Chapter 356: Madara vs Natsuro

Madara was extremely excited at this moment.

Previously, he had only been slightly intrigued by what Orochimaru had said, that Natsuro was the Sixth Hokage after Hashirama. That alone had piqued a bit of his interest. But now, he fully acknowledged Orochimaru's words and was quite satisfied with the opponent Orochimaru had found for him.

"Orochimaru, this is the opponent you've found for me? Madara Uchiha, I'm quite satisfied too," Natsuro said as he looked at Madara, his expression heavy with seriousness.

From Madara's body, he could feel a sense of danger, something not even the past Kage nor the key figures of Konoha had ever made him feel. So, the idea he had of just using Spiritual Clone Jutsu to get through the Fourth Great Ninja War... might be unrealistic.

But regardless, it was still worth a try!

"Heh, as long as you're both satisfied," Orochimaru laughed joyfully after being momentarily stunned by the comments from both Madara and Natsuro.

At that moment, Natsuro looked at Madara. The ground beneath his feet suddenly erupted with giant rocks, and Natsuro chose to stand atop one of them.

After all, he couldn't really fly freely. His mobility in the air wasn't as good as having his feet planted firmly on the ground.

Madara observed the scene and began to ponder, what was Natsuro using to fly? Iwagakure's Light-Weight Rock Technique? But that old guy shouldn't have taught it to him... Or was it some other jutsu?

Natsuro, in turn, was also watching Madara, especially his Rinnegan, and he found it troublesome.

That eye essentially rendered most ninjutsu useless against Madara.

And as a spiritual shadow clone, his strongest asset wasn't his body — it was, ironically, ninjutsu...

The two locked eyes... and suddenly, they both began forming hand seals, selecting the exact same jutsu.

Madara appeared more practiced at it, while Natsuro was a little rougher, but it didn't matter, Natsuro's seal speed was fast enough.

The next moment, they both completed the seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

In an instant, a scorching wave of heat turned the entire space into a furnace. Visibly, the air shimmered as if twisted by the intense temperature.

All the ninja below watched the sky above them being engulfed again, but this time not by rock, but by overwhelming flames.

Were both of their Fire Release techniques really this powerful and wide in range?

The moment the two enormous waves of flame collided, the winner was already decided. Although the range and power of both techniques appeared similar, Natsuro's was slightly superior.

"Impossible?" Madara was stunned. Since when did he, a member of the Uchiha clan, fall behind in a Fire Release clash?

Even though the attack didn't really harm him, as the flames bearing down on him were all absorbed by his Rinnegan before reaching him, he still noticed something off.

Madara realized the problem during the absorption process: Natsuro's Fire Release wasn't just ordinary ninjutsu, it was infused with Senjutsu!

He hadn't expected that, after Hashirama, someone else would actually master the power of Sage Mode.

But if Madara was surprised, so was Natsuro. Even with Senjutsu, his Fire Release only barely outmatched Madara's, was far from overwhelming.

In past battles, against the Third Raikage's Lightning Style or the Second Mizukage's Water Style, Natsuro had always held an absolute advantage with Senjutsu. But facing Madara, he couldn't achieve that same edge.

As expected of Madara Uchiha... Natsuro narrowed his eyes....

Was that Fire Release... was just a distraction!

Just as the Majestic Destroyer Flame was nearly absorbed by Madara's Rinnegan, a figure suddenly appeared right in front of him.

That speed?!

Madara's eyes narrowed sharply as Natsuro's fist, crackling with lightning, struck toward him. From that punch, Madara felt an overwhelming sense of danger.

But it had come too fast, too suddenly. He had no time to react.

So the Fire Release clash had merely been to block his Rinnegan's field of vision?

Natsuro clearly knew that the Rinnegan could absorb ninjutsu, meaning he never truly intended to defeat Madara with ninjutsu. That meant... he must've fought someone with the Rinnegan before.

Madara suddenly smiled. Blue flames ignited in front of him, forming a ribcage, which quickly expanded into an armored defense, Susanoo.

Natsuro's punch struck the Susanoo.

Boom!

Madara's expression changed drastically, his Susanoo shattered like paper under the punch. Though slightly slowed, the attack still landed squarely in his abdomen.

In an instant, Madara was blasted away like a cannonball, crashing into several stone pillars. But each one crumbled under the force, unable to halt his momentum.

Natsuro, having successfully landed the punch, smiled. A strange glint flashed in his eyes.

Got him!

Indeed, as a spiritual clone, his forte was ninjutsu, and his physical strength wasn't nearly as great without his true body. But nowhere did it say he couldn't use his Nin-Tai techniques.

Even without the monstrous body of his original, combining Sage Mode, Lightning Release, and monstrous strength meant his punch was still powerful enough. Even if Madara was a master of the Susanoo, a hastily constructed partial Susanoo wouldn't be enough to stop him.

Natsuro watched as Madara continued to fly backward, then disappeared from his spot.

Just as Madara was about to stabilize himself, his eyes widened again. A shadow appeared next to him, it was Natsuro again.

Before Madara could even turn to look, he saw a knee smashing toward him. The immense force shifted his flight path upward.

Madara finally confirmed: This guy's strength... even surpasses Hashirama's! Though it relied on many techniques, Natsuro had clearly integrated all of them into each strike.

These weren't mere tricks anymore, this was Natsuro's own fighting style.

Despite the pain, Madara kept thinking clearly, wondering how his opponent was able to reach him before he could react.

Madara looked up, and once again saw Natsuro directly above him.

This time, Natsuro clasped both hands together, forming a hammer-like strike and smashed it downward, right on Madara's skull.

Boom!

Madara crashed into the earth with even greater force than before.

But Natsuro wasn't done yet. Opportunities to beat down Madara didn't come often.

He disappeared once again.

By now, Madara had activated his Susanoo, not the incomplete one, but a more complete version, though still not a fully evolved form.

But even that Susanoo couldn't stop Natsuro. He appeared inside the Susanoo, delivered another kick, and launched Madara out of it.

Without Madara's ocular power to sustain it, the Susanoo faded instantly.

"As expected," Madara muttered with realization in his eyes, still flying uncontrollably. If he hadn't been revived through Edo Tensei, he'd probably be in pieces by now.

But he had more or less figured it out, and was already working on a countermeasure!

If Urashiki Ōtsutsuki were still alive and saw this scene, he'd probably mutter,"This feels familiar... That's exactly how Natsuro did me in too."

However, back then, Natsuro had relied on a massive Flying Thunder God formation, while now, he had already placed a Flying Thunder God seal on Madara during the very first punch.

The ninjas below all watched Madara's figure being continuously blasted into the distance, each one gulping involuntarily.

To them, it seemed like Madara had become significantly weaker, but they knew that was an illusion. After all, they had just walked away from the gates of death. They still remembered those two meteors vividly.

So, it wasn't that Madara had weakened, it was that… the Sixth Hokage was just too strong!

Ōnoki was completely dumbfounded. The arrogant, untouchable Madara he remembered was now being treated like a ball by the Sixth Hokage?

Was this even the world he knew anymore?

Ōnoki couldn't help but recall the humiliation he had once suffered, and now, looking at the scene in front of him, it all felt too surreal.

Orochimaru also frowned. If things were to end just like this, then Madara's reputation would truly be undeserved…

But just then, a sudden voice shouted...

"Shinra Tensei!!"

In the next moment, centered on Madara's body, an overwhelming repulsive force blasted outward in all directions. This time, Natsuro, who had appeared beside Madara, wasn't prepared and had no choice but to retreat under the intense pressure.

In Natsuro's view, Madara couldn't maintain Shinra Tensei indefinitely. As an Edo Tensei body, his use of the Rinnegan was certainly limited. He couldn't possibly wield the Rinnegan's full powers.

Just like this Shinra Tensei, it didn't seem any stronger than when Nagato used it. But Nagato had been using someone else's eyes, which were never fully compatible with him, and thus couldn't unleash their full potential. The same applied to Madara, which meant…

These Rinnegan shouldn't have existed in the first place.

Natsuro stared at Madara, ready to teleport back and resume the beatdown the moment Shinra Tensei wore off.

But then, Natsuro's pupils suddenly shrank. He saw Madara, disheveled and battered, still standing while clutching his wounded head, laughing wildly at him.

Then, flames erupted from Madara's body, quickly engulfing him entirely.

Natsuro fell silent for a moment, the Flying Thunder God seal he had placed on Madara had just disappeared...

He hadn't expected that Madara would use this method to remove a Flying Thunder God seal that was supposed to be permanent.

After his own refinements, Flying Thunder God seals placed on others couldn't be so easily removed. He had fused them with the Fire Release: Heavenly Prison, a sealing technique that burrowed deep into the bone. If someone tried to remove it using chakra, the fire prison would activate and block the seal.

If one attempted a physical removal, they'd have to dig out the bone itself. That was practically suicide.

But Madara, being an Edo Tensei resurrection, clearly had no such concerns. Even if he was burned to ashes, his body would regenerate.

"Seriously, what a pain," Natsuro muttered helplessly.

He had completely dominated this round of battle because Madara only knew about the Second Hokage's version of the Flying Thunder God Technique, not the Fourth Hokage's improved version.

In fact, Natsuro speculated that Madara didn't even fully understand the Second Hokage's version. After all, that technique was specifically designed to counter the Uchiha and likely wasn't used openly in front of Madara.

What's more, there were major differences between the Second and Fourth Hokage's versions of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Back in the Second Hokage's era, even with several disciples, he couldn't manage more than a tactical retreat. But the Fourth Hokage, he had used it to teleport a Tailed Beast Bomb, and even with Kushina and Kurama, had moved to a location so far that even the Third Hokage couldn't arrive in time to help. 

Just comparing distance, reference points, and chakra cost, it was clear how vastly different the two techniques were. Even if they shared the same essence, only the Second Hokage himself could have truly understood the difference at a glance.

As someone who didn't know the Flying Thunder God Technique at all, Madara clearly had no understanding of what the real version could do.

Still, he must have realized that Natsuro had placed a Flying Thunder God mark on his body.

As for when it happened, it could only have been during that first punch. Which meant placing another seal would be extremely difficult now.

In terms of a ninjutsu duel, Natsuro believed he wouldn't lose to Madara. However… the problem was the Rinnegan's ability to absorb all ninjutsu, even Senjutsu.

So in a head-to-head ninjutsu battle, Madara's techniques might not be able to defeat Natsuro, but the reverse was also true. As long as Madara's Rinnegan could absorb jutsu, it would be very hard for Natsuro to actually hurt him.

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