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"Oh… I see…"
Within the Naka Shrine, the man known as Madara regained his bearings.
The ruins of Konoha weren't far from the Valley of the End. The Naka Shrine, located deep underground beneath the original village, had escaped destruction during Konoha's fall.
During the chaotic force-field collision just now, he had stumbled—literally—right into this place.
Talk about a stroke of fate.
"Hahaha, this place and I really do have some connection, don't we?"
He let out a sigh, pushed the stone slab off his chest, and rose from the tatami floor.
Fox-fire lit up beside the stone tablet, and that familiar slab came into view once more.
The last time he saw this tablet was before he decided to defect from Konoha, using the power of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
In other words… he hadn't verified it with the Rinnegan.
Since fate had brought him before this tablet again, he might as well read it with the Rinnegan.
But after deciphering it, his expression twisted violently.
The interaction of Yin and Yang gives rise to all creation.
That line was still there.
But… all content regarding the Infinite Tsukuyomi had vanished!
It was replaced by the Sage of Six Paths' wish for the Senju and Uchiha to coexist harmoniously and build a prosperous world together!!!
How could this be?!
Madara's face contorted.
The Eternal Mangekyō had revealed the Infinite Tsukuyomi as the path to salvation! Why did the Rinnegan show him Uchiha-Senju harmony instead?!
Why?! Why?! This shouldn't be! It makes no sense!!!
Unless… the tablet really had been tampered with by Black Zetsu!!!
The suspicion that had long festered in his heart suddenly found confirmation!!!
Doubt and confirmation were entirely different states of mind!!!
The realization that he had been used, kept in the dark for decades by Black Zetsu—his hands clenched into trembling fists, his whole body shaking with rage!!!
Damn you, Black Zetsu!!! You deliberately left clues about the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the tablet for me to see!!! What were you trying to achieve!!!
The possibility that the Infinite Tsukuyomi might be a dead end plunged Madara into despair. But the reality of being blatantly manipulated and played for a fool for decades without realizing it… that ignited a fury that burned white-hot within him!!!
Outside, in the night sky, Sasuke soared over Konoha's ruins on white, curse-mark wings.
Earlier, when Madara used his Super Shinra Tensei against the arrow, Sasuke had glimpsed a streak of red light crashing down toward this area.
His Byakugan pierced through the earth, and he saw him. The figure had crashed deep into the ruins and was now standing motionless inside the Naka Shrine, before the stone tablet.
"Ah… he saw it, didn't he? When I awakened the Rinnegan, I also checked the tablet's contents. The parts about the Infinite Tsukuyomi were gone. It seems Black Zetsu's tampering can't fool the 'Rinnegan.' Well, Madara… now you know for sure. The Infinite Tsukuyomi is a complete fraud. What will you do?"
…
Inside the Naka Shrine, Madara lifted his lowered head. A smile crept onto his lips.
"Heh heh heh… Impossible. I, Madara, can be wrong. But I, Madara, will never admit I'm wrong!"
"No one will ever see me as anything less than powerful and confident!!!"
"Madara, remember! You're in the middle of a glorious, all-consuming battle! It's not over yet!! How can you waste time on these trivial thoughts?!"
"Yes… heh… As long as I have power, the initiative remains in my hands!!! That Black Zetsu schemed against me, but in the end, I was the one who killed him!!!"
"Besides, Black Zetsu leaving the Infinite Tsukuyomi on the tablet doesn't necessarily prove it's wrong!!! Perhaps Black Zetsu was also a fervent believer in the Infinite Tsukuyomi!!! A weak, pathetic creature who lacked the power to achieve such a grand vision!!! And I… I possess that power!!!"
"Yes!!! As long as the destination is what I desire, why should I care who placed the signposts along the way!!!"
At this moment… his arrogance, his stubbornness, his fragile ego—all converged, pushing Madara's obsession to an unprecedented peak. He twisted the truth into a horrifying, self-serving delusion!!!
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…!!"
He erupted into uproarious laughter. Then, transformed into a red streak of light, he shot up through the earth and landed atop Konoha's ruins, glaring at Sasuke hovering on his wings.
"That arrow earlier… truly magnificent. It forced me to unleash the maximum-scale Shinra Tensei. Temporarily disabled the Deva Path's abilities, too. Quite the predicament for me. So I've decided… to let you experience what a true baptism feels like!!"
BOOM—!! A torrent of azure light erupted, coalescing into the towering form of a Perfect Susano'o.
A Perfect Susano'o. Madara had already demonstrated it multiple times in this fight. By now, it shouldn't be a shocking sight.
But the aura emanating from him was something else entirely!!
Sasuke's Susano'o stood near the foot of Madara's, like a newborn infant beside a hulking adult.
But Madara knew better.
That ingeniously crafted 'bow' and its earth-shattering 'arrow' could ignore the difference in size and threaten him, high above.
So, he made his Susano'o unfurl its wings and soar. Higher and higher, until the entire landscape sprawled beneath a single glance, until Sasuke's Susano'o on the ground was reduced to a mere purple speck—an ant-like anchor point. Shing! Only then did he slowly draw the massive blade known as 'Sabimochi' from his waist.
"..." Sasuke didn't know what he intended. He focused his Byakugan's vision and saw it—natural energy churning violently around Madara's greatsword.
Sasuke understood.
In past battles, Madara had shown a clear mastery and preference for the 'Frog Kata' from Mount Myōboku's Sage Arts.
During his fight with Itachi, he had even modified the Frog Kata, unleashing a technique called "Heart-Piercing Malice" that nearly claimed Itachi's life.
"That battle was so long ago… Of course, he's developed something even more terrifying. Combining the slash of a Perfect Susano'o with Mount Myōboku Sage Art's control over natural energy… Unthinkable!! How earth-shattering will that attack be?!"
Ten thousand meters in the air, Madara channeled power into his blade!!
"This will be an impact dozens of times greater than the Super Shinra Tensei. Enough to affect half a great nation's territory!! After this strike, the topography of the Land of Fire will be permanently rewritten! Sasuke… you, too, shall cease to exist…"
"No more jokes now…"
Sasuke closed his eyes. His Byakugan reverted to the Mangekyō Sharingan. The Susano'o around him expanded into its 'Crow Tengu' form.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Two streaks of red light surged within the Susano'o, converging at the eyes beneath its helm.
――Mangekyō Sharingan: Magnifying Glass!!
On Azure Moon Island!!
Kabuto: "Ah… that move! The one he used in the Ninth Battle against Obito!"
Orochimaru: "That time, he only activated the Magnifying Glass in his left eye. This time, it's both~!"
Suigetsu: "So this is just a super-powered Amaterasu combined with a super-powered Kagutsuchi, right~?"
Orochimaru chuckled. "Heh heh, Suigetsu, if that's what you think, you're severely underestimating Sasuke-kun's creativity."
Suigetsu: "Hey, if it's not Amaterasu or Kagutsuchi, then what is it??"
BOOM—!!!
Then, on the crystal ball, a stunning scene unfolded… As the eyes of the Magnifying Glass on Sasuke's Susano'o blazed bright, a cataclysmic surge of violet light erupted outside the Crow Tengu Susano'o!!!
Itachi's expression sharpened: "This is…!!!"
Orochimaru grinned: "Correct… a "Susano'o" wielded by a "Susano'o"!"
――Susano'o: Outer Body
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