Haruki suddenly thought of a way.
What he wanted was for Madara Uchiha not to increase his strength and for there to be unrest in the Land of Water.
Currently, Madara Uchiha had formed the Burning Pirate Crew by controlling the Third Mizukage, and its main force was the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist.
But it hadn't been long.
People didn't trust Madara Uchiha himself; they trusted his status.
If Madara Uchiha disappeared at this moment, the group would be leaderless. And if he happened to clash with the remaining Yagura Karatachi, Fuguki Suikazan, and others, there would surely be a fierce battle.
Even if it didn't succeed, it wouldn't have much of an impact on Haruki.
Anyway, as long as they believed the story of One Piece, the Land of Water wouldn't have a good time for a few years.
After Haruki left the Mizukage Building, relying on the intelligence provided by the Anbu, he saw Shinno in the hospital in Kiri Village.
His current status was that of a wandering Medical Ninja, but because of his excellent medical skills, he had received unanimous praise from the hospital.
Due to the special nature of Kiri Village, Shinno saw many Kekkei Genkai families in the hospital.
For a Medical Ninja, so many materials were simply a paradise.
Taking this opportunity, he obtained a lot of information and secret techniques.
Haruki knocked on the door.
"Come in."
Shinno looked much younger than in the original story, without white hair and a white beard.
"Who are you?" he asked, a bit alert since Haruki wasn't wearing the Kiri-Village ninja uniform.
But there were occasionally guys who didn't like ninja uniforms.
"I'm here to see a doctor."
Haruki didn't look well. He sighed and said, "After I went to the Land of Fire to perform some duties some time ago, I don't know how I contracted a strange illness."
"Oh?"
Shinno became interested. He liked strange illnesses the most. "What are the symptoms?"
Haruki sat opposite him and stretched out his right arm. There were branches growing on his originally smooth skin.
"Eh?"
Shinno's eyes fixed. He had never seen this kind of illness before.
He didn't think of Wood Release right away.
Mainly because Wood Release hadn't appeared for a long time.
He picked up Haruki's right arm and observed it carefully.
"Does it hurt?"
"No."
"It's really incredible. These branches seem to be alive."
"Yeah. And they can even grow."
"How did you..."
Countless vines grew wildly and wrapped around his body before Shinno could react.
"Mmmph."
His mouth was also blocked.
He struggled hard but to no avail.
At this moment, he finally remembered what he had encountered, Wood Release.
His face inevitably showed some hatred and despair.
"Shinno, you don't deserve that name."
Haruki shook his head and said.
He summoned a Wood Clone and used the Flying Thunder God to send Shinno to Konoha.
By then, Anbu members would interrogate him.
Haruki's original body came and left quietly. It took less than a minute in total, and no one noticed at all.
He came to a coast and fired a signal flare.
A flame exploded in the air.
This was given by Madara Uchiha. According to his instructions, if the assassination unfortunately failed, the signal flare could be released. Perhaps, though, he would come to the rescue.
Haruki's aura suddenly became faint and indistinct.
Then he utilized a Wood Clone to take on the form of Fuguki Suikazan's body.
A moment later, he sensed the astonishing Chakra of Madara Uchiha.
It seemed that his attitude had indeed piqued the other's interest.
Just as Haruki had thought, Madara Uchiha didn't like sycophants because he had seen too many of them.
On the contrary, confident people like Haruki caught his eye.
After seeing the signal flare, his opinion of Haruki dropped, but he still rushed over.
Madara Uchiha noticed the body of Fuguki Suikazan and was slightly startled.
He always had a slight feeling of familiarity.
But he quickly brushed off the strange feeling.
"You did a good job."
Madara Uchiha had originally had low expectations for Haruki to complete the duties, but he had killed someone and escaped. His strength and wisdom were quite outstanding and he was worth cultivating.
"Recover from your injuries. From now on, you'll be the vice - captain."
"The vice - captain?"
Haruki stood up and the weakness immediately vanished. He said with a smile, "But I want more than just the vice - captain position."
"Are you bluffing me?"
Madara Uchiha's face darkened slightly and he said coldly, "Do you think killing Fuguki Suikazan gives you the right to be arrogant?"
He didn't suspect Haruki's status.
He just figured Haruki was after the benefits and was gunning to take his spot.
"Alright, I won't pretend anymore."
Haruki shrugged and resumed the appearance he had when his Wood Clone fought Madara last time.
Madara Uchiha's body trembled suddenly. His expression became alert and he stepped back several meters.
"It's you! Who on earth are you?"
He took a deep breath and went on to ask the question he hadn't got an answer for last time.
"Meeting is fate. There's no need to know names."
Haruki rotated his wrist and smiled. "Last time it was just a clone and I didn't have enough fun. Let's continue."
Before Madara Uchiha could reply, his right arm instantly transformed into numerous vines, resembling poisonous snakes.
The massive Chakra rapidly filled the surrounding space.
Madara Uchiha felt a momentary sense of suffocation.
This was a completely different Wood Release from last time.
Its power had increased by who knows how many times.
He felt a familiar yet strange sense of oppression and for a moment, he had the illusion that Hashirama Senju had been reborn.
Amid the whistling wind.
A huge tree emerged, trying to engulf his figure.
Madara Uchiha let out an angry shout. The flames instantly soared and in front of him, turned into a sea of fire.
Whoa!
But the tree was unaffected.
The sea of fire was torn apart.
He spun around quickly and wasn't caught, but he hit the trunk. The powerful energy made him lose control briefly and sent him flying several meters backward.
Haruki smiled faintly.
"Last time you said my Taijutsu was poor. Try my Swordsmanship this time."
He whipped out his sword and casually slashed.
The sword light crisscrossed.
Madara Uchiha steadied his body. The sharp sword wind had already reached his face.
His skin ached due to the aura.
But his reaction speed was extremely fast. He punched out with his right fist.
It wasn't Chakra Enhanced Strength, but it was even more powerful.
An invisible mountain pressed towards the sword light.
The Chakra stirred up waves.
Madara Uchiha frowned and glanced at the sword mark on his fist.
The strength of his clone was far inferior to that of Haruki.
In his thoughts, Haruki raised his sword.
The sword light was like a tidal wave, wave after wave, as if torrential rain was pouring down.
Madara Uchiha didn't have any extra movements and didn't have time to look at the situation above his head.
He quickly made Hand Seal with both hands.
A regiment of over - burned dust rapidly enlarged.
Boom!
A powerful explosion spread out centered on him.
Haruki squinted his eyes.
All he could see was a hazy gray color.
Is he trying to escape?
A thought flashed through Haruki's mind, and it was just what he wanted.
There was the Flying Thunder God Jutsu Formation on Madara Uchiha's body.
He didn't want to kill him.
Haruki's purpose was simply to make Madara Uchiha go back to his base and quietly await his death.
He raised his long sword.
A huge, crystal - like shining sword light appeared several meters above in the sky.
The aura of danger descended.
The air was filled with countless sharp edges.
Suddenly, it turned into thousands of long swords, falling one after another.
The earth trembled violently, and cracks spread rapidly.
Haruki turned around and left.
A few minutes later, a tattered Madara Uchiha emerged from the soil.
His whole body was lacerated by numerous sword cuts.
But this was far less painful than the pain in his heart.
Since Hashirama Senju's death, this was the first time he had been so miserable.
He even dug holes desperately into the ground like a groundhog for fear of being discovered.
"Damn it!"
Madara Uchiha was extremely angry. He had never been so wronged before.
No, he must speed up the implementation of the plan. He couldn't bear his constantly aging body any longer.