"No, this isn't just an ordinary Rinnegan!"
Madara scrutinized Sasuke, quickly noticing something unusual.
Sasuke's Rinnegan wasn't a standard version with mere ripple patterns, as each eye now bore the tomoe markings characteristic of the Sharingan. Specifically, they were Six-Tomoe Rinnegan!
"Finally... I can fight properly!"
Sasuke exhaled deeply.
After awakening the Rinnegan, the oppressive aura emanating from Madara, which had once weighed down on Sasuke, vanished entirely.
The so-called Six-Tomoe Rinnegan was unique, as it not only retained the abilities of the Rinnegan but also allowed for the use of Sharingan Techniques. In simple terms, Sasuke's eyes surpassed Madara's in functionality.
However, without Hashirama's cells, Sasuke could only wield Yin Release rather than the full Yin-Yang Release. Moreover, because the transformation was induced by the pill, the Six-Tomoe Rinnegan was only temporary.
The effect would last for only an hour.
But Sasuke felt that an hour is more than enough!
Sasuke clenched his fists, feeling an unprecedented surge of power. He was confident this time was ample to completely crush Madara!
Madara, who was unable to gauge Sasuke's newfound strength, discarded his earlier playful attitude. Forming hand seals, he said, "Sage Art: Yin Release Lightning Dispatch!"
Hovering in mid-air, Madara thrust his hands toward Sasuke, unleashing a torrent of violet-black lightning that streaked through the air like a storm.
"Hmph!"
Sasuke didn't flinch or attempt to dodge. Instead, he uttered coolly, "Amenotejikara!"
Amenotejikara allows Sasuke to instantly swap positions with any object within a certain range. In close combat, this power lets Sasuke evade attacks by exchanging places with another visible object.
So, just as the lightning was about to strike Sasuke, he activated the technique, swapping places with a nearby pebble. The attack missed completely.
"What? A teleportation technique? No... this isn't mere teleportation technique!"
Madara couldn't believe what he was witnessing.
"Still have time to gape?"
Using Amenotejikara again, Sasuke swapped places with one of the Truth-Seeking Balls orbiting Madara. In an instant, he was right in front of Madara, ready to strike. (T/N: There's no mention that Madara has Truth-Seeking Balls before, so it seemed this Madara is already in his Six Paths state.)
"Hmph!"
Madara snorted coldly and narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Tch!"
Sasuke clicked his tongue in frustration, abruptly retreating instead of landing his attack.
Logically speaking, why would Sasuke retreated when he had already succeeded?
But Sasuke's odd behavior soon drew a shocked realization from Madara, "You... you can see my Limbo?"
"So that's what it's called? Limbo, huh? What an annoying ability."
With the power of his Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, Sasuke could see the shadowy figure of Madara in front of him… a black-and-white clone operating in a different plane.
Sasuke deduced that this Limbo clone had been the one restraining him earlier, sabotaging him from the shadows.
Had he not detected it in time, Sasuke might have fallen for another ambush.
"Now that you have the Rinnegan, you can finally see it, huh?"
Madara remarked calmly, "Logically speaking, no one in this world can sense or detect my Limbo. You're proving to be far more capable than I anticipated. All the more reason to eliminate you!"
With that, Madara rushed toward Sasuke.
Sasuke's expression changed slightly and he seemed very flustered. He was caught off guard by this sudden close-range attack.
After all, he was being attacked by Madara from the front and by another Madara in the Limbo from behind him, so escape seemed impossible.
"Pfft!"
However, just as Madara raised a black rod to impale Sasuke, he suddenly froze. A sharp pain shot through his abdomen.
The figure standing where Sasuke had been moments ago was gone, replaced by a Kusanagi Sword embedded in Madara's stomach.
"Is this... another of your Rinnegan's Dojutsu?"
Madara coughed, spitting blood as he gripped the Kusanagi Sword. Even as he pulled it out, the wound began to heal at an astonishing rate.
Tap, tap!
Sasuke walked out from behind a tree not far away and said calmly, "Trying to kill me? Then go ahead and try. I'm going to kill you anyway. A minor injury like that won't be enough to take you down. Let's keep this fight going!"
Earlier, Sasuke had used Amenotejikara to swap places with the Kusanagi Sword he had hidden earlier, catching Madara off guard. However, he knew the same trick wouldn't work again so easily.
However, after observing closely, Sasuke noticed that the Limbo clone temporarily returned to Madara's body before separating again a moment later.
'It seemed that using his clone had a cooldown period.'
Even if the overlap between Madara and his shadow clone lasted only an instant, Sasuke believed it was the key to victory. He needed to strike both Madara and the clone simultaneously, leaving Madara no chance to recover.
With this realization, Sasuke launched another attack.
Accompanied by the sound of chirping birds, Chidori formed in Sasuke's hand. This time, however, it wasn't the usual blue-violet lightning. Instead, the Chidori crackled with black-and-white bolts, as it was infused with the Yin Attribute Chakra he had just acquired.
The Chidori chirped incessantly, but Sasuke held back, not releasing it immediately.
Finally, as the moment of overlap between Madara and the Limbo clone arrived, Sasuke shouted, "Now!"
With a fierce thrust, he struck a nearby stone pillar.
"What is he…?"
Madara was about to mock Sasuke's apparent misstep when…
In an instant, the stone pillar was replaced by Madara himself.
"What?! How is this possible? Why am I here?"
Madara was momentarily disoriented, unable to comprehend what had happened. Before he could react, Sasuke's Chidori struck him with full force.
The black-and-white lightning coursed through Madara's body, making his already pale Six Paths form flicker between black and white hues.
The sheer brightness of the lightning lit up the entire battlefield. Dust erupted from the ground like rippling waves, filling the area with a deafening roar of thunder and electricity.
"This time, you're…"
Sasuke smirked as he spoke, but before he could finish, Madara abruptly flew away.
'Under normal circumstances, escaping from my Chidori's sticky lightning field should have been impossible. What was going on?'
Using his Rinnegan, Sasuke observed the scene in front of him. To his frustration, he realized he had only struck the Limbo clone.
Madara had used the brief overlap to switch places, leaving his clone to endure the full force of Sasuke's attack.
"Don't even think about escaping!"
Sasuke activated his Rinnegan's power again, attempting to drag Madara's true body back. But this time, his ability failed to take hold.
"As I thought…"
Madara chuckled softly, "I've almost figured out your power. At long distances, your ability doesn't work."
"Damn it!"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. He had been so close, yet the opportunity slipped away. He couldn't afford to let Madara go unscathed.
At the same time, Sasuke knew he couldn't leave his position. If he did, the Limbo clone would regain its freedom, and the chances of creating another opportunity to strike would dwindle significantly.
As Sasuke wrestled with his thoughts, he suddenly froze.
Before his eyes, something unbelievable unfolded.
"I've had enough of this. You're no longer entertaining me. Disappear!"
Madara took a deep breath, and to Sasuke's shock, four additional Limbo clones emerged from his body, joining the original.
'Could this... be Madara's true Limbo power?'
One Limbo clone had already been nearly impossible for Sasuke to handle. But now there were four more…