Speedrunning Naruto to the Top

"Summoning Technique!"

Uchiha Madara didn't launch an attack on Izayoi, nor did he fly toward Killer Bee. Instead, he rapidly formed hand seals with both hands and pressed them onto the ground.

With a loud boom, a massive cloud of white smoke spread out. Since this was atop a towering peak, the howling wind instantly dispersed the smoke before it had time to drift off.

"Grr…"

An ear-splitting roar made the already fleeing ninja involuntarily shudder, a primal terror running through them like prey on the food chain.

Under the moonlight stood a monster resembling a human, with nine closed eyes, its entire body a weathered-wood color. It had abruptly appeared on the battlefield in Kumogakure. For those present, it was all too familiar.

This was the Gedo Statue. Descending from the moon with Ōtsutsuki Toneri and stirring up a shinobi war for the sake of retrieving it, this "treasure" was now under Madara's control.

If there was any remaining doubt, that doubt was gone now. The first to summon this monster was the leader of the Akatsuki. Now, the one summoning it was Uchiha Madara. Indeed, the only person who can summon this monster is someone with the Rinnegan.

As for the statue's capabilities—only Kumogakure remained largely unaware.

Everyone else had a fair idea of its might.

Seeing this, the Fourth Raikage's face changed drastically. Not because of the Gedo Statue's immense power, but because he spotted two Madaras standing atop it. So the "Madara" just now…had only been a single clone.

Uchiha Madara did not attack Izayoi or fly toward Killer Bee; instead, he rapidly performed hand seals and pressed them onto the ground with a loud boom. Smoke of enormous area billowed out, blown away by the strong wind at the mountain's summit.

He raised a hand and placed it onto the shoulder of his wood clone, recalling it into his body like a white seed. In an instant, Madara's chakra soared dramatically. He peered down at Izayoi below and sneered:

"The struggle for this war has begun. Give it everything you've got to stop me."

As Madara spoke, a tiny black vortex materialized beside him. From that swirling distortion emerged five captured Jinchūriki and a giant turtle with spiky plating and three tails—looking minuscule beside the statue.

All of them were instantly bound by chains from the Gedo Statue's maw, each link emanating from the statue's gaping mouth. Among them, the giant spiky turtle rapidly shrank in size, while thick purple chakra flowed along the chains into the Gedo Statue's mouth.

Seeing this, Izayoi instantly opened Six Paths Sage Mode. Forming a Truth-Seeking Ball, he shot it at the largest Tailed Beast—the Three-Tails. Yet before it could reach the Three-Tails, the high-speed ball seemed to strike an invisible barrier, instantly bouncing off.

"What's going on?"

"What technique is that? Why do I feel a chill of mortal danger?!"

Naruto and Sasuke, who had just activated their Sage Modes, stared wide-eyed at the Truth-Seeking Ball that was deflected. But their focus wasn't truly on the Ball—that in a single touch could kill them. Instead, both fixed on the empty spot from which the Ball was repelled, every hair standing on end.

Their instincts said that something terrifying was hidden in that spot. Even Izayoi's keen senses only perceived a vaguely blurry shape. Only those with an "Ultimate Dojutsu" could see a figure identical to Madara himself, armed with a Sage's staff and floating with nine Truth-Seeking Balls—this was Madara's Limbo Shadow.

Except for not being able to use Limbo itself, a Limbo clone could use any ability the host could, including Sage Mode and Truth-Seeking Balls. Little wonder Naruto and Sasuke were so taken aback.

For Izayoi, the deflection came as no surprise. That strike had merely been a feint. Indeed, he noticed Madara's "shadow" straight away.

"All of you—evacuate!"

Izayoi's voice rang out.

"The upcoming fight isn't one you can join—even approaching might get you killed. Don't say I didn't warn you."

By now, the Akatsuki and Kumogakure shinobi had indeed fled. That warning clearly wasn't meant for them.

So the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee traded glances, bolting out of the new Kumogakure's mountain. Nagato likewise withdrew, giving chase. Naruto and Sasuke soon followed, as did all the Edo Tensei and puppet troops, leaving only Izayoi and Madara on that battlefield.

At that moment, another small black hole appeared. The second Jinchūriki of the Two-Tails, captured alive by Obito's real self, was tossed out, then bound by the statue's chains. Her deep-blue chakra likewise flowed through the chains into the Gedo Statue's mouth.

All at once, the Tailed Beasts that were sealed inside the captured Jinchūriki—Three-Tails, plus the others—were all devoured by the Gedo Statue. In an instant, the nine closed eyes on the statue's forehead snapped open—seven in total—suffused with bloodshot red. It looked terrifying for anyone with a fear of clusters or multiple eyes.

"Grrr…"

Once again, a deafening roar shook the air. Unlike before, it wasn't just a primal threat. Now, the sonic vibrations crashed outward in a transparent wave, spreading around and overhead. The shock wave and echo rumbled across the land, blowing away debris. That ring of sonic energy even blew apart the clouds shrouding the summit. A blood-red moon emerged in the night sky—previously pale silver mere hours ago.

In a single roar, ten-thousand changes. The entire mountain summit—Kumogakure's new vantage—quaked violently; huge cracks riddled its slopes.

With just one roar, the Ten-Tails' might was glimpsed. Lacking only two Tailed Beasts, the God-Tree embryo was almost at full maturity.

Izayoi inwardly felt both tension and excitement. Outwardly, he played up a serious look:

"Banshō Ten'in—Universal Pull!"

Madara unleashed an invisible gravity wave—but not at Izayoi. Instead, the severely weakened Jinchūriki were drawn atop the statue's head. He gently tapped each with his palm. The sun emblem in Madara's palm flared with Yang energy, pulling those half-dead Jinchūriki back from near death.

Then a black hole opened. Obito's wood clone came through, whisking them all away into Kamui's dimension. Izayoi regarded it with mild surprise:

"You actually saved them? That's not like you."

"Do you truly know me so well?" Madara shot back, sneering. "Human prejudice is just as vast as these mountains. You five great villages' latter generations can't possibly comprehend Hashirama's and my ideals."

"Your mouth's on you," Izayoi teased, "Killing or saving, you always spin some excuse, yet this is a 'might makes right' world."

Hearing that, Madara sighed:

"You, me, Hashirama, Nagato…we are not the same breed."

At that, the killing intent in Madara's eyes finally emerged—the same he harbored against Ōtsutsuki Toneri:

"With your tremendous power, you are simply…too dangerous."

"Then come try and kill me," Izayoi taunted.

Madara wordlessly formed hand seals. The Gedo Statue howled once more and transfigured itself with thick white smoke.

Boom…

Amid the vast white smoke, divine radiance flashed. Then, a pure white brilliance tore across the mountaintop and devoured everything in sight—without so much as a wisp of dust left behind.

It wasn't the explosive style of C4 or a Tailed Beast Bomb. Everyone—those fleeing or staying—beheld its immaculate radiance in silent awe. As the glow subsided, the mountaintop that had held the "new Kumogakure" vanished without a trace. Air empty of ashes, no rubble—almost as if that entire peak had been erased.

In the distance, Deidara paused mid-flight, gazing at that bright beam that dwarfed his art. "So…beautiful," he whispered. Its destructive force surpassed even meteor showers. Short as it was, that final flash was so horrifying that no crater remained; reality itself was seemingly scrubbed clean.

Then, six consecutive detonations of that same immaculate radiance occurred farther out, each echoing with unstoppable might. Only after these six explosive lights did the blasts cease, apparently indicating Izayoi and Madara had moved their battle to even more remote terrain.

At last, with the giant wooden staff in hand and only two Truth-Seeking Balls left floating, Madara halted flight. He cast a glance at Izayoi, also hovering in the air, and then looked skyward at the blood-red moon, frowning hard.

"You're worried about that person possibly interfering?" Izayoi asked.

"No matter how you or that man may posture," Madara said icily, "You each think you've everything in hand. Don't imagine controlling half the Nine-Tails' chakra means you've got me in the bag."

Izayoi feigned surprise:

"You even know about that?"

"Hmph, who do you suppose first tamed the Nine-Tails? As its genuine master, I know the Fox's strength better than anyone," Madara said with a grim sneer. "Back then, without the other half of Kurama's chakra, Toneri couldn't have beaten me. You're all so high and mighty—time you pay for it."

Madara repeated his seals. The Gedo Statue opened its mouth in a roar, chains wrapping a chakra-laden figure. In a flash, the statue dissolved in waves of pale smoke. It reformed into…

The Ten-Tails: first form.

Standing on it, Madara made one final seal, revealing the fabled "Six Paths: Ten-Tails Golem Seal." The Ten-Tails' monstrous body liquefied and merged into Madara like a huge viscous tide. Then, in the blink of an eye, that putrid color turned pure white, until the mass cracked and fell away in rainbow feathers.

In midair hovering Uchiha Madara, brandishing the Sage's staff, shining like a god. Dressed in white robes, hair snow-white, a serene but terrifying aura exuded—the second Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, unseen since the Sage of Six Paths' era, had finally appeared:

He was now the true "Six Paths Madara."

~~~

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