A proud and arrogant powerful being like Uchiha Madara, when unleashing the power of his own bloodline, would not be as stingy as ordinary Sharingan users.
Except for once terrifying the Second Tsuchikage Mu and the young Onoki by activating half of his Susanoo, in all other normal combat situations, he either didn't activate it at all, or he fully activated it.
Madara's arrogance was etched into his very genes.
Violent tremors erupted from the suddenly narrowed cavern. The azure Susanoo, like a colossal Jianmu tree piercing through hard stone, blasted a massive opening in the cave roof.
As debris rained down, two brilliant sword lights, capable of cleaving the very earth, swung down towards Orochimaru, who had become as tiny as an ant, as the Susanoo turned.
With his scythe resting by his leg, Madara held the flaming fan in one hand, his gaze disdainful as he looked down through the Susanoo's azure chakra barrier at Orochimaru, who had dodged his twin-sword attack.
"Mere gravel is no match for..."
Before the arrogant words could be fully uttered, Orochimaru, who had ascended from the cave roof, stabilized himself. He formed a Snake Seal with his hands in front of his chest, and terrifying chakra fluctuations rapidly rose from beneath the Susanoo's feet.
"Wood Style: Wood Golem Jutsu!"
Orochimaru, standing atop the Wood Golem, ascended almost instantly to the same height as Madara, who stood before the Susanoo's forehead.
"Even gravel possesses the will to shatter stubborn stone!"
"And furthermore..."
Orochimaru smiled confidently, his gaze fixed on a slightly surprised Uchiha Madara.
"This junior is no mere gravel!"
Madara unconsciously placed a hand on his chest. There...
"Hashirama's power..."
Madara's gaze grew distant, the scene before him mirroring that of the past.
The same Susanoo, the same Wood Style...
But...
"It is different in the end!"
"I have completely surpassed you, Hashirama!"
"Hahahahaha..."
Madara's body trembled amidst his laughter.
He slowly released his hand from his chest, casually discarding the flaming fan from his left hand to the side, and solemnly formed the hand seals for a Wood Style jutsu in front of him.
"Though I do not know where you obtained Hashirama's power, but..."
"Wood Style: Wood Golem Jutsu!"
"Armored Susanoo!"
Madara's eyes blazed with brilliance as immense Wood Style power surged from his chest.
A Wood Golem, the same size as the Susanoo, rose from the ground. The azure chakra armor on its outer layer became even more solidified, as if adorning the Golem with external plating.
"Junior!"
"Feel the power of a true god!"
Madara bowed, a long-dormant fervor coursing through him, his fighting spirit churning within his chest.
The Susanoo lunged forward, its back arms forming the Tiger Seal. The twin swords held by its front arms ignited with an astonishing blue chakra, like flames.
The twin swords swung, carrying an aura of utter destruction, ferociously descending upon Orochimaru, who stood atop the Wood Golem.
"Susanoo: Twin Sword Dance!"
As the blade lights flashed, they wove a colossal net, its world-obscuring sharpness instantly engulfing Orochimaru and the Wood Golem beneath him.
Orochimaru's expression remained unchanged, but the surging power within him could no longer be contained.
"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
He casually summoned a thick Wood Dragon. Half of its body coiled and rose from the Wood Golem, fearlessly slamming headfirst into the net of swords wielded by the Susanoo. While its body was cleaved into countless segments, it forcefully created a gap in the sword net.
Simultaneously, the Wood Golem beneath him opened its massive hands, one gripping the Susanoo's attacking arms, the other clenching into a fist and unceremoniously slamming towards the Susanoo's exposed center.
Orochimaru stepped on his foot, his body instantly transforming into an invisible meteor, trailing a brilliant sword light that pierced towards the Susanoo's forehead.
That was precisely where Uchiha Madara's true body resided.
"Clang!"
A world-shattering sword cry echoed. The Skyblade, which had never encountered an opponent since its creation, finally met its match today.
The chakra barrier before Madara only showed a minuscule crack. The Skyblade became lodged within it, unable to advance any further.
Madara was startled by Orochimaru's unconventional and sudden assault. Upon seeing the result of the attack, he scoffed dismissively.
"Hmph!"
"You don't even have the power to break through Susanoo?"
"Truly weak!"
Orochimaru paid no heed to Madara's taunts, calmly retracting his long sword. He formed a circular outline with one hand in front of him, his actions serving as his answer to Uchiha Madara.
"Sage Art: Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World!"
A faint, milky white light emanated from Orochimaru's cupped fingers, instantly striking the crack that the Skyblade had just created.
"Hiss!"
With a soft sound, like ice melting, the unhealed sword mark before Madara was instantly blasted into a human-sized hole by the Dust Release.
"Oh?"
"You even know that kid Onoki's Dust Release?"
"But..."
"It's all in vain!"
Madara was only slightly surprised. He then activated his Sharingan, mending the wound that Dust Release had created in the Susanoo, while simultaneously bringing his arm, which had just broken free from the Wood Golem's grasp, back to defend.
Facing the pursuing Susanoo giant sword from behind, Orochimaru did not evade. His expression calm, he once again changed his hand seals.
His chest puffed out slightly, and a perfectly round dragon pearl was spat from his throat, appearing before the hole in the Susanoo.
"Sage Art: Bright White Technique!"
A small flood dragon, identical to Orochimaru's dragon form, slowly emerged from the dragon pearl.
The small dragon spun rapidly around the pearl, and a piercing sonic wave immediately reverberated.
Uchiha Madara, who was concentrating his Sharingan to repair the Susanoo, felt a buzzing in his ears. His mind suddenly became hazy.
His powerful Sharingan, which had previously responded as if an extension of his will, seemed to have become sluggish, teetering on the brink of being unable to maintain the Susanoo.
As the sound erupted, the dragon pearl began to emit immeasurable white light, comparable to the sun.
Uchiha Madara, struggling to control his Sharingan, was caught directly in this blinding light.
Even the mighty Uchiha Madara, after losing his Rinnegan, could not escape his human weaknesses.
His most vulnerable eyes were illuminated by the sage art's light, instantly losing all visual ability.
Not only that, as the small dragon's roar and the dragon pearl's light intensified, Madara's human senses gradually faded.
His eyes injured, unable to see.
His ears ringing, his mind so hazy he couldn't concentrate.
His bones felt weak and soft, making it difficult to even stand.
Blood slowly trickled from his eyes, ears, and nose, yet Madara felt no pain.
The terrifying damage inflicted on Uchiha Madara by directly receiving the Dragon Cave's Bright White Technique was immense.
...
Without its master's active maintenance, Madara's internal power immediately became chaotic.
His chakra, as if asleep, lazily seeped into his cells and fell into slumber.
His vast Sharingan power, along with the scattered will of its master, lost its original sharpness.
The source of his power vanished, and the Susanoo, along with the Wood Golem enveloped within it, completely collapsed.
Uchiha Madara felt his footing disappear, and a tremendous sense of weightlessness acted upon him.
He wanted to awaken, but his consciousness told him he could not.
"This power..."
With the only remaining clarity, Uchiha Madara silently murmured in his heart, and then he crashed to the ground.