Originally, Uchiha Madara had intended to use this opportunity to properly teach Yuu and the others about the "dark side of the shinobi world" and the "composure of the older generation."
It was supposed to serve as one of the preliminary events that would push Obito into darkness.
But unexpectedly…
the plan had only reached its halfway point, and Madara still had plenty of methods he hadn't even gotten the chance to use—
yet Shisui's Kotoamatsukami locked him down for an instant, and Yuu followed up with a single slash that directly destroyed his Shapeshifting Clone!
The feeling was like putting every ounce of strength into a punch, only for it to land on soft cotton.
Or like he hadn't even gotten into the mood yet, and the other side had already finished…
It was difficult not to feel irritated.
However,
compared with his anger, Madara was currently far more concerned about something else—
What exactly had that final slash been?
At this moment,
Madara raised his right hand.
A long, narrow line of blood had suddenly appeared across his palm, following the natural creases of his skin as though it had been sliced open by a blade.
Bright-red droplets of blood continuously seeped from the wound.
This injury had only appeared moments ago.
Madara's body had long since fused with Senju Hashirama's flesh, granting him similar bodily characteristics.
Ordinary wounds could heal automatically without even forming hand seals.
But this bloody line seemed to contain some kind of power that actively prevented regeneration.
Even when Madara deliberately stimulated the Wood Release power within his body, he could only make the wound shrink slightly.
It refused to disappear completely.
That was extremely abnormal.
Although he had no concrete evidence,
Madara immediately concluded that this injury was related to the white-haired brat's final slash.
And in fact…
he was correct.
There was a direct connection between a Shapeshifting Clone and its original user, much like the Spirit Transformation Technique controlling another person.
Therefore, the "Line of Life" belonging to the sacrifice didn't contain only the sacrifice's own existence.
A portion of the caster's existence was also projected onto the body through the technique, linking the two together.
So—
when Yuu's slash severed the sacrifice's final thread of life,
the conceptual force within the blade traveled backward along that "network cable" and struck Uchiha Madara, the controller behind it.
It wasn't enough to kill Madara remotely,
but it did leave behind a wound that refused to heal.
Such an incomprehensible mechanism made Madara feel a long-forgotten chill for the first time in decades.
"Zetsu!"
Madara called out coldly.
The moment his voice fell, the air rippled slightly.
Black Zetsu appeared along with several White Zetsu.
"Lord Madara?"
"How exactly have you been gathering intelligence?!
"That brat has so many bizarre techniques, yet you never discovered or reported any of them to me!"
Madara raised his hand, displaying the bloody line as he reprimanded them.
Black Zetsu stared at him blankly.
"…Huh?"
No…
Are you sure you're not joking?
What did he mean when he said that Konoha brat's space-time ninjutsu was even more outrageous than Flying Thunder God—
that he could forcibly exchange positions with another person without any intermediary whatsoever?
And what did he mean by saying that the brat's sword attack could travel through a Shapeshifting Clone and cut the original caster controlling it from behind the scenes?
Wasn't that completely ridiculous?
And you call that Hatake Swordsmanship?
If Hatake Sakumo had possessed something like that back then, would he really have ended up committing suicide after a failed mission?
"Well…"
Black Zetsu desperately searched for a reasonable explanation.
"Mikami Yuu studied under Namikaze Minato and Tsunade, and he also has connections with several surviving members of the Uzumaki clan.
"Perhaps…
"Namikaze Minato secretly improved the Flying Thunder God without announcing it publicly and first used Mikami Yuu as a test subject."
"As for that slash…
"it may be some kind of special secret technique similar to the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, forcibly invoking the power of the Shinigami to kill the opponent."
Hmm…
At first glance, that explanation actually sounded fairly reasonable.
The Dead Demon Consuming Seal was indeed a conceptual-type ability.
It could ignore most differences between the two sides and forcibly drag the target into mutual destruction once physical contact was established.
The problem was…
using the Dead Demon Consuming Seal required sacrificing one's life.
Once activated, regardless of whether it succeeded or failed, the caster would definitely die.
But after that brat destroyed the Shapeshifting Clone…
he didn't seem to have suffered any obvious cost at all.
Could it be that the slash only consumed a portion of his lifespan?
Since he wouldn't die immediately, there was no visible external effect?
And then there was another question…
Such a bizarre ability couldn't possibly have been developed on the spot through a flash of inspiration.
If Yuu had previously experimented with or practiced it, why hadn't the White Zetsu discovered anything?
"Uh… Lord Madara, you also know that brat possesses space-time ninjutsu and several summoned beasts.
"He frequently moves around inside the territories of those summons.
"If he developed this technique somewhere like Shikkotsu Forest, or perhaps somewhere overseas, it would be extremely difficult for us to discover it in time."
Black Zetsu continued explaining.
Madara listened with an expression as dark as water.
Yet the sense of déjà vu in his mind only became stronger.
Why did this feel…
exactly like Senju Tobirama back then?
During the Warring States Period, Tobirama would frequently disappear from public view for a period of time, hiding in some secret base to conduct research.
Then the next time they met, he would suddenly pull out one sinister forbidden technique after another—
Shadow Clone.
Reanimation Jutsu.
Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags.
Flying Thunder God.
Every single one more underhanded than the last.
Wasn't that exactly the same pattern as Mikami Yuu?
Even the slash that destroyed the Shapeshifting Clone resembled the Flying Thunder God Slash that had killed Izuna all those years ago!
Good grief.
Confirmed!
That brat was definitely Senju Tobirama reincarnated!
After being reborn, he had stood on the shoulders of his previous life and improved both the Flying Thunder God and Flying Thunder God Slash!
Then, by combining them with Hatake Swordsmanship and the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, he had created two new techniques so sinister they were practically without limit!
No…
If that brat really was Senju Tobirama Version Two,
then what he had just revealed probably wasn't even the full extent of his trump cards.
It was difficult to imagine what terrifying new creations a forbidden-technique master with twice the lifespan—
and possibly even memories from his previous life—
might develop.
In fact, just from their brief exchange earlier, perhaps he had already begun suspecting Madara's true identity!
Madara completed an entire logical loop inside his head.
Then he raised his head and crooked a finger toward one of the nearby White Zetsu.
"You.
"Come here."
"Me?"
The chosen White Zetsu pointed at his own nose.
"Yes, you."
"I'm going to use the Shapeshifting Technique again.
"I want to see what other unknown and treacherous methods that inherently evil bastard is hiding!"
As he spoke,
Madara grabbed the White Zetsu—
and refined it instantly.
…
Meanwhile,
the moment the "black-robed man" fell,
the entire cavern suddenly began trembling.
Dust poured from the ceiling and surrounding rock walls.
It seemed that some Earth Release technique prepared in advance had been activated—
and the entire cavern was beginning to collapse.
"Move!
"Get out of here!"
Yuu put away the Sword of the Thunder God.
Then he stuffed both the weapon and the still-dazed Rin into Samehada's mouth before calling for Kakashi and Shisui to retreat.
Although they had destroyed one Shapeshifting Clone,
Madara's real body was undoubtedly still somewhere nearby.
More importantly, Rin's body probably contained another major problem that needed to be dealt with somewhere relatively safe.
If that thing detonated here,
even Yuu wasn't confident he could save her.
"Go, go, go!"
Kakashi and Obito scrambled to their feet.
They grabbed Hizashi and followed Yuu as they rushed out.
Shisui activated his ocular power and summoned the skeletal Susanoo, shielding the group from above so no one would get crushed by falling rocks—
lose half their body—
then get picked up by some mysterious old man, brainwashed, and raised into a pawn…
Soon,
the group returned to the passage they had come through earlier.
At this point, Fugaku was still fighting the black figure from before.
Clearly, Fugaku had yet to fulfill his earlier boast.
Not only had he failed to defeat his opponent,
he was already breathing heavily.
Hearing the footsteps behind him, he froze.
"Yuu? Shisui?
"Why are you back…"
"The mission objective has been achieved!
"We're retreating!"
Before Yuu even finished speaking,
his body had already crossed dozens of meters.
He appeared beside Fugaku and slashed toward the black figure opposite him.
The latter immediately abandoned Fugaku and retreated into the rock wall beside him.
Apparently, he was worried that Yuu might use another Mushin: One Heart slash and kill him outright.
Rumble…
The violent shaking followed from behind.
The cavern Yuu and the others had occupied moments earlier was already collapsing everywhere.
Rocks of all sizes continuously fell from the ceiling.
The entire mountain shook as though it might fall apart at any moment.
As if the heavens and earth themselves were about to collapse.
Mm…
Perhaps the word as if could be removed.
Because after passing through the tunnel,
Yuu and the others discovered that this side of the mountain was shaking just as badly.
Huge quantities of rubble rolled continuously down the rock walls.
The metal pipes and staircases screamed under the strain.
One nail after another snapped free.
Entire sections began collapsing and sliding downward like a hailstorm of metal and stone.
Seeing Shisui prepare to activate Susanoo again,
Yuu quickly stopped him.
"Shisui, stop wasting your ocular power!
"Today's danger isn't over yet!
"You're one of the core combatants among us. You need to preserve your condition!"
Shisui froze.
"But—"
"No buts.
"Rest for now.
"We'll need you again later."
As he spoke,
Yuu slapped Shisui on the back and implanted a Seed of Vitality into him.
In the original story, Shisui probably never participated in battles of this intensity.
He had likely only entered the Third Shinobi World War near its end and handled cleanup operations.
That was probably why he had managed to hide his Mangekyō for several more years, only revealing it to Konoha's leadership when the conflict between the village and the Uchiha was nearing the point of open confrontation.
But now,
because of Madara's Shapeshifting Clone,
Shisui had already used Susanoo several times in succession—
plus one Kotoamatsukami.
If he kept abusing his eyes like this,
he might end up like Sasuke and burn through his eyesight in only a few days.
Better to conserve them.
Yuu wondered whether the Seed of Vitality could restore ocular power too…
Thinking this,
he swept his gaze toward the rear of the group.
First, he looked at Hizashi, whose injured eyes left him being supported by Obito.
Then he raised his head toward the collapsing entrance above and gave a faint sigh.
"No choice…"
The current situation was probably another arrangement Madara had prepared.
The base's self-destruction mechanism had been activated.
If Fugaku and the others were all in perfect condition, they might still have tried forcing their way out before the entrance collapsed.
But now,
Shisui had severely depleted his ocular power.
Hizashi's eyes were injured.
Kakashi and the others were all worn down from battle.
If they tried rushing through like this,
there was a real possibility all of them would end up buried under the mountain with nothing left to do but close their eyes and wait for death.
Unless…
"Summoning Technique!"
Yuu made an immediate decision and used the Summoning Technique.
White smoke erupted.
Black Wing's enormous figure appeared beneath the cavern.
The giant eagle looked around in confusion for a moment, then turned toward Yuu with a distinctly human expression of bewilderment.
"No time to explain…
"Everybody aboard!"
Yuu shouted.
Kakashi.
Obito.
Shisui.
Fugaku.
Together with Yuu and Rin—
seven people in total jumped onto Black Wing's back.
The giant eagle didn't waste time asking questions.
It immediately beat its wings and let out a long cry as it shot upward toward the faint light visible above.
Rocks and metal pipes continued snapping and falling.
Yuu manipulated flames, forming an enormous fire dragon that roared upward.
It smashed through obstacles in Black Wing's flight path and forcibly opened a narrow route large enough for the eagle to pass through.
Black Wing pushed its flying ability to the absolute limit.
Its wings beat powerfully as it weaved and dodged through the chaotic rain of debris.
Some obstacles were impossible to avoid.
Others were simply too large.
Those were cut apart by Yuu's blade energy, Fugaku, and Kakashi.
Finally—
with one last violent beat of its wings,
everyone pressed tightly against Black Wing's back.
The eagle shot almost vertically upward.
Pale-white shockwaves burst around its body as it approached the speed of sound.
At the last possible moment, before the cavern entrance collapsed completely—
Black Wing burst through!
They saw daylight again.
Thunderous collapse echoed behind them.
"Haa…
"We made it out."
Kakashi took a deep breath.
"Yeah, yeah! We almost got crushed to death in there!
"That was way too close!"
Obito nodded rapidly.
Then he immediately turned toward Yuu.
"Yuu, how is Rin—"
"Shh."
Yuu raised a finger to his lips.
"Don't ask too much yet.
"Wait until we're completely out of danger."
"Huh?"
Obito froze.
"But we already escaped, didn't we?
"And most of the Kiri ninja were killed.
"What danger could possibly still be left?"
While Obito scratched his head in confusion,
Kakashi suddenly remembered something.
His head snapped upward.
"Yuu…
"You mean—
that Yatagarasu?"