"But if that's all you have," Madara's cold voice echoed slightly inside the Susanoo, "then prepare yourself for what's coming." He began to move, the blue spectral energy moving with him.
Choso didn't hesitate either. He leaped towards Madara, coating his fist in a thick layer of hardened blood, aiming a powerful punch.
But before the blow could land, a massive blue hand from Madara's Susanoo shot out with blinding speed. Choso had no time to defend.
The impact sent him flying backward like a ragdoll, smashing through the already damaged bathroom wall and into the corridor beyond. He coughed violently, spitting up blood, clearly injured.
Madara walked calmly towards the opening Choso had made, his Susanoo still shimmering around him. 'He's losing blood, yet he's still conscious,' Madara observed.
'Anyone else would be out cold by now. He can not only control blood but create it too? Interesting. The more I see of this world, the more curious it gets.'
Clenching his teeth against the pain, Choso struggled back to his feet. He brought his hands together again, fresh blood seeping from his fingertips.
"You should know by now," Madara stated flatly, "your pathetic techniques can't pierce my defense."
Choso ignored him and launched another Blood Piercing attack. But this time, as the crimson arrow neared Madara's Susanoo, it suddenly curved sharply, bending around the blue energy.
Madara's Mangekyo Sharingan instantly tracked its new path, it wasn't aimed at him anymore. It was heading straight for the injured Yuji Itadori lying behind him.
'Using your head now, are we?' Madara thought with a flicker of amusement. In less than a blink, he vanished from his spot and reappeared directly in front of Yuji, his Susanoo easily deflecting the blood arrow. Yuji was now safely inside the protective blue aura.
Madara glanced back towards where Choso had been standing, but the corridor was empty.
"He got away…" Madara muttered, then turned his attention to Yuji beside him within the Susanoo's protection. "Well, not for long. He'll likely be back for you, boy."
"Now, let's see about you," Madara looked down at Yuji's battered form. "Still hanging on? You're tougher than you look. Let's patch you up a bit."
He placed a hand glowing faintly with green chakra on Yuji's chest, applying basic medical ninjutsu.
While not his specialty, his control over chakra made even his rudimentary healing far beyond what ordinary medics could achieve.
….
Madara channeled the healing chakra into the unconscious boy. He was surprised; even as he applied the medical ninjutsu, he could sense Yuji's body already trying to recover at an unusual rate.
'This energy these people use… it's strange,' Madara thought, withdrawing his hand.
'He's healing quickly on his own, or perhaps the damage wasn't as severe as it looked? No, his condition suggests otherwise.'
He tried again to sense the nature of this power Yuji possessed but came up empty. It was completely alien to chakra.
Standing up, Madara looked away from Yuji towards the darker end of the corridor. "There are annoying bugs hiding nearby," he called out, his voice cold and clear, echoing slightly in the damaged space.
Silence answered him. The two presences he sensed didn't reveal themselves.
Madara's crimson eyes narrowed, fixed on the shadows. "I suggest you come out. I don't have the patience to wait, and I'd prefer not to resort to force."
Slowly, two figures emerged from the dimness into Madara's view. They were two young women, looking distinctly different from each other.
One girl, with long brownish hair tied back, wore lighter, looser clothing, a cardigan over a shirt and skirt. She held a mobile phone pointed warily towards Madara, her finger hovering over the screen.
The other girl had short, neat black hair and wore a dark sailor-style uniform. She clutched a strange, stitched-up doll with a noose around its neck in one hand. In her other hand, she held something small tightly, as if guarding it carefully.
"So," Madara said, keeping some distance, his eyes flicking between the phone, the doll, and the hidden object.
"Care to explain why you're here? I'm not in the mood to deal with children right now. Speak honestly, and quickly. My patience is wearing thin."
It was obvious the girl with the short black hair was holding something important; her fist was clenched tightly around it, as if afraid to drop it.
'Are they working for those curses I fought earlier? Or are they also after this boy?' Madara wondered.
'No, the others fled when I was blasted away; they wouldn't send weaklings like these. Perhaps they were sent to gather information on me instead.' He had asked them why they were here, but they remained silent.
"Still silent?" Madara murmured, stretching his shoulders slightly and cracking his knuckles. "I seem to attract stubborn children." He sighed inwardly. "I'll ask one last time. What do you want? Answer, or—"
"We don't want anything from you," the girl with the phone interrupted, her tone surprisingly bold, almost arrogant. She adjusted her grip on the phone, keeping it aimed at him. "We want Yuji Itadori. Hand him over."
'So they are after him too,' Madara thought, his eyes flicking between the recovering Yuji and the two girls demanding him.
'Is this boy someone important? Did I stumble onto someone central to whatever conflict is happening here just by a mere chance? Interesting.' Looking closer now, Madara noticed faint, unique markings just below Yuji Itadori's eyes.
"Why do you want him?" Madara asked calmly, ignoring her demanding tone. "I've spent valuable time saving him and patching him up. He's currently under my protection. You understand?"
"That's none of your business!" the phone girl snapped back. "Give us Itadori, and maybe we'll let you live."
A cold smile touched Madara's lips. "Oh? I don't mind you trying," he replied softly. One side of his dark hair shifted, revealing the spinning, intricate pattern of his Mangekyo Sharingan, radiating a chilling pressure.
"But I hope you have the strength to back up that threat. Otherwise, you'll just be joining the many others like you in the afterlife." The sheer arrogance amused him. If she'd said that in his era, it would have been a joke passed down for generations.
….
A/N: From my perspective Madara is a very very patient man. He spent decades in a cave alone to awaken rinnegan.