Chapter 253: Facing the Asura (Part 2)
Several kilometers away, Kayo stood on a cliff edge, watching from afar. The terrifying fluctuations caused by the Heavenly Transfer Technique bombardment had yet to fully subside. Birds, beasts, and even the wind fled outward, as if escaping some horrific existence at the center.
"Dana-Nii-san's aura is so strong! Is this Dana-Nii-san's full power...? But the person opposite him feels so strange... It's like two people fused together. Half decayed, half filled with chaotic vitality!!"
"Dana-Nii-san... you are a ninja... I won't stop you from fighting... so... you must win!"
Madara Uchiha heard the brat's arrogant declaration. There was no anger, no contempt.
He, Madara Uchiha! He appreciated any enemy with the guts to face him directly. This was the spirit of the Asura of the Ninja World.
Madara held the scythe in one hand and the Gunbai in the other, shouting, "Come! Brat!!! Let me see what you're capable of!"
Dana spun the staff condensed from Sage Lightning Chakra with one hand.
One rotation. The staff whirred, emitting a low hum.
Two rotations. The staff rested behind his back, thunder rolling continuously.
Three rotations. The thunderous power reached its peak. The staff flickered, extending upward and downward like a lightsaber, reaching over ten meters in length.
"Sage Lightning Art: Ruyi Thunder Staff!"
Dana twisted his body and swept horizontally. The ten-meter-long staff of storm light struck toward Madara with unparalleled force, moving so fast it looked like a sheet of light.
Madara grinned savagely. He held the Gunbai vertically, one hand gripping the handle, the other bracing the fan face. He took the hit head-on!
His feet slid an inch, but the fan, made of unknown material, didn't even crack.
"Good force! Brat!"
In the next instant, Madara's smile remained unchanged. He lowered his head slightly and vanished from his spot. When he reappeared, he was already right in front of Dana.
"Such a fast Body Flicker!"
Even with Dana's dynamic vision, there was a momentary blur. In his perception, Madara's Shunshin was no slower than Sakumo Hatake's!
"Then how about this!"
Born in the Warring States Period, Madara had galloped across the cruelest battlefields. Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, Genjutsu—all were his forte. His body, weapons, and ninja tools—all were his fangs and claws. He wasn't limited to any single method of attack. That was why he was called the "Dancing Rose of the Battlefield."
Dana's Ruyi Thunder Staff changed length at will. Once closed in on, the staff shrank rapidly, thrusting toward Madara like a spear.
Madara dropped to all fours, dodging the thunderous thrust. His pitch-black arms radiated immense power. Using his hands as an axis and his legs as blades, he swept at Dana's lower body.
But Dana's reaction speed was incredible. He jumped to dodge the sweep, a spiraling light already forming in his right hand.
"Sage Art: Great Thunder Rasengan!"
Facing a jutsu he had never seen before, Madara didn't panic. The Gunbai swept forward with a gale, blocking the Rasengan.
From behind the fan, Madara's ferocious grin appeared. "Uchiha... Return!!"
BOOM!
A terrifying wind blast erupted from the Gunbai, aimed straight at Yotsuki Dana. Even wearing the Sage Lightning Armor, Dana felt the gale tearing at his skin.
In an instant, Dana was blown away.
Mid-air, just as Dana was about to twist his body to recover, Madara appeared beside him.
He grabbed Dana's leg with both hands and laughed. "Careful now! Brat!"
Madara spun Dana violently in the air, then smashed him ruthlessly into the ground!
As he released his grip, several explosive tags, placed with the grace of an antelope hanging its horns, stuck seamlessly to Dana's back.
Dana crashed like a meteor, shattering the earth. As he struggled to get up, a series of violent explosions erupted on his back.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Yet Madara's offensive flowed like a surging river, ceaseless and relentless.
Before Dana could fully recover, he heard the voice from above again.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A monstrous sea of flames surged forward.
Yotsuki Dana was swallowed by the fire.
Fire. Endless fire poured from Madara Uchiha's mouth.
The entire earth was being scorched. It was hard to imagine this was just a normal Fire Release jutsu without any advanced energy enhancements.
Amidst the crack-crack of rocks splitting from the heat and the hiss of evaporating groundwater...
A voice spoke from within the inferno. "Sorry. I got a little too excited just now and performed poorly. It seems I'm still... too young and impetuous."
Inside the flames, a figure slowly stood up, hands clasped in prayer.
No technique, all power.
Surging Lightning Chakra poured from his fingertips, pushing back the power of the fire. Like Moses parting the Red Sea, the flames retreated before his hands.
"OPEN!"
Dana swept his hands outward, tearing apart the monstrous curtain of fire, revealing Madara Uchiha behind the wall of flames.
Madara's grin grew wider. "Not bad!"
In a flash, Dana appeared in front of Madara, punching toward his temple.
"But if you're not impetuous... can you call yourself young?! HAH?!"
Yotsuki Dana's fists became a blur of afterimages.
Eyes, ears, throat...
Armpits, chest, stomach, kidneys, groin...
Strike, flick, grab, pick, drill, pound, intercept...
Everything was a target.
In the span of inches, they executed the most ferocious offensive.
One move: An uppercut to the brow countered by a sweep to the ear.
Two moves: An elbow to the lower abdomen countered by a knee raise to stop the violence.
Three moves: A palm strike to the heart countered by a claw intercepting the fingers.
Four moves, five moves, six moves... In a blink, dozens of exchanges passed.
Madara grew more excited, more frenzied with every exchange.
"THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT!!!!"
"NOT OVER YET!"
Dana dropped low, sweeping at Madara's legs.
The change in tempo was so fast it surprised even Madara.
The strike connected. Madara lost his footing.
Dana's powerful arms wrapped around Madara's calf.
"GET DOWN!!"
Twisting his entire body, he slammed Madara into the ground like a sack of potatoes! The impact buried Madara deep into the earth, sending rocks flying.
"Taste this too!"
At this moment, they were practically face to face.
"Sage Art: Overclocked Thunder Severing Wave!!"
Lightning gathered in Dana's mouth. In moments, Madara would be decapitated.
At the critical moment...
"Wood Release: Wood Spikes Ring!"
Thick branches erupted from Madara's arm with lightning speed, knocking Dana away and attempting to entangle him.
Lightning flickered on Dana's body. The Sage Lightning Chakra clashed with the Wood Release power. Although a small portion was absorbed, the lightning shattered the wood.
But it wasn't over.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The entire earth trembled. Countless seeds seemed to sprout simultaneously. Vines and ancient roots churned the soil as massive trees shot up from the ground, charging toward Yotsuki Dana.
Dana dodged left and right. Relying on his super-speed, even within the "World of Trees" constructed by Madara, not a single leaf touched him. Neither thick trunks nor thin vines could graze him.
Madara didn't pursue. He stood still and said, "I knew it. A brat like you wouldn't be finished by a large-scale jutsu like this."
In the forest, the attacking wood and vines settled. The area, stripped to bedrock by the Heavenly Transfer bombardment, had become a forest once again thanks to the miracle of Wood Release.
However, the terrain was still lowered by tens of meters, becoming a "Forest in a Crater."
Madara paused his offensive. Out of respect, Dana didn't attack either, leaping to land in front of Madara.
Madara's white hair danced in the wind. He crossed his arms and looked at Dana, unable to hide the appreciation in his eyes.
"Brat, I like you more and more. I didn't expect that after Hashirama and me, the ninja world could produce a genius like you. Even with my decades of observing the world, you are worthy of the title 'Genius.' I'll give you a chance... Join me. Let us rebuild this ninja world together. In the new world I envision, there will surely be a place for you!!"
Dana replied calmly, "Although I have many things I could tell you—for example, about your 'New World'—I suddenly feel that I shouldn't."
Madara asked curiously, "What do you mean?"
Dana looked straight into Madara's eyes and spoke slowly:
"My Old Man always tells me that even he imagines what would happen if he died before every battle. For me, if I win the next fight, you die. I don't need to reveal anything to you. If I lose, I die. Then it's better for me to keep my mouth shut and let everything proceed according to the original trajectory. That way, the future you... will still be stopped by someone..."
If there is a Six Paths Madara who is guarding against Black Zetsu... who could possibly stop him?
"Although I don't think I'll lose... I'm starting to understand the Old Man's feeling. This kind of battle, putting life and death aside... is the most exhilarating. I really am a Cloud ninja after all..."
Madara frowned. "Is that a refusal? Truly an arrogant brat. Do you think you can see through the future?"
Yotsuki Dana waved his hand, condensing the Staff of Storm Light once again.
"I can't see the future clearly. But... I AM THE FUTURE!"
Madara snarled, "You should know that the current me is far from my prime. A battle of this level is just a game to me. Miss this chance, and you will be enemies with Madara Uchiha for eternity."
Dana stared back fearlessly. "Of course I know. You are a powerhouse running ahead on the path of the ninja. But... if there is a strong man on the road ahead, he is there to be conquered, not to be submitted to!"
"Sage Lightning Art: Takemikazuchi Drums!"
Five lightning drums, radiating dangerous energy, appeared behind Dana, floating up and down.
"Although it's an unfair victory, and you aren't in your prime... going all out is also a form of respect. Madara-senpai, please!"
Madara covered his eyes, battle lust boiling in his decayed body.
How many years had it been since he felt this way?
"Interesting... Interesting..."
The black liquid on his arms seemed to writhe, wanting to interfere.
Madara grabbed it, smoothing the restless black liquid down.
"Don't do anything unnecessary, Zetsu! THIS IS MY FIGHT!!"
In his sockets, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun frantically, blurring into a single red ring.
"Then let me, Madara, use the full power of this time and this body to show you what the Asura of the Ninja World is! BRAT! COME AGAIN!"
"Ah! With pleasure!"