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The ground trembled violently as countless twisting roots burst through the scorched earth, spreading outward with explosive force. The charred terrain, moments ago reeking of ash, quickly filled with life again.
The tangled roots sprouted new branches, dotted with tender green buds.
Empowered by Madara Uchiha's chakra, the range of Deep Forest Emergence surged forward, sweeping toward Rose like a living tide.
Rose watched the incoming sea of trees with calm indifference.
A faint cracking sound came from beneath her feet — a sapling broke through the ground, wrapping itself around her ankles like a snake.
"This rule feels kind of similar to the Supreme Kai's energy," she murmured.
A subtle pull began to drain her energy, but the gap in power between them was so huge that even if the branches drained her for three days and nights, it wouldn't make a difference.
Still…
This is getting out of hand.
The branches climbed higher, vine-like, up to her knees. Hey, seriously? I'm wearing a skirt here.
"It tickles a little…"
This kind of thing could get awkward fast. If she ever got used to these "little sensations," who knew what kind of trouble that might cause later.
Rose took a deep breath and softly said, "Destroy."
The instant the word left her lips, the branches froze mid-motion.
Then, starting from her legs outward, they withered to dust, crumbling and vanishing in seconds. The surrounding forest followed — leaves and branches disintegrated under an invisible force, disappearing without a trace.
In the blink of an eye, everything within hundreds of meters turned to dust.
A light breeze brushed the hem of Rose's beige pleated skirt, making it sway gently.
"Mr. Madara? Got anything else fun to show me? Or should we wrap it up here?"
Madara's face darkened with fury.
Twice now — twice — his chakra-based attacks had vanished into thin air, and he couldn't figure out how. That strange energy around Rose filled him with a rare sense of unease.
He'd accepted that his Great Fire Annihilation was snuffed out. Fine.
But Deep Forest Emergence — a power inherited from Hashirama himself, capable of absorbing enormous amounts of chakra — being erased in an instant? Unthinkable.
Toying with me…
The thought clawed at him.
Madara Uchiha — reduced to a plaything, a mere dancing monkey for this woman's amusement.
The only reason the battle hadn't ended yet was because she wanted to see more.
The humiliation burned.
The Asura of the Ninja World — mocked like this? Never before.
"Hmph. What you've seen so far was just the appetizer. Now, it's for real."
Madara crossed his arms, his cold eyes sharp as blades.
"Oh? I'm looking forward to it," Rose replied cheerfully. "Do your best, okay? Who knows, maybe I'll slip up and lose the guild master title to you."
She lifted her hand, thumb and forefinger pinching close together — just a tiny gap between them.
Madara didn't understand the gesture, but he definitely felt insulted.
He formed hand signs, his Sharingan spinning rapidly into the Eternal Mangekyō pattern.
A towering skeletal frame erupted from the earth — Susanoo.
The colossal blue warrior loomed tens of meters high, radiating an oppressive, godlike aura. Its four massive arms moved in sync with Madara, forming the same seals.
"Tengai Shinsei!"
Seconds later, the clouds above tore open.
A shadow the size of a mountain appeared in the sky, blotting out the sun.
A meteor roared toward the earth, its speed so great it broke the sound barrier again and again.
Rose stood directly beneath it, the ground swallowed in shadow. She looked up, brushing a stray strand of hair from her face, and commented lightly,
"Quite the spectacle — two meteors, both over 250 meters wide."
Then she tilted her head, mock-curious. "But, Madara… aren't you still under that thing's trajectory? Planning to die with me— I mean, go down together?"
Madara's face stayed perfectly composed, as if the falling apocalypse didn't concern him at all.
Rose sighed. She honestly couldn't figure out what was going through that man's head. After testing her twice already, shouldn't he know better than to charge in recklessly again?
Don't tell me he's so mad he fried his own brain cells?
She casually stepped sideways, evading an unseen attack. A faint gust brushed past her, lifting a few white strands of her hair.
"Oh? A sneak attack."
Limbo: Border Jail.
Madara's Rinnegan technique. Not bad — quite an interesting one, actually.
His invisible clones lunged again, faster than before. But Rose slipped away each time with effortless grace, dodging attacks as if she knew where they'd land before he did.
"So you can see them," Madara muttered, his eyes shifting — the Sharingan replaced by the Rinnegan. The fact that she could perceive his Limbo clones genuinely surprised him.
"I overestimated the Rinnegan," he admitted coldly.
After all, the ninja world wasn't the only world that existed. Rinnegan, Sage of Six Paths — in other realms, such things might not even be worth mentioning.
His Limbo clones kept attacking, and Rose kept dancing just out of reach — a step back, a step forward, each dodge precise to the millimeter.
"Such a big effort to summon those meteors," she said with a smile. "Would be a shame if they only ended up flattening you, Mr. Madara."
She sidestepped again, the Limbo's strike missing her by inches.
Without even turning her head, she continued dodging effortlessly — her senses perfectly attuned to every attack.
"Banshō Ten'in!"
Madara's voice came from behind her.
A wave of gravity tugged at her body, trying to pull her toward him.
But it didn't work. Rose didn't move an inch.
Still, Madara pressed on — from behind, a black rod of Yin–Yang chakra shot toward her back.
"So that's the plan," Rose said calmly. "Swap places with your Limbo, pull me in, then seal me with a black rod. Clever."
She took three steps back and twisted aside, letting the attack slice through empty air.
Above them, the pressure thickened. The meteor's descent ripped through the atmosphere, generating hurricane-force winds that swept the battlefield.
"You sure about this?" Rose called out. "Worried I'll just fly away? If you don't move soon, you're going to get crushed, Mr. Madara."
She could see right through him — he was trying to stall her, trap her until the meteor hit.
So naïve.
"Hmph."
Madara didn't bother to answer.
He gauged the meteors' descent, then charged again. His taijutsu was sharp, his movements fierce and elegant — but none of it mattered if he couldn't land a single hit.
Just as Rose dodged another frontal attack, Madara vanished.
"Another switch?" she murmured, sensing his chakra flare a kilometer away.
So he can use two Limbo clones at once, huh.
As she thought that, another Limbo appeared nearby, lunging at her again. But whether it was one or two, the difference meant nothing — both were equally harmless against her.
"Should I move now?"
The meteors were less than a hundred meters above the ground. If she dodged, Madara might be disappointed… though he probably still had something else up his sleeve.
He was a veteran from the Warring States era, after all — he must've realized by now that even two Limbo clones weren't enough to hold her down.
And then, the Limbo clones vanished — recalled.
Which could only mean one thing…
"Four Red Yang Formation!"
Madara's voice echoed from four directions at once.
Instantly, blazing crimson barrier walls rose up to the east, west, south, and north — trapping Rose within their fiery glow.
"....."