Humiliation. All Six Paths Madara felt was humiliation.
Madara's humiliation did not come from being outmatched. No matter how great the gap was, Madara could face it and accept it.
His humiliation came purely from being looked down upon, from the way Uchiha Mai looked at him as though he were a cherished toy, piercing his heart.
Everyone went through such a phase: when they got something they loved, they thought they possessed the whole world. It might have been a toy car, or perhaps a figurine...
Did they like it? Did they care about it? Did they value it?
The answer was yes.
But if one day they lost that thing, it actually would not matter much. Life would go on; at worst, they could buy a new toy. It was not irreplaceable.
That was how Uchiha Mai looked at Six Paths Madara.
I am Uchiha Madara, the strongest, bravest, and most patient powerhouse in this world. Hashirama is dead, and Kaguya Clan is dead too.
I spent a hundred years becoming the strongest in the Ninja World. Someone like me needs no one's pity!
Six Paths Madara steeled himself... and decisively used Yomotsu Hirasaka to make his escape.
As long as he could prove that he was not completely helpless, as long as he could prove that he could struggle a little—even once!
That was Madara's stubbornness and refusal to admit defeat.
Madara moved like lightning, darting toward the spatial portal, wanting to prove that he was not fish on the chopping block, helplessly awaiting slaughter.
"Futile struggling..."
Uchiha Mai shook his head. His body turned into a ray of light and shot into the spacetime gate, arriving at the other end of the portal before Six Paths Madara.
He had truly turned into a ray of light.