Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha lacks motivation.

"henshin!"

Accompanied by a rhythmic electronic sound, a red and white fox head emblem lit up on Madara Uchiha's driver at his waist. A blinding light followed, and Hashirama Senju instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes, simultaneously imagining Madara's magnificent transformation.

As the rider of the Nine-Tails, the strongest tailed beast, one should at least be the coolest.

"Hot mom from Harbin, look at this! This is my brand new look!"

Before he could finish his fantasy, Madara Uchiha's slightly irritating voice reached Hashirama Senju's ears. Hashirama quickly opened his eyes, eager to see his best friend's transformed face, but what he saw left him utterly astonished.

"A motor? That's too much!"

"Hmph~ Just say you're envious. I'm not petty. I'll let you have a good look at me after we're done!"

No, your transformation isn't cool at all.

Hashirama Senju frowned as he looked Madara Uchiha up and down, who was entirely black except for a white fox mask on his head. Fearing the end of their friendship, he didn't dare voice his inner thoughts.

The Nine-Tailed Knight's simple form did not meet his expectations at all.

"Madara, have you ever looked in a mirror?"

Seeing the smug Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama used a very subtle way to remind him of his unremarkable reality. However, it was clear that his close friend didn't understand the underlying meaning. Instead, he stood with his hands on his hips, proudly displaying his dark-skinned body.

"Let's put the small talk aside for now, and move on to round three. Hot Mom Hasi, don't disappoint me!"

Feeling the continuous flow of tailed beast chakra within his body, Madara Uchiha, beneath his mask, wore a smug expression. Since becoming a tailed beast rider, all his stats had seen a leap forward.

Previously, when sparring with Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha had to keep his Sharingan active at all times to dodge the opponent's superhuman strength attacks. Now, with the protection of the armor, he no longer needs to fear any stomping punches or superhuman strength attacks.

"bring it on!"

Madara Uchiha's rising fighting spirit was visible to the naked eye, and Hashirama Senju, whose fighting desire had also been aroused, nodded slightly.

With the enhancement of Sage Mode, Hashirama Senju's perception was further amplified. Judging from the explosive aura contained within the opponent's body, this unassuming fox knight was not as simple as he had imagined. He then calmed down and dared not underestimate him in the slightest.

"One cough!"

Madara Uchiha, eager to try, assumed a forward-charging stance and vanished from his spot in the next instant. Hashirama Senju immediately raised his hand in a defensive posture, but unexpectedly, the ghostly figure of the opponent appeared behind him.

"Bang!"

Madara Uchiha's current movement speed far exceeds that of ordinary Body Flicker Technique, several times faster than before his transformation. Seeing Hashirama Senju's wide-open back, he didn't hesitate and delivered a powerful Kidney Explosion Punch to the man's most vulnerable area.

"Hmm"

While still searching for Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju suddenly felt a tremendous force coming from his lower back. For an ordinary ninja, taking such a punch would have been either fatal or severely injured.

But who is Hashirama Senju? He is currently the undisputed number one ninja in the world. How could he be defeated by a mere fist?

"Wow, that punch was pretty powerful!"

Contrary to Madara Uchiha's expectations, Hashirama Senju, who had taken the punch, remained completely still, like a towering Mount Tai, not budging an inch. Moreover, he turned his head, his eyes, adorned with the Sage's Mask, twitched slightly, his tone dripping with mockery.

"How is that possible?"

Upon seeing this, Madara Uchiha, who had just thrown a punch, immediately took a few steps back, looked down at his slightly numb fist, and was greatly puzzled. He had clearly tested it before, and this Knight's Fist could smash hard granite into pieces. Why was Hashirama Senju able to joke about him so casually after taking the punch?

"Interesting, continue!"

After reaching the peak of his strength, Hashirama Senju had never encountered anyone who could directly compete with him in taijutsu. Unexpectedly, Madara Uchiha, after his transformation, possessed monstrous strength comparable to his own. How could he not be overjoyed? He immediately swung his arms and charged forward.

An ordinary yet incredibly powerful straight punch swung down towards Madara Uchiha's face, the sand whipped up by the punch striking his visor with a piercing sound.

"Snap~ snap~ snap~"

In the past, Madara Uchiha would never have dared to take Hashirama Senju's deadly punch, but things are different now. The Knight System has given him inexplicable confidence.

He was determined to take that punch!

"Bang!"

With his arms crossed in front of him, Madara Uchiha took the brunt of Hashirama Senju's powerful punch in Sage Mode. The force of the impact sent him flying several meters, his feet carving deep furrows in the ground.

"Hoo~ Hahahaha!"

Even with smoke still rising from his arms, Madara Uchiha, who had successfully taken the punch, laughed wildly.

"Hey~ Not bad!"

Hashirama Senju, his interest piqued, pressed forward again before Madara Uchiha could even pull his foot out, his iron fists crackling with blue-purple chakra.

"puff!"

"Haxi Hot Mom, you're not me, I'm going to throw up~"

Just as Madara Uchiha was about to gloat after blocking another punch, another fist slammed into his abdomen. The powerful impact made him feel as if his internal organs had shifted, and he bent over, almost vomiting bile.

But Hashirama Senju didn't give Madara Uchiha a chance to breathe; his merciless iron fists rained down on him, overwhelming him.

"Clap clap clap clap~"

"Oh, this."

Just as Hashirama Senju was unilaterally beating up Madara Uchiha, the newly appointed knight, Gin Uchiha, drawn by the scent, landed on a nearby mountain peak. Although several miles away, his Byakugan allowed him to take in the entire scene.

"Tsk tsk tsk, this is just too tragic!"

Seeing his younger cousin, Uchiha Gin, being beaten senseless and his eyes gleaming blue, shaking his head with a hint of regret, he made no attempt to stop it.

Who told you to go head-to-head with Hashirama's Sage Mode from the prison as soon as you activated your base form? You'd better learn your lesson by getting a good beating.

Madara Uchiha, who was beaten to the point of being unable to fight back, still couldn't understand why, even though he had successfully transformed, he seemed to be weaker than when he hadn't transformed, except that his physique had become much stronger.

"Ora ora ora!"

Hashirama Senju was still dealing damage; he hadn't encountered a good punching bag like Madara Uchiha in a long time.

"Damn it. What on earth is going on?"

The pain in his body did not make Madara Uchiha feel ashamed, but the humiliation brought by this sense of powerlessness made him grit his teeth and wish he could dig a hole and bury himself.

"I already reminded him about the buckle, but this kid clearly ignored me. He deserved to get beaten up!"

Gin Uchiha glanced at Madara Uchiha's empty driver at his waist, scratched his head in frustration, and...

It's important to understand that a driver without a buckle is essentially a power limiter. Madara Uchiha subdued the Nine-Tails using brute force, so the fact that Kurama, now in his Kagura form, was able to spare a little for him to use for transformation was already a favor to the old man.

Madara Uchiha, after transforming, was so busy showing off his new skin to Hashirama Senju that he didn't immediately coerce the Nine-Tails, the giant fox, to use its power, which prevented him from unleashing the true strength of the Rider System.

"Thump!"

Madara Uchiha, having taken a vicious uppercut, plunged headfirst into the ground, while Hashirama Senju, the instigator, felt a warm sensation throughout his body, his meridians feeling more open.

"That was a really great warm-up, Mada, thank you!"

With a genuine, hearty smile on his face, Hashirama Senju stepped forward, grabbed Madara Uchiha's foot that was sticking out of the ground, and pulled him out of the soil, thanking him sincerely.

"How can this be repaired!"

When had the head of the Uchiha clan ever suffered such humiliation? Hanging upside down, Madara gritted his teeth and kicked Hashirama Senju. The latter, in pain, released his grip.

Landing steadily on the ground, Madara Uchiha's silver compound eyes showed a faint red tinge. After this humiliation, he deeply resented the Gokuba Knight System. It was all its fault for giving him such a powerful illusion, which led to his repeated embarrassment.

"What trash!"

An enraged Madara Uchiha grabbed the driver at his waist to remove it, but just then, he touched the slots on both sides of the driver and instantly remembered what his older cousin had said. A look of realization flashed in his eyes, and he began to look around for the briefcase he had thrown on the ground.

"Hey everyone, that's enough fun, time to go home!"

Easily crushing the transformed Uchiha Madara, Senju Hashirama looked up at the hazy moonlight and then spoke up to warn him.

If we don't go home soon, Momoka and Tobirama will get worried!

"Potato sack! I haven't lost yet!"

Having finally found the cheat code, Madara Uchiha swiftly picked up the briefcase from the ground, took the two empty buckles in his hands, and his tone was once again filled with fighting spirit. This reaction greatly puzzled Hashirama Senju.

"No, you've become addicted to getting beaten up?"

Hashirama Senju's eyes suddenly turned strange. Could it be that Madara has awakened some strange attribute?

"Enough with the chit-chat, our battle is only just beginning."

Ignoring Hashirama Senju's strange gaze, Madara Uchiha looked down at the empty buckle in his hand, recalling Gin Uchiha's explanation, and then tried to channel his most proficient Fire Release chakra into one of the buckles.

"Sizzle sizzle~"

A burst of red light appeared, and Madara Uchiha stared in surprise at the buckle, which had turned dark red. He could clearly sense the scorching heat emanating from the buckle.

"Let's try this one first!"

Holding the slightly hot red buckle, Madara Uchiha tossed aside another empty buckle, then, under Hashirama Senju's questioning gaze, snapped the red buckle into the slot on the right side of the driver.

"Hey hot mom, let me show you what a Uchiha with a fan-shaped fan really looks like!"

"Snap!"

"Set!"

Hashirama Senju looked at the red buckle in Madara Uchiha's hand, sensing the surging fire-style chakra within it, but he didn't understand what Madara wanted to do.

"Boost!"

"Ready to Fight!"

A piercing electronic sound rang out, and suddenly a set of fiery red armor appeared on the right side of Uchiha Madara's body.

"That is."

Before Hashirama Senju could take a closer look, a sharp red claw suddenly emerged from behind Madara Uchiha, grabbed the red armor, and pulled him over.

"Bang!"

As the scorching steam rose, the red armor was actually donned by Madara Uchiha.

"Get Ready For!"

"Whoosh~ Boom!"

"That's right, that's the power of a knight!"

Madara Uchiha felt the surging flames within him, his body trembling with excitement. If he had taken out the buckle earlier, he wouldn't have been beaten so badly and almost had his Dao heart shattered.

"Wow, wow, you look really cool in that outfit!"

Looking at Madara Uchiha's red armor, Hashirama Senju praised him from the bottom of his heart. Although it was only half a suit of armor, it was far superior to his previous all-black appearance.

"Hmph! You mean I'm all show and no substance?"

Madara Uchiha, who wouldn't listen to the old man's words, assumed a sprinting stance, the engine on his forearm roaring. Seeing this, Hashirama Senju's expression instantly turned serious.

"boom!"

With a thunderous roar, Madara Uchiha, his body steaming with scorching steam, transformed into a streak of red lightning and charged toward Hashirama Senju.

"Thump!"

Sensing the threat, Hashirama Senju immediately raised his hand and stomped his foot to block, but the next moment, a scorching fist slammed into his arm with a force comparable to that of a tailed beast's impact, finally sending the unyielding man flying.

"thump!"

Hashirama Senju, sent flying backward, tumbled several times in the air before landing on the ground. He looked down at the burning wound on his arm, a look of seriousness creeping into his eyes.

Madara Uchiha's punch was not only imbued with superhuman strength, but also with an extremely violent fire-style chakra enchantment, which would cause injury upon contact.

"Again!"

Now the roles were reversed, and Madara Uchiha, with his arms roaring, pressed his advantage, his fists blazing with fire, forcing the furrowed brows of Hashirama Senju to retreat step by step.

"Hey~ that's more like it, aren't you good at chugging? Use the thrusters to kill me!"

Uchiha Gin, who was watching the drama unfold, sat on a small wooden stool, leisurely munching on sunflower seeds. He couldn't stop smiling as he watched his younger cousin, in his thruster form, beat up the vegetable.

See this? I made this myself. It's more than enough to beat up the God of Ninjas.

"when!"

Hashirama Senju, who had blocked Madara Uchiha's fist with his gathered energy, became serious. Looking at the yellow compound eyes on the mask, he spoke.

"Motor, I'm getting serious!"

"Hassi Hot Mom, I never thought you were such a stubborn person."

Despite being utterly defeated and unable to retaliate, he still dared to spout nonsense. Madara Uchiha declared that he was ashamed to be associated with him.

"Bang!"

The next moment, Hashirama Senju's blue-purple fist slammed into Madara Uchiha's face, and Madara, in pain, felt as if his neck was about to break.

"You weren't even using your full strength just now?"

Astonished to see Hashirama Senju unleashing a tangible blue-purple aura, Madara Uchiha, feeling deceived, gritted his teeth and asked...

"Who would kill their brother?"

Relying on his monstrous strength unleashed at full power, Hashirama Senju easily brushed aside the stunned Madara Uchiha, then scratched the back of his head and laughed heartily.

Hashirama Senju had not yet fully mastered the Sage Mode, which could not be entered instantly. Worried about accidentally crippling Madara Uchiha, he never used his full strength.

"Damn it, that tone again! You're disrespecting me!"

The two had been sparring for so many years, and basically every time Madara Uchiha had the upper hand, he was barely defeated by Hashirama Senju, who suddenly "exploded". Now that I think about it, this honest and simple-minded vegetable was highly suspected of rigging the match.

"No, no, I'll fight you with all my might right now!"

Seeing that Madara Uchiha was really angry, Hashirama Senju quickly waved his hand in denial and said that he would go all out.

"Hmph! Come on!"

Telling himself to trust that long, straight black hair one more time, Madara Uchiha immediately assumed a fighting stance. The booming sound from his arms was still ear-piercing, but Hashirama Senju's eyes held a hint of consideration.

How much force should I use without damaging the motor?

"How dare you get distracted during battle!"

Seeing that Hashirama Senju was standing still and not moving, Madara Uchiha, feeling impatient, immediately launched an attack with zero frames, twisting the red buckle at his waist a few times.

"Boost Time!"

"Take this!"

Madara Uchiha's arms were revved to the point of near-explosion, producing a roar that could be clearly heard even by Gin Uchiha, who was several miles away.

"Boost Grand Strike!"

This was Madara Uchiha's all-out punch; he needed to show Hashirama Senju that he was no longer the same person he once was, and that he was qualified to become the new Hokage.

"Madara, you truly are the man I've chosen!"

As Hashirama Senju watched Madara Uchiha unleash his ultimate Knight's Fist, his eyes gleamed with a strange light. How much fun would the ninja world be missing without Madara?

"Sage Art: Super Strength Fist!"

If he didn't respond properly to this attack, Madara Uchiha might never talk to him again. Thinking of this, Hashirama Senju became extremely focused, mixing the natural energy of Sage Mode into his Super Strength Fist. The immense power generated was something that even he himself was slightly taken aback by.

The crimson lightning arrived as expected. Hashirama Senju, no longer able to think, met Madara Uchiha's Flame Knight Fist head-on with his diamond-hard fists.

"Bang!!!"

The sound suddenly stopped after their fists collided, as if they had simply bumped fists. But the next moment, a blinding light burst forth from the fists, followed by a visible shockwave that rapidly spread outwards.

Uchiha Gin, who was eating sunflower seeds, suddenly frowned, then quickly picked up the snacks on the ground. Immediately afterwards, a shockwave arrived as expected, blowing the surrounding trees to pieces.

As the shockwave receded, the two people who had been looking at each other blushed simultaneously, but not in a shy way; rather, it was an unhealthy crimson.

"Bang!"

The two flew backward in perfect unison, and unable to dissipate their force, they crashed straight to the ground, the immense impact creating two large craters in the solid ground.

"Cough cough cough, that punch was pretty good!"

Thanks to his abnormal physique, Hashirama Senju was the first to climb out of the crater, which was several meters deep. His Sage Mode mask had not disappeared, so he seemed to be in pretty good condition overall. He truly deserves to be called the No. 1 in the ninja world.

"Hot Mom from Harbin!"

Madara Uchiha wasn't in such a good state. The Uchiha clan's recovery ability wasn't strong, and in that exchange of blows, the bones in his forearm were shattered. Lying in the pit, panting heavily, he was completely powerless and could only call out his nemesis's name with great resentment.

"Sigh~ If my younger cousin had more time to familiarize himself with the Knight System, it would be hard to say who would emerge victorious!"

Looking at the incompetent and raging Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Gin felt a little regretful. His younger cousin's development of the Knight System was still too low. Relying solely on the two straps that he had generously sponsored was still too much of a stretch. If he could have a proper conversation with Kurama, he might be able to create a super cheat that Gin had never seen before.

"Never mind, I'm going home to sleep~"

Uchiha Gin's purpose in coming here was to prevent the scenario of one dying and one being crippled from repeating itself in the original story. However, it seems that his cousin's life is not in danger, so there is no need for him to continue OMO.

"Huh? What's that?"

Just as Uchiha Gin turned to leave, he suddenly sensed a familiar malice. Surprised, he turned back and saw Uchiha Madara walking unsteadily out of the pit with his head down.

battlefield

"Mada, are you alright?"

It was another classic illustration of Hashirama Senju's ultimate technique. With his head tilted, he looked at Madara Uchiha emerging from the pit and asked with concern.

"Mmm... I haven't lost yet!"

Madara Uchiha's tone suddenly became somewhat strange, which made Hashirama Senju, who knew him well, feel a sense of unfamiliarity.

"The battle is over. I'll take you back for treatment."

Unaware of what was happening, Hashirama Senju saw Madara Uchiha's drooping arm and realized it was completely broken, then spoke up.

"No. It's not over yet!"

Madara Uchiha, who had been bowing his head, suddenly raised it. His yellow compound eyes slowly turned a strange blue. He then slowly raised his other intact arm, opened his hand, and revealed a black and blue buckle that exuded an ominous aura.

"Holy crap! Where did that thing come from?"

Uchiha Gin, who was watching from the sidelines, nearly popped his Byakugan out of his head when he saw the buckle in his cousin's hand. He didn't remember ever handling such a small gadget, and that familiar scent...

Let's go back a few minutes.

Just now, Madara Uchiha, who was defeated by Hashirama Senju in a fistfight, was lying at the bottom of the pit contemplating life. Could it be that he could never defeat Hasi Hot Mom even if he spent his whole life trying?

"Human, do you desire power?"

Just then, he suddenly heard a muffled murmur in his ear. Thinking he was hallucinating, Madara Uchiha shook his head in confusion, but the voice was still there.

"Human, if you want to win, use this~"

"Thud!"

Madara Uchiha turned his head and saw a blank buckle emerging from the shadows. It was the very one he had casually tossed aside. Before he could think further, a faint blackish-blue light shone, and the buckle transformed into a heavy, eerie blackish-blue buckle.

Madara Uchiha, still puzzled, was instantly drawn to the buckle. Although he found it highly suspicious, a voice inside him kept telling him...

Pick it up.

After a struggle, the desire to win once again took over, so Madara Uchiha forced himself to sit up, took the strange buckle in his hand, and the moment he touched it, the darkness in his heart suddenly magnified, his mind became muddled, and he staggered out of the pit with a numb expression.

At this moment, Madara Uchiha had lost his true self.

Back to the present

"Set!"

Madara Uchiha remained silent, first removing the red buckle from his waist, then unfastening the black and blue buckle with one hand. Unexpectedly, it was a two-in-one buckle. He then fastened it to both sides of the driver, his movements methodical, like a emotionless robot.

"Blackout!" (End of Chapter)