Uchiha Madara did not retreat.
Instead, he stepped forward.
His movement was calm and deliberate, as though the incoming attack posed no threat at all. Reaching behind his back, he pulled out the Uchiha clan's legendary war fan, the famous Gunbai.
The moment the weapon appeared, Madara's voice rang out sharply.
"Uchiha Reflection!"
The compressed water bullets fired from Hōzuki Gengetsu's Water Gun Technique flew toward Madara at terrifying speed.
These bullets were powerful enough to pierce steel armor.
Yet the moment they struck the flame fan—
Madara swung the Gunbai in a precise motion.
Bang!
The water bullets were instantly deflected.
Even worse for Gengetsu, the attack was reflected back toward him at nearly the same speed.
"What the—?!"
Gengetsu's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Can it even reflect the Water Gun?"
Without hesitation, he used the Body Flicker Technique, vanishing in a blur before the reflected bullets could hit him.
A moment later, he reappeared several meters away.
After landing safely, he stared at Madara with obvious confusion.
"What kind of weapon is that?"
Madara lifted the flame fan slightly.
His tone was casual, almost bored.
"This is the Gunbai."
"Every Uchiha Clan Head inherits this weapon."
"It is both a tool in battle and a symbol of the clan leader."
Madara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"During the Warring States Era, many enemies died because they failed to understand its ability."
Gengetsu listened carefully.
But instead of relaxing, his expression became even more uncertain.
For a ninja, what mattered most in battle?
Was it raw strength?
Powerful ninjutsu?
Lightning-fast reflexes?
None of those.
The most critical factor was information.
Whoever understood the enemy's abilities better held the advantage.
And right now, Gengetsu was the one lacking information.
"So…"
He narrowed his eyes.
"Why would you reveal such information to me?"
Gengetsu was suspicious.
It almost sounded like Madara was setting a trap.
Madara simply shrugged.
"It was just a whim."
"You don't need to worry about me plotting anything."
Then he stabbed the Gunbai into the ground beside him.
"Besides…"
Madara glanced at Gengetsu.
"What kind of adult would bother setting traps for a child?"
Gengetsu's face instantly turned red.
Then pale.
People often said that Gengetsu himself had a sharp tongue, but today he had encountered someone far worse.
"Fine then!"
He quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Ball Technique!"
Colorful bubbles began appearing around him.
Under the bright sunlight, they shimmered like floating gemstones.
Dozens of bubbles drifted slowly toward Madara.
Madara looked at them with mild curiosity.
"You call this Water Release…"
"But it smells more like oil."
Without waiting for a response, Madara inhaled deeply.
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
A massive torrent of fire erupted from his mouth.
The flames surged forward like a blazing tsunami.
Within seconds, the entire area dozens of meters ahead was swallowed by a raging sea of fire.
The floating bubbles ignited instantly.
Because they contained oil rather than pure water, the flames spread even further.
The blazing inferno illuminated the entire coastline.
Although this was technically only a B-rank ninjutsu, when used by Madara its destructive power rivaled that of an S-rank technique.
Watching from behind, Uchiha Su narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.
He suspected this abnormal power might be related to Madara's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
But Gengetsu had never expected the Water Ball Technique to defeat Madara.
Its true purpose had been to buy time.
His hands moved rapidly.
"Summoning Technique!"
With a puff of smoke, a giant clam appeared before him.
The creature's shell was enormous, almost as tall as a small house.
Gengetsu's hand seals continued moving at incredible speed.
"Genjutsu: Mirage!"
The clam's shell opened slightly.
Fleshy tentacles extended outward.
From them, a large amount of mist-like gas spread across the battlefield.
Within seconds, the entire area was covered in thick fog.
Visibility dropped to almost zero.
Strangely, Gengetsu himself remained standing in place.
Yet the giant clam had vanished.
"Hmm?"
The two tomoe in Uchiha Su's Sharingan spun rapidly.
He immediately realized something.
The Gengetsu standing there was likely not the real one.
Madara chuckled softly.
"Interesting."
For the first time in the battle, his interest seemed genuinely piqued.
Still, it was only a small amount.
A voice echoed through the mist.
"Inside this Mirage…"
"You cannot locate my true position."
"Even if you accidentally attack me, I can render your attack meaningless."
Gengetsu's voice carried a hint of pride.
"So tell me, legendary Madara…"
"How will you deal with this?"
Perhaps because Madara had earlier revealed the secret of the Uchiha Reflection, Gengetsu did not hesitate to reveal the basic principle of his Mirage technique.
Madara responded immediately.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A gigantic fireball roared into the mist.
But just as Gengetsu had said—
The attack failed to hit anything.
Madara crossed his arms calmly.
"Well then."
"The warm-up is over."
The power of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan surged violently.
Suddenly—
A massive blue skeleton appeared around him.
The skeletal figure was surrounded by thick layers of chakra.
Muscles and armor-like energy began forming over its bones.
"This…"
Madara said calmly.
"Is the second form."
The skeletal giant raised a massive chakra sword.
Then it swung downward.
BOOM!
The ground exploded.
The fog was violently torn apart.
Gengetsu's true body was forced to reveal itself.
Nearby, the giant clam reappeared as well.
Its once-smooth shell was now covered in deep cracks and scars.
Realizing the danger, Gengetsu immediately dismissed the creature.
The clam vanished in a puff of smoke.
"What a monster…"
Gengetsu muttered internally.
Without hesitation, he fired another Water Gun Technique.
The water bullet shot forward like a high-speed sniper round.
Madara didn't move.
The attack struck the Susanoo's chakra armor directly.
Yet the bullet failed to penetrate it.
"Impressive."
Madara commented calmly.
"It managed to break the first form of Susanoo."
"But not this one."
Gengetsu gritted his teeth.
"Don't underestimate me!"
His hands formed seals once again.
Now he had no choice but to use his strongest technique.
"Steaming Danger Tyranny!"
He compressed oil and water within his body.
A strange child-like clone appeared before him.
However, this clone had an abnormally large body.
It charged toward Madara at incredible speed.
The clone carried a gigantic sword formed from boiling vapor.
It moved rapidly through the air, almost flying just above the ground.
Even the skeletal Susanoo's attacks missed it several times.
Gengetsu placed his hands on his hips.
His face was pale from chakra exhaustion.
"This is my ultimate technique!"
"If this doesn't defeat you…"
"I'll surrender!"
The clone rushed closer and closer to Madara.
Gengetsu couldn't help laughing.
But Madara simply raised his hands calmly.
"In that case…"
"I suppose I should get a little serious."
His voice echoed across the battlefield.
"Complete Body Susanoo!"
The ground trembled violently.
A colossal warrior over one hundred meters tall rose into the sky.
Its armor shone deep blue.
In its hand was an enormous ninja sword.
Madara controlled the giant warrior.
Then he swung the blade downward.
The sword strike unleashed a terrifying shockwave.
Its power was enough to split mountains.
Gengetsu's clone was instantly destroyed.
The explosion scattered steam and debris across the battlefield.
But the sword's energy did not stop there.
The attack continued forward.
Behind Gengetsu stood a small mountain.
The mountain was split cleanly in half.
Gengetsu collapsed to the ground.
His eyes were wide with disbelief.
"How…"
"How can a human possess this kind of power?"
He swallowed nervously.
It felt like a nightmare.
Nearby, the Uchiha clan members were equally stunned.
"I've read about this power…"
One of them whispered.
"This is the legendary ability of the Uchiha…"
"Susanoo."
"If only I could obtain that power someday…"
Their voices trembled with awe.
But the most shocking sight remained the towering warrior standing in the distance.
Madara's voice echoed from within the giant Susanoo.
"So…"
"Submit."
"This…"
He declared proudly,
"Is the power of Uchiha Madara."
"The power of a god."
And for the first time since the battle began—
Gengetsu no longer thought Madara was arrogant.
Instead, he realized something terrifying.
This wasn't arrogance.
It was simply the confidence of the strongest warrior alive.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)