The night was still smoldering from Kushina's slaughter of the Five Kage when the forest trembled again. From the shadows stepped a man cloaked in red armor from the Warring States era; his presence was suffocating, and his aura colder than death. The moonlight caught the fan-shaped crest on his back. His Rinnegan gleamed in the darkness, purple with black rings.
It was Madara Uchiha.
He seemed much younger than the last time she saw him.
Kushina unlatched her scythe, her grip so tight her knuckles turned white. Her cloak of foxfire flickered brighter. Out of everyone she's ever faced, Madara was the one who came closest to killing her.
Kurama's low growl reverberated within her mind.
'So it's him…' the fox rumbled. 'I can't help you this time, not when he has the Rinnegan.'
Kushina exhaled slowly, meeting Madara's gaze without flinching. "You just keep crawling back, old man. Hashirama should've put you down for good."
Madara smirked faintly. His voice was deep and calm, carrying an authority filled with natural arrogance. "Hashirama failed, and so did you. Your power is impressive, Uzumaki. But you'll never beat me with borrowed power."
Her tails ruffled as her anger surged. "Borrowed? Kurama's mine- heart and soul. I'll prove it by tearing you apart, dattebane!"
Madara moved first. With a mere gesture, the air compressed and exploded. Almighty Push rippled through the clearing, trees uprooting, and the ground shattering. Kushina crossed her tails before her, bracing. The blast hurled her backward, crashing her through two trees before she skidded to a halt.
He was already on her. The Gunbai's edge slammed into her side. Her tails whipped up, catching the blow, sparks screaming from the collision. The sheer force numbed her arm.
Then- a strike from nowhere cracked her jaw sideways. She stumbled, barely catching her balance with her scythe. Another blow hammered her knee. Something invisible was attacking her in tandem.
Limbo clones: invisible and intangible to most, they flickered just outside reality and touched only the target. Madara's Rinnegan placed them between worlds; they were already assaulting Kushina from angles she never could have anticipated.
Kushina strained her senses- her Mind's Eye of Kagura and Malice sensing working together. The air rippled with faint negative emotions, ugly and sour, the kind she'd trained herself to taste. The Zero Tails had left her more sensitive to corruption, and with her refined senses, even Madara's unseen clones weren't clean.
She ducked just before one's fist shattered the air above her skull. That attack was dodged, but another slammed her spine, dropping her to a knee.
Madara's Gunbai crashed down. She twisted, tails locking against it with a ringing crack. He bore down, eyes gleaming.
"You can sense them. Interesting." he snorted. "It will make killing you… less dull."
She shoved him back with a roar, scythe sweeping wide. Her wings snapped, launching her forward in a burst of speed. A tail lashed out, snaring his wrist. She yanked, dragging him off-balance, and tried to slam a Rasengan into his chest, but he twisted out of the way. It exploded against the ground in front of him.
The explosion tore a crater, hurling them both apart.
Kushina rose from the dust and clapped her hands together. With Kurama's help, Sage markings bloomed around her eyes as red eyeliner. Her eyes turned crimson with slits like Kurama's, and her face had vaguely fox-shaped features.
Natural energy steadied her limbs and sharpened her senses. The Limbo clones were still there- flickering just at the edge of her perception- but now she could read them a little clearer, each distorted pulse of malice.
One lunged. She spun, golden tail smashing through it. Another tried for her throat; her scythe curved up and severed the phantom's arm before it scattered.
Madara's brow furrowed as he wiped blood from his lip. "Sage Mode."
Chains erupted from the ground around him, radiant links snapping tight. He answered with a crushing wave of Almighty Push, shattering half of them, but two caught his legs. Kushina dived, scythe aimed for his chest.
At the last second, his Gunbai swung up, catching the blade. The shockwave cracked the earth, both fighters straining, faces inches apart.
"You fight well," Madara admitted. "But raw power is never enough. You don't have my skill."
Black markings bloomed across his neck, crawling like oil over his skin. His chakra twisted; it was already dark and evil, but it became even more vile. The ground withered where it touched.
Orochimaru's curse mark.
Madara's grin widened as strength flooded his limbs. He ripped free of the chains as if they were paper and vanished.
Kushina barely sensed the malice spike behind her before a Limbo clone's heel drove into her ribs, cracking them audibly. Another swept her legs out, while the real Madara's Gunbai crashed down, hammering her into the ground.
She gasped blood. Her tails writhed, deflecting the next strike, but every defense opened her to another assault. The Limbo were faster and sharper- coordinated in perfect rhythm with Madara.
A Rasengan flared in her palm, but he caught her wrist, his Rinnegan draining it to nothing. His fist buried in her gut, folding her in half.
She crashed into a boulder, coughing blood. Her cloak flickered. The malice from him was overwhelming and suffocating.
Kurama's voice shook. 'Kushina- don't give in! Damn it!'
She forced herself to stand, scythe trembling in her grip. "I… won't lose. Not to you. Not to anyone."
Madara's clones closed in, circling like wolves. His voice was soft. "You're formidable. I didn't think anyone after Hashirama and I could reach this level of power, but you proved me wrong."
His sharp gaze pierced her, "Too bad it's not enough."
He struck again.
The assault was merciless. Limbo fists cracked her jaw, broke her nose, and shattered her guard. Her tails lashed wildly, catching some, but each defense left another opening. The Gunbai slammed her across the clearing, snapping trees in her wake.
Her scythe fell from her hand, and her cloak dimmed. She staggered, her body refusing to obey.
Then- a clone's hand speared through her chest. She froze, staring down at the bloody fist emerging from her sternum.
Her world went silent. The red cloak shattered for the first time. Blood poured down her front, warm and heavy.
Madara's shadow loomed, his Gunbai raised for the final strike. "In the end, you were still but a slave before these eyes."
The strike cleaved through her waist, cutting Kushina clean in half. For a heartbeat, she remained standing- then her vision collapsed into darkness. Her lifeforce plummeted, ebbing away faster than even her immense vitality could replenish.
Inside the seal, Kurama's rage thundered. 'Kushina!' He prepared to break free, knowing the Rinnegan's shackles would bind him the instant he emerged. It would mean slavery, perhaps forever- but doing nothing and watching her die was unthinkable. He would never forgive himself.
But before he could act, her sundered body lifted into the air as if rewound by unseen hands. Her upper half rejoined her lower half, flesh and bone stitching back together in reverse motion, like time had gone backwards. Her lungs convulsed as breath flooded them, her chest rising sharply.
From the treeline stumbled Nagato, his face ashen, and his Mangekyō burning. He dropped to his knees from the strain.
Kushina gasped, alive, her eyes snapped open.
Even Madara faltered, surprise flickering across his stoic mask. He had not foreseen this.
Her fist met his jaw before he could process. The impact cracked like thunder. Madara's body was launched backward, vanishing into the night at supersonic speed.
Kushina didn't hesitate. Wings spread, she shot to Nagato's side, scooping him and Akinari up with her tails. With every ounce of strength left, she fled, streaking toward Akagakure.
The village stirred as she descended. Her clansmen froze, unease rippling at the sight of their Akakage drenched in blood, with her cloak tattered and her face grim. Kushina ignored their stares. She had no time for an explanation.
Inside the Akakage building, at its heart, lay the failsafe she had built with Renji Uzumaki. A seal crafted for one purpose: survival. In case she ever lost.
She didn't think it would ever see use, but here she was.
Her palm slammed against its surface. Golden energy erupted outward, cascading through the village like a wave. It struck every Uzumaki, resonating with the faint inscription she had carved onto each of them a while ago. One by one, her clansmen flared with light and vanished, drawn into the safety of the seal.
The weight crushed her chest. She had sworn never to flee again. Not after Uzushio, not after she betrayed and created her own village. And yet here she was- forced to abandon their home, forced to run from him, Madara Uchiha.
She clenched her teeth, hot tears burning behind her eyes, but forced herself forward. Their survival came first; she could think about vengeance later.
With her people secured, Kushina turned and launched herself across the ocean, each wingbeat fueled by desperation.
----
When Madara regained his bearings, the forest was empty. Kushina's chakra was gone, and her people were spirited away. He ground his teeth, rare frustration breaking his calm.
"To escape me twice…" His Rinnegan narrowed. "Uzumaki Kushina… you test my patience."
His pride bristled. Once, long ago, she had resisted him as well- though he had been an old man then. Now, in his prime, with the curse mark, she had stolen victory from him again. He should have crushed her utterly- yet she had slipped his grasp.
But as his gaze fell upon the battlefield, his scowl twisted into a smirk.
He saw Bee, who was bound, with his Eight-Tails chakra sealed. Han and Rōshi, as well. The two Jinchuriki of Iwa were his for the taking. Everything he needed was right here.
In the end, Kushina's interference had accelerated his plans, driving the world faster toward his design- decades faster. He was almost grateful. Almost.
"Very well," he murmured, as he strode toward his captives. "Run while you can, girl. In the end, you can't escape your fate… no one can."
The night swallowed his laughter, deep and terrible, as the moon cast its cold light upon a world sliding ever closer to his dream.
----
A/N: This is the final chapter of the third volume. For my first-ever fanfiction/novel, I didn't think I'd make it this far, but here we are, at the final stretch. The next volume might be the last one.
But I'm going to take a break before writing it. I've been releasing at least a chapter a day (normally 2) for the past month or so, which is difficult alongside everything else I do. It won't be a long break, though, because I'm excited to get into the next volume myself. I have some ideas that I think will be interesting to write about.
So, for the people still reading after 70 chapters, thanks! I appreciate the support.