"Tsk tsk, the kid named Heiyan really is asking for trouble."
Black Zetsu felt a pang of sympathy for Heiyan as he watched the scene unfold.
Heiyan didn't do it on purpose.
Once the Monster Strength technique was fully unleashed, it was practically impossible to stop midway.
"Although Monster Strength carries tremendous power, its long buildup makes it unsuitable against fast opponents."
Heiyan pulled his fist out of Madara's head and thought to himself.
Then he unsheathed the Thunder God Sword at his waist, channeling chakra into it. The blade immediately shone with golden light.
[Chidori Blade]!
The Second Hokage's Thunder God Sword combined with Chidori Blade—would it have any chance of piercing through that blazing war fan?
As this thought crossed Heiyan's mind, his legs erupted with dazzling Lightning Release chakra, and suddenly he vanished.
[Chidori Shunshin]!
So fast.
Fugaku Uchiha's pupils constricted. Without his triple-tomoe Sharingan, there was no way he could've tracked Heiyan's speed.
Behind me!
Fugaku sensed Heiyan's attack and instinctively swung the blazing war fan behind him.
Clang!
The Thunder God Sword clashed with the blazing war fan, creating sparks.
Then both Heiyan and Fugaku disappeared simultaneously.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
One metallic collision sound after another continuously echoed through the air. Two figures flickered in and out—where they'd just appeared, moments later they were dozens of meters away.
On the riverbank, the audience couldn't keep up with the fighters' movements at all. They could only see brilliant sparks erupting whenever their weapons met—like dazzling fireworks blooming above the waterfall.
Fugaku Uchiha truly had become significantly stronger.
Heiyan felt slightly surprised.
Fugaku had always excelled at the Shifting Body Technique. Since awakening his triple-tomoe Sharingan, this ability had further improved. Now wielding the blazing war fan, he possessed both offense and defense.
For now, Heiyan couldn't find any openings.
At this moment though, Fugaku himself felt even more shocked.
Originally, he had believed that with his Sharingan plus the clan's treasured blazing war fan, he would definitely defeat Heiyan. Never did he expect that throughout their battle, he'd be completely on the defensive end—constantly suppressed by Heiyan.
Looks like I'll have to use that move then.
With this thought, Fugaku stopped hesitating.
Clang!
They exchanged blows again, their weapons parrying each other, entering a brief stalemate.
In an instant, their gazes met and locked.
Without hesitation, Fugaku activated his Genjutsu.
[Demonic Illusion: Nail Paralysis]!
Immediately Heiyan felt dizzy—the entire world spinning—as his consciousness was dragged into a mental realm constructed through Fugaku's ocular power.
This was a blood-red world. Heiyan found himself unable to move. Giant nails pierced through his limb joints, transmitting intense pain.
"This is my strongest genjutsu," Fugaku declared proudly as a victor standing before Heiyan within this illusionary space. "Even the most resolute ninja can't withstand its torment. Heiyan, this fight belongs to me."
However, what shocked Fugaku was—
As soon as he finished speaking, Heiyan merely furrowed his brow slightly before vanishing instantly from the mental world.
Back in reality.
Heiyan parried Fugaku's strike with the Thunder God Sword in one hand, while forming an One-Handed Hand Seal with the other to disrupt his chakra flow, successfully breaking free from Fugaku's genjutsu.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two clashed fiercely again, then separated once more.
They fell back into a standoff.
"No way!"
Fugaku steadied himself and cried out in disbelief.
He simply couldn't accept it—his most powerful genjutsu had been shattered so easily by Heiyan.
"Indeed, the Sage Transformation is resistant to genjutsu. Otherwise Hashirama Senju would have already lost to Madara Uchiha."
Heiyan thought inwardly.
Just like during their earlier fight with Hiashi Hyuga, he had deliberately provoked Fugaku into using genjutsu—to test the power of the Sharingan's illusion techniques and verify his suspicions.
His personal experience confirmed this: although the Sage Transformation couldn't completely nullify genjutsu, it significantly increased resistance against it.
For Heiyan at this moment, unless it was a Mangekyou-level illusion technique, it could basically be ignored.
In other words, Fugaku's specialty held no threat over him.
There was no need for this battle to continue any longer.
"Let's call it even, Fugaku-san," Heiyan said, putting away the Sword of the Thunder God.
Fugaku remained silent upon hearing that.
This fight made him realize—he was being suppressed by Heiyan across nearly every aspect.
His Fire Release was countered by Heiyan's Water Release; his Shunshin was inferior to Heiyan's Chidori Shunshin; and even his signature Genjutsu was resisted by Heiyan's unique body constitution.
Like how the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju countered the Uchiha clan, Heiyan—"Little Tobirama"—also perfectly neutralized Fugaku.
The more Fugaku dwelled on it, the more bitterness welled up inside him.
Therefore, faced with Heiyan's friendly offer, his final decision was…
To tighten his grip on the blazing war fan and launch one last attack!
"Heiyan!"
Roared Fugaku furiously as he furiously channeled his chakra. His blazing war fan shined dazzlingly, vibrating intensely as if something terrifying was about to burst forth from its surface.
Boom! Boom!
With a single swing, two colossal chakra dragons shot forth from the fan. They twisted around each other, roaring as they charged toward Heiyan.
One glowed bright red, radiating unimaginable scorching heat. The other was formed from countless tiny Wind Release chakra particles, capable of slicing through anything.
[Wind-Fire Twin Dragons]
This was Fugaku's ultimate trump card—an ultimate ninjutsu combining Wind and Fire Release. Its destructive power surpassed even Pakura's Scorch Release: Kasegui Comet.
Very well then.
Seeing Fugaku's relentless attack, Heiyan sighed lightly, then rapidly formed hand seals. Finally pressing both palms together, he unleashed his ultimate water-based ninjutsu.
[Water Release: Water Severing Slash]
During these days while researching Storm Release based on Water Severing Slash, he had gained an even deeper understanding of this technique.
Whoosh!
He exhaled sharply, shooting out a powerful stream of white water directly at the twin wind-and-fire dragons.
This water pillar appeared plain and unremarkable, extremely simple in appearance, not at all resembling the Second Hokage's most powerful Water Release ninjutsu.
In reality, this was because its strength remained completely restrained inwardly, without any excess chakra leaking outward and causing unnecessary waste.
Therefore, its power had once again risen to an even higher level.
Comparatively speaking, although Fugaku Uchiha's Wind-Fire Twin Dragons technique looked majestic and imposing, he had clearly wasted too much chakra on the external appearance of the jutsu.
It was like Kakashi Hatake from the original Naruto series, whose chakra reserves were limited to begin with, yet every time he used Earth Flow Wall, he would still spend extra chakra carving dog heads onto it.
Not only was it a bad habit—it was completely pointless.
Served no purpose other than to look cool.
And showing off always came at a price.
Just like now.
BOOM!
Under everyone's wide-eyed gaze, both techniques collided midair above the waterfall.
They barely held their ground for less than a second.
TEAR!
The flamboyant Wind-Fire Twin Dragons were instantly sliced apart by the unadorned Water Fang Wave.
The two colossal chakra dragons emitted silent cries of agony before their massive bodies disintegrated piece by piece, eventually scattering violently in all directions as wild chakra.
Yet the Water Fang Wave remained unstoppable, rushing forward at over one hundred meters per second, closing in rapidly on Fugaku.
"Uchiha Return!"
Fugaku Uchiha, visibly startled, instinctively raised his blazing war fan with both hands, blocking it in front of him.
CHHHH!
The Water Fang Wave slammed into the fan's surface, producing an ear-piercing screech.
As for Fugaku Uchiha, under the immense impact force, he was pushed backward across the water's surface, leaving behind a long white trail.
What terrifying power.
Fugaku Uchiha's heart pounded heavily within his chest. Under the Water Fang Wave's overwhelming pressure, the fan's surface had already bent significantly, while the tremendous force had cracked his fingertips open, causing blood to drip from his palms.
He had no doubt—if the Wind-Fire Twin Dragons hadn't taken some of the initial impact from the Water Fang Wave, the counterfeit war fan in his hands would have already been shattered by the high-pressure jet.
What now?
Fugaku Uchiha's mind raced swiftly.
If he abandoned the war fan—letting it briefly block the Water Fang Wave—he might possibly escape unscathed.
The cost would be the complete destruction of the blazing war fan.
Should he do it?
No! Pride—the pride of being the Number One Prodigy of the Uchiha—led him to grit his teeth and insist on holding his ground.
So instead of loosening his grip, Fugaku Uchiha tightened his hold on the blazing war fan even further, his arm veins bulging prominently.
Then, without hesitation, he poured every last bit of his remaining chakra into the fan.
"Reflect it! Reflect it!!"
With red-rimmed eyes and visible facial veins popping, he roared in fury.
At this moment, the Uchiha prodigy swung the blazing war fan with all his might, giving it everything he had left.
Then, miraculously,
the Uchiha Return succeeded!
Through Fugaku Uchiha's relentless effort, the Water Fang Wave was successfully redirected, rebounding away.
However, almost simultaneously, Fugaku Uchiha could no longer withstand the strain, and the blazing war fan slipped from his exhausted grip.
And so it began.
The Water Fang Wave was indeed reflected outward, but due to Fugaku's split-second error…
It veered wildly off course.
This water pillar did not strike back at Heiyan. Instead, it swerved sharply and struck behind Fugaku diagonally.
That location was where the statue of Madara Uchiha stood.
[Boom!]
The high-pressure white water jet, like a screaming arrow, directly pierced into the face of the Madara Uchiha statue.
As a result, the statue's enormous head was ruthlessly impaled from front to back.
Huge chunks of stone tumbled from the head of the hundred-meter-tall statue and slammed into the lake below, sending massive waves surging outward.
Moreover, whether by some mysterious coincidence or not—
the spot pierced through by the Water Fang Wave turned out to be precisely Madara Uchiha's right eye.
Back during the battle at the Valley of the End, Madara had used Izanagi to alter his fate of death, which cost him his right eye as a result. Almost no outsider knew this secret.
And yet, what had just unfolded on the statue eerily mirrored the hidden truth of history.
Madara Uchiha: "…"
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