Before long, the sea of flames vanished, ultimately failing to inflict any damage on Madara Uchiha.
But just then, Kisame Hoshigaki suddenly cried out:
"No, look at that black sphere! It didn't completely block the ninjutsu!"
Only then did everyone notice that although the flames had died out, some toad oil and small flames still clung to the black sphere. In other words, the ninjutsu had not been ineffective.
Just then, a furious roar rang out:
"Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
The golden Naruto suddenly appeared above Madara Uchiha, already hurling the "Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken" in his hand toward him.
Only then did everyone notice that Tsunade had been moving around the battlefield, treating their injured companions.
Seeing this, Madara Uchiha remained utterly composed and raised his right hand, seemingly intending to absorb Naruto's ninjutsu.
But as the ninjutsu drew closer, Madara Uchiha suddenly discovered that his Rinnegan's ability actually could not absorb Naruto's ninjutsu.
By the time he realized this, it was already too late to dodge. The "Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken" was right before him.
The next second, another enormous mushroom cloud erupted, engulfing Madara Uchiha. Shock waves surged in every direction, and the onlookers could only struggle to steady themselves to keep the raging winds from sending them flying.
After a long while, the dust settled.
Madara Uchiha slowly emerged from the smoke and dust, his body looking completely unscathed, almost unchanged from before.
But the observant onlookers still noticed that a piece of the horn on Madara Uchiha's forehead was missing. Clearly, Naruto's attack had not been entirely ineffective.
Yet Madara Uchiha's expression was now utterly grim. Just now, he had experienced a hint of death. Although it had not been particularly strong, for someone who had reached the level of the Sage