Madara watched Sasuke's retreating figure, unable to calm his emotions for a long time.
That boy had a face much like Izuna's, Hashirama's seamlessly integrated power, and the same proud, powerful personality as his own!
It was as though some unseen force had called to them, destined to bring them together again in this era!
It had allowed him to be reborn in the body of this man bound to him, to meet him again and strike fresh sparks!
And so... after all that exposure and groundwork, less than three minutes of fighting had been enough for Madara to fall.
In the desert of his dark soul... the rose that had withered in his previous life grew thorns anew. Its dead petals fell away, and a fresh bud slowly blossomed!
Madara clutched his pounding heart, gazing after him with desperate anticipation!!
"I look forward to that battle in Twenty-One Days, a clash for the ages destined to put an end to this boring world!!! Hahahahahahaha! But the one who laughs last will be me, Madara Uchiha!!!!"
In the valley where the Konoha forces had taken refuge, at the spot where Tengai Shinsei had first shown the earth mercy, the Four Red Yang Formation divided heaven from earth, life from death, knowledge from ignorance, light from darkness!
Inside the barrier, the Konoha forces opened their eyes after their harrowing brush with death!
The barrier walls let no light through... they could not see what was happening outside.
Only the heavy, oppressive air outside and the thunderous pounding in their chests reminded them that they were still alive.
They knew nothing else... not even who had saved them at the last moment!
Outside the barrier's southeastern Horn, two Uchiha met across the boundary between life and death.
Uchiha Izuna looked at Itachi's