Sizzle! The optic nerve connected, and a trickle of fresh blood dripped from the corner of Madara's left eye. The eye rotated, its pattern transforming into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
Such a fragile organ—handled so roughly—was inevitably bloodshot, veins visibly spreading across its surface.
Huff!Sasuke knelt on one knee, his right hand propping him up while his left hand clutched his bleeding left eye. Half of his face was stained crimson.
Madara looked down at him coldly. "I once told you, rely too much on your left hand, and your right will become useless. Destruction leads to rebirth. I wonder if you truly understood."
"But an Uchiha without his eyes..." Madara sneered, his lips curling into a mocking smile. "I won't kill you. Sometimes, living is far crueler than death."
He stepped forward, his intent clear. "Now, hand over your right eye as well."
Swoosh!
At that moment, a white dragon, clutching a dark orb in its jaws, burst into the scene with overwhelming force!
"Hm?!" Madara instinctively shut his eyes.
At the edge of the crater, Kabuto Yakushi sat in a wheelchair, his hands forming seals.
Sage Art: White Extreme Attack!
Boom!
A blinding flash of light and a deafening sound erupted, causing Madara's entire body to tremble. "This technique...!"
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
From Kabuto's shoulders, white snakes slithered out, wrapping around the immobilized Sasuke and pulling him back to the ground. Kabuto then used his chakra to drive the wheelchair, quickly retreating from the battlefield.
"Hmph, such petty tricks, daring to flaunt them before me?" Madara sneered as he opened his eyes. Through the dimming remnants of the light, he focused his gaze on the retreating figures.
Amaterasu!
Whoosh!
Black flames ignited, clinging to their targets.
Madara's cruel smile deepened as his eyes focused once more.
Mahoroba Thunder!
Boom!
An indigo lightning pillar descended from the heavens, obliterating everything in its path.
When the lightning dissipated, the scorched earth bore scars that would never fade, but Kabuto and Sasuke were nowhere to be found.
Madara muttered coldly, "If they managed to survive that, then their luck is truly extraordinary."
Crack! Crack!
Suddenly, the ground beneath Madara's feet began to fracture. An overwhelming force seemed to be pushing the earth upward.
"Hm?!" Madara sensed something was amiss, but it was already too late.
Far in the distance, Tobirama Senju formed hand seals with both hands.
Water Style: Earth-Devouring Heaven!
Boom!
A massive column of water erupted from the crater where Madara stood, shooting nearly a kilometer into the sky. It expanded horizontally, engulfing an area spanning over a kilometer in diameter.
Trapped within the watery prison, Madara remained composed. "Manipulating underground water veins... This is Tobirama's technique. Hmph, but it won't be enough to stop me!"
Flying Thunder God Technique!
Swoosh! The scene shifted, but Madara found himself still submerged in water.
His eyes widened in shock. "Why?! I used Flying Thunder God to escape, yet I'm still underwater?!"
Suddenly, realization struck him. "No... This pressure... This isn't an underground water vein. This is... the deep sea! My Flying Thunder God kunai on that island—it was thrown into the ocean?! Who else could it be? If not Hashirama, then it must be Tobirama. Only he would pull off something this cunning!"
Madara was no longer in his Edo Tensei body. The crushing pressure of the deep sea was lethal. In such conditions, he couldn't even sense the locations of other Flying Thunder God markers.
Bloop. Bloop. Bloop.
"Damn it... I can't... breathe..."
He sank deeper into the abyss.
"Hahaha... What a pathetic end for me, Madara. To think my illustrious life would end in such humiliation. Hashirama, you truly have a remarkable brother... One who doesn't even need a blade to kill."
As his consciousness faded, he vaguely felt something rough—a net of some kind—catching his back. It resisted the pressure of the water, slowly pulling him upward.
A faint, indistinct halo of light rippled above him.
But Madara could no longer confirm what it was.
Beyond the Immortal River, as the water subsided, the ground bore the marks of its violent passage.
Tobirama, Hashirama, and Hiruzen searched the area meticulously.
"No trace of Madara's chakra," Hiruzen reported.
Tobirama scoffed. "It seems he used my Flying Thunder God Technique to escape."
Hashirama sighed. "I just wanted to have a proper conversation with him. Who knows when or where we'll meet again..."
Tobirama thought to himself, Hmph, that is, if he hasn't already drowned at the bottom of the ocean.
Deep within a cave.
Sasuke regained consciousness. His left eye, now lost, was tightly wrapped in bandages.
Kabuto, sitting in a wheelchair by the bedside, looked utterly exhausted.
When Sasuke asked how they had managed to escape, Kabuto revealed the truth. "I used the life-saving talisman bestowed upon me by the White Snake Sage. It can negate a single fatal attack and teleport the user to safety. But that talisman is a treasure of Ryuchi Cave. There was only one."
"When did she give you something like that?" Sasuke asked, frowning.
Kabuto replied, "Just before we left Ryuchi Cave last time. The White Snake Sage entrusted it to me through her attendant, Hebihime."
What Kabuto didn't mention was the White Snake Sage's true intention. She had foreseen Sasuke's reckless nature, knowing he would inevitably face life-threatening situations. The talisman was meant to save him when necessary, honoring the past bond with Indra's reincarnation.
This was also why Kabuto had dared to let Sasuke head to the battlefield despite his current lack of strength.
Sasuke attempted to climb out of bed, but due to his chakra depletion and his unfamiliarity with single-eye perception, he nearly stumbled. Kabuto quickly caught him.
It was then that Sasuke's gaze froze on Kabuto's back, his face filled with shock. "What... what happened to you?!"
Kabuto's back was almost entirely mutilated, with numerous small snakes chewing away at the decaying flesh.
Kabuto sighed, his expression heavy. "The talisman successfully negated the Mahoroba Thunder, but Amaterasu remained. After stopping the bleeding in your left eye, I used the Fire Sealing Method to extinguish the flames. But my back was already severely burned. I can't apply medical ninjutsu to my own back, so I can only let the snakes eat away the necrotic tissue to slow the deterioration."
"But... don't you have Hashirama's cells? Can't you regenerate?" Sasuke asked, his fists clenching.
Kabuto shook his head. "My body is paralyzed below the second thoracic vertebra. I lost all sensation there long ago. That part of my body is beyond my control. There's nothing I can do."
Sasuke's hands trembled as he clenched them into fists. "Then... what will happen to you?"
Kabuto smiled faintly, a hint of resignation in his eyes. "Most likely... I'll die."
Sasuke's mind went blank.
Kabuto suddenly spoke in a strange tone. "Sasuke-kun, Black Zetsu came to me earlier. Do you know what he said? The true reincarnation of Ashura isn't Kuni no Shou... It's Naruto."
He laughed bitterly. "Hahaha... All my efforts were for nothing. Not only did I accomplish nothing, but I also caused you to lose a precious eye—your brother's treasured gift to you."
"I always thought I could surpass Orochimaru-sama. But in the end, I'm just a useless failure. Sasuke-kun, leave me. Go find Naruto. I can tell he values you deeply. He has never wanted to harm you. He will do everything in his power to help you."
"Enough!" Sasuke's voice cut through Kabuto's despair like a blade. He raised his head, his tone resolute. "Listen to me. I don't care about Ashura or Indra! I am Uchiha Sasuke! As for the Rinnegan, it would be nice to have it, but if I can't, I'll find my own way to grow stronger!"
"And this left eye... Losing it isn't your fault. It was my recklessness that caused this. If anything, I owe you for ending up like this!"
"Kabuto, I swear, I won't let you die!"
"You told me before that the only person who can heal you is Tsunade, right? Then we'll go to Konoha. Right now. I'll find Tsunade and figure out a way to save you!"
Whoosh!
Sasuke draped a black cloak over Kabuto, then began pushing his wheelchair out of the cave.
Under the cold moonlight, Kabuto's eyes welled with tears.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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