The battlefield twisted again, reshaping itself into something even more treacherous. The broken hourglass floated behind them, its newly restored form radiating unstable pulses of energy. But Julius and the others had no time to celebrate. Not with the new threats descending upon them.
The first corrupted figure to land was Naruto.
Or at least, what used to be Naruto.
His usual bright orange outfit was blackened and torn, soaked in dark chakra that sizzled and cracked the air around him. His once-lively blue eyes were now void-black, hollow pits of hatred. Kurama's form loomed behind him, but the great beast was mutated, with extra tails growing wildly and barbs protruding from his body like the spines of some nightmare creature.
Naruto's corrupted voice echoed through the unstable dimension. "Hope is a lie. Friendship is a chain. I'll break you all."
Following him came Luffy, or the shadow of the pirate king. His straw hat was gone, replaced with a cracked crown of bone. His limbs stretched grotesquely, almost like they were melting and reforming with every step. His signature grin was twisted into a permanent sneer, and the scars across his body pulsed with dark energy.
Next was Vegeta, hovering in the air with his arms crossed, his eyes burning with inverted fire. His hair, instead of golden or black, was a shimmering void, as if a piece of the night sky had been woven into it. His power radiated malevolence, thick and suffocating.
And they weren't alone.
Dozens more corrupted heroes started to emerge from the rift: Sakura with obsidian fists, Zoro dragging blackened swords that left scars in the air, Ichigo's own twisted doppelgänger with a Hollow mask fused permanently to his skull.
Madara stood tall behind them, his cracked armor glinting under the dead light of the rift. He raised a hand and the corrupted champions surged forward like an unstoppable tide.
Goku powered up immediately, his aura blazing blue-white. "Bring it on!"
Gojo grinned, spinning a black orb of cursed energy between his fingers. "Finally, some real fun."
Ichigo tightened his grip on Zangetsu, ready to clash even if his own corrupted self was among the enemy.
Julius, still exhausted from restoring the hourglass, forced himself upright. Time magic crackled weakly at his fingertips. He knew he couldn't keep up with the others at full power right now — but he could still tilt the battlefield in their favor.
The first clash was immediate and brutal.
Goku met corrupted Naruto head-on, their fists colliding with a shockwave that shook the broken dimension. Dark chakra and pure ki exploded outward, carving canyons into the ground.
Naruto moved with savage unpredictability, tapping into monstrous versions of Rasengan and tailed-beast bombs twisted by the void. Goku countered blow for blow, pushing his body harder than ever, but even he grunted under the relentless assault.
Meanwhile, Gojo engaged Luffy. The corrupted rubber man stretched his limbs unnaturally, trying to crush Gojo with massive, spiked fists. But Gojo's Limitless abilities kept him one step ahead, warping space to slip between the attacks and counter with devastating cursed techniques.
Ichigo faced down his corrupted doppelgänger, the two mirror images of each other clashing in a blinding flurry of blades. Each slash tore apart fragments of the already unstable world around them.
Julius didn't engage directly.
Instead, he focused on weaving thin threads of time magic between his allies, slowing down the corrupted enemies' movements just enough to give Goku, Gojo, and Ichigo an edge. Every second he could buy them counted.
Still, it wasn't enough.
The corrupted versions were fighting without restraint, without hesitation. And they were growing stronger by feeding on the chaos of the battlefield.
Madara observed it all calmly, arms crossed, like a puppeteer watching his strings tighten.
Julius realized they had to shift the balance quickly, or they'd be overwhelmed.
He summoned a time clone — a weaker version of himself — and sent it sprinting toward the hourglass. If he could stabilize it even further, maybe he could tip the odds back in their favor.
Madara noticed instantly.
With a flick of his fingers, he sent corrupted Sakura charging after the clone, her fists smashing craters into the ground as she pursued.
Julius cursed under his breath. Even weakened, Madara was still too dangerous to ignore.
As the battles raged, cracks began to form in the corrupted heroes.
Goku landed a devastating gut punch on Naruto, making the corrupted jinchūriki stagger. Gojo caught Luffy mid-stretch and slammed him into the ground with a cursed reversal technique. Ichigo sliced through the Hollow mask of his doppelgänger, revealing a flicker of pain — a glimpse of the real Ichigo trapped inside.
"They're still in there!" Ichigo shouted. "They're not completely gone!"
Julius seized on that.
He poured what little energy he had left into his chronogear and broadcast a pulse of memory resonance across the battlefield. A shimmering wave of golden light washed over everyone, causing the corrupted heroes to momentarily hesitate, their faces flickering between hatred and confusion.
Naruto clutched his head, staggering. "Wh-what...?"
Luffy's grin faltered, his eyes wide with a moment of clarity. "Where... where am I?"
Vegeta snarled, trying to resist, but even he paused, his aura flickering between corrupted void and his original blue form.
Madara's calm expression finally cracked.
He stepped forward, his own energy darkening, and unleashed a shockwave that severed the connection Julius had formed.
The corrupted heroes roared in renewed fury, their hesitation wiped clean.
But it had been enough.
Goku, Gojo, and Ichigo pressed their advantage, striking faster and harder now, not to destroy, but to wake up their corrupted comrades.
"Hold back just enough!" Goku shouted. "They're still in there!"
Madara wasn't done, though.
He raised his hands and summoned a colossal weapon — a scythe forged from the timelines he had shattered. Its blade shimmered with the essence of erased worlds.
"I gave them mercy," Madara said coldly. "You would chain them to their weakness again. I will end this here."
He lunged toward Julius.
Time seemed to slow as Madara closed the distance, the scythe descending with fatal precision.
But Julius was ready.
He activated a forbidden spell — Chrono Sacrifice — burning his own lifespan to momentarily freeze Madara's movements. It lasted less than a second, but it was enough.
Goku appeared in front of Julius in an instant, intercepting the blow with both hands, his aura blazing fiercely.
"You're not taking anyone today!" Goku roared, forcing the scythe back with raw strength.
Madara gritted his teeth, pushing harder.
The ground beneath them shattered into spiraling fragments of broken time.
Above, the corrupted heroes and their true selves were locked in brutal battles, each blow infused with desperation and hope. Memories flashed in and out of existence — images of past victories, friendships, promises.
Julius, barely able to stand, summoned the last of his magic.
He focused on Naruto first, amplifying the real memories buried deep inside him: his dream of becoming Hokage, his bond with his friends, his unbreakable spirit.
Naruto screamed, dark chakra exploding from his body — and then, miraculously, beginning to recede.
Kurama's twisted form roared in agony, but it too began to shrink, reverting back toward its true self.
One by one, Julius targeted the corrupted.
Each pulse of memory magic weakened the void's hold on them.
Luffy's melted limbs snapped back into shape, his old wide grin flickering back onto his face.
Vegeta's void hair faded into its original dark flame, his eyes regaining their determined glare.
The tide was turning.
Madara saw it too.
With a savage roar, he unleashed a final, devastating attack — shattering the sky above, tearing open dozens of smaller rifts that began sucking the battlefield apart.
Chunks of broken timelines, shattered memories, and fragments of dead worlds rained down like meteors.
The team scrambled to defend themselves, shielding the slowly recovering heroes.
Julius knew they couldn't survive another full-scale assault like that. They needed an escape plan — fast.
He summoned what remained of his chronogear and began weaving a teleportation spell. Not to flee — but to move the battlefield itself.
If they could reach the central hub of the multiverse, the last stable anchor, they might have a chance to defeat Madara for good.
But it would require timing, coordination, and above all — trust.
He shouted over the chaos. "Everyone! Get ready! When the spell triggers, move through it immediately! No hesitation!"
Goku and Gojo nodded, shielding the others as Julius prepared the spell.
Madara hurled another blast of annihilation energy, but Ichigo countered with a full-force Getsuga Tenshō, buying precious seconds.
The spell ignited.
A portal tore open, swirling with golden light.
One by one, they dove through it — Goku carrying Naruto, Gojo dragging a barely-conscious Luffy, Ichigo helping a reeling Vegeta.
Madara charged after them, fury blazing in his eyes.
Julius was the last to leap, the portal snapping shut behind him just as Madara's scythe cleaved through empty space.
The battlefield vanished.
They landed hard in a new place — one unlike anything they had seen before.
The Central Nexus of the multiverse.
Their final battleground.
And Madara was right behind them.