"...And the Mangekyo Sharingan in Seisui's eyes shifted into a new shape."
Feeling the immense power surging through his body, Seisui looked toward Madara once more.
"How about it?" he asked.
"Two Susanoo?" Madara's eyes widened in surprise before he let out a wild laugh, his aura flaring with battle lust. "Now this is interesting!"
Madara charged with his Susanoo's great blade, slashing toward Seisui.
Clang!
Before he could close the distance, the Panda Sage appeared in front of him, blocking the blade with a hand. The impact rang out like metal striking metal.
It couldn't pierce Susanoo's defense—but Susanoo couldn't pierce its defense either.
"So this is your Sage Art?" Madara's grin widened, his laughter booming. "Much better than that slimy, disgusting bug!"
Meanwhile, within Seisui's Susanoo, black flames of Amaterasu twisted together to form a massive longbow.
"With black flames as arrows—pierce through everything!"
As he released the string, the arrow of black fire shot forth at lightning speed.
In an instant, it slammed into Madara's Susanoo, forcing it back dozens of meters and tearing open a crack in its armor before quickly regenerating.
At the same time, Madara slashed down with a colossal wave of energy that carved a deep trench through the ground.
But the Panda Sage ignored it, charging straight toward him.
Seisui wasn't far behind, his Susanoo now wielding the Totsuka Blade as he joined the assault.
So even with Eternal Mangekyo Sasuke's power, I still can't finish him off…
As expected of Uchiha Madara.
Together, he and the Panda Sage couldn't break through Madara's defense—but Madara couldn't break through theirs either.
"I don't believe that an old relic like you can surpass me!"
From a distant ridge, Minato and Haru watched the battle unfold. Two colossal Susanoo clashed, blades colliding in titanic bursts of power, while an enormous panda darted in and out of the fray.
No decisive blows landed, but the surrounding landscape was shredded to dust, gouged with craters and fissures.
Minato could only stare in disbelief. "So this… is Seisui's true strength?"
He had known their gap was wide—but not this wide.
If we fought… even my Rasengan wouldn't scratch that thing.
I'd be lucky not to get flattened.
He turned slightly toward Haru. Does she have this kind of power too?
The thought made him go quiet. Don't tell me… I'm the weakest one on the team.
What Minato didn't know was that Susanoo drained a user's eyesight the longer it was used—something he might've taken advantage of if not for Seisui's unique abilities.
As the fight dragged on, Madara's movements grew slower; fatigue was setting in.
Damn it… how does this brat have so much chakra?!
It had already been nearly an hour, and while his own stamina waned, Seisui's power burned on as if it was endless.
A monster… is this brat an Eternal Mangekyo user?
Sensing Madara's slowing pace, Seisui's eyes sharpened. Now's my chance.
"Black flames that pierce all—shoot him down!"
He formed another bow from Amaterasu's fire.
Madara sneered, "Give it up. That won't be enough to harm me."
But Seisui only smirked.
"You think too highly of yourself, old man—and too little of me!"
The arrow flew again, punching another crack in Susanoo's armor.
Seeing this, the Panda Sage's golden eyes flashed. It leapt high into the sky, its body swelling to over a hundred meters tall.
"Rock Drop!"
Boom!
The massive panda slammed down like a meteor, hammering Madara's Susanoo into the ground like a nail.
While Madara was pinned, Seisui dismissed his Susanoo, unrolled several storage scrolls, and flung them skyward. A kunai shot out, piercing through them and from the torn seals, a flood of explosive clay poured down like a landslide, burying the battlefield in white mud.
As trees disappeared beneath the torrent, Seisui tossed out another scroll.
More.
When the area was completely submerged, he infused chakra into the clay beneath his feet.
In an instant, every lump of clay began glowing red-hot.
The Panda Sage took one look and—
Poof!
—vanished in a puff of smoke, retreating to safety.
Seisui, watching the pulsing crimson glow, added one last scroll for good measure.
Then, with his hands forming a seal, he whispered,
"Keep dancing, Madara. The remnants of the old era belong in the Pure Land. The new world has no place for you."
With that, he vanished through Reverse Summoning.
Madara, buried beneath the seething clay, was red with fury.
"Damn brat!"
Black Zetsu emerged beside him, panicked. "Madara-sama! We must leave—now! It's dangerous here!"
"Use the Mayfly Technique! Take me away!"
"Yes, my lord!"
Before Zetsu could act, the clay reached critical heat.
Rumble!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A chain of massive explosions rocked the land.
From afar, Minato and Haru fled as the shockwaves tore through the forest.
Minato clutched his chest, pale. "I've never seen so much explosive clay in my life…"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The detonations raged for nearly eight minutes before silence finally returned.
On another mountain, a battered Madara and Black Zetsu reappeared, barely alive.
Madara's eye sockets were empty—both Sharingan sacrificed to Izanagi.
He stared in the direction of the blast, his voice trembling with rage.
"That damned brat…"
He had escaped death—but lost two Sharingan and his treasured Gunbai Uchiwa in the process.
A humiliating defeat.
"Zetsu. Retrieve my fan."
"Yes, Madara-sama." Black Zetsu turned to the white half beside him. "Afei, take the others and find it."
"Why's it always me?!" Afei whined. "Why don't you go?"
Back at the blast site, Seisui and the Panda Sage surveyed the devastation.
The Panda Sage shook his head. "What a blast… Panda Martial's testing grounds might need to move farther out next time."
Looking over the ruined battlefield, it smirked.
"Who dares call themselves invincible? Who dares claim they never lose? Even Uchiha Madara's gone!"
Seisui ignored the bragging panda, his gaze fixed on a half-buried object nearby.
He walked over, bent down, and pulled out the scorched Gunbai Uchiwa.
"How generous of him."
He didn't believe Madara was truly dead—anyone with spare Sharingan could survive with Izanagi.
Still, the fan was his now.
With a flicker of chakra, he carved his personal Flying Raijin mark—a little doodle of a hand patting a head—onto the handle.
He grinned. "Try and take it back, old man."
The seal would let him track and summon the fan from anywhere.
Even if someone sealed it away, no one else could use it without him knowing.
"Perfect for Haru," he said. "My style doesn't need it, but she'll make it shine."
The Panda Sage chuckled once more before vanishing.
And Seisui, holding the fan, turned toward where Minato and Haru were waiting.
When they saw him, Haru ran straight into his arms, tears streaming down her face.
"I was so scared… I thought you'd really died…"
Seisui smiled gently, patting her head.
"Don't worry. I won't ever scare you like that again."
"Madara's gone—and I brought this back for you." He handed her the fan. "It's marked with my seal, so you'll never lose it."
Haru wiped her tears, nodding firmly as she gripped the fan tight.
It was the first gift Seisui had ever given her.
Madara wasn't truly dead—but letting the world believe he was would work in Seisui's favor.
"Alright," he said with a smile. "Let's head for Kusagakure."
"Right!" Minato and Haru both nodded. He was their leader. They followed without question.
Elsewhere, not far from the blast zone, Kakuzu peeked out from behind a rock, trembling.
"Damn… that was close! Who the hell buried so many explosive tags here?!"
"And that panda—what the hell was that?!"
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