Collapsed into an underground space no more than fifty to sixty meters across.
The moment Shen finished transforming his Susanoo from a massive bone frame into one with muscle fibers, he collapsed onto the ground in the next instant.
From inside the light-blue Susanoo, Madara called out coolly, "Hey kid, get back up."
Shen wanted to cry. Only now did he realize just how difficult it truly was to control something as advanced as this mech.
"It's said my little protégé achieved the third form in just a day," he thought, yet still gritted his teeth and forced himself upright again.
Without official cheating aids, hard work through sweat was the only way.
"Wait, something's wrong," Shen suddenly remembered his unique advantage.
After all, the Susanoo was essentially a machine controlled by spiritual power.
With his unmatched hand speed, there was absolutely no way someone could knock him down in combat.
The bright-white skeleton once again became coated in muscle fibers.
This time, enhanced by powerful computational abilities, the Susanoo took on a different aura in Madara's eyes.
[Not finished yet!] As Shen continuously stimulated his ocular power, another pair of arms formed behind his Susanoo.
Looking at the half-giant body—half light blue, half bright white—Impure World Reincarnated Hashirama murmured, "Four arms, huh? Brings back memories of Madara…"
"Appearance isn't important at all."
"I definitely know that strength is what matters most!"
A bright-white fist was wrapped in a light-blue hand.
At that instant, Shen realized the key constraint on Susanoo's attack speed.
There was no doubt that once a member of the Uchiha Clan unlocked the Sharingan, their brain processing speeds increased significantly.
After attaining Mangekyō, this improvement would rise yet another level.
No matter how much this ability improved, however, it remained within human limits.
*BOOM!* A huge bright-white fist smashed straight into the chest of the light-blue Susanoo.
Madara showed slight surprise.
Just now, for a split second, the enemy Susanoo had launched an unexpectedly fast strike—as if it were a highly trained ninja unleashing an extremely rapid attack.
Fast enough for him to see the entire trajectory clearly, yet too fast for his own Susanoo to mount an effective defense.
*BOOM!* Another solid punch landed.
After several consecutive strikes, Madara finally figured out exactly what was happening.
"Kid, seems your control is pretty good," Madara smirked arrogantly, "But don't think you're anywhere near strong enough to beat me yet!"
A flame-shaped chakra cloak and Karasu Tengu armor immediately covered the light-blue Susanoo.
Four glowing long swords began swinging fiercely.
Shen barely managed to defend himself using only speed, fully aware that with his current power, he could do little more than remain on the defensive.
A single slash drained half his strength to recover, yet after hours of relentless effort, each punch barely made a dent?
Unwilling to accept it, Shen gritted through the crushing resistance and pushed his Mangekyō's ocular power to the very edge.
His bright-white Susanoo also entered its third form.
*Panting* Exhausted from ocular power depletion, Shen triggered Magatsuhi, restoring all the ocular power he had used up.
The idea is, you simulate the future over and over again using yourself, and then activate your power so that it overlaps with reality.
In short, the Shen one second ahead already knows what the present Shen is planning. So he activates his ability, allowing the Shen two seconds ahead to know as well what the current Shen intends.
By repeating this process endlessly, the eye power measured in seconds gets instantly replenished within a single second.
Only the ocular aspect overlaps with reality.
With this kind of manipulation, even without Hashirama cells, this Mangekyō Sharingan could last for a very long time.
Someone else might only manage around ten or twenty seconds at most.
"Cough, cough."
However, right now, Shen, who spat blood from his mouth, had no spare ocular power left to eliminate the drained vitality caused by using Susanoo.
Blindness occurs only when excessive use of ocular power damages the eyes.
But the life energy existing within 130 trillion cells isn't as easily restored as mental strength.
Should he consume the recovered ocular power to heal his body?
Then wouldn't his ocular power just disappear again?
Madara stared at the bright white Susanoo gradually dispersing and finally realized that the Senju power Shen acquired was actually the Chuji version of what he had imagined.
"Kid, it seems your Mangekyō ability has a loophole," Madara dismissed his Susanoo. "As long as you keep getting injured, there will eventually come a day when you'll go blind."
Panting heavily, Shen likewise released his Susanoo.
After catching his breath, he shot back confidently, "My calculations don't make mistakes."
"What if your allies get seriously injured?" Emotionless, Madara struck directly at his weakness. "Will you consume your ocular power to save them, or just ignore them?"
"!!!" Darkness flashed before Shen's eyes.
He hadn't considered that in the complexity of battle, events wouldn't always align perfectly with his calculations.
"Eternal Mangekyō," Madara looked toward Impure World Reincarnated Hashirama. "Or this guy's cells—you choose."
Biting his lip tightly, he realized right away his plan had failed when he saw Shen pull out that hidden fragment of original flesh.
Only someone entirely unbound by attachments could stop at nothing to carry out their plans.
Impure World Reincarnated Hashirama, who possessed a weak presence, first looked left at that small piece of flesh, then right at Madara's somewhat disappointed expression, suddenly realizing something.
"Madara!" Pointing at him, his facial features began distorting: "So you backstabbed me on your deathbed just for my flesh, huh?"
"Phew!" Shen immediately spat out a mouthful of old blood he'd swallowed not long ago.
"Hmph!" Madara chose to ignore him.
Ever since childhood, he had always found Hashirama's cheerful personality unusually annoying.
If it weren't for the other's overwhelming strength, he probably wouldn't have even bothered to look at him.
"Lord Madara," realization hit Shen, lips trembling. "You've kept this fresh, haven't you?"
A red glow flickered; he realized this lump of flesh must have maintained vigorous vitality continuously for more than twenty years.
Transplanting something like undead flesh?
Shen, being a man of principle, instantly refused to make this flesh a part of his body.
"Although this chunk of flesh is quite powerful," Shen pulled his usual stoic face, "I still refuse."
"Then you," Madara sat on a newly created chair formed from Yin-Yang Release, without even bothering to open his eyes, "just wait until your eyes go blind, or your body loses its vitality."
"I-I-" stuttering Shen suddenly had an epiphany, "After all, I AM a scientist!"
"Oh?" Impure World Reincarnated Hashirama perked up upon hearing this new title.
Madara appeared as if asleep: "This fellow's cells can't be made into a safe and stable serum."
However, Shen wasn't disheartened at all.
An old stick-figure-like mentor from his past life had transformed from a scrawny guy into a bodybuilding champion by injecting a serum and getting zapped with huge doses of electricity.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
Want to read the subsequent content in advance?
Please follow my Patreon:patreon/Tansnovel
Tans Novel - The Fastest-Updating Naruto Fanfiction Account
Read 100+ chapters in advance, with at least 3 new chapters updated every day! More free chapters! 20+ Naruto fanfictions!
Just three steps:
1. Download and open the "Patreon" app
2. Search for "Tans Novel"
3. Click on the collection and enjoy to your heart's content
<><><><><><><><>