To be honest, Raijin really didn't want to fight Uchiha Madara.
Because it was bound to lead nowhere.
Madara wasn't like the Three-Tails.
Crushing the Three-Tails would only take a brief moment.
It wouldn't even make much noise.
But Madara was different.
Even with the massive Tenseigan from the moon, Raijin wasn't at the point where he could deal with Uchiha Madara as easily as he could the Three-Tails.
On paper, Raijin's strength should have already surpassed Madara's.
After all, while Madara had the Rinnegan and the power of all creation (Shinra Bansho)...
However, the massive Tenseigan, formed by the combined power of countless Byakugan, surpasses Madara's Rinnegan in terms of raw energy.
But still...
Defeating Uchiha Madara in a single strike is something Uchiha Raijin simply cannot do.
It's completely impossible.
Especially since Madara can become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki at any moment.
Even though the current Ten-Tails has no tailed beasts within it.
If Madara isn't dealt with quickly, that mysterious ninja will appear.
Fighting two opponents at once and aiming for victory would be extremely difficult.
Raijin's struggles are mirrored by Madara's own challenges.
This is why Madara is trying to quietly take the Three-Tails.
In terms of intelligence-gathering, Madara, with the help of Zetsu, is unquestionably number one.
Raijin, who has access to the strength of the entire Konohagakure, ranks second.
The mysterious ninja, being too enigmatic, isn't ranked at all.
As a result, both Madara and Raijin are targeting the Three-Tails rather than each other.
Because of this shared goal, Raijin faces fewer obstacles compared to Madara.
Madara needs to seal the Three-Tails, whereas Raijin's goal is to kill it.
"Let's see how strong you've become," Madara said coldly, his gaze fixed on Uchiha Raijin.
The air around Raijin twisted immediately.
*Limbo: Border Jail!*
"Using the same jutsu repeatedly is pointless."
Raijin's Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan flared golden, and violet-gold energy erupted around him like flames.
An invisible repulsive force exploded outward from Raijin, scattering the unseen shadows summoned by Limbo: Border Jail.
At the same time, the sound of a blade being drawn echoed through the air.
The Kusanagi Sword and the Futsunomitama Sword flew toward Madara.
While Raijin countered the Limbo shadows, Madara wasn't idle either.
Forming hand signs, a huge cloud of smoke rose up.
A grotesque creature appeared before the Three-Tails.
Its body looked like withered wood, and ten spike-like protrusions jutted from its back.
"Roar!"
With a deafening cry, a chain shot out from the Gedo Statue's mouth, instantly wrapping around the Three-Tails.
In that moment, the Three-Tails felt its hope vanish.
Whether sealed inside a ninja or killed outright, it still had a chance.
But being absorbed by the Gedo Statue…
That was the end.
The Three-Tails began thrashing desperately.
But it was futile. The chains from the Gedo Statue were far more suppressive against tailed beasts than the Adamantine Sealing Chains of the Uzumaki Clan.
Raijin formed a hand seal, raising his fingers to his chest as golden light gathered around him.
The next moment, a brilliant golden slash, sharp as a blade, cut through the air.
*Golden Wheel Reincarnation Explosion!*
"Clang!"
With a crisp sound, the chain from the Gedo Statue shattered instantly.
Freed from its restraints, the Three-Tails scrambled desperately toward Raijin.
*Kill me!*
*Hurry! Now!*
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The sound of blades cutting through the air echoed as Madara sidestepped the incoming Kusanagi Sword and Futsunomitama Sword without hesitation, rushing directly toward Raijin.
Meanwhile, the shadows summoned by Limbo struck the Three-Tails again, rewrapping it in chains and dragging it back toward the Gedo Statue.
"Tch!"
Seeing this, Raijin's hands crackled with lightning.
To be honest, it had been a long time since he last used the Chidori Spear technique.
Developing this jutsu wasn't particularly challenging for him.
With the Thunderfruit granting him absolute mastery over lightning, creating the Chidori series of techniques was as effortless as lifting a cup to drink water.
His golden Mangekyou Sharingan spun wildly, activating the ocular power residing within his eyes.
Even though Uchiha Madara launched his attack first, Raijin managed to strike Madara before he could land his blow.
This is the terrifying power of dynamic vision! The Sharingan's strongest abilities, apart from casting Genjutsu, lie in its dynamic vision.
When dynamic vision reaches its peak, no one can evade Raijin's attacks—especially with Setsuna Eternal, which focuses solely on enhancing this ability.
After merging the Mangekyou Sharingan with the giant Tenseigan, Setsuna Eternal's power feels almost like time has stopped!
"Ding!"
As Raijin forced Madara back, his figure appeared instantly on the back of the Three-Tails.
Purple-gold lightning surged forth, wrapping around the Three-Tails in an instant.
"Roar!"
The Three-Tails, having only been revived for less than two hours, let out one final roar before vanishing completely.
Madara whipped around, his purple eyes filled with a heavy seriousness as he took in the scene before him.
So fast!
While he was angry at the sudden destruction of the Three-Tails, what shocked Madara even more was the speed Raijin had just displayed.
"It looks like I've won."
Raijin lifted his gaze toward Madara, smiling faintly as he spoke.
"That was truly a spectacular battle."
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice echoed.
Both Raijin and Madara turned their heads toward the source.
On a large tree, two masked figures had appeared at some point.
Who are they?
The same question ran through both Madara's and Raijin's minds.
"Madara-senpai, being surpassed by the younger generation must not feel great, huh?"
One of the masked figures spoke, their tone filled with mockery toward Madara.
"Seems like you're pretty confident in your abilities."
Madara narrowed his eyes slightly as he responded, his calm tone carrying an inherent pressure.
"We didn't come here to fight you. But, I wonder, Madara-senpai, are you interested in teaming up with us to take down this 'Thunder Blade Saint of Konohagakure'?"
The first masked figure glanced at the other, who had just provoked Madara, before speaking to him in a tone that carried a hint of respect.
Are the Sand Village's ninjas fools? Or have they simply lost their sense of caution after gaining some power?
"Not interested."
Madara's figure flickered and reappeared atop the Gedo Statue.
He controlled the statue to retreat a few steps as he spoke indifferently.
As someone who led the Uchiha Clan into countless battles during the Warring States Period, Madara was not the type to fight to the death just because someone looked at him the wrong way.
On the contrary, Madara was highly adaptable.
He could lie in wait for three days and nights in the bushes for the perfect ambush.
He could also strategically retreat in the face of a clearly stronger opponent.
If Madara were an overly arrogant and reckless individual, he wouldn't have survived this long, even with Indra's chakra.
Becoming a genius and then growing into a true powerhouse requires years of effort.
During this growth, it's not just strength that develops but also strategy and adaptability.
Thus, when faced with two strangers seeking to defeat Raijin through collaboration, Madara naturally declined their offer.
If they dared to kill Raijin today, they'd just as easily target him tomorrow.
Until Madara understood their true intentions and origins, he would never work with them.
Unless the collaboration clearly benefited him.
"I really don't know what's going on. The war was hard enough to end, but you guys just keep popping up one by one."
The Kusanagi Sword and Futsunomitama hovered around Raijin, with purple-golden flames burning fiercely.
The golden Mangekyou Sharingan fixed its gaze on the two unknown ninjas before him.
This is really... so annoying!
The Thunder Fruit is in my hands.
The chakra system is complete.
The permanent Senjutsu has been developed.
The internal conflicts within Konohagakure are mostly resolved.
And there won't be another war in the ninja world anytime soon.
What do you... want now?!
Can't I just have a few peaceful days? Do I really need to go out of my way to wipe out the Otsutsuki clan to truly settle down? Yes, Raijin had already figured out who these people were.
After ruling out all the impossibilities, the remaining answer, no matter how absurd, was the truth.
The highest achievement in the ninja world without a doubt was Uchiha Madara.
With the talent of an Uchiha, Madara had almost returned to the level of the Rikudou Sennin.
Given the resources of the ninja world, it was almost impossible for anyone to surpass Uchiha Madara.
Absorbing the giant Tenseigan from the moon is not something just anyone can do.
The difficulty far exceeds that of combining the Rinnegan.
After all, devouring the giant Tenseigan requires not only permanent Sage Mode but also the Ghost Breathing Technique modified by Senju Tobirama.
The only possible advancement would be if Otsutsuki Toneri managed to combine a high-purity Byakugan into a Tenseigan.
There are only these three ways to advance in the ninja world.
The second advancement method was developed by Raijin himself.
And whether it's that mysterious ninja or the two masked ninjas in front of him, they all have powers that rival or even surpass Uchiha Madara.
Of course, Raijin hadn't fought these two ninjas yet, but the fact that they dared appear before him meant they had confidence in their own abilities.
So, their base power level must be at least on par with the Six Paths.
But how could the ninja world have so many Six Paths-level strong people?
Although Raijin wasn't sure what happened after his crossing, he could now be almost certain that the people before him were closely tied to the Otsutsuki clan.
To be honest, Raijin was even a bit worried about that mysterious ninja going to Konohagakure to steal from his home.
The sky had unknowingly darkened.
Black thunderclouds began to move slowly, but at a pace visible to the naked eye.
Occasionally, lightning would flash across the sky, lighting up the faces of the four people present.
But now that they had met, and since Konohagakure hadn't used the Flying Thunder God Kunai Raijin left behind, he was sure he would fight them.
Even if it was just to gather some intelligence.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Two sounds of air being sliced rang out, and the Kusanagi Sword and Futsunomitama both shot toward the two masked ninjas.
"Cling!"
One of the ninjas extended his hand and casually swiped, knocking the Kusanagi Sword away.
The sharp Kusanagi Sword, which had fought in countless battles with Raijin over the years, was sent flying.
"This is..."
Raijin's eyes narrowed as he saw this. Iwagakure's Hardening Technique?
But how could a regular Hardening Technique have such power? On the other side, Futsunomitama's attack wasn't going smoothly either.
The reason Futsunomitama was named Futsunomitama was because it inherently possessed the power of thunder.
It can even help the user transform into lightning.
So, after being reforged, the sword was named the Raijin Blade because of its long blade.
Each strike of the Futsunomitama carries a very high voltage.
However, facing the Futsunomitama, the ninja simply raised his hand. A few strands of sand quietly appeared and easily controlled the Futsunomitama in midair.
Sand control from Sunagakure? Seeing this, Raijin's surprise quickly turned into a smile.
So...
"I see, it's a friend from Sunagakure and Iwagakure. What's this? Finally found a chance to resist?"
"As expected of Konohagakure's Thunder Sword Saint, Lord Raijin. You're as sharp as always."
Wuzhi, seeing this, didn't try to hide anything. He directly removed the mask from his face.
Actually, there was no need to hide anything.
After all, from now on, neither Sunagakure nor Iwagakure would be supplying resources to Konohagakure.
"Looks like you two really... have grown a lot."
Raijin sneered at the sight and extended his hand toward the two.
*Senjutsu: Divine Judgement!*
Golden-purple lightning struck the two instantly, enveloping them completely in just a moment.
"What an incredible improvement."
Seeing this, Uchiha Madara's eyes flickered with some surprise.
Did their eyes evolve, enhancing their overall strength?
Madara wasn't sure how they had managed it.
But these two ninjas seemed quite strong, as this terrifying lightning didn't seem to cause them too much harm.
Unknowingly, he had lost his grip on the world around him.
Why was that?
Madara's gaze showed some thought.
Could it be that these are enemies from the time of the Rikudou Sennin? But it didn't matter now, there were more pressing matters for Madara to deal with.
It was now clear that Raijin was tied up.
(End of chapter)
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