"What is that kid planning to do?"
Uzumaki Raiden's sudden hand seal movement caught Uchiha Madara's attention. He was puzzled yet remained secretly on guard. A ninja of Uzumaki Raiden's caliber would never perform meaningless actions. If he was forming seals at such a crucial moment, it likely meant a powerful jutsu was about to be unleashed.
However, after waiting for some time, Madara saw no jutsu being cast. Just as he was about to continue his attack, an intense stabbing pain suddenly erupted in his eyes. Blood oozed from beneath his eyelids, trickling down his cheeks.
"What's happening?!"
Madara quickly covered one eye with his left hand. His vision was blurred by the thick layer of blood, forcing him to squint. He could feel the warmth on his face, the thick scent of blood filling his nostrils, and the liquid dripping down to the corner of his mouth.
It was only at that moment that he realized his eyes had been inexplicably attacked.
"Boom!!!!"
Just as this strange occurrence unfolded, Kurama attacked Susanoo once more. Taking advantage of Madara's distraction, the long sword pierced directly into his body. However, since Susanoo was constructed from chakra, there was no way for Uzumaki Raiden to seal it using Sakegari no Tachi.
As long as Madara continued supplying chakra to Susanoo, it could be restored. But now, Madara found himself unable to use his ocular powers. When he tried to activate them, he felt an unprecedented obstruction. He couldn't access the power residing within his Rinnegan.
"My Rinnegan… has been tampered with?"
Madara finally realized what had happened. Shock and rage filled his heart as his eyelids grew heavier and heavier—until, ultimately, he could no longer open them. His eyes had been sealed.
"You bastard! What did you do to my eyes?!"
Madara roared in anger. Though his eyes were forcibly shut, his perception of his surroundings remained intact. While his Susanoo remained active, it had not recovered from the previous damage, and a large hole was still visible in its chest.
Realizing the situation, Madara cursed and kicked Kurama in the abdomen, breaking away from the confrontation. His fluctuating emotions caused his chakra to surge violently.
"Madara, I'm sorry, but it's time for you to return to where you belong!"
Uzumaki Raiden did not answer Madara's question. Instead, he maintained a relaxed smile while gathering a terrifying amount of chakra into his long sword. Then, he swung it directly at Susanoo. In the blink of an eye, the blade struck, and Susanoo finally collapsed. Madara's body plummeted from the sky.
As Madara's Susanoo dissipated, Uzumaki Raiden deactivated his golden armor and the Kurama transformation. His chakra quickly retracted, and the golden chains faded from the fox's body.
As he suppressed his chakra, Raiden swiftly cloaked himself in black lightning armor. Before touching the ground, he transformed into a streak of light and charged toward Madara.
"Damn it!" Though Madara couldn't see, he sensed Uzumaki Raiden's approach. Cursing under his breath, he suddenly produced a white cloud of smoke from his right hand. A large, gourd-shaped war fan materialized in his grasp. He swiftly assumed a defensive stance.
Uzumaki Raiden appeared beside Madara in an instant, long blade in hand, slashing toward his head. Madara reacted quickly, raising his fan to block. But just as their weapons were about to collide, Raiden's left hand suddenly shot forward, lightning crackling at his fingertips, stabbing straight at Madara's chest.
"Hell Stab – First Step!"
"Clang!" Madara managed to block the long blade, but at the same moment, Raiden's left hand pierced through Madara's right chest.
Lightning chakra coursed through Madara's body, sending numbing jolts through his system. At the same time, a black curse mark spread rapidly across his chest, binding him in place and rendering him immobile.
Madara tried to speak, but a metallic taste filled his mouth. He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"You…" Madara barely managed to utter a word before searing pain shot through his chest.
"I know what you're going to say," Raiden said coldly. "Before you die, I'll tell you the truth."
"Although I did activate the curse mark just now, I wasn't the one who implanted it on your eyes."
"It was your own partner. I know you won't believe it, but I have no reason to lie to a dying man."
"Goodbye."
Uzumaki Raiden leaned in and whispered in Madara's ear. Then, he swiftly withdrew his left hand from Madara's chest and aimed another strike directly at his heart.
Just as Raiden's hand was about to pierce Madara's heart, a distortion in space appeared beside them. A portal to another dimension opened next to Raiden, pulling at his body with immense force.
Within that warped space, Raiden could sense one of his Flying Thunder God Kunai. That very presence revealed the identity of the newcomer—the person Madara had cultivated as his successor.
"So, you finally showed up?" Despite the sudden ambush, Raiden remained unshaken. A knowing smirk appeared in his eyes. He had anticipated this intervention all along.
"Heh… your partner came to save you. I wonder, after bringing you back, will they take your eyes as well?"
Even in the face of an escape attempt, Raiden continued to sow seeds of doubt in Madara's mind. At that moment, he plunged his hand into Madara's chest, piercing his heart, before swiftly teleporting away to escape the pull of the dimensional rift.
"Thud!"
Madara's body, fatally wounded, lost all support and collapsed to the ground. Before he could even hit the dirt, the swirling distortion of space expanded, swallowing him whole. In an instant, both Madara and the dimensional portal vanished without a trace.
Moments after Madara was taken away, Raiden reappeared on the battlefield. He focused his senses on the curse mark he had placed on Madara, but his expression darkened.
"...It's been isolated."
Someone had blocked his connection to the curse mark, preventing him from tracking Madara.
"They actually managed to take him away. I had a bad feeling since the start of this battle… and it turns out I was right."
"With a pierced heart, can he still be saved?"
"If Madara survives… my words should leave a lasting impact on him."
"Whether or not what I said was true, he'll now have to reconsider his trust in his so-called partner."
Uzumaki Raiden gazed at the spot where Uchiha Madara had vanished, touching his chin in thought.
The breeze swept through, lifting small pebbles from the ground. Once it passed, the battlefield was left empty, with no trace of Uzumaki Raiden. A small patch of earth was missing from where he had once stood—the very spot where Madara had collapsed and bled moments ago.
Somewhere in an Underground Grotto
Uchiha Madara, his body drenched in blood, lay on an experimental table. A white tube was inserted into his chest, steadily channeling chakra into his body.
In the shadows, White Zetsu stepped forward, moving past the table. He placed one hand on Madara's chest, and from his arm, an eerie, writhing mass detached itself. It seemed almost alive as it slithered toward Madara's wound before merging with his body.
Madara, who had appeared lifeless just moments before, suddenly gasped for air. His breath soon stabilized.
"Even this legendary man was no match for Uzumaki Raiden…"
"If we are to destroy Konoha, another source of power must be found."
"Before Lord Uchiha Madara recovers, we must gather the remaining Tailed Beasts."
The masked man murmured to himself. After ensuring Madara's condition was stable, a distortion in space formed behind him. Without hesitation, he stepped into the portal and vanished.
Inside the Grotto—The Gedo Mazo
"This… this is the Gedo Mazo, the very same entity that attacked Konoha with the Tailed Beasts back then!"
"It's also the container used to seal the Tailed Beasts…"
"So massive…"
Might Guy stared in awe at the colossal figure of the Gedo Mazo, sitting motionless in the cavern.
Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain, Uzumaki Raiden, having concluded his battle, entered a previously sealed and hidden grotto. Shortly after his arrival, Uchiha Itachi and the others teleported to the location using Flying Thunder God. They had pursued the enemy the moment Susanoo and the golden-armored Kurama disappeared, but the opponent had retreated too swiftly for them to intervene.
As they entered the grotto alongside Raiden, Might Guy and the others spread out to investigate the remnants of battle.
"Master, there are three bodies here!"
Near the foot of a massive stone statue, Uchiha Shisui called out to Uzumaki Raiden. Hearing this, Raiden's heart sank, and he quickly strode toward Shisui.
Beside the Gedo Mazo, three corpses were slumped together, their blood staining the ground. Raiden's gaze hardened as he recognized them.
"Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato…"
Though he had expected this outcome, seeing their lifeless bodies firsthand still left him with a heavy heart. When Madara had emerged from the barrier earlier, Raiden had already suspected the worst.
"I will take care of the bodies."
"Shisui, you and Itachi—seal off this grotto, then return to the village."
"I have other matters to attend to. I'll be leaving first."
Raiden's voice was calm, but the weight in his tone was unmistakable. Shisui glanced at him, noting his subdued demeanor, and simply nodded before turning to Itachi. Without another word, Raiden retrieved a scroll, carefully sealed the three bodies inside, and departed in silence.
Fugaku, Might Guy, and the others noticed Raiden's somber mood but chose not to pry. After a brief examination of the grotto, they silently withdrew. Itachi and Shisui remained behind to complete the sealing process, ensuring an additional layer of chakra was embedded within it.
Their intention was clear—by infusing their chakra into the seal, they could teleport here via Flying Thunder God should the need arise.
Both Itachi and Shisui understood the significance of the Gedo Mazo. Though they lacked the means to transport it to Konoha, they could not afford to leave it unguarded. Once the seal was complete, the Konoha forces regrouped and vanished from the site.
A Rainy Evening in the Land of Rain
Bean-sized raindrops fell from the sky, drenching the already sodden ground. As always, the Land of Rain's weather was bleak and unrelenting.
Uzumaki Raiden, now clad in a black poncho, walked through the storm at a steady pace. His destination lay deep within the Land of Rain—a small wooden house where he had once lived alongside Jiraiya and Yahiko.
Several days later, he arrived.
The wooden house stood in ruin. Time had not been kind to it—large portions of the roof had collapsed, allowing rainwater to seep inside.
Raiden pushed the door open and stepped in. The interior remained unchanged, yet the passage of years had left its mark—moss covered the walls and furniture, giving the home an abandoned, forgotten feel.
In a dimly lit corner of the room, a single photograph caught his eye. It was a group picture of Jiraiya, Yahiko, and the others. Among them was a young, red-haired boy—his past self.
The frame was surprisingly clean, untouched by grime despite the years. Its protective seal had preserved the image, keeping it as vivid as the day it was taken.
Raiden stepped forward, carefully lifting the frame from the damp floor. He gazed at it in silence for a long time before gripping it tightly.
After scanning the room one last time, he found a relatively dry spot, unsheathed his long sword, and drove it into the ground. Digging a large pit, he retrieved the bodies of Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato from the scroll and gently laid them inside.
"I hope the three of you will remain together in the next life… as friends who can rely on each other."
Raiden whispered the words as he cast the framed photograph into the grave. His chakra manifested two massive spectral arms, which slowly pulled the earth over the bodies, sealing them beneath the ground.
His task complete, Raiden turned to leave without looking back.
Just as he reached the door, footsteps sounded outside. Moments later, the door creaked open, revealing five figures clad in raincoats.
"Someone's actually here? This house has been abandoned for years," one of them remarked.
A young boy stepped forward, approaching Raiden. His voice was polite yet firm.
"Are you the owner of this house, little brother?"
The boy wore black-rimmed glasses, and his rain hood obscured half his face. But even in the dim light, Raiden could see his striking blue hair. Judging by the bulging shape beneath his coat, the boy was carrying a weapon—he was no ordinary traveler.
Raiden swept his gaze over the rest of the group, silently assessing them.
"Chojuro, don't be foolish. How could this man possibly be the owner of this place?"
A clear, confident female voice rang out from the group.
A tall figure stepped forward, gently pulling the boy back. Though she wore a smile, her wary gaze remained fixed on Raiden.
"I didn't expect to meet someone like you here, of all places."
Raiden's expression remained neutral as he addressed her.
"Terumi Mei… I didn't expect to see you here either."
(End of Chapter)