruto looked on as Madara slowly closed in on Sakura, overwhelming her.
"I understand," Naruto said, his voice steady despite the growing fatigue. "But how do we win this, Inoichi? I'm almost out of chakra... and Madara's got so much power left. How are we supposed to win?"
Inoichi's voice was unwavering. "Ayame is going to release Kurama's chakra to you. We need you to unleash all of it in one final, decisive attack. It's your only shot."
Naruto's heart raced as the implications of what Inoichi was saying sunk in. This wasn't just any attack—it was a last resort.
"Ayame? How-
Shikaku's voice cut through the communication as he added his own tactical input. "Naruto, this is an incredibly risky move, but it's the best shot we have. The Nine-Tails' chakra will give you the strength and speed you need. If you can catch Madara off guard—when he thinks he's won—you'll have the chance to strike with everything you've got. Don't hold back. Use every ounce of power you've got in that one moment. This is the only way to defeat him."
Naruto swallowed hard, the weight of the decision settling on his shoulders. "Alright. I get it."
Inoichi's voice softened, a slight sense of reassurance in his words. "You're not alone in this, Naruto. We're all counting on you. Take the chakra. Finish this fight."
Back in the war room, Tsunade gripped her chair tightly, her knuckles white. "Naruto... you can do this. Just remember—this isn't just for you. It's for everyone."
Naruto stood tall, trembling as his chakra flickered, his body worn and battered. But when he felt the surge of chakra course through him, it was like a jolt of electricity. It came from deep within—Kurama's chakra, coursing through Ayame's seal and into Naruto's body.
The power was overwhelming, but it was also exactly what he needed. His eyes blazed with golden light as he felt the full force of the Nine-Tails chakra fill him. His body surged with energy, the fatigue and pain melting away as Kurama's raw, untamed chakra enveloped him.
Sakura was struck from all sides from Madara's chakra. She crashed to the ground in a bloody heap. She let out a whimper as her body harshly bounced against the dirt.
Madara, standing tall, observed Naruto's sudden burst of power with a smirk. "Are you feeling refreshed. Why don't you take a nap? It worked wonders for me!" He laughed.
Naruto clenched his fists, every muscle in his body alight with the power of the Nine-Tails. He didn't respond to Madara's taunt. Instead, he took a step back and released all the energy he had left, allowing the appearance of exhaustion to linger as long as Madara believed it.
He made a show of staggering, falling to one knee, his body trembling as if he were at the brink of collapse. Madara's grin widened, and he stepped forward, confident of his victory over the blonde. "I still offer you a chance to join me Naruto. I've come to value your power more than Nagato's and even Obito's come to boy, we'll be kings and we'll shape the world to our liking you-"
Madara shook his head closing his eyes as he placed a hand on his stomach. Earlier in the fight Naruto had sent a powerful shockwave into his stomach – causing some internal bleeding. Normally, this would be no problem, but his body was so new that it wasn't as developed as his natural one. He focused his chakra to the point of damage as he began the healing process. Taking his eyes of Naruto for no longer than a millisecond.
But that was when Naruto struck.
In an instant, the appearance of weakness was gone, replaced by a blinding flash of light as he surged forward, chakra-infused speed far beyond what Madara could anticipate. Naruto's movements were a blur, and with the full force of Kurama's chakra fuelling him, he launched himself into the air, moving faster than Madara could track.
Before Madara could react, Naruto unleashed a devastating, final attack—a yellow lightning blade charged with the full fury of Kurama's chakra. Madara's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected this. Not from someone so close to defeat. But it was already too late. The attack hit its mark, throwing Madara off balance as Naruto landed the blow right through the Uchiha's armour, chest and pride.
….