This was on the premise that Madara's power level remained at its current state; if Madara completed the absorption of chakra from all the Shinobi in the world, then everything would have a different outcome.
Of course, Takuno wasn't so foolish as to just stand there and let himself be attacked.
"Next, it's my turn," Takuno suddenly spoke.
Madara instantly became alert, focusing all his attention on Takuno, intending to counter his next offensive.
Takuno casually formed a seal, but then there seemed to be no movement, and not even a trace of Ninjutsu could be seen.
Madara was confused; this was definitely not an attacking stance, nor was it the starting move for any defensive or space-time Ninjutsu he was familiar with.
Takuno's figure remained floating there, and his aura didn't seem to have changed in the slightest.
However, in that ten-thousandth of a second of doubt, an instinctive warning of absolute crisis from the depths of his soul caused Madara's pupils to shrink instantly!
He suddenly realized that the figure which hadn't moved at all in his sight was "fading away" in an inconceivable manner.
The "Collector" before his eyes was no longer the original body, or even a person, but an afterimage left behind at high speed!
And his Rinnegan hadn't even seen clearly when The Collector had moved!
"Oh no!"
This thought exploded in Madara's mind like a thunderclap.
Where was the real Collector? There was no fluctuation in space, no trajectory of chakra; it was as if he had vanished and reappeared out of thin air!
However, by the time Madara reacted, it was already too late.
He simply didn't have time to mobilize any defense, unable to keep up with this speed that transcended cognition.
The only thing he could clearly perceive was a terrifying pressure behind him, like space itself had suddenly collapsed!
A power capable of making even a Six Paths body fused with the God Tree tremble erupted violently behind him!
That power was searing and violent, carrying the scream of tearing space and the high temperature that could vaporize all things; it was...
Sage Art: Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength!
Takuno's true body appeared directly behind Madara without any warning.
His fist was wrapped in the destructive energy formed by the fusion of boiling Senjutsu chakra and a Kekkei Genkai.
Without any fancy tricks, just the purest and most violent release of power, he slammed it squarely into Madara's defenseless back!
"BOOM!!!"
A deafening explosion echoed across the battlefield.
Unimaginable force instantly penetrated Madara's Sage of Six Paths Robe and his tough body.
He felt like a cannonball fired from a giant cannon!
He completely lost control of his body, swept up by this massive force and turning into a streak of light nearly invisible to the naked eye, shooting toward the high, distant sky at a terrifying speed!
The air along the way was violently compressed and rubbed, emitting a piercing scream and even dragging out a brief white-hot trail.
Takuno did not pause, continuing to give chase with Swift Release: Godspeed.
It turned out that the seal he had just formed above was the secret technique for this common-sense-defying acceleration Kekkei Genkai.
With the enhancement of this escape technique, his speed was already so fast that even Madara's pair of Rinnegan could not clearly capture his trajectory.
In the next moment, Takuno's figure appeared as if teleporting, accurately manifesting in the direction Madara had been blown away.
His right fist was clenched tight, the power of Sage Art: Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength condensing once again as he smashed it fiercely toward the incoming Madara!
Madara had just been punched from a deep pit into the sky, and his state was already a wretched sight.
Bones were shattered, internal organs were vibrating, and more lethally, under the terrifying acceleration brought by Takuno's unimaginable "Sage Art: Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength"...
He was like a cannonball out of the barrel, his body completely in a state of uncontrolled high-speed flight, incapable of any effective defense or evasion.
Thus, this second heavy punch, containing destructive Unrivaled Strength, hit him head-on again without any suspense!
"BOOM!!!"
A dull, thunderous roar, accompanied by the sound of bones shattering under the unbearable load, exploded in the sky.
Madara's body, as if hit by an invisible giant mountain, shot out again in a completely different direction at a speed even more rapid and violent than before!
The blood spraying from his mouth was pulled into a crimson afterimage during the high-speed movement.
However, this was only the beginning.
Like a phantom, Takuno, relying on the absolute speed advantage granted by "Swift Release: Godspeed," drew trajectories in the sky above the battlefield that the naked eye could not capture.
He could always appear one step ahead at the end of the path where Madara was being knocked away.
Then came those simple and crude yet absolute-power-containing "Unrivaled Strength" heavy punches, striking Madara's body again and again!
"Bang!"
"Boom!"
"Thud!"
Dull and terrifying impact sounds exploded one after another in the empty sky above the battlefield, like a god beating a war drum.
With every heavy blow, Madara's body deformed violently in the air, only to be whipped in another direction at an even faster speed and a more exaggerated angle.
He had completely lost control of his body, like a ball being crazily whipped by an invisible giant hand.
He drew messy and mournful trajectories in the sky, his speed even exceeding the limits of ordinary Ninjutsu projectiles.
Below, Hashirama and Tobirama, who were barely managing to watch the battle, had their Edo Tensei faces filled with unprecedented horror.
They were just watching, yet they couldn't see anything clearly; whether it was the speed at which Madara was being thrown or the speed at which Takuno moved, both had already exceeded the dynamic range their eyes could capture!
This scene was no longer a battle, but a one-sided massacre.
The Six Paths Power and immortal body that Madara was so proud of seemed so pale and weak before Takuno's incomprehensible speed and absolute power.
He could only passively endure one heavy blow after another, turning into a "meteor" in the sky that was constantly having its direction changed.
Finally, Takuno arrived high in the sky once more; this time he clasped both hands together and smashed down his final punch.
"Sage Art: Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength!"
At this moment, Madara, under the storm-like barrage of Takuno's Sage Art: Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength...
Was already unrecognizable, his Sage Robe completely shredded, his bones emitting tooth-aching cracking sounds, and he almost didn't look human anymore.
However, the thorough fusion with the God Tree had granted him what could be called an immortal body, and his tenacious vitality had never been extinguished.
His remaining consciousness could feel the terrifying pressure descending from the sky, carrying the aura of destruction; it was Takuno's unreserved finishing blow.
Facing this last and most terrifying punch, Madara couldn't even muster a single thought of resistance.
"BAM!!"
His broken body was like a kite with its string cut, slammed fiercely into the earth by that matchless force!
BOOM!!!!
A loud noise far exceeding thunder, as if heaven and earth were splitting apart, exploded!
The moment Madara's body made contact with the earth, a violent energy shockwave spread crazily in all directions in a circular shape.
The earth was like it was being kneaded by an invisible giant hand; the ground within a radius of several kilometers instantly collapsed and shattered, the hard rock layers turning into powder like fragile biscuits.
Dust mixed with gravel shot into the sky, forming a huge mushroom cloud that blotted out the sun.
And the core position where Madara fell was directly smashed through by this world-destroying power!
A bottomless, giant crater with a shocking diameter appeared; the depths of the crater were pitch black, as if leading to the abyss of hell.
The wind whipped up by the shockwave howled across the battlefield ruins, making the robes of the distant Hashirama and Tobirama flap loudly.
At the bottom of the deep pit, Madara's mangled body was deeply embedded in the hot rock layers, the Six Paths Power surrounding him dimmed to the extreme.
His remaining consciousness struggled intermittently in the boundless pain and darkness, as that vast vitality originating from the God Tree arduously and slowly attempted to repair this almost completely destroyed shell.
However, the destructive power contained in Takuno's "final punch" had already exceeded the recovery limit of the God Tree, pinning him firmly to the edge of death.
High in the sky, Takuno slowly retracted his fist, his eyes looking down at the giant crater below that looked like an apocalyptic scene, and the faint yet still existing life aura at the bottom of the pit.
He knew that Madara, who had fused with the God Tree, wouldn't perish so easily.
But even a body fused with the God Tree could not hope to recover in a short time after facing so many rounds of his wild bombardment!
Takuno floated above the deep pit, and at this moment he also took a slight breath, though the rise and fall of his chest wasn't violent.
This wasn't a problem of chakra; with his bottomless chakra reserves, continuously performing Sage Art: Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength and Swift Release: Godspeed was as natural and simple as breathing.
What truly caused this subtle physiological reaction was speed itself.
What Swift Release: Godspeed brought was movement that transcended the boundaries of space.
But speed that transcended limits also brought a load that transcended limits.
Air, this normally docile and harmless existence, turned into the world's sharpest invisible blade at speeds dozens or even hundreds of times faster than the sound barrier.
Every explosive acceleration was like actively throwing oneself into a meat grinder composed of billions of wind blades.
That terrifying wind pressure was no longer resistance, but a tangible force of cutting and tearing, acting on every inch of his skin, every muscle, and even deep into his bone marrow.
Takuno could clearly perceive the burning sensation on the surface of his skin caused by high-speed friction, as well as the subtle tremors of deeper muscle fibers being torn by the violent airflow.
Even with his body, which had been tempered through thousands of trials and far exceeded ordinary Six Paths-level powerhouses, he couldn't completely immunize himself to this "backlash" originating from the laws of physics themselves.
The faster the speed, the more this tearing sensation grew exponentially, as if there were no upper limit.
This was not a defect of the technique, but the warning and counterattack of the world itself against those who tried to break its rules.
He needed an even stronger physique to completely master this speed that ignored space.
However, when his physique became stronger, the limit speed he could use would also increase; thus, it was a recurring cycle with no end.
The corner of Takuno's mouth hooked into a barely perceptible arc.
He didn't lack easier choices.
In fact, during the storm-like attack just now, he could have completely used his Mangekyo Sharingan ability, Sarutahiko.
This space-time ocular technique allowed him to instantly cross space, ignoring distance and obstacles.
Appearing directly at the target location, its effect was in some ways even more eerie and unpredictable than the Flying Thunder God.
If he used "Sarutahiko," he could similarly appear behind Madara in an instant to launch an attack.
And it would avoid the physical burden brought by high-speed movement; the whole process would be much more relaxed and elegant.
But he didn't.
He chose the more "clumsy" and physically taxing method, Swift Release: Godspeed.
For no other reason than to test.
To test the endurance limit of this body under extreme speed, to test how long he could maintain his peak state and how many effective actions he could make in that high speed that transcended the Rinnegan's dynamic vision.
After all, what Swift Release: Godspeed brought was a solid speed experience, a violent aesthetic of the perfect combination of power and speed, which was crucial for his understanding of the boundaries and potential of his own power.
"It seems... this duration is acceptable," Takuno felt the tremors gradually subsiding within his body and evaluated silently in his heart.
The combo of "Sage Art: Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength" just now had pushed his speed almost to the limit of what he could currently control.
Although his body had issued a warning at the end, the whole process was completed smoothly without losing control.
This proved that under extreme speed, he was capable of supporting a high-intensity, short-duration explosive battle, and was capable of doing many things on the ever-changing battlefield.
For example, before the enemy could react, completely disintegrating their defense, or... ending their life.
He glanced at the bottom of the pit; Madara's aura was tenaciously struggling to climb back up.
"Heh, an immortal body?"
Takuno's mouth hooked up; the countless dust clouds permeating below couldn't block his vision at all.
He could clearly see a black shadow quietly taking advantage of this gap to sneak into that bottomless pit.
Takuno knew very well who the owner of this black shadow was; it was none other than Black Zetsu!
Takuno also knew very well what Black Zetsu was about to do, and he was even looking forward to it.
It could be said that the location where Madara fell was specifically chosen by him, a position very close to Black Zetsu.
Now Madara, under his continuous bombardment, couldn't put up any resistance at all even with an immortal body.
Even if it was just a puddle of liquid good at hiding its aura while not in a possessed state, Black Zetsu could still complete what he was supposed to do next.
"Things should also return to the most correct trajectory, Uchiha Madara, and... Ōtsutsuki Kaguya!"
Takuno smiled as he watched Black Zetsu's expected actions.
He wasn't worried that Black Zetsu wouldn't do it, even if it might feel fear toward his power.
Because this was likely the last and only chance in Black Zetsu's life to resurrect Kaguya!
Finally, Takuno felt a different aura coming from the bottom of that pit, and his smile became even more rampant.
The final moment had finally arrived!