"Better not. I have to decline your offer." Ryouma slowly drew Lostvayne from behind his back.
"Your so-called dream, peace, the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it was all given to you by someone else. If you had always insisted on unifying the shinobi world under Konoha, maybe I would've actually been convinced by you."
At least conquest is honest about its nature.
Madara's eyes narrowed, his expression turning serious. "How do you know about the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
The Infinite Tsukuyomi was something recorded on the Uchiha clan's stone tablet, passed down through generations. To read that part of the tablet, a regular Mangekyō Sharingan wasn't enough, only someone like him, with the Eternal Mangekyō, could decipher it. As far as he knew, the only current Uchiha suspected of having awakened the Mangekyō was Shisui.
Ryouma shook his head slightly. "How I found out isn't important. You saw it on the clan's stone tablet, didn't you? But that tablet has already been tampered with."
Madara wasn't someone who could be swayed with a few words. He sneered. "Heh, the Uchiha's tablet requires a specific type of dōjutsu to read. You don't even have a Sharingan, bold of you to speak ."
He then stepped forward. "Do you take me for a fool so easily manipulated by words? I, who have looked into the very depths of reality with these eyes?"
As expected, he won't be talked down.
Just as Ryouma had anticipated, Madara had been preparing for the Eye of the Moon Plan for decades. There was no way he'd be persuaded in just a few sentences.
Besides, he had no hard evidence. Looks like the only way to settle this was through combat.
"Then forgive my rudeness." he offered a formal half-bow, never taking his eyes off his opponent.
"At least you have manners before you die," Madara remarked with cold amusement.
Chidoryu Style, fully activated.
It was a technique of Ryouma's own creation, honored his father's final gift, the sword Lostvayne. This swordsmanship became his tribute to his father's legacy.
Born from his study of both the Chidori and theoretical knowledge of the Lightning Release Armor, Chidoryu took a fundamentally different approach. Rather than focusing on raw destructive power or simple body reinforcement, he used his exceptional chakra control to channel lightning nature chakra directly through his nervous system.
The innovation came from a simple observation: nerves already conduct electrical impulses naturally.
By carefully infusing lightning chakra into this existing network and skin, he could dramatically enhance his neural processing speed, reaction time, and sensory perception. The Rikugan provided the precise control needed to maintain this delicate balance, too little chakra would produce no effect, while too much would cause paralysis or worse.
Lightning erupted from his body, flowing like water rather than crackling like typical lightning.
With dazzling lightning at his back, he dashed forward, closing the gap to Madara in an instant. A flash of silver light streaked through the air.
The tomoe in Madara's eyes spun rapidly, morphing into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan that was uniquely his.
His powerful dynamic vision allowed him to see the incoming attack and sidestep the sharp strike. In the same motion, he launched a kick toward Ryouma's ribs, carrying enough force to shatter bone, aimed precisely at his solar plexus.
But Ryouma's Rikugan were not in the least intimidated by the Sharingan. With a swift push from his legs, he flipped backward, his body rotating, narrowly evading Madara's sweeping kick.
The moment he landed, he twisted his left wrist. Three Flying Thunder God kunai slipped between his fingers and were thrown straight at Madara in a triangular pattern.
Madara swiftly formed a hand sign. The summoning seal on his wrist glowed, and in two puffs of smoke, a scythe and a massive war fan appeared in his hands.
He swung his scythe with his left hand, deflecting all three kunai.
According to White Zetsu's reports, these special kunai were the mediums his enemy used for space-time movement.
After throwing the kunai, Ryouma immediately closed in again, this time slashing upward in a reverse diagonal cut, from lower left to upper right.
At the same time, he amplified the chakra flow in his Chidoryu, causing the lightning on Lostvayne to burst out even brighter.
Madara raised his war fan to block the blow, not only defending against the strike but also absorbing the lightning chakra, converting it into a fierce gust of wind, which he then fired back at Ryouma at close range.
Ryouma slashed Lostvayne across the fan and simultaneously activated a technique.
An invisible field expanded from his body, rewriting the very rules within. Before the raging wind blast even reached him, it was rebounded back toward Madara, gaining speed and intensity.
Madara brought his fan across his body and swept from left to right, dispersing the gale with one strong swing.
At the same time, he brought his scythe down toward Ryouma's neck.
Ryouma was equally fast. His left hand sparked with lightning that took tangible form, shooting out a long, white rope of lightning, wrapping itself around Madara's scythe.
"Lightning Release: Chidori Lightning Whip!"
Arcs of crackling lightning danced wildly, spreading from the scythe up toward Madara's arm, threatening to paralyze his entire nervous system with a single jolt.
Seeing this, he decisively let go of the weapon and leapt backward to create distance. As he moved, he formed a one-handed seal and expelled a massive stream of raging flames from his mouth, scorching countless trees as it surged toward Ryouma.
The Great Fire Annihilation lived up to its name, not just a stream of fire, but a roaring inferno that consumed oxygen so voraciously that the surrounding air was pulled toward it, creating its own wind current. Normally a wide-range B-rank Fire Release jutsu, in Madara's hands, it carried the overwhelming might of an S-rank technique.
Ryouma dispelled the Chidori Lightning Whip from his left hand and also began forming seals to counter the incoming technique.
A surge of water rose from beneath his feet, drawing moisture from the air and ground simultaneously. It formed a massive spherical wall of water that enveloped and protected him completely, the density and rotation calibrated precisely to counter the specific heat of Madara's flames.
The water sphere perfectly blocked Madara's full-screen firestorm. With one hand still weaving seals, Ryouma gathered chakra in his left palm, forming a large vortex of water.
With expert chakra control, the vortex rapidly changed form, stretching at both ends and transforming into a sleek, spear-like shape made of water. Though surrounded by a sea of flame, Ryouma's Rikugan remained unaffected in perception.
Timing his attack perfectly through the sea of flames, he stepped forward with his left foot, his body naturally twisted back to build momentum. Then, he launched the spear with full force at Madara, who was still maintaining the Great Fire Annihilation.
"Water Release: Hard Whirlpool Water Blade!"
The blazing sky of fire was pierced by a single massive water spear. Though made of water, it carried the sharpness and weight of solid steel, cutting through the flames like they were nothing more than paper.
Hm? That's Tobirama's technique… Madara's brows furrowed slightly.
He stopped the Great Fire Annihilation and, with a surge in his eye power, his half-body Susanoo reappeared on the battlefield.
Susanoo gripped its massive chakra broadsword in both hands and slashed forward in an X-shape, sending a powerful chakra blade to directly intercept the Hard Whirlpool Water Blade.
The two chakra constructs collided like real weapons, sparking intense metallic crashes.
After a brief stalemate, a massive explosion erupted from the point of impact, expanding outward in a shockwave that carved a crater over a hundred meters wide into the earth.
Steam and vapor shot into the sky, carrying remnants of water high above the battlefield.
Water droplets rained down from above, falling like a gentle shower that extinguished the remaining embers of the Great Fire Annihilation.
Now, Madara and Ryouma stood at opposite ends of the battlefield, facing one another.
Despite the fierce exchange, neither had gained a clear advantage, though Ryouma had managed to force Madara to abandon his scythe.
"Susanoo… This is my first time seeing the real thing." Ryouma couldn't help but comment, looking up at the towering chakra construct.
"Oh? So you've heard of its power." Madara wasn't surprised, after all, Ryouma had even mastered Tobirama's secret Water Release techniques. Knowing about the Mangekyō's abilities seemed natural.
Ryouma formed a one-handed seal. Chakra swirled behind him, forming nine glowing orbs, each radiating a gentle luminescence as they hovered in the air.
"Of course I've heard of it. But tell me, have you ever used the full-body Susanoo?" Ryouma asked with casual confidence, a slight smile playing at the corner of his lips.
Madara felt the young man before him was getting a little too arrogant.
"There was only one person in this world worthy of facing my full-body Susanoo, and that was Hashirama. If you want to see that power for yourself, then go ahead, dance for me."