Chapter 391: Divine Battle
The radiant Seagod Trident, gleaming with flawless golden light, descended as if it could pierce through all that exists.
"Enough of your tricks!" Uchiha Madara's voice thundered as his twin blades came crashing down to intercept the Seagod Trident. Yet, even with the immense size of his Susanoo, Madara felt the terrifying power behind Kakashi's single blow. The ground beneath Susanoo's feet sank deep, compressing the muddy earth with sheer force. Susanoo, revered as the "power of the gods," had its limitations it could not match the original form's swiftness and flexibility.
Madara attempted to sidestep, but the Seagod Trident locked him in place. Any movement of Susanoo, or even the attempt to release it, would expose Madara to a devastating blow. From high above, Kakashi stared down, his gaze saying it all: You're finished, old man.
Since the battle had begun, Madara's mounting frustration had reached a peak. The insolence of this young upstart he'd had enough. It was time to show this whelp the true might of the Shinobi Demon.
"Wood Style: True Several Thousand Hands!"
An explosion of chakra burst from Madara, and the wet ground split open as a colossal wooden thousand armed Buddha surged up, towering over the war scarred battlefield.
"Take this!"
With a mighty shout, Madara commanded the massive wooden hands to spring forth, raining down relentless punches upon Kakashi's Han Hai Avatar. With hundreds of fists converging, Kakashi was forced to think fast. Releasing his Han Hai Avatar, he now relied on his comparatively small, agile form, deftly weaving through the incoming barrage of wooden fists.
Questions plagued Kakashi as he moved. Every Konoha shinobi knew that Wood Style belonged exclusively to the First Hokage. While Yamato was the only success from the Wood Style experiments, his powers could barely be called "Wood Style" when compared to the legendary force that had built a nation. How could Madara wield this power now? The answer lay in experimentation but Kakashi had no time to delve deeper.
With a series of precise jumps, Kakashi closed in on Susanoo's front.
"Lightning Style: Divine Retribution Spear!"
A powerful violet lightning surged from Kakashi's hand, thrusting straight toward Madara. Many shinobi believed that bloodline limit jutsu were inherently superior to the five basic elemental styles. However, some shinobi had honed these elemental jutsu to such extremes that they became terrifying forces in their own right.
The Second Hokage, Tobirama, had refined Water Style to cut through the Shinju; Madara's "Great Fire Annihilation" had required dozens of Water Style users to counter it; Kurotsuchi had used Earth Style to entrap the Ten Tails; and Naruto's Wind Style Rasenshuriken could devastate even the strongest foes. As for Lightning Style while Raikages were famed for it, none surpassed the lightning prowess that Kakashi would later develop with his Purple Lightning. Thanks to Ye Wen's divine power, Kakashi had unlocked this move years ahead of time.
Madara was caught off guard by Kakashi's relentless offensive approach, his rapid assaults leaving Madara with little time to react. Without the trident's lock, Madara released Susanoo, choosing instead to land atop the Buddha's outstretched hand. But even he could not dismiss the power of Kakashi's Divine Retribution Spear lightly. Thanks to Hashirama's Wood Style, which Madara now wielded, he could withstand the assault, though at the cost of shattering hundreds of his wooden defenses.
Madara finally acknowledged the reality: Kakashi was no mere Konoha genius he was beyond that. But…
"Now, that's more like it!" Madara thought as he leaped to the top of his giant Buddha. It was time to take Kakashi seriously. Gathering his chakra, Madara fused his Susanoo with the Buddha statue, creating a titanic figure whose power was unparalleled in the shinobi world.
Madara laughed, exhilarated, from his perch on the deity's head. "Run out of steam already, boy? And here I was finally starting to take you seriously."
Though Kakashi caught his breath, he was unbothered by Madara's taunts. It was so like Madara to waste a golden opportunity to attack, choosing instead to boast from his lofty position.
Round two had begun.
Unlike Hashirama, Madara had no Edo Tensei body to draw natural energy from, nor could he enter Sage Mode. And without the Ten Tails, he had no access to its immense power. Still, Madara was Madara, and his chakra flared intensely. With the Buddha encased in Susanoo armor, the "Demon King of the Shinobi World" had finally entered the fray.
Seeing the Buddha cloaked in Susanoo's armor, Kakashi swallowed hard. "So, this is the legendary Uchiha Madara…"
But he steadied himself. "It's just the 'Demon of the Shinobi World.' In the presence of true divine power, all demons pale in comparison."
As if responding to Kakashi's conviction, Ye Wen's divine power surged within him, pushing his body to its limits. Kakashi could feel his body strain, but with Ye Wen's blessing, he pressed forward.
"Yes!" Madara laughed madly, inviting Kakashi's attack. "Let's fight to the death, little one!"
But Madara's laughter faded. He sensed a change in Kakashi's chakra, something foreign yet unsettlingly powerful.
"What…what is this?"
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Cortez10