The three tomoe within his crimson eyes glowed with an eerie shimmer in the dim cavern.
Before his voice had fully faded, he had already launched himself from behind the table.
Blitzing toward Kei Yamanaka, he snapped his fingers mid-air, sending out chakra-infused threads that latched onto the scythe hanging on the cavern wall.
The conduit attached to the back of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path rapidly stretched. With a twist of his body and a swing of his arm, the waist-high scythe flew ahead despite being summoned second, its sharp blade aiming straight for Kei's face.
But Madara didn't slow his pace at all. Hands forming the 'Tora' seal, he exhaled four blazing fire dragons from his mouth!
[Fire Release: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique!]
Beneath the blinding glow of the flames, the terrifying aura of carnage radiating from him made Madara appear just as he had been decades ago—a crimson rose blooming amid the carnage of war!
Though his body had aged and his time was drawing near.
Once he chose to fight...
This man remained the same figure who once made the entire shinobi world tremble!
[Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change!]
Kei clapped his hands together, and the world within his eyes instantly began twisting and shattering.
The charging Madara had vanished.
Now, the old man still seated behind the table closed his eyes and opened them again—suddenly feeling as if he'd returned to that small stream from decades ago, water gently flowing.
In his memory, Hashirama Senju lazily skipped stones across the river's surface.
This time...
Madara picked up a stone from the ground, passed by Hashirama Senju, and sent a perfect skipping stone flying all the way to the opposite bank!
"Girls really pick up things fast, huh?"
The melon-headed boy slumped dejectedly into a corner, tears brimming in his eyes.
Even knowing this was an illusion, Madara couldn't help but let a faint smile tug at his lips as he gazed at the familiar scene.
Indeed... as one grows older, nostalgia creeps in without warning.
Wait... girls?
For just a moment, Madara hesitated—and in that instant, the young Hashirama Senju standing before him had already visibly matured.
With tear-filled eyes, he tightly gripped Madara's hand, looking like he was about to burst into tears.
"Madara-pon, marry me! I will! I'll always take care of you~"
"Huh?"
Madara blinked in confusion for a moment before kicking the teenaged Hashirama away.
"Waaaah~ Madara-pon, don't treat me like that~ Waaaah~ I'm seriously trying to court you..."
His appearance, personality—even his voice—were incredibly convincing.
A masterful genjutsu that could deceive even the sharpest minds!
But… wait… am I a girl here?
Madara twitched slightly and tried to forcefully dispel this ridiculous illusion.
Then what did he see???
His own younger brother, Izuna Uchiha, had turned into a stunning young woman?
And that bastard, Tobirama Senju, looked like he was smitten with his younger brother… or rather, sister now?
Unbelievable!
Wait! What the hell is going on?!
What the hell?! This plot's moving too fast!
The illusion shifted. Madara Uchiha was now an adult, having already silenced all opposition within his clan through sheer power.
He? Or was it... her!
Finally, after endless pursuit by Hashirama, she had married him!
And his brother... no, sister... actually ended up marrying Tobirama Senju, of all people!
Damn it! How could you?!
Before Madara could continue questioning whoever created this disgusting illusion and what the hell they were thinking, the scene in front of her changed again. She and Hashirama had founded Konoha together after marriage, attracting countless ninja families who longed for peace to join willingly.
Konoha had truly been established!
Everything was moving in a positive direction. Although she and Hashirama occasionally argued,
it was just normal couple stuff—fighting at the head of the bed and reconciling at the foot. There wasn't anything they couldn't get past.
After experiencing cold wars, hot battles, mattress fights, kitchen clashes, and numerous other conflicts,
Hashirama finally accepted her suggestion to use absolute strength and absorb all four of the newly established hidden villages into Konoha.
Although there were still occasional conflicts across the ninja world, facing the combined suppression of her and Hashirama Senju, peace rapidly spread throughout the entire region.
And after that...
Was there nothing left but domestic bliss?
Have children?
Damn!
——
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Kei Yamanaka left two shadow clones behind inside the cavern to intercept any pursuit from Madara Uchiha,
while he himself quickly vanished from the mountainous grave site using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Past experiences activating powerful skills had taught him well.
Even a Blue-Tier Skill could take a noticeable toll on his body when activated.
Normally, these effects wouldn't be much of an issue.
But against Madara Uchiha? Even at full strength, Kei didn't feel completely confident.
Now adding temporary side effects caused by skill activation into the mix?
Did he really think Madara wouldn't cut through him regardless?
After several consecutive uses of the Flying Thunder God teleportation technique, Kei swiftly arrived at a glacier dozens of kilometers away, covered in thick snow.
He quickly slipped into a natural ice crevasse and used sealing tags from his ninja tool pouch to quickly set up a basic barrier to mask his presence.
Without hesitation, Kei mentally issued the order to the system: activate [Sage Transformation]!
Vrrrrrom—
As soon as the command was given, a tingling itch instantly surged through Kei's body.
Every cell in his body began transforming at the level of life itself!
His internal organs radiated terrifying vitality. His heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys rapidly regenerated under the immense power of Yang Release.
Powerful, surging, restless...
After transforming his five vital organs, it felt as if an old car had just been fitted with an F1 engine.
Yang Release's vibrant energy surged with every heartbeat, instantly filling every cell in his body!
Every bone, every tendon, every muscle, every inch of skin...
His mental fortitude grew restless, pulled toward the surging vitality coursing through his body.
The chakra refinement method had long since become pure instinct.
A roaring, endless torrent of chakra surged into Kei Yamanaka's body!
Those days were gone—days when no matter how hard his mental fortitude searched within his body for physical energy, he couldn't generate even a single wisp of extra chakra!
Now that his physical body matched his mental strength, he had undergone an earth-shattering transformation!
"Physical strength… Did it really just double? That's downright unreasonable!"
Kei Yamanaka clenched his fist, and his body immediately shifted into the Hydrification Technique.
The blackish-gray waste produced during rapid cell regeneration was quickly expelled from his body.
Despite little change in his total body weight or cell count, his strength had doubled, while his life energy had multiplied dozens, even hundreds of times!
Chakra, once a mere trickle, now became an ocean!
His command over the Five Elemental Ninjutsu seemed to skyrocket under this overflowing surge of vitality.
"...When have I ever fought with such overwhelming advantage?!"
A grin nearly stretched from one ear to the other on Kei's face.
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