Clang… clang…
Naruto and Sasuke continue to fight in close combat against Madara. Initially, they were able to overwhelm Madara with the sheer number of attacks. However, Madara gradually adapts to their pace, and slowly the scale tips in his favor because of his powerful regeneration.
"Since the special powers of our weapons are useless against each other, in that case…"
Shua…
Madara absorbs the dark purple abyssal aura from the two scythes.
Rustle… Rustle…
Purple flames engulf Madara's fists. The power of the Abyss slowly corrodes Madara's body, but his healing factor keeps his hands intact. Madara tosses the scythes aside. The scythes enter into autonomous mode and float beside Madara.
Shiing…
Suddenly, Madara's right Rinnegan releases a purple glow and his speed increases by several folds.
"So fast!"
Sasuke's right, Mangekyo Sharingan, fails to capture Madara's movements.
Whoosh…
With clenched fists, Madara flickers in front of Naruto.
"This fluctuation… it's a space-time technique," Sasuke receives another feedback from his Rinnegan.
'Amatsukunitama: Teitai,' (Teitai is stagnation in Japanese)
'Shimata! Madara can manipulate the flow of time. He has slowed our perception of time by almost five times. I can't move. I have yet to recover my time disruption powers.'
Suddenly, the world around them slows down.
'If it's with these eyes, then I think I can use that technique!' Madara mutters.
He takes a Taijutsu stance.
"This stance…"
Naruto and Sasuke's expression changes.
"Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Desolation Strikes,"
With the mutated demonic chakra, Madara modifies the gentle fist.
With purple flames on his fingers, Madara strikes Naruto's every tenketsu point. With every strike, the purple flames seep into Naruto's body, severely injuring him.
Injuries slowly pile up on Naruto's body. Despite so many attacks, Naruto endures them with his powerful body and healing factor. The Six paths cloak around him disperses.
HAAH…
With Madara's final palm strike, Naruto is sent flying across several mountains.
"NARUTO!"
Shiing…
A light flicker in Sasuke's left eye.
'Amenotejikara,'
He displaces Naruto's position and momentum with Madara, sending the latter flying instead.
Huff… Huff…
"Naruto, are you alright?"
Sasuke holds Naruto in his arms.
Bleugh…
Naruto pukes a mouthful of blood and chunks of fleshes.
While the duo was fighting against Madara, Izuna was calmly observing their battle from a hidden dimension similar to Obito's Kamui.
'Naruto and Sasuke's powers have grown exponentially within the past few days. So, they are severely lacking in several aspects. This battle will help them get a firm grasp on their power. They must prepare for the upcoming future events in advance. Also…'
Izuna glances at Madara's Rinne-Sharingan with narrowed eyes.
'I sense some abnormalities from this Rinne-Sharingan.'
The Rinne-Sharingan on Madara's head flickers during the battle.
'Why does it feel like this eye has a life of its own?'
Izuna feels a faint will sleeping within the Madara's Rinne-Sharingan. This will gives an unfamiliar presence, different from Madara, and even Black Zetsu.
'Is it Kaguya, Ten-tails, or the Divine Tree? I am not so familiar with Kaguya to exactly pinpoint her will and presence. However… what's this foreboding feeling?'
Izuna notices the slow change in the aura around him. A dark, sinister aura slowly engulfs the Shinobi world.
Meanwhile,
"Somehow, I am barely alive. What about you, Sasuke?" Naruto slowly opens his eye and recuperates.
"I… I am also holding on!" Sasuke's voice echoes in Naruto's mind as he resists the curse of the sword.
"Naruto, we can't fight Madara in a prolonged fight. He is getting stronger with each moment while we are rapidly losing our powers." Yin Kurama warns him.
"We need an opening to attack Madara's weakness!" Sasuke remarks.
"But what's his weakness?" Naruto asks with a serious expression.
"Naruto, now I will transfer all of my remaining chakra to help you recover quickly. But after this transfer, I will enter into an induced coma for a while." Yin Kurama extends his arm.
"Kurama… Thank you!" Naruto bumps fists with him.
"Kid! I hope for your success." Kurama closes his eyes and falls asleep.
Whoosh…
Madara's autonomous scythe sneak attacks the duo.
Clang…
Sasuke repels it with his blade.
Whoosh…
In this instance, Madara appears in front of the duo after completing the hand signs of a technique.
"Kyōsō Enbu,"
He extends his palms and aims them towards the duo. All of his Truth-seeking balls fly into his palms. The Truth-seeking orb glows with a bright crimson-red hue and merges into one giant crimson orb.
Madara compresses the crimson sphere between his palms.
HAAH…
He fires the compressed beam of energy towards the duo.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Sasuke aims his left arm towards Naruto and uses this technique.
BANG…
The powerful repulsion force of the technique sends the duo flying in opposite directions. The red beam of energy scraps past them and slices the entire planetoid in half.
RUMBLE… RUMBLE…
The powerful force of the attack disrupts the gravitational force of the entire planet, and it slowly collapses inward. The group rapidly falls towards the center of the planetoid.
'What a devastatingly powerful technique? He destroyed the core of this planet with a single strike.' Sasuke feels a lingering dread.
'This small planet is almost four times the size of the moon!'
RUMBLE… RUMBLE…
With the destruction of the core, all the planet's heavy landmass collapses within the hot molten layer of the planet.
RUMBLE… RUMBLE…
Numerous cracks spreads within the surface of the planet and its crust breaks apart. Naruto's body slams into a massive boulder and freely falls downwards. Several rocks, dust, and debris also freely fall alongside him.
HAAH…
Naruto completes his recovery and reenters the Six Paths Chakra mode.
Swoosh… swoosh...
Sasuke also shields himself with his Susanoo to avoid the heavy debris of the planet.
Swish…
Suddenly, a blue light flash past Sasuke and destroys his Susanoo. If not Sasuke's quick reflexes, his head would have been severed from his body.
"Sasuke!"
Whoosh… whoosh… whoosh…
Naruto uses the floating rocks as his foothold and reunites with Sasuke.
"I will clear our surroundings! Madara is using them to his advantage"
HAAH…
Naruto extends his palm, absorbing two of his Truth-seeking orbs in his technique.
"Sage Art: Lightning Release: Flux Rasengan,"
A deep purple Rasengan with several floating arcs of electricity condenses in his palm. Naruto tosses it towards an incoming debris, the size of a small mountain.
BOOM…
Naruto crosses his arms and the Rasengan explodes, creating a powerful torrent of lightning that blasts open the mountain and shreds its chunks to dust.
"ANOTHER ONE!"
Naruto tosses another 'Sage Art Rasenshuriken' to clear the surroundings, revealing Madara's figure.
Madara calmly claps his hands with Seven Truth Orb seeking orbs floating behind him in a halo. The eye on his forehead flickers slightly, releasing a faint pulse of energy. He makes a Ram hand seal.
"Sage Art: Dimension Annihilating Sphere,"
BOOM…
Suddenly, a massive Truth-seeking orb, the size of a large meteor, rapidly closes on Naruto and Sasuke.
"Shit! When did he?"
Naruto rapidly shields Sasuke and himself with his chakra cloak.
"NARUTO! We can't defend against this technique."
Sasuke's left eye flickers slightly, and he jumps towards Naruto.
Swirl… swirl…
A black-portal opens on Naruto's side and the duo jumps through it.
'Yomotsu Hirasaka',
BOOM…
The massive dimension Annihilating Sphere explodes, razing everything to dust.
Back in the shinobi world,
Huff… Huff…
Sasuke pants heavily while holding his left eye.
"Space-time techniques are too demanding!"
He managed to awaken another Space-time technique of his Rinnegan to avert crisis at the very last moment. Sasuke temporarily closes his eyes to counter the dizziness and recover some of his chakra.
"Madara was ready for us. He prepared that attack in advance. He displaced it to our location from one of his dimensions to lower our guard!"
"We can't let our guard down again like that!"
Swish…
Naruto and Sasuke swing their blade to get ready for another round.
THUMP…
Suddenly, a violent pulse of energy flickers through their body.
Bleurgh…
Naruto pukes out a mouthful of blood and falls to the ground. An eye opens in the scarlet gem of the Ikutachi blade and rapidly consumes Naruto's vitality.
Argh…
Sasuke also holds his head in intense pain. Black flames engulf his entire body.
The duo falls to the ground and convulses in pain. The backlash of using such powerful artifacts is finally here.
At this moment,
Swirl… Swoosh…
Madara exits from a portal. He glances at their pitiful expression and slowly raises his palm.
"Your performance was quite splendid! You deserve praise to amuse me for so long. But now…"
Madara points his palm toward Naruto and Sasuke. A small black hole appears in his palm.
"It's time for me to claim your powers! I wonder how strong will I become after absorbing your powers."
Shoom...
Suddenly, the world turns grey, losing its color. A small blade penetrates Madara's heart, before he had the time to react.
ARGH...