Though Madara was intrigued by Hirofumi's recent words, he still viewed him as nothing more than a kid—a weak one at that, akin to a helpless chick.
Madara had his own plans in motion. Despite Hirofumi's earlier comment about deception, he had no intention of abandoning his aspirations. After all, that plan was a shared dream between him and his fallen comrades. If dreams could be so easily forsaken, then he wouldn't be Madara.
However, this boy was certainly worth observing. The ability to articulate such thoughts indicated he was no ordinary child. In fact, his thinking was eerily reminiscent of Madara's own at a young age.
These musings evoked a fleeting sense of nostalgia in Madara, as he recognized a kindred spirit in Hirofumi that resonated with his past self. For a moment, it felt as if he were gazing at his younger self…
A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corners of Madara's lips. Without hesitation, he began to devour the feast spread across the table.
Seeing this, Hirofumi couldn't help but smirk.
"The return of the smirking Dragon King."
As Madara took a bite of a pig's trotter, a mysterious voice suddenly echoed from the void…
Upon hearing the voice, Madara froze.
"Is that… my own voice?"
A dreadful feeling washed over him. Why did that voice sound so familiar?
"... Do you really think that offering strange foods will make me grateful? Let me tell you, it's impossible. Absolutely impossible. If I have to jump off this villa today and die here, I still won't eat a single bite of your food."
As the voice faded, Hirofumi looked at the still-chewing Madara with a playful smirk.
Madara's expression shifted from pale to green, then to purple, red, and finally back to white. The array of colors was truly spectacular.
"You… damn… freaking brat!"
Feigning shock, Hirofumi replied, "Oh my~. Where did that voice come from? How strange. And why does it sound so familiar? Hmm… not just familiar, but I feel like I've heard it somewhere before...Where could I have heard it? Madara… don't you think the words from that voice sounded oddly familiar too?"
Bang!
In a fit of rage, Madara hurled the pig's trotter he was holding across the room. Although he truly didn't want to part with it, he had no choice; the taste was simply too delightful.
"Hey kid, didn't you want me to train you? Then come on. Stop eating already. Today, I'll give you a proper lesson. I'll teach you what training really means. What REAL training is all about? What the damn word 'training' even means."
Madara was aware that he couldn't directly attack Hirofumi, as some mysterious force would prevent him from doing so. However, as long as he didn't harbor the intent to kill, this force seemed to allow him a degree of freedom.
Since he couldn't fight him outright, he could still train him, right? Teaching ninjutsu and taijutsu would definitely involve some "hands-on" lessons, wouldn't it?
Muhahaha!
"Kid, today, I'll show you what it means to be the Shura of the Ninja World."
Abandoning his meal, Madara swiftly grabbed Hirofumi by the collar and dragged him out to the open field beyond the villa.
Instead of being frightened, Hirofumi felt a surge of excitement. This was precisely what he had been waiting for. Although it was clear that Madara couldn't fully engage him in a fight at the moment, the promise of training was more than enough. Seeing Madara's burning anger, Hirofumi realized that he would not hold back during this "training." In fact, he was almost certain that Madara intended to use this opportunity to deliver a thorough beating.
But Hirofumi didn't mind at all. As long as he could grow stronger, nothing else mattered. After all, this was Madara—being beaten by him was far from shameful. Besides, who knows? With enough training, he might even awaken the Sharingan. He did possess Indra's chakra, after all...
With this thought in mind, Hirofumi decided to stir the pot a little more.
"Madara, don't make me look down on you now, okay? You promised to guide my training, didn't you? If, after all your guidance, I don't get any stronger, wouldn't that be embarrassing for you? The great Madara, Shura of the Ninja World—don't tell me you're not even as good as an Academy Chunin teacher? I mean, Iruka-sensei might not be strong, but he's great at teaching students. Madara, you wouldn't be worse than a Chunin, would you? That would be hilarious."
"You can think what you can. Watch carefully."
Madara could hardly tolerate the insult of being compared to a Chunin teacher. A Chunin? What even was that? He could obliterate dozens of them with a single jutsu.
"The key to a ninja battle is speed, precision, and ruthlessness."
With those words, Madara seized Hirofumi and effortlessly tossed him into the air. In the blink of an eye, Madara vanished and reappeared behind him before Hirofumi even realized what was happening.
Boom...
One punch. Just one punch.
Hirofumi was sent flying.
Madara hadn't intended to kill him, so the mysterious force that restricted Madara's attacks didn't interfere this time.
"Brat. Your reactions are way too slow. Is this the best you've got? Pathetic.
I've never seen anyone as useless as you. You're not even as good as a six-year-old from the Uchiha clan. Slow, weak, terrible reflexes—your body is a disaster. And you think you can unify the ninja world? Don't ever say that again—it's a joke waiting to happen."
Finally, Madara had the chance to lecture this annoying brat. He let loose with all his frustrations, verbally assaulting Hirofumi while continuing to train him through hard lessons.
Despite the beating, Hirofumi was elated. Madara truly was training him. The system wasn't restricting Madara, which meant that he had no intention of killing him.
Hehehehe… The crooked smile of the Dragon King reemerged.
"Madara... Bring it on... Don't pity me just because I'm a delicate flower."
Boom...
Once again, Hirofumi went flying...
"You dolt. Your expressions are insane. When a ninja fights, they should avoid unnecessary movements and facial expressions. Because those could get you killed."