"What's that?"

"What was that sound?"

Boom…

With another explosion, the cracks in the barrier expand.

Bang…

The barrier shatters, and a large amount of smoke pours out of the barrier.

Shoom…

A figure flies out of the barrier.

Boom…

The figure lands amidst the seven-tailed beasts, raising a cloud of dust.

Grrr…

"This foul chakra!" Kurama growls in hatred.

"Madara!"

The tailed beasts growl in anger. The dust cloud slowly settles down to reveal Madara's figure glancing condescendingly at the tailed beasts.

"It was a tough battle. But… with them out of the way; I will be taking you all out next…" Madara slowly opens his eyes, revealing a Rinnegan in his right eye socket.

"… you filthy beasts!"

"Madara! How did he…? That means!" Minato's expression turns ugly at the sight of Madara's Rinnegan.

"Tsunade-san!" Minato turns to Tsunade.

"I know!"

Tsunade nods.

"We will try to hold him back," Hashirama assures him.

With Hashirama's assurance, Minato teleports to the location of the barrier with Tsunade.

Madara confronts the tailed beasts with absolute confidence.

"Madara, he…" Naruto clenches his fists.

GAH…

He staggers and falls to the ground.

"Naruto… as much as I would like you to stand up and beat Madara's ass with me; you are nowhere near your peak condition. The continuous use of the chakra cloak has drained all of your stamina by pushing yourself to limits. Overexerting yourself will only deal irreparable damage to your body."

"So, he is Madara Uchiha, the bad apple of Konoha!" Chōmei scrutinizes Madara from top to bottom.

"Don't underestimate him. He isn't an easy opponent!" Gyuki warns the rest of his siblings.

"Hoh! So, he is the one who put a collar on that snotty fox," Shukaku snorts.

"Look how I deal with him!"

Shukaku inhales a large amount of air.

"Sand Bomb: Sand Buster Salvo!!"

Shukaku opens his mouth and fires a large amount of compressed sand missiles at Madara. By adding wind chakra, he further enhances their speed and power.

Bang… Bang… bang…

The barrage of sand missiles lands on Madara, raising a cloud of dust and creating several craters on the ground.

"Don't lower your guard. Madara isn't an easy opponent!"

Swish…

Madara jumps out of the sand barrage unharmed. A faint layer of chakra glimmers across the surface of his body.

"What's with this ridiculous defense? He didn't even use Susanoo to defend." Mei remarks.

"No!" Itachi shakes his head.

"He perfectly evaded every attack, absorbed a few with his Rinnegan, and dispersed rest with his Rinnegan."

"How did he have such a mastery of Rinnegan?" Mito asks in surprise.

"What if he is the original owner of those eyes?" Tobirama glances in Madara's direction.

"You mean… Madara… he?" Hashirama and Hiruzen turn to Tobirama in surprise.

"It's mostly my speculation. But that's most likely the truth. Perhaps the evolution of Sharingan doesn't end at Mangekyo Sharingan. Some specific conditions are required for the next evolution." Tobirama scrutinizes Hashirama.

"Brother, it might be rude of me to say this!"

"Then don't say it…" Hashirama extends his hand to stop Tobirama.

"But it looks like you are the source of most of the troubles in the current world." Hashirama's words fall on deaf ears as Tobirama continues his explanation.

"Before Madara's resurrection, he was revived as an Edo. The Edo- Madara possessed the Rinnegan. However, he lost those eyes upon resurrection. From Kabuto's recount, we learned that he modified the Zetsu army and Madara with my brother's cells. So, there is most likely a possibility. No, I am certain that my brother's cells are required to awaken Rinnegan. As for the other requirements…" Tobirama silently glances in Madara's direction. His meaning clear.

"Let's join the battle before Madara captures all the tailed beasts and resurrects the Ten-tails."

Tobirama rushes towards Madara.

------

"Attack!"

"Don't give him a chance!"

Matatabi spews out blue flames from her mouth, incinerating the large area in front of her.

"A beast is still a beast. It won't learn anything."

Madara extends his right hand and absorbs the flames using the Rinnegan.

"Chakra attacks are useless against him. Only Senjutsu and physical attacks work on him!" Kurama informs them.

"Then what about this?"

"Horn bash!"

"Iron Tackle"

Kokuō bashes Madara with his horn while Isobu wraps his body into hard coral and turns into a massive pinball, smashing Madara to the ground.

"Great Kong Fist,"

Son Goku curls his massive palm into fists and hammers Madara's body. He rapidly punches the ground, creating a massive crater.

Chōmei opens its mouth and spews out a massive cocoon with chakra-sealing properties from her mouth. The sticky web wraps around Madara's body and binds him in place.

Saikon spews out a sticky white fluid from the openings in its mouth to fill the crater.

Shukaku also channels his sand into the pit and forms a massive pyramid seal.

"Grand Sand Mausoleum,"

Mito further reinforces the seal with her sealing talismans. Hashirama slams his palm on the ground and binds the mausoleum with several wooden dragons and Tori seals.

"Sealing Formation: Great Buddha Palm,"

"That should be enough to seal him, right?" The shinobis discuss among themselves in amazement.

"Did it work?"

"Of course, Lord Hashirama personally took action. So, it should work, right?" A Konoha shinobi attempts to convince himself.

Suddenly…

Rumble… Rumble…

The ground begins to tremble.

"This isn't good!" Hashirama's expression changes.

Swish… swish…

He quickly slams his palm on the ground, creating a massive dome of wood.

BOOM…

The massive seal explodes, sending dust and debris flying in every direction. A powerful repulsive force quickly expands outwards, repelling every object.

"SHINRA TENSEII!!"

Madara's figure slowly flies out of the massive pit. He floats in mid-air and glances at the Allied Shinobi force. There are several black marks around his eyes and the Hashirama face on his chest.

"Took me a while to master the Senjutsu." Madara extends his palm, releasing a wisp of cyan chakra.

"Madara… he…"

BOOM…

Suddenly, a massive jet of water slams into Madara, forcing him to the ground.

"We don't have any time to waste." Tobirama makes rapid hand signs.

----------------

On the other side of the battlefield,

Tsunade and Minato survey the battlefield, searching for the members of In-Yō.

Drip… Drip…

Beads of blood fall from the huge rock fragment in front of them.

"That's…"

Tsunade and Minato raise their head and notice a severed hand.

Plop…

The severed hand falls to the ground.

Whoosh…

Minato swiftly catches the hand.

"This arm…" His expression turns ugly. He quickly enters into the Sage mode and senses his surroundings.

"Tsunade-san, this is bad!"

Minato notices several similar chakra signatures in his surroundings.

Swish… swish…

Tsunade makes a series of hand signs and slams her palm on the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu: Katsuyu,"

Tsunade summons Katsuyu and disperses her clones across the battlefield to collect the severed limbs.

Bang…

Minato lifts a massive chunk of rock and tosses it away.

"Yagura… you… are you alright?" He quickly supports Yagura's frail body. His left arm and leg are missing. The Katsuyu clones crawl over Yagura's body to stop bleeding and heal him.

Whoosh…

Tsunade flickers beside them and glances at Yagura's condition.

"Tsunade-san, is there any possibility to…" Minato glances at the arm in his hand.

"If it was before, then there was no hope. But now…"

Swoosh…

Tsunade summons a set of a surgical instrument from her storage.

"I can still reattach his limbs within a certain time frame."

"That's a relief to hear!"

Soon, Minato and the Katsuyu clones scavenge the battlefield to search for the remaining members. They line them up beside the unconscious Yagura.

Except for Kozue, the rest of the members are missing a limb or two. Kozue's condition isn't great either. Being a member of the Shinrin clan with tree-like properties, he can regenerate his limbs. But during the previous battle, he has lost a lot of vitality and is now on the verge of death.

"Katsuyu… feed him this!"

Tsunade tosses a vial of green liquid to Katsuyu.

"The sap of the divine tree from the Shikkotsu forest!" Minato recognizes the fluid.

"This is the only thing that can save him." Tsunade nods and continues the treatment of others.

Ughh…

After a while, Yagura slowly opens his eyes and clutches his forehead with his right hand.

"I… where am I?" Soon, the memories of the battle floods in.

"Madara… he… Ugh…"

Yagura grabs his left hand in pain.

"Don't move and don't squeeze your left hand." Tsunade's annoyed voice slightly calms him down.

"Lady Hokage… this…" Yagura recognizes Tsunade and Minato.

"Madara… he… where is he?" He panics again and glances at his surroundings while summoning his blade.

"Madara is currently fighting against the tailed beast and the Kages," Minato explains to him.

"What exactly happened here? How did you all end up like this?" He asks.

Cough… cough…

Yagura coughs up some blood and holds his chest in pain as he recounts the battle.

"Initially, we had an advantage against Madara. He was very tenacious, and his wounds would heal within a matter of seconds. However, we were able to back him in a corner. Then, something unexpected happened!"

********************************

A/N:- The fated battle between Izuna and Madara is here. Join my pat reon at:

www.pa treon.com/ForgottenLife

to read it in advance.