"It's an honor to be taken seriously by someone like you."
For once, Kawaki spoke without a trace of mockery in his tone. His expression had turned serious as well.
After all, even in the original story, Madara had fought the Allied Ninja Forces barehanded.
Forcing Madara to rely on tools was itself a sign of respect.
At least, it was recognition of his strength.
"I hope you won't disappoint me."
Madara smirked charmingly, though his aged face no longer showed any signs of youthful handsomeness.
Yet, his commanding presence—dominating both heaven and earth—and his natural kingly aura were undeniably overwhelming.
"If that's the case, I won't hold back then."
Kawaki focused entirely. He knew as long as he avoided staring directly into the Sharingan, he wouldn't fall under its genjutsu.
In the next instant, the dim cave lit up again as crimson markings flared at the corners of Kawaki's eyes.
He shot forward like a bolt of blue lightning toward Madara.
The blade crackled with energy, exuding fierce momentum.
Using his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Madara precisely captured Kawaki's attack trajectory. He swiftly raised his massive scythe with his right hand, holding it high to block.
With a *clang*, the blade met the scythe in a sharp, ringing clash.
At this moment, Kawaki's dual-weapon advantage became apparent.
Before Kawaki could adjust his attack, Madara swept the armored war fan sideways from his left hand.
"You've still got some fight left in you, huh?"
Remaining calm, Kawaki kicked the fan away effortlessly and used the reaction force to create distance between them.
Truth be told, Madara's current strength unnerved him a little.
Relying entirely on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to prolong his life, Madara still easily blocked his sharp assault.
Amplified by Lightning Release Armor and Sage Mode, Jonin-level ninjas were practically cut down with one slash from Kawaki.
Granted, Madara wasn't bound by normal standards, yet not retreating even an inch still seemed unreasonable.
No wonder he was the kind of foe who could exhaust Hashirama at his prime.
Even though Madara was now aged, relying on external means to sustain his life and having lost his original eyesight,
after fusing with Hashirama's cells and replenishing his chakra, such power became believable.
Kawaki tried hard to rationalize things inwardly, though his face remained impassive.
"Youth truly inspires awe."
Stifling the tremor in his arms, Madara inwardly sighed at how strong this kid really was.
Barely past the aftershock of their clash, Madara decisively severed every tube connecting his back to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
In an instant, he visibly rejuvenated, his whole appearance changing.
To Kawaki's perception, Madara's chakra within his body rapidly surged.
Clearly, Madara had no intention of leaving himself a way out.
"Let's go again."
Kawaki understood Madara's intention—deep down, Madara would never allow himself to perish quietly.
Clanging metal rang through the cave. Under Kawaki's unrelenting assault, Madara slowly began to falter.
Leveraging his vast combat experience, Madara seized an opportunity to increase the distance between himself and Kawaki.
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!]
An enormous fireball, massive beyond comprehension, roared toward Kawaki with searing heat.
"You call that a 'Great' Fireball?"
Kawaki stared at the fireball before him, speechless for a moment.
He had definitely seen this technique before, but never one of such size and power.
Surprised though he was, a technique this powerful couldn't even slow Kawaki down, even if it came from Madara Uchiha.
Without dodging or hesitating, Kawaki charged forward, slicing the fireball cleanly in half with a single stroke. It exploded violently within the cave.
Countless shards of rock exploded into the air, leaving massive craters on either side of the cave walls.
[Swordsmanship: Fire Raijin]
Moving at incredible speed, the friction between sword and air produced intense flames.
In Madara's eyes, Kawaki resembled a blazing thunder dragon surging forward.
The pressure was immense—utterly unstoppable!
[Wood Release: Wood Locking Wall]
A line of wooden pillars erupted from the ground, bending to form an arched barrier that securely protected Madara behind it.
"This won't be enough."
Kawaki scoffed with disdain, completely unshaken by this unfamiliar Wood Release technique.
Given Madara's experience and talent, creating a few new techniques after mastering Wood Release wasn't particularly challenging.
However, Kawaki wasn't exactly sure how proficient Madara had become with Wood Release.
Just as curiosity flickered through his mind, the wooden barrier collapsed like tofu under Kawaki's effortless slash.
The strike retained its full force without losing momentum.
Madara seemed to have expected it, watching calmly as the barrier shattered without showing any surprise.
He never truly believed a defense of this level could withstand Kawaki's attack.
Clang!
The deafening impact rang out like an explosion. Madara nearly lost grip of his weapon entirely, blood flowing from both his palms.
He was sent flying backward with great force, his flowing robe shredded by the shockwave.
Clearly visible on his chest was the face embedded in his flesh—the unmistakable visage of Hashirama.
"Was it hard fusing with Hashirama's cells?" Kawaki suddenly asked, driven by curiosity. Madara had fused with the most original form of Hashirama's cells.
If there were a ranking for cellular rejection, Madara's case would definitely be top-tier.
"After battling Hashirama, I barely survived, but my physical condition was terrible."
"I didn't have time for much preparation, so I simply stitched his flesh into this wound on my chest."
"Never did I expect that when I woke up, my injuries were almost fully healed."
While responding to Kawaki's attack, Madara omitted only the word 'barely'—but otherwise told no lies.
Even severely injured, the fusion with Hashirama's cells proved surprisingly smooth and effortless.
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"Damn it!"
Kawaki couldn't help but curse loudly, his emotions intensifying until the strength in his hands increased noticeably.
It really was the case that one person could make others jealous just by comparison. Kawaki's fusion with Hashirama's cells nearly killed him from pain.
Yet for Madara, everything resolved itself after just a single night's sleep. Anyone would feel cheated knowing that.
Kawaki had to admit, being Indra's reincarnation was something he could never hope to envy.
After getting over his shock, he could only sigh and grumble about how brutally hierarchical the ninja world truly was.
This sudden burst of strength caught Madara completely off guard.
The massive scythe was knocked off course with a single blow, and before the armored war fan could be brought into play, Kawaki kicked it far away.
*Bang!*
Madara shot backward like a broken kite, slamming hard against the stone wall. A warm metallic taste rose in his throat as blood burst from his mouth.
The kick struck him squarely in the chest, nearly unbearable for him to withstand.
Debris rained down as the entire cave shuddered from the impact.
"See ya!"
[Swordsmanship – Lightning Speed!]
Would Kawaki really let such a golden chance slip away?
In an instant, blade in hand, he dashed straight toward Madara's neck.
His figure flickered like a ghostly shadow, appearing directly before Madara in the blink of an eye.
His speed was so overwhelming that even Madara's Sharingan couldn't follow.
An undeniably overwhelming sense of death descended, but at this critical moment, Madara surprisingly kept his composure.
Without hesitation, he began channeling a massive amount of chakra outward.
The youthfulness he once regained vanished in an instant, appearing even older than when Kawaki had first seen him.
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