As he spoke, Hoshiyomi activated the nature fusion he had obtained after advancing to the Sword Saint level.
Seven chakra attributes fused together into a true Kekkei Tōta. As this Kekkei Tōta manifested, Hoshiyomi's body rapidly began to change.
A white robe condensed around him as well, though its style was completely different from Six Paths Madara's. Instead, it resembled the captain's haori worn by Shinigami in Bleach.
Truth-Seeking Orbs also appeared behind Hoshiyomi. However, his orbs were different from Madara's—more like those obtained by Ōtsutsuki Toneri through the Tenseigan. These Truth-Seeking Orbs could change color in accordance with their master's chakra.
Toneri's were pale green, while Hoshiyomi's inherited the blue-silver hue of Sage Mode.
Unlike Madara, who positioned his orbs behind his back, Hoshiyomi used their shape-manipulation ability to transform them into seven blue-silver sword shadows floating around his body.
As for the remaining two Truth-Seeking Orbs, Hoshiyomi did not form additional ninja blades. Instead, he attached them directly to Mikazuki Munechika and the Grass Long Sword, Kusanagi Blade.
Under Hoshiyomi's control, the already exquisite Mikazuki Munechika and Grass Long Sword, Kusanagi Blade became even more dazzling after being plated with blue-silver Truth-Seeking Orbs—far more visually striking than the dull black Six Paths staff in Madara's hands.
This entire appearance was personally designed by Hoshiyomi himself. He referred to this fully powered, effects-maxed state as Sword Saint Mode.
Seeing the changes taking place on Hoshiyomi's body, Madara's expression naturally darkened. Yet everything he had witnessed so far told him one thing unmistakably—Hoshiyomi had truly stepped into the Six Paths tier.
The shock in Madara's heart nearly overwhelmed him. Hoshiyomi's advancement completely exceeded Madara's understanding. In his view, it was absolutely impossible for an ordinary person without Sage lineage to reach such a level.
And yet, Hoshiyomi had just slapped that belief aside and overturned everything Madara thought he knew.
"It seems you've used some methods I've never even heard of," Madara said. "But that no longer matters."
Staring straight at Hoshiyomi, the arrogance on Madara's face gradually faded, replaced by an unprecedented seriousness.
At this moment, Madara's battle intent—dormant since his resurrection—finally reignited.
Though he believed that even at the Six Paths level, Hoshiyomi could not possibly match someone like himself, who had fully revived, obtained the Ten-Tails, and mastered the Sage of Six Paths' power—
This was still Six Paths-tier power—a realm utterly unreachable for the rabble below, or even for Hashirama and the others.
For Madara, who had long felt the loneliness of unrivaled strength, this sparked immense interest. It seemed he might finally experience the joy of battle once more.
Just as Madara was about to deliver a few more intimidating lines to maintain his invincible image, Hoshiyomi suddenly snapped his fingers.
"Are you sure it doesn't matter?"
As he spoke, strange chakra fluctuations erupted behind Hoshiyomi. One after another, blue-silver sword shadows appeared. Hundreds—then thousands—of blades of varying shapes floated behind him, exuding an overwhelming pressure with a single glance.
This was, of course, Hoshiyomi's Ten Thousand Sword Pavilion skill.
After reaching Sword Saint level, his chakra reserves had increased by an absurd margin, and his chakra recovery speed had reached a terrifying level. For him now, creating this many sword shadows with a mere gesture was hardly an issue.
Hoshiyomi looked at Madara with a faint, unreadable smile. With a casual raise of his hand, the sword shadows behind him surged forward as if answering a summons, crashing violently toward Madara.
Thousands of sword shadows rained down on Madara like a torrential downpour. The jaws of everyone present had already smashed into the ground so many times they'd lost count.
Not just the others—even Madara himself changed expression when faced with this sky-filling barrage of swords. He no longer dared waste words. Raising his hand, he condensed the remaining Truth-Seeking Orbs behind him into a massive shield to protect his body, while simultaneously swinging his Six Paths staff with all his might.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Relentless explosions rang out one after another. It was the kind of scene that would leave Deidara speechless and make Hidan weep.
After roughly two or three minutes, the explosions finally subsided. The Allied Shinobi Forces lowered their hands from their ears, rubbing their aching eyes as they looked up into the sky.
In the sky, Hoshiyomi still stood calmly in place, utterly relaxed. Madara, on the other hand, was in no such condition.
Under the frenzied bombardment of so many sword shadows, even though each carried only a limited amount of senjutsu chakra, the sheer density far exceeded the defensive limits of the Truth-Seeking Orb shield.
About halfway through, Madara's orb shield was shattered. With nowhere to evade such a terrifying barrage, he had no choice but to endure the remaining explosions head-on.
When the smoke cleared, Madara's condition could hardly be called good. Even with a Six Paths body, he looked utterly battered—his white robe torn in many places, his body covered in wounds, and much of the remaining horn-like armor shattered.
Though those injuries were rapidly healing thanks to the Six Paths body's terrifying regenerative power, this level of dishevelment was far beyond what Madara had anticipated.
If earlier Madara had merely been brimming with battle intent, now he was consumed by outright fury.
"Gekko Hoshiyomi... I want you dead! Sage Art: Yin Release Lightning Dispatch!"
After snarling these words, Six Paths Madara raised his hands and released a massive surge of purple lightning in a branch-like pattern, striking toward Hoshiyomi.
In truth, however, Yin Release: Lightning Dispatch was nothing more than a smokescreen. Madara's real objective was to use the purple lightning to obscure vision, setting the stage for his true killing move.
At the very moment he released the lightning, Madara simultaneously activated the Rinnegan's true ocular power. A surge of ocular power far greater than what he had used against the Armored Susanoo erupted outward.
This was the Rinnegan's true power—Limbo: Border Jail, unleashed at full output.
When fighting the Armored Susanoo earlier, he had used only a single shadow clone. Now, however, he released four Limbo clones at once.
On the surface, it appeared that Madara was merely attacking Hoshiyomi with strange purple lightning. In reality, within the invisible Limbo world beyond normal perception, the four shadow clones had already surrounded Hoshiyomi from all sides.
Even if Hoshiyomi dodged or endured the Yin Release lightning, he would inevitably be severely injured by the Limbo clones charging in immediately afterward.
In the face of this perfectly chained attack, all avenues of evasion were sealed. Unless Hoshiyomi could simultaneously perceive both threats and devise a counter, defeat was the only possible outcome.
Madara believed his strategy to be flawless. Unfortunately for him, the one standing before him was no ordinary person.
Standing in front of Madara was a 24-karat, pure, unapologetic cheat character.
Hoshiyomi, who knew the entire plot, couldn't possibly forget Madara's bizarre Limbo: Border Jail even if he forgot his own son's name. Having prepared for this all along, he detected the existence of the Limbo clones at the very first moment.
...
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