"No, I can’t waste time fighting this guy right now." Urashiki narrowed his eyes slightly, his anger fading just a little. "I need to get my things back first. There’s no reason to waste time on him."
Madara seemed to notice Urashiki’s hesitation. Without a word, he controlled Susano’o to swing its sword down. Watching Urashiki barely dodge in time, he spoke with mockery. "So this is the strength of the Otsutsuki? Or is it just you who’s this weak?"
Susano’o kept swinging its blade, each strike tearing open massive cracks in the earth. "Too weak. This doesn’t even compare to the fights I had with Hashirama."
Whenever he and Hashirama sparred, they always controlled their strength. Madara never used his full-body Susano’o, and Hashirama wouldn’t use Sage Mode. They even sealed away their most overpowered jutsu.
Even with those limits, their fights could reshape the landscape. Compared to that, this wasn’t even a spar—it was just playing around.
"Honestly, you’re a huge disappointment as an Otsutsuki," Madara said, shaking his head.
Back in the Uchiha shrine, he had read about the Sage of Six Paths—Otsutsuki Hagoromo. The legends said he had the power to change the very heavens and earth. That level of power wasn’t just about altering the terrain—it was something far beyond that. To Madara, the name "Otsutsuki" represented an entirely different level of strength.
A level far beyond that of any Kage.
To be honest, Madara had been looking forward to seeing just how strong the Otsutsuki truly were. Now that he had the chance, he couldn’t help but want to test himself.
Disappointing. Too disappointing. The chakra felt powerful, but the actual strength it displayed was barely a fraction of that. Like a child holding a weapon they didn’t know how to use, easily overpowered by any real fighter.
Do these guys even know how to fight?
Hearing Madara’s endless taunts, Otsutsuki Urashiki, already furious, looked even more twisted with rage. Dodging another attack from Susano’o, he gritted his teeth. "You inferior creature!"
But he had no choice. His body had been hit by that damn seal in the future, leaving him unable to use his full strength. He couldn’t possibly use his second phase now, could he?
"If you want to die, I’ll make it happen!" Urashiki roared in anger. With a fierce swing of his right hand, a surge of powerful chakra erupted. The fishing basket at his waist suddenly began to glow.
As his energy suddenly surged, a massive wave of yellow sand burst from his basket, rushing straight toward Susano’o.
"Is this... an Otsutsuki technique?"
Madara crossed his arms, his Sharingan slowly spinning. He completely ignored the sand falling onto Susano’o.
"No, this chakra feels similar to the Kazekage’s. Is it the same type of Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu?"
But one uses black iron sand, while the other uses regular sand.
"Looks like I’m being underestimated." Madara was slightly annoyed. Using such tricks against him—wasn’t that the same as looking down on him?
If there was anything that angered him more than being defeated by Hashirama, it was being underestimated by him. This guy wasn’t Hashirama, so Madara was only a little annoyed, not truly furious.
But since he was annoyed, he might as well do what needed to be done when feeling that way.
"If it’s sand, then I’ll use trees." Madara pressed his hands together, his expression turning cold. "Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground trembled. Amidst the swirling sand, cracks spread rapidly as enormous trees burst from below, shooting toward the sky like giant serpents. A powerful aura of life engulfed the entire Land of Rain.
The rumbling of the earthquake and the sound of shattering rocks echoed across the land, making it feel as if the world itself was ending.
Floating in the air, Urashiki looked down in confusion. The entire landscape had turned into a vast forest. Even the nearly hundred-meter-tall Susano’o now seemed small in comparison.
The rising trees completely buried the sand. The ground was now covered in twisting shadows of thick branches, which coiled toward Urashiki. This attack covered such a wide area that there was nowhere to escape.
On the ground, Madara watched as Urashiki was engulfed by the trees. He frowned slightly, then let out a small cough and hunched his shoulders. "Not even half the power of my prime? I really am getting old. But at least I’m still alive. Hashirama, if you saw this, you’d probably be jumping in anger, huh?"
No, he wouldn’t. Knowing Hashirama, if he found out Madara was still alive, he wouldn’t be mad—he’d be thrilled.
"Tch, I hate that part of you the most."
As expected, we really don’t get along.
The dense forest loomed like a massive underworld, covering the land in an overwhelming sea of green. Its immense power coursed through the ground.
But the next second, Madara’s expression darkened. He waved his right hand, and the trees wrapped around Urashiki receded, revealing the scene inside.
Frowning, Madara muttered with a hint of displeasure, "He escaped? So, he still has some strange tricks up his sleeve."
Well, that made sense. He was an Otsutsuki, after all. Madara wasn’t too surprised. The only surprising part was that the guy actually ran away. Was he really an Otsutsuki?
Madara withdrew Susano’o and slowly landed on one of the trees. His black cloak with red clouds swayed in the wind.
"Well, things just got a little more interesting. Try not to die at someone else’s hands, Otsutsuki."
"But that was unsatisfying. I finally found someone interesting..."
As he spoke, Madara suddenly turned his gaze to another direction, his expression as calm as ever.
"So, little rats who have been watching from over there, why don’t you come out and entertain me for a bit? You wouldn’t refuse, would you?"
In the distance, hidden in the shadows, three figures were lurking. When they heard Madara’s words, two of them stiffened for a moment, their faces tense as they glanced at the man standing between them.
The man in the middle sighed but didn’t hesitate for long. He told the other two, "Stay here," then stepped out from the shadows, fully exposing himself to the sunlight.
A black cloak, an ordinary hat that concealed most of his features—only his short black hair, lightly swaying in the wind, was visible.
"As expected, ever since Madara got Hashirama’s cells, his sensing ability has nearly surpassed the Kagura Mind’s Eye." The man sighed inwardly. This guy was already ridiculously strong—he had killed members of the Otsutsuki clan with just a mortal body. And now, after gaining Hashirama’s cells, not only had he awakened the Rinnegan and learned Wood Style, but his chakra and sensory abilities had also grown stronger than ever before.
Thinking about this, the man felt helpless. But still, he slowly said, "Madara, I don’t want to fight you. You’re way harder to deal with than that Otsutsuki Urashiki guy."
"Oh?" Madara looked at him with interest. "Your presence feels familiar... This feeling... You’re from the Uchiha clan, aren’t you?"
"Yes." The man lifted his head slightly, revealing the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes before sighing. "Our only target is Otsutsuki Urashiki. We don’t want any conflict with you."
Madara fell silent for a moment. After about ten seconds, he suddenly looked at the man in front of him. His tone was calm but left no room for doubt.
"Your chakra feels a lot like that Otsutsuki from earlier. So that means... you have it too, don’t you?"
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