"That was a close call! I almost died in the explosion." Minato teleports in a haggard appearance.
"If not for the Truth-seeking Orb Izuna gave me back then, I would not be standing right here."
Minato melded his cloak with the Truth-seeking orb to create a small protective film around him.
"How's Gai?"
Thump… Thump…
A faint heartbeat echoes from Gai's charred body.
"He is barely holding onto his life." Itachi inspects Gai's condition with his Sharingan.
"The flames of vitality in his body are about to extinguish. The Eighth Gate has already drained all of his chakra. Now, it's rapidly consuming his vitality. Even the aura technique that Izuna-kun taught Gai to ease the burden of the Eight Gate isn't sufficient to prevent the deterioration of his body. His current situation… it looks familiar to…"
Minato and Kushina recall Izuna's appearance when he fought against that Abyssal dragon in the 'Hole'.
"Minato!"
"Kushina!"
The couple nods and presses their hand against Gai's back, while Lee supports him.
"We will transfer most of our massive reserve of chakra to reignite the flame in his heart. We can't let his resolve to perish so easily."
Both Minato and Kushina infuse almost eight percent of their chakra into Gai's body.
The withered flames in Gai's body gain a fresh surge of vitality. His muscles expand and the deterioration of his body stops momentarily. Gai's fading consciousness grasps a new light.
GAH…
Gai coughs a mouthful of blood and stands up.
"M-Madara…"
He cries Madara's name and charges in Madara's direction.
On Madara's side,
The dust and debris of the explosion settle down to reveal a skeleton with a faint beating heart, brain, and Rinnegan lying in the center of a massive crater.
Thump… Thump…
With Madara's rapidly deteriorating vitality, his heartbeats also slow down and his heart almost stops beating.
Shiing…
Suddenly, a purple glow shines in his right eye.
BAM…
A powerful force strikes Madara's chest, kick-starting his rapidly dying heart.
BAM… BAM…
After a few strikes, Madara's vitality recovers and his heartbeat becomes stable. Veins pop out from his heart and extend throughout his entire body. Nerves and other blood vessels also regrow rapidly. Madara's bent and broken spine straightens up. Flesh slowly covers Madara's skeleton and even his internal organs recover to their former state. A layer of pale skin finally covers the body, recreating Madara's body perfectly.
GAH…
Madara opens his eyes and coughs out a few patches of blood and flesh.
Huff… Huff…
He pants and creates another staff from truth-seeking orbs to prop himself up.
"Huff… huff… I thought I almost died for a minute."
Madara takes a step forward but trips from losing control of his body.
"My body has weakened a lot from that previous attack. However…"
Instantly, a massive amount of nature energy funnels into Madara's body, rapidly recovering his chakra reserve.
"That's… that's impossible!"
Minato's, Kushina's, Itachi's, and Lee's eyes widen in shock.
"He… he can even recover from such a state!" Kushina's figure trembles.
Even Itachi and Lee don't have it any better.
"The sight they witnessed was beyond their comprehension."
On a far cliff from the battle,
Zetsu silently observes the battle between Gai and Madara.
"Aren't you making your move yet?" White Zetsu asks him.
"No, it's not time yet!" Black Zetsu remarks.
"With every battle, Madara is evolving further and further into an Otsutsuki. Even now, his body is adapting to his new power and growing stronger. When he reaches a level close to an Otsutsuki will be time to make a move. But for him to reach that level, he needs to acquire his other eye and awaken the Mind's eye."
Haha… Ahaha…
Madara laughs maniacally and slowly stands up.
"You are the first person to make me so excited about a battle. Even the battle with Hashirama wasn't this exciting! Now, can you still dance? Do you have any other techniques you haven't used yet? Give me more fun to look forward to! If not, then I will end this battle, since I want to relish that feeling for a bit longer."
"Sekizo isn't enough to kill him? Huff… Huff…"
Gai pants heavily.
"In that case…"
Gai crouches on the ground and takes a running stance.
"AMASSS!"
He releases a powerful roar that echoes throughout the entire battlefield.
RUMBLE… RUMBLE…
The ground trembles from Gai's roar and even dark red clouds shroud the sky, completely blocking out the moon in the sky.
SHUA… SHUA…
The blood-red flames spread across the entire battlefield fly towards Gai, enveloping him into a massive pillar of red flames that shoots to the sky. Madara's vitality and chakra that he received from Minato and Kushina burn rapidly. Blood-red steam rises from his body and adds to the temperature of flames on his body.
"GAI… HE… What's he up to now? This power… this pressure… We can't stand anywhere closer to him." Itachi's expression changes.
"Even the surrounding space is distorting from the power Gai is emitting now. We can't linger here any longer!"
The group places their hands on Minato's hand and he teleports them away before the space distorts completely.
"That stance, it's not Sekizo!"
Lee observes Gai's technique from a distance. Waves of high-temperature heat assault them even when they are several miles away from the battle.
"FLOOWWW!"
The massive flames, chakra, vitality, and steam condense into a humongous red dragon around Gai.
SHUA…
A powerful energy wave burst forth from his position as Gai takes a step forward.
RUMBLE… RUMBLE…
The entire continent trembles and collapses a few feet into the sea. Gai's momentum even affects the tectonic plates at the moment, leading to several volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, earthquakes, and other natural calamities on the continent.
"BRING IT ONN!" Madara taunts with a maniacal smile on his face.
"CHARRRGGEEE!!"
Gai kicks the ground and dashes toward Madara at such an incredible speed that even the surrounding space shatters into fragments, revealing several spatial fissures and cracks. With Gai's each step, a powerful earthquake occurs on the continent, further pushing it down to the sea level.
ROOOAAARRR…
The massive blood dragon releases a deafening roar.
BOOMM…
A crimson lightning bolt strikes down from the sky.
"DIIEEE!! NIGHT GAIII!!"
"I will acknowledge this chakra and resolve of yours. I, Madara, declare you the strongest."
Madara also morphs his truth-seeking orbs into the Nunoboko Sword and swings it towards Gai.
BOOOOOMMM…
A deafening explosion spreads across the entire continent. A massive sphere of blood-red energy spreads outward from the ground zero.
RUMBLE… RUMBLE…
Several fissures spread throughout the continent, putting the entire continent on the verge of collapse.
BOOM… BOOM…
A series of explosions echo throughout the battlefield. Several geysers of lava burst forth from the cracks, creating a sight straight from the apocalypse.
Not even Ten-tail's rampage could deal with such extensive damage as the clash between Madara and Gai.
SHOOM… SHOOM…
Several powerful shocks spread from ground zero, knocking all the shinobis in the distance.
Even Kakashi, who has escaped a long distance, couldn't escape the shockwaves. Kakashi is thrown away a long distance before he can stabilize himself.
"Is that… is that really Gai?"
Obito's lips tremble and his eyes widen in disbelief as he observes the battle from the Kamui dimension. It was he who protected Kakashi at the last moment with the intangibility of Kamui.
"Didn't I tell you? Gai is strong… stronger than anyone. Even now, I seem to have severely underestimated his resolve and strength."
Kakashi clenches his fist.
"That's Might Gai!"
The Kages and commanders, who have long evacuated to a safe spot under Minato's urging, witness the massive blood-red hemisphere of energy in shock. The sight of a massive, raging crimson dragon sends a shiver down their spine.
"This should be enough to kill Madara, right?" Someone questions.
But none of the people present have any answer to it. All they could do was clench their hands and pray.
Only the shinobis from Konoha have eyes overflowing with tears.
"Gai… He… he is a hero! A hero of the entire shinobi world!"