Although Hoshiyomi neither possessed the Rinnegan nor inherited true Six Paths Sage techniques in the strict sense, the fusion of his elemental attributes combined with the natural energy he wielded was enough to achieve the same effect as Six Paths senjutsu.
Even without the bloodline of the Ōtsutsuki clan—such as the Rinnegan or Tenseigan—the power Hoshiyomi was using at this moment was, in essence, of the same origin as so-called Six Paths Sage power.
As a result, Hoshiyomi's senjutsu perception was likewise able to clearly sense Madara's Limbo clones.
Having been on guard against this move all along, Hoshiyomi showed no hesitation once he confirmed that Madara had activated Limbo: Border Jail. He immediately used Dance of the Startling Swan to leave his original position.
In the original story, Naruto had successfully sealed Limbo clones using techniques like Magnet Release: Rasengan—but Hoshiyomi had never tried that himself. While it might have worked, if something went wrong, the outcome would have been rather awkward.
Thus, Hoshiyomi chose a simpler and faster method instead: using Dance of the Startling Swan to evade all the Limbo clones while rapidly closing in on Six Paths Madara.
At its core, Limbo: Border Jail was merely a technique that split shadows and materialized them. As long as one avoided the Limbo clones' attacks, things became much easier afterward.
After using Dance of the Startling Swan twice in succession, Hoshiyomi easily approached Six Paths Madara. According to his perception, the Limbo clones were still leisurely drifting back toward Madara at that moment.
Once he confirmed there was no risk of being ambushed, Hoshiyomi did not hesitate—his opening move was a powerful draw slash.
A massive blue-silver blade flash tore through the air in an instant, with circular sword energy sweeping toward Uchiha Madara, who had momentarily fallen into a daze.
Although Madara managed to block the strike at the critical moment with his Six Paths staff, he simultaneously lost the opportunity to widen the distance between himself and Hoshiyomi.
Once a Sword Saint–level Hoshiyomi closed the gap, the outcome was obvious.
Madara's close-combat ability was not weak, but it was still far from enough against Hoshiyomi, whose swordsmanship was unmatched. Faced with Hoshiyomi's Heaven Splitting Flash combined with a relentless, dizzying barrage of blade techniques—
After repeatedly blocking the attacks, even the Six Paths staff in Madara's hands was cleanly severed by Hoshiyomi.
Seeing that Madara's final means of defense had been cut apart, Hoshiyomi still did not stop. In an extremely short span of time, he sheathed his blade and coldly spoke the name of his final strike:
"Heaven-Soaring Dragon Flash!"
The moment he drew his sword, invisible vacuum currents enveloped Madara. Madara tried to escape by flying, but once wrapped in the vacuum flow, he found himself completely unable to move.
As Hoshiyomi twisted his body and prepared to unleash an even more powerful second slash toward his waist, Madara had no choice but to forcibly recall one of his Limbo clones, using it to block the final strike for him.
Having narrowly escaped Hoshiyomi's Heaven Soaring Dragon Flash, Madara no longer had time to ponder why Hoshiyomi's Six Paths mode was so overwhelmingly powerful. He knew only one thing—
He had to put distance between himself and Hoshiyomi.
In close combat, no one could possibly be a match for Gekko Hoshiyomi—not even himself.
Distance. He absolutely had to widen the gap between them. Compared to Hoshiyomi's suffocating close-range pressure, those earlier sword-shadow attacks were nothing more than child's play.
As long as he could keep his distance, there was still a chance to defeat Hoshiyomi.
After blocking Heaven Soaring Dragon Flash with a Limbo clone, Madara did not hesitate. He activated his levitation ability at maximum output and shot rapidly into the sky.
But just then, a voice that filled him with unease rang out:
"Ultimate Ghost Sword Art: Storm Style!"
Hearing the name of the technique, Madara instinctively looked downward. He saw that Hoshiyomi did not immediately take to the air to pursue him, but instead slowly descended and gently thrust the Mikazuki Munechika in his hand into the ground.
Just as Madara was wondering what this meant, the Mikazuki Munechika embedded in the earth suddenly emitted a strange fluctuation. A blue-silver ring of light ignited along the blade.
Clink, clink, clink!
Clear and melodious sword chimes echoed in the ears of every member of the Allied Shinobi Forces. One could not help but marvel—how could a terrifying weapon meant solely for slaughter produce such crisp, pleasant sounds?
Everyone instinctively looked up into the sky, where they saw twenty-three swords of differing styles arranged in two circular layers, forming a massive sword barrier.
Within this barrier—whose scale rivaled that of the Four Red Yang Formation—stood only two figures: Gekko Hoshiyomi on the ground, and Six Paths Madara suspended in the air, his face filled with unease.
Trapped inside the sword formation, Madara frantically pounded the sword wall with his fists. Although the gaps between the blades were visibly large, an invisible force blocked his path.
No matter how violently Madara struck the formation, he was unable to escape this bizarre sword formation.
Perhaps, given more time, Madara could have broken free through sheer overwhelming power—but unfortunately, Hoshiyomi had no intention of granting him that chance.
Hoshiyomi walked to the far corner of the sword formation, picked up a short blade, and glanced up at Madara in the air. In the very next moment, his figure vanished—replaced by a colossal sword beam that seemed to pierce heaven and earth.
The sword light passed straight through Madara's body, visibly spraying a large arc of blood. Just as the onlookers were still trying to comprehend what had happened, Hoshiyomi had already reappeared soundlessly beside a massive sword above the formation.
Buzz!
Dragging the giant blade behind him, Hoshiyomi once again transformed into a streak of light and vanished. He left a huge wound across Madara's shoulder blade and slammed him into the very center of the sword formation.
The once all-conquering Six Paths Madara now resembled a helpless rag doll caught in a violent storm.
Having been struck by that massive blade, nearly splitting half his body apart, even Madara felt searing agony.
No—this absolutely cannot continue!
With that thought in mind, Madara recalled another Limbo clone. Entering the sword formation itself was not particularly difficult for the clone; the real problem was that Madara had only just used a Limbo clone to block damage and had no time to escape before Hoshiyomi's next attack arrived.
Buzz—buzz—buzz!
The weapons within the sword formation rapidly vanished, and Hoshiyomi's figure completely transformed into pure light.
At first, the spectators could barely discern where Hoshiyomi appeared and which weapon he picked up. Soon after, however, Hoshiyomi became nothing more than light itself.
Before one sword flash had even faded, the next had already descended. The crowd could no longer see what was happening inside—only blinding sword light flickering incessantly.
Thud.
Mifune, the man whose single blade Kurosawa had earned him the recognition of countless experts within the Allied Shinobi Forces, collapsed helplessly to his knees at the sight.
Gazing upon the near-miraculous swordsmanship unfolding before him, tears streamed down Mifune's aged face.
Before such godlike sword art, everything he had achieved throughout his life amounted to nothing more than a joke.
For a man who had devoted his entire life to the way of the sword to witness such breathtaking beauty firsthand—this was both an unparalleled honor and a heartbreakingly cruel revelation.