"A reason?"
At those words, Madara Uchiha froze for a moment. Then a nearly twisted smile appeared on his face, already contorted by his severe injuries. Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, making him look even more savage.
"Hahaha... hahahahaha!"
He laughed, louder and louder, more and more wildly. It pulled at his wounds, making the blood gush faster, but he paid it no mind.
"A reason?!"
Madara abruptly pushed himself up from the ground. His intact Sharingan fixed on Shengu Xuan's back, the tomoe in his pupil spinning madly. An even more violent, purer surge of chakra erupted from his body!
"Power is the best reason!"
His voice was hoarse, yet carried an unquestioning fervor. "You're strong. Absurdly strong. Strong enough to excite even me! But that doesn't mean you can rule everything! In this world, power is the only truth!"
Purple chakra poured out of him again, but this time it did not form a skeleton. Instead, it became denser, more solid energy that enveloped his battered body. His wounds healed at a visible rate. Though he was still far from fully recovered, he could at least stand straight again.
"Come on!" Madara spread his arms as though embracing the entire world. "Show me just how far your power goes! Show me whether someone truly exists who can make me feel... despair!"
His Sharingan changed.
The tomoe connected, their pattern twisting into the form that represented the Uchiha Clan's supreme ocular technique.
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
Moreover, it was the complete form, with the Mangekyō awakened in both eyes.
"Susanoo!"
His roar thundered.
This time, there was no skeleton, no incomplete form. Purple chakra, so dense it was almost tangible, surged wildly from Madara, rapidly gathering behind him, taking shape, rising...
Ten meters... twenty meters... fifty meters...