Twin Swords crossed.
Interwoven currents of sword aura swept across a massive area.
Madara's Susanoo might not have been fast, but its coverage was vast. In that instant, virtually no one could evade it. Madara's confidence stemmed from this—his battle experience was overwhelmingly deep.
Just like how Kyoichi shut his eyes to avoid genjutsu, Madara too had discarded conscious judgment and entrusted everything to raw, instinctual combat.
However—
Decades of battle had forged terrifying instincts within Madara.
This strike was something Kyoichi never saw coming.
His Flying Thunder God markers changed location every time, so there was no pattern to exploit—yet Madara still seized that fleeting, ephemeral instant…
It could only be said:
Madara must have obsessed over Senju Tobirama long ago—constantly contemplating how to kill him, how to counter his Flying Thunder God.
The sword descended with thunderous might.
Kyoichi avoided part of it, but still couldn't completely escape. Holding his breath, focusing his mind, he gathered Sage Chakra within his body—then punched straight into the air.
Boom!
Chakra erupted, forming a dragon-like whirlwind that surged upward.
This was a taijutsu technique born from the Sage Body infused with the Seven-Day Breathing Method.
The violent, chaotic vortex clashed with Susanoo's sword, both forces repelling each other for an instant. The whirlwind exploded into a storm, while the twin swords and sword aura detonated simultaneously.
BOOM!
A deafening explosion tore through the land.
Smoke, dust, and chaotic chakra raged everywhere.
A massive protruding rock formation was shattered, the region flattened entirely.
When the smoke cleared—
Both Kyoichi and Madara were panting heavily.
Madara's eyes were severely overstrained, while Kyoichi had endured the backlash of the chakra shockwave. Although he used various defensive jutsu to lessen the impact, the violent aftershocks still left him dizzy.
Neither of them was doing well.
But—
Aside from his deteriorating eyes, Madara's Susanoo had been damaged—but thanks to his ocular power, it was slowly repairing itself.
Kyoichi felt a headache coming on.
Madara's defense…
It was absurdly tough.
Unless he used Wood Release the way Hashirama had—burning life force—destroying Susanoo's defenses entirely was extremely difficult. And using life force was… unnecessary.
After thinking through the options, Kyoichi took a deep breath.
No choice—
Since Madara insisted on this iron shell, he'd just have to smash it completely.
Madara's sword swung again.
This time, Kyoichi changed tactics.
He no longer used kenjutsu.
Against an opponent like this, swordsmanship was no longer ideal. Raw impact—taijutsu and ninjutsu—was the true path forward.
He produced two Wood Clones.
The clones maneuvered around Madara, while Kyoichi himself relied on high mobility to evade attacks, striking not at Madara, but at Susanoo.
Madara had the Gunbai, yes.
But—
Could that fan block an entire Susanoo?
Madara's Susanoo had strong defenses, but a Wind Release Rasengan—especially one infused with Sage Chakra—was no trivial thing.
At first, Madara didn't notice.
However—
When he saw the two clones closing in while Kyoichi himself moved into a blind spot his fan couldn't cover, he immediately understood Kyoichi's intent.
But—
He couldn't dodge.
Susanoo's defense was powerful and its range broad, but the price of size was lack of mobility.
A Sage Art: Wind Release Rasengan—
Even a complete Susanoo might not withstand such a blow. And Madara's so-called "complete form" was actually incomplete—seemingly whole, but weaker than the true version.
And every time Madara struck, he hit a clone—not the real body.
Once Kyoichi stopped using Flying Thunder God and relied on the Seven-Day Breathing Method, Susanoo simply couldn't catch him—unless Madara's eyes ascended yet another tier.
But—
Reality was harsh: Madara's true eyes were currently with Nagato.
A classic case of "trying to steal a chicken and losing the rice."
Still, Madara felt no regret.
Transplanting the eyes out had been an experiment. A failed attempt meant nothing.
Besides—
His plan wasn't ruined yet.
Black Zetsu was still alive.
Under Kyoichi's relentless hit-and-run, Madara pulled Susanoo inward, tightening his defenses. He countered with Fire Release and Lightning Release, turning their exchange into pure ninjutsu combat. But at the moment he withdrew—
Kyoichi's sword flashed.
Faster than lightning.
Sage Chakra condensed, mixed with Wind Release nature transformation—this slash embodied the pinnacle of cutting power.
Most importantly—
Kyoichi wasn't using sword aura this time.
He used Nintaijutsu: Flying Swallow.
Twin swords extended, forming light-like wings.
Madara dispatched the clones.
He blocked Kyoichi's attacks with his fan, but with two swords striking simultaneously, he could only block one at a time—the other continued chipping away at Susanoo.
Each strike might not do much—
But accumulated over time, they rapidly increased the strain on Madara's eyes.
He simply wasn't in his prime anymore.
Madara felt this keenly.
Had these been his original eyes, he wouldn't need to fight so cautiously—he could have clashed head-on with Kyoichi without being forced into this passive state.
But—
Damn, this felt good.
Though injured, the more he fought, the more alive he felt.
Compared to his decrepit state underground, waiting to die—this intense battle was infinitely better!
Their speed rose again.
Under Kyoichi's tempo, Madara's condition gradually awakened—even showing glimmers of his peak.
However—
That state had a time limit.
And more importantly—
Susanoo consumed not only ocular power, but his physical life force.
Even though White Zetsu provided considerable vitality, Kyoichi's consistent destruction of Susanoo placed far greater strain on Madara than anticipated.
Attack after attack, relentless as a torrential storm.
Madara's body began failing to keep up.
Kyoichi sensed this immediately. Increasing his pace, he pushed his speed even further. Madara could only block—and finally, amid the rising tempo, he revealed a single opening.
One slash!
Brilliant light streaked across the battlefield.
Susanoo's defense split open entirely. The sword grazed Madara's neck—blood sprayed.
But—
At almost the exact same moment, Madara's compressed Susanoo slashed downward.
Crossing blades of chakra swept across Kyoichi.
Even with multiple layers of defense, Kyoichi could not fully withstand such a strike.
However—
The next second, a Wood Human rose again—this time clad in thick layers of rock and soil.
All of it reinforced with Sage Chakra.
Susanoo's sword shattered the layered defenses—but that instant was enough. In the next moment, Kyoichi teleported with Flying Thunder God.
Madara—
Lay on the ground, seemingly dead.
Kyoichi let out a cold laugh. From afar, a sword aura swept toward the corpse.
Playing dead?
Who didn't know you had Izanagi?
Such wounds were fatal, but Izanagi could rewrite death itself. In that instant, Kyoichi didn't have the opportunity to force Izanami onto him—so he couldn't prevent the resurrection.
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