"Thought Or Telepathy"
"Character Communication"
"Loud Speaking"
"Emphasis 'On' A Word."
Madara: A New Journey
With an emerging vibrant blue light, roughly four – four-meter – plumes of smoke explode onto the battlefield of the Fourth Great Shinobi War in relatively close proximities to each other. Nine extra massively larger tufts appear roughly a mile and a half away, with the largest reaching around a hundred and thirty meters.
The smoke disperses, however not traditionally so, instead, it vanishes unnaturally just as it had appeared to reveal the former members of team seven and the Tailed Beasts.
The summoning circle that surrounds them is approximately twelve miles in diameter, made from the intricate and largely unknown arts of Fuinjutsu. Only the most skilled of users could even dare to dream of performing something like this, even experts from the former Uzumaki clan would be unable to do this, that only leaves one person capable of such a feat, the great sage.
This Fuinjutsu was performed near the centre where every single Kage in shinobi history has gathered into another circle with seals connecting between them – those of the Kage not priorly reanimated during the war have been brought back in some sort of blue phantom form.
The sealing marks of the formula glow a whitish blue, but they are fading to black as the effects come to an end, soon they will disappear completely.
Naruto and the rest of the former members of team seven can't help but wonder what occurred, a moment ago they were in Kaguya's dimension, and despite most of them still sharing feelings of relief some couldn't help but feel a little apprehension in the back of their minds.
This is especially true for Sasuke who's eyes shift about, examining the situation, cautiously, each one a potential enemy. He aspires to act promptly, though only with the least opposition possible. For now, he decides it's better to just wait, and see whatever transpires.
Naruto's forearm hair gradually rises; there's tension in the air, like a wind running along a wet body, it sends chills to his being. He ignores it, the war has gone on from one enemy to the next, it has been ages since they've experienced the pleasures of a good rest, although, in reality, it's only been just two, maybe three days. they've lost count. Regardless, it's made him edgy.
Despite their conglomerate concern, they're also comforted by the certainty that Kaguya has been sealed and the war ended. And like the cherry on top of it all, they somehow made it back, however, what's there to greet them isn't a welcoming display.
It's hard to picture that only a couple of days ago this battleground was once an expansive mountain range covered in lush forests and filled with life, but now it's empty and destroyed for as far as the eye can see.
The crimson moonlight that's cast upon the world seeps past the perverted and jagged roots of the Divine-Tree that stretch high into the sky like pillars of corruption, creating an eery feel of loneliness and unsettling silence.
The people strung up into the cocoons of the Divine-Tree are still held within the Infinite Tsukuyomi, supposedly dreaming their own individual idyllic dream. From the outside, it's anything but ideal, it's an alien world, scarred by the clashes of deities.
This land will never heal from the destruction sustained throughout this war, it will serve as a scar of remembrance to beings of supreme intellect, unfathomable power, and indomitable wills.
Naruto glances at the strange characters around him in bewilderment. He can't recognize a majority of them, some do seem familiar, but no more so then those he passes on his way to eat at his favourite ramen place. He then he notices his father – Minato – amongst them.
"Welcome home, Naruto." Looking towards him already, Minato welcomes him back from the seemingly impossible journey, his expression as kind and warm as the words that left his mouth.
His eyes water up as he holds back his tears. His father's words made him feel home in this unfamiliar place. "Dad…" He lingers onto the word and comes to grips with the reality around him, finally, it's a happy one. He only has one more thing to do. He glances over at Sasuke.
Sakura steps closer to Naruto, leaning in and whispering. "Naruto," She gathers his attention from Sasuke and points towards the strange floating man next to them figuring he would have the answer. "who's this?"
Naruto acknowledged Sakura in a daze but snaps out of it as he glances at the Sage of Six Paths – the one who gave both him and Sasuke the godlike abilities that helped them save the world. He excitingly answers. "Super Gramps! Which means…"
Hagoromo jumps in, hindering Naruto from revealing anything further. "That's right!" He Interrupts in his usual casual tone, which did hold a hint of approval and joy within.
He chuckles at the comical nickname he's been stuck with apparently and continues. "You're back to your world through a summoning performed by all prior five Kage." He looks at each of them as he says their names. "Naruto, Sasuke, and the rest of you," Sakura deflates and Kakashi rubs the back of his neck with a closed eye smile. "excellent work saving the world."
Before everybody had started to converse with each other, Hashirama – observing from the sidelines amongst the other Kage – had taken notice of another bloom of smoke over to his left that went unnoticed by the rest as soon as they had arrived.
The smoke disappeared and Madara was revealed, broken, blood leaking from his mouth drop by drop. His eyes a dull red, and once elegant hair dried with blood and dirt. The diety has fallen from grace. Hashirama was and still is the forgiving type and so he headed towards his old friend, for some last words.
Hashirama isn't the only one who saw Madara; Sasuke – who dismissed the conversations around him, in favour of scanning the area, as if waiting for an opportunity for something – also spots him with his – as usual – attentive eyes. He heads towards Madara, the intent to finish him off for good subtly expressed in his demeanour.
Not shifting his gaze from Hashirama and Madara, Hagoromo halts Sasuke with a hand. "Madara was the Jinchūriki. Even if it was temporary, emptied of the Tailed Beasts, he won't last long." He says matter of factly, cold in his words, but also an air of compassion.
Sasuke scoffs at that, pitching his head to the side and looking away with disrespectful eyes. "It's his fault for trying to use such things"
Hagoromo looks at Sasuke and subsequently Naruto and the rest. "Sasuke, Naruto, behold the end of your predecessors." He speaks sharply, hanging his voice on each of their names as he refers to the previous reincarnations of his two sons, Indra and Ashura. "You should watch this closely."
Madara lays upon the jagged rock beneath, seemingly dead, but in actuality, he's waiting, waiting for his longtime rival Hashirama Senju, and just as priorly predicted, a presence kneels beside him, all but silent if it weren't for the small clank of the armour.
Honestly, he was momentarily concerned when he sensed that Uchiha youngster approaching him. That boy has such strong hatred, although that is expected with the boy's Sharingan as developed as it is. He would have been killed for sure had the boy not been obstructed. With an eternal smile, he reckons that he has the elder Sage's stupidity to thank for his survival.
"Is that you, Hashirama?" His voice is weak and raspy when he asks the question he already has the answer to.
Lowering Hashirama's guard is necessary now that his once-powerful eyes are lifeless and blind. Hashirama would have to be close, not ready for an attack. An act of weakness, a final argument and maybe even a concession of views. That is what he determines to be the best way to troll Hashirama into a false sense of safety, then he'll tear it away.
The face that once adorned his chest made up from the cells of the very man a few inches away is no longer present after becoming the Ten-Tails vessel. The cells of Hashirama have completely merged into his body, but even still he can barely muster the strength to converse, let alone move; he needs to find that strength.
He receives a confirming grunt in return from Hashirama. "I guess neither you nor I could achieve what we wanted."
Hashirama looks down with a saddened smile and what can only be described as the acceptance of the reality around him. "It's never that easy. There's a limit to what we can accomplish when we're alive. That's why we leave it to the next generation."
"You're still so naive, as usual." He chuckles weakly. "Well, you were always the optimistic one, as perhaps I once was. The longer I live the less I think there's a path to true peace. My dream is coming to an end, but your dream still lives on for what it's worth."
Hashirama replies with a small shake of the head. "We were both too hasty Madara. We didn't need to fulfil our dreams ourselves. It's more important to cultivate those who would come after us, to whom we could entrust our dreams."
Thinking back on his past, Hashirama is reflecting on his own mistakes. His greatest regret was his inability to protect Madara from persecution and likewise the Uchiha clan, and he can't help but imagine a different outcome. "What if I tried something different? What could have become of the world?" These are the questions occupying the back of his mind.
Madara stays silent before he chokingly jokes. "Then it might have been impossible for me from the start, since I always hated someone, standing behind me..."
Hashirama shares a smile and a laugh with him as Madara proceeds in a depressing tone. "...But, jokes aside, who could I ever hand my dream over too, I have no one on my side, especially in the end," He smiles somberly as he says with a smile. "well, except for one fool-hearty friend of mine."
He losses the smile and elaborates. "People have a habit of twisting the truth, Hashirama. This only becomes more severe the longer time passes. Nothing will change this way and as such, your way...Naruto's way...is as equally flawed as my own. I can accept that I was wrong...the path I chose wrong...but can you, I wonder?"
Hashirama acknowledges his friend with another grunt. "Remember back when we were children, you once said, 'Shinobi never know when they'll die.', and if we ever found a way to immortality, that we'd share no matter what."
"~We'd have to exchange our cups and become brothers, and that for neither side to die, we'd both have to reveal what's inside of us, but we're both dying right now, so the only thing that we can do is exchange our cups as war buddies."
Madara is silent for a moment, a slightly sad expression seeping through the exhaustion. "I've already seen it, the futility of truly seeing someone. I'm tired of it all, perhaps dying here as war buddies would be a release, but unfortunately, history has time and time again shown a pattern of fools repeating actions in insanity."
"~This world took shape because of people like you: The Sage, his son Ashura..." Pausing, he looks into the eyes of his friend and rival with his dead soulless gaze that reflects disdain but also hints of admiration. "...You share a foolish belief in people that I simply cannot comprehend."
"~Humans are beings of hubris filled with the desire for destruction, yet you hold such unyielding faith in those around you when all they do is spit in your face. In this world, nothing goes as planned," He shakes his head in contempt. "only pain, suffering and hopelessness exist. And wherever there is light, shadows are never far behind..."
He catches his breath, looking past the roots of the Divine Tree and towards the moon. The ramifications his actions have taken upon this world and its people are apparent. He was wrong, the Infinite Tsukuyomi is not ideal, but equally so, on the other hand, was Hashirama, whose path to peace led to countless suffering and far more death than his own.
Only together have their two dreams worked together to form peace, however, it's a repeating cycle. Indra and Ashura's dream combining to form Hagoromo's dream, which also failed, thus the cycle will continue in limbo, meaning Madara is fundamentally correct, but how to go about ending a cycle that's seemingly impossible to end?
"Man seeks peace, yet at the same time yearns for war, that deception is mankind. In order to protect something, one must sacrifice. And when one loves, they must bear the risk of hatred when someone takes that which they love away from them, yet you again, defy this." He says in annoyance.
The thing he hated most about Hashirama was also that he admired above all else. "The will of fire..." He says in a grandiose fashion, hanging onto the word as if mocking its very existence. "...I always despised it. How is it, even though you lost the same things as I, that you never faltered away from your original dream?!"
Waiting for an answer of any kind he receives nothing, Hashirama doesn't know. A long silence begins before Hashirama breaks it with a question of his own. "You could have killed me many times. You've been stronger than me for a very long time, why hold yourself back? What stopped you from surpassing me?"
"I..." His tongue is tied. He realizes what Hashirama said is true. Why did he hold himself back?
"What about this war, you held yourself back as well, didn't you?" Hashirama adds.
"I..." This hits him as at first he thought he did it for the purpose of enjoying himself in combat, but under questioning, it simply didn't make sense, his dream was more important than his enjoyment, so why did he hold back, when he could have finished it in an instance? "...I don't know." He answers with the truth, a puzzled look on his face.
"You really are a kind man. I thought that man gone, I'm glad I was wrong. You love humanity more than anyone. You understand that taking away a person's humanity wasn't right, and killing me would have removed the notion that I was your equal, for you to strive against me made you feel human, and that is what allowed you to continue the task at hand so betrayed and misled."
Madara's surprised that those words came from Hashriama mouth; it almost sounded too intelligent for him. He lets it sink in for a moment and then lets out a small ironic laugh. "I did love the world, I still do."
"~When we were children, listening to you talk about your dream gave me hope. Knowing we stood side by side gave me the courage to continue against the odds, and then one day it was gone. I had come to realize that understanding each other was not enough. Humanity was beautiful, but flawed beyond repair, and I sought out to fix it, but I was wrong."
He breaths out a sign of humour. "It's almost comical, Isn't it?" As he asks this, Hashirama cocks his head to the side in confusion. Seeing that he doesn't understand, he elaborates. "The cooperation of our dreams has led to peace with everyone casting aside their differences to hate one person. I most likely don't need to explain..."
The strain on his body is manifested in a severe coughing fit that prompts blood to spill from the sides of his mouth; it demands a moment of seizure-like coughs to get it under control.
He continues in a sore and burned voice. "I'm defeated now, but the peace that will follow will be temporary, just as the shadows wait for the light to die, so too, shall hatred. You aren't dull like I once thought, so you know this to be true. It takes one person to give in to the craving of conflict, to want more, and to take what someone loves...the cycle of hatred will start anew."
His face contours into one of uneasiness and disgust. "Nothing has changed. I'm unable to share your juvenile beliefs in people. To leave my dream in the hands of fools as you have, I simply cannot. A different solution must be found, there has to be one. But I cannot find it as I am, I must change, that much I am able to comprehend."
"But first, I need a chance to do that." Hashirama's guard is at an all-time low. Having recuperating what scarce remnants of chakra remained within, he uses everything in one desperate assault, forcing his body to move from the ground at the outlandish speed needed to lunge his right-hand straight into his rival's chest.
"Forgive me. I won't be going with you, friend." Hashirama gives a grunt as he's pierced. He grins in return. "From here on out, It's time I make my comeback."
He expected nothing less from his rival. This man before him really does warrant that grandiose title such as the God of Shinobi. The chakra within Hashirama, to say it's incredible is an understatement, even as a reanimation it volume and potency exceed's the completed Nine-Tails of the past.
Using his ability to absorb chakra, a potent blueish chakra is drawn into his arm at a frightening rate, oddly causing meagre tremors to the encompassing area. His eyes enlarge, this sensation is unique; there's a difference in the chakra itself, but also some sort of alluring weight buried within Hashirama's chakra network.
Time slows to a halt around him as he is lifted to a vast highway of chakra roads. The chakra is plentiful in lifeforce. He only has a few picoseconds at the most before the fastest shinobi can reach him, it will be just enough time. His Doujutsu has already been revived due to rejuvenating properties of the lifeforce and the strain on his body is also lifting.
The reasons why this chakra is as unique matters not at this moment; he had planned to fight without his eyes as most of their inherent abilities he'd already mastered to the point that activation no longer requires them, although three abilities, in particular, would be extremely limited.
These aforementioned abilities are by far the most unpredictable and unique of his extensive arsenal, with the mighty Limbo being arguably the weakest of the three, he had planned to use just one or two of these abilities in their weakened states to contend Sasuke and Naruto for a time.
A twitch is all that begets Hashirama efforts as he finds himself powerless to move in any significant manner. "What are you doing?!"
Madara leans in closer with a sadistic and self-serving smirk. It would appear his rival was underestimating him, and this gave some petty amusement. "It's unexpected, but since when does my plan ever go exactly as I lay it out..."
Hashirama slumps down into his hold and stays silent with a look of exhaustion and his skin flaking away. He guessed that the silence was probably due to his inability to speak at this point.
His eyes veer to the once steady stream of chakra as it ceases its flow. With a semi-miffed expression, he takes notice of something else, besides the chakra, there's that mysterious pull further within his rival, calling out to him, almost as if luring him to pull.
It could be helpful and It's not like he has much to lose, although the last time he took in something that called out to him, he ended up as Kaguya, which he would rate as being a not so enjoyable experience. He sighs eternally. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I guess." He thinks with an unenthusiastic shake of the head.
He pulls on Hashirama's chakra with more vigour than earlier, it's challenging, but he feels it snap away in one fell swoop.
Everyone – upon either seeing the situation for themselves or feeling the chakra – are having trouble discerning what's happening, nor do they realize the gravity of the situation. But Sasuke does, he knows if Madara absorbs Hashirama's chakra and regains his former power, it could be a severe threat, at least towards his own end.
It's true that Madara may not have enough power to attempt to fight him and Naruto head-on, but that neglects the potential to go after the vulnerable Tailed Beasts again, something a crafty individual like Madara is capable of managing in this situation. He thinks about subduing the Tailed Beasts for a moment but decides against that course of action.
That move would clearly show his true intent and expose him, and although incredibly unlikely if he left Madara to his own devices to finish off Naruto, who knows what that man could do. He has to get rid of the past before the future, and so without any more hesitation, he sets out to do what he had originally intended before the Sage foolishly got in his way.
But then, something very concerning happens as Sasuke advances. His eyes widen when Madara extracts some sort of large green orb from Hashirama – who immediately disperses into the flakes of the reanimation jutsu that sag to the ground with the dead body of an unnamed shinobi falling atop. "That can't be good." Sasuke increases his speed, he has to hurry.
Mysterious green chakra once again! Madara eyes this anomaly as its last traces are being assimilated into his arm. He can feel it within him. Upon inspection, it's similar to nature energy, but he has no command over it, it just heads deeper and deeper within his chakra pathways before disappearing once it reaches his chakra centre, but where to is the question he asks?
It's not entering his chakra reserves and it's not being sealed within him like the Ten-Tails, that doesn't leave much else. As much as this concerns him his time has run out, someone approaches from behind, already knowing who it is, he wastes no time.
He uses his hands to twist his body and get onto his feet and face to face with none other than Sasuke – the fastest Shinobi currently alive – but it's too late, a blade is beset upon him, slicing into his torso and out the other side with a splatter of blood to accompany it.
Sasuke turns around, a smirks evident when Madara falls to the ground with a thud. He's been wanting to do that for quite some time. "It's time for the relics of the past to be gone, and more importantly, out of my way!" He spits.
"Foolish." This comes from a voice that echoes around Sasuke in multiple directions and distances, even below him. He looks to the body only to see it vanish into smoke. Immediately a presence with killer intent is behind him, his hairs stand up at this toxic intent. He sweepingly spins around with his katana to go against a metallic chakra rod of the Rinnegan.
The Katana and Madara's Rinnegan rod clash in a brilliant explosion of sparks and a sharp clang before stalemating against each other. Sasuke knew on contact that something wasn't exactly right; the slight pains in his joints, yet Madara looks unphased, despite the vast difference in their current prowess.
Madara applies pressure against the blade, pushing forward but at the same time straightening out and closing the gap to look down at the boy with his daunting height. "What's the matter, having trouble standing?" Sasuke manages to stay standing, making no outward reaction of distress, but his power is being matched.
Sasuke infuses his chakra into the eyes of Amaterasu, one to produce the flame, the other to command it. The jet-black conflagration produced by the eyes scorches all on heaven and earth, and those unfortunate enough to find themselves reflected in these eyes will turn back to nothing with temperatures exceeding that of the sun.
Amaterasu is a potent tool, originally his brother's ability, now his own after cutting the life of his brother short for an act of empty revenge, an action he will forever regret after learning the truth, but that story is for another time.
When fighting against Madara, one must know that Amaterasu will only serve as little more than a distraction. Sasuke is aware that Madara can detect the amassing of chakra in the eyes, although it really doesn't matter when they're locked in place against each other.
Neither of them can break away from the other without getting killed, his superior speed ensures that he would leave the victor in that event. He's also convinced that Madara is using some sort of ability to equal out their power. And so, the time it takes for Madara to absorb the flames with the Rinnegan is when he plans to finish this; when it's most likely for him to be open.
"That power you possess, it's redundant. You're like a dull greatsword swung by a drunkard. Power, and weight, but no finesse. I've already precluded every action you'll make from here because your actions are predictable." With a slight smile and a raised eyebrow, Madara seemingly derides Sasuke momentarily, at least that's what Sasuke hears.
But in actuality, he's simply telling Sasuke the truth of the matter. It's then that he's enveloped in the black flames of Amaterasu.
Sasuke had activated the flame in an instant, there was no room to escape it. "Don't speak as if you know me! You don't understand what it means to be an Uchiha!" This is truly what he believes, in his eyes, Itachi is a what it means to be an Uchiha, being one who's willing to sacrifice for what they love, not Madara who tried to take away the will of humanity.
Madara doesn't use the Rinnegan to absorb the flames and instead allows it to burn all the while managing to continue to hold Sasuke back, not giving room for either to move.
Having seen Sasuke's every move long in advance, Madara's unable to stop himself from inwardly smiling as the dark flames engulf and melt his body. At this time, he's reminded of a melody of combat that he'd learned throughout his life, that predictability is a road towards death, something he learned from Hashirama's unpredictability, in combat at least.
Some time ago, he held a soft spot for this Uchiha fledgeling. It almost seemed like a waste to kill such potential and that's why he gave him that ever so fleeting chance to join him before ascending to new heights of power earlier in the war.
After all, Sasuke's resemblance to his brother Izuna is alarming, so much so that he questioned the connection between them, one that goes beyond blood is all he could assume, and it appears as though his assumption was correct.
This beyond blood connection is Indra Ōtsutsuki, the original founder of the Uchiha clan and the link between the two of them. From what he can glimmer from the disjointed memories of Kaguya and the much clearer memories of Black Zetsu – who gave his memories to Kaguya when he rejoined her – Indra reincarnated through the Uchiha, which spanned to the two of them.
But that's not all, Indra had a brother named Ashura Ōtsutsuki, the original founder of the Senju clan, who like his brother reincarnated through the Senju.
The most noticeable part was that Indra and Ashura always reincarnated together to continue the fight of ideals that had transcended generation after generation. Himself and Hashirama, and Naruto and Sasuke were both the reincarnates of these two beings. It made him feel controlled and powerless even when he felt at his most powerful. It made him angry to be manipulated.
The inferno that burns for seven days and seven nights unsurprisingly continues to strip away flesh and the muscle beneath. Sasuke is stunned that the man can still hold a weapon. The flames grow more intense, obscuring his view before clearing and revealing a misshapen pile of smouldering wood.
"I should've been able to tell!" Sasuke exclaimed. It was a system of multi-layered Genjutsu and a wood clone, something on its own is astonishingly difficult to tell the discrepancy between the original and the clone, yet the added Genjutsu added another layer of subterfuge.
He scans the area with priority, left to right, front to back. Over there, he spots Madara heading for the Tailed Beasts. A quick look of urgency to Naruto and he teleports after Madara. Naruto acknowledges Sasuke with a nod and darts after Madara at speeds massively faster than light.
Sakura amidst a frightened look, says. "This can't be happening, I thought it was over."
Putting his hand on Sakura's shoulder, Kakashi narrows his eyes, applying pressure to his hold as he reassures. "It's okay. Those two the way they are now can handle this." He's seen what Naruto and Sasuke can do now. They are the strongest shinobi alive and even Madara can't hope to beat them.
Madara is after them again! That's what the Tailed Beasts themselves think at least; they will not let themselves be sealed again. They charge forward, Kurama leading the charge as he defiantly challenges Madara. "Try us!"
Madara gives a disdained look at them as he continues his journey towards them. "Filthy Beasts." It's no secret that he loathes these creatures before him, they represent the mistakes of many, including himself; they're nothing but trouble, or so he once thought. He doesn't know what to think anymore.
Kurama lashes out with one of its many tails. The ground is torn apart by the tail but Madara casually dodged it with a sidestep, slamming to a halt and pushing off into the air, delivering a spinning kick to Kurama, sending him flying back into the others. Kurama lets out a painful roar.
Madara claps his hands together, fingers intertwined as he uses. "「Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence」." Roots spring up from the ground to entangle around the Tailed Beasts who can do nothing but struggle hopelessly. The ground trembles as the roots defile the surrounding area, forming buds.
As he descends, he says this with not only a growing grin but also a growing tone of mockery. "I hope you're ready for your cage! This time, it'll be more permanent!"
The flower buds blossom, spreading pollen into the air. A choking cloud of flammable poison. The Tailed Beasts are irritated by the cloud but can do nothing but let it weaken them.
Sensing a fastly approaching chakra signature below him, Madara turns his attention. Naruto had gained on him quickly, only a few yards away. And here he thought Sasuke was the faster of the two. Sasuke then appears to his immediate right.
With a swing of the sword, a vertical slice is carved into his right shoulder and down his chest. It's a deep cut and the swing - albeit unhoned and unrefined - unbelievable fast. He winces as the blood sprays from his shoulder. "The debris from the Nine-Tails attack" He looks around, he was surrounded by it. "A perfect medium to swap places with!" He vanishes.
Sasuke eyes widen instantly recognizing a telltale sign. He's fought against this before in his battle with Danzo; the Izanagi. "Naruto!" He gathers the miffed Naruto's attention. "I think he's using an ability called Izanagi. It makes him practically immortal for a certain period of time. This is a jutsu that requires the sacrifice of a Sharingan, it's absolutely no joke."
"Immortal?!" Naruto inquiries. "Right, of course." He doesn't understand at all. He isn't given time to either as Madara appears behind him in a flash, delivering a swiping kick to his face, sending him soaring back down.
Sasuke throws his katana at Madara and trades places. A black Chidori forms into his left hand as the momentum of the katana carries him forward.
Madara relaxes his body, his hair flowing about as Sasuke nears him, then, in less than one picoseconds, so slow that light itself is frozen in place, he speaks, "Ah, just in time. You've lost."
He vanishes. However, the attack still hit something. Looking into the limbo dimension with his Rinnegan, Sasuke sees his hand in the torso of a limbo clone that looks to its hand as it does a single hand seal.
Sasuke looks around with wide eyes, he and Naruto are surrounded by the pollen that's being released below, "Get ou..." The pollen ignites, exploding in a massive bloom of fire.
Naruto and Sasuke are unaffected by the blast, likewise, for the Tailed Beasts trapped below in the inferno. "Sasuke!" Naruto yells from within the blaze, "What Happened?!"
"Madara replaced himself with his shadow, which is what ignited the pollen." Sasuke answers while keeping his guard up, searching back and forth, "Can you sense him out?"
Naruto expands his senses, nothing close by, farther out. "H-He's just a little ways off from super gramps!"
Sasuke has a bad feeling about that. "why would he leave if his goal is the Tailed Beasts" He puzzles. "Naruto! We need to get to him, and fast! This was a distraction for something else."
Madara has to hurry, those two have already snuffed his location out and are on their way. He walks a few steps and looks down. A severed lower body in a white and black cloak lies before him on a shattered piece of ground.
"This should give me the needed foothold." He kneels down and grabs the leg. It merges into him.
"Somethings missing." He chuckles in realization. "The Sage stole my chakra to manifest himself into the mortal plane. It will suffice, for now. I'll have to get that back eventually."
He stands to his full height slowly, an open hand moving to his side as a Six Paths staff slams into the ground, his fingers encircling around it.
He clenches his left fist. The feeling of power returning. "Even if I gain enough power to kill those two, there is no point. I'll continue with the plan." He rules, set on a new objective. "Next, the summoning. I have never performed it before, but I studied it thoroughly. I, in theory, should be able to take control..." His eyes Immediately sharpen to a side glance.
He sidesteps. Tobirama comes into view with a kunai in hand. He can't believe the arrogance of this man, the man who killed Izuna and made the Uchiha clan disregard him. He grabs Tobirama's right wrist with his left hand, twisting it backwards and locking his elbow into Tobirama's joint. With a motion of his staff, he impales him through the gut.
He looks up at Tobirama plainly. He's not a cruel man - at least not most of the time - but this man, he hated, despised, wanted to show him the worst pain imaginable and then some. As such, he enjoyed watching him suffer. If he could he would have a whole lifetime of it.
"So, you thought you would try on me twice..." He pauses as Tobirama coughs, clinging to the staff "...that which didn't even work the first time." He proceeds mockingly. "You'll be unable to teleport away after being impaled with this staff, for that matter, you won't be unable to do much of anything."
He watches with a growing grin. Tobirama struggles. trying to remove himself from the staff.
He grasps Tobirama around the throat with his free hand, then removes the staff and lifts him into the air as he continues. "As I told you earlier, you will never be able to regain your former speed. But regardless, I enjoy these little moments we have, from time to time. However, I think it's time to say goodbye for good."
Tobirama looks up at him with a fierce and furious expression, it's such a difference from his normal calm and collected one, "W-Wha-What did you do to him?!" Tobirama orders behind clenched teeth, fighting to speak due to Madara's bone-crushing hold around his windpipe.
"Who knows," He replies halfheartedly with a shrug before throwing his staff aside and propelling his hand towards Tobirama's chest. But, before he can reach, Tobirama disappears, his hand now piercing the air once occupied.
He holds out his right hand towards his staff, it responds by spinning into the air and into his hand. He twirls his staff around as Sasuke appears before him with a sword drawn back. He meets the Katana head-on. It didn't have Six Paths chakra flowing through it, therefore, it's sliced in two, hitting Sasuke in the nose with enough force to be sent flying back.
Sasuke adjusts mid-air despite being discombobulated and lands harshly, skidding his broken katana across the ground to come to a stop.
Naruto lands next to Sasuke and faces of against Madara. "Sasuke I told you not to get ahead of me. You alright?" He asks.
Madara analyses them like prey, each movement shows weakness and strength. Sasuke nurses his broken nose for a moment before reaching for his wrist seal to pull out a new Katana, "Worry about yourself." He answers in an annoyed tone, Katana in hand. "Be aware, he's gained some Six Paths chakra, somehow."
"Okay, but do you have to be such a…" Naruto's babblings are interrupted by Madara.
Madara needs to hurry this along before more annoyances enter the fray. "Enough of you. I am Uchiha Madara!" He's declaring with hands postured at his sides. "I have fought thousands of battles against opponents more skilled than you." His arms drop as he gathers a calm and eery visage.
His right eye morphs from the Sharingan into the Rinnegan while his left eye changes into the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. "You have but a mere grain of experience in the desert. You're sorely mistaken to stand before me yet again. However, I accept you as an obstacle. Now come, come kill me, before I kill you."
Both Naruto and Sasuke didn't have the time to think about what Madara had said, he was already gone, reappearing right in front of them, crouched down like a snake ready to strike. Sasuke can see a space-time around Madara. "He traded places with his shad…" Sasuke is given a spinning heel kick that lands across his jaw from the left, sending him sliding back.
Following the momentum of the kick around and twisting his body like a spring, he delivers a swift heel kick into Naruto's abdomen - who kneels over the kick as blood and saliva fly out his mouth.
Madara drops his foot and follows up with a right hook into the jaw, snapping the neck to the side. He then lunches forward, putting his entire body weight behind an open hand left jab to the throat.
Naruto recovers in time to block the jab with a sweeping left palm. Madara takes hold of Naruto's elbow with his right hand and recovers his left hand to the bottom of Naruto's wrist.
With a twist of the arm, Naruto is thrown off balance and Madara uses his body as a foundation, swinging his right leg over Naruto's left shoulder and setting his left leg into Naruto's popliteal fossa, causing him to fall to one knee. He yanks back on the wrist while pushing down on the elbow, a nasty pop can be heard. The elbow and the shoulder have dislocated.
Madara takes his hands back from the arm and into a viper palm, striking repeatably in the neck, shoulder, and back, hitting pressure and chakra points, the spine, and tearing ligaments.
Taking a small jump onto Naruto's shoulder and head, he kicks off into the air, pushing Naruto into the ground and landing some distance away in one big flip. Bolts of lightning fly over Naruto, where he once occupied and towards his new location. "Chidori Stream" Sasuke calls out, rushing past Naruto with his lighting covered katana.
Madara dodges the streaks of lightning and even a couple swings of the katana with relative ease, backing up and sidestepping away from the blade and arcs of lightning, analyzing Sasuke's attack patterns and weaknesses in the meantime.
His eyes veer down to Sasuke's feet. "His lower half is unguarded when his balance is shifted to his right leg to attack." He recognizes. A cut appears on his cheek as his eyes move back up to follow the blade more closely.
As Sasuke brandishes his katana horizontally, hoping to bisect Madara in two, he feels outclassed in a close quarters fight. It's clear to him that up until this point his superior speed and power are leaving Madara little choice but to dodge and retreat, and it will only be a matter of time until he lands a fatal blow and finishes this fight.
Madara faints under the swing, falling off his feet and onto his left hand as he stops his backward momentum and pushes between Sasuke's legs, grabbing the right leg with both his hands as he goes through, before swinging around and applying his momentum to drag the leg forward, causing Sasuke to do a half split with his left knee on the ground and his right leg fully extended.
Reorientating himself on the ground he takes a backward kip-up position and darts up, kicking Sasuke in the face as he goes over. landing behind Sasuke.
Sasuke's vision goes black as he falls backwards. He vaguely feels his neck clutched at the side, supporting him from falling on his back.
At first, he thinks it's Naruto, but, his vision returns. Madara is standing over him, a grasp around his throat, his fist swinging down over and over again into his vision. He's being beaten to death and the feelings are starting to come back. He can feel the warm blood running down his face and the stinging pain return. He has to getaway.
Madara continues, drawing back one final time with his hand opening flat to glow a deepish blue, a sharp point forming at his fingertips. These two's durability and healing capabilities are surpassing the damage he can do to both at the same time, he'll have to kill one.
Sasuke's injuries are already healing without any conscious effort, and the damage itself is minimal, even though Madara's punches have enough force to break the Susanoo. He slices downwards, knowing it would surely kill if it connects, but, Sasuke teleports out of his hold and directly in front of him, a pebble - to which Sasuke switched place with - now in Madara's hand.
His eyes widen and his attention goes towards the sky. From above, Naruto comes down with a downwards heel kick covered in potent blue chakra. He responds - seeing how he has little choice - by shielding himself with both arms to avoid being crushed. He resists the weight placed upon the kick. The ground cracks below him, subsequently forcing him to stay in one spot.
Sasuke recovers and looks over to see Naruto pining down Madara. He sighs, reaching to his storage seal for two tantos.
Naruto loosens the kick and swings down his truth-seeking staff. Madara summons his own truth-seeking staff to slide it across Naruto's staff, allowing him to dip below and reach Naruto's legs to grab hold of it and fling him into the ground. Madara then leans back to avoid a tanto, although a second one clips his side when he leaps backwards.
Sasuke follows him, two more tanto in each hand. "「Limbo: Border Jail」" Madara internally calls out. Sasuke is struck in the body halting him as he looks into the limbo dimension to see himself engaged by two limbo clones at once, assaulting him with Taijutsu, leaving him with little to do but dodge and evade.
Madara moves to engage Naruto behind him. "You're mine...Shadow Clones!" Naruto puts his hands in a cross seal.
The clones surround Madara who gives a grin while putting his own hands into a cross seal. "You're not the only one that can do that." Many wood clones spring out of his body, landing all around, a two to one ratio in his favour.
His head develops a slight pain. He needs to hurry. "Let the final act of this reality commence!" The wood clones declare as each one is enveloped in their own individual Susanoo, engaging the shadow clones, creating dust and destroying the area as the battles rages.
He waits, arms crossed within the shattering, dust-filled area. His eyes scanning back and forth and his EMS spinning to read into the very future. The feeling of the vibrations and sounds of battle all around. Giant orange chakra hands suddenly burst through the cloud of dust from multiple angles, trying to ensnare him.
He jumps into the air flipping over, on, and around each one with precision. He lands after pushing off one to gain some distance. However, his footing is that of chakra created quick mud. He quickly starts sinking into the ground as Sasuke rushes him with a blade in hand.
Blue chakra bursts the ground around him and rises to unbelievable proportion as Madara activates the Perfect Susanoo. Sasuke is blown back by the wind, purple chakra bursting around him as he also activates his Perfect Susanoo. A bright orange light shines from the within the smoke, revealing Naruto in the Kurama avatar.
The Susanoo of Madara stands at nearly twice the height of Sasuke's Susanoo and the Kurama avatar of Naruto. "What are you after Madara?!" Sasuke asks as he unsheathes his Susanoo blade, which wafts away the smoke below. "What do you mean by the final act of this reality?! The Infinite Tsukuyomi failed, so what are you after?"
Unsheathing his Susanoo sword, he replies. "Same as you, to change the fate of this world. You know, I've lived a very long time and I can see the path you're on. You only need me out of your way, and one other." He pauses with a glance over to Naruto. "So…I'll make you an offer: I no longer hold any stakes here, so leave me, and I will disappear, and you'll be unhampered."
Putting his hand into a cross seal, three more Kurama avatars pop into existence next to Naruto. "Sasuke you're not going to listen to him are you?!" He asks in an accusing tone.
Sasuke stares at Madara for a little bit, ignoring Naruto as he thinks about it, "And what are you planning on disappearing to?" He asks. This gives Naruto a lingering chill down his spine.
Madara lets out a clever hum. "You take me for a fool then. I know you're holding back power for another fight. I can see through you like an open book. I reckon the resurrections of Indra are alike in many ways."
Sasuke widens his eyes. "No way. If you know about Indra without talking to 'him', then I definitely can't trust you."
"Sasuke! You weren't actually listening to him right?!" Naruto asks from behind.
Sasuke glances over with a hiddenly-anxious expression. "No, I was just trying to get more information on what his plan is."
As soon as Sasuke lets his guard down to look back, Madara held up his hand towards him, as an ash bone - the same kind Kaguya used - protrudes from his palm, making a sickening squelching sound before shooting out at high speed from within his Susanoo. He didn't know why he knew how to do that, but it didn't matter at the moment.
"Look out!" Naruto warns Sasuke who immediately turns back to Madara only to see the ash bone hit his Susanoo; It instantly shatters with no chance to dodge as the Susanoo dissolves around him stopping him from swapping places.
"Sasuke!" Naruto forms a TSO staff into his right hand and flings it towards Sasuke in hopes of blocking the ash bone, a huge smoke screen is kicked up blocking Sasuke from view.
Naruto's eyes widen as he releases what kicked up the smoke. He tries to reach in time but he and his clones are struck by a blue ethereal sword, sending the clones and the original flying back to the ground.
Wood pillars spike up from the ground when they land, wrapping around them and tightening as they struggle in vain. "That really is handy Jutsu for dealing with stubborn beasts." Madara laughs from his position taking another step towards them before stopping.
His Susanoo's wings begin to take form and spread to its massive wingspan. He takes off into the sky, propelling himself upwards with winds that shake the ground. He passes the Tailed Beasts along the way. They stop and watch him fly by.
With a deadly serious expression, he bothers them no mind, there is nothing they can do. "It's time to begin the Summoning!"
"...that is the story of how my sons fought. However, I have faith that Naruto can settle the difference between my two sons." Hagoromo explains to Sakura and Kakashi having finished the long tale of Indra and Ashura. Both Sakura and Kakashi nod in agreement as they too have equal amounts of faith in Naruto.
Releasing his Susanoo far above, Madara falls to the ground below, landing in silent grace, interrupting the group and their conversation. A blue aura swirls around him as he methodically walks towards them. "Madara!" Kakashi alerts and tries to get into a fighting stance, although he's far too exhausted to do anything of use. Sakura moves to support him from falling.
"I'll take care of this." Sakura gently releases Kakashi and dashes towards Madara with her seal activated.
"No don't!" Kakashi desperately tries to reach out for her but he falls to his face and blacks out.
Madara lets Sakura swings at him, which he blocks with his right hand with ease, not moving in the slightest.
Punch after punch and kick after kick, he simply dodges and blocks without moving. Growing bored quickly, he backhands her across the face, nearly snapping her neck. "I avoided killing you, be grateful." He says casually and with a flick of his right hand she's immediately blown away by a gravitational force, harshly landing into unconsciousness some distance away.
He turns to the sage, stepping over Kakashi during his approach. "So, the Sage. I've been wanting to talk to you." He says with no emotion. "It's a shame I don't have much time."
"Madara...you've changed." Hagoromo's eyes sharpen as he claims this in his usual calm tone with a bit of apprehension. "What happened after Kaguya took over your body?"
"I am not too sure, yet. My chakra, no!" He looks at his body. "Not just my chakra. Something more is growing within me." He grabs his head. The pain he experienced earlier is coming back with a vengeance.
Knowing to hurry, he quickly goes through nine hand seals, slapping his hands together. "「Fuinjutsu: Dead Demon Consuming Seal」" A circular Fuinjutsu pattern spreads over the ground. However, the most noticeable thing to him is the ominous energy behind him.
Shrugging off this fear he continues. He breezes through another set of hand seals, biting into his right arm to draw blood. He wipes the blood up with his left hand and begins writing a Fuinjutsu seal on his midsection with surprising complexity and speed; even the sage who was the creator of Fuinjutsu is in the dark as to what it could be.
"What are you plotting?" Hagoromo questions.
"Did you ever wonder what had Kaguya so afraid?" He finishes the seal. Hagoromo listens carefully. "There are many things out there, of course, the lapdogs of the Ōtsutsuki clan, but then there are some things that threaten the very fabric of our world, even I wouldn't be able to defend against such threats, nor would changing one planet matter if I couldn't."
He smiles cryptically. "What I am after now is two-fold, the same in many regards but grander." The Shinigami pierces his stomach causing him to falter for a moment.
The sealing that he had placed on his midsection starts to glow, changing shape as it spreads onto the Shinigami, stopping its movement as it continues to spread over its entire body. "What are you doing?!" The dark mystic voice of the reaper echoes from behind him. "Do you intend to control me, human?!"
Hearing this dark mystic voice behind gives him a shiver down his spine.
He turns his head to the side and replies with a small grin and a lack of respect behind his tone to the supposed shinigami. "Yes! I do. I based this formula on the mask that the Uzumaki clan created. However, I am going to put you to far better use than they ever could." He gives a low chuckle as the Reaper goes silent and is put under complete control.
"Who are you talking to?!" Hagoromo is more frustrated this time.
"I'm surprised that with your visual prowess you cannot tell for yourself. But, let me show you!" His eyes expand, his pupils dilating as the seals glow more intensely.
Hagoromo looks down; he feels a biting pain in his midsection. He sees an ethereal hand holding onto him. Following the hand back to its owner, he shivers. A being with the appearance of a reaper, which is exactly what it is, flouts ominously behind Madara, its hands outstretched, a blade sitting in its sharp maw.
Chakra leaches into the hand of the reaper. "I'll be taking back the chakra you stole to stay in the physical plain." Madara begins absorbing the chakra as Hagoromo becomes more spectral.
Naruto and Sasuke arrive just in time to see the Sage vanish from the physical plain and a white barrier erect around Madara. Naruto is about to attack but a firm hand on his shoulder stops him. "What are you doing Sasuke?!" He asks, looking back with anger. "He's right there!"
"Don't…I can't swap inside that barrier. That can only mean it's not connected to our Space-Time." Sasuke explains.
Naruto grows an enraged expression. "Then what are we supposed to do?!"
"There is nothing we can do." Sasuke replies with a shrug. "He is using something I've never seen before."
The sealing pattern within the barrier glows red as it spreads onto the barrier like a spider web. Madara smiles seeing everything going easier than expected. Taking notice of the two outside, he turns his attention towards them.
Naruto walks closer and moves his staff to touch the barrier. Once it makes contact it's vaporized with no resistance.
"Once this barrier was erected, it became impossible to interact with me on a physical level." Madara lets them know with no emotion.
Naruto paces back and forth at the edge of the barrier before spotting Sakura and Kakashi, running over to help them.
"It's almost time. This will be the last time you see me. Although it may be the last time you see anything, but that's neither here nor there." Madara says. A pulse exits into the surrounding area as the seals connect, echoing on in a strange way. Another pulse comes, and another in constant succession while increasing in pace.
"What is this?!" Naruto shields Kakashi and Sakura but he and Sasuke are having trouble staying on their feet.
Madara gestures to the barrier. "This jutsu was originally created by the Uzumaki clan so many years ago. Your father used this jutsu to split the Nine-Tails. This jutsu summons the reaper of death. However, I gained complete control over it. And now, I can separate my Space-Time from the rest, theoretically allowing me to travel in time."
Sasuke and Naruto are shocked at the thought of Madara going back in time. "What are you doing that for?!" Naruto asks.
"Believe what you wish about me, but know I did not want this." His voice takes a solemn tone and he glances downwards. "I originally planned on bringing everyone back to life with the samsara of heavenly life technique and putting them under the Infinite Tsukuyomi. But as you know…everything failed." He shakes his head in disappointment.
"My goal is to amass unimaginable power and knowledge." He clenches his fist, looking back up. "I will do all this with a vaster goal in mind." The pulses are getting stronger, forcing Naruto and Sasuke to their knees. The surrounding area is losing its colour and starting to bend and twist. He slaps his hands together, the pulses immediately cease, regressing inwards.
Each one building into one super pulse with a gravitational force so strong that it bends space around it. The barrier losses its transparency and start becoming a solid black sphere. Madara looks to Naruto and says some final words while he can still be seen. "Heavy as it may be, you've earned my interest, Naruto."
The pulse releases, slamming into the black sphere, condensing it past the Planck length, leaving nothing on the outside but dead silence and a crater in the ground as Naruto and Sasuke sit in awe. Suddenly a great flash of white light bursts forth from the point where the sphere had disappeared, covering everything and everyone in sight.
Madara: A New Journey