As Madara spoke, his aura suddenly surged again. At the same time, the scarlet three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes erupted with a terrifying surge of ocular power.
That power merged with his chakra, and on the surface of his body, a bluish-purple chakra rapidly condensed. This special chakra looked like blue-violet flames burning fiercely, yet in an instant, it could take on tangible form.
Under Madara's control, the bluish-purple chakra quickly shaped itself into a massive skeletal frame, which then filled out with muscle-like textures.
In the blink of an eye, a colossal giant composed solely of chakra muscle and bone appeared before Hoshiyomi.
Uchiha Madara had actually forced his three-tomoe Sharingan to manifest his Susanoo. Although this Susanoo was still in its basic form, the fact that he could do it at all was already unbelievable.
But then again — he was Uchiha Madara. That alone explained everything.
For Madara, whose ocular power was unfathomable — one who had awakened both the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and even the Rinnegan — manifesting Susanoo with an ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan was as effortless as breathing.
In the original story, after being revived through the Rinne Rebirth, Madara could summon Susanoo even without any Sharingan at all. So now, using the three-tomoe to do the same was perfectly reasonable.
Though this Susanoo was not yet in its complete form, it already stood nearly ten meters tall. Such an enormous being suddenly appearing in the confined space of an underground cavern felt strangely cramped.
Madara clearly noticed this as well. He murmured softly:
"Looks like this place isn't suited for the next part of our battle."
As he spoke, he gently raised his hand. Following his motion, the gigantic Susanoo crouched down slightly, then clenched its massive fist.
BOOM!!!
With a thunderous sound, Susanoo leapt upward. Its enormous right fist struck in an uppercut-like motion, shattering the ceiling above!
The impact shook the entire underground cavern violently.
Madara had actually made his Susanoo punch through the ceiling of the mountain above them. Despite being separated from the surface by dozens of meters of solid rock, the blow tore through everything, opening a massive hole.
The colossal Susanoo burst through the tunnel and emerged onto the surface.
As it broke through, countless massive boulders began to collapse downward, threatening to bury Hoshiyomi alive.
But Hoshiyomi remained calm. Raising his sword, he slashed cleanly through the falling rocks above him. With a heavy step, he leapt upward, landing on one of the halves he had just split.
Then, swinging his sword again, he shattered another descending boulder, using the broken stones beneath his feet as stepping stones to spring higher and higher.
Repeating this again and again, Hoshiyomi nimbly ascended before the entire cavern could collapse, swiftly approaching the surface.
As he neared the opening, Hoshiyomi's gaze sharpened. He wasn't the type to take blows in silence — since Madara had pulled a trick like this on him, he would naturally return the favor in kind.
Channeling strength into his legs, Hoshiyomi activated Shunpo (Flash Step), his entire body shooting skyward like a bolt of lightning. In an instant, he broke free from the collapsing cavern and soared into midair.
Seeing the airborne Gekko Hoshiyomi, Madara smiled. Controlling his Susanoo, he raised its colossal arm — and the enormous hand swung downward, slapping toward Hoshiyomi who had nowhere to dodge in the air.
The force of that strike was no less than Tsunade's full-power monstrous strength punch. If it landed solidly, even Hoshiyomi would suffer shattered bones and torn muscles.
But how could Hoshiyomi possibly be struck by such a simple attack?
While still in midair, he watched Susanoo's massive hand descending toward him — yet he neither dodged nor raised his guard. Instead, he calmly closed his eyes and slowly sheathed his Mikazuki Munechika.
As Susanoo's enormous hand was about to strike, Hoshiyomi, having steadied his breathing, suddenly opened his eyes — and in that instant, twin flashes of light burst from within them.
Twisting his waist midair, he drew his blade in a single fluid motion. The Mikazuki Munechika shot from its scabbard like a rainbow piercing the sun, carving a brilliant arc across the sky.
Sky-Shattering Sword Draw Slash
A massive ring-shaped wave of sword energy tore through the air, crashing directly into Susanoo's descending hand.
CLANG!
At the moment of impact between the Sky-Shattering Sword Draw Slash and Susanoo's massive hand, a deep metallic hum echoed through the air.
But a second later, Hoshiyomi's circular sword energy pierced straight through Susanoo's hand — continuing its assault toward the giant's main body.
Even Madara couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in surprise. The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun rapidly, releasing another surge of ocular power. Before Hoshiyomi's sword energy could land, Madara forced Susanoo into a new level of reinforcement.
The once-muscular, skeletal Susanoo rapidly grew a layer of skin, and atop that — a set of thick, solid armor formed.
Seeing the armor take shape, a confident glint flashed across Madara's eyes. In his view, such a defense was strong enough to withstand any attack in the world — aside from Hashirama's.
CLANG!
The sword energy of the Sky-Shattering Sword Draw Slash collided with Susanoo's armor, erupting in a shrill screech of grinding metal. Sparks burst into the air where the two forces met.
Watching his Susanoo withstand the strike, Madara's expression relaxed into a smirk — just as he expected.
Gekko Hoshiyomi's sword technique was indeed terrifyingly powerful, but what of it? How could a strike from a mortal sword possibly threaten the impenetrable armor of Susanoo?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a faint crack reached his ears.
Madara's eyes widened instantly. He looked in disbelief toward the point of impact — and to his shock, a fine crack had appeared across Susanoo's armor.
"Nani?!"
The supposedly indestructible armor of Susanoo — was being split apart by Hoshiyomi's sword energy? Impossible!
Because of that moment of astonishment, Madara missed the perfect window to reinforce Susanoo again. Before his horrified gaze, the sword energy of the Sky-Shattering Sword Draw Slash continued to penetrate deeper.
The cracks on Susanoo's armor spread like a spider's web, accompanied by a relentless series of crackling sounds.
As the fractures widened, the armor could no longer withstand the force — and shattered completely. Yet Hoshiyomi's sword slash did not stop; its energy continued to expand outward.
BOOM!
Finally, the sword energy of the Sky-Shattering Sword Draw Slash sliced clean through Susanoo's body. The upper half of the giant collapsed heavily to the ground, sending up clouds of dust.
Gekko Hoshiyomi — had cut Susanoo apart with a single sword strike!
...
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