"It has the power of the Rinnegan—but it's not the Rinnegan!"
Knowing that Susanoo, made of chakra and ocular power, would be at a huge disadvantage against an opponent who could absorb ninjutsu, Uchiha Madara decisively dispelled it.
His gaze fixed on the blue eyes of Uchiha Fugaku.
Obito and Zetsu had judged correctly. This wasn't the Rinnegan—but it was a power on the same level.
What puzzled him most was how a descendant of the Uchiha clan could awaken eyes that rivaled, yet differed from, the Rinnegan.
Instinct told him this junior was hiding countless secrets.
"Heavenly Meteor—!"
Madara weaved hand seals.
Whoosh—!
High above, a massive meteor, hundreds of meters across, came crashing down at terrifying speed toward Fugaku.
Buzz—
Sensing the deadly aura from above, Fugaku looked up.
A Truth-Seeking Orb at his side shot upward, glowing green, and smashed into the falling giant rock.
Boom!
The meteor shattered into fragments.
But more meteors followed, tumbling down in waves.
With his sharp vision, Fugaku could clearly see them descending one after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The orbs streaked from his side, intercepting each meteor, shattering them into showers of stone.
Any debris that did strike him was blocked by the green aura shielding his body.
Finally, the sky cleared. The orbs returned to hover around him.
"Repulsion—"
Fugaku countered, thrusting his hands toward Madara. A wave of crushing repulsive force surged outward.
"Shinra Tensei—"
Madara answered in kind, unleashing his own repulsion.
BOOM!
The two forces collided violently, canceling each other out after sending shockwaves ripping across the ground, carving deep fissures everywhere.
Whizz, whizz, whizz!
Fugaku's orbs lit with green light, shooting nine beams at Madara.
Bang, bang, bang!
But before they reached him, they were stopped—by four invisible "shadows" standing guard around Madara.
Fugaku's pupils sharpened.
"Limbo: Border Jail?"
He recognized it immediately. A Rinnegan technique—shadow clones invisible to almost everyone, each possessing attack and defense nearly equal to Madara himself.
Even the Eternal Mangekyō couldn't see them. Only Rinnegan wielders could.
Fugaku realized his Tenseigan—eyes equal in tier to the Rinnegan and famed for perception—allowed him to see them clearly.
Shhh—!
The four shadows lunged, fists and kicks aimed at Fugaku.
Three orbs shielded him in a green dome, blocking the strikes, while the other six morphed into glowing weapons, striking back.
Crash, crash, crash—!
The shadows were repelled, forced to retreat to Madara's side.
Madara narrowed his eyes."Those eyes… they can see Limbo's shadows."
No doubt remained—Fugaku could perceive and react to what should be unseen.
"Silver Wheel Rebirth Explosion—!"
Fugaku's orbs whirled around his hand, forming a silver ring. A massive tornado burst forth, surging at Madara.
BOOM—!
Before it could strike, it unraveled as if against an invisible wall. The truth was, Madara's shadows had destroyed it together.
These shadows, born of Limbo, were each a powerhouse.
They rushed Fugaku again.
But this time, one shadow swapped places with Madara himself—putting the real body right before Fugaku inside his protective sphere.
"Chibaku Tensei—!"
Without warning, Madara unleashed his planetary technique.
Unlike Nagato, he didn't need a black core. Fugaku himself became the center.
A gravity stronger than Nagato's tenfold dragged Fugaku and mountains of rock skyward, quickly forming a colossal sphere over three kilometers wide.
Crack—!
Suddenly, golden light pierced through. The massive rock split apart, cleaved clean in two.
From within emerged Fugaku, wielding a golden greatsword.
The Golden Wheel Rebirth Explosion—a blade so powerful it could cleave even the moon in half if amplified by the Giant Tenseigan. Even without that power, it was devastating.
Swish—!
The golden sword came crashing down toward Madara.
Madara's face changed. For the first time in years, he felt true death approaching.
He couldn't block it. His instincts screamed—this sword would kill him.
Desperately, he swapped places with a shadow.
Shhhk—!
The sword sliced the shadow cleanly in half, tearing the earth below into a deep, endless canyon.
High above, the sword dissolved back into orbs as Fugaku gasped for breath, black markings spreading from his brow.
The Golden Wheel was mighty—but it drained him heavily. His chakra was nearly gone, forcing him to draw from his Yin Seal.
Madara's eyes narrowed."What a terrifying junior…"
This sensation—this brush with death—he hadn't felt since long before awakening the Rinnegan.
Now, Fugaku had forced him to acknowledge: this Uchiha truly had the power to threaten him.
Shhh—!
Obito appeared at Madara's side, carrying a boy slung over his shoulder—Sora, the vessel of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
Using Kamui, Obito had stolen him back while Madara occupied Fugaku.
"The Nine-Tails' chakra is secured."
Madara nodded. "Then we're done here."
A black vortex swirled open. The two prepared to withdraw with their prize.
"Leave that child behind!" Fugaku roared, sending his orbs streaking after them.
Bang, bang, bang!
But Madara's remaining shadows intercepted, sacrificing themselves to shield the retreat.
In the next instant, Madara, Obito, and the boy vanished into the vortex.
The shadows dissolved into nothing as their master left the battlefield.