"Rejection makes a man stronger."
Jiraiya
Madara was coming to grips with what was before him. Grotesque and disgusting, but he was coming to the realization this is what was before him. It was a giant. A giant monster. A giant. He was ready to flare his chakra and unleash the power of his Mangekyo, but a part of him was holding off on doing that. Whether it was caution or conservation he didn't care to guess.
What he didn't need to guess on was the fact this monster was stupid. It had little to no intelligence. But, in place of intelligence was a brute strength. Madara dared to say it was absolute strength. He firmly believed that nothing could trump absolute, brute strength. He never thought about that strength being honed and perfected by an intelligent mind.
They could defeat this monster. Even if it had absolute strength, they could defeat it!
"Mikito!"
Mikito turned, nodded, and sprinted into the trees. Madara gave chase behind. With every step they could feel the ground shaking, threatening to split in two, and they could remember the steady pound of the monster's pulsing heart. The sun's light smeared the jagged horizon, piercing the trees that smothered the distance ridge lines and mountaintops, and lit up passages of water that flowed in the tangled plexus.
Madara would have spent time taking it all in any other tie, but he didn't have any time. Another roar echoed around. It was hard to tell where the sound had come from. It sounded so far away, but so close., and it would be foolish to think they wouldn't be able to reach him in the blink It was odd considering the monstrosity was making the sound and could reach them in the blink of an eye.
Though he was fit, and only muscle and bone, and Mikito was streamlined to perfection, however fast they could sprint with chakra, there wasn't any outrunning this monster. No matter her flexible and acrobatic Mikito was, there was no way she going to outmaneuver this monster. That wasn't to say that they couldn't sprint at top speed, nor did that mean Mikito couldn't perform her acrobatics...
It just meant that it was all moot in the end.
Time was ticking. Night would soon come. The moon's light would be beaming. While it would help them navigate through the tangled knots of trees, walls of vegetation, and thousand foot roots, it also meant their window would be starting to close. He wasn't sure what direction they were taking. He wasn't sure where they were heading. It could be off a cliff or right into a mountain. They were throwing all caution to the wind in their headlong rush away from the giant, but he did his damn best to peer through the trees and tangled undergrowth that smothered everything around and ahead of them.
Danger was behind them. Death was just a step away. He knew, but there was more danger all around them. He didn't want to run them off a ridge line, into a canyon, and into some giant rodent's or insect's next. The threat behind was known. Everything else was unknown. As terrifying as the giant was pursuing them, whacking down entire trees, he knew what he was up against.
Sword drawn, Madara and Mikito began whacking through shrubs, branches, vines, and hanging plants. Always checking to ensure that they weren't slicing at the legs, or tail, of some waiting creature. Spiders and other creepers scampered away, some were as big as his thumb, others were as big as his torso. The pursuing monster crushed them under foot. Snakes coiled around branches and trees, almost as big as the bole itself. The monster ripped them to shreds, spearing through their bodies with its blade.
He spotted a clear space ahead of them, Madara increased his strides and swings. His lungs began to burn as her exerted full force, screaming in fury. Mikito helped him with sheer ferocity, hacking away at hanging vines and tangled knots of vegetation until they smashed through the last of the trees into a wide open space. She slammed her elbow into a branch, splintering it into pieces.
"Finally!" Mikito shouted, gasping for air.
"We have no time!" Madara shouted, whirling around.
The monster roared, balling its fist and shook its head. Blood flew from its tongue.
"I think we made it mad."
"That isn't very funny, Mikito."
"I know."
Veins bulged out more across its body, as it suddenly began to expand. Its muscles swelled with blood until they were engorged. An eerie black aura surged around it as its limbs began thickening.
"Here it comes!"
Madara braced, eyes hard as stone. "Find cover and watch me! Deduce what we can do!"
"You're not serious!?"
Madara grabbed Mikito by the shoulder, teeth grit. "Do as I say! Now!"
"But-"
"Now!"
Mikito ran.
It plunged its blade into the earth with a mighty crash, slashing it through crust and stone, splintering trees, and let out a low, thunderous roar. Tidal waves of power crashed and splashed against everything with horrible force. The air itself seemed to split in two as the blade completed its rotation, leveling back into the sky.
Madara took the opening, and sped out of the water, leapt onto a rock, and lunged higher. He landed on the beast's arm. The beast yanked its arm away, with a roar, hands clasping the hilts of its blade even tighter, ridged with muscle. The monster stood to its full height, pulling with all of its strength. It roared in defiance. Madara held fast, jamming his blade into its flesh.
It tugged and wrestled to get him off, but he remained on it, forcing chakra through the soles of his feet to keep him stable, refusing to budge the slightest. Wind raged furiously as if he were in a tornado, turning into razor sharp projections as the monster continued to swing him around. Blood splattered down all over its tongue, it stunk, as heavy and thick as tar.
It finally grew impatient and lashed out with its blade cutting across the rocks and terrain in a bid to throw him off. Chunks of earth the size of mountains sprayed down. Even the very tip of the monster's sword was thousands of times the size of his own body. It swung left and right, and each cut struck with trembling force. The impact nearly carried him away, but it was bole that nearly crushed him-the monster positioned its arm so it would smash him.
Madara leapt up to its shoulder, and jammed his blade into it. The bole that had been meant for him shattered against the monster's hulking arm. Madara couldn't help but feel shock and fear witnessing such brute strength. Those boles towered beyond the clouds, and this monster just obliterated the entire thing with the greatest of ease, it was no different than him kicking a rock.
He cried out as he picked up speed, voice drowned out by the chaos. He struggled to maintain his footing, even with chakra. The monster was learning. It was learning what he wanted to do. It had a simple mind, and it was showing it. With another massive twist, the air whooshed beyond Madara, threatening to tear into his body and disassimilate him from the inside out.
His blade was cleaving into the monster's flesh. He pushed and pushed but it was like trying to push through a stone wall. It roared, blade ripping and tearing away at the air. It smashed through trees and the earth over and over. Madara clenched his teeth, body shaking from strain. He pulled his blade free from the gray flesh, biceps straining, triceps flexing, and he brought it down again.
The monster beneath was getting impatient, and it charged towards a mountain. Something ruptured. The mountain fell beneath. It was the sound of thunder. Tons of debris smashed into the ground, cracking, and turning into smaller pieces of debris. Smoke and dust clouds began to shadow over everything. Still, Madara held fast to the creature and had ran across its back before perching himself on its other shoulder.
Eventually, Madara couldn't maintain his footing. The monster thrashed in fury and rage, it swung its sword, it crashed and smashed its body into everything it could possibly find. Trees splintered. Boulders disintegrated. Madara jumped off the monster at the last second, just before it slammed into another mountain. It all spilled over like a tidal wave, splattering across the landscape. The aftermath began forming smaller waves of debris. They rolled and convulsed, but remained furious in their travel.
Madara couldn't take his eyes off of the scene. He was breathing slowly, listening to the giant monstrosity. Watching. Despite being off of its body, the monster was still raging as if he were on it. He didn't even think the monster had taken notice that he was off of it, or just a few meters away either. Its blade cut through the air, it cleaved and smashed through everything that came in its path. He could only watch. He could only listen to the crashing sounds that echoed across the landscape as the sword cleaved.
A blast of wind smashed into it. It staggered back, focusing on the gash that ripped into its torso. Shallow as it was, it barely bled. It raised its arms, furious, bringing its sword down into the earth. As blade cut earth, a boulder the size of a mountain smashed into its face, head snapping up the sky like it had suffered a vicious uppercut.
But, it did not fall nor did it stagger.
Madara slowly relaxed when the waves of debris and cutting air ceased for a few moments. The monstrosity was confused and angered by the sudden impacts to its body, but it couldn't find the source. Its head whipped left and right, bloody tongue splattering its ooze everywhere that it turned its focus on. With no clear target in sight, it flew into a rage.
It hefted its hulking arms above its head, its form now towering over Madara completely casting a shadow over everything. It dwarfed anything he had seen before, and he realized with a sense of horror that this entire time, it had its back hunched. Now that its back was completely straight, it had to be twice the height it had been before and its mass was even more incredible.
"This damn thing...You have to be kidding me..."
Its voice bellowed, and it swung down. Its blade smashed, its muscles heaved as its blade carved a rift through the surrounding area. Waves of dirt, grass, and vegetation splashed up like it had been erupted from a geyser deep in the earth. Madara sped towards it, feet moving as fast as they could carry him and he lashed out with his sword, slicing the monster at the ankle.
He surged back, eyes racing for a spot to take cover.
His attack made the monster fly into a rage, if possible.
Its rage grew worse.
"What in the hell?" He coughed, struggling keep the dirt mixed cloud of dust from entering his lungs. "Its rage seems to be infinite. At this rate...I'm not going to be able to kill it...I hope Mikito managed to-"
He had no time to ponder it, as it launched its meaty hand forward, arcing it in the clumbsiest punch he had ever bared witness to. He seen three year old children throw a better punch with no inkling of training. This monster didn't need any technique or skill, its strength trumped all of that. Madara put on a burst of speed darting to the side leaving a purple trail in his wake, jumping over the monster's meaty arm, dashing up towards its face.
He snarled, lashing out with his blade, sweeping from the side, and gashing open its wrist. The monster grunted, heaving itself up, glancing down, and just in time as Madara swiped his blade through its flesh again. Madara flew to the side, narrowly escaping its massive hand He shot to the side, skidding, and shot around again, again, and then again. weaving passed another strike, but didn't see the heap of stone coming at him and was smacked to the ground.
This time he bounced spine first off of a nearby mountain, denting it, and hit the ground with his spine again.
"It is a stupid brute...But its strength is greater than anything I've ever faced..." Madara said, slowly sitting himself up.
The giant swung its sword, taking slow steps forward, shaking the landscape around them with each single step.
"Still, it must have a weakness. Regardless of its strength, it has a weakness. Everything does."
The monster stomped a foot down just a few feet from him.
"Everything has a weakness. If it doesn't have any, I will just have to make one!"
The monster hefted its leg up, and brought it down. Madara braced himself for the impact, but no amount of bracing could cushion this. There were horrendous cracks, tidal waves of power and debris, and waves of face as the monster slammed its foot into the earth, crushing everything within its sight. It let out a low, ear piercing scream. Madara was certain he never heard such a horrendous sound.
Madara seethed clenching his teeth, gripping his forehead with one hand, panting. The pain beyond overwhelming. A rock had managed to beam right into the center of his forehead. Not only did it leave a welt, but it split his flesh and forced blood to come oozing out.
"This thing can't see me...It doesn't know that I am here." Madara muttered, not inclined to move.
Madara was unable to move an inch. He could only watch with a strange sense of fascination and wonder. The monster rose to its full height, raising its sword high over head until its weight bared against its wrist and it the dull edge slammed against its spine.
It let out a roar, swinging its arm down, elbows fully extending, shortening the gap between them by the second. It'd be over in a few seconds. Madara would be torn asunder with the surrounding landscape.
There!
Mikito spotted her opening, the monster's face was unguarded. She gathered chakra into her right hand, waiting for the perfect moment. She jumped from her cover with a cry, launching her arm upward, fingers spread wide. A huge shimmering ball of chakra beamed passed beast's arm crashing into its face, smashing through one of its eyes and exploded, sending blood and gore everywhere.
It continued its attack. Its blade smashed into the earth, tearing into the crust. It dug deeper, deeper, deeper, and deeper, until half of it was submerged below and tidal waves of dirt and trees flew high overhead. Driven into a rage, it began to circle around, gouging its blade as it went.
Mikito! What the fuck!?" Madara choked on the dirt sodden air, his speech stuck, and with a start he grabbed Mikito, sprinting into the jungle.
Madara's heart fell as they came upon a clearing.
They appeared close to the ocean, it was stretching left and right as far as his eyes could see. Trees spotted the coastline, their leaves drooping, as if the mighty boles were sinking into the body of water. Hundred foot tidal waves crashed into the boles and shoreline, twice as wide, sending water in such copious amounts that even he began to get soaked.
"Now what..."
They could hear the monster behind them, and they knew that it was coming right their way. Despite not knowing they were at this location, it was thundering here. The ground shook, sending ripples across the surface of the ocean. Its furious roars and swiping blade screeched through the air. Trees and boles cracked, snapped, and shattered, sounding like thunder and crumbling mountains in the jungle.
It must have snapped every single tree it came across. Even when it turned them into jutting spikes that could skewer its flesh, it tore them asunder with its bare hands. Uncaring of what wounds it could possibly receive from doing such a thing.
So simple...
It wouldn't be much longer...
"Now what..." Mikito asked, eyes plastered behind her.
She caught the flash of a blade
Madara assessed their situation for the seven hundredth time, taking in every possible detail he could about their location. It was hardly a plan, but it was the only think he could think of. He checked his sword, then Mikito's, and then put a hand on her shoulder. He always trusted her skills in deduction. There wasn't anyone better at it.
Mikito must have discovered a weakness. She must have formulated a plan to defeat this monster. It wouldn't be the easiest thing to do, definitely not...But, they could still do it.
"Do you have a plan to defeat that damn thing?" Madara asked.
Mikito shifted, eyes still behind her.
"Mikito!"
"It has absolute strength but no intelligence. It isn't even smart. You were able to slice into its hands, wrists, and even managed to get on its shoulders and start cutting into them. Still it has absolute strength. I managed to take out one of its eyes, if we can take out the other, and take out its legs out from under it...We should be able to kill it. You or I will have to cleave into its spine, and with a wind jutsu, we can sever it."
"Are you sure?" Madara questioned, eyes growing hard.
"It is the only thing I can think of. We can use its strength and size against it. Take out its sight first and then its knees."
Madara thought about it.
"Get up on those rocks and fire a jutsu." He said, pointing at small mountain, hanging over a part of the ocean.
"What?"
"One good hit, and we can knock it off of its feet."
"If that boulder and blast of wind I smashed into it couldn't knock it over, what good will another jutsu do? Even a fire jutsu wouldn't do anything!"
Madara knew she was right, but the monster had initiated the first strike. It turned things in its favor. They had to reverse the tempo on the monster and turn the table in their favor.
"It doesn't matter. As long as we strike it before it can lash out this time around, we can turn things around in our favor."
"What about you, Madara?"
The monster was getting closer now. The tree line and lofty canopy shook with increasing impacts, and Madara knew they only had minutes to act. He could see the flash of a blade, the thunderous roar of a tree trying to stand against it. The air itself was shaking from the monster's footsteps, its attacks, the debris it rained down on the entire landscape, or a combination of the three.
They were preparing to make a stand, even though he was certain their swords wouldn't do much against this monster. He shook his head, not going to allow the train of thought to enter. Their swords could cut it, it would be nearly impossible, but their blades could cut it.
He wasn't going to doubt himself now.
He wasn't going to doubt Mikito now.
He wasn't going to start now.
He had come too far.
They both had come too far.
"Just go and do as I say." He said to Mikito.
"But-"
"Go! I will not repeat myself, do you understand!?" He rammed his lips into Mikito's, crushing her against him.
"Let me stay with you and-"
"Go now. Now!" Madara snapped. "I'll survive."
"O-Okay!"
Madara didn't let go of her for a few more seconds. "Create the opening, or I will, but we're going to take out its other eye!"
"I-I got it!"
Securing her sword in its sheath, she nodded, and sprinted for the rocks as fast as her legs and chakra could carry her. Her thighs began to burn, her calves began to engorge, and the pain of exertion began to rattle through her body. But, she fed off of it, she delved into it, and she welcomed it. She relished it.
The monster smashed through the treeline with an ear piercing shriek. It shoved one bole aside while its blade whirled around in a near full circle, slicing through the remainder of the treeline. Trunks splintered before they broke in two, showering back everywhere. Its blood splattered tongue was dripping, and its mask was gone revealing its disgusting face.
It was still in a rage. A thick, white and yellow almost pus like substance dripped from its deformed maw where Mikito's blast of chakra had struck it. It whipped its blade from side to side, tearing deep rifts across tree trunks and the earth, its one good eye scanned everything it possibly could, but rage was blinding it.
Rage was sending it into a froth. Whether or not it could feel the pain of its eye being blasted to pieces, leaving a bloody gash in its skull, was hard to say. If it did feel the pain it only turned into a primal rage, the pain fueled its rage, and the pain itself became rage.
Madara could see it.
He could see it clearly.
Pure and uncontrolled rage.
This monstrosity was more than just brute force. It was more than just absolute strength. It epitomized those two very things, but at a cost. There always had to be balance. Balance had to be maintained. Using certain ninjutsu left one exposed. When one was creating new techniques they would run into the trouble of there being drawbacks to that technique. There was no way around that.
It was balance.
At the cost of intelligence...At the cost of wit. At the cost of being smart...This creature harnessed incomprehensible strength, but couldn't wield to its fullest extent. It couldn't be honed, nor was it. It was like a wild inferno-no control, out of control, and little could stop it. It wasn't like forged steel. It wasn't like the flame of a candle. Madara always held the strength, that power, only those two things mattered...But, seeing this monster, and all of its strength...
It began to break him down. It broke down everything he stood upon.
Was he wrong?
Was strength and power meaningless?
Was he viewing them differently than what he should be...
Madara shook his head, shoving the idle thoughts aside as if he had his gunbai. It was a vicious assault, and the thoughts barely stayed at bay. He unleashed his chakra, letting it bellow and flare, and he parted his lips. His lungs fuled, growing cooler and cooler with each passing second. His entire body contracted, lips parting more and an inferno wall crashed into the ground, scorching everything, and shot towards his foe. Meteorites of white-hot flames flew from the wall, streaking through the air with frightening speed. Though he knew it wouldn't do much good in the long run, he continued his onslaught, his chakra roared, his heart thundered, his muscles burned...There was pain, but...
He enjoyed it!
The monster stormed towards him without any reprieve, blade cutting swaths through the fire. If his jutsu did penetrate anywhere, they didn't seem to bother the monster. The slightest bit. Blackened and burned skin, other places having sores where the flames burned didn't even slow it down. It roared as it came, continuing to swipe its blade and shakes its head. It was in a frenzy. Madara could feel the curtain of bloodlust cast its shadow.
He knew one good swing would reduce him and Mikito to pulpy meat.
Madara glanced back at Mikito, watching her scale up the side of the mountain, getting further and further out over the ocean itself. She reached the closest ledge, and hastily began scrambling up once more, looking back over her shoulder at him, but not slowing down at all. He had to give her as long as possible to give them both a chance.
She was always good at creating openings, and he was banking on her talent.
Madara's resolve didn't lessen at all. Even though things looked to be out of their favor. They got the first hit in this time around. How could they combat such a monster With jutsu and projectiles that could barely scratch its belly? Even if they still had that lake of flames, head on combat wasn't favorable. It would be brief, and there was only one possible outcome.
Still, he would confront it head on, if he ran out of other options.
Madara didn't cease his blitzing attack. Instead of ending his blitzing attack, he poured on more chakra, ran towards the water, and he could feel the soggy ground beneath his feet. Areas of higher ground may offer some refuge, but this monster would certainly swing its blade and reduce the higher ground to ocean, and it certainly beat water based monsters.
He wouldn't give up. Not when there was still a breath in his body. He ran picked up his speed, if he worked his way across and towards the ocean, he'd be able to hold it off. Madara glanced across his surroundings. Busted trees and craters. Boles that once towered were reduced to chunk, that made him look like a flea in comparison. He threw away the thought of heading towards the ocean as fast as it came.
It would offer scarce protection, and once inside, he would be trapped.
He wasn't betting on this monstrosity to be able to swim or not.
Madara's body jutted forward, his chakra hefted, and instead of fire streaming only from his mouth...It surged around him, before flaring like a sheering inferno. With a roar of his chakra the flames raced ahead-turning everything before his line of vision into fire. Getting the attack in the monster's mouth would be lucky. Its jaw was smashed, so getting it to go down its threat was a near moot point.
In the eye would be even better. The impact may not kill it, but it would deter the monster for a second. At the very least it would stun it. Even if the monster swipes it blade and cuts a swath in the flames, the damage would be done.
The attacks exploded against the monster's chest, snapping its head up. The flames roared against it, gushing out around it as its force spread and continued to spread. It raised its sword, shook its head, and swung it as hard as it could. Its clawed, the flames bellowed in retaliation. Scraping and clawing at the blade, they only aimed to devour it.
The monster roared.
Its breath reached him.
It stunk like...
Nothing he could ever imagine.
"You want me that bad!? Come and get me then!" Madara shouted
Boulders and orbs of fire smashed into the monster's head, knocking it sideways. It staggered back once, twice, and three times. It shook its head, focusing just in time as the next barrage struck it with ferocious force. The boulders were twice the size they were before. The flames were twice as vicious. They struck, boulders shattered, flames roared, and the monster's head snapped skyward. It staggered, and...Fell
As it crashed the whole world seemed to turn over on itself. Water was the sky, and the sky was water. There was no moon. There was no darkness. Nothing existed.
And, then Madara felt it all come back, and felt the ground lurch. Madara stepped back, feeling shock overtake him. His eyes raced around, and he gasped when he seen thousands of more boulders coming as fast as lightning.
"Mikito!" He shouted.
"This is our opening!"
Madara turned where Mikito was pointing, and he felt a surge of excitement take him. The monster was still down. Its blade was still moving. In no doubt its shock, it was floundering. Its blade thundered through the trees, into the ocean, sending tidal waves across the whole landscape and out as far as the eye could see. The monster's skin was still smoldering in places, there was raw and open flesh, but the wounds didn't lessen it at all.
The monster's face was filled with rage.
Mikito reached the monster as it began to clumsily try finding its feet, raising a boulder high above her head, and smashed it down onto the beast with sick force. The monster howled, high, low, and piercing. Mikito's scream was shrill and hollow as she lifted the gigantic mass of earth and stone again. The monster twisted its huge body, blade racing in a perfectly straight, cleaving...
It staggered back, tripping, and flew back into the tree line. It smashed its blade into the earth. Part of the landscape finally gave, cracking, before it tumbled into megatons of pure destruction. It didn't just split it open. It was more accurate to say that it tore a rift through the landscape itself.
The ground shook.
Mikito roared in triumph, advancing on the fallen ape, screeching as she hauled up part of a bole. She didn't throw it soon after, instead she stepped forward, twisting it a few degrees, just enough so it performed an arc. Madara knew he should have been using this opportunity to attack, but seeing Mikito's getting into another zone was amazing, but also awful, and he couldn't help but watch. His feet were rooted in their place. He hadn't seen this side of her-he could feel it.
She was starting to revel in the mayhem.
She was.
The bole smashed across the giant monster's skull, whipping its head sideways.
Mikito landed next to him, eyes wide, an enthused grin on her face.
Madara stared at her.
"What the hell?!" Madara snapped. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"What I have to!"
Madara noted Mikito didn't yell in rage and fury, nor anger.
That was a yell of...
Excitement.
Madara realized...
He should have been cutting loose.
Why was he still restraining himself?
He had to let go...
Like Mikito had.
The monster grasped a giant tree, hauling itself upright, and plunged its blade into the earth, nearly falling once more. Instead of stumbling, it flew into a rage, using all of its weight to rip the whole bole out.
Madara couldn't believe what he was seeing. This monster had ripped an entire bole from the earth, roots and all. He swore that the earth itself began to cave in.
"Here it comes!" Mikito yelled, jerking her arms down.
Chakra surged around her, burning into an aura. Her hair waved, flaring all the way up.
It used its momentum to swing the uprooted tree all the way around...Leaves and mud flew, crust splattered, branches splintered, the bole itself ripped down all the way to its roots. Tidal waves crashed on land and in water. Branches clawed into the earth, some lashing out, others using their length to drag crust out...Another wave of debris smashed into the ocean.
Mikito searched for Madara. He was darting through the air, chakra cloaking every part of him, and there was no hesitation on his part. He parted his lips, chakra roaring, and unleashed it, launching bright red orbs of flames.
She ran across the collapsing landscape, lunging and spinning across gaps, always staying parallel to where Madara was. Madara glanced over his shoulders every few steps he took. There was no balance. It was chaos. It was a frenzy. There was nothing to gain from this. Victory would be a meaningless word. He could die at anytime.
The monster was gripping, slashing its blade, uprooting trees, beating them over and over. It began slamming the bole into the earth itself, driving the entire landscape into a crater, slowly spreading it towards the ocean. Madara was gone a second later, clawing at the writhing body of the raging giant, blade and chakra moved as one.
Every cut, ever slash, every impact...
Eventually this beast would be toppled!
Blood began to surge from the continuous wounds, splashing down like rain. Trunks splintered, transforming from massive clubs to deadly spears in the monster's hands. Madara laughed, flying right for it. He let go, letting a surge of his chakra fly.
He felt a moment of elation as a bright flash overtook everything.
He recognized the true wonder. Brutal, savage, furious, primal.
The monster was on its feet again, preparing to rush. Mikito grabbed it by the foot. It took one look, and swung its foot, sending Mikito smashing through trees, earth, and mountains. She still maintained her grip, eyes wild, teeth grit to their absolute limit. She screamed, body heaving, and screamed again. She scramed again. She managed to take a small step, and she took another, and another. The monster swung its blade, taken aback, and Mikito circled, heaving it up, using its immense weight against it.
"Mikito! Back me up!"
"I got it!"
Fire swept across their horizon of vision, blasting away fumes. Madara and Mikito rushed for cover as their jutsu ripped through the landscape. Fire punched holes through the dirt, smoke, and mist. Blasts of wind and smoke shredded into the ground, forcing the debris into a whirlwind. Lightning and spears of earth shot across like projectiles, ripping through everything in sight, spurred on by the flames
Madara firmed his stance, eyes glowing crimson. He could feel power rushing through him like never before. It was hot. It burned. He could feel it tearing behind his eyes. He could feel it wafting through his hair and making it bristle. He could feel it in his muscles, flowing through his blood. It was like fire. It threatened to rip him apart.
He shot across the clearing, sword held in both hands. The monster was drawn to him. Mist and fire parted, debris crumbled all around, the landscape waved like a rumbling sea, and the monster's mouth oozed, dripping with bloodied saliva. He slashed, twisting out of the beast's reach, leaping onto its shoulder, and slashed into it.
It turned to face for the very first time. Madara could see hate. He could see rage. But, he seen a gleam. This monster would remember him, now. A burst of fire lashed along its rib cage, bursting wounds open and spraying blood across the landscape. Another blast, the size of a mountain slammed into its other side, and this time the monster let out a roar.
It writhed and twisted, lashing out with its blade, striking the land Mikito was using as a platform, smashing the whole landmass to bits, forcing some pieces to gouge into the ocean from the sheer ferocity of its strike. Blood oozed out from the wounds, fire and earth collided against its mass, destruction began to bash and batter it, and it flew into a rage.
It charged for Madara once more, head shaking, tongue bleeding, and its blade arced for him roaring like thunder. The landscape shattered once more. trees, roots, marsh, and everything else went flying like shrapnel. The sky itself was bathed and covered. Madara lunged forward, sword held high, and slammed it down into the monster's eye.
Everything froze.
"Deeper! Madara!"
Mikito was darting right up for it.
He smirked.
Madara caught her eye.
The monster tilted its head, and Madara could see that its eyes were two feet back along its head...
No, that was the second set of eyes...
Madara realized with horror, that this monster had two sets of eyes!
A deep, menacing growl started to rise from deep within the monster's throat.
Mikito shouted. Her chakra raged, before it brightened.
The ground shook.
Madara let his own chakra fly. He didn't care about limits. Ratios. Moderation. None of that mattered. It was all meaningless!
Madara shoved his blade deeper in, burned with chakra, and slid down the monster's skull. He didn't tug his sword free. It carved, through the first eye, and the second, blood splattered, wet, and thick, sounding like bodies hitting the ground. He snarled, jerking himself upright and yanking his blade free, just as Mikito's attack made contact with their foe. Her blade craved through what remained of its jaw and entire tongue, cleaving both clean off.
The monster thrashed in pain, swinging its massive sword so hard and fast it sent everything, standing once more, it swung its blade with twice with speed, and finally staggering to one leg, it swung its word once more.
Its tongue and mouth hit the ground, crumbling to nothing and pulpy meat after the impact.
A mist of trees and landscape flew, and a haze of earthen dust began to rise around them like a gathering cloud of pitch black smoke. Their attacks struck again and again, dragging across the monster's side until both sides ruptured open. Madara planned his descent accordingly, using the backlash of the wind generated from the swing, to increase the speed of his fall.
His feet struck the midair mountain.
He lunged.
"Let it give chase!" Madara howled.
"It'll work itself up into a froth!" Mikito howled.
Madara ran, uing everything in sight to put more distance between himself and his raging foe. Mikito followed, keeping the rampaging monster to their right as they wound their way around again.
"Get down!"
Mikito hit the ground.
A flash and scorching heat seared too close to her right arm and leg as Madara spewed fire at the charging monster. It roared, jerking away, before it grounded itself and got ready to charge once more.
She could see a brief look of triumph come over Madara's face.
The flames sped up, spiraling, twisting, and then they...
Erupted.
A blast of pure power rocked the landscape, shredding everything for miles.
The monster charged right through the flames, whipped its blade around and through the wave of fire, and roared at the sky, and everything in-between. A blast of ocean water smashed into one of the many crumbling parts of the landscape, rupturing, then finally exploded, shattering it all in a show of unmatched fury.
Mikito ran, diving for cover, landing beside Madara on a bed of broken and cracked earth. Water was everywhere, spreading, splashing, erupting like a volcano. She or Madara screamed, and then a roar sounded off that deafened everything, only to be cut off by a bellowing even louder. Madara pulled her up to her feet, eyes wild, and she fired off chakra, half blind.
Madara let out a string of curses, picking up his speed.
The monster didn't appear to be hurt. It was definitely in pain, there was no doubt about that. But, it didn't slow it down. Blind, it tongue and mouth completely gone, and blasted and cut to death, and it still charged without reprieve. Fires broke out raging across the ocean, ravaging the sea with miles long stretches of steam. Water boiled, consuming the air with its ferocity.
Mikito was so focused on firing off attacks—her chakra crashing against him like a sledgehammer. Madara wasn't sure if it was her chakra, or his own that was smashing into him with such force. It could be the landscape. It could be the ocean.
But, he could see it all happening before it did. The destruction had spread across everything as far as anyone or thing could see, and a stream of bat-reptile like birds erupted from a nearby landmass that had been smashed apart by the ocean. Talons and fierce beaks, they were mad with blood thirst. Wings beating at the flames, talons gouging into everything, bodies smoking—they were furious, and were going to be vicious.
Instead of fleeing from the scene of carnage, they turned their rage onto everything else. Madara gathered chakra, snapping his eyes wide. He focused on that pulse, and let it travel. The mass of birds went on the attack, shredding and cutting. Blood flew and talons gouged. Impacts of power ripped them asunder. Pulpy gore hit th ground and spread into the oncoming oceanic waves.
Mikito took to the air, aura burning like a flickering candle flame, picking off any creatures that got past Madara.
There was thunder, and roaring, and crashing, and the monstrosity was somewhere behind them. The birds were shrieking.
Madara lowered his bloodied sword, took a deep breath, and whipped his head around so he was aiming behind Mikito. She ducked, turning to see the monster charging right towards them with a purpose. Madara smirked, teeth starting to show. Power erupted through him, perfected and honed. He smirked more as impacts rattled the monster's heavy, some hitting him and tearing away at joints, other strikes spouting out streams of blood, others bouncing right off, but leaving behind vicious wounds.
It continued its charge, intent on adding them to its meal.
"I have an idea!"
"What!?" Mikito shouted.
"Destruction! It's time to gather data and test our hypothesis. Remember what you said? Let's skip right to it!"
"We'll be caught in the blasts!"
"If you have any better ideas, speak, if not-we are going with my plan!"
"Fine! We're stronger than that blast anyways!"
Madara shouted, throwing Mikito high into the sky, flaring his chakra, inhaling as hard as he could, and ignited his chakra with a furious roar of power that bellowed deep within his being. He poured more and more of his chakra, not caring about limits, or control, this was about magnitude more than anything. Pulses rippled through his being, spearing through his eyes, consuming everything within his line of sight-he eyed the monster to its full height, watching its body contort and writh from each impact.
This was it.
Mikito jammed her blade through its legs, shooting across its length within a heartbeat. Madara was already racing skyward, and he arced.
He turned, staring at the monster's head.
All he could see was red.
Mikito shot through the shower of red, latching onto him, and propelling them away.
He seen why.
The ocean and the land were warring, but the ocean was starting to win, and the giant was slowly being consumed by both.
Madara seen a flash-almost too quick, but something grabbed onto the monster.
Because its body descended far too quickly.
Instead of fear Madara felt excitement. He felt invigorated. Soon-he would be in the midst of that. Ocean and landscape battling, and clashing with some monster that could pull down that monstrosity.
"We fucking did it!" Madara yelled, laughing as he let his chakra burst around him.
He latched onto Mikito, before spinning rapidly, letting his chakra surge around him.
He couldn't see anything other than water beneath them. No matter how hard he pushed, and he dared not to look back. There must have been one giant wave, he got the feeling he was being oppressed, about to be crushed.
Madara heaved, teeth gritting, forcefully changing his trajectory. His line of vision was swarmed with light, and wisps of white. He was flying through the clouds themselves, and when he realized that, he stopped. His chakra continued to burn around him, but he didn't fall nor was he afraid of falling. He looked at his body, noting how it was covered with his aura.
What normally happened when he flared all of his chakra at once.
He felt no strain.
Mikito floated beside him, starting to descend until she could see where the raging ocean would be.
Madara paced behind her, heart thumping in his chest.
Everything had changed. Where there had been land was ocean and where ocean had been there was land, and then there was everything in-between ocean and land.
Madara turned to look at Mikito. "Looks like the monster is gone."
Mikito nodded, eyes not leaving the landscape below them. "We slayed it."
"Something bigger snatched it, with ease."
Mikito nodded, turning to look at him. She wore a smile, an excited, enthused, almost crazed smile. "We'll face off with that soon enough!"
"But, first the gorog." Madara said.
"That will be the conclusion of our experiment. Data gathered has pointed our hypothesis to be correct, but we still need to gather more information. I also want to try something. Also..."
"Also...?" Madara tilted his head.
"If we kill the gorog, everything else will be child's play."
Madara didn't comment. He turned his focus across the landscape, picked a spot that haven't been devastated and began his descent. There was a patch, that led to the desert. They would get there in a half day at the least, two days at the most. Rest would be wise.
"What else?"
"What do you mean?"
Madara frowned. "You wanted to try something?"
"Ohhh!" Mikito said with some excitement. "After seeing your Susano'o I was thinking of making my own chakra avatar to fight on my behalf."
Madara mulled it over. "Its possible, of course, it won't be like Susano'o."
"Naturally. I just wonder if I'll have to go through stages, or if I can go full force from the start. I don't like sandbagging." Mikito said, staring at him for a long moment.
"What is it?"
Mikito's stare became more observant. "You've discovered something new."
Madara blinked.
"You could say that."