"Madara… he is insane!" Kushina mumbles.
The other also silently agrees with her.
"There is more than it meets the eye!" Izuna replies in riddles.
"Damn it, Nii-san! You and your riddles." Naruto cusses at Izuna.
"You will know soon!" Izuna shakes his head.
"The space will stabilize within a minute. So, be prepared to confront Madara." He adds.
"Aren't you going to fight with us?" Sasuke asks him.
"Well, it will take me some time to stabilize this place! If I leave now, then things will return to their former condition once your battle starts against Madara."
"Hehe… I feel like I alone am enough to beat the crap out of Madara!" Naruto clenches his fist.
"You can try! But later, don't ask for my help when you are being beaten." Sasuke crosses arms.
"Remember what the Sage of Six Paths said? Madara possesses both of our powers, so only by combining our powers do we have a chance to stop him?"
-----------------
On the other side of the spatial cracks,
Madara hurriedly flies in Kakashi's direction.
"Was it worth it to sacrifice your Rinnegan?" Zetsu crawls out of the ground.
"With the last battle, I have vanquished any hope of counterattack from the Allied Shinobi Force. So, it was worthwhile. Besides, the possession of both eyes isn't absolute in my plan. Also, I have a hunch that…" Madara's words trail off.
Shua…
Black Zetsu crawls out of White Zetsu's body and attaches itself to Madara.
"That brat Kakashi is up ahead, hidden in an underground cavern."
Whoosh…
Madara increases his speed under Black Zetsu's guidance.
-------------
Inside the underground cavern,
Huff… huff…
Kakashi pants while resting against a boulder.
"I didn't expect the battle between Gai and Madara to reach such a scale. At this rate, most of the world will be turned upside down in a matter of days." Kakashi glances at the numerous cracks spread across the cavern.
The occasional earthquakes further tense his nerves.
"Obito, are you sure Madara is dead?" He asks Obito.
"Earlier, the chakra resonance I had with Madara, because of being the Ten-tail Jinchuriki, vanished. So, there are only two possibilities, either they sealed Madara or the Ten-tail or Madara is dead and Gai succeeded with his last attack."
"Let's hope it's the latter. I don't want Gai's sacrifice to go in vain." A tear slides down Kakashi's eye.
Shiing…
Suddenly, a faint pulse of chakra flashes past Obito's body. His expression turns ugly.
"The Ten tail's resonance is back, which means…" Obito's voice turns desperate.
"Kakashi, quickly escape to the Kamui dimension. We can't let Madara obtain the Rinnegan. Destroy the Rinnegan as soon as you enter!"
"Alright! I have enough chakra to use it once."
Kakashi uses Kamui in the space in front of him.
Swirl…
A portal opens in front of him.
Swish… bang…
Before the portal could stabilize, it explodes, leaving behind a spatial crack.
"It failed! The space is very unstable after the battle." Kakashi's expression turns grim.
"Kakashi, run!"
Obito's expression turns ugly as he senses Madara, getting closer to their location through the resonance. This resonance acts in both ways, Madara can also sense Obito's location through it.
Since Obito escaped to Kamui, the link on Madara's side broke. But Obito can still sense Madara because of his connection with Kakashi's left eye. Also, Zetsu has already cut off Obito's connection with the White Zetsu hive network.
Kakashi slowly stands up and prepares to flee.
RUMBLE… RUMBLE…
Before he could make any move, the rocks above his head shake violently.
SHOOM…
The chunks of the rocks float in the air, revealing a levitating Madara.
"So, this is where the rat was hiding!"
Madara extends his palm towards Kakashi. An attractive force acts on Kakshi's body and pulls him towards Madara.
"Hmm… even though I have lost my right eye; I still retained most of its basic ability. Though I can't use Rinne-rebirth or other unique abilities of Rinnegan."
A black receiver rod extends from Madara's palm.
SLASH…
The rod pierces through Kakashi's guts.
Bleugh…
Kakashi pukes out a mouthful of blood. Kakashi attempts to resist by infusing lightning chakra into his arm to stab Madara with Chidori.
Slash…
An invisible blow cleanly sliced off Kakashi's arm.
'The difference between us is too great. Even with my chakra reserves full, I won't be a match for him. Gai… so this is the opponent you fought against?"
Kakashi's vision turns blurry.
"It's time to claim what's truly mine!"
RIIIP…
Madara gouges out Kakashi's left eye and tosses his body aside like trash. Madara sockets the eye in his left eyeball.
The nerves of the eye heal rapidly, and the eye regains its power.
Shiing…
Madara activates the Mangekyo Sharingan and uses Kamui. A small, distorted portal opens in front of him.
"The space here is unstable!" He frowns.
"In that case…"
Madara flies out of the underground cavern and soars into the sky. He quickly flies over the clouds and reaches a point with slightly stable space.
Shiing…
Madara opens the Kamui portal and enters it.
"Obito… my dear Obito!"
Madara appears in front of Obito. He glances at Obito's current condition and clicks his tongue.
"Madara… you!" Obito's expression turns ugly.
"Kakashi, where is Kakashi?!" He yells.
"Don't worry Obito! With your current condition, you will soon reunite with your best friend. Oh, I almost forgot about your lover!" Black Zetsu snide at Obito.
"Let's retrieve my eye."
Madara gauges out Obito's left eye. He removes the Mangekyo Sharingan from his left eye and inserts the Rinnegan.
"I will return what belongs to you before your eventual death!" Black Zetsu crawls out of Madara's body and spreads across Obito's body with his left Sharingan.
Obito doesn't even have the strength to resist Black Zetsu's control as the latter overrides his motor control.
As soon as Madara sockets the left eye, an unusual chakra brews in his mind.
Madara's brain generates the unusual chakra, and it concentrates between his brows.
"Zetsu, let's leave this place."
"Yes!"
Swirl… Swoosh…
Zetsu opens the portal to the shinobi world and Madara flies out of it.
----------------
On the other side,
"The space is stable! Let's go!"
Sasuke turns into a lightning bolt and rushes across the giant crater.
"Sasuke, follow my lead! I can sense Madara's location."
Naruto also turns into an orange bolt and overtakes Sasuke.
"I am not sure how, but I can sense a connection between Madara and me!" Naruto scratches his head while dashing.
"It's the resonance of the chakra. Both you and Madara possess the chakra of all tailed beasts. That's why you share a link and can sense each other's location." Yin Kurama explains.
"Huh! The link disappeared."
Naruto suddenly pauses and glances at his surroundings. Sasuke also pauses as he too is unable to see the location of the massive chakra mass with his right eye.
Sasuke activates the sensory vision of his Rinnegan and spots traces of Madara. He signals Naruto and the duo soon arrives near the underground cavern.
"This is the last location where Madara's tracks disappear."
"Wait… this chakra!"
Suddenly, Naruto's expression turns grim.
He picks a massive boulder and throws it aside to reveal a giant hole.
"Kakashi sensei!"
Naruto and Sasuke notices Kakashi's lifeless body in the hole.
Whoosh…
Naruto swiftly flickers beside Kakashi. He pulls out the black receiver rod from Kakashi's body and tosses it aside.
"I have to save him."
Naruto infuses a large amount of healing chakra in a desperate attempt to heal Kakashi's body. The wounds on Kakashi's body rapidly close and even his lost left eye regenerates. However,
"Naruto!"
Sasuke places a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Sasuke… Kakashi Sensei! He…"
"Naruto, it's useless!" Sasuke also has a somber expression on his face.
"There is no vitality in Kakashi Sensei's body. He…"
A tear flows from Sasuke's eye as memories of his time as a member of Team 7 flood past his mind.
"He is no longer with us!" Sasuke grits his teeth.
"SENSEEIII!" Naruto releases an anguished howl.
A burst of chakra rises from his body and forms a pillar, destroying the surrounding debris.
Sasuke silently stands beside Naruto with numb eyes. His resolve to take down Madara strengthens even more.