"It's time to end the side show!"
Madara spoke lightly, leaped up and flew straight into the sky.
He slowly raised his right hand, where a mysterious black energy began to form. The irregularly pulsating mass expanded into a black sphere about the size of a human brain.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
In the next moment, the black sphere shattered, shooting dozens of smaller black spheres outward.
'What is he trying to do?' Sasuke wondered, unable to grasp Madara's plan.
Clap!
Madara clasped his hands together and shouted, "Chibaku Tensei!"
The desolate ground, covered in wild grass, immediately cracked and rumbled.
With a violent tremor, massive chunks of earth and rock erupted from the ground and hurtled skyward.
Each of the black spheres hanging in the air acted like magnets, attracting the debris and consuming it to form larger and larger spheres.
Boom! Boom!
The ground groaned under the strain, raising clouds of dust that obscured the battlefield.
When the dust finally settled, dozens of Chibaku Tensei satellites hung ominously in the sky!
"So this is your power?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes slightly. The Chibaku Tensei used by Uchiha Madara was far superior to Nagato in both the size and quantity.
Sweat beaded on Sasuke's forehead as he assessed the situation. The four Limbo clones on the ground continued to bide their time, waiting for an opportunity to strike. Combined with the overwhelming threat of the Chibaku Tensei above, Sasuke faced an unprecedented crisis.
"This rain is a bit heavier... and harder than usual."
Madara's voice was calm as he pressed his right hand downward, directing the satellites toward Sasuke.
The sight of the descending spheres, like a meteor shower, forced Sasuke to focus all his attention.
To make matters worse, the Limbo clones finally began their assault.
"Susanoo!"
With a low shout, purple Chakra emerged from Sasuke's body, taking the shape of a massive skeletal figure.
As the skeleton solidified, armor materialized to form the Complete Body Susanoo.
In one fluid motion, the Susanoo drew its bow and released a massive, glowing arrow.
Whoosh!
The enormous purple arrow streaked toward one of the falling Chibaku Tensei spheres.
Boom!
The arrow pierced the sphere, causing its surface to fracture rapidly before detonating in a brilliant explosion that completely obliterated it.
Thanks to his Six-Tomoe Rinnegan, the power of Sasuke's Susanoo had been enhanced significantly.
However, the arrow consumed a tremendous amount of chakra and pupil power. Coupled with the approaching Limbo clones, Sasuke gritted his teeth and made a bold decision.
The Susanoo flapped its massive wings, propelling itself into the air. With its right hand gripping a massive purple energy blade, the Susanoo shattered another Chibaku Tensei sphere with two swift slashes.
Standing atop the resulting rubble, it launched toward the nearest sphere, continuing the fight.
Inside the pentagonal purple energy shield within the Susanoo's head, Sasuke muttered in frustration, "Damn it. They just keep coming. How much Chakra is this going to drain..."
Madara, however, paid no further attention to Sasuke. Instead, he ascended higher into the sky.
"According to the inscription on the stone tablet, when a wielder of the Rinnegan approaches the moon..."
As he spoke, Madara reached up and tore off the Six Paths horns on his head, revealing his smooth, pale forehead.
From the previously unblemished skin, a vertical crack began to form.
Amid the sound of tearing flesh, the crack split open, revealing a third eye.
The blood-red eye bore nine tomoe swirling around a spiraling pattern.
It was the Nine-Tomoe Sharingan!
Correspondingly, the moon also turned blood red, displaying the same nine-tomoe design as the third eye on Madara's forehead.
"As long as I get close enough, the Eye of the Moon, which is used to realize infinite dreams, will be activated and illuminate the world!"
Swish, swish, swish!
Madara's hands moved swiftly through a series of hand seals, followed by his declaration, "Infinite Tsukuyomi!"
As his voice fell, his third eye glowed with a sinister light, ready to cast its beam upon the crimson moon.
However, in that very moment, Madara's head was abruptly severed from his body.
The blood-red moon in the sky quickly reverted to its original, luminous silver hue.
"Why did you intervene?"
Sasuke turned his gaze upward and saw that the one attacking Madara was none other than the black-robed figure.
The battle clearly had yet to reach a conclusion, so Sasuke wondered why was the black-robed figure so eager to act.
The black-robed figure did not speak, but grabbed Madara's head and began to analyze his memory.
About an hour later, she exhaled a long breath of relief, "Thankfully, I made it in time."
"What is going on?"
Sasuke demanded, still unable to fathom the black-robed figure's intentions.
The black-robed figure explained, "While you were dealing with Madara, I was idly observing. I decided to capture Black Zetsu to prevent any further scheming. Black Zetsu, it turns out, isn't human but a manifestation of will. Extracting its memories revealed a hidden truth… Madara was being manipulated."
"What?"
Sasuke was stunned, 'Could Madara, like Obito and Nagato before him, also have a mastermind behind him?'
'Is this a matryoshka doll?'
The black-robed figure continued, "Through Madara's memory, I've pieced everything together. The truth is actually like this..."
"Initially, Madara and Hashirama had the same goal. They worked together to transform the Shinobi World, where even children were forced into war. Their solution was to establish the Shinobi Villages."
"But the villages failed to bring true peace. People still couldn't trust one another. Fear, suspicion, and hatred persisted. Madara sought change, but ultimately, the Shinobi World followed Hashirama's vision. Far from ending wars, the formation of Shinobi Villages only escalated the scale of conflict. The three Shinobi World Wars, with their countless casualties, are evidence enough."
Hashirama's dream for the Shinobi World was a failure, so Uchiha Madara decided to provoke the Fourth Shinobi World War, and controlled everyone in the God Tree through the Infinite Tsukuyomi, so that everyone could dream of happiness and live in a truly ideal world."
Sasuke furrowed his brow and asked, "Is that truly what Madara intended?"
'In order to bring happiness to all mankind, he was willing to destroy the Uchiha Clan. Heh… how noble and delusional!'
Sasuke, having experienced the effects of the Tsukuyomi, knew that no matter how realistic it seemed, it was ultimately just an illusion. As the black-robed figure had said, it was nothing more than a beautiful dream.
In simple terms, Madara had gone mad. If the Infinite Tsukuyomi succeeded, it would mean the annihilation of all Shinobi, a total end to the world as they knew it, all under the guise of peace.
Sure, it would prevent future wars… but only because there would be no one left to fight.
"An absolute lunatic!"
'Such a man, driven by his twisted sense of justice, would never regret ordering Uchiha Obito to annihilate the Uchiha Clan. Even in defeat, Madara would only lament his failure to bring 'peace'.'
'Moreover, if she had not stopped the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it would have surely led to a greater tragedy.'
In hindsight, Sasuke felt a strange sense of relief. The vengeance he once pursued now seemed unnecessary.
For now, there was only one question that mattered: Who is the true mastermind behind it all?