Chapter 243: Now It's My Turn to Watch the Show
Seizing the opportunity, Uchiha Madara took the little Ten-Tails and absorbed its power, becoming its jinchūriki. This evolved him into a Six Paths–level powerhouse, and at this moment, he had no intention of running.
The overwhelming strength within him filled him with unmatched confidence. He turned around to face Uchiha Dali and Jigen directly.
From his eyes, it was clear he had taken quite an interest in these two.
"Don't get me wrong—I have no intention of interfering in your previous battle. As I said before, as long as you don't stand in my way, I won't make a move against you."
Although Madara did, in fact, intend to take both of them out right here, when confronted by Uchiha Dali's question, he did not admit it outright—instead, he lied.
Confident as he was, he wasn't so arrogant as to be reckless.
Even though devouring the little Ten-Tails had given him incredible power—boosting his strength by more than tenfold—both Jigen and Uchiha Dali still stood before him as opponents not weaker than himself.
Madara had no desire to take on two powerful enemies at once.
His plan was to let the two keep fighting each other.
Ideally, they'd take each other out.
Even if they only ended up seriously injuring one another, that would still work for him.
At that point, he could simply finish them off and claim their lives.
He might even be able to seize more of their power. And once that happened—who in this shinobi world could possibly stop him?
The other Ten-Tails will be mine as well, Madara thought coldly.
However, he didn't know that his inner thoughts had already been laid bare to Uchiha Dali's Observation Haki.
At the highest level, Observation Haki not only allowed one to glimpse a short distance into the future, but also to hear the thoughts in another's heart.
This was the very foundation for anticipating an enemy's attack and sensing hostile intent.
At this moment, every thought in Madara's mind was perfectly clear to Uchiha Dali.
Dali couldn't help but sneer.
So this guy's hiding such petty thoughts after all… and here I thought he was some noble and upright figure.
In the face of temptation of power, anyone can turn into a devil.
Though he mocked him inwardly, Dali didn't expose Madara's little scheme.
Instead, he turned to Jigen. "Your Ten-Tails was stolen. I'll give you some time to rest for now. Do you want to deal with that problem first before fighting me?
"Or should I just kill you now, then go after Madara, and finally take the Ten-Tails for myself?"
Jigen had been hesitating to act because of Dali's presence, which made reclaiming the Ten-Tails from Madara impossible.
Hearing this choice, he naturally picked the first option.
"In that case, I'll thank you for your kindness.
"When I've taken back what's mine, I'll come back to face you."
The instant he finished speaking, a deafening boom erupted as Jigen unleashed a terrifying burst of chakra, instantly appearing right in front of Madara.
But he didn't immediately attack—instead, he calmly asked, "What exactly are you doing?"
"The little Ten-Tails is mine now," Madara replied without the slightest attempt to hide it.
"So working with me was really just for this?" Jigen's voice was icy.
At that, Madara gave a derisive snort, spreading his hands with a mocking smile. "Don't make yourself sound so noble and righteous, or act like you're wounded because you were 'betrayed.'
"You and I both know the truth, don't we? You approached me because you wanted something from me. You needed my power to help you carry out your plan. But when the Divine Tree matured and the chakra fruit formed, there was no guarantee you'd share its power with me.
"I'm simply taking precautions against a risk I can already see."
Madara spoke with complete ease, utterly self-assured.
Jigen didn't choose to either confirm or deny his words.
After a moment of silence, he merely nodded. "Since you don't trust me, our cooperation ends here.
"But the Ten-Tails is my personal property, and I will never hand it over to you."
As he spoke, he slowly stretched out his hand toward Madara.
"What's in my hands is mine. Why would you think I'd give it back?" Madara scoffed at his demand.
Seeing him suddenly grow so arrogant, Jigen's gaze turned cold in an instant.
"In that case, we'll have to communicate in a way both of us can understand.
"Give me back the Ten-Tails, you lowly creature!"
Faced with Madara's refusal, Jigen, who had until now appeared calm and polite, finally lost his temper—along with revealing his true nature.
Not only did he stop calling Madara by name, he even went so far as to address him as a "lowly creature."
It was clear that he had never intended to share the chakra fruit's power with anyone—especially those he considered "lesser beings."
Jigen suddenly gestured, and in an instant, several black chakra rods pierced Madara's body. They moved so fast they were nearly invisible and impossible to react to.
Created with Yin–Yang Release, these black rods could disrupt the target's chakra flow, even sealing off all movement entirely.
Caught off guard, Madara's body trembled slightly.
In that moment, he understood just how fierce and dangerous the attack Uchiha Dali had suffered earlier truly was.
Before Madara could react further, Jigen rushed at him again.
With a single punch, he smashed into Madara's face.
Still in his Edo Tensei state, Madara's cheek was instantly shattered into pieces by the immense force.
The flying fragments quickly drew back together, reforming his face.
Madara reached up and touched his cheek. "So, you're serious now? In that case, I won't hold back either.
"This is the perfect chance to test just how useful this new power of mine really is."
With that, Madara casually pulled out the chakra rods embedded in him.
Although they could restrict his chakra flow, they couldn't completely immobilize his body.
Back when he first awakened the Rinnegan, Madara had already mastered this power—he understood the black rods' effects and weaknesses better than anyone.
All he had to do was pull them out, and he was fine.
Once the rods were out, Madara immediately launched his counterattack at Jigen, tossing the rods back at him.
At the same time, his body shot forward at high speed. Mid-air, he opened his mouth and unleashed a massive wave of fire.
"Fire Release: Yin–Yang Flame Dragon Singing Roar!"