Chapter 44: Battling Uchiha Madara Again
An hour passed, and the sun had already dipped halfway behind the mountains.
"Lord Clan Head, there are no abnormal movements from the Uzumaki," an Uchiha scout reported quickly to Madara.
Madara, sitting on a large rock, looked impatient. "Izuna, attack. It'll be dark soon."
Izuna looked puzzled. "But darkness is to our advantage, big brother."
Madara hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.
Seeing this, Izuna looked shocked. "Big brother... your eyes..."
Seeing Madara's silent confirmation, Izuna immediately stood up. "All units, assemble! Prepare to attack!"
On the Senju side, Masahiko had already sensed the Uchiha clan's movements. He looked helplessly at his three still-sniffling students.
"Alright, stop crying. Your sensei isn't dead yet. Go back and stay put. The battle is about to start!"
Watching the three retreat, Masahiko didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "If I don't die in this war, I won't be able to explain myself..."
Tobirama also saw the Uchiha attacking and shouted, "Prepare for battle! Intercept them!"
Masahiko gauged the distance of the Uchiha forces and nodded slightly. With a thought, several small fireballs materialized in front of him. But instead of bombarding the enemy directly as usual, he focused, and the fireballs began to change shape, transforming into miniature shuriken.
"Scorch Release: Rasenshuriken!"
Several small, blazing shuriken screamed through the air toward the Uchiha ranks.
Seeing this, Uchiha Madara wasted no words. His Mangekyo Sharingan spun. "Susanoo!" A gigantic, light-blue figure materialized and smashed the shuriken apart with a few punches.
"Old man! You said your opponent was me, right?! Here I come!" Madara roared, the Susanoo charging straight for Masahiko.
Masahiko glanced back at Tobirama, giving him a "don't worry" look, and charged toward Madara.
Tobirama steeled himself and shouted, "Senju clansmen, attack!" He then rushed toward his old rival, Uchiha Izuna.
As Masahiko rushed toward Uchiha Madara, he shouted, "Uchiha Madara! It's been 14 years since we last fought. I hope you won't be as pathetic as last time!"
Madara glared at him viciously but didn't reply. Gauging the distance, the Susanoo formed seals. "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!" A sea of fire, over ten times larger than before, rolled toward Masahiko. "Try absorbing this one!"
Masahiko looked at the flames but didn't defend. Instead, he threw a specially marked shuriken through the fire toward Madara. Just as the shuriken neared him, Masahiko activated the Shuriken Substitution Jutsu, instantly appearing right in front of Madara's Susanoo.
"Dark Release: Inhaling Maw!" Under Madara's incredulous gaze, Masahiko tore a hole right through the Susanoo and landed a kick, sending Madara flying. Without Madara's control, the Susanoo dissipated.
"History is startlingly repetitive, isn't it, Madara? 14 years later, and I kicked you again," Masahiko teased as Madara struggled to regain his balance.
Madara's face flushed with humiliation and anger. "Damn old man... still so many weird jutsu..."
Madara stood up straight. "I didn't want to use this, but it seems I can't hold back against you..."
"Susanoo!" Blood tears streamed from Madara's eyes. An even larger Susanoo formed—this one with two heads and four arms, two of which held massive swords of light.
Masahiko cracked his neck, looking distressed. "Fighting giants is so tiring. I have to keep looking up. And now you're even bigger... Are you trying to exhaust me to death?"
Madara didn't waste words, swinging both swords down.
Masahiko quickly formed seals. "Earth Release: Earth Shore Return!" A massive rock wall rose between them. But a split second later, Masahiko's expression changed, and he activated his Shuriken Substitution Jutsu again.
The massive rock was split cleanly in two by Madara's swords. Masahiko wiped imaginary sweat from his forehead.
"Wow, you're serious. If I don't get serious too, I'm really going to die..." Masahiko focused. Sage Mode: Activate!
To Madara, Masahiko's aura suddenly felt completely different.
Madara froze for a second, his expression darkening. "The same jutsu as Hashirama?" He was clearly recalling some unpleasant memories.
"Sage Art: Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!" Masahiko shouted, throwing a Rasenshuriken with power on a completely different level than before.
Madara snapped out of it. Watching the expanding Rasenshuriken, he sneered. "You're still far inferior to Hashirama!"
He slashed at the shuriken with one sword, but his expression changed immediately upon contact. He crossed both swords to defend, but was still pushed back a hundred meters before he could disperse the attack.
"I am far inferior to Hashirama, but right now, you are far inferior to him, too!" Masahiko added fuel to the fire.
Sure enough, Madara hated nothing more than being told he was inferior to Hashirama. As soon as he steadied himself, he piloted the Susanoo forward in huge strides, slashing at Masahiko with both blades. Simultaneously, he formed seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" He aimed the fireball directly at where Masahiko's special shuriken had landed.
"As expected of Madara. You figured out the principle of my Shuriken Substitution Jutsu so quickly... However, I have three more of those shuriken." Masahiko grinned mischievously and threw three shuriken in three different directions.
Uchiha Madara's expression shifted. His blood-red eyes spun rapidly, trying to track Masahiko's movement.
But in the blink of an eye, Masahiko vanished from in front of him. And he wasn't at any of the three locations where the shuriken had landed.
"Underground!" Madara cursed, swinging his sword toward the ground beneath his feet.
"Sage Art: Chidori Sharp Spear!" Bursting from the earth, Masahiko chose to meet Madara's slash head-on for the first time, using the opportunity to get close to Madara's position again.
"Dark Release: Inhaling Maw!" His sinful hands reached for Madara's Susanoo once more. But Madara wouldn't fall for the same trick twice. With a glare, he cast an instant genjutsu. Masahiko faltered for a split second. When he snapped out of it, Madara's light sword was inches away. Helpless, he had to activate the Shuriken Substitution Jutsu again.
After putting some distance between them, Masahiko panted slightly.
"Damn Susanoo. Except for Inhaling Maw, I can't do anything against it. Now that Madara is on guard, defeating him is almost impossible..." Masahiko looked around. The situation was slightly favorable for the Senju. His three students were cooperating and managing to protect themselves.
"Then, the next step is to stall. Stall until Hashirama gets back, or until the other battles are decided..."
Thinking this, Masahiko deactivated Sage Mode. The chakra consumption was too intense for a prolonged battle.
Seeing Masahiko panting, Madara shouted, "Old man! Giving up already? You're still far from enough!" He charged again.
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!" Masahiko hadn't wanted to use this dangerous jutsu, but right now, aside from the chakra-draining Rasenshuriken, it was the only thing that could trouble Madara.
Sure enough, although it couldn't penetrate the Susanoo, the heat passed through the layer of chakra and scorched Madara. It didn't do much damage, but... Madara's face turned bright red.
"Old man! You are dead!" Madara roared, humiliated and enraged.
Masahiko: "..."
I used a jutsu that had the opposite effect! What do I do? Online, waiting for help, it's urgent...
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