The upper half of Susanoo crashed heavily into the ground, kicking up a massive cloud of dust. Fortunately, Hoshiyomi and Madara's battle was taking place deep within the primeval forest bordering the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth — otherwise, the shockwaves of their fight, if witnessed by others, would be enough to terrify a large number of people.
From underground, Black Zetsu and the Venus Flytrap-style White Zetsu poked their heads up, arriving just in time to see Hoshiyomi's Sky-Splitting Draw Slash tear through Susanoo's armor and split the giant cleanly in two.
Both Zetsus were utterly shocked by the sight — though their thoughts couldn't have been more different.
White Zetsu, eyes wide, was thinking nothing but:
"Holy crap, that's insane!"
"Hoshiyomi is so strong!"
Black Zetsu, however, was thinking something entirely else.
What concerned him was where Hoshiyomi's power came from. He could say with absolute certainty that Hoshiyomi possessed neither Indra's nor Asura's bloodline, nor did he share any connection to Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's lineage.
In other words, this man had no relation whatsoever to Mother — he was just an ordinary human, not even a Jinchūriki.
And yet, relying solely on the body of a normal human, he had trained himself to such an unfathomable level of power.
That should have been impossible. Without any trace of Mother's chakra, how could a mere mortal have reached this point? It didn't make sense — it defied all logic.
And when he thought about how Hoshiyomi had been able to detect their presence more than once, Black Zetsu suddenly realized that something was very wrong.
Looking back carefully, he discovered that throughout all these years — in nearly every scheme he had carried out — there had been traces of Hoshiyomi's interference. Whether it was the fall of the Land of Whirlpools, or the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars...
Gekko Hoshiyomi had appeared each time, subtly shifting the outcome of his plans.
He had never taken Hoshiyomi seriously because those changes were never enough to derail his goals Perfectly — they were small deviations, nothing fatal.
But now… without his notice, Hoshiyomi had grown into someone capable of cutting through Susanoo with a single sword strike.
If this continued — if Hoshiyomi were given another ten years — could his grand plan to resurrect Mother really still succeed?
What was even more terrifying than Hoshiyomi's rate of growth… was the fact that Black Zetsu had no idea what Hoshiyomi's intentions were.
He didn't know what Gekko Hoshiyomi's ideals were. He didn't know why Hoshiyomi did what he did.
And yet — Hoshiyomi had already become aware, at least partially, of his secret plans.
For the first time in a thousand years, the ever-manipulative Black Zetsu — who had always toyed with human hearts like puppets — found himself facing someone Perfectly unreadable.
And he hated it.
Black Zetsu despised uncertainty. And if this variable threatened his plan to resurrect Mother — then it was absolutely intolerable.
His eyes grew darker and more dangerous. Since Hoshiyomi had become a wild card, he had to be eliminated.
Whether or not Hoshiyomi survived Madara's hand didn't matter anymore — Black Zetsu couldn't afford to stay here any longer.
He had to erase his presence Perfectly… and start crafting a new plan.
A plan to eliminate the variable — to eliminate Gekko Hoshiyomi.
With that thought, Black Zetsu quietly separated from White Zetsu's body and slowly sank back into the ground.
...
As Susanoo's body split apart, the special chakra sustaining it began to dissipate bit by bit. Madara's form reappeared from within the fading giant.
Locking eyes with Hoshiyomi from across the clearing, Madara showed no trace of frustration or anger.
Instead, a satisfied smile spread across his face — a smile that deepened, then twisted into a mad, skyward laugh.
"Hahahahaha! Gekko Hoshiyomi, I truly admire you! This feeling — this thrill of having something exceed my expectations — I haven't felt it since Hashirama!"
After laughing heartily, Madara raised a finger and pointed at Hoshiyomi, his eyes blazing with feverish fighting spirit.
"I acknowledge you! You have shattered my prejudice against you with your swordsmanship. In my eyes, you are no longer just some challenger from the younger generation. You are an opponent worthy of being treated as an equal by me, Uchiha Madara."
"Be proud, Among those I consider opponents and treat as equals, you are the first since Hashirama!"
As he spoke, Madara's pupils began to surge wildly with power. The tomoe of his Sharingan spun rapidly, and under the violent stimulation of that overwhelming ocular power, a strange transformation began!
The three tomoe whirled faster and faster, merging together to form a pattern resembling a swirling Yin–Yang fish. Hoshiyomi recognized it instantly — it was the Mangekyō Sharingan pattern belonging to Madara Uchiha.
In his previous life, back when he was just a middle schooler, he used to doodle that same design on his desk and notebooks.
But those idle scribbles from his past life were nothing compared to the real thing.
Only by standing before these eyes in person could one truly comprehend the terrifying energy contained within that pattern!
At that moment, Madara began burning away the last remnants of his life force, pouring all of his chakra and ocular power into his three-tomoe eyes.
Under that crushing flood of power, the ordinary Sharingan transcended its natural limits — breaking through into the Mangekyō Sharingan form.
In fact, if the eyes could have endured it, Madara might have even forced them to evolve straight into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
But the strain was already unbearable — any further, and the eyes would have been destroyed. So he stopped there.
Feeling the world with a clarity sharper than ever, Madara's voice trembled with excitement:
"It's been far too long since I last fought using these eyes… Gekko Hoshiyomi, savor it well — the true, pinnacle power of the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
As he spoke, the eerie blue-violet chakra once again surged from his body like blazing flame. It was the same chakra as before — yet now, its sheer volume was on an entirely different scale.
If the chakra he had wielded earlier was like a small stream, then what surrounded him now was a boundless ocean.
Even Hoshiyomi found himself stunned for a brief moment in the face of such an immense, sea-like presence. There was no doubt — the power now radiating from Madara was the true strength of Uchiha Madara at his peak!
Seeing Hoshiyomi momentarily dazed, Madara smiled in satisfaction. With a sharp motion of his hand, the vast sea of chakra around him stirred like tidal waves, converging upon his form.
Within moments, a new Susanoo took shape — one Perfectly different from the previous.
A towering figure, over a hundred meters tall.
Ancient armor covering its entire body.
Wings so massive they blotted out the sky.
Twin blades, each forty meters long, gripped in its hands.
And upon its head, a fierce, otherworldly tengu mask.
Everything about it proclaimed its supremacy — this was no mere warrior anymore.
If the previous Susanoo had been a samurai, then this one was a god of war.
This was the true, Perfect Susanoo!