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

"boom!"

On the battlefield, two figures, one white and one black, moved swiftly, their fists and feet clashing, unleashing a devastating shockwave that annihilated the tall tree branches nourished by the Wood Release technique.

The strong winds acted as the perfect catalyst, and the raging fire spread at a visible speed, instantly igniting everything around it and forming a perfectly closed ring of fire.

The two fighters, in this newly formed arena, poured out their passion and energy in the duel.

"Thump!"

"Snapped!"

"Bang!"

The clone, who perfectly inherited Hashirama Senju's physique, fearlessly confronted Madara Uchiha, who was clad in the Extreme Fox Armor, with his flesh and blood. His fists, glowing with a ghostly blue light, rained down on the hard armor, and for a moment, deafening explosions resounded throughout the entire battlefield.

"Boom——"

Madara Uchiha, who had raised his arms to block, noticed the tiny cracks appearing on the surface of his gauntlets under the impact of Madara's Sage Art. A look of surprise flashed in his eyes beneath his visor.

Throughout his brief encounters with the clone, Madara Uchiha consistently held a degree of contempt for this artificial creation, displaying tactical and strategic disdain for it.

Unexpectedly, this imposter wasn't just all show; his strength was actually several levels greater than that of Hasi Hot Mom after her serious illness, probably around 60-70% of her peak level. Fighting him would be a little tricky.

With a flying kick to the clone's chest, Madara Uchiha used the momentum to flip backward, performing several somersaults in the air before landing steadily on the ground.

"He does indeed resemble him to some extent."

Shaking his numb arm, Madara Uchiha smirked. His long-dormant blood began to surge, and he raised his right hand to his chest. White light particles erupted, instantly solidifying into his accompanying weapon, a spear blade.

Swah—

With a flick of his wrist, gripping the hilt of the white spear, Madara Uchiha's cloak billowed without wind, white light particles spreading out like nine ornate tails. He transformed into a white lightning bolt, charging towards the clone who had raised its hand to block.

"bass!"

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The sharp short blade struck the clone's body, instantly spurting out sprays of blood. Watching the pillars of blood rise into the sky, Madara Uchiha, passing by, smirked coldly.

"What?!"

The next second, he saw out of the corner of his eye that white smoke was coming out of the deep, bone-revealing wound on the clone. The fatal wound had healed perfectly within a few breaths, leaving no scars.

Has it even inherited Muji's healing power?

Tobirama Senju, who was watching the battle from a short distance, also witnessed this scene, and his heart sank slightly.

If that's the case, such clones would be very difficult to kill unless their heads are severed in one blow. Even if they are cut in half, they might still regenerate.

"No, if we keep going like this, we'll lose."

Tobirama Senju frowned deeply. If the clone truly inherited all of his elder brother's strengths, Madara Uchiha might very well be caught off guard and worn down to death by the perpetual motion machine-like clone.

After a moment's thought, he suddenly stood up, pulled a kunai engraved with the Flying Thunder God seal from his ninja tool pouch, and his scarlet eyes gleamed as he searched for the right moment to strike.

He can't continue OMO here; he has to do something.

"White-haired guy, don't interfere. This is my fight."

Even from a distance, Madara Uchiha, empowered by the tailed beast's power, sensed Tobirama Senju's unusual movement. Seeing the kunai in Tobirama's hand, he immediately issued a cold warning.

"Don't throw a tantrum like a child."

"Shut up."

Unexpectedly, his good intentions were met with cold words from Madara Uchiha. Tobirama Senju was so angry that his eyes turned red, and he wished he could stab Madara in the buttocks and teleport him away from his anus.

"You'll regret this!"

"Bang!"

Madara Uchiha kicked the clone's raised arm, then turned and shouted at the furious Tobirama Senju.

"I am the Hokage!"

"I work from 8 AM!"

Meanwhile, just as Madara Uchiha was locked in fierce combat with his clone, a dark figure emerged from a cliff several miles away from the battlefield.

He peeked out in confusion, and after a moment, his dark face was filled with bewilderment.

"Weren't they on good terms? Why are they fighting again?"

Black Zetsu, a filial son who never gave up despite repeated defeats, secretly manipulated Madara Uchiha several times in the early days of Konoha by altering the contents of the ancestral stone tablet.

Unfortunately, due to the interference of a certain curly-haired person, all the pits he dug ended in failure.

Later, he tried to incite Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju to fight to the death, but unexpectedly he accidentally awakened a trace of consciousness within Indra's chakra, almost ruining everything.

After that, Black Zetsu became extremely cautious, no longer daring to secretly manipulate Madara Uchiha. He could only watch helplessly as the two reincarnated beings, who should have been mortal enemies, grew closer, making him so angry that he could only bite his handkerchief in frustration.

He could no longer count on this reincarnation; he could only place his hopes on the next one.

There couldn't possibly be a reincarnation more difficult to deal with than Madara Uchiha, right?

Therefore, he decided to disappear for a while to recuperate and outlive that wretched curly-haired guy, before returning to stir up trouble in the next reincarnation.

Having worked tirelessly day and night for so many years, even though Hei Jue wasn't human, he was exhausted. So he took this opportunity to sleep for a while, and that sleep lasted for several years. When he woke up, he came to the door with the intention of taking one last look, only to witness the scene before him.

Two reincarnated beings who have always been close are now fighting fiercely in this desolate place. Could it be that their mother has appeared in heaven and given them a chance to turn the tide?

"This is a golden opportunity!"

Black Zetsu's palms were sweating with excitement. His two beady eyes were fixed on the two locked in a fierce battle. His mind raced, trying to figure out how to help Madara Uchiha obtain the power of Ashura's reincarnation.

The power of Yin and Yang unites as one, creating the myriad phenomena of the universe.

That is the key to liberating Mother.

"No, that guy isn't the reincarnation of Ashura!"

But a moment later, he suddenly froze, and a human-like look of astonishment appeared on his face, which was sculpted from black clay.

The Senju Hashirama who fought Uchiha Madara did not have the spirit and energy that the reincarnation of Ashura should have in his memory. He had power but no Yang power that he longed for, and was like a puppet that could be manipulated by others.

"What exactly happened?"

The sudden turn of events made Black Zetsu question his existence. He had only been slacking off for a few years, so how did the sky suddenly fall when he woke up?

"Could it be that Ashura's reincarnation is already dead?"

Watching the two fighting to the death in the arena, Black Zetsu scratched his head in confusion. His earlier excitement had cooled considerably, and he glanced at Madara Uchiha with a hint of regret.

Without Asura, no matter how outstanding you are, you cannot become the pawn I want.

Black Zetsu's face was filled with regret at this moment. Madara Uchiha was the most talented reincarnation he had encountered in the past thousand years.

If one can successfully collect Ashura's power and perfectly fuse the two, one will be able to awaken the Rinnegan and become the best vessel to inherit the mother's power.

The emotions of the onlookers outside the stadium were in turmoil, while the situation inside was also constantly changing.

Madara Uchiha, who had been engaged in close combat with the clone, suddenly sensed something amiss.

"Crack!"

A crisp cracking sound rang in his ears. He looked down at the dense cracks that had appeared on the back of his hand armor, his brow furrowing slightly.

"Nine-Tails, what are you doing? How dare you slack off!"

Logically, the Knight Armor is essentially the embodiment of the Tailed Beast's cloak. As long as the Tailed Beast continuously provides chakra, the armor will remain in optimal condition, and even if it is damaged, it will recover instantly.

But now, his armor has become a battle-damaged version, which can only be explained by some annoying big fox shirking his duties.

"Huh? Don't slander me! I've been working hard to provide chakra!"

Feeling wronged by being reprimanded for no reason, Kurama, under the tyranny of Uchiha Madara, even if it had ten times the courage, would not dare to cheat at the crucial moment. From the very beginning of the battle, it had never stopped supplying power for even a second.

"I doubt you'd dare."

Sensing the fear in Kurama's words, Madara Uchiha temporarily chose to believe the great fox, though his brow remained furrowed with doubt.

Where did the tailed beast chakra that repaired the armor go?

As he pondered, his eyes unconsciously turned to the clone he was fighting.

Could it be him?

With a try-it-and-see attitude, Madara Uchiha once again leaped up and engaged the clone in combat, scrutinizing it with his Sharingan for any unexpected moves.

To his surprise, upon closer inspection, he discovered that each time the clone's fist struck him, it would steal a tiny, almost imperceptible amount of pure tailed beast chakra.

However, the two had been fighting fiercely for a long time, and Madara Uchiha had taken no less than a hundred punches. So, if you add up the chakra stolen by the clone, it would be a huge sum of money.

Good grief, so your basic attack comes with a built-in mana drain, huh?

Finally realizing what was happening, Madara Uchiha immediately swung his sword to deflect the clone's outstretched fists, then leaped back to create distance.

The latest novel is first published here!

"Have we been discovered?"

Seeing Madara Uchiha's sudden action, the clone that had been thrown aside actually showed a human-like look of annoyance. Its eyes, which had somehow gained a new sparkle, were filled with regret.

"You could talk?"

Madara Uchiha felt a slight unease upon hearing the familiar voice. He had initially assumed these clones were all emotionless mute beings.

"I knew a little before, but not much."

Faced with Madara Uchiha's questioning, this clone, who only knew how to attack, surprisingly spoke up and replied.

"But thanks to you, I know how to do it now."

During the battle with Madara Uchiha, Android 9 absorbed enough Nine-Tails chakra and, like most other clones, gained sentience, no longer being a rigid robot that only knew how to carry out its mission.

"Your goal is the Tailed Beasts?"

With Madara Uchiha's intelligence, he quickly gleaned some clues from the mutated clone's words.

"Sorry, there's no need to know so much about fertilizer."

A gentle smile appeared on Number Nine's face, a smile that sent shivers down Madara Uchiha's spine. For a moment, it was as if a long-lost friend had returned. But the words he spoke plunged Madara into an icy abyss.

"Don't make that expression with his face!"

That laugh made Madara Uchiha feel that his close friend had been insulted, and a surge of anger immediately rushed to his head, his anger rising instantly.

"Die!"

Driven by rage, his momentum surged even higher. He raised the gun blade in his hand, transforming into a streak of white light, sweeping towards the smiling Number Nine with unstoppable force.

"It's still a bit slow to use only two hands."

Number Nine clasped his hands together, and his aura surged several times over. Tobirama Senju, who was not far away, was shocked by this.

This clone was hiding its true abilities!

"Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands".

Rumbling--

The adorable wooden Arhat rose from the ground, raising the number nine, with its hands clasped together, to a height of tens of meters.

But that wasn't all. With a sudden, earth-shaking tremor, a colossal Guanyin statue, blotting out the sky, rose from the ground, its back supported by countless giant arms, creating an oppressive atmosphere that was suffocating.

"Glug~"

"This is."

The F6s, swaying violently from side to side during the earthquake, all swallowed hard as they looked at the enormous Buddha statue that stretched as far as the eye could see.

"This is beyond what a ninja could do, isn't it?"

At this moment, the Dao hearts of several geniuses shattered, and they began to doubt their professional lives, wondering if they were truly suited to continue being ninjas.

"Oh no, they can even use this move."

Tobirama Senju had no time to comfort his dejected disciples. He never expected that even his elder brother's life-risking escape technique could be replicated by this clone.

Without hesitation, he raised the Flying Thunder God kunai and hurled it towards the top of the Buddha's head. His entire body then transformed into a streak of blue lightning and vanished from the spot.

If he continues watching, Madara Uchiha is likely to die.

The ninth clone, standing atop the Buddha statue overlooking everything, subtly tilted its head, dodging a kunai that brushed past its face.

A flash of blue light, and Tobirama Senju, who had arrived using the Flying Thunder God Technique, wielded a long sword and slashed towards the opponent's neck.

"puff!"

Unfortunately, just a second before the sharp blade was about to sever the clone's throat, he was punched hard in the stomach.

"Ugh~"

The strange force entered his body, and Tobirama Senju felt a sweet taste in his throat. The intense pain almost made him suffocate, but fortunately, his body was miraculous, so he did not completely faint.

"Oh? Another one. You're not mine, are you?"

Looking down at Tobirama Senju, who had fled into the distance, clutching his stomach and dry heaving, the clone gently shook his head. But soon, he blinked in utter surprise.

"Where did you get the tailed beast chakra from?"

The fist that he had just struck Tobirama Senju in the abdomen was covered with a faint red glow. Although it was very thin, it was the real Nine-Tails chakra.

Puzzled, Number Nine decided to capture Tobirama Senju to investigate. He summoned several wooden branches from the top of the Buddha statue and swept them away, seemingly about to begin a bondage play.

"You white-haired idiot, don't come and cause trouble!"

At the critical moment, a white light flashed, and Uchiha Madara, wielding a spear blade, severed the wooden branch, grabbed Senju Tobirama, and quickly retreated. The two faced off on either side of the giant Buddha statue's head.

"Cough cough cough"

After coughing up the blood stuck in his throat, Tobirama Senju slowly stood up, took a step forward, and raised his hand to protect the bewildered Madara Uchiha.

"You go quickly, I'll cover your retreat." (End of Chapter)