"Yes, that's right!" Hearing Haru's words, Uchiha Madara burst out laughing.
"Hahahahahahaha!"
"Yes, join me! Together, we'll create a world where that boy exists!"
"Haru!" Minato shouted, trying to rush forward to pull her away.
But just as he took a step, Haru turned her head slightly — her cold gaze freezing him in place.
Suddenly, Minato found he couldn't move his body at all.
"Amenominaka!"
Haru's voice was icy as winter itself. The moment the words left her lips, both she and Madara vanished before Minato's eyes.
When control returned to his limbs, Minato dropped to his knees with a heavy thud.
"Damn it!"
"Why… why did it turn out like this!"
His fists slammed into the ground again and again as tears welled in his eyes. Each punch sent droplets splashing onto the dirt below.
"How did it end up like this!!!"
His anguished cry tore through the silence.
And then — amid the sound of his own ragged breathing — a familiar voice spoke behind him.
"Minato, I'm not dead yet."
"…Impossible. I saw your head… your brain was gone."
"You were dead!" Minato choked out, still kneeling. But then his words froze, and his tear-streaked face slowly lifted.
"Seisui?!"
"You're alive?!"
Minato's voice was full of disbelief. He knew what he'd seen — Seisui's head shattered, blood and bone flying.
How could he possibly be standing here again?
"Genjutsu," Seisui said calmly, smiling as he pointed to his eyes.
"The Sharingan's Genjutsu."
Minato blinked in shock — and then saw it.
In Seisui's eyes spun a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan.
"This is…?!"
"You mean… you actually possess the Uchiha's bloodline?"
"Yeah." Seisui nodded with a faint smile.
The moment he'd touched Madara, he'd activated Uchiha Itachi's experience card.
And Itachi — the master of genjutsu — was famous for his Tsukuyomi.
If Konan could deceive Mangekyo Obito by hiding six hundred billion explosive tags as an ocean, then Seisui, with Mangekyo himself, could certainly weave a hyperreal illusion strong enough to fool Madara — who currently only wielded a three-tomoe Sharingan.
Any problem with that?
None at all.
When Minato stood up again, Seisui was still smiling. Seeing how devastated Minato had been after his "death" genuinely moved him.
But before he could say anything more—
SMACK!
Minato's fist connected squarely with Seisui's face.
"You bastard! Do you have any idea how much pain you put Haru and me through?!"
"Damn it, you idiot!"
Seisui rubbed his cheek, wincing slightly. Okay, he thought wryly, I probably deserved that.
He hadn't expected his fake death — meant only to trigger Haru's three-tomoe Sharingan — to push her all the way to awakening the Mangekyo.
Does Haru… feel that strongly about me?
Seisui fell silent, lost in thought.
=======
Meanwhile, in another dimension—
Madara glanced around at the floating stones and fragments of earth suspended midair. "A space-time ability, is it?" he muttered.
Across from him, Haru's fists were clenched so tightly her nails dug into her palms, drawing blood — yet she didn't even flinch.
"This world," she said coldly, "will be under my control!"
"The dead belong to the Pure Land — and you'll die here!"
Madara threw back his head and laughed. "Hahahahahahaha! What a joke!"
Resting his fan behind him, he calmly sat cross-legged on the ground.
Looking up at Haru, who stood on a massive floating boulder, he said with a mocking smirk, "Little girl, do you really think awakening the Mangekyo means I have no way to deal with you?"
Even as he spoke, Haru felt the space around her shudder — the entire dimension fracturing like glass.
Crack… crack!
Bone-white energy flared around Madara as a massive skeletal structure formed over him.
"This… what is that?!" Haru's eyes widened, her voice trembling in disbelief.
Madara heard her clearly. His deep voice rolled through the collapsing space like thunder.
"Didn't Uchiha Setsuna tell you? This is the true ultimate power of the Uchiha!"
"If you'd had time to master your Mangekyo, perhaps I couldn't break your space… but now?"
"You're nothing but an ant!"
As his words fell, the last shards of the shattered dimension dissolved — and they reappeared in the real world.
Madara still stood within his Susanoo, while Haru stood motionless, dazed and broken.
"Join me," Madara began again. "Together, we can create a world—"
But he stopped.
Standing beside Haru was Seisui — alive, eyes glowing with the Mangekyo.
Madara turned his head, glancing toward where Seisui's body had fallen earlier.
Then he began to laugh. "Hahahahahahaha! Interesting… truly interesting!"
"Izanagi, is it?"
That was his first thought — the same forbidden technique he himself had once used to fake his death.
But after a moment's consideration, he shook his head. "No… an illusion."
"To think your genjutsu could affect even me. How fascinating!"
"Hmph."
Seisui snorted coldly, ignoring him. He placed a hand gently on Haru's head, his voice soft.
"It's all right. I'm alive."
The dazed girl slowly lifted her head. The moment she saw his familiar smile, her sword slipped from her fingers and clattered to the ground.
Clang.
"You dare ignore me?!" Madara's fury burst forth, his killing intent flooding the air.
"To toy with me like this—you're the first!"
"Is that so?" Seisui turned toward him with a calm smile. "Then I promise… I won't be the last."
As he spoke, his gaze flicked briefly to a shadow nearby — Black Zetsu.
If only you knew you'll one day be gutted by that thing… you wouldn't sound so confident.
"Amaterasu!"
The moment Seisui finished speaking, black flames erupted across Madara's Susanoo.
A searing pain shot through Seisui's eyes — crimson tears of blood trickled down his cheeks.
He covered his face, grimacing. "So that's the Mangekyo's drawback, huh?"
Even so, his vision remained sharp.
Closing his eyes briefly to endure the sting, he pressed his hands together, then opened them again — entering Sage Mode.
A fiery orange Susanoo skeleton rose around him, surrounding his body without restricting movement.
Feeling the power granted by Itachi's template, Seisui's hands flashed through seals. Black runes spread beneath his feet — and in a swirl of energy, the Panda Sage appeared before him.
"Oh?" The towering panda's eyes lit up as he glanced at Madara's burning Susanoo. "A strong opponent, huh?"
"Then it's my turn to shine!"
In an instant, his body expanded, towering over twenty meters high as blinding white light radiated from him.
"The heavens did not birth me, the Panda Sage — thus the ninja world shall endure an eternal night!"
Seisui landed atop his massive head, golden eyes cold and emotionless.
"Madara," he said softly, "care to dance?"
His words carried no warmth, only piercing calm. The white glow of his Susanoo gleamed over his body like armor.
This skeletal form — though Itachi's template didn't originally include it — manifested thanks to Seisui's own Sharingan bloodline.
A bonus feature, he thought dryly.
"Dance?" Madara threw his head back and laughed. "Hahahahahahaha! You?!"
"Have the Uchiha really fallen so low?"
He sneered, completely ignoring the black flames still burning across his Susanoo.
"Letting a Mangekyo talent like you wander freely… what a disgrace."
Seisui didn't respond. In this heightened state of focus, his mind was pure logic — detached and utterly calm.
"Minato," he said flatly, "take Haru and leave."
"I'll handle this."
Minato hesitated, but when he saw Seisui's expression — that emotionless, razor-sharp calm — he knew the situation was grave.
He nodded silently, placed a hand on Haru's shoulder, and vanished with a flash of light.
"Now it's just the two of us."
Seisui's gaze sharpened.
Beneath him, the Panda Sage snorted. "So this is Uchiha Madara? Hmph. Just another ant to crush beneath my foot!"
Madara's eyes narrowed. It had been centuries since anyone dared speak to him that way.
"Then let's dance," he said coldly. "Entertain me if you can."
As he spoke, his Susanoo began to change — growing limbs and grasping a massive sword.
This was the fourth stage of Susanoo — a complete humanoid form capable of movement.
Susanoo evolved in stages:
The first, a skeletal frame that mirrored its user's movements.
The second, an enlarged half-body shrouded in bone.
The third, a full upper torso clad in armor.
And the fourth — the one Madara now revealed — a complete warrior with arms, legs, and unmatched might.
The Panda Sage grinned, baring sharp teeth. "Now that's more like it!"
"Sage Elbow Strike!"
In a flash, the towering panda lunged, channeling radiant light into its elbow — forming a glowing spike that shot toward Madara's Susanoo.
Madara's laughter boomed. "A mere panda dares challenge my Susanoo?!"
The attack struck — and failed to pierce.
As the shockwave rippled outward, Seisui narrowed his eyes.
"The arrogance of the defeated," he said quietly. "How typical."
"Then allow me to show you…."
In an instant, he activated Uchiha Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyo template.
Before Madara's very eyes, Seisui's orange Susanoo transformed — solidifying into a complete, four-limbed form.
The fiery hue deepened, darkened — shifting from orange to a luminous violet.
Starting from the head, to the shoulders, down to the chest and legs — until the transformation was complete.
A towering, radiant purple Susanoo stood facing Madara — its blade drawn, its eyes blazing with divine power.
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