"Good afternoon, Lord Madara."
Shisui, clad in a long white coat, offered a smile that didn't quiet reach his eyes.
"I am here to speak with you as a representative of the Land of Waves. Is there something you require by coming here?"
"Uchiha Shisui. I know you."
Madara stood with his arms crossed, his spiky hair flowing behind him like a thorny mane. Clad in his signature dark red armor, his eyes gleamed with a sinister light.
"You are a man who once dedicated himself to an ideal of peace. Why would someone like you throw his lot in with the Land of Waves?"
In his view, a man like Shisui had the right to exist in his ideal world. He never expected him to willingly side with these "transmigrants."
"I appreciate your kind words, Lord Madara," Shisui replied, his pleasant smile unwavering. "But only the future envisioned by our leader can be called a true ideal of peace."
"Oh?" Madara let out a derisive snort.
"For the 'Shunshin no Shisui,' who was so devoted to Konoha, to say such a thing… it seems the Land of Waves has brainwashed you quite thoroughly."
"Lord Madara, are you at all familiar with our nation's ideals?"
"Do I need to be?"
"If you know nothing of our country, then why hurl accusations like 'brainwashing'?"
"I did not come here to argue on semantics." Madara's voice was a cold, hard thing. "Hand over Black Zetsu."
Finding Black Zetsu was his primary reason for coming to this country. The issue of the transmigrants could wait, but that traitorous creature could not.
"I'm afraid that's impossible," Shisui said, shaking his head. "Black Zetsu is an elementary school student in the Land of Waves—an independent individual. We have neither the right nor the authority to hand him over to you."
"You call that thing a person?" Uchiha Madara's brow furrowed in disdain.
"In the Land of Waves, any being with independent thought and self-awareness is considered a person," Shisui stated simply.
"An interesting argument," Madara sneered, the air around him suddenly crackling as his chakra erupted. "But unfortunately, I am taking Black Zetsu today, whether you like it or not!"
Whoosh—
A pale purple, chakra flared to life around him, radiating an intimidating, crushing pressure.
Even the citizens far on the other side bridge felt the overwhelming weight of it. Their eyes turned toward the source, though the thick sea of fog obscured their view.
"So, Lord Madara, you are determined to fight today?"
Shisui seemed unaffected by the pressure, letting out a soft sigh.
"HAND. OVER. BLACK. ZETSU!" Madara bit out each word, leaving no room for negotiation.
"Let's take this elsewhere, then. The citizens spent a long time building this bridge," Shisui said, his expression neutral. "It would be a shame to see it destroyed."
"Brat, do you really think—"
Thud—
Before Madara could finish, Shisui's hand shot out, grabbing him by the collar and yanking him backward at a speed that defied vision.
The world blurred into streaks of color on either side. Even with the power of the Rinnegan, Madara could barely process their movement.
'How is this possible?!'
His eyes widened in shock. He tried to wrench himself free, but Shisui's grip was an unbreakable vice.
Boom—!
A distant mountain peak exploded as Madara's body was used as a battering ram through the rock.
He emerged from the settling dust, his armor scuffed and his hair in disarray.
"This should do," Shisui remarked, glancing around. "The border between the Land of Rivers and the Land of Fire. We shouldn't disturb anyone here."
'The border?'
Madara froze for a second, his expression darkening.
In the span of a few heartbeats, they had traveled from the Land of Waves to the border of the Land of Rivers. This speed was on par with the most advanced space-time ninjutsu!
"Is this the power of Hollowification?" Madara frowned, his voice a low rumble. "You Hollowified shinobi are not to be underestimated…"
As he spoke, blue chakra surged around him once more, forming the towering skeletal structure of a Susano'o.
"Starting with this right away?" Shisui tilted his head, a faint smile playing on his lips. "Lord Madara, you truly are an Uchiha through and through."
Madara couldn't tell if it was sarcasm or a backhanded compliment.
The Susano'o manifested a massive, glowing blade in its hand and brought it down in a devastating arc toward Shisui's head.
Crack—!
Shisui didn't dodge. He simply raised his open hand and met the blade's edge.
Boom—!
The resulting shockwave whipped his hair back, revealing the number "3" etched on the open collar of his coat.
"That number?" Madara's brow furrowed. "I heard from Orochimaru about the Espada among the Arrancar?"
"I am the Espada Number Three of the Land of Waves, Uchiha Shisui." Shisui lifted his palm, turning it gently. Particles of brilliant green light gathered and swirled in his hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."
Boom—!
A searing beam of emerald energy lanced out, piercing clean through the chest of Madara's Susano'o as if it were paper.
'What?!' Madara's face contorted in disbelief.
Before he could even form a thought, Shisui was upon him again, slamming him into the shattered ground with overwhelming force.
"I'm sorry, Lord Madara," Shisui said dispassionately, looking down at him from above. "You are under arrest for endangering the lives of citizens of the Land of Waves. You have the right to remain silent, but anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."
"Go to hell!" Madara would never tolerate such humiliation. His eyes instantly shifted to a light purple, the ripple-like pattern of the Rinnegan swirling into focus.
Shinra Tensei!
But Shisui was faster, a blur of motion evading the technique's area of effect before it could fully activate.
It didn't end there.
Madara crossed his arms, and thick, serpentine vines erupted from the earth, coiling and lunging to bind Shisui where he stood.
"Still so stubborn," Shisui sighed, his hand finally resting on the hilt of the sword slung over his shoulder.
Slice—
A flash of steel, almost too quick to see, and the monstrous vines were reduced to splinters.
'How?!'
Madara was stunned. Shisui's combat ability far exceeded anything he had anticipated.
Clang—
The cold, gleaming edge of Shisui's zanpakutō came to rest gently on Madara's shoulder.
"It's over," Shisui stated calmly. "The Land of Waves now requires—"
"Hm?"
His words were cut off as his eyes snapped to the side. He raised his left hand, and a hexagonal shield of spiritual energy materialized before him.
Boom—!
A sphere of raging black flames—Amaterasu—smashed against the shield, scattering embers like dying stars.
In the split second Shisui was occupied, a dark blur swept in and carried Madara away from the blade's edge.
Shisui frowned, his eyes lifting to the man now standing atop a broken pinnacle of rock.
Even with a mask obscuring his features, Shisui recognized him instantly.
"Itachi?"
"Shisui…" Uchiha Itachi spoke his former friend's name, his voice layered with unspoken history.
"That mask… I never thought it would come to this," Shisui said, a note of regret in his voice.
"Shisui, we will meet again."
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Itachi and Madara vanished from the spot.
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