On the scorched earth, the sounds of impacts echoed endlessly.
Four shadow clones of Madara were beating Urashiki senseless.
Madara was deliberately toying with him. He hadn't gone for the kill immediately, instead matching Urashiki's rhythm and dragging the beating out.
Urashiki staggered back and forth, stumbling in every direction.
That said, objectively speaking, his endurance was impressive.
"Damn it!" Urashiki finally succeeded in predicting one exchange with Aga-ru. He lunged forward, grabbed the shadow clone in front of him, and raised his elbow—
Only to be kicked away by another clone from the side.
Akira floated in midair, one hand on his chin, analyzing Urashiki's ocular abilities.
"So that's how it works…"
"His time-based dōjutsu is essentially advanced calculation—like doing draft work in advance."
"It optimizes offense and defense toward the best possible solution, increasing fault tolerance."
"But it has limits."
"It's like math problems. If you don't know how to solve them, no amount of scratch work will help."
"The eyes are decent."
"But the user himself is weak."
"Good mechanics, bad stats."
"No wonder he's become the shame of the Ōtsutsuki."
Madara was starting to get bored.
The four clones rushed in together, pinning Urashiki's limbs in place.
Perfect restraint.
Madara walked forward with his arms crossed.
"That's it?"
Urashiki ground his teeth, wishing he could kill Madara with his eyes—if only he had that kind of dōjutsu.
"Compared to Momoshiki, you're pathetically weak," Madara said coldly.
"I even had some expectations for you."
"What a disappointment."
He lowered his arms.
"Die."
Suddenly—
The space around Urashiki's head began to warp.
Madara turned sharply toward Obito, who was covering his glowing left eye.
"Obito, you dare steal my kill?!"
Obito laughed smugly.
"Hahaha! Madara, I'll gladly take this Ōtsutsuki head!"
—Kamui!
Whoosh!
Just as the spatial barrier closed in—
Urashiki vanished.
"What?!"
A glowing red paper crane dropped to the ground with a soft tap.
Akira descended beside it.
"Paper Crane Blink. The second ability of his blue Rinnegan."
"No need for markers. Instant activation."
"Basically an unmarked Flying Thunder God."
"A true escape god-tier skill."
"But under Umadara Flow…"
"It's still meaningless."
Whoosh!
Black spatial ripples spread—
Urashiki was forcibly dragged back.
Whoosh!
But the very next instant—
He vanished again.
Another glowing paper crane fell.
"..."
Akira reversed time again.
The moment Urashiki reappeared—
Blink!
Another paper crane.
Whoosh! Blink! Whoosh! Blink! Whoosh! Blink! Whoosh! Blink!
They repeated this back and forth over a dozen times.
More than ten paper cranes piled up on the ground.
After Urashiki disappeared again—
Akira turned to Madara and Obito with an innocent smile.
"Well, that's troublesome."
"Because of time reversal, his ocular power consumption gets reset too."
"In theory, he can produce infinite paper cranes."
Madara & Obito: "..."
Akira unfroze a glass bottle from the Dōru Time Zone, swept the paper cranes into it, and froze it again.
Both of them thought at the same time:
You're not farming toys for Xiao Yue, are you?
Only Akira knew the answer.
Standing up, Akira turned serious.
"After repeated reversals, I confirmed something."
"After activating Paper Crane Blink, he can teleport anywhere within a fifty-kilometer radius."
"Right now, he's on an uninhabited island in the sea, eleven o'clock direction."
Madara said impatiently, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."
"No," Akira shook his head.
"That technique's cooldown isn't long."
"If we chase him directly, we'll just repeat this loop."
"A fifty-kilometer radius isn't that hard to deal with."
"We just need an attack that covers everything in that range."
Madara frowned.
"Fifty kilometers?!"
"Even Tengai Shinsei only affects about twenty kilometers, and that requires summoning meteors on the spot."
"Other than Ten-Tails jinchūriki, that's completely unrealistic."
Akira smiled faintly.
"Uncle Madara, make me a True Several Thousand Hands."
Smack!
Without hesitation, Madara pressed his palms together.
—Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands!
Rumble!
With earth-shaking thunder, the wooden Buddha rose from the ground.
Akira took a deep breath.
Both eyes lit up.
—Midoubanō: Ultimate Susanoo!
The silver giant fully stabilized.
In height, it nearly matched the seated True Several Thousand Hands.
Of course, if the Buddha stood up, that would be another story.
A true behemoth.
Madara and Obito sensed something big coming.
"This time, whose body are you using?"
—Twin Blossom!
Under Akira's robe, Konan's pale body shifted.
Her skin darkened slightly.
Her curves became fuller.
It transformed into the former Cloud Village secretary—
Mabui.
"Mabui's ability is Heavenly Transfer."
"She can send any object to a designated location at light speed."
Because the speed was literally light-speed, normal humans couldn't survive it.
Only monsters like the Raikage, or someone like Tsunade with Creation Rebirth, could endure it.
During the Fourth Shinobi War, the Fourth Raikage and Tsunade had been transported this way to Madara's battlefield.
Madara and Obito leaped from the Buddha's head to Susanoo's shoulders.
"What are you planning to do with Heavenly Transfer?"
Akira closed his eyes.
The Ultimate Susanoo raised its massive silver palms and formed seals.
"I'll use the Ultimate Susanoo as the anchor…"
"And drop True Several Thousand Hands onto his island at light speed."
"A mass like that, falling at light speed…"
"It'll create a shockwave with a hundred-kilometer radius."
"Even if he blinks again, he won't escape the impact."
"Even at fifty kilometers, the power may weaken…"
"But he'll still be crippled."
"I'll show Urashiki…"
"That in front of absolute power, all struggle is meaningless."
—Heavenly Transfer: Return the Buddha to the Hall!
Whoosh!
Glassy-white light enveloped the wooden colossus.
Boom!
The Buddha ascended.
The shockwave forced even the Ultimate Susanoo back several steps.
The cloud-filled sky cleared instantly.
Madara: "..."
Obito: "..."
Far offshore.
On an uninhabited island.
Urashiki stood on wave-lashed reefs, blue Rinnegan alert.
No time recall had come for a long while.
A flicker of hope rose in his heart.
"Did he give up?"
"Heh… figures."
"My escape skill is top-tier, after all."
Thousand-Night Swift Return—
The true name of Paper Crane Blink.
A pure instantaneous movement technique.
No trajectory.
Like Flying Thunder God.
But since it wasn't space-time ninjutsu, it couldn't cross dimensions.
Only within the same space.
Limited to fifty kilometers.
Its biggest advantage:
No markers.
Instant use.
"In a small place like Izumo's ruins, it's annoying…"
"But out here?"
"I can kite you all day!"
Buzz!
Suddenly—
A blinding light appeared on the horizon.
Urashiki squinted.
When he saw what lay inside the light—
His soul nearly left his body.
"Ruuuuuumble—!!!"
On the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire, massive shockwaves rolled in.
Madara and Obito stood firm, clothes whipping violently.
Akira reverted to his own body and walked between them.
"This technique is meant for long-range base destruction."
"It's not suitable for close combat."
"Cases like Urashiki are rare."
He didn't mention the upgraded version—
With Black Earth using Ultra-Weighted Rock, it could be six times stronger.
But that would devastate entire regions.
He usually avoided it.
"Let's go."
Whoosh!
Akira opened a space gate.
Urashiki floated on the turbulent sea.
Blood dyed his white robe and the water red.
When the Buddha descended, he had blinked fifty kilometers away.
But the tsunami-like impact still slammed into him like artillery.
Every bone shattered.
His organs ruptured.
Akira emerged.
"Run."
"Why aren't you running now?"
Urashiki twisted in hatred.
"Uchiha Akira, you—!"
Boom!
Madara stomped down from the sky, crushing his abdomen.
"Gahhh—!"
Blood burst from Urashiki's mouth.
Even his Rinnegan vanished.
With no escape left, fear seeped into his bones.
He finally broke.
Looking up at Madara with hollow eyes, he begged.
"P-Please… Lord Uchiha… don't kill me!"
Swish!
Madara summoned his Truth-Seeking Staff and pointed it at Urashiki's face.
Heh.
Too weak to fight—
So he ran back in time to bully children.
Cornered—
He abandoned even his dignity and begged humans.
Truly the shame of the Ōtsutsuki.
"Disgusting trash."
"Even killing you dirties my hands."
Madara lost interest.
Akira looked at Obito.
"You?"
Obito tapped his Six Paths staff on the sea.
"No."
"Forget it."
"Rin wouldn't be proud of me for killing trash like this."
"Fine."
Akira pulled Urashiki up with Universal Pull, holding him aloft.
He stared down coldly.
"Urashiki."
"I have a question."
"If you answer honestly, I might let you live a bit longer."
Urashiki forced a desperate smile.
"Y-Yes! Ask! I'll tell you anything I know!"
Akira asked bluntly:
"Back then, which Ōtsutsuki came with you to the Land of Kengetsu?"
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