---Ryouma's POV---
At this moment, I followed behind Tobi like a stalker.
In my heart, I was analyzing what cards Madara currently held.
Susanoo, he could definitely use it. Although it was unlikely to be the Complete Body form, the half-body humanoid stage was almost certainly within his grasp.
The chakra cost of maintaining even a partial Susanoo in his weakened state would be substantial. He won't be able to sustain it for more than a few minutes.
Other techniques that could pose a threat to me included the black receivers created through Yin-Yang Release, and the Wood Release stolen from the First Hokage.
The black receivers were problematic, they could disrupt my chakra flow if they penetrate deeply enough. I'll need to maintain constant awareness of their trajectory.
Oh, and there was one more, the most dangerous one of all: the Uchiha clan's secret technique, Izanagi.
Even if I landed a killing blow, he could simply rewrite that outcome.
Although memories from my previous life told me that he currently only had one Sharingan with three tomoe, to be fair, it didn't necessarily mean the other eye socket was empty.
He could have implanted another eye, not his original, but perhaps one harvested from the clan before his departure.
By calculating all this, I realized that this old Madara still had quite a few cards up his sleeve.
But if it was just these, I was still confident I could handle them.
At this point, he hadn't yet handed his body over to Black Zetsu. Just relying on persuasion alone wouldn't convince him to abandon the message passed down through generations of the Uchiha clan, etched into the clan's ancestral stone tablet.
So I had no intention of talking Madara down.
Right now, the situation was: the enemy was in the light, while I remain hidden in the dark. Madara thought I wasn't even aware of his existence, so there would only be one chance. If this failed, he would definitely hide all his tracks and never again expose his real self to me.
I couldn't afford to let him retreat to the shadows.
Therefore, this time, I had to strike with overwhelming speed and power. I wouldn't give him even a moment to catch his breath. Once this biggest current threat was dealt with, I would have a long window to grow and develop.
---Third POV---
In a dim underground space, water dripped from stalactites, creating rhythmic echoes throughout the cavernous chamber.
Madara suddenly opened his eyes on the stone chair, and a powerful wave of chakra rippled outward. The sudden movement startled the spiky White Zetsu nearby.
"What happened, Madara-sama?"
Madara frowned slightly, displeased. "That idiot led the enemy here."
He suddenly began to wonder if he had been too indulgent toward that special White Zetsu.
"Should I just…"
Forget it. After all, he was made from Hashirama cells. It would be strange if he weren't a bit slow in the head.
Madara suppressed the urge to clean house himself and instead started thinking about how to respond. The opponent's chakra was very strong, though not on Hashirama's level, still nothing to scoff at. Then, it suddenly became so faint that he nearly missed it. This trace of chakra, however, always remained near Tobi, suggesting the person was skillfully suppressing their presence.
Logically, there shouldn't be any ninja in the Land of Water with chakra of this magnitude.
He shared the chakra aura with the spiky White Zetsu.
True to his reputation as the top intelligence expert in the shinobi world, White Zetsu immediately recognized the chakra's owner and exclaimed in surprise, "It's Aotsuki Ryouma."
Hearing this, Madara burst into laughter.
"Hahaha… cough, cough…"
The laughter devolved into a painful coughing fit, blood speckling the hand he raised to his mouth.
"Madara-sama, you shouldn't exert yourself," White Zetsu cautioned. He gave Madara a look full of sympathy, the kind reserved for the elderly.
"That expression... save it for when I'm actually dying," Madara caught the look, his voice sharp.
He formed a hand seal. Behind him, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path began twitching, then extended a branch. Hanging from it was a White Zetsu wrapped in bandages.
The spiky White Zetsu immediately understood Madara's plan.
This White Zetsu was a specially-prepared sacrificial material. Through it, Madara could use a power granted by his Rinnegan in the past.
Shapeshifting Technique.
This technique would allow him to project most of his power onto the sacrifice.
But it had its drawbacks. The chakra that could be stored in this cloned body was limited. Even an excellent sacrificial body like this special White Zetsu could only bear about 50% of his chakra.
Also, it couldn't contain the power of the Rinnegan that he awakened in his old age.
Controlling the Demonic Statue to lower the special White Zetsu to the ground, Madara began forming hand seals at lightning speed.
His fingers moved with practiced precision, each seal perfect despite his physical frailty. The air around him charged with potent chakra, creating visible distortions.
Dust and debris on the ground rose up and clung to the White Zetsu's body. In the end, a figure took shape.
The pale, plant-like flesh darkened, taking on human coloration. White hair turned jet black, flowing down the back of the materializing armor. Even the distinctive white protrusions melted away, replaced by the proud features of the Uchiha patriarch.
It was the image of Madara in his youth.
White Zetsu hesitated a little and said, "That Ryouma can use space-time ninjutsu. If he avoids direct combat with you, this White Zetsu's chakra will quickly run out."
Madara glanced at the spiky White Zetsu but gave no reply. Instead, he walked over to the clone and used Yin-Yang Release to form several black receivers, which he then stabbed into the clone's body.
After that, he turned and hurled the remaining black receivers into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, driving them deep into its flesh.
The massive statue shuddered as the black receivers penetrated its stone-like skin. Faint blue energy began flowing along invisible lines between the receivers, creating a chakra network connecting statue, clone, and Madara's original body.
He had set up the black receivers as chakra receivers on the clone, allowing the Demonic Statue to continuously supply chakra to it within a certain range.
Pity the poor Demonic Statue, it hardly had any chakra reserves to begin with, and now Madara was squeezing it even more ruthlessly.
He gave an order to White Zetsu: "Send a few White Zetsus to the Land of Fire disguised as Konoha ninjas. Spread false information to lure Shiori over here."
White Zetsu acknowledged the order and quickly burrowed underground, using the Mayfly to swiftly move toward the Kiri frontline in the Land of Fire.
With everything arranged, Madara returned to his stone seat and sat down again.
Considering Shiori's speed, he'd have to put on a bit of a show with Ryouma until she arrived.
---
Meanwhile, outside Madara's stronghold…
Closer. Closer.
Ryouma could now clearly see what was going on inside Madara's lair.
The swirly-faced White Zetsu had been wobbling and dawdling the whole way, making Ryouma doubt whether this guy actually knew the way to Madara's hideout.
He didn't need this half-assed guide anymore. Ryouma activated Lightning Flow.
Lightning chakra enveloped his body. It enhanced his speed and reflexes to superhuman levels. With an explosive burst of speed, he sprinted. The forest blurred around him as he accelerated, leaving Tobi spinning in confusion.
"What was that? The wind?"
Ryouma rushed straight toward Madara's base.
---
At the Kiri battlefield, the clearing was littered with bodies, Kiri ninjas who had attempted to breach Konoha's perimeter. Steam rose from cooling corpses as rain began to fall, washing blood into the already saturated earth.
"Aa~"
With one final Chidori Spear, Shiori took out the last enemy in front of her, her face emotionless as she began to clean up the battlefield.
Some might've thought she was upset she hadn't gone to see Ryouma off, but instead she had accepted a mission early on, an ambush operation, with three other Uchiha clan ninjas.
Not far away, Shisui noticed that Shiori seemed to be in a particularly foul mood.
And indeed, just as he suspected, she was feeling awful. But it wasn't because someone had gone off to the Land of Water without taking her.
It was because she felt that her progress was too slow.
After a pause, Shiori asked, "Do you ever feel like you're running in place, Shisui?"
"Sometimes. We all hit plateaus in our training," Shisui replied, surprised by her openness.
"I'm not talking about plateaus. I'm talking about fundamental limitations," Shiori said sharply.
"My Sharingan has fully matured. My chakra control is near perfect. My training regimen is optimized for maximum efficiency."
Shisui listened silently.
"And yet the gap between myself and him grows wider every day," she continued with frustration.
"Ah. This is about Ryouma," Shisui understood.
"This is about my capabilities. Nothing more," Shiori's eyes flashed.
If she had been stronger than Ryouma, maybe the one left here sulking would've been him. Although knowing him, he'd probably just laugh it off and be happy that someone taller was helping out.
Thinking of this, the tense expression on her face softened slightly.
Ryouma... he really was a strange guy. He didn't seem to have the ambition of a strong warrior, and yet, he wielded such overwhelming power.