Dark crimson mist churned like a living thing. Countless fine black threads stretched from it and drifted through the void like tentacles reaching out of an abyss, slowly probing toward the blue Susanoo. Wherever a thread passed, it left a fleeting dark fissure in space.
Imu's voice emerged from the mist again. A faint ripple finally disturbed his even tone: for the first time, the ancient ruler had taken a genuine interest in the Uchiha before him.
"I see."
"Natsu has not come. You have taken his place, Madara Uchiha."
"Very well. Since you seek a fight, I shall see for myself how much power this generation's Uchiha possesses."
Before he finished speaking, more than a dozen ancient weapons trembled within the mist. Their metallic hum rang across heaven and earth, and old runes along their surfaces lit up dark red one after another.
The dark crimson mist condensed into countless slender black blades that circled slowly, poised to strike. As they cut through the void, they left dark trails that vanished almost at once.
The pressure plunged again. The sea breeze died completely, and silence swallowed the waters, broken only by the hum of weapons and the faint crackle of splitting space.
The masts of every warship trembled. Ropes pulled taut, while the flags hung motionless, as though even the wind feared the two powers facing off.
Battle lust blazed in Madara Uchiha's eyes. His Mangekyō Sharingan flared as he patted the Chakra armor at Susanoo's brow and shouted:
"Come! Show me what power the supreme being who has ruled this world for eight hundred years truly holds!"
The thousand-meter Susanoo raised both swords. Blue blades of light pierced the darkened sky, and the suspended rubble in their path crumbled beneath the force of the strike.
Above Sabaody, two