—Amaterasu Fire Domain!
As Indra advanced, his right eye glowed crimson.
The black flames of Amaterasu surged outward, transforming the land into a sea of inextinguishable fire!
Kakashi stared in disbelief. "Is that the same Amaterasu as Sasuke's?!"
Madara replied coolly, "The Uchiha are the embodiment of fire. For the progenitor of the clan not to wield Amaterasu—now that would be strange."
The black sea of flames unfurled with every step Indra took, spreading relentlessly forward.
Kakashi hesitated. "The scale of these black flames is insane. It's become his standard move—there's no way we can even get close…"
"What's there to fear? It's not like we're going to die…"
But Madara was thinking: The black flames of Amaterasu can be absorbed by the Preta Path, but that would split my focus. Against a foe like this, falling into his rhythm is the last thing I want. I need to seize the initiative!
Whoosh!
Madara's black hair whipped upward as his azure Susanoo towered above, three faces rising in unison. With a flurry of hand seals, all three faces—six arms—of Susanoo formed seals simultaneously!
—Super-Weighted Boulder: Tengai Shinsei!
The sky darkened. Clouds scattered. A colossal meteorite, wreathed in atmospheric flames and streaked with black lines from its immense mass, plummeted earthward—an apocalyptic sight that instantly became the center of the battlefield!
Kakashi gasped, "If that thing lands, everything here will be wiped out!"
But Madara remained composed. "It won't land. He might not care about himself, but with the Ten-Tails behind him, he won't let it fall. We can use this to probe his limits."
Kakashi's worldview was shattered. "You're using a world-ending technique just to gather intel?!"
Madara shot him a sidelong glance. "Don't be so dramatic. You still think this is some petty ninja skirmish—spitting water and breathing fire?"
As the shadow of the meteorite grew, Indra looked up, eyes cool. "A meteorite—artificially enhanced to be abnormally heavy. Impressive. A phenomenon-level technique, but still not enough."
Swish, swish! The Yin-Yang Six Paths Staff spun in Indra's hands, the Yang end angled skyward!
RUMBLE…!
From the sea of black flames, hundreds—thousands—of vermilion wooden Buddha palms erupted skyward, bracing against the meteorite, halting its descent through sheer force!
Kakashi was dumbfounded. "He stopped it? Is that even possible?!"
Madara's gaze darkened, fixed on the vermilion wooden hands. "Vermilion Wood Release… I've only seen that in the Gate of the Great God before. But for him, this level of Wood Release is just casual."
His fist clenched. "If that's the case, even a second one might not work…"
RUMBLE…!
A second super-weighted meteorite crashed into the first's tail, but aside from a thunderous shockwave, the wooden hands didn't budge an inch!
Clang, clang, clang…
The rings on the Yang end of the staff jingled as Indra lowered it, planting the Yin end on the ground. His voice was calm as an ancient well: "I accept your greeting. Now, allow me to return the favor."
Swish, swish!
The Yin-Yang Six Paths Staff spun again, this time the Yin end pointing skyward!
BOOM!
The heavens split open. Pitch-black Six Paths lightning tore through the meteorites, lancing straight down at Madara and Kakashi's position!
Madara's pupils shrank. "That lightning—this is bad!"
But Kakashi placed a hand on Madara's shoulder. "Don't move!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM…!
The black lightning obliterated the ground beneath their feet, leaving a yawning abyss.
Yet Madara stood completely unharmed, as if the attack had never touched him.
Down in the abyss, Madara eyed Kakashi. "What did you do?"
Kakashi's right Mangekyō glowed. "My right eye's phasing ability can also affect anything—or anyone—in direct contact with me."
[In the original, when Tobi was merged with Obito, he could phase through attacks with Mist ninja. When Sasuke was slung over Obito's shoulder, he too could phase through the Raikage's attacks—Kamui's shared effect through contact.]
Madara frowned. "You didn't have to do that. I could've blocked it."
Kakashi retorted, "But you'd still get hurt. Not worth it. Since you dragged me into this, make use of my abilities. Think about teamwork for once. You know as well as I do—this enemy won't let us play around."
At that, Madara gave Kakashi a long, appraising look. "Kakashi Hatake… I think I finally understand why Obito valued you."
He brushed Kakashi's hand off his shoulder.
"But even if we're working together, I'm still calling the shots!"
BOOM! Azure Susanoo chakra erupted from the depths, transforming into a towering war god that soared into the sky!
Indra looked up. "Unscathed… That ability—looks like the silver-haired man he brought has the same eyes as Obito."
ROOOOOOAAAAR…!
At that moment, the Ten-Tails' roar once again dominated heaven and earth. It had reached a critical threshold—its features became bizarrely abstract: eyes, ears, mouth, horns scattered across its face!
Moments later, bamboo-like legs supported its massive body as it rose from the earth. Its arms were thin—one only half-formed—but despite its frail appearance, the Ten-Tails' chakra was now orders of magnitude greater than before!
Black Zetsu was beside himself with excitement. "Oh? It's already transitioned to its second form?!"
Indra's eyes gleamed. "Perfect. Let's see what this stage of the Ten-Tails can do…"
Whoosh!
The Ten-Tails opened its massive, side-facing maw, condensing an inverted-triangle Tailed Beast Bomb. The eye on its frontal face locked onto Madara's Susanoo in the sky—and fired!
BOOM…!!
The Tailed Beast Bomb traced a blazing arc through the sky, closing in on Madara's Susanoo!
Kakashi's eyes widened. "Here it comes…!"
CRACK…!!
The Susanoo's massive sword materialized, cleaving down at the Tailed Beast Bomb!
CLANG!!
The mountain-splitting blade snapped at the point of contact, sending the Tailed Beast Bomb off course, where it exploded beside Susanoo in midair.
RUMBLE…!
The earth shook. When the flames faded, only half of Madara's Susanoo remained!
Indra's eyes grew deeper, more shadowed. "The point of divergence is almost here…"
A second, then a third inverted-triangle Tailed Beast Bomb followed in quick succession!
At the critical moment, Madara's eyes sharpened.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE…!
Both Tailed Beast Bombs exploded midair—seemingly out of nowhere!
To Kakashi, it looked as if the bombs had simply detonated in thin air. Everything happened too fast. "What did you do?"
"Oh?" But Indra saw it all clearly. Surrounding Madara's Susanoo were other figures—gray-hued Susanoo in his vision, acting as invisible guardians!
Those shadow Susanoo had blocked the attacks!
Indra spoke methodically, "Shadow clones with the same power and abilities as the original, existing in an invisible realm… so that's your Rinnegan's ocular power. If they can withstand the Ten-Tails' attacks, it proves that non-Six Paths powers can't touch those shadows…"
His gaze darkened further. "So, what about Six Paths abilities?"
BOOM…!
Dark purple chakra pierced the heavens, manifesting a form so immense that even the second-stage Ten-Tails behind paled in comparison!
—Six Paths: Susanoo!
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