Chapter 192: Slash Release – "Crimson Demon!"
Uchiha Madara quietly gazed at Kagami, the corners of his lips curving upward.
"I have a rough idea of what you intend,"
"You still want to become even stronger, huh…"
He shook his head slightly, a faint crease in his brow.
"I don't understand, Kagami.
You're already the strongest and know everything; you could've simply absorbed Kaguya's power yourself—
even that of the Pure Land.
Momoshiki's morphing to this form is also because you let him.
Kagami, you had every chance to become the true god of the ninja world. If you were the one to cast Infinite Tsukuyomi, I'd willingly sink into that blissful illusory world."
…
"Madara… You really…"
Hashirama's expression turned complicated. Kagami had told him long ago: Madara's goal was to enshroud the ninja world in a grand illusion.
Hashirama hadn't questioned him the moment they met, meaning to wait until this fight ended to discuss the feasibility of his plan or a possible compromise.
He'd even hoped to pull Kagami in as well. If all three joined forces, surely they could shape a beautiful future for the ninja world…!
But…
Madara might talk a bit, yes.
Kagami, however, from the start…
"An illusory world?" Kagami shook his head, shifting his gaze toward Yagetsu, who was still pinned down by that "Crimson Demon" effect.
"Having seen these alien invaders, do you still plan on that?"
"Why not?" Madara retorted. "Aside from us, let everyone else sink into a wonderful dream.
Let the invaders… be handled by us."
Kagami gave a slight half-smile.
"So casually deciding the fate of others—indeed, you're like me, Madara."
…
"Hmph, kid, you put it backward," Madara grumbled, displeased. "I was the clan head of the Uchiha long before you!"
Kagami shook his head.
"No, Madara.
From the moment I opened a new path…
I became the ancestral forefather of the Uchiha!"
In his eyes, three tomoe spun, a fourth, a fifth…
Five tomoe formed a splendid design blooming like a flower.
Mountainous, ocean-like ocular power surged out!!
Heaven and earth lost color!
Mountains and seas collapsed!
Across the entirety of the Land of Rain—observed from above—it was as though some colossal being had stepped down, leaving it caved in.
Boom!!!!!!
A deep purple torrent churned. Yagetsu finally broke loose from that "Crimson Demon" binding.
His purple-gold Rinnegan fixated on Kagami's five-tomoe eyes.
"No mistake…" he muttered.
"That's… the aura of a god!"
…
His expression abruptly flared with fanaticism—so contradictory to his earlier calm.
"Tell me! Where is that god's corpse?!
By devouring it…
I can become the new god!!!"
A massive purple hand formed from chakra, lunging at Kagami.
"Release—Black Slash!"
A black–red blade radiating lightning slashed into the purple giant hand.
Thud—
At the contact point, an enormous surge of energy exploded, carving a bottomless hole in the ground.
The ninja world felt so fragile.
Kagami retreated, pivoting midair.
"Come after me, all of you.
Spare me the lectures…"
In midair, Kagami glanced over his shoulder, speaking with a light laugh:
"You're all strong enough to catch my interest—
So cast everything aside, remember just one thing:
Do your utmost to kill me.
Otherwise, it's you who will die."
Roar!!
A streak of black shadow tore through the atmosphere.
Boom!!
Yagetsu didn't hesitate. He streaked in pursuit as a violet bolt of lightning.
Madara turned to Hashirama. "Are you coming?"
…
"Don't underestimate me, Madara!"
Whoosh, whoosh!!
Two streaks of radiance followed close behind them!
…
At a far distance, the ninja populace could see four comets rising from the earth—brilliant and bedazzling.
---
Under the ruins of the Land of Rain, in a stream among stone fissures, a few black tendrils struggled to push aside rubble. Kakuzu gasped for breath, horrifyingly weak.
Hss—
A white snake slithered over, spitting out human words:
"You have remarkable luck, Kakuzu—still alive even in these conditions.
I've an interest in your jutsu. Perhaps we can collaborate?"
The white snake opened a maw far bigger than its body, swallowing a cluster of black tentacles.
---
Just dozens of kilometers from the moon…
Kagami abruptly halted, turning.
"Here is about right—we can go all out."
Clap!
He pressed both palms together. An immense chakra flared from every cell in his body, black–red tides surging outward.
He needed to exert his full strength in this fight…
It was the battle he had awaited for over a decade!
Ever since facing Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, Kagami had thirsted for a limit-breaking confrontation.
As black–red waves spread, they devoured all incoming starlight. The ones newly arrived—Hashirama, Madara, and Yagetsu—felt as if they were stepping into an endless abyss. Darkness swallowed them; from below, it seemed to discolor even the moon overhead, turning it black.
Faintly, a voice:
"Moonlit Rite: Grand Killing Mausoleum!!"
…
A black sea bristling with endless white bones rose, forming steps leading up to Kagami's feet.
Sheer killing intent flooded the space!
Whoosh!
Two pitch-black blades appeared in Kagami's hands.
Those scarlet eyes cast an icy gaze at the trio, a grin he couldn't suppress edging his lips.
"All right…
Let's begin the slaughter."
…
The first to act was Madara.
All four of his Limbo: Border Jail clones charged Kagami. Yet those invisible forms lay utterly bare to Kagami's eyes.
Zzt—
An array of black spikes erupted from the black sea, instantly impaling the Limbo clones!
Madara's face twitched.
Limbo clones being destroyed was no shock, but…
He sensed how those black spikes were siphoning the Limbo clones' chakra. He tried to retrieve them—useless.
Kagami's voice came drifting over:
"This Grand Killing Mausoleum is simple.
All avatar illusions, clones, reincarnations, space–time ninjutsu—are forbidden.
Not just you—even I am subject to that constraint.
In exchange for that self-limitation, I gain a power boost."
Bearing twin blades, Kagami stepped down from the bone stairway.
"Pure combat, each blow will draw blood.
So long as I live, this domain cannot be destroyed.
As I said…
Use everything you have to kill me."
…
"All right, then… my first target—"
Whoosh!
Kagami's silhouette vanished in a flash. Not a space–time warp—just sheer speed that effectively removed any in-between frames.
…
Before Senju Hashirama could react, his armor had been sliced open.
A massive cross-shaped wound from shoulder to lower abdomen seared with pain.
A voice echoed at his ear, carrying a sense of grim finality:
"If you don't get serious, you'll die right away…"
His icy gaze locked on Hashirama's shocked expression, intangible killing intent turned tangible.
"Struggling to stay awake?
Should I go kill Tsunade first, see if that motivates you?"
Bang!!!
A heavy punch deflected Kagami's blades, sending him drifting lightly backward like a fluff of cotton.
Hashirama pressed a hand to his chest wound.
Even his regeneration proved insufficient to stanch the bleeding!
His eyes firmed, and he forced a grin:
"Sorry, Kagami.
I truly didn't see you coming. But I'm not slacking off…
Madara, I think we'd better join forces now.
Kagami really means to kill me…"
"Tch, you blockhead," Madara spat, forging a Truth-Seeking Orb at Hashirama's wound.
Kagami's attention drifted to Yagetsu, who had resumed a quiet composure, seeming akin to a split personality.
He was analyzing the domain's properties. Kagami did not interfere, giving them time to adapt.
He lifted his gaze to the black moon overhead:
"How cold of you. I came all this way for you, yet you don't greet me?"
Upon the black moon, a tall figure with four arms each gripping a different weapon emerged, a blood-red sun behind him, leering fiercely.
Sukuna.
"I was going to ambush you," he said.
"Curses, your illusions can't be tricked. No chance to give you a 'surprise.'"
Lowering two weapons, he pressed four hands together:
"Between us…
Let's exchange greetings in our old familiar way, Kagami!!"
Roar!!
The scorching red sun behind him morphed into a blazing slash, illuminating the domain of darkness!
Kagami's own black blade ignited with crimson flame, mirrored in effect.
Two matching slash attacks, redder than blood, blossomed with boundless savagery:
Slash Release – "Scarlet Radiance!!!"