Tobirama: "Elder Brother, come out and watch Madara set off fireworks!"

Rikusei followed Madara through the dense forest along the night road for some time before finally arriving at the most suitable place to set them off.

Under the vast dusk sky, the myriad lights of Konoha dotted the earth like stars, gazing across the distance at the Milky Way trailing starlight through the heavens.

Standing atop the cliff, Rikusei stared down at the scene below in entranced fascination. This was where Kage Rock would stand in the future.

A gentle mountain breeze stirred Madara Uchiha's long hair beside him, making his billowing robe rustle. Then Madara suddenly asked, "Are you ready?"

"Here?"

Rikusei could hardly believe it. Throwing Fire Release into the village from here—wasn't he afraid of setting the woods below ablaze and burning the newborn Konoha to the ground in an instant?

"Not that." Madara seemed to see through Rikusei's thoughts and answered forcefully.

Blue chakra surged from his body like ocean waves, sending his long hair and the hem of his clothes soaring from the ground toward the sky.

Rikusei hurriedly raised an arm against the terrifying blast of air. Squinting, he activated his Sharingan and carefully watched the chakra's flow. His black Ninja Shoes gripped the ground tightly, keeping him from being blown away by the frightening pressure of chakra.

On the broad flat ground atop the cliff, solidified chakra throbbed fiercely like a blue flame in the night.

Thick white bones began to form amid the rising blue waves. The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan spun violently within Madara's eye sockets as chakra flowed through his body.

Veins wound around the bones like vines, climbing over the giant's entire body. Sky-blue flesh spread after them, followed by deep-blue armor formed from chakra.

Susanoo's upper body towered over the earth.

Madara, his hands forming seals, gestured for Rikusei to stand at his side.

The giant with its faceplate opened crimson eyes. Following the hands of its true body inside, it formed seals as well, silently looking down upon the village beneath the cliff.

Visible shockwaves still poured wildly into the sky through the night, but Madara had now controlled their direction. Inside Susanoo, Rikusei could stand steadily at his side.

Susanoo's lower body formed in an instant, and its half-kneeling legs suddenly rose to stand.

As Rikusei floated in the air, his line of sight rose ever higher. Looking down, he suppressed his astonishment as his Single Tomoe slowly turned. "Is this the complete Susanoo?"

The armored giant standing upon the earth resembled a blue deity. The wings on its back began to tremble slightly, while the long sword at its waist hummed and quivered with the wind.

Quite a few sensory-type ninja in the village were jolted awake by that enormous chakra. They pushed open their doors and rushed onto the streets, or leaped onto rooftops, their eyes fixed on the direction from which the chakra came.

Tobirama Senju sensed it immediately. In his urgency, he used a space-time ninjutsu and instantly teleported to the mark he had left in Elder Brother's courtyard.

"This is bad, Elder Brother! Madara is going to destroy the village!"

Having flashed into the courtyard, Tobirama knocked sharply on the door and shouted.

"Madara isn't that kind of person."

Hashirama, who had pushed open the door, stood in the courtyard and gazed seriously toward the cliff.

"But the complete Susanoo has already appeared!"

Within the Senju clan grounds, Tobirama anxiously stared at the towering figure in the distance, clearly visible as it emitted blue light.

"No, he won't."

Hashirama leaped onto the roof and looked toward the cliff with his extraordinary eyesight. Beneath the blue mirrored surface, he could vaguely make out Madara's calm face.

"Sense carefully. There's another person beside Madara."

A figure in red leaped onto the roof and softly soothed the somewhat panicked brothers.

Mito's sensory information was like a lifeline. Sweating coldly, Hashirama shifted his gaze away from Madara. Sure enough, there was another presence within Susanoo's forehead.

Without turning back, he said to Tobirama, who was gripping a kunai tightly behind him, "Mito's sensing was right."

"Who is it?"

Tobirama lowered his head and murmured to the Flying Thunder God mark on the kunai.

"Someone you know. It's Rikusei."

Tobirama put away his specially made kunai, and his tense expression relaxed. Gazing at Susanoo as it prepared to spread its wings and soar, he asked, "Why are they making such a huge commotion? Are they planning to put on a Mangekyo display before bed?"

Hashirama and Mito, standing side by side, did not answer. Their attention had already been drawn to the blue figure taking flight.

Madara controlled Susanoo as it soared toward the bright moon beneath the night sky. Its blue wings beat rapidly, and in the silent starry sky, only the sound of those wings could be heard.

High in the sky, Rikusei looked down at the earth. Now Konoha truly seemed impossibly far away.

"Now it's time for the Uchiha Fireworks Technique."

Madara looked at the Moon Wheel radiating clear radiance, a faint smile appearing on his face. Rikusei's somewhat familiar childish face beside him reminded him of the five younger brothers who had fallen amid the chaos of war.

No.

He was Rikusei.

Not Izuna. This was no longer an age of war, and they were above a village built upon dreams. Clarity returned to Madara's eyes.

His hands began to form seals.

With his Sharingan active, Rikusei could barely follow them. They were the seals for the Fireball Jutsu. Together, they shouted, "Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"

The fireballs formed from their chakra began to merge, pierced through Susanoo, and shot into the starry sky. They slowly fell from above, gradually vanishing into the night.

"Interesting."

The displeasure that had built up in his heart seemed to dissipate along with the fireballs' annihilation, and Uchiha Madara could not help but curl his lips into a smile.

"More!"

His crisp, exhilarated voice rang out beneath the starry sky.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

This time, Rikusei could no longer keep up. He could only quietly watch as the crimson Fire Dragon twisted its massive body and suddenly shot into the open sky before them.

He was not the only one enjoying this feast of Fire Release.

Down in Konoha, quite a few people had already carried out stools and snacks to sit in front of their homes, or climbed onto their rooftops. Ninjas were a rather carefree bunch, after all, and they craned their necks to gaze at the sky.

The Daimyo slowly walked over to the window and looked at the Fire Dragon in the sky, his clouded eyes filled with a dazed wonder. "What a dazzling ninjutsu."

Beneath his calm expression, he seemed to compare it with the group of ninjas under his command, then sighed and shook his head.

"So? Madara's setting off fireworks tonight?" Tobirama said with an incredulous look as he raised his face to the starry sky.

"Well, Madara can be pretty romantic too!"

Hashirama spoke to the meteor shower made of Fire Release, scattering across the sky like celestial maidens scattering flowers.

"Is that Great Fire Annihilation?"

Under the night sky, Mito, her beautiful red hair flowing, uncertainly asked as she watched the exploded meteors bloom into fire rain like fireworks.

Tobirama nodded in confirmation. He had long since memorized every form and variation of the Uchiha Clan's various Fire Release techniques. Great Fire Annihilation, one of the most troublesome Fire Release techniques, gave him the greatest headache.

The feast of Fire Release continued.

Madara casually unleashed the Uchiha Clan's many Fire Release techniques, forming all kinds of changing shapes in the night sky—Fire Dragons, Fire Lotuses, Seas of Fire—competing with the Milky Way and bright moon for splendor.

As his chakra depleted, Madara guided Susanoo down to the ground. The blue figure, like a war god with a long sword at its waist, soon dissipated amid the forest.

Madara's face was somewhat weary, his black hair naturally sliding over his shoulders. He controlled his heaving chest and softly said to the boy beside him, "Happy birthday!"

"Mm!"

Stepping over the grass and trees of the forest amid the chirping insects, Rikusei suppressed the surging beat of his heart, smiled, and nodded in reply.