In his previous life, Yuto had always liked Uchiha Madara—he was the definition of badass.
But as an enemy? Yeah… no one in their right mind would enjoy that.
Whether it was taijutsu, genjutsu, or ninjutsu, Madara had no weaknesses. And to top it off, the guy was smart.
Yuto's head was pounding. Literally.
Fighting Hashirama was at least straightforward—just brute force vs. brute force. But Madara? That guy was the kind who'd have you dead before you realized the trap.
> "Yup… I don't like smart people," Yuto muttered inwardly.
As he grumbled in his head, Hashirama and Madara's eyes flashed in unison—they didn't even need to exchange words to coordinate.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
In less than a second, Madara's hands blurred through hand signs. Flames erupted from his mouth—roaring like an ocean of fire, scorching everything in their path as they surged toward Yuto.
At the same time, Hashirama slammed his foot into the ground and vanished in a blur, his body leaving nothing but an afterimage.
Yuto narrowed his eyes at the sea of fire rushing toward him.
> "Damn... That's just a B-rank jutsu, but in Madara's hands, it's stronger than most A-rank techniques."
Still, Yuto didn't dodge.
He didn't need to.
As the flames engulfed him, Yuto calmly extended his hands, letting the fire swallow him whole.
The scorching heat swept across the battlefield. The ground beneath his feet began to melt, forming glittering crystals from the sheer temperature.
And then… the flames began to disappear—absorbed into Yuto's body.
In a few short seconds, he'd consumed half of Madara's mighty jutsu.
"Nice flames, Lil' Mada. Got anything else?"
Yuto smirked as he absorbed the energy, mocking him.
Madara merely sneered in response, completely ignoring the nickname.
Yuto's eyes narrowed. His vision had been blocked by the fire, and now—Hashirama was nowhere to be seen.
> "Where'd he go…?"
Thud!
A muffled thump came from behind.
Monster Strength Punch!
Hashirama's eyes widened with effort as he drove his fist into Yuto's back with devastating force. The punch tore through the air with a shrill hum, threatening to collapse the very space in front of it.
But when it landed… nothing.
It was like punching a mountain. Yuto didn't even budge.
"Gotcha!"
Yuto grinned, lips curling into a wild smile.
Without turning around, his back erupted into a raging inferno—the very flames he had just absorbed from Madara moments ago.
They exploded outward, engulfing Hashirama.
Boom!
Yuto suddenly kicked off the ground, launching himself forward like a rocket. With a flash of speed, he appeared in front of Madara—and raised the very same flaming fist.
"This one's from Hashirama, with love!"
Smash!
Before Madara could react, his chest took the full brunt of the blow. His body shattered into chunks of wood and smoke.
"Tch. Substitution jutsu."
Yuto clicked his tongue in annoyance and leapt backward just in time.
Thunk! Thunk!
The moment he moved, countless wooden spikes burst from the ground where he had stood.
"Hmph. Pretty much as the intel described."
Hashirama's face was serious, his tone uncharacteristically cautious—but his eyes gleamed with excitement.
Madara also narrowed his eyes, now fully focused.
Their intelligence network in the Hidden Leaf had gathered a mountain of reports about Yuto. An entire room's worth of documents.
Still, neither Madara nor Hashirama had fully believed the hype. After all, intelligence could be faked, exaggerated, or planted by the enemy.
"Hashirama," Madara said, voice low but excited, "don't you feel it? My body's already shaking with anticipation."
"Yeah, Madara. Same here."
Hashirama broke into a rare grin.
It had been a long, long time since they'd had a fight like this.
Both of them—top-tier shinobi—had long passed the point where ordinary opponents posed any challenge.
But Yuto…
He was different.
Boom! Boom!
With twin bursts of energy, Madara and Hashirama charged Yuto like two unstoppable forces.
"What the hell are you two getting so hyped up for?!"
Yuto shouted, exasperated.
But he didn't even realize—he was just as fired up.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
With twin sonic booms, the two legends appeared in front of Yuto in an instant!
They each grabbed one of his arms and pinned him in place.
And then, in perfect unison, they drove their fists toward Yuto's face.
But the instant the punches made contact… Yuto absorbed all the energy.
To him, those mighty punches felt like someone gently pressing his cheeks. Not even a slap—just a nudge.
"Nice fists. Too bad you're way off."
With a roar, Yuto tightened his grip and yanked the two off the ground—one in each hand—before slamming them violently into the earth.
"We're not done yet—Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!
Water Style: Aqua Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Both his hands flew through different sets of signs—single-handed seals! He cast the two jutsu near-simultaneously as he slammed them down.
Yuto hadn't become Mizukage just because of his immortality. His talent was legit.
In the entire Hidden Mist Village, the only other person who could perform single-handed seals was Haku's ancestor, Mizuki Byakuya.
"Susano'o!"
"Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"
The clash of titans reached new heights as Madara and Hashirama roared in unison.
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