Torrential rain swept mud and sand into churning torrents at the bottom of the crater.
Naruto lay half-buried in muddy rubble, his right hand torn to bloody shreds by Black Lightning.
The Nine-Tails' crimson chakra circulated constantly, rapidly repairing his injuries.
But the corrosive power left by Black Lightning had seeped into his bones and refused to fade. Every moment of healing brought searing agony.
Even the slightest movement was excruciatingly difficult for Naruto.
He could only brace himself with his left hand and struggle upright, his savage, crimson Nine-Tails slit pupils fixed on the boy atop Madara's stone statue.
Amid the bleak curtain of rain, Sasuke stood motionless high above.
His drenched black hair clung to his cheeks, and rain mingled with tiny beads of blood dripped steadily from his sharply defined jaw.
Sasuke's eyes had already undergone a complete transformation. His ordinary Sharingan had vanished, replaced by a newly awakened pair of five-pointed-star Mangekyō Sharingan.
Moments earlier in the Valley of the End, Sasuke had resolved to sever every bond, even if it meant killing his dearest friend.
That resolve had fully awakened this legendary ocular technique.
Repeatedly pushing himself beyond his limits with powerful attacks had drained most of Sasuke's chakra. His breathing was slightly ragged.
Yet he showed no trace of exhaustion. All that remained in his eyes was a cold, obsessive thirst for revenge.
Wind and rain roared as Sasuke looked down at Naruto in the crater, his voice indifferent. "Still not dead?"
A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes as he watched Naruto's grievous injuries heal at astonishing speed.
He knew nothing of the Nine-Tails' existence. He merely thought Naruto's physical recovery was absurdly beyond reason.
"Your vitality is stronger than I expected."
As his words fell, Sasuke abruptly leaped into the air, wreathed