"Heh, 'the strongest ninja'?" Uchiha Madara's voice carried a scornful chill as he stood tall, arms loosely crossed. "You dare call yourself a 'ninja' with skills as crude as yours?"
Sonic's brow twitched. His grin faltered for a heartbeat before he forced it back. "What did you say?"
"I said what I meant." Madara tilted his head, his tone lazy yet piercing. "Compared to real shinobi, you're like a child waving a stick around and calling it a blade."
A pause. Then Sonic chuckled — low and dangerous. "I finally meet another ninja and this is the welcome I get. You talk big, but can you back it up?"
The samurai sword behind his back sang as it left its sheath in one fluid motion. "Why don't we test it? Just a friendly match between… 'ninjas'."
Madara's smirk deepened, Sharingan spinning lazily in his eyes. "Friendly, huh? Fine. But don't disappoint me. I tend to sleep when things get boring."
They chose a small forest on the outskirts of City A for their duel, both agreeing without words. The location was isolated enough for chaos — and destruction — without drawing too much attention.
Sonic stood poised, his eyes sharp with curiosity. "Where are you from? I've never seen a ninja like you in the entire Ninja Nation."
Madara glanced up at the night sky. "Zhongguo."
"Zhongguo?" Sonic echoed. "Never heard of it. Is that a hidden village?"
"No," Madara replied flatly, stretching his limbs, his black robe fluttering in the breeze. "It's far beyond your reach. Let's get this over with. I'm getting sleepy."
"…Still arrogant." Sonic narrowed his eyes and crouched low. "Perfect."
Without warning, Sonic vanished.
"Four Shadows Burial!"
His figure split into four, flickering through the trees with breakneck speed. Each afterimage shimmered with killing intent, the air slicing under the flash of his sword.
But Madara didn't even blink.
To his eyes — trained by decades of war and the power of the Sharingan — Sonic's movements might as well have been in slow motion. The real body was obvious.
"Tch. You're fast," Madara muttered, chakra igniting in a pale blue pulse beneath his feet.
"But not fast enough."
BOOM!
The ground erupted beneath him as he shot forward. The explosion of force shattered branches and cracked the soil, knocking Sonic back with a blast of concussive air.
"What the—?!" Sonic staggered mid-air, flipping to regain his stance.
"So much strength…" His eyes gleamed with excitement. "Then let's see how durable you are!"
He lunged again. Sword slashes rang out like steel bells — clashing with chakra-hardened strikes. The forest trembled under their duel. Bark split open, trees cracked, and leaves rained from above like ash.
"Ding!"
"Ding!"
"Ding!"
Their silhouettes flickered through the foliage, weapons and fists striking with a rhythm that echoed for miles.
Madara narrowed his eyes. Enough playing around.
He vanished — only to reappear behind Sonic like a shadow peeled from reality itself.
His fingers danced into a series of hand seals with blinding speed.
[Zi – Chou – Xu – Wu – Shen – Hai – Yin]
"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku! (Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame)"
A sea of fire erupted from his mouth — a blazing wall of death that swept forward like a tidal wave.
Sonic's eyes went wide as the entire clearing was engulfed in flames. The heat distorted the air, charring bark and turning grass into ash in seconds.
"Shit—!" Sonic barely managed to dart to the edge of the inferno, but not without consequence. His arms bore blackened burns, his speed momentarily crippled.
The once-vibrant forest had become a scorched ruin.
From amidst the rising smoke, Madara stood, unfazed. His crimson eyes dimmed, and he yawned.
"I told you not to disappoint me."
He disappeared again.
The Next Morning
Drip… Drip…
Madara's phone buzzed insistently, piercing the silence of his room.
"Ugh…" he muttered, cracking an eye open. The screen read Snake.
"Yeah?" he answered, voice half-asleep.
"Madara, something happened in the woods east of City A." Snake's tone was more serious than usual. "The Association believes it might have been a weirdo. Head over there and investigate."
"…Got it," Madara said before ending the call and tossing the phone aside.
He sighed.
"It's six in the damn morning…" he muttered. "Hero work really is a chore."
But even as he complained, he got up, stretched, and within seconds, was dressed and out the door.
The woods were unrecognizable.
Where vibrant green once stood, black ash now blanketed the ground. Trees were reduced to stumps, their trunks scorched and cracked. Cinders floated through the air like mourning butterflies.
Madara clicked his tongue. "So much for stealth."
Just then, a familiar bald head came into view.
"Wow…" Saitama muttered, hands in his pockets. "Who messed up this place?"
Genos stood beside him, scanning the destruction. "The damage pattern is consistent with a high-output thermal ability. Possibly flame-based. Teacher, the Association suspects a powerful weirdo may have been involved."
Saitama scratched his cheek. "Looks like someone was throwing a barbecue and forgot to invite us."
Madara approached silently.
Saitama's eyes lit up. "Huh? Hey, aren't you that kid from the ramen shop?"
Madara raised a brow, amused. "You remember that?"
"Of course." Saitama stepped forward. "Didn't think you were the type to level a forest."
"Must've been a weird night," Madara replied nonchalantly.
"Teacher," Genos interjected, stepping between them. "He's part of the Hero Association. I saw him on the secure personnel database yesterday. He's listed as an intern under supervision."
"Intern?" Saitama blinked. "Wait, you're even lower than me?"
"…Barely," Madara smirked. "Though rankings are meaningless."
"Agreed." Saitama nodded seriously. "I only do this for the discounts at the supermarket."
Genos tilted his head. "I don't understand."
Saitama shrugged. "You wouldn't."
Meanwhile, Madara took another glance at the wrecked grove. Flames had long since died out, but the scars remained. He had no regrets. If anything, the fight with Sonic had been a mild warm-up.
"So," he said, turning back toward them, "was that all?"
Genos nodded. "The cleanup team will be here soon. They'll quarantine the area and classify it under a weirdo-related incident."
Madara nodded and began to walk away.
Saitama called after him, "Hey! You free this evening? There's a ramen shop that gives out coupons to registered heroes."
"…Maybe," Madara said over his shoulder. "If I'm not busy leveling another forest."
---
A/N: New Fanfic Is Out "Marvel: I'm Married To Black Widow?"
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