Urashiki's eyes widened in shock as he looked at Madara's Rinnegan and said,
"That's… the Rinnegan? How could a human possibly possess those eyes?"
Kinshiki furrowed his brows tightly. As an Ōtsutsuki, he could naturally see Madara's Limbo.
The muscles in his arm bulged, power surging into his fist as he flung aside Madara's shadow and returned to Urashiki's side.
Urashiki shot Kinshiki a sidelong glance and said,
"There's something strange about that man… but he probably knows quite a lot about Kaguya. Let's make sure to leave him alive."
Kinshiki gave a small nod and replied,
"Before Momoshiki-sama returns, I'll deal with him."
The two of them carried on their conversation as if Madara weren't even there, showing no sign of treating him as a threat.
Madara narrowed his eyes and strode straight toward Kinshiki. Without turning his head, he called out,
"Itachi, get everyone back. These two aren't opponents you can handle."
Itachi already understood that well enough. He motioned to the ANBU behind him, then used Shunshin to retreat from the area.
Madara stopped in front of Kinshiki, tilting his head upward to meet his gaze.
Though Madara's body seemed small before Kinshiki's towering frame, his aura was not one bit weaker.
Neither of them was the type to waste words. Kinshiki's eyes sharpened as he raised his arm and brought a massive fist down at Madara.
Madara flickered aside, dodging. Kinshiki's blow slammed into the ground, carving several winding fissures across the earth.
Meanwhile, Urashiki had already lifted into the air. Looking down at the spreading dust, he sighed,
"This place has a nice view. Wouldn't it be a shame to ruin it like this?"
From within the cloud of dust, a faint red glow flickered. Kinshiki emerged, drawing from the crimson ring behind his back a massive axe. He gripped it tightly and swung toward the empty air at his side.
Boom!
A muffled impact rang out—Madara's shadow was blasted away again.
Just then, Madara appeared above Kinshiki in his Susanoo. A massive skeletal hand came crashing down.
But Kinshiki didn't dodge. Instead, a spatial vortex erupted from his Byakugan, swallowing him whole.
Madara's strike slammed into the earth, missing entirely.
His brow arched slightly as he muttered,
"That's… Kamui?"
Before he could follow the thought, Kinshiki emerged behind him, cleaving downward with his axe at Susanoo.
Unlike Danzō's kunai, this weapon was on another level entirely. Madara's first-form Susanoo cracked in countless places under the single blow.
Madara immediately poured more power into his eyes. Azure chakra flames burst from Susanoo as armor instantly formed, repelling Kinshiki away.
Now half-bodied, Susanoo wrapped around Madara protectively. Urashiki, floating above, perked up with interest at the sight.
"What's this? Now that's interesting!"
Even Kinshiki, seeing Susanoo for the first time, showed surprise on his face.
Faced with such a massive opponent, his axe shifted, reshaping into a crimson glaive.
Gripping it with both hands, Kinshiki unleashed a blade of energy toward Susanoo.
Susanoo blocked with its energy blade, then opened its other hand. Blue magatama beads appeared, before being hurled down at Kinshiki.
"Yasaka Magatama!"
The crimson ring behind Kinshiki flared with light. A shield shot out, intercepting the barrage.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Explosions roared as Susanoo's attack was completely blocked. At the same time, violet lightning surged around Kinshiki's body as he charged with frightening speed straight into Susanoo.
The sheer impact tore through Susanoo's defenses, shattering it. Madara had already slipped free before the blow connected.
This time, he didn't strike back immediately. Instead, he glanced at the ruined battlefield and thought to himself,
"No… I need to draw them away from here!"
With that, Madara spun and flew toward the Valley of the End.
Watching from above, Urashiki blinked in surprise and shouted,
"Oi oi oi! He's running away?!"
Shup!
Kinshiki appeared beside him, voice low.
"He doesn't want this place caught in the crossfire. He's trying to lure us away."
"Uh… yeah, I figured…"
Kinshiki's gaze followed Madara into the distance.
"There's real value in that man. If we catch him, we'll be able to learn a great deal about Kaguya."
Urashiki nodded.
"Then let's go play with him!"
And with that, the two of them gave chase.
...
Not long after, Minato arrived with Itachi and Obito.
Seeing the devastation left behind, Minato drew in a sharp breath and muttered,
"Such destruction in so little time… so this is the power of the Ōtsutsuki?"
Obito frowned, scanning the area.
"Where are they now?"
Itachi answered,
"Madara must have drawn them away. If the fight had continued here, Konoha would have been in danger."
Obito's expression hardened with suspicion. He could hardly believe Madara would care about such things.
Catching his doubt, Itachi shook his head.
"Madara has changed a lot recently. It seems he's grown fond of the current Konoha."
Obito snorted and fell silent.
Minato patted his shoulder before turning to Itachi.
"Itachi, where do you think Madara would take them? Those two are incredibly strong—we can't let him face them alone."
After a moment's thought, Itachi replied hesitantly,
"If it's Madara, then most likely… the Valley of the End!"
Minato nodded. At this point, it was indeed the best battleground. He looked to Obito.
"Obito, use your Kamui to take me and Itachi there. The others will stay here. With Kaito missing, the defense of Konoha falls to us."
"Sensei, understood."
Though Obito still bore hatred for Madara, in this moment he chose to stand with him.
...
At the Valley of the End—
Madara and Kinshiki clashed fiercely. Though Madara's taijutsu was weaker, with Limbo activated Kinshiki was essentially fighting five Madaras at once. Even so, Madara was steadily being pushed back.
When Kinshiki finally broke free of the shadows and lunged at him, Madara's eyes widened slightly.
"Almighty Push!"
The wave sent Kinshiki flying back.
And by chance—or perhaps on purpose—Kinshiki was blasted straight into the mouth of Hashirama's statue, leaving a gaping hole where its lips once were.
Moments later, Kinshiki burst out of the statue's mouth, crimson weapons circling around him.
Madara instantly pulled his shadows before him, blocking Kinshiki's advance.
But the weapons scattered outward before closing in from all directions.
Madara spread his arms wide.
"Almighty Push!"
The wave blasted them away. But as the repulsion faded, crimson paper cranes suddenly appeared at Madara's flank.