Shinsei must end this battle before his body gives out.
Shinsei made a move again.
This time, instead of attacking Madara's main body directly, he circled around Madara at high speed.
Descent of the Thunder God's speed was fully unleashed, and more than a dozen afterimages of Shinsei appeared on the ground, each one seemingly a real entity, forming a blurry ring around Madara.
Ban frowned. He indeed had a hard time pinpointing Shinsei's true location; such speed couldn't be kept up with just the eyes.
Shinra Tensei erupted once again.
The circular shock wave spread outwards from the spot, scattering all the surrounding afterimages.
But this time, Shinsei anticipated Madara's actions.
The Mangekyō Sharingan, while not as powerful as Madara Uchiha Rinnegan, still possesses a level of perception far exceeding that of ordinary eyes.
The instant Shinra Tensei was activated, Shinsei saw the mist in the air being pushed aside by an invisible force.
Shinsei leaped directly above Madara the instant the repulsive force erupted, avoiding the main area of the shockwave.
Then, head down and feet up, he brought his fists together, and his Senjutsu Chakra and Lightning Release Chakra converged at his knuckles to form a purple-blue ball of light, which pierced straight down onto Madara directly below his head.
Madara raised his head, and the ever-enlarging ball of light was reflected in his Rinnegan.
A smile curved his lips, and his right hand opened upwards. It wasn't Shinra Tensei, but Banshō Ten'in.
A powerful gravitational force instantly locked onto Shinsei in mid-air, pulling him downwards.
Shinsei was already plummeting downwards at an extremely high speed, and the added acceleration from gravity caused his falling speed to surge to a level that even Descent of the Thunder God would struggle to control.
The purplish-blue orb of light struck the ground in front of Madara, not Madara himself.
After a loud bang, a crater tens of meters in diameter was blasted into the ground.
Soil and gravel rained down from the sky like a storm. At the last second, Shinsei forcefully swerved his body, avoiding a direct collision with Madara's gravitational core, and instead rolled sideways to the edge of the pit.
His right shoulder struck a protruding rock upon landing, making a cracking sound in his shoulder joint; it was unclear whether it was a dislocation or a fracture.
A sharp pain shot through his shoulder, causing his entire right arm to go numb for a moment.
Shinsei braced himself with his left hand and rolled over to his feet. The brightness of the electric arcs on his body began to become unstable. He felt a pricking pain in the nerve endings of his legs, a signal that the nerve fibers were beginning to be damaged.
Time is running out.
Ban emerged from the other end of the pit. A piece of his clothing was torn to shreds, and there was a shallow bloodstain on his cheek, but the wound was healing at a visible speed.
He glanced at the Lightning Armor that was shimmering on Shinsei's shoulder, then stopped.
"Your Descent of the Thunder God is indeed very powerful."
Madara Uchiha's tone contained no sarcasm; rather, it was a serious evaluation.
"The extreme speed combined with the destructive power of Senjutsu makes him virtually untouchable in close combat."
After Hashirama, no one has ever made me feel the danger of death again.
Hahaha! Shinsei, in this era, having you as a rival is something I'm looking for!
I won't be lonely!
"After saying all that," Shinsei straightened up, his right arm hanging limply at his side, but the Senjutsu Chakra in his left hand was still steadily gathering, "Are you trying to persuade me to admit defeat?"
"No."
Ban shook his head, then did something that Shinsei didn't expect.
He withdrew the purple markings of the Rinnegan, reverted to the Sharingan, and then back to ordinary black eyes.
"I'm telling you, you can't kill me here today, and I can't take the Nine-Tails away," Madara said. "Your window of opportunity isn't big enough, and my attacks can hardly outspeed you. Neither of us can truly defeat the other. If we continue fighting, your nerves will be burned out, and I'll suffer some injuries. It's not worth it."
Shinsei stared at Madara for a long time. Madara Uchiha would definitely not be as he said, only suffering minor injuries.
However, Shinsei didn't expose Madara Uchiha. Exposing such a proud and arrogant person would likely only make him angry and embarrassed.
Thinking of this, Shinsei slowly released the Chakra in his left hand.
The arcs of electricity on Lightning Armor flickered a few times before finally going out completely.
Beneath his white divine robe, his body was still trembling slightly, the lingering burn of the Lightning Release Chakra remaining in his nerve endings.
"Next time we meet, you won't have a draw like this again," Shinsei said.
"We'll see." Madara turned and walked towards the edge of the forest. " Obito, let's go."
The Kamui vortex unfolded beside Madara, Obito poked half of his body out from within it.
He glanced at Shinsei, then at Team 7 standing guard on the distant cliff, let out a low, enigmatic laugh, and then disappeared into the vortex with Madara.
Shinsei stood still until the vortex of Kamui completely dissipated, and until Madara and Obito's Chakra completely disappeared from his perception range, before slowly exhaling.
His legs buckled, and he managed to grab onto a nearby tree trunk with one hand.
" Shinsei!" Minato appeared beside him, grabbing his shoulder. "How are you?"
"It's nothing." Shinsei's voice was visibly tired, and a fine layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead. "I just need to rest for a while. It's not too serious."
Minato checked Shinsei's right shoulder injury and breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that there was no danger to his life. He turned around and nodded to Kakashi, who had rushed over, indicating that the battle was over.
Naruto was the last to arrive. His Nine-Tails cloak had been removed, and his face still bore traces of red eyeshadow.
He ran up to Shinsei, looked him up and down, and then said with dissatisfaction.
"It's all Kakashi-sensei's fault! If he hadn't stopped me, I would have definitely beaten Madara Uchiha to a pulp!"
"Idiot." Sasuke uttered the two words coldly, but his tense shoulders visibly relaxed.
" Naruto, can you please be quiet?!"
Sakura grabbed Naruto by the ear and dragged him away, then squatted down, her hands glowing with green medical Chakra, and began to treat Shinsei's shoulder injury.
She frowned, looked into Shinsei's eyes, and said earnestly.
" Lord Hokage, you should classify this Ninjutsu as a forbidden technique. It's causing far too much damage to your cells."