"What kind of terror is this?"
Atop the gigantic Buddha statue, the Buddha statue controlled by Uchiha Madara continuously retreated.
The Great Buddha, over a thousand meters tall, even with its defenses further reinforced by Susanoo, was collapsing at a visible rate under the raging energy impact.
"Ugh ~"
He spat out another mouthful of blood.
The weathered Old Man Madara's eyes actually showed a hint of fear.
Possessing the Rinnegan, and gathering the power of all creation, he felt a spiritual palpitation for the first time.
Not only his body, but even his soul, seemed to no longer be his own.
He was like a small boat adrift on a constantly churning sea, liable to capsize at any moment.
Weak and helpless.
"I..."
Even his consciousness seemed to freeze.
Uchiha Madara watched helplessly as the gigantic Buddha statue, covered by Susanoo, was penetrated by the raging, spreading golden energy. Even the combined defense of Wood Release and Susanoo crumbled layer by layer without resistance amidst the chaotic golden energy collision.
Finally, the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands Buddha statue turned into pieces of broken wood of varying sizes, falling to the ground one after another.
Uchiha Madara also fell from the sky, barely managing to control his body to land on the ground.
"Hoo—hoohoo—"
Uchiha Madara gasped for breath, a layer of sweat seeping from his aged face. His grizzled long hair, a result of excessive life force overdraft, was now quite disheveled.
He struggled to look up, gazing towards Beryl's location.
The constantly emanating golden aura was still spreading.
The drifting energy seemed to deliberately avoid Uchiha Madara's position, passing around him.
Such extremely precise control over energy, even someone as arrogant as Uchiha Madara had to admit he was far inferior.
"Cough... cough cough, an unrivaled power, far exceeding the Sage of Six Paths's strength."
He had never met the Sage of Six Paths, but Uchiha Madara instinctively believed that even if the Sage of Six Paths kicked open his coffin and crawled out, he probably wouldn't be a match for this girl who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old. Perhaps he wouldn't even be able to take a single move.
The golden aura emanating from the girl, and her soaring aura, were so dazzling even under the gaze of the Rinnegan.
In the Rinnegan's vision, the girl instantly vanished.
The next second, she reappeared.
She stood before Uchiha Madara.
Her purple eyes looked down from above at Uchiha Madara, who was supporting himself with his arms, on one knee, his life force already dwindling.
Looking at the indifferent expression on the girl's face and her utterly calm purple eyes, Uchiha Madara used all his strength to say, "You win..."
Uchiha Madara conceded, but Beryl showed no hint of joy on her face.
She slowly raised her right hand, her palm aimed at Uchiha Madara, who had already conceded and was about to be teleported out.
Her palm was less than half a meter from Uchiha Madara's forehead.
"Destroy."
Uchiha Madara didn't even have time to say anything more.
With a hint of disbelief, his body rapidly disappeared.
First his legs, then his body, then his head.
It was as if someone was erasing him bit by bit with an eraser.
Finally, Uchiha Madara's existence completely vanished from everyone's sight.
After casually erasing Uchiha Madara, Beryl also exited the arena.
The live broadcast screen ended abruptly there.
...
The battle scene disappeared.
Kikyo and Kumoko, who had been watching the screen, were unable to release the shock in their hearts for a long time.
Their minds were still fixated on the image of a girl with splendid golden hair, radiating a strange, heaven-piercing aura from her entire body.
A small tuft of golden bangs hung over the girl's forehead, slightly obscuring her eyes, yet unable to conceal those awe-inspiring, infinitely indifferent purple eyes.
[Kumoko: "Um... Old Man Madara... Uchiha Madara, is he still there?"]
Kumoko's voice was trembling as she spoke, the golden figure that couldn't be erased from her mind made her entire spider body tremble continuously.
If Uchiha Madara's powerful strength shocked Kumoko, then Group Leader Beryl's final display of power, and her unparalleled terrifying might, seemed to be faintly felt even through the screen.
She didn't know if it was an illusion, but Kumoko recalled the previous scene: when the Group Leader transformed, the entire planet's surface seemed to tremble.
Uchiha Madara did not respond to Kumoko's words, and the public chat screen fell into silence.
[Kumoko: "The Group Leader didn't kill Old Man Madara, did she? But aren't the arena rules say that you can't die?"]
Kumoko had specifically read the arena rules, but... her words lacked much conviction.
Beryl was the Group Leader, and Uchiha Madara was a Group Member.
Did the rules only apply to Group Members and have no effect on the Group Leader?
If a person is killed, they die.
If killed by the Group Leader, are they truly dead?
Kumoko's eight spider legs hugged herself, her body curled into a ball.
Feeling the warmth from the spider silk in her surrounding web-constructed nest, her emotions slowly stabilized.
[World's No. 1 Princess: "Uchiha Madara isn't dead, Kumoko. Your voice sounds like you're very afraid of me."]
[Kumoko: "Eh, not dead?"]
[Kikyo: "His avatar is still lit."]
The two of them shifted their attention to Uchiha Madara's avatar; the pale-haired Old Man Madara's face was still bright, and there was no sign of him being offline.
However, Uchiha Madara remained silent.
...
In the Ninja World, in the Pure Land.
Even in his soul state, Uchiha Madara seemed to be trembling all over.
On one hand, it was the fear of his soul and body being erased bit by bit, completely losing his senses; on the other hand, it was excitement.
"I felt it, that irresistible heart tremor. Even Hashirama would be like a tiny ant in the face of that power."
"How terrifying..."
Uchiha Madara's eyes showed a hint of daze.
Unlike at the beginning of the battle, he had been unable to sense any traces of Group Leader Beryl's energy then, perhaps due to the difference in their power levels.
It was only when Beryl said she would defeat him head-on and transformed into the golden-aura-emitting form that he truly felt it.
Her straight white hair gradually turned golden, and her soft hair also changed with the transformation, becoming sharply defined.
Especially her aura, there was a completely different aura before and after the transformation.
Although he didn't know which of Group Leader Beryl's two states was stronger, after the transformation, Group Leader Beryl gave him the feeling as if she had awakened her Mangekyo Sharingan, as if her inner personality had undergone a great change.
Of course, this was just Uchiha Madara's guess.
Uchiha Madara regained his composure, and the Chat Group screen appeared in his mind.
"Myriad Worlds..."
"The power of different worlds, countless powerful existences, it truly is captivating."
Uchiha Madara didn't care about his recent defeat, or even being directly erased by the Group Leader without being able to exit the arena during his defeat. He, Uchiha Madara, was a warrior; he wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat, he just needed to win next time.
Besides, he wasn't dead... uh, no, anyway, he still had consciousness, didn't he?
Uchiha Madara typed a message into the group's public chat.
[Uchiha Madara: "I'm still here. Please, a certain Group Member, don't mourn."]
After the previous battle, Uchiha Madara gradually integrated himself into the Chat Group, no longer speaking with a condescending attitude.
No matter how he thought about it, the Chat Group was an opportunity for him.
Getting along well with the Group Members was something Uchiha Madara, having been a clan leader, understood very well.
Hiding in a dark cave, barely surviving, observing the Ninja World for decades, and introspecting for so long, he gradually understood his flaws when he was clan leader.
However, by then he had already abandoned the Uchiha, or rather, the Uchiha had betrayed him.
Understanding these things seemed to become meaningless and no longer important.
"The Eye of the Moon..."
Recalling the text on the Uchiha stone tablet, Uchiha Madara regained his confidence.
"Hashirama, after my dream is realized, I, Uchiha Madara, will step into a higher level, a broader dimension, instead of remaining confined to the Ninja World's small plot of land."
"You and I are ultimately different."