Chapter 257: Return His Power Upon Him
The spread of that mass of flames was enormous, so vast it instantly engulfed Susanoo, towering like a mountain.
Yahiko was startled and turned his head.
He had already seen who had acted. That person was none other than Kakuzu.
While continuing to pour chakra into his target to strengthen his Fire Release, Kakuzu grumbled, "What a damn bastard…"
"I was working seriously and properly, yet suddenly my house and shop were destroyed, and even the boss willing to pay me was killed. That bastard!"
Hearing Kakuzu's words, Yahiko's eye twitched slightly.
So in other words, if it weren't for your work being disrupted, your boss being killed, and your shop destroyed, you really wouldn't have come out to help, would you?
"He's not that easy to deal with!"
Yahiko snapped back to his senses and warned in a low voice.
Just as he spoke, from within the flames, a colossal figure appeared once more before them—it was Uchiha Madara's Susanoo.
He was indeed unscathed, still standing loftily upon Susanoo's head.
But at this moment, Uchiha Madara's gaze was icy cold, and his expression even carried a trace of displeasure.
He was casting his eyes down at the Kakuzu who had just tried to ambush him.
"Your Fire Release is nothing more than that, and you dare show off in front of me?"
Madara was like a lion whose dignity had been offended. He suddenly turned and clapped his hands together: "Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
As his voice fell, flames far larger than Kakuzu's earlier jutsu instantly formed, blotting out the sky with searing heat.
That storm of fire came crashing down toward Kakuzu, Yahiko, and Uzumaki Nagato with unprecedented speed and destructive force.
Kakuzu's pupils shrank sharply.
Such a massive Fire Release attack—no matter how many legs he had, there was no way to dodge it.
He hurriedly formed hand seals to counter with Water Release.
But at that moment, he suddenly noticed the sea of flames before him beginning to dissipate. No, not dissipate—disappear.
Kakuzu immediately realized something and instinctively turned his head toward Yahiko. Sure enough, he saw Yahiko with arms extended, facing the flames.
Those flames were vanishing into his palms.
Clearly, Madara's Fire Release had been absorbed by Yahiko.
Witnessing such a scene, Kakuzu's pupils contracted slightly.
Very quickly, Yahiko absorbed all of Madara's ninjutsu. From high above, Madara could see the entire process clearly, and his gaze darkened.
"Sealing Technique Absorption, hm…"
Irritation flickered in his heart.
This was originally one of the powers of his Rinnegan, yet now two thieves were turning it against him.
"So what? You're nothing but ants!"
With a disdainful snort, Madara attacked again.
Two chakra black rods shot down like lightning, one aimed at Kakuzu, the other at Yahiko.
Fired from high above, looking up into the blinding sun created a "blind zone" in vision. Moreover, Madara had deliberately chosen an angle that made it difficult for those on the ground to see his strike.
As a result, Kakuzu failed to dodge in time and was struck instantly.
With a sickening sound, his body was pierced through, his chakra thrown into disorder, and he lost his fighting ability on the spot.
Yahiko's situation was much better.
Though he did not possess the Rinnegan, he still retained the ability to share vision with Nagato.
Thus he had seen the black rod incoming beforehand.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Yahiko easily repelled Madara's attack. While the two clashed, Nagato too had not been idle.
He created a shadow clone that quickly rushed to Susanoo's feet.
"Let me see if your chakra truly is limitless."
Without hesitation, Nagato's clone grabbed Susanoo's massive ankle and activated another ability of the Rinnegan—Chakra Absorption.
The strength of this power lay in directly devouring the target's chakra.
Sensing his chakra being rapidly drained, even Madara's expression grew grave.
"You've got a death wish!"
He struck mercilessly, swinging his blade down upon Nagato's shadow clone.
With a thunderous crash, the clone was cleaved in two.
Poof!
The shadow clone dispersed into smoke.
Madara didn't spare it a glance. He turned and controlled Susanoo to swing again, slashing down at Nagato's true body.
"A good chance!"
Yahiko spotted an opening and immediately mimicked Nagato's move. His own shadow clone leapt up, clutched Susanoo's thigh, and unleashed Chakra Absorption, greedily draining Madara's power.
Even after enduring this twice, Madara's towering chakra colossus showed no signs of shrinking or weakening.
This time, Madara didn't even bother to fight back. He simply folded his arms, watching Yahiko and Nagato below with an air of leisure.
"If you want my chakra so badly, then I'll let you gorge yourselves."
Madara sneered.
The Rinnegan was his own eye—he knew all too well the functions and limitations of its abilities.
Whether it was Sealing Technique Absorption or Chakra Absorption, both had flaws.
Take Chakra Absorption: it might appear invincible, but in truth there was a limit.
Once the user could no longer withstand the excess chakra, that seemingly powerful technique would become the very cause of their defeat.
When overloaded chakra lost control, those wielders wouldn't even need his hand— they would explode on their own.
"Enough, Yahiko!"
As a longtime Rinnegan user, Nagato had naturally studied its abilities thoroughly.
Seeing through Madara's ploy, he immediately called out to stop him.
Yahiko ceased absorbing Madara's chakra, only to be kicked away in an instant.
Fortunately, he was no ordinary shinobi. His strength had already surpassed Kage level.
Though the kick was immensely powerful, it wasn't fatal. In midair, Yahiko used the force of Shinra Tensei and Banshō Ten'in together, forming a field to stabilize himself.
Within moments, he regained balance and hovered in the air, then swiftly flew back to launch another counterattack at Madara.
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