In the Limbo dimension, physical attacks had no effect on the shadows, yet those same shadows could strike the real world. Strictly speaking, Limbo was a form of space-time ninjutsu. The fact that Uchiha Madara could freely switch positions with his shadows already explained its nature.
Limbo existed as an overlapping world, pressing against reality, while Kamui resided in an adjacent dimension. It was similar to the personal storage space Ayanami Kaito himself had mastered, though he wasn't certain if its barriers were truly as solid. Comparing either of them to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's space Jutsu was pointless—her jutsu was on an entirely different level.
Kaito studied the phenomenon with calm focus, but Madara remained still. The reason was clear. Madara was desperately calculating how to overcome Kaito's thunder. Without a counter, he couldn't hope to win. Their last exchange had already proven it—Kaito's lightning had reduced him to a charred corpse in an instant. Only the regenerative ability granted by the Ten Tails saved him. Anyone else at the Six Paths level would have been erased.
Madara's expression darkened. "What a troublesome opponent… Looks like I'll have to use that."
His eyes widened, ripples of purple surging outward from his Rinnegan. The ground trembled violently, cracks opening across the battlefield as though the earth itself writhed like a great dragon. Yet it wasn't the real world that shook—it was Limbo itself.
Kaito's gaze sharpened. The entire Limbo began to compress, collapsing inward, while an overwhelming destructive force gathered within.
It all happened in an instant.
"Limbo: Heavenly Hell!" Madara's roar echoed like thunder.
The compressed shadow world twisted into a black vortex. From its depths, enormous hands of darkness reached outward, stretching to seize Kaito and drag him inside.
At the same time, Madara swung his Truth-Seeking Ball scepter. Space itself twisted, forming a swirling void. He thrust the compressed Limbo into it without hesitation, sealing Kaito away.
This technique—the Limbo Heavenly Prison—was a sealing art born of pure space-time mastery. By compressing the entire Limbo world until its barriers became unbreakable, Madara could imprison his opponent within. Anyone trapped would be forced to battle the endless shadow army without reprieve, an eternal struggle against the very essence of his power.
But there was a cost. After unleashing it, Madara could never again use his Limbo abilities. Still, the trade-off was worth it if it meant eliminating Kaito. By hiding the black hole within another dimension, even if Kaito somehow escaped, centuries would pass in the real world. By then, Infinite Tsukuyomi would already be complete.
"It's over." Madara sneered as the space closed, turning away. He drifted toward the highest ground nearby, preparing to cast his final jutsu.
Below, the Allied Shinobi Forces stared in horror at the distant sky.
"Kaito… was defeated?" one murmured in disbelief.
"No," Tsunade whispered, shaking her head. "He's been sealed." Her eyes dimmed with sorrow.
The truth was no different. Whether sealed or destroyed, Kaito was gone. The ninja world's last hope had fallen, and Madara's victory seemed inevitable.
Tsunade's despair mirrored that of the other Kage. Mei Terumī's eyes brimmed with tears, spilling down her cheeks. Hinata's hands trembled, and even Ino's voice cracked as she tried to deny what her heart already knew.
To them, Kaito was not only the godlike protector of the shinobi world, but also the man who carried their hearts. His loss crushed them utterly.
As silence and despair spread across the army, the Fourth Raikage roared, slamming his fist into the ground. "Damn it! Are we just supposed to watch him unleash Infinite Tsukuyomi?!"
"It's too late," Gaara said quietly. "We're too far away." His calm words struck like a blade. Even if they could reach the battlefield, what could they do against Madara now? They would be lambs to slaughter.
Madara's silhouette loomed in the heavens, his body glowing with unholy light as he prepared to cast the eternal illusion. But before he could complete it, ripples of distortion spread behind him.
From that space, Ayanami Kaito stepped out, calm and unshaken.
His voice carried across the world. "To think you would compress the entire Limbo and use it as a weapon… If I hadn't prepared, even I might not have escaped. Truly, this is the pinnacle of the Rinnegan."
Gasps filled the Allied Shinobi Forces. Hope reignited in their eyes.
Inside that sealed shadow world, Kaito had faced an endless army of shades. Individually, none were stronger than a Kage, but their sheer numbers were like a tidal wave. He had left clones to hold them back, while his true self focused on the world above.
The realm itself was desolate, black and white, void of life, like a dead planet. Kaito wasted no time. His body ignited with storm-gray lightning, divine arcs wrapping around him until he resembled a thunder god descending to judgment.
In his hand, the Truth-Seeking Ball spear glowed with a dark radiance. Lightning gathered upon it until the weapon blazed like a spear that could pierce the heavens.
Kaito hurled it into the compressed Limbo.
BOOM!
The spear tore open the dimension, thunder exploding like a storm that shook the entire shadow world. Cracks spiderwebbed outward, space itself collapsing.
Kaito vanished in a flash, slipping free just as the prison imploded. The Limbo shattered into fragments, dissolving into nothingness.
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