"Understood. I will engage."
Karna, the Lancer of Red, had been briefed by Assassin on the situation. In an instant, he was transported to the front lines. No matter how many times he experienced it, Minato's ability remained incredibly efficient,at least for his allies. For his enemies, it was nothing short of a nightmare.
Standing before him was a man with long, wild hair, clad in ancient armor. His aura radiated an undeniable arrogance, a presence that belonged only to a king or a conqueror. Perhaps in some distant era, he too had been a hero who shook the foundations of the world.
From the moment their eyes met, Karna activated [Discernment of the Poor]. The skill allowed him to pierce through the surface and see the very essence of the man before him. His initial assessment was high.
"Did you finally bring someone worthy of a fight?" Madara asked.
"Interesting. Then let us dance!"
Madara's mood improved instantly. His previous skirmishes with Minato had been mere annoyances, hardly the battle he craved. He longed for an opponent who could force him to unleash his full power.
Minato's silhouette vanished into thin air, leaving Karna and Madara alone in the desolate wasteland. Both men paused for a heartbeat before shooting toward each other like arrows released from a bow.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Karna's golden lance danced through the air with lethal precision. Madara relied on the supernatural insight of his [Sharingan] to predict and dodge the spear's trajectory. Yet, as the frequency of Karna's attacks increased, even the predictive power of the [Mangekyou Sharingan] was being pushed to its limits.
A skeletal arm of [Susanoo] manifested from Madara's side, swinging a chakra blade at Karna. The Lancer parried it effortlessly with the shaft of his spear. A second skeletal arm emerged, slashing toward his waist, but Karna caught the blade with his bare hand.
"Not bad!" Madara grinned, seeing Karna block the strike with a localized barrier of magical flames. "It seems we can finally have a proper battle!"
BOOM!
Sparks flew as blade and spear collided in a dizzying flurry of strikes. Karna sidestepped a frontal assault, thrusting his spear toward Madara's flank. Madara twisted his body with fluid grace to evade the strike, bringing [Susanoo's] arm down in a crushing vertical chop.
CRASH!!
Karna retreated just in time to dodge the slash, but the shockwave alone shattered the parched earth beneath him. This time, Madara took the initiative, closing the distance while Karna braced himself.
CLANG!!
Two skeletal arms swung wildly. As Madara pressed the assault, Karna was forced to retreat, parrying and blocking with every step.
"Hmph..."
Watching from a distance, Minato's brow furrowed. Both combatants were fighting at such an elevated level that neither showed even a hint of an opening. In fact, Minato felt it would be difficult to intervene without disrupting the delicate flow of the duel.
BANG!
In the next exchange, [Susanoo's] blade struck Karna's shoulder, while the butt of Karna's spear slammed into Madara's abdomen. The two froze in a momentary stalemate.
"I see..."
Cracks appeared on the ribcage of Madara's [Susanoo]. It was a hasty defense, fragile compared to its fully manifested form. Yet, Karna's ability to damage it at all was noteworthy. If Madara continued to fight with a half-hearted defense, this enemy clearly possessed the power to shatter it.
"You took a direct hit without a scratch," Madara noted, his expression shifting to one of genuine intrigue. "That defense... it isn't just physical toughness, is it?"
The skeletal blade had clearly connected with Karna's shoulder, yet not a single drop of blood had been shed.
"If we are speaking of surprises, I should be the one to say it," Karna replied, glancing at where his spear had struck. "To condense magical energy into a physical form with such precision... it is truly admirable."
"Heh..."
The two exchanged a smile of mutual recognition before leaping back to create distance.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
Madara wove a series of hand signs and exhaled a massive, rolling torrent of fire. The flames surged across the landscape like a tidal wave of destruction, turning the wasteland into a scorching sea of crimson.
"Fire Style?"
"Such an immense volume..."
Minato's eyes widened. He had never seen a fire-based technique of this magnitude. A simple water-based defense would be utterly useless against it.
SIZZLE!
The fire flowed over the ground like molten lava, engulfing everything in its path. Yet, Karna stood unmoved, allowing the inferno to swallow him whole. When the flames finally subsided, Madara looked slightly surprised.
"Hmm? No effect?"
To take [Majestic Destroyer Flame] head-on and remain unscathed was a feat few could boast of. But for Karna, it was hardly worth mentioning. His golden armor, [Kavacha and Kundala], was integrated with his very being. It possessed the conceptual authority to reduce all hostile interference,physical attacks, magecraft, even curses,to one-tenth of its original power.
Setting aside his natural resistance to heat, the armor's performance alone was enough to shrug off the jutsu. Even the earlier strike from [Susanoo] had been mitigated by this absolute defense.
"Is he as durable as Hashirama?"
In Madara's memory, only one man could withstand attacks like that. His lifelong rival and greatest friend, Hashirama Senju.
"Then I'll get a little serious."
Realizing that half-hearted attempts would grant him no satisfaction, Madara's blue chakra began to surge violently, erupting into the air like a pillar of light.
***
"Hey, Master, what do you think?"
Mordred grinned as she drove the car wildly across the uneven terrain.
"Hah? What did you say?!"
Kairi Sisigou was too busy fearing for his life to answer. The shaking chassis and Mordred's aggressive driving style had his heart in his throat.
"Attacking so soon... it looks like someone couldn't wait!" Mordred seemed delighted, showing zero concern for the potential danger ahead.
"Tch. We agreed to assess the situation first. Don't go charging in like a maniac!" Sisigou warned, his fingers white from gripping the dashboard.
"Haha!! Don't worry, Master. I'm strong!"
Mordred turned back to offer him a confident grin, even as the car rattled as if it were about to fall apart at any second.
"Hey! What is that?!"
At that moment, Sisigou screamed, pointing a trembling finger toward the horizon.
"Huh?"
Mordred blinked, wondering what could startle her necromancer Master to such an extent. She turned her eyes forward, and they immediately went wide.
In the distance, a blue giant,taller than any skyscraper,had risen from the earth. Its massive wings spread out, blotting out the sun like a demonic god of old.
"Oi, oi, oi... isn't that a bit too big?!"
"Is that... a Noble Phantasm?!!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]