Chapter 36: The Baffling Uchiha Madara

"So, these are the members of Akatsuki?"

"They're nothing special." Standing atop a high slope, arms crossed, Madara gazed down at the battlefield below.

"Indeed, Lord Madara."

"Shall we begin the attack now?" White Zetsu asked.

Madara raised his right hand and made a dismissive gesture.

"I don't need any of you. I can handle this alone."

The humiliation he suffered at the hands of Moryo still lingered. He was seething, and now he needed some weaklings to regain his confidence.

"Alright," White Zetsu replied. The reanimated shinobi behind him also remained still, knowing full well that, at least in name, Madara was the leader of their strike force.

"Hmph!" Madara let out a disdainful snort before leaping straight into the battlefield below.

"Who's that?!" Both sides of the ongoing battle tensed up, though no one seemed to recognize the red-armored figure.

"Hey, Kakashi, doesn't he look familiar?" Might Guy, dressed in his signature green jumpsuit, asked.

"If my eyes aren't deceiving me…" Kakashi's expression grew serious. His last encounter with the reanimated First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, had made him truly grasp just how terrifying the two legendary figures who once ended the Warring States period were.

"If I'm not mistaken, that's Uchiha Madara."

"Indeed, he looks exactly like the statue in the Valley of the End," Tsunade confirmed.

Hearing this, Madara turned his gaze toward them with interest.

"You recognize me? So, you're from Konoha."

But he had no intention of waiting for an answer. Instead, he launched his attack immediately.

"Then I'll start by crushing you all!"

With calm and steady strides, exuding an air of absolute supremacy, Madara charged alone at the shinobi of the Heaven Village.

"Konoha Strong Whirlwind!" Might Guy was the first to engage, launching a powerful spinning kick aimed at Madara's head.

Madara raised an arm effortlessly, blocking the attack, and retaliated with a swift counterstrike.

"Raikiri!"

Kakashi dashed in at high speed from behind, aiming to take Madara by surprise. However, Madara, without even turning his head, instinctively grabbed Kakashi's right hand and redirected Raikiri straight at Might Guy.

Guy swiftly evaded, and Tsunade immediately stepped in from behind, throwing a monstrous punch with hidden brute force behind her seemingly delicate fist.

Caught off guard, Madara's body bent into an arc as he was sent flying.

"That feeling… You remind me of someone," Madara muttered as he slowly got up. He patted the dust off his armor before continuing, "Senju Hashirama."

"What's your relation to him?"

"He was my grandfather," Tsunade answered.

"I see." Madara nodded before his expression darkened with a sinister grin. "Then you'll be the first to die."

Huh?

Everyone was confused. Based on what they'd seen from Hashirama earlier, his relationship with Madara seemed amicable. Why did he suddenly want to kill his granddaughter?

Had their fallout been that drastic?

Hearing Madara's arrogant proclamation, Tsunade felt a surge of irritation. She had never been one to back down.

"Then try me! I'll defeat you with the power I inherited from my grandfather!"

"You dare mention Hashirama?!" Madara charged at Tsunade, moving at twice his previous speed. It was clear he was getting serious.

"Haah!" Tsunade unleashed another powerful punch, but Madara didn't dodge. Instead, he met her attack with a punch of his own.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave erupted from their clash. Despite her famed monstrous strength, Tsunade was overpowered in a head-on exchange and was sent flying.

"How pitiful! You carry Hashirama's blood, yet you're not even a fraction of his strength."

"Your existence is a disgrace to him! I'll help Hashirama clean up his bloodline!"

Madara pressed on, relentlessly attacking.

Kakashi and Guy hurried to Tsunade's aid, but they couldn't help feeling speechless.

This has to be the most absurd reason to kill someone!

They initially thought Madara wanted to kill Tsunade because of a deep-seated grudge against Hashirama. But now, it turned out he was just disgusted by how weak she was compared to her grandfather?

Hey! Uchiha Madara, you're way too controlling! Who are you to decide that?!

Wait a minute—

A sudden realization struck Kakashi. He recalled a private conversation between Hashirama and Tobirama that he had overheard.

"You got married, sure, but after Konoha was founded, you spent more time with Madara than with Mito."

Holy crap! Does this mean…?

No! Kakashi, don't entertain such wicked thoughts! That would be an unforgivable offense against the First Hokage's legacy!

Shaking his head to banish the intrusive idea, Kakashi refocused on rescuing Tsunade.

After another round of intense exchanges, Madara suddenly stopped, growing tired of the pure taijutsu battle.

"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"

Without forming hand seals or making any prior preparations, he simply willed the technique into existence. The moment he had the thought, an ocean of fire spewed from his mouth.

Oh, shit!

Asuma nearly dropped his chakra blades in shock. "That's supposed to be a standard B-rank Fire Release?!"

The battlefield was instantly engulfed in an inferno, towering flames surging like a tidal wave. The firestorm was so vast and intense that evasion was impossible.

"Use Water Release!" Kakashi's shout snapped everyone back to their senses.

Immediately, they formed hand seals. "Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"

It was a low-level technique, but with enough shinobi using it, the water countered Madara's flames, albeit barely.

As white steam clouded the battlefield, Madara frowned in mild irritation at his fire being neutralized.

Then—

Susanoo!

A massive blue giant appeared, its skeletal frame clearly visible. It wasn't in its complete form, just the basic structure.

He's underestimating us!

Tsunade charged forward. "Kakashi! Guy! Cover me!"

"Got it!" Kakashi responded, moving in from the flank.

Guy, on the other hand, wasted no time.

"Sixth Gate! Gate of View… Open!"

His speed and power skyrocketed as he dashed in from the other side.

"Fools," Madara scoffed, standing still as he unleashed another Fire Release technique.

"Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!"

A seemingly ordinary B-rank technique, but in Madara's hands, it became something terrifying. The three flaming dragon heads carried power on par with Jiraiya's Sage Mode-enhanced Fire Release.

But they weren't facing a weak team.

Kamui!

Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan absorbed one of the fire dragons—not the one in front of him, but the one targeting Guy.

Since Guy was the fastest, this allowed him to strike first.

"Morning Peacock!"

----------------

Pls Drop some Power Stones

Fanfic is finished on Patreon (241 chapters in total.) 

Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)