Three hours after the battle. My body still screamed. My chakra was a dried riverbed.
Naruto had carried me back to the cave. Sasuke stood guard. Kakashi sat in silence.
Shin. Naruto's voice was soft. You need to rest.
No.
I pushed myself up. Every muscle burned. My ribs clicked.
The voice. One extraction remaining for today. The Collector is moving. Madara is reforming.
Where?
Five kilometers east. He is alone. Weak. Regenerating.
I stood. My legs shook.
What are you doing? Sasuke stepped in front of me.
Finishing it.
You can barely stand.
I looked at him. My eyes were still red from the drain.
I do not need to stand. I just need to appear.
Flying Raijin. I still had a kunai marked near where Madara fell. One jump.
Naruto grabbed my arm. His blue eyes were wet.
You will die.
I already died once. It was not so bad.
I activated the technique.
The world blurred. Trees became streaks. Air became pressure.
Then I was there.
The clearing was burned black. Madara sat against a broken tree. His armor was gone. His chest was a wound. But his eyes were open. The Sharingan and Rinnegan still glowed.
He looked at me. Smiled.
Hah. You came back. Stupid.
I walked toward him. Slow. Each step sent fire through my legs.
The voice. One extraction. He is weak. You can take his Rinnegan.
No. Too big. Too unstable.
Then take his regeneration.
I stopped in front of him. Looked down at the man who had killed me.
Any last words?
Madara laughed. Blood came out of his mouth.
The last words are yours, ghost. Because you have no idea what you just started.
I put my hand on his forehead.
Extraction: Regeneration (passive).
The system hummed. Chakra flowing. Technique acquired. Passive Regeneration. Minor wounds heal in seconds. Major wounds heal in hours.
Madara's eyes went wide. His body trembled.
You... you took my Hashirama cells...
No. I took what they gave you.
I raised my other hand. A kunai. Simple. Sharp.
Madara looked at the blade. Then at me. For the first time, his eyes showed something other than arrogance.
Fear.
Wait. We can make a deal. I can...
No.
I drove the kunai into his eye. Through the Sharingan. Into his brain.
He did not scream. Just went still. His body dissolved into black smoke. The resurrection technique pulled him away.
But this time, I felt something different. The system whispered.
Madara Uchiha. Deceased. Resurrection will require 72 hours.
Three days. That was all the time I had.
I turned. The forest was quiet. The sun was setting.
Then the ground shook.
A massive chakra signature appeared. Not Madara. Bigger. Older. Colder.
Kaguya.
The voice screamed. Warning. Kaguya Otsutsuki has been resurrected by the Collector.
I looked at the sky. It was turning white. The world was ending.
Again.
My hands were shaking. Not from fear. From exhaustion.
The regeneration kicked in. My ribs healed. My muscles stopped burning.
But my mind was screaming.
I killed Madara. And something worse took his place.
The voice. Run. Now.
I activated Flying Raijin. Teleported back to the cave.
Naruto was on his knees. His face was white.
I felt it. Someone... something...
Sasuke was silent. His Sharingan spinning so fast it blurred.
Kakashi spoke. His voice empty.
The Rabbit Goddess. She is awake.
I looked at my hands. The blood of Madara was still on my fingers.
The first shock was not that I killed a Monster...
The first shock was that killing him did not matter.
Kaguya was coming. And I had one extraction left for today.
Hahahaha. I laughed until tears came.
The ghost had won a battle. But the war had just begun.