"Wheel's Graveside Prison!!!"
Uchiha Madara's voice echoed across the shattered battlefield like a divine decree. His Rinnegan shimmered with eerie light, and from his back, four ethereal shadows peeled away, each one crackling with his overwhelming chakra. It was the fabled ability of the Rinnegan — Wheel Tomb: Border Prison!
Each shadow, far from being mere illusions, held tangible form. These were not clones born of chakra molding, but manifestations of Madara's will — autonomous, formidable, and precise. With the same might and instincts as the original, they moved as if part of a deadly, five-pronged storm.
This was the first time Uchiha Madara had revealed this terrifying Samsara Eye ability — the Wheel Tomb. And it arrived with devastating timing.
Otsutsuki Urashiki's expression stiffened as the five Madaras lunged forward simultaneously. Blows came from every direction — above, behind, around — there was no escape. These were attacks layered in a seamless three-dimensional assault, coordinated with ruthless brilliance.
What terrified Urashiki most was that he couldn't even see the four shadow clones. Only Madara's main body was visible to him. To those without the Samsara Eye, the shadow Madaras were completely imperceptible. It was like fighting against a phantom in a nightmare.
"Hahahahahahaha! Is this the so-called mighty Otsutsuki clan?!" Madara roared with mocking disdain. "You're weak. Pathetic! Who gave you the audacity to invade the ninja world? Didn't you just scorn us as lower beings? Now what? Won't you dance? Won't the great Otsutsuki dance for me?!"
Urashiki gritted his teeth. Despair slowly flooded his heart. He had planned meticulously, arriving alongside Kinshiki and Momoshiki, yet he had chosen the quieter path. Observing, studying, avoiding attention. The so-called "lowly natives" of this planet had struck fear into him with their unpredictability. Still, he had expected that by traveling to the past using his time-space treasure, he could eliminate the powerhouses of this world before their prime.
He never anticipated that Uchiha Sasuke would follow him — or that such monsters as Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama already existed in this era.
And now, the space passageway that was his lifeline, his escape — Yomizumi Hirasaka — was completely sealed by Sasuke's own Rinnegan.
Even worse, the massive thousand-meter-tall Buddha, fueled not by chakra but by pure senjutsu energy, loomed behind Madara. Urashiki's eye could absorb chakra — but not nature energy.
He had severely underestimated this world.
Just when despair consumed Urashiki, two streaks of green tore through the battlefield like twin meteors.
"GUY!!! MY SON!!! THIS IS YOUTH!!! YOUTH SHALL NOT BE STOPPED!!! THE FLAME OF PASSION SHALL BURN EVER BRIGHTER!!!"
The booming voice belonged to none other than Might Duy, the legendary Eternal Genin. His bowl-cut hair shone under the sunlight like a symbol of unwavering determination.
"I understand, Father! This is the moment our youth shines!!!" Might Guy shouted in response.
Without hesitation, Might Duy drove a finger into his chest.
"Eight Inner Gates: Eighth Gate – Gate of Death... OPEN!!!"
Blood vaporized from his skin as his entire body erupted in crimson steam. The atmosphere warped around him as he vanished from sight and appeared behind Urashiki in an instant.
"GIY!!! MY SON!!! WATCH CLOSELY!!! THIS IS YOUTH!!!!"
BANG!!!
The air exploded. Urashiki's body bent backward unnaturally as he was launched like a missile, his bones fracturing with a sickening series of cracks. He smashed through rock and dirt, embedding deep within the terrain.
Even Madara blinked. He, who prided himself on strength above all, was stunned.
"Is this... the Eight Gates? Can taijutsu reach such heights...?"
But before that thought could settle, an even more intense wave of red steam surged across the battlefield. Its pressure dwarfed even Duy's.
"Eight Inner Gates: Eighth Gate – Gate of Death... OPEN!!!"
"FATHER!!! THIS IS THE YOUTH I HAVE INHERITED!!!"
Might Guy exploded forth, a red comet of death and glory. His aura cracked the ground beneath him as he soared through the air, intercepting the already airborne Urashiki.
BOOM!!!!
Another impact. Even more brutal. Urashiki was pulverized midair and sent hurtling into the ground with a thunderous rumble, leaving a crater hundreds of meters wide. At the center, Urashiki lay broken — his divine form barely holding together, shattered, ruined.
Madara stood speechless. Then, he laughed.
"Hahahahahahaha!!! Might Guy!!!
In terms of taijutsu... I, Uchiha Madara, acknowledge you as the STRONGEST!!!"
Even Sasuke, standing far back, narrowed his eyes. This wasn't just strength — it was sacrifice, spirit, youth given shape.
As the dust settled, everyone stared at the battlefield in silent awe.
Puff... puff...
In the rear, Uchiha Izuna nudged Senju Tobirama with his elbow.
"Oi! Evil Uchiha Tobirama... could you survive that kick?"
Tobirama choked slightly, sweat beading on his temple. For once, he didn't argue about the wrong name.
"Survive...? Hah... of course I could survive!"
Then he paused.
"But only once in a lifetime... Can you survive it?!"
Even as he said it, his voice betrayed his doubts.
——
In the distance, behind the cover of a broken cliff, a young boy watched everything with wide eyes.
Souta Kazuki.
His heart thundered. This was the path of a shinobi? This was the strength needed to protect what you love?
He clutched the weathered Scroll of Seals hidden in his pouch. His father, Haruto, and his grandfather, Raiga, had told him stories — but witnessing it with his own eyes was something else entirely.
He swore then, on the lives of the fallen and the dreams of the living:
He would master the Eight Inner Gates. He would rise.
No matter how much ryo it cost, no matter how many scrolls he needed to decipher, he would walk the path of youth.
Because only strength could shape the world.
And Souta Kazuki... would not be left behind.