Two massive black spheres floated above the dimly lit moon.
As they began to liquefy and dissipate, they transformed into eight black orbs the size of ping-pong balls, and two figures gradually emerged.
One was Izayoi, his entire body enveloped in turquoise chakra. The other was Uchiha Madara, clad in battle attire and a red armored coat. The Rinnegan and Samsaragan, radiating immense ocular power, stared at each other in the darkness left by the destroyed artificial sun.
The next moment, a deafening rumble erupted.
Gigantic branches burst from the ground, either lunging toward Izayoi or lashing at him.
Izayoi didn't use the Seeking Truth Jade to counter. These branches carried Six Paths Sage Chakra—Wood Release techniques capable of contending with even the Seeking Truth Jade.
Instead, Izayoi manipulated a Seeking Truth Jade to float before him, raised a hand, and pressed it against the orb. Its surface was immediately layered with a black substance again.
It was a Seeking Truth Jade enhanced with… chakra beads!
What happens when a Seeking Truth Jade, the embodiment of destruction, is infused with the force of creation?
The answer was immediate.
Swish—
A dazzling, blinding golden light split the darkness. Even Uchiha Madara, far off in the distance, found the brilliance overwhelming.
More than that, the threat it emitted compelled Madara to instinctively activate Wheel Grave: Bianyu, summoning two shadows to shield him.
Because he recognized that golden light all too well.
In their previous battle, he was blasted from the moon back to the Shinobi World by this golden beam that stretched endlessly.
But this time, the golden light didn't extend infinitely—its target wasn't Madara.
Rip—
The sound was like fabric tearing.
Izayoi gripped the golden lightsaber formed from the Seeking Truth Jade and chakra beads. Like the golden hoop staff of Sun Wukong, the blade lengthened and shortened at will. With a few casual swings, he severed every branch that had tried to strike or entangle him.
Then, Izayoi continued channeling chakra, hurling the golden blade in one direction.
It moved at light-speed, stretching and freezing in an instant.
At its tip, a shadow from the Wheel Grave—only visible to Izayoi and Madara—was preparing a sneak attack.
"Senjutsu... Storm Release: Light Fang!"
A sharp sound tore through the air.
Izayoi, with a full 360-degree field of vision, instantly saw that a half-body clone of Madara had emerged from a cut branch below and was firing a purple laser at him.
Compared to Darui's Storm Release or even Izayoi's secret techniques, Madara's Storm Release laser looked small.
But that minuscule laser held power from another dimension.
Its speed was on par with the Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion.
Izayoi didn't have time to dodge. He controlled a Seeking Truth Jade to intercept the laser and simultaneously summoned a string of chakra beads around his wrist—at least a dozen of them.
The annihilating Seeking Truth Jade collided with the lightning-infused purple laser.
And then, an unbelievable sight appeared.
That same Seeking Truth Jade—so powerful it once obliterated the artificial sun—was actually split in two by the tiny purple laser, which still surged toward Izayoi.
"Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!"
The chakra beads around Izayoi's wrist rapidly expanded and spun, forming a turquoise wheel of light. Then it morphed into a massive tornado, roaring forth.
This elemental storm successfully destroyed the purple laser and swept downward, decimating branches and wooden clones below before curving back toward Madara.
Both light and wind traveled at incomprehensible speeds. Even with Izayoi and Madara's enhanced vision, dodging was nearly impossible.
Unless one used space-time ninjutsu, flying through the air was as futile as comparing a horse-drawn cart to a sports car. One just starts moving while the other is already gone.
Ordinary chakra-based techniques could be absorbed by the Rinnegan and Samsaragan to replenish chakra.
But once someone stepped into the realm of higher dimensions, those same abilities became outdated.
The Storm Release: Light Fang could cut through even a Seeking Truth Jade. Techniques like the Hungry Ghost Path or basic chakra absorption orbs couldn't cope with that.
Likewise, unless charged for an exceptionally long time, Shinra Tensei's repulsive force would be as fragile as paper before it.
The Seeking Truth Jade might still resist the Light Fang, but Shinra Tensei? It would be pierced instantly—and cost more chakra to use.
Inefficient techniques had now been abandoned.
What came next was the ninja's core weapon… strategy.
Madara didn't even glance at the tornado coming toward him. He was already forming a Six Paths Staff and new Seeking Truth Jades.
Just as the tornado was about to consume him—
Boom!
The massive windstorm was blasted apart.
It was the Rinnegan Shadow—Madara's invisible guardian clone—who shattered it.
Now that Madara had entered Six Paths Sage Mode, his stats had skyrocketed. Most crucially, so had the power of the Wheel Grave shadows.
Unlike before, these shadows now wielded full Six Paths-level strength.
The Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, formed only from chakra beads without Six Paths Sage Chakra, stood no chance.
Realizing that long-range techniques were ineffective, Izayoi and Madara exchanged glances and simultaneously flew toward each other.
The golden blade extended and fired off.
Madara met it with his Six Paths Staff.
The lightsaber—sharper than Storm Release: Light Fang—couldn't cut the Six Paths Staff.
Both weapons contained powerful yang energy: Madara's staff drawn from the sun symbol on his palm, and Izayoi's blade infused with creation chakra.
For a moment, they were equal.
But only for a moment.
After dozens of blows, both realized their respective abilities couldn't overcome the opponent's insight. They began injuring one another, prompting Izayoi to boost his chakra output. His golden blade transformed into a ten-meter-long greatsword and slashed downward.
Despite its size, the sword struck as quickly as light.
Dodging was meaningless. Madara braced with both hands on his staff and parried.
He also summoned a Wheel Grave shadow to strike Izayoi mid-swing.
The golden sword landed, slamming into the Six Paths Staff. Though it didn't break, the impact hurled Madara back to the moon's surface.
The Wheel Grave shadow lunged for Izayoi, who, unable to dodge, deployed a black beam from a Seeking Truth Jade to strike the shadow. The other Jades liquefied and fused into a giant sphere, encasing him.
The next instant, that black orb was riddled with holes—as if stabbed by invisible weapons.
But there was no one inside.
As if some condition had been met, the black orb reformed into spheres and shot down toward the moon's surface.
Boom!
A massive explosion erupted.
Izayoi had used chakra beads to create a decoy and combined the Heaven's Sentence Technique with Flying Thunder God to teleport from the Seeking Truth Jade to behind Madara.
He raised a palm to strike—but Madara had already sensed it and shielded himself with a Seeking Truth Jade.
Roar—
The beads on Izayoi's wrist transformed into five colored chakra dragons, which merged into one giant, multicolored dragon.
The massive beast roared, engulfing Madara and plowing a trench across the moon's surface before flying off into space.
Madara, protected by his Seeking Truth Jade, was unharmed—but the force still sent him hurtling off the moon.
Surrounded by colorful chakra currents, Madara cursed under his breath. "These elemental disaster attacks are fused like some sort of composite ninjutsu… Those black balls are seriously disgusting."
As the dragon faded, Madara was now far from the moon.
Surrounded by meteorites, distant planets, and the void, he prepared to return—when countless meteorites began flying toward him.
Izayoi stood on one of them.
Madara raised his hand, fingers spread wide. "Chibaku Tensei!"
At first, Izayoi seemed to become a massive gravitational core, drawing meteorites inward.
But the next instant, the meteorites reversed direction—barreling straight at Madara.
Unfazed, Madara sighed, formed a hand seal, and unleashed massive purple lightning, obliterating the meteorites.
The Seeking Truth Jades nearby shattered the rest.
Before they could regroup, a dazzling golden beam pierced the purple lightning and loomed large in Madara's vision.
Startled, he quickly raised his staff and summoned a Wheel Grave shadow to block.
Even so, the golden beam blasted him far into deep space.
He crashed through several meteorites. Without Susanoo's ribcage defense, even Six Paths Sage Mode wouldn't have kept him intact.
When the beam finally vanished, neither the moon nor the earth were in sight. Only distant planets and lifeless void surrounded him.
"Tch... trying to wear down my chakra like this?" Madara scoffed. "That won't work. My chakra may be less than yours, but your current state consumes more every second. If we keep this up, you'll run dry before I do."
"Then let's find out," Izayoi's voice came from behind him.
Madara had already sensed him. He turned and swung his staff—clashing again with Izayoi's golden blade.
The two fought as they flew, engaging in intense close combat.
Their Samsaragan and Rinnegan spun constantly, insight paired with sensory abilities and perspective skills, searching for an opening.
If none appeared, they would bait each other—pretend to be vulnerable, feign mistakes, trick the other into using big moves to drain chakra.
Missed ultimate attacks shattered meteorites, creating cosmic fireworks.
Eventually, both realized the other's strategy. They began conserving chakra, avoiding big moves, and even ceased sacrificing Seeking Truth Jades.
Creating a new Seeking Truth Jade required more chakra than building a full Susanoo or summoning a five-colored dragon.
Despite their godlike powers, Izayoi and Madara fought hand-to-hand in space—for two days and two nights.
Only by occasionally glimpsing the passing sun could one tell how much time had passed.
For two full days and nights, they were locked in a focused, attritional battle.
A single mistake—a hit from the Golden Wheel Tensei Explosion or a solid strike from the Six Paths Staff—could end it.
After this prolonged fight, both had exhausted nearly all their chakra.
Izayoi had consumed the most.
His Samsara Eye Chakra Mode and his golden blade drained chakra constantly.
Meanwhile, the Seeking Truth Jades, being chakra materializations like tailed beasts, didn't deplete unless destroyed.
If his upgraded Otsutsuki bloodline hadn't vastly expanded his chakra reserves, Izayoi would've lost long ago.
Even so, his body and mind could only sustain the burden for two days and nights.
As his chakra dropped to a critical point, Izayoi's Samsara Eye Chakra Mode deactivated uncontrollably.
Seeing this, Madara—still visibly exhausted but retaining 30% chakra—grinned smugly. "I win!"
But Izayoi, soaked in sweat, grinned back and replied, "No... I win."