Susanoo's world-cleaving slash descended thunderously from high above upon Sukuna, who had revealed his hideous true form below, its blade radiating an edge that tore through everything!
Where the blade passed, space seemed like fabric sliced apart, leaving rifts that lingered.
The debris of the shattered meteor and the aftershocks of Sukuna's domain slashes all melted away silently before this absolute slash, like snow beneath the sun.
Yet as Madara stood within the crystal in Susanoo's forehead, controlling this world-destroying stroke, his eyes reflected Sukuna's desperate resistance below.
Deep in his gaze, however, there was neither cold killing intent nor the composure of imminent victory, but...
An indescribable gleam of anticipation.
In desperate straits, the truly strong unleash power beyond their limits, continually breaking through their own restraints...
Sukuna, as the "King of Curses," the strongest of a thousand years ago...
Before a stroke like this, can you...
Become even stronger?
These thoughts flowed calmly through Madara's mind.
He was not playing cat and mouse, nor was he deliberately humiliating his opponent.
This was simply the inquiry and yearning of a seeker of the way.
Sukuna was the strongest enemy he had encountered thus far, the finest whetstone through which he might glimpse "the view from greater heights."
He looked forward to Sukuna, at the brink of death, revealing something that transcended the very title of "King of Curses"...
An even more powerful form.
Only if his opponent was strong enough would this battle have meaning.
Only by driving such a powerful opponent into true desperation, or even crushing him, would Madara himself have the possibility of "taking another step."
Thus, this stroke was a killing blow, and also... a trial.
Meanwhile, below.
Faced with that terrifying slash that seemed poised to cleave heaven and earth in two, and the