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The livestream feed was being shared to the group chat.
Spider-chan, who had been quietly grinding levels, slipped into a safe corner, opened the group livestream, and started watching the fight—
Only to nearly drop her tablet in shock the moment she saw one of the contestants' flashy, over-the-top hairstyles.
[Spider-chan: "Huh?! That old guy named Uchiha Madara—he was that handsome when he was young?! No way!"]
[Spider-chan: "And the group leader's so pretty too! That white hair's adorable! But she looks so fragile… if Madara punches her once, she might just cry 'boohoo' for half an hour. Can she really win like that?"]
[World's No.1 Princess: "@Spider-chan You just outed your taste. And don't talk behind my back—I can hear you, you know."]
[Spider-chan: "Ah?! G-group leader, I, uh—"]
Spider-chan instantly panicked. She'd spoken before thinking, and now she'd been caught red-handed.
[World's No.1 Princess: "Relax, I'm not that petty. Madara's handsome? Sure. But, well... he's actually a bottom."]
[Spider-chan: "Eh?! No way! Impossible!"]
[Kikyo: "What's a bottom?"]
[World's No.1 Princess: "..."]
[World's No.1 Princess: "@Spider-chan You explain it to Kikyo. I've got a fight to focus on."]
[Spider-chan: "..."]
In the arena, Rose quickly pulled her focus back, ignoring the chaos in the chat.
Across from her stood Uchiha Madara—the infamous madman himself, head of the so-called "Four Laughing Demons."
He hadn't said a word in the group chat, but his expression darkened more and more as he silently read their messages.
Apparently, Spider-chan was enthusiastically explaining the meaning of "bottom" to Kikyo.
Madara's face went pitch black.
Rose noticed it immediately. "Mr. Madara, you don't look so good. Is the pressure too much? I'd hate for you to claim I won unfairly later… not that it'd matter if you did."
Her teasing voice echoed across the arena, almost making Madara lose his composure.
"Hmph. I'm not the kind of man who can't admit defeat," Madara said coldly. "But you—you're fighting me dressed like that?"
A light beige, knee-length pleated dress with thin straps. Combined with her snow-white hair, Rose looked less like a warrior and more like someone about to go sightseeing.
"It's fine," Rose said kindly. "I'll make sure not to ruin my clothes. Feel free to go all out—no need to hold back."
"You brat…" Madara's forehead twitched, a vein popping out. "You're saying you can beat me—Uchiha Madara—without even messing up your outfit?"
He let out a sharp, disbelieving laugh. "Even Hashirama wouldn't dare run his mouth like that!"
He'd always thought Hashirama saying "I don't want to kill you" back at the Valley of the End was peak arrogance. But this girl? She just took arrogance to a whole new level.
"If that's how you want to take it, sure," Rose shrugged. "But really, what kind of adult takes a kid seriously?"
"You—!"
For once, Madara was the one left sputtering.
He'd said that exact line to others countless times, but now the tables had turned.
"I was planning to go easy on you," he growled. "Guess not anymore!"
Rose's words weren't just sharp—they were revealing. Madara could tell she probably knew way more about his world than she should have.
He hadn't attacked yet, not because she looked like a fifteen-year-old girl, but because… he was wary.
People thought Madara was reckless, but they were wrong. Behind his reputation as one of the most fearsome warriors in history was a man who'd seen decades of political scheming, betrayal, and war.
He wasn't dumb—he just never needed to use strategy. His sheer power usually did the talking.
But Rose—the group leader—was something else.
Even an idiot could tell: this calm, youthful-looking girl was far more dangerous than she appeared. Maybe even more so than Hashirama himself.
Rose didn't rush. She just stood there quietly.
And the longer she stayed still, the more Madara felt the pressure building—like invisible hands were slowly tightening around him.
Even Hashirama had never made him feel like this.
Finally, unable to stand it anymore, Madara slammed his hands together into a seal.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
A terrifying wave of chakra burst out from him, erupting into a roaring sea of fire that devoured everything in its path.
The flames spread fast, burning the ground itself, racing toward Rose with overwhelming heat and fury.
Even a basic Fire Release became something monstrous in Madara's hands.
In seconds, a wall of flame swallowed the area where Rose stood, crackling and spitting sparks as it consumed the earth.
Inside the group chat, Spider-chan and Kikyo watched in awe.
[Spider-chan: "That's insane! The leader's toast, right?!"]
Having been reborn as a spider and possessing her own system template, Spider-chan knew all about the existence of supernatural powers and magic. But Madara's flames… they made even the terrifying "Mama Spider" she'd once glimpsed look tame.
[Kikyo: "Madara is not the group leader's match."]
As a shrine maiden capable of slaying great demons, Kikyo's perspective was far broader than Spider-chan's. She didn't know what kind of powers their group leader possessed, but judging by her attitude—and the fact she'd willingly entered this duel—there was no question in her mind.
Rose was stronger. Much stronger.
And she was right. Even Madara, with all his arrogance, didn't actually believe such a simple jutsu would finish the fight.
"…Hmm?"
Madara frowned.
From within the blazing inferno, a faint purple light appeared—small but impossibly bright.
Then, in the blink of an eye, that light spread outward, consuming the flames themselves.
The roaring fire turned violet.
"This energy…" Madara muttered, a shiver crawling up his spine. "What is this?"
Before he could get an answer, the purple fire vanished—instantly.
The massive inferno, stretching hundreds of meters and burning hot enough to melt stone, disappeared without a trace.
At its center stood the white-haired girl, her pleated dress fluttering gently in the breeze.
Not a single scorch mark. Not a strand of hair out of place.
Rose lifted her gaze, calm and composed. "So this is what chakra's made of, huh? Interesting."
Her violet eyes locked onto Madara's. "Mr. Madara, if that's all you've got, you won't be pinning me down today. Guess the title of 'group leader' still isn't yours."
Madara's expression hardened. "That was just a warm-up."
He pressed his palms together again. This time, the chakra surging around him made the ground itself tremble.
"Now comes the real thing. A move I borrowed from Hashirama—let's see how you handle this!"
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
"....."