"Ōtsutsuki."
Madara heard the name and frowned slightly. He didn't know this family name, but he had heard of Kaguya — the only one he knew of. She was the mother of the Sage of Six Paths, and the origin of all chakra.
There were many details in the words of this person, like information on this planet and the indigenous people of the ninja world.
While Madara analyzed the information in his mind, Black Zetsu had already taken two steps back in fear. Representing Kaguya's will, he knew exactly what the Ōtsutsuki clan was about.
'They're here! How did they come so fast!? Mother has not even been revived yet.'
Black Zetsu was filled with anxiety, worried that Kaguya's chakra would be taken, and fearful of being noticed as Kaguya's will and thus eliminated.
These Ōtsutsuki were enemies of his mother! Right now, his only option was to rely on Madara. He hoped that Madara could drive this person away, or at worst, escape with the Gedo Statue. Once he became the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki and revived his mother, he could deal with this Ōtsutsuki.
"It seems you're not just talking nonsense. Your target is the Gedo Statue behind me, isn't it?"
Madara sensed the strength of the person before him. His eyes changed to the Rinnegan, and he lowered his arms that were crossed over his chest, reaching behind to grab his gunbai.
"Show me what you've got, if you can take the Gedo Statue away."
"The Rinnegan, huh? It seems you're not just any ordinary native. For someone like you to possess an Ōtsutsuki dōjutsu, you might just be worthy of being my follower."
Urashiki spoke with a polite smile, but in Madara's eyes, that smile was full of mockery.
"Katon: Ryūen Hōka no Jutsu!"
Facing a powerful enemy, Madara did not hold back. He planted his gunbai in the ground, quickly forming a seal with his hands, and then spat out four intense, blazing dragon flames that attacked Urashiki from four directions.
The speed of the flames was astonishing, instantly surrounding Urashiki from all sides before exploding with a thunderous roar.
Fiery waves spread in all directions, the intense shockwaves causing the underground space to shake violently as debris rained down from above.
Although the underground space Madara had created was quite large, it was not suitable for combat, especially with such intense clashes. Another similar impact would definitely collapse the underground space.
As the sea of fire raged, Madara's pupils suddenly widened. He picked up his gunbai and held it behind him.
Clang!
A red-glowing fishing rod struck the gunbai, making a crisp sound.
Blocking the strike, Madara immediately wanted to counterattack, but Urashiki swiftly kicked him away.
After a quick spin in the air, Madara landed on the ground.
He wasn't injured, but he had been forced into a minor disadvantage. If he hadn't instinctively used the Mangekyō Sharingan, the outcome might have been worse.
"Oh, you managed to avoid that strike. You have a spatial ability too?"
Urashiki spoke with a peculiar tone. His space-time ability was very subtle, detectable only by those with similar powers.
It seems it's a Rinnegan ability, quite a rare one at that.
Urashiki watched Madara carefully. It seemed like there were quite a few capable individuals in this era, just like the one who played with wood.
Their brief clash took place in an instant; other shinobi wouldn't have been able to react to Urashiki's space-time technique.
As for Black Zetsu, it took the opportunity, seeing that Urashiki wasn't paying attention to it, to burrow into the ground and hide as far away as possible, leaving only its head exposed, afraid of being noticed by Urashiki.
"That weapon of yours seems rather dangerous. Are you a member of the same clan as the Sage of Six Paths' mother, Kaguya-hime? It indeed doesn't seem simple."
Madara spoke with a slightly serious expression. This person's presence gave him a sense of not only powerful chakra but also bizarre abilities seen through dōjutsu.
Let me test him a little more!
With that thought, Madara dropped his previously indifferent attitude, beginning to take his enemy more seriously.
Swoosh!
Madara's figure vanished from where he stood, and in the next instant, he reappeared beside Urashiki using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Fast."
Madara slashed down with his gunbai, temporarily using it as a scythe, but it was blocked by Urashiki's glowing red fishing rod. Urashiki then countered by flicking his rod, which turned into a thin red line that attacked Madara.
But Madara, no longer underestimating his opponent, fought with extreme caution, treating Urashiki as if he were fighting Hashirama.
The red line moved incredibly fast, but Madara seemed to understand its power, evading the fishing rod's attacks skillfully. With Susanoo's armor covering his hands, he countered each strike of the rod.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Madara retreated, put away his gunbai, and donned the Susanoo armor on his hands. His polished taijutsu skills showed in this moment of battle. Even as Urashiki split the red line into over ten segments, Madara avoided every hook.
Suddenly, a sneer appeared on Urashiki's lips, and the fishing hook accelerated.
It abruptly stopped and turned in mid-air, startling Madara. But he remained composed. As the hook approached his abdomen, he opened his eyes wide.
"Shinra Tensei!"
An intense repulsive force erupted from Madara, centered on him and expanding rapidly outward.
The fishing hook lost its momentum under this powerful force and was kicked away by Madara. Knowing the danger of touching the hook, he only let Susanoo handle it.
Rumble!
The fearsome repulsive force shook the entire underground space, causing it to collapse. Gigantic rocks fell from above, burying the Gedo Statue, Madara, and Urashiki.
But in the next moment, Urashiki used Yomotsu Hirasaka to appear in the outside world, then looked down at the collapsing pit.
Boom!
Two massive blue arms pushed away the debris, and soon, a colossal Susanoo rose from the pit.
"Susanoo... Just like that annoying guy, the same power. Heh, it seems you're not an easy person to deal with."
Urashiki finished speaking and flew upward, avoiding the fierce slash of Susanoo's sword.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Unable to hit Urashiki, Madara's slash cut a hundred-meter-deep trench in the ground, extending to the seashore thousands of meters away, raising a terrifying tidal wave.
'Is Susanoo useless against such a flexible opponent? In that case, I'll have to try Limbo!'
Madara thought to himself and then deactivated Susanoo. Against an enemy capable of flying nimbly in the air with space-time abilities, Susanoo wasn't very effective.
After deactivating Susanoo, Madara landed on the ground.
Urashiki approached with a smile. "Why are you not using such a powerful ability anymore? Perhaps I might be scared of it."
Limbo!
Ignoring Urashiki's taunting, Madara slightly opened his Rinnegan and activated the ability.
A Limbo clone suddenly appeared between the two and attacked Urashiki with a heavy kick.
"Hmm?"
Urashiki was slightly surprised, raising his red fishing rod to block. He said in some astonishment, "Is this another of your abilities? An invisible clone. If not for these eyes, I wouldn't have been able to see it."
Currently, Urashiki was using his blue Rinnegan, as he didn't need the Byakugan to track his opponent. The Rinnegan was far more useful in combat.
'He can see Limbo!?'
Madara was startled. He quickly formed hand seals, summoning three more Limbo clones. With the fan in hand, he rushed towards Urashiki.
Boom! Bang!
Five Madaras coordinated their attacks perfectly. Limbo clones had the same strength as the original, instantly putting Urashiki under pressure.
The four Limbo clones constantly created opportunities, with every punch and kick disregarding their safety — not that it mattered, since Limbo clones return to the original after time runs out without taking damage.
"Damn."
Urashiki found himself overwhelmed by the four Limbo clones. His Rinnegan constantly darted back and forth, trying to track Madara's movements, but he could only dodge continuously. Once he tried to block, he would face an unending barrage of attacks.
Paper Crane Flicker!
Urashiki suddenly turned into several red paper cranes, using his space-time ability to escape from the encirclement of three Limbo clones.
But in the next instant, Madara caught sight of where Urashiki reappeared.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Just as Urashiki emerged, a powerful gravitational force enveloped him.
Madara didn't hold back at all. He exerted the full power of the Rinnegan, making the gravitational pull even stronger than that of Chibaku Tensei.
"Curse you!"
For a moment, Urashiki couldn't control himself and was pulled toward Madara. But just as he was about to break free...
Two Limbo clones seized the opportunity, each grabbing one of Urashiki's arms and the red fishing rod. Madara then kicked him forcefully.
Bang!
With a powerful blow, Madara did not hold back against a powerful and unknown enemy. He used his full strength, sending Urashiki flying.
Urashiki crashed into a giant rock, shattering it with the force of the impact.
"It seems I was right. Your weapon can't deal with the Limbo clones; it only works on the real body."
Madara said with a sneer. Limbo clones couldn't usually be touched; they could only be affected when attacking or defending.
Just now, he used Limbo to block Urashiki's weapon, and nothing happened. That made things much easier; as long as his real body didn't touch it, he would be fine.
"Your tone was so arrogant before, but this is all you've got."
Madara said with apparent arrogance, but he was thinking of strategies. The Limbo clones needed another minute before they could be summoned again. Until then, he needed to use the Mangekyō Sharingan and ninjutsu to delay Urashiki.
"Katon: Gōka Metsu!"
Madara formed a seal, then exhaled an intense, scorching sea of flames that surged towards Urashiki like a raging inferno.
Boom!
The area where Urashiki was erupted in an explosion. After a dozen boulders flew out, the flames quickly engulfed everything, burning them.
Under such a fearsome fire release jutsu, a nearly thousand-meter radius ahead was engulfed in flames.
He's gone? Another space-time jutsu!
Madara looked left and right with the Rinnegan, but didn't see Urashiki, so he used the Mangekyō Sharingan in his left eye.
Yasakani!
This ability allowed him to briefly see events about to happen, giving him a chance to prevent nearly irreversible situations.
In Madara's vision, several red fishing hooks suddenly attacked from above.
Upon seeing this, Madara immediately looked up, spotting Urashiki emerging quietly from the void.
"Die, lowlife! Tenriku Ryūseimei!"
Urashiki hurled his fishing rod, sending dozens of red beams raining down on Madara.
"Uchiha Reflection."
Madara raised his gunbai, blocking all the attacks. With a sweep of the gunbai, he deflected all the beams, except for the red hooks.
But before they could strike him, Urashiki once again turned into red cranes and disappeared.
'What an annoying guy!'
Both Madara and Urashiki felt the same about each other. Urashiki had lost his patience. His space-time ability kept getting detected, and the strange clones blocked his weapon.
Madara also found it bothersome; the space-time jutsu's rapid movements were difficult to catch.
If it weren't for his Yasakani, which allowed him to glimpse future events, he might have been caught off guard twice by this guy.
'I need to gather the chakra of the fox and that wood shinobi, and then seize the chakra fruit.'
Urashiki realized he couldn't win quickly and decided to retreat for now. He would return after gaining more powerful chakra.
"Native, for now, I'll leave the fruit in your hands. But next time I come, not only the chakra fruit but even you will become my food!"
Urashiki pointed his fishing rod at Madara before opening a Yomotsu Hirasaka portal behind him. He floated backward, leaving through the spatial passage.
"Running away so soon!"
Madara snorted coldly. Although he wasn't yet sure of Urashiki's full strength, he was confident he could win if the fight continued.
However, that guy fled ahead of time!
"Lord Madara, are you alright?"
After Urashiki left, Black Zetsu approached Madara and asked. At the same time, he thought anxiously, they must gather the tailed beasts as soon as possible and revive Mother. There could be no further delays!
(End of Chapter)
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