Chapter 98: Confrontation with Madara

"Are you trying to use the Universal Pull as a power source to accelerate your speed and engage me in close combat?"

"A good idea, but still too naive!"

Uchiha Madara spread his five fingers, forming a semicircular repulsive force barrier, causing the space in front of him to ripple like white waves that spread outwards.

These white ripples destroyed everything in their path. Hanma, charging at full speed, irrationally found himself frozen in place.

Madara's left hand released the Universal Pull while his right hand deployed the Almighty Push. Then, he clasped his hands together and clapped heavily.

Two waves of white force alternately struck Hanma, containing immense power that sandwiched him in between, wildly compressing his physical form and restricting his movements.

The alternating use of the Almighty Push and Universal Pull created a cage of gravitational and repulsive forces that fixed Hanma midair.

If not for Hanma's extraordinary physique, he would have already been crushed into a bloody pulp.

This was Madara's application of his years of combat experience, finely utilizing the Rinnegan. It didn't require much chakra to release such strategic ocular jutsus.

Unlike Nagato from the original timeline, Madara, as the true owner of the Rinnegan, could fully unleash the supreme power of these eyes.

Hanma gritted his teeth. Although the Almighty Push and Universal Pull's pressure on his body was bearable and not lethal, his current predicament was troubling.

As a taijutsu ninja, without any foothold, Hanma couldn't exert his strength and speed.

"So, must I release my body's limits and force a breakthrough?"

Hanma pondered. This was his ultimate trump card, which he wasn't willing to use so early.

After absorbing the Ichibi's chakra, Hanma gradually broke free from human limitations and could enter a state of complete power release, which he called the "Inner Form."

Although in a passive situation, Madara didn't have an easy time either.

Maintaining the Rinnegan's ocular jutsu to bind Hanma consumed a considerable amount of chakra, but it couldn't inflict any significant damage on him. The balance between them was uncertain.

Madara's chakra continuously transformed into ocular power, but seeing Hanma mostly unscathed left him equally astonished.

In Madara's prediction, for Hanma to take the full brunt of these Rinnegan jutsus, he should be severely injured if not near death.

Yet the still-lively Hanma left Madara confused.

"Something's off with this kid's body."

Although Madara had been keeping an eye on Hanma and knew of his formidable defense, he never imagined it would reach such an extent.

"But it ends here."

Madara instantly appeared before Hanma, his Rinnegan rotating again as a purple light covered his hand, pressing against Hanma's chest.

"Rinnegan: Preta Path!"

In Madara's understanding, no matter how one tempers their body, a ninja's defense largely comes from chakra wrapping and nin-taijutsu techniques.

Without chakra, even the strongest ninjas become as weak as floating duckweed.

However, as the Preta Path covered Hanma, no chakra feedback came despite several seconds passing.

Madara looked at Hanma in amazement, sensing that something was wrong.

The Preta Path's chakra absorption rate was astounding. In the original timeline, Nagato could absorb Killer Bee's Hachibi form in just a few seconds.

Madara estimated that several breaths should be enough to drain Hanma's chakra dry, collecting enough for opening the Box of Ultimate Bliss, eliminating this formidable adversary.

"Why is this happening? Could it be this kid has no chakra within him?"

Before Madara could comprehend the bizarre situation, he heard Hanma's deep voice beside his ear.

Hanma's form suddenly expanded, growing over four meters tall as his muscles swelled and compressed, turning a dense black gold color. Sweat evaporated from his pores, forming steam clouds.

An aggressive aura exploded from within, etching onto his bones like flowing lava, exuding a chilling killing intent.

With a roar, Hanma forcefully pushed away the gravitational and repulsive waves, breaking free.

Even the Rinnegan's jutsus, with enough strength, could be shattered!

Madara's expression shifted as he swiftly retracted his hand from Hanma's chest, trying to create some distance.

But Madara's speed was no match for Hanma's explosive momentum at that moment.

Hanma extended his long arm, grabbing Madara's arm tightly, displaying a fierce smile.

"Die, old man!"

His fists rained down on Madara like a storm. At this moment, the battlefield's rose lost all his elegance.

The Susanoo's skeleton was torn apart by Hanma's bare hands, as Madara dodged frantically, feeling the threat of death for the first time.

Madara was startled. Even after fifty years of strife in the ninja world, he'd never seen a ninja in such a demonic form as Hanma's.

"A Jinchuriki? Or a special demon that can activate their body in this way…"

Before Madara could understand Hanma's transformed state, his thoughts were interrupted by Hanma's increasingly powerful punches. Madara sought a way to escape.

Hanma's furious punches sent Madara's White Zetsu pieces flying. The sound of White Zetsu's anguished cries and white fragments filled the air.

As Hanma pummeled Madara, he too was filled with astonishment.

Even with White Zetsu's protection, Madara's resistance to his strikes far exceeded his expectations.

In the ninja world, most ninjas Hanma encountered had bodies as brittle as tofu.

Yet Madara, despite enduring Hanma's unrestrained punches, only spat out several mouthfuls of black clotted blood, without even losing consciousness.

Madara's Rinnegan eyes spun continuously, pale white aura enveloping his body, as he roared:

"Almighty Push!"

This time, Madara used more chakra for the Almighty Push, with surging repulsive force pushing against Hanma's formidable form, attempting to forcibly drive him away.

Unfortunately, Hanma's strength didn't lag behind significantly. Resisting the repulsive force of Almighty Push, he still held onto Madara's arm firmly.

Madara's eyes flashed with anger. Transforming his left hand into a long black rod, he chopped off his right arm, blood gushing out.

Without a grip, Hanma, clutching Madara's severed arm, was finally sent flying by the intensified Almighty Push.

Staring at the elderly arm in his hand, Hanma shook his head inwardly, secretly sighing:

"Worthy of a ninja world's hero, so decisive and ruthless."

Seeing his severed arm, Madara snorted coldly, stomping his right foot heavily.

Moments later, a White Zetsu joyfully emerged from the ground, saluting Madara:

"Lord Madara, reporting!"

Waving his black rod indifferently, Madara chopped off White Zetsu's arm, attaching it to his own severed limb.

"Hiss…"

Green chakra enveloped the severed arm. After a moment of white smoke, Madara had a new arm patched up.

Hanma watched the scene speechlessly. Starting with Madara, the Uchiha clan's style seemed more like that of robots.

Their eyes were hot-swappable, arms detachable. No body part couldn't be replaced at any time, embodying the essence of fleshly pain, mechanical transcendence.

Flexing his new arm, Madara's Rinnegan flashed with anger as he said in a deep voice:

"It's time to end the warm-up, don't you think?"