"In the face of absolute power, all techniques are useless."
Heiyan withdrew his fist and looked at Hiashi Hyuga, speaking calmly.
If Heiyan had gone all out from the start, Hiashi would've lost already. But with so many spectators watching, he didn't want to make Hiashi lose too disgracefully. So he held back a bit, making it seem like a balanced match.
Hiashi clearly realized this now. His eyes were blank, and his body could no longer hold up. He knelt down on the water's surface, nearly sinking to the riverbed due to chakra exhaustion. Fortunately, several elders from the Hyuga main branch quickly arrived, supporting the great young master of the Hyuga clan.
They tried to pull him away, but shockingly, Hiashi refused.
"I… must watch Heiyan's duel with Fugaku Uchiha."
Hiashi spoke slowly, finally recognizing his own limitations. Hearing these words, the others had no choice but to comply, carrying him to the riverside to rest.
"Heiyan, great job!"
Pakura threw her fist up in the air, cheering loudly for Heiyan.
She had disliked Hiashi ever since the Chunin Exams. Now seeing Heiyan defeat him made her feel much better.
"I was scared for a second. Thank goodness Heiyan pulled through."
Tsunade mumbled to herself while patting her chest, which was still heaving from nervousness.
She had seen Heiyan fall behind during the fight and thought he might actually lose, frightening her so much that her face turned pale white. If Heiyan had lost, her last two million ryo in that casino would've been flushed away.
"Did you guys see that? What Heiyan used earlier was Monster Strength from our Senju Clan! My sister even taught it to him!"
Nawaki beamed proudly as he bragged to a group of kids from the ninja academy. "I've decided—when I get home today, I'm going to learn Monster Strength from my sister. Once I've mastered it, I'll definitely be stronger than Heiyan!"
"Wah, Nawaki, you're amazing!"
"I also want to learn Monster Strength. Can you teach me?"
The kids burst into excited chatter, clearly impressed by Nawaki.
Only Mikoto Uchiha bit her lip, showing a nervous expression, seemingly worried about Fugaku Uchiha.
"The Hyuga clan is still as weak as ever. They don't deserve to be equal with the Uchiha."
Madara casually finished watching the battle, showing complete contempt toward Hiashi's performance.
Then, he shifted his gaze toward Heiyan.
"Hmph, indeed looks similar to that guy Tobirama Senju. Both have short white hair and wear poker faces," he first commented on Heiyan's appearance.
"This Little Tobirama uses jutsu such as Multi-Shadow Clone invented by Tobirama Senju, Monster Strength belonging to the Senju Clan, and I've heard he even knows Tobirama's Water Release techniques. Throw in the Sword of the Thunder God, and it looks like he's completely inherited Tobirama's legacy."
"Moreover…"
"His fighting style is identical to that bastard Tobirama Senju. He pretends to be weak initially, then when the enemy becomes careless and arrogant, believing they've already won, he suddenly launches an ambush attack. Truly despicable to the extreme!"
As Uchiha Madara said this, he had already become visibly furious, gritting his teeth angrily.
Because back then, Tobirama Senju had defeated his beloved younger brother Izuna Uchiha using such despicable and underhanded tactics.
In his eyes, Izuna had awakened the Mangekyou and possessed extraordinary sword techniques. His overall combat strength was clearly superior to that of Tobirama Senju. Yet due to carelessness, he had been gravely wounded by an ambush involving the Flying Thunder God Technique and ultimately died from his injuries.
Tobirama Senju really is a despicable bastard.
"From looks to expressions, from ninjutsu to weapons, and even battle techniques — this is nothing but a poor imitation of Tobirama Senju in every way."
At the end, Madara Uchiha used this concluding remark to express mockery and disdain toward Heiyan.
Black Zetsu's face shifted with surprise.
He rarely saw Madara Uchiha speaking so much at once or showing such intense hatred toward someone.
That Little Tobirama won't make it out alive today.
Thinking this, Black Zetsu looked at Heiyan as if he were already a corpse.
Indeed, as Black Zetsu stated, Madara Uchiha truly felt an urge to attack and kill Heiyan immediately.
However, according to his plan, it was Fugaku Uchiha who should defeat Heiyan, earning the title of Konoha's Number One Prodigy, before being gradually manipulated into becoming a puppet.
If Madara acted personally, his entire scheme would be ruined.
Therefore, Madara Uchiha eventually restrained himself from intervening directly.
After defeating Hiashi Hyuga, Heiyan leapt atop the stone statue of Hashirama Senju and faced off against Fugaku Uchiha across the waterfall.
"Do you need a rest?" Fugaku asked.
"No," Heiyan replied.
"Then, shall we begin?"
"All right."
With these simple words exchanged, both men entered a battle-ready stance.
[Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction!]
Fugaku formed the Tiger seal and spat out a massive torrent of fire resembling an ocean wave, soaring through the air toward Heiyan.
But it wasn't over yet.
Whoosh!
He gripped the blazing war fan with both hands, infused it with chakra, and fiercely fanned forward, creating a powerful gust that chased after the inferno.
Thus, wind combined with fire.
"That fan... Is it the Blazing War Fan?"
Heiyan mused inwardly. In truth, he'd noticed the Blazing War Fan in Fugaku's possession long ago, but according to his memory, shouldn't it clearly have belonged to Madara Uchiha?
For a moment, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
Then suddenly, scorching heat rushed toward him — the Fire Release technique enhanced by the Blazing War Fan had already reached his position.
The flames had tripled in size now, beyond enormous — they could only be described as overwhelming.
Before this blaze, Heiyan appeared tiny as an ant, seemingly about to be devoured completely.
[Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave!]
Eyes narrowing, Heiyan flashed through the hand seals in an instant and immediately unleashed a powerful water technique.
Splash!
Channeling massive amounts of chakra, he gathered it in his throat and spewed forward, releasing a tremendous torrent of water forming a tsunami several meters high!
Such a powerful jutsu as Exploding Water Shockwave, when launched with Heiyan's chakra reserves, could create a lake even in a desert.
Not to mention, he also enjoyed environmental advantages for combat on water surfaces.
So, the spectators along the lakeshore bore witness to a scene they'd never forget:
Above the waterfall, on the left burned a sea of scorching red flames reaching for the heavens, while on the right surged a massive blue tsunami.
The two techniques, each brimming with destruction, slammed into each other over the center of the lake beneath the waterfall.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
With Water Release and Fire Release colliding violently on such a massive scale, endless clouds of white steam continuously formed, spreading across the lake's surface and creating a thick fog.
This dense mist enveloped the waterfall, as well as the statues of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
The rolling fog looked like an immortal realm.
Even a battle between Kage-level ninja probably couldn't match this scale, could it?
Along the lakeshore, many shinobi and spectators watching the spectacle found themselves thinking the same thought.
"What is that?"
Suddenly, someone shouted, pointing toward the top of the fog.
It turned out a vividly lifelike water dragon was weaving through the misty sea before finally bursting through, diving from the sky straight toward Fugaku standing atop Uchiha Madara's statue.
[Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet]!
This was Heiyan's signature technique.
Here it comes!
As Uchiha Fugaku watched the roaring water dragon approach with bared teeth and claws, memories of two months ago surged back — the night Heiyan had killed Kurokawa using this very move.
That night — full moon, colossal dragon, lone young warrior.
That moment shattered every shred of Fugaku's pride. From then on, Heiyan became an insurmountable mountain in his mind.
But now, after two months of grueling training plus the aid of his blazing war fan, his strength had transformed.
He chose to face Heiyan's ultimate technique [Uchiha Return] directly and personally break it.
After all, the best way to conquer fear is to confront it head-on.
Thus, facing the roaring water dragon head-on, Uchiha Fugaku made no attempt to evade. Instead, gripping his blazing war fan, he shot skyward to meet it directly.
[Uchiha Return]!
He bellowed, slashing the blazing war fan forward and striking the water dragon's head with full force.
An unbelievable sight unfolded.
Roar!
Heiyan's [Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet], under the seemingly childish technique [Uchiha Return], actually made a complete 180-degree turn and charged straight back toward Heiyan.
Returning the attack exactly as received.
"It's definitely the blazing war fan," Heiyan realized, his expression darkening.
In the original story, even Naruto's [Truth-Seeking Balls] combined with Rasengan could be reflected by Madara wielding the blazing war fan — truly a divine artifact.
Facing the rebounded [Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet], Heiyan could have easily dodged, but he hadn't forgotten that beneath him stood the statue of the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
If he dodged, the statue would surely be utterly destroyed beyond recognition.
Therefore —
[Water Release: Water Formation Wall]!
Heiyan stretched both hands outward, left below and right above, thumbs raised in a "thumbs-up" gesture, summoning a rapidly spinning circular wall of water.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
The [Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet] crashed into the [Water Release: Water Formation Wall], and both eventually vanished into nothingness.
Whoosh!
Immediately after defending with his water wall, Heiyan didn't pause for even a second. He leapt across the waterfall, charging straight toward Fugaku.
His strategy was clear – since all ninjutsu would be reflected by Fugaku's blazing war fan, he chose not to use any ninjutsu for now and focused entirely on close combat.
A blast of air erupted around Heiyan as he came down from above, launching a punch straight at Fugaku.
"So it's Monster Strength, huh?"
Fugaku muttered. After witnessing Heiyan shatter a waterfall with a single punch, he got just how powerful Monster Strength was. Even wielding the blazing war fan, he had no intention of taking such a strike head-on.
So he used the Shifting Body Technique to dodge directly aside.
Unlike Heiyan, Fugaku harbored no thoughts of protecting Madara Uchiha's stone statue.
Thus—
BOOM!
With a deafening explosion, Heiyan's fist slammed into the top of Madara Uchiha statue's head.
Crack!
The next instant, dozens of fissures as thick as water barrels shot out from his fist like spiderwebs, spreading in all directions and soon crawling across most of the statue's upper head.
The head had been cracked wide open.
"..."
At a distance, Madara watched this unfold, his entire body trembling slightly, his eyelid twitching as fury gradually surged within him.
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