Seeing this, Yahiko and Terumi quickly stopped releasing the Water Formation Pillar. The flames falling from above had already been extinguished, so there was no need to maintain the jutsu any longer. This spared Obito and Gaara from drowning.
"Phew… phew… I almost choked to death. Is my luck really that bad? I open a random space-time portal and end up underwater?"
"Hey, Gaara, little Junior Brother, you alright?"
Obito sucked in mouthfuls of fresh air, and Gaara beside him did the same. The two of them had narrowly escaped death.
Upon seeing them appear, Muren Uchiha frowned slightly.
"What? You know them?"
"Yeah. Uchiha Obito—he's awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. And that brat is Black Zetsu's target, the One-Tailed Jinchūriki, Gaara."
Oh? Hearing this, Uchiha Madara gave the two another look. One possessed the Mangekyō. The other was a Jinchūriki. The former had even been one of his candidates back then.
Ah… he, Uchiha Madara, truly was extraordinary. Just look at the people he picked—each one awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan sooner or later.
"A space-time–type dōjutsu, huh?"
"A fine pair of eyes."
From the moment Obito appeared, Madara immediately recognized the nature of his ability. He had to admit—those eyes were impressive. Especially now, with his hatred toward Tobirama Senju's Flying Thunder God Technique festering deeper than ever, he found such eyes even more valuable.
"Alright. Since the One-Tail is here, Black Zetsu must've failed."
"Forget it. I'll handle things myself."
"That earlier battle wasn't even a warm-up."
Madara folded his arms, and the next moment, he controlled Susanoo to descend.
Muren Uchiha didn't understand what he was doing at first, but quickly caught on. Madara dismissed Susanoo, and his eyes shifted from the Mangekyō Sharingan to the Rinnegan.
The instant Madara reached the ground, Kazuyama Gekkō raised a hand and launched several attacks—but Madara simply lifted one hand and absorbed all of them using the Rinnegan's devouring ability.
"Oh? Bringing out the Rinnegan now?"
"Looks like you're finally serious."
"But Madara, do you really think that just because you have the Rinnegan, you can blot out the sky with one hand?"
Facing the fully serious Madara Uchiha, Kazuyama didn't flinch at all—he even had the leisure to taunt him.
Madara only snorted coldly. The next moment, in some unseen dimension, a figure lunged out at incredible speed.
Clang!
Just as that figure swung a fist meant to launch Kazuyama flying, a massive barrier appeared before him, blocking the attack completely.
Madara's pupils shrank sharply.
"Impossible!"
"You can see it?"
"Oh? You mean the shadow? Of course."
Kazuyama thoroughly enjoyed the shock on Madara's face, replying with an exaggerated grin that made Madara's forehead twitch.
See?
See what?
Madara's words baffled everyone present. They had no idea what the two were talking about—not even Muren Uchiha.
"How can you see it?"
"This is a power of the Rinnegan!"
"A power only I possess!"
Madara was on the verge of losing it. Refusing to believe what he'd seen, he activated the ability again.
But once again, he was blocked—blocked by something he couldn't see… or rather, something he hadn't seen until now.
This time, he saw it: a sheet of transparent crystal. The crystal wasn't restricting him—it was restricting his shadow.
"You're right, it is a unique ability of yours. It is the Rinnegan, after all."
"If I'm not mistaken, the pair Nagato had originally belonged to you. But since he wasn't the true owner, he couldn't awaken this ability."
"As for why I can see it?"
"Go on—guess."
Of course Kazuyama knew his ability. Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan-exclusive technique: Limbo: Border Jail.
By splitting intangible shadows for offense and defense, four shadows could be created at once—each immune to non–Six Paths Senjutsu attacks, capable of swapping positions or acting independently.
Unfortunately for Madara, Kazuyama had already ascended to a level equal to—or above—the Six Paths.
"Hmph. Even if you won't explain it, I can still kill you."
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Madara's temper always flared uncontrollably around Kazuyama. He truly despised the man—on the same level as his hatred for Tobirama Senju.
Without warning, a sea of fire surged across the sky, staining it crimson.
"Damn—such a massive Fire Release technique?"
"Lord Mizukage!"
"Tch, who can't do that? Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Just as Yahiko gasped, ready to join Terumi in countering with Water Release, Kazuyama once again stepped in front of everyone.
The same Fire Release technique. The same sea of flames.
One was the Uchiha's ultimate symbol—the man who had turned his obsession with Hashirama Senju into a grave and sought to overturn the world. The other was the most elusive and shameless ninja in history—Konoha's Ghost, a wandering pioneer who roamed the world.
"Huh? Why does he know this Fire Release?"
"Even back in the Uchiha Clan, only Izuna and I mastered it. This man isn't even Uchiha—how could he possibly know it?"
The flames collided, dyeing the already red sky with a layer of gold—the glow of overwhelming heat.
Yet the heat meant nothing to Madara. What unsettled him was the question gnawing at him:
Why could Kazuyama use his technique?
This particular Fire Release wasn't widely known—not even passed down within the clan.
"Impossible!"
"You can't possibly know these jutsu!"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!"
Enraged, Madara unleashed another technique without hesitation. Though smaller in scale, the flames condensed into a meteor-like mass hurtling forward.
"Tch. That's all you've got?"
"Just one or two Fire Release techniques?"
"Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!"
As Kazuyama's identical meteor-like fireball surged forth, Madara cursed aloud:
"Damn it!"