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

The Silver and Gold Brothers, having removed their Lightning Armor, looked in surprise at the Leaf Village headband on Uchiha Madara's forehead upon hearing his seemingly genuine words. They then exchanged a glance.

Could he also be a pitiful person who was once harmed by that despicable white-haired Tobirama Senju?

That's really too much!

"Beanbag! Little Goldie, stay away from this guy!"

Just as Kinkaku was about to thank Uchiha Madara, whom he had never met before, the Eight-Tails, which had been lurking in his mind's eye, immediately shouted to stop him.

"Eighth Brother, what's wrong? Is there something wrong with him?"

Golden Horn frowned and asked the sweating bull demon,

"This is a huge problem. Take my advice and don't get involved with him."

The memory of being brutally beaten by Madara Uchiha in the sea was still vivid in his mind; Gyuki would rather die than have anything to do with that guy.

Moreover, Kurama once complained that Indra's consciousness chakra existed within Madara Uchiha's body, and that eccentric and wicked star was someone even Gyuki couldn't avoid.

"But."

"No buts, if you don't leave, I'll take over the account!"

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you~"

After a brief exchange with the demon in his mind, Kinkaku, regaining his senses, saw the growing impatience on Madara Uchiha's face and immediately shook his head, saying...

"Thank you for your kindness, but my brother and I have a personal grudge against Tobirama Senju, and we have no intention of involving innocent people."

Kinkaku's words, spoken neither humbly nor arrogantly, were perfectly flawless. After listening, Madara Uchiha looked at the Silver and Kinkaku brothers with slight surprise.

Unexpectedly, these two menacing-looking fellows turned out to be rare, upright individuals.

"I think they look down on you."

The Nine-Tails, lurking in a corner of Madara Uchiha's consciousness, saw that the Silver and Gold Brothers dared to refuse Madara and immediately jumped out to stir up trouble, its narrow eyes full of calculation.

It's time to avenge my defeat!

Nine-Tailed Fox's actions were undoubtedly a ploy to kill someone else, perfectly embodying the phrase "a fox borrowing the tiger's power."

"Shut up! Did I tell you to speak?"

"Waaaaah"

"You must be the Silver and Gold Brothers of Kumogakure. Your actions are quite different from what's said about you. I hope you won't disappoint me."

Since the other party refused his kindness, Madara Uchiha did not lower himself to force his help. Instead, he looked at the two muscular men with a scrutinizing gaze, spoke coldly, and his tone carried a certain implication.

"untie!"

Having said that, Madara Uchiha raised one hand, and the giant Susanoo began to dissipate. After the three landed steadily, Kinkaku and Ginkaku distanced themselves from him and began to look around.

After landing, Madara Uchiha opened his crimson eyes, his gaze sweeping over the group of knights who were on high alert. Finally, he raised his head, a bewitching pattern flashing in his eyes, his cold and obscure pupil power gathering, ready to be unleashed.

"I hate the feeling of being looked down upon."

"Oonoki, let's go down."

Floating in mid-air, Wu keenly sensed that he was enveloped by an invisible force. His brow, hidden beneath bandages, furrowed slightly. Now was not the time to clash with Uchiha Madara, so he spoke to his trembling disciple beside him.

"Pat~"

After the master and disciple landed on the ground, Madara Uchiha changed the pattern in his eyes to the basic three tomoe, but the intense aura emanating from him still enveloped everyone's hearts.

「1、2、3、4、5、6？.8。」

Before the invincible Sharingan, no tailed beast chakra could hide. After counting them one by one, Madara Uchiha discovered that one knight was missing.

"Didn't that bounty hunter show up?"

"Impossible! How could that greedy guy miss out on a chance like this?"

"Perhaps it's still on its way?"

With Madara Uchiha in charge, the tense atmosphere among the knights eased somewhat, and the knights went their separate ways, speculating about what the yet-to-arrive Kakuzu was doing.

"Forget it, he's just a cowardly coward."

Madara Uchiha and Kakuzu had met once before and had some understanding of his strength, so they didn't take the guy who cheated children out of their pocket money seriously.

"I heard there's a magnificent stage. Are you ready to dance?"

Turning his gaze to the location marked on the invitation, Madara Uchiha left a message, then leaped away and disappeared from everyone's sight.

The knights who remained watched Madara Uchiha depart, their brows furrowed in deep worry. With such a formidable enemy appearing, their chances of survival were slim.

unless

The four groups of people who had the same thought exchanged glances, but no matter what they said, they couldn't bring themselves to say they wanted to cooperate.

The Knights' War is not a war in the true sense of the word, but the ultimate test of the character and will of each knight. They are all the pride of their respective countries, and they have their own unique pride since they became famous.

"Hmph~ Bandaged man, don't you dare run away at the last minute later."

The first to speak was Hozuki Gengetsu. He glared at the pensive Mu, uttered some harsh words, and then left with the silent Katsura.

"Don't look so cowardly, Onoki!"

Still pondering a countermeasure against Madara Uchiha, Mu was pulled back to reality by his old rival's voice. Turning to look at Onoki, whose face was tense and whose entire body exuded tension, he sternly rebuked him.

Immersed in the terrifying shadow of Madara Uchiha, Onoki suddenly shuddered, recalling his grandfather's frequent teachings on the Will of Stone. He mustered his strength and replied loudly,

"yes!"

"Very good, very energetic!"

Wu nodded in satisfaction, and the master and disciple left the ground, quickly disappearing into the horizon.

"Brother, let's go too."

"Ginkaku, have you memorized Tobirama Senju's aura?"

"Remember, as soon as he appears within my perception range, I can lock onto him immediately."

The Two-Tails' exceptional sensory abilities are among the best of all the Tailed Beasts. Ginkaku perfectly inherited this attribute, and the moment he met Tobirama Senju, he etched the other's chakra aura into his mind.

"Well done!"

Because the two knew who was behind the match, the Silver and Gold Brothers didn't have much desire to win. In their view, nothing was more important than seeking revenge against Tobirama Senju.

"call"

After the Silver and Gold Brothers left, Shamen, who remained behind, let out a deep breath. The opponents who appeared were stronger than the last. Could he really win?

"Go, teacher! You're the ace!"

Chiyo, standing behind Shamon, seemed to sense the dejection emanating from her teacher and immediately stepped forward to offer her support.

"Thank you, Chiyo."

Hearing his disciple's encouragement, the monk was deeply moved, and at the same time, he encouraged himself.

Shamen, you are not fighting alone!

In the jungle not far from the border of the Land of Rain, Kakuzu, feeling out of sorts, slowly leaped between thick tree branches, his two increasingly emerald green eyes revealing a deep sense of helplessness.

As the only free knight, Kakuzu had no desire to participate in this so-called knightly war. Fighting those lunatics was simply the most thankless and exhausting thing to do. He would rather spend his time catching a few wanted criminals.

He now spends millions of taels of silver every minute, but by spending time participating in competitions, he has directly lost hundreds of millions.

"Stop complaining. You know what that guy is capable of. He might kick you into a dummy too."

The Seven-Tails tried to persuade Kakuzu within his consciousness. It didn't really want to participate, but Uchiha Gin's intimidating presence was too strong, so it had to come even if it meant gritting its teeth.

"Sigh~ I'm all alone, how am I supposed to fight against those guys? Can't I just go on the field and get straight to the point?"

Kakuzu was quite self-aware; he knew that none of the knights were simple characters. Although he was a veteran knight, the younger generation was constantly surpassing him, and those guys were just as good at completing missions as he was, and their strength was naturally considerable.

"Crunch~"

"Who is it?"

Just as Kakuzu was sighing, the sound of footsteps suddenly coming from not far behind him instantly alerted him, and his hands instinctively reached for his waist.

"Divine Lord! Hurry, Senior Sword!"

A gentle yet vibrant female voice rang out, and Kakuzu frowned upon hearing it; he vaguely felt he had heard this voice somewhere before.

"Mako, you run too fast~"

Another panting male voice followed closely behind. As the two figures appeared, Kakuzu slowly withdrew his large hand from his waist.

"Why are you here?"

Kakuzu looked at the simply dressed couple in front of him with a puzzled expression. He remembered that these two had changed their names and become unknown small-town heroes.

"Senior Sword, it's been a long time. I came here after receiving an invitation."

With a serene expression and a friendly smile, Mako took out a gold-edged envelope from her bag as she spoke.

"I see."

Upon seeing the invitation, Kakuzu suddenly realized that Kakuzu had not only invited the Tailed Beast Riders.

"Since you're also here to participate in the competition, why don't we form an alliance? That way, we can look out for each other."

Kakuzu, who was feeling lonely and isolated, saw that Mako was very easy to fool, and with a glint in his eye, he sent out a team invitation in a serious tone.

"OK!"

"etc!"

Mako agreed without hesitation, but Shinka, who was following behind her, immediately jumped out.

"Ordinary people should not interfere in our conversations as knights."

Kakuzu frowned slightly. Couldn't this guy just stop causing trouble? It was because of him that he lost 3500 million.

"I always feel like you have some ulterior motive."

"My Lord, Senior Sword isn't that kind of person, is he?"

Seeing her husband doubt Kakuzu's character, Mako immediately retorted, but then, recalling his past act of fraudulently claiming missions, she became hesitant.

"That kind of person? What kind of person? I, Kakuzu, have dominated the ninja world for so many years, what have I relied on? I've relied on nothing but integrity!"

Unexpectedly, Kakuzu, a dignified hunter-knight, was looked down upon by these two rustic villagers, and he was immediately furious.

"Then, Senior Sword, what is your wish after your victory?"

Mako bit her lip, a glint in her eyes, and looked at the enraged Kakuzu, asking softly,

"desire?"

The topic changed a bit too quickly, and Kakuzu wasn't quite there to react at first. After a brief moment of bewilderment, a hint of confusion in his eyes, he replied,

"My wish is probably... money?"

"If I can pay enough money, could Senior Sword grant me the chance to make a wish?"

"ha?"

These words left Kakuzu completely bewildered; his bright blue eyes fell upon Mako's pleading face.

"The price for hiring me is very high."

"No problem! I'm willing to pay any amount of money to save my child!"

Kakuzu's words were tantamount to agreeing to Mako's request. She happily wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, gently stroking her slightly protruding belly, radiating maternal glow.

They're just kids.

Some things don't need to be explained in detail; intelligent people can guess the reasons behind them, and Kakuzu happens to be one of those people.

Without asking further questions, Kakuzu turned his head, his voice hoarse yet reassuring.

"Let's go, it's almost time."

As the last two knights entered the Land of Rain, Uchiha Gin, who was diligently decorating the stage, looked up as if sensing something.

"Finally everyone's here! I thought the prisoners would all forfeit!"

Boom!

After placing the stone plaque inscribed with the words "First Knights' War" at the entrance of the stage, Uchiha Gin, in his Tenseigan mode, patted it and nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the competition venue he had meticulously arranged.

This 1:10 scale replica of the Cell Games stage is spacious enough to accommodate ten knights competing on the same stage.

"Are they here?"

Sensing a rapidly approaching presence from not far away, Uchiha Gin, standing on the stage, narrowed his eyes, his blue pupils turning crimson once more.

As a pyramid-shaped triangular pattern appeared in one of his eyes, a hole was torn open in the void above Uchiha Gin's head, and the driver of the avatar of the Mirage fell out.

Skillfully catching the driver, Uchiha Gin pressed it to his waist and whispered,

"henshin!"

"Thump!"

Madara Uchiha descended from the sky and landed steadily on a huge island that stood out abruptly in the inland lake. His cold, crimson eyes were immediately drawn to the familiar figure sitting on a square stone pillar protruding from the center of the island.

"Sasipuli~ I thought you weren't coming."

After special processing, the voice coming from under the Uchiha silver mask was transformed into a slightly mocking middle-aged male voice, the kind that sounded extremely irritating.

"Enough with the nonsense, can you even cure illnesses?"

If Hashirama Senju hadn't suddenly fallen into a coma and been diagnosed with not having much time left, Madara Uchiha wouldn't have participated in such a minor, little-known tournament.

"Heh, as long as there's still a breath left, I can bring them back to life."

Actually, what Uchiha Gin said was a bit conservative, but he was worried that Uchiha Madara would think he was bragging, so he deliberately downplayed his own abilities.

"If you dare to lie to me, I'll kill your whole family!"

Tsk! What's wrong with my cousin these days? He keeps threatening to kill his whole family. Doesn't he know the ninja world is that small? If you look back at the names of people with surnames, you might find they're all family.

"clatter!"

"Tap! Tap!"

Just as Madara Uchiha and Gin Uchiha were exchanging words, several more figures landed on the stage. They first curiously looked at the spacious and tidy island in the lake, and then stared at the blue and red knights sitting cross-legged on the square stone pillar with tense expressions.

The most mysterious of the knights, Decade, is the creator of all the tailed beast knights. In the eyes of these people, he is no different from a creator.

Even the usually irritable tailed beasts became incredibly docile in front of Uchiha Gin, keeping their heads down in silence, afraid that this guy would target them.

"Sorry we're late~"

Just as the atmosphere became somewhat tense, three figures arrived late, attracting everyone's attention. The cloaked Kakuzu landed first, followed by a middle-aged man and woman who were complete strangers to them.

"I never expected that Sword, the Lone Ranger Hunter, would also seek help, but..."

The naturally talkative Hozuki Gengetsu couldn't hold back when he saw Kakuzu appear. He was the first to step forward and make a sarcastic remark, his disdain clearly visible as he glanced at the ordinary-looking couple.

"Hmph~"

Kakuzu is no less capable than Hozuki Gengetsu. The two occasionally meet during missions and have had several conflicts, but due to their respective concerns, they never determine who is superior, so their relationship is not very good.

It should be said that Kakuzu's relationship with all the Tailed Beast Riders present was not very good. After all, they were business rivals, so it was impossible for them to greet each other with smiles.

"Slap~ Slap~ Slap~"

Just as Hozuki Gengetsu and Kakuzu were locked in a fierce confrontation, Uchiha Gin, who was sitting in the very center, lightly clapped his hands and jumped off the stone pier. His rose-red compound eyes exuded a subtle yet intimidating power, instantly silencing the two of them.

"Now that everyone is here, I will announce the rules of the competition."

All the knights held their breath and listened intently.

"This year's Knights Battle, also known as the Desire Grand Prix, is a free-for-all tournament. Team formation is discouraged but not prohibited; everyone can rely on their own skills."

Uchiha Gin knew that even if he stipulated individual battles, some of these knights would definitely form teams in private, so he simply loosened the restrictions and let them form gangs as they pleased. In any case, the temporary teams would eventually fall apart under the lure of the prizes.

"What constitutes being eliminated?"

Wu, who was more meticulous, raised his hand and asked,

"If a knight is defeated and forced to de-transform, they are eliminated. Of course, if they are unfortunately killed, they can only accept their bad luck."

"Um, I wanted to ask, is the prize real?"

Amidst the astonished gazes of the crowd, the silent Mako walked up to Uchiha Gin, bit her lip, and asked,

"Who exactly is that woman?"

Despite not being a knight, she asked such a question. Who exactly is this woman? The puzzled group turned their gaze to Kakuzu, who had come with her.

"Intelligence fee: 3500 million taels."

"roll!"

Kakuzu's attitude clearly indicated that he didn't want to admit he was playing them, but the group had actually wronged him. He simply wanted to take this opportunity to reclaim the bounty he had lost years ago.

"It's true!"

"Thanks!"

Mako could sense the sincerity in Uchiha Gin's tone, and a smile returned to her tense face. Uchiha Madara, who had been silently observing everything, looked at her with a hint of amusement.

This woman actually came too.

"Hmph~"

However, Madara Uchiha was not afraid of this suddenly appearing hidden opponent. With the strongest tailed beast, he was the one who could defeat him quickly.

Seven figures stood silently on the water not far from the island, observing the situation on the island from afar.

"Mirror, can you see clearly?"

Senju Tobirama, his face somewhat pale, stood in the middle of the group. His blue armor had several visible cracks on the chest. Although he had managed to escape using the Flying Thunder God Technique, he had still been injured by the punches of the Silver and Gold Brothers, and his internal organs were in excruciating pain.

"Besides the Tailed Beast Riders, there are also a few ordinary people."

With bloodshot eyes, Uchiha Kagami turned his head. He had just used his Sharingan's superhuman vision to survey the entire island, even counting the number of bricks.

"Ordinary people? Teacher, does that mean we can go up there too?"

Upon hearing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised an eyebrow in surprise. If ordinary people could also participate, then Madara Uchiha, who had a seven-person support team, would be almost certain to win.

"Wait a little longer and observe how things develop."

Faced with his disciple's suggestion, Tobirama Senju was somewhat tempted, after all, they had the numbers. However, when he thought of those two muscular men filled with hatred, he felt that he should not be too rash, so he ordered the others to wait where they were.

"Excuse me, may we stay and help out?"

Seeing that Uchiha Gin had finished explaining the competition rules, Chiyo, unable to contain herself, quickly raised her small hand, her beautiful eyes filled with nervousness.

"Oh? If it's as a cheerleader, then it's not that you can't stay."

Uchiha Gin turned his head, looking at his niece whom he hadn't seen for several years. A faint smile appeared on his lips beneath his mask. "It's been years," he thought, "and the wrinkles on your face have only deepened."

"That's fine then!"

Chiyo's eyes lit up. Although her strength was slightly inferior to that of the knights, she had the advantage of having more puppets with her, which allowed her to use a human wave tactic to create opportunities for Shamon.

"You're overthinking it. There are special viewing seats over there, with plenty of snacks and drinks. Just go and watch the show!"

Faced with his eager niece, Uchiha Gin waved his hand, and Chiyo instinctively felt herself enveloped by an invisible force, her body involuntarily rising into the air.

"Ahhh~"

Chiyo, who had never experienced anything like this before, danced with astonishment in the air. Uchiha Gin, without any hesitation, tossed her directly into the pre-prepared spectator seats.

"Thump!"

"Ouch~"

Clutching her aching bottom and with a bitter expression, Chiyo got up. Looking at her teacher, who stood alone not far away, she could only silently choose to continue supporting him by offering her voice.

"You love me~ I love you~"

"Honey x Ice City Sweet Honey~"

"ha?"

Before she could even grieve for Shamon's lone struggle, Chiyo was faced with the choice of what to eat next.

"Is it that expensive?"

Chiyo's brows twitched as she looked at the small cart that suddenly appeared out of place in the stands. The prices of the goods on that cart were simply outrageous!

【Magic Tower Crispy Cone 200 taels】

【600 taels of chilled lemonade】

Taro Boba Milk Tea (800 taels)

Faced with Chiyo's probing questions, the white snowman pushing the cart revealed a憨厚 (honest and simple) smile.

"Okay~"

Faced with such an adorable white snowman, Chiyo gritted her teeth, took out a 1000-ryo note from her small purse, and reluctantly handed it to the endearing Snow King.

I hope I can get reimbursed when I get back.

"A glass of lemonade and two crispy cones, please~"

With a smile, Yuki-oh took the banknotes, then pulled out a huge megaphone and, to Chiyo's puzzled look, blasted a loud sound that could be heard throughout the entire venue.

"Welcome, Miss, to your first lemonade of summer, paid in full!"

Huh? No wonder it's so expensive~ (End of Chapter)