Following his brother's order, though clearly unhappy about it, Uchiha Izuna activated his dōjutsu.
His chakra spread outward, probing for control.
He attempted to impose a genjutsu on the orange cat below, intending to manipulate it into making a harmless, misleading movement, perhaps knocking over a branch or reacting to a nonexistent stimulus.
Inside the cabin, Garfield felt it.
"Oh?" Garfield's eyes narrowed. "Interesting. This kid is trying to hijack my toy?"
A grin slowly spread across his face. "Heh. Fine. Let's play."
Under the combined scrutiny of Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, Uchiha Madara, and Uchiha Izuna, the fake orange cat finally reacted.
It slowly lifted its head.
Its eyes locked onto the four figures in the treetops.
Then… it tilted its head.
And calmly rotated its head one hundred and eighty degrees.
"…??"
Uchiha Madara frowned and glanced sideways at his brother. "Izuna… did you do that?"
Before Izuna could answer, Tobirama snapped irritably, "I told you to control it, not break it!"
"I~I didn't do that! I didn't tell it to tilt its head!" Izuna panicked.
Hashirama blinked. "…?"
"…?" Tobirama.
Madara's face darkened. "Idiot."
In one smooth motion, Madara grabbed Izuna by the collar and leapt off the tree.
Almost simultaneously, Hashirama and Tobirama sensed the shift and withdrew as well.
They had barely landed…
When the fake orange cat changed.
The tilted head split open at the jaw. Its body expanded violently, fur igniting as muscles surged outward.
In an instant, the harmless cat was replaced by a massive, flaming lion.
A torrent of fire erupted upward, engulfing the tree in an explosion of heat and sparks.
The four figures had already retreated.
Hashirama glanced back at the burning tree and let out a slow breath. "That was close."
"If I hadn't pulled back when I did…" Madara clicked his tongue.
Garfield, watching from within the cabin, was entirely unsurprised.
"A single trick wasn't going to land." He mused.
"If the First and Second Hokage, Madara, and Izuna all went down that easily, this world wouldn't be worth visiting."
The answer, clearly, was no.
"Where did that orange cat come from?" Madara turned to Hashirama.
Hashirama shrugged, patting Madara on the shoulder. "If I knew, do you think I'd still be asking you to help test it?"
"And despite all that flash, I still didn't sense any life force."
"It may be a puppet." Tobirama cut in sharply.
"…A puppet." Madara's expression grew serious.
After a brief pause, he went forward. "Then I'll meet it directly. Izuna, support me from the flank."
"Understood, brother." Izuna drew his blade immediately.
As Madara advanced, Tobirama moved instinctively to follow, but Hashirama stopped him with one hand.
"Watch from here," Hashirama said calmly.
Tobirama frowned. "Why does he get to go?"
Hashirama smiled faintly. In his mind, Madara's willingness to take the initiative was a promising sign.
Cooperation, even in confrontation, was still cooperation. Progress, no matter how awkward.
Tobirama glanced at his brother's inexplicably smug expression and felt a familiar headache forming.
He's thinking something stupid again, Tobirama thought.
Utterly speechless, he crossed his arms.
╮(╯_╰)╭
Uchiha Madara noticed Izuna moving in to support him and immediately grew bolder. His figure blurred as he closed the distance to the flaming lion in an instant.
Hands flew through seals at blinding speed. "Fire Release: Great Fireball!"
A massive fireball burst from Madara's mouth, arcing forward like a performer spitting flames.
Unfortunately for him, the target was a flaming lion. From Garfield's perspective, this was mildly amusing.
The lion's body was, at its core, nothing more than a transformed porcelain cup. Fire clung to it naturally, flames were part of its surface phenomenon, not a weakness.
Like reshaping a maggot into a snake does not grant it a snake's strength, transforming a cup into a lion does not suddenly make it vulnerable to heat.
Otherwise, there would be no difference between a warrior sculpted from dirt and one forged from steel, yet every mage knew why high-grade constructs existed.
Madara's fireball passed through harmlessly.
He disengaged immediately, hands forming seals once more.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame!"
Several roaring pillars of fire erupted from midair, crashing down toward the lion like descending guillotines.
Under Garfield's control, the flaming lion evaded.
Step.
Turn.
Shift.
By the narrowest margin, it slipped through the gaps, avoiding the technique entirely.
Madara seized the opening.
With a burst of speed, he reappeared beside the lion, blade flashing in a clean arc.
Cold steel cut through fire.
The flaming lion split cleanly in half. Madara landed smoothly and lifted his chin in triumph.
"Weak." He declared confidently.
Hashirama clapped enthusiastically. "Amazing!"
"Hmph." Tobirama crossed his arms, unimpressed.
"Brother, be careful. That was only a puppet."
Madara waved dismissively. "One puppet is nothing. I can handle two just as easily."
"…" Hashirama and Tobirama exchanged a glance, then, in perfect unison, pointed behind him.
"Madara… you really do have a bad luck mouth." Hashirama grinned.
"Brother, behind you!" Izuna shouted, alarmed.
Madara vanished in a flash of Shunshin.
Two sharp claws tore through the space he had occupied a heartbeat earlier, missing by inches.
He reappeared beside Izuna.
Two identical flaming lions stood before them.
Behind them, the original bisected lion had already vanished without a trace.
Madara frowned deeply.
When he had cut it down, he had felt no resistance. Then what were these?
"How did they form…?" Madara muttered.
Deciding not to engage in close combat again, he said firmly, "Izuna. Use ninjutsu."
"Yes, brother."
The two prepared to coordinate…
Inside the cabin, Garfield casually raised a paw and began chanting. The air rippled.
Two flaming lions became four.
Four became eight.
Eight doubled again, sixteen.
Then thirty-two.
Thirty-two blazing lions surrounded Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, Senju Hashirama, and Senju Tobirama in a tightening ring of fire.
꧁𓊈𒆜༺⚜༻𒆜𓊉꧂
Phantom your way through a treasure trove of chapters waiting on P@treon!
PhantomDream