"That's Lord Haseo's technique..."
As soon as that violently erupting Ball of Blinding White Light broke through the earth and rose skyward, Sannai immediately understood what had happened over there.
Though Haseo had ordered these uzumaki shinobi to retreat back to Konoha immediately, this time they very unusually only followed his command "to a limited degree"—meaning they executed his orders with reservations.
In this world, sometimes doing what makes sense matters more than following the rules.
The uzumaki shinobi withdrew beyond the battlefield's radius and observed events from a distance. Their plan was straightforward: stay far enough away to have options. If things went south, they could either pull out fast or jump in if backup was needed...
Though technically speaking, this kind of behavior was extremely dangerous.
Although it was merely a "duel between two," the range affected by this level of battle was somewhat exaggerated. And if the battle was evenly matched, there was a real chance they'd be caught in the crossfire—and vaporized before they even saw it coming.
Now, the tailed beast explosion triggered by Haseo forced these twelve shinobi to retreat once again.
When the Nine-Tails exploded inside the "Demonic Statue of the Outer Path," given the sheer power of Haseo's jutsu, the statue had no hope of surviving... More accurately, its destruction couldn't simply be described as "death." A more precise description would be "burned into ashes" or "obliterated."
Initially, Haseo had planned to directly attack the "Demonic Statue of the Outer Path" with his technique. However, he soon realized that directly attacking the statue might not guarantee one hundred percent success—his jutsu acted directly upon the enemy's chakra, but the statue was a Ten-Tails whose chakra had already been drained. Wasn't that clearly contradictory?
Nagato once forcibly activated the "Demonic Statue of the Outer Path" by having black rods implanted into his body, nearly draining him into a husk, proving that chakra was indeed necessary as "fuel" to awaken the statue's unique powers.
Thus, the situation became somewhat problematic.
But only slightly so. Thinking through all the angles, Haseo figured out some good news:
First, he currently held the position of Hokage, meaning he didn't need to request permission from others when using Konoha's "special supplies"—he could decide for himself. And the Nine-Tails was precisely among Konoha's most important assets; second, obtaining consent wasn't actually necessary here because he knew the Nine-Tails would definitely be "agreeable."
The bond between Haseo and the tailed beasts was unbreakable—they were destined to walk the same path.
Right along the outer edge of the explosion's radius, a figure flickered and stopped in place... It was Haseo, who had just dashed out from the epicenter of the blast.
The searing heat dried his skin, and the blinding Ball of Light left scorch marks burned into his vision... Such brightness was not something ordinary people could bear to look at directly.
"The Outer Path's Demonic Statue is nothing more than an empty shell, essentially no different from desiccated bark, lacking the resurrection properties inherent in energy beings like tailed beasts. Therefore, it must be thoroughly and completely destroyed now."
As for Black Zetsu, an enigmatic conscious being like him could also perish under such high-intensity energy shockwaves.
"If even Madara Uchiha in his ultimate form could be taken down alongside them... that would be ideal."
From Haseo's muttering, it was clear that although he hoped all his enemies could simply be "one-shotted" like this, the actual probability of each scenario was gradually decreasing.
Was it really so easy for Madara Uchiha to get instantly killed? That already belonged not to hope but rather to fantasy and prayer.
Fixing his gaze tightly on what was happening with the Ball of Light, Haseo's expression flickered slightly with surprise. Then, he inhaled sharply and snapped into "Sage Mode."
The real battle had just begun, so he chose his most impressive state.
A small black dot appeared at the very bottom edge of the Ball of Light, and then a figure stepped out, walking forward one step at a time.
Madara Uchiha's body expanded into a spherical space about five meters in diameter. His left hand gripped the massive sickle and the Uchiha war fan. His right arm shot forward, palm open, pushing against the air.
This was...
[Shinra Tensei] plus [Blocking Technique Absorption Seal]. Using these two unique Rinnegan abilities, Madara Uchiha had neutralized Haseo's wide-range attack, stepping out unscathed in a visually stunning fashion.
That kind of aura—something Haseo could never hope to match.
Even now, however, the current Madara Uchiha couldn't completely absorb or reflect the entire technique instantaneously. Otherwise, maybe there still would've been a chance to save the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path... well, actually, that seemed unlikely. The Nine-Tails' detonation simultaneously signified the Demonic Statue's defeat.
Perhaps the reason Madara hadn't done something as dramatic as that was because back then, he genuinely hadn't been in great condition. But now, things were different.
With each step forward, his dry skin became fuller, and his pale long hair gradually turned black from its roots.
When Madara Uchiha finally came to a stop before Haseo, he stood there—youthful once again.
"Kid, I honestly can't remember when last I felt an emotion like anger, but let me tell you—right now, you've angered me."
"Oh wow, what an honor. Still, I'd love to explore the reason behind your rage.
Was it because I destroyed the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?
Or is it because I used the Flying Thunder God, reminding you how your younger brother Hashirama died tragically by Tobirama Senju's hands?
Or perhaps my Sage Art brings back memories of how you never once defeated Hashirama Senju throughout your entire life? You've only survived this long thanks to playing dead during a Battleground encounter.
All things considered, you must know deep down that your whole life's been a total bust—an empty shell. If putting on a show for a nobody ninja like me gives you a sense of purpose… well, I'd be delighted to play along.
Senior—I'm shitting bricks right now.
If possible, please give me five minutes before we begin—I need to go change pants."
So… why did Madara Uchiha decide to speak with Haseo?
If you try to play tough with him, he'll go straight for your weakest spot—and keep stabbing until you're dead.
Madara Uchiha had already been furious just moments ago, but now he realized he could somehow get even angrier… To keep pushing past one's limits at his age—truly, it's never too late to learn.
Madara was so enraged he almost didn't notice Haseo slipping in a technical term like "Demonic Statue of the Outer Path."
Yet everything Haseo said was true. When considering both their lifetimes and the eras they lived in, the Uchiha brothers really couldn't match up to the Senju brothers… not by a long shot.
Although Madara had abruptly reverted to a younger state, Haseo wasn't afraid. This kind of rejuvenation clearly felt unnatural—forced, even.
His paper-white skin revealed everything. It wasn't hard to tell this was the power of the Senju at work.
This sort of regeneration probably came from Madara forcibly activating Hashirama Senju's cells, triggering some special "healing effect" through the immense vitality within them.
It was an abnormal state. Right now, Madara could barely move at all. How much of his former strength could he actually recover? Probably very little.
Plus, this method would definitely bring serious side effects—the phenomenon of "over-erosion"... Haseo practically knew it inside out. Who knew, maybe Madara would drop dead the moment this fight ended.
Still, if he didn't restore himself to fighting condition, Madara would die within half a minute anyway.
Come to think of it, this sort of rejuvenation shouldn't seem that surprising. If Madara had died of old age, why did he appear in his physical prime when summoned back via Impure World Reincarnation?
As everyone knows, those resurrected through Impure World Reincarnation retain the physical condition and age they had at death.
In other words, Madara had orchestrated every last detail of his death—and rebirth—with obsessive precision.
Pity—every bit of those meticulous preparations had now been thrown into chaos.
That's just who Haseo was—someone who wasn't just good at sabotaging his own Plans—but also excelled at wrecking everyone else's.
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