Guts stood before the towering Susanoo, like a grasshopper facing a giant elephant.
But only the weak judge strength by size alone.
Madara's Rinnegan, however, could see it
On the surface of Guts body, an invisible aura swirled, like a colossal dragon coiled around him. Though his form was small, the spirit emanating from him faced Madara's Perfect Susanoo as an equal.
With a mighty swing, Susanoo's massive blade came crashing down, its sheer weight and power capable of splitting mountains in half.
BOOOOM!!!
The impact shattered the land, sending storms of dust and rock through the battlefield. Vision was blocked for a moment, a cloud swallowing the arena.
Madara smirked from within the brow of Susanoo.
"It seems… you could only go this far."
But then...
"I wouldn't be so quick to judge, Madara."
The voice cut through the smoke like thunder.
As the dust cleared, Madara's Rinnegan flickered. His mocking smile froze.
There stood Guts, hand wrapped in Advanced Armament Haki (Ryuo) glowing faintly red, one hand gripping the massive Susanoo sword mid-swing… and he was smiling.
"…"
Madara's eyebrow twitched slightly.
Calmly, he withdrew the blade and said, "This battlefield is too small to display our full power. Let's… change places."
With a single beat, Susanoo's ethereal wings spread wide, lifting the 100-meter-tall giant into the sky. Its ascent was spectacular, a living myth tearing through the clouds.
Guts only grinned wider. Madara knew he could follow.
Whoosh!
With a burst of Geppo, Guts launched himself upward, his fist raised, wind pressure spiraling violently around it.
Madara's lips curved in anticipation.
"What a rude… and thrilling fighting style."
In the next instant, Susanoo unsheathed a sword the size of a mountain, and Guts' fist collided against it midair.
KRAKOOOOOM!!!
A shockwave ripped through the sky, flattening clouds and cleaving distant mountains in half. Peaks sheared like paper, tumbling in avalanches to the earth below.
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!"
Kurotsuchi and the Rock shinobi frantically raised a massive earthen barrier to block the falling debris as they retreated. Dust rained down as the mountains crumbled around them.
She turned back for a single glance and froze.
Far above, the sky itself trembled.
"Them… those two… they're monsters," she whispered.
"Hey! That!" Jiraiya suddenly pointed skyward.
Everyone looked up.
High in the clouds, Susanoo jerked violently, as if struck by an invisible force, and was sent hurtling upward, crashing into the heavens. A massive hole tore open in the clouds where it vanished.
Through the Byakugan, Hanabi and Hinata could see it clearly:
Guts, like a rising dragon, had punched Susanoo into the clouds.
"Unbelievable…"
"Did he just launch that giant into the sky?!"
"How… how strong is he!?"
"He's a monster… who surpasses Uchiha Madara himself!"
Guts shot after Susanoo using Geppo, breaking through the cloud layer into the sunlit sky.
Madara's Rinnegan glowed as he forced Susanoo upright. The abdominal wound already began to heal, endless Chakra from Edo Tensei surging through the construct.
By now, Madara fully accepted it.
Guts was an enemy worthy of all his strength.
Susanoo drew its twin swords, blue armor blazing like a god of war.
Madara spoke from within the tengu helm.
"To reach this level… with only Taijutsu…"
Guts grinned back.
"You're much better than Uchiha Sasuke."
Both spoke almost at the same time.
Then...
SHOOOOM!!!
Fists and blades clashed at extremely high speed, their collision splitting the air at an altitude of several kilometers.
From the ground, all Hinata, Konan, and the others could see were clouds and sky tearing apart again and again, shockwaves ripping reality open, brief flashes of Susanoo's blue figure flickering behind broken clouds.
Temari trembled.
"They're… on a whole other level…"
Konan's voice was steady but heavy.
"Our priority is the fake Madara. Leave this battlefield to them."
"Yes." Hinata nodded, eyes still fixed on the sky.
"Leave it to Sensei."
---
A sea of white clouds stretched endlessly around them.
But now, as Guts and Madara's Perfect Susanoo clashed in the sky, the White Sea had been shredded apart, leaving gaping rifts in the heavens.
Madara's Rinnegan gleamed in excitement.
"Since Hashirama… this is the first time my Susanoo has been pushed to such a state."
Below the waist, the massive construct had been completely destroyed.
With a pulse of endless Edo Tensei chakra, Madara forced Susanoo to rebuild, its legs reforming with an ominous hum.
Guts rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles, smiling like a beast who'd finally found a worthy hunt.
"Well… I gotta admit, I'm having fun."
He hadn't even gone all-out yet, but this battle scratched an itch deep in his bones.
Suddenly, Madara shot backward, widening the distance by over a kilometer. His Rinnegan flickered, and his right hand spun with precision.
Blue chakra condensed, forming a giant Yasaka Magatama, several times larger than anything Itachi had ever conjured.
"YASAKA MAGATAMA!"
A storm of colossal blue magatama screamed through the air, each one tearing sonic booms into the sky like jet engines igniting.
Guts tilted his head, watching the hail of death with mild curiosity.
"…Wow. That's kinda like Kizaru. Ah yeah, I like this."
He brought his index and middle fingers together, slightly bent, as his aura flared.
"Navy Six Style: Ultimate Meteor Stabbing Finger!!!"
From his fingertip, star-shaped rays erupted, shredding the incoming magatama in a chain of blinding explosions.
KRAK-BOOOOM!!!
The light consumed the battlefield, momentarily blocking Madara's Rinnegan vision.
The instant the light faded
WHOOSH!
Guts was already there, rushing at Susanoo's chest like a human missile.
"Tch!" Madara twisted Susanoo's massive sword to intercept.
But under Observation Haki, Guts leaned just a fraction to the side, and the hundred-meter blade missed him completely not even grazing his cloak.
"Too slow."
He grinned wickedly and hugged the blade with both arms.
"NANI!?"
Madara's stoic face actually twitched.
With a sudden flip, Guts wrenched the giant chakra sword free from Susanoo's grip...then spun in midair and drove it straight into Susanoo's stomach.
KRRRRAAAASH!!!
The giant staggered. A mountain-sized body losing balance, Susanoo lurched, its form twisting violently in the sky.
Before Madara could reclaim control, Guts kicked off the armor, vaulting up to the brow crystal where Madara's true body sat. His fist glowed with monstrous force.
"GALAXY IMPACT!"
Madara's Rinnegan snapped wide. He thrust a hand forward.
"Shinra Tensei!"
A tidal wave of repulsion burst out, far more terrifying than Nagato had ever produced.
Guts fist met the invisible wall... less than two meters from the crystal.
For a brief half-second, they were locked in a deadly stalemate.
Then
CRRRK!!!
The repulsion broke.
BOOOOOOM!!!
Guts's fist slammed into the crystal, shattering Susanoo's brow.
In the next instant, the entire complete-body Susanoo ruptured from the inside out.
Madara's Edo Tensei body burst apart, half of him blasted into the dirt.
Slowly, the body began to reform.
But Guts had noticed something.
"…Hoh?" He grinned like a devil.
Madara's recovery was slower than normal Edo Tensei.
So… that's it.
'My Advanced Conqueror's Haki… it actually suppresses Edo Tensei regeneration.' He chuckled inwardly.
'If it works on him… then even Kaguya's Immortality won't be a problem.'
To Guts, that meant only one thing...free EXP for the future. Fighting strong people was the fastest way to finish his second template.
Madara's body finally reformed. His patience thinned. With a blur of movement, he flew at Guts, hands weaving seals with inhuman speed.
"Light Style – Flashing Light Fangs!"
From his mouth erupted a blinding torrent of light, like a living sun with teeth, cutting through the shredded sky.
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