"I am not done yet!"
BAM…
Sasuke balls his hands into fists, lighting and flames flickering between them. He slams them together.
CHIRPP… CHII…
Black flames cover the right side of his body while black lightning shrouds the left side.
A massive Susanoo covered in black flames and black lightning appears behind Sasuke. The Susanoo wields a massive blade similar to Muramasa engulfed in black flames and lightning.
Swish…
The Susanoo's blade spans a wide range and shrouds Madara's body, falling on him. Madara confidently raises his head and glance at Sasuke's blade.
Shiing…
Madara activates this eyes's ability to escape Sasuke's strike. However, Sasuke is a step faster than him.
A purple glimmer flashes across Sasuke's left eye.
"Gozutennō,"
Shiing…
Cursed Black flames erupt on Madara's body and bind him with black flames chains, paralyzing him in the spot for a second.
'An ocular curse technique?!'
BOOM…
Sasuke's strike cleaves a massive portion of the planetoid structure. The shockwaves of the attack even fling the debris into space, flinging them away from the planetoid at a remarkable speed.
Shiing…
Sasuke sheathes the Muramasa blade.
BOOM…
A massive burst of black flames erupts from the bottomless rift, engulfing everything. A massive curtain of flames rise towards the sky. Izuna glances at the sight and nods slightly.
'There is a reason I gave the two cursed blades to these two. Not only will these blades allow them to tap into the latent potential hidden within their body after awakening the Six Paths' power; but it will also allow them to sense the brutality of this power.
These two blades are perfectly compatible with their physique and spirit. Naruto possesses powerful endurance, physique, and vitality; so, the Ikutachi blade is the most suitable for him.
As for Sasuke, he possesses a powerful spirit and mind. The Muramasa blade corrupts the minds of its users, turning them into a powerful killing tool. Uchiha clan members feel their emotions more strongly than any other clan, which includes the killing intent. If Sasuke can harness that killing intent in the Muramasa blade without yielding his mind, then his potential and power will rise even further.
I have currently sealed the full power of these swords to ensure their safety. Drawing the full power of these blades is not only the training but also a test for them. And who else can be a perfect opponent other than the current grandpa?
If I fight them, they won't hold any killing intent towards me. But the same can't be said for Grandpa…'
Izuna glances at the withered body of Gai and the cold body of Kakashi in his sub-dimension.
'Kakashi, Gai… please forgive me for doing this to you two. But this is the only method to direct their bloodlust at Madara. I will properly apologize to your grave later!'
Izuna performs a solemn bow to the two.
'Of course. What did you guys think? Will I allow these two to die just like that? Anybody else can die, but not these two. If these two die, then who will manage the brain and brawn of my shinobi army? Ahem… I can't allow my thoughts to leak like that!'
Izuna raises his head and glances at the battlefield. Under the brutal bombardment of Naruto and Sasuke, Izuna's dimension crumbles.
"My precious dimension!" Izuna is overcome by the grief of losing yet another dimension.'
"The power in my left eye is back."
Shiing…
A faint chakra ripple flashes across Izuna's left eye and the nine tomoes in his Rinnegan converge together to form a strange pattern.
Izuna closes his left eye.
'My right eye will take another thirty minutes to recover.'
Even with his last reserve of energy, fighting several powerful enemies continuously and using his most powerful trump card three times in a row has left him pretty exhausted.
Even now, he is forcing himself to fight at full strength.
'I can't let all those variables affect the fate of the shinobi world.'
Izuna remarks while glancing at the black Zetsu hidden within Madara's sleeve.
'Strange! Why Black Zetsu hasn't made his move yet? Is he afraid of the current Naruto and Sasuke? Or is he wary of me? Or is something else…'
Cough… cough…
Madara walks out from the flames with half his body covered in black flames. izuna glance at Madara.
'If that's the case, then I have to force him to make a move. I need Kaguya to appear to discuss a few things with her, since only she can clarify a few things for me and possibly allow me to infiltrate the Otsutsuki clan. If the situation is the same as what that old kid Hagoromo says, then I will have to end her life.'
'Shinra Tensei!'
Madara expels the black flames covering his body. However, the curse inflicted by Muramasa still lingers on his body, slowing his regeneration.
HAAH…
Naruto uses this opportunity to launch a counterattack.
Whoosh…
Ripples appear through space as Naruto appears beside Madara in one-hundredth of a second. His speed is almost the same as when Izuna attacked Madara.
'He's fast! How is this kid so fast now?'
'I see!' A slight smile appears on Izuna's face.
'He learned the 'spatial compression' technique only after watching me execute it once. The only thing restricting him previously was his lack of strength, but now, he can barely manage it!'
Shiing…
The eye of Madara's forehead reacts instinctively.
"Amatsukunitama,"
Shoom…
Suddenly, the space around Madara loses all its color, leaving only a shade of black. While lines travel outward from Madara's position, freezing everything in time.
Madara uses his time-freezing ability again. Naruto's blade is inches away from his heart.
"That was a bit close!"
Madara raises his arm and swings his scythe to finish Naruto off.
SLASH…
A burst of blood splashes out. Naruto's neck cleanly separates from his head and falls to the ground, rolling with a blank expression.
"One down! Two more to go! Huh! Where is the third one?"
Madara's expression freezes as Izuna is missing from the frozen world.
"Only he was able to move into this frozen world. This time, this technique is even stronger than before. Did he escape? I will deal with him later. But first…"
Madara throws the Scythes towards a frozen Sasuke.
SLASH…
Another burst of blood splatters and Sasuke's head also loops off from his body.
Shiing…
A purple glimmer flashes across Sasuke's eye before his head falls to the ground.
SHUA…
Suddenly, Sasuke's head, which was about to touch the ground, pauses in mid-air.
Then it slowly floats back alongside the burst of blood and attaches itself to his body.
'Hmm… Izanagi,'
Doubts appear in Madara's mind.
SHIING…
Sasuke opens his eye and his Rinnegan emits a dark purple glow. A chime echoes in the silent, timeless space. One of the tomoe in his eye rapidly spins in an anti-clockwise direction.
"Amatsukunitama: Gyakuten,"
Rumble… Rumble…
The surroundings tremble slightly, and slowly colors appear in the black and white world. Chunks of rocks and debris fly in reverse and return to their former position.
"I see! So, that's another ability of your left eye."
Naruto's head, which had fallen to the ground, slowly levitates and reattaches to his head.
Ding…
With another chime, the tomoe makes a complete revolution, returning to its starting position. The purple glimmer in Sasuke's eye vanishes, and he closes his eye to preserve chakra. A trace of blood leaks from his left eye.
Cough… cough…
Sasuke coughs some blood.
AH!
Naruto, who was frozen in space, turned normal.
Swish… Clang…
He blocks a scythe swing with his longsword and retreats.
"Did I just die?"
Naruto touches his neck around.
"I still have a prickly feeling in my neck?"
"Three seconds! So, that's the limit of your time reversal."
Madara opens his mouth.
"Now, I am more curious to see more of your abilities. You have yet to reach your full potential, right?"
Whoosh…
Madara flies towards Naruto and Sasuke while duel-wielding the scythes.
Clang… clang…
Sparks fly everywhere as Naruto and Sasuke attack him head-on.
BOOM…
With every swing of their blade, a distant mountain is obliterated into dust. However, Madara perfectly endures and redirects their attack.
Slash… slash…
He even slashes open several wounds on Naruto and Sasuke's bodies, leaving the faint corrosive purple Abyss energy behind.
The veins on Naruto's body absorb the purple energy while the dark flames on Sasuke's body evaporate it.
'Looks like the special power of this weapon is useless against them. Well… it's the same for them!'
Previously, Madara could negate most of the damage from Sasuke's attack thanks to the scythes in his hand. He even enveloped himself with Truth-seeking orbs to mitigate the damage. Despite everything, it still left him in a miserable state.
While Madara was battling the Naruto and Sasuke duo, Black Zetsu was also keeping an eye on his surroundings while plotting something.
'Where is the third brat? He is a much greater threat than these two?'
Black Zetsu's body emits faint, unnoticeable smoke that slowly seeps into Madara's body.
'It will take me another thirty minutes to control Madara's body. I hope these two brats can stall enough time!'