"Hmph! Do you really think I'd believe such a clumsy lie?"
Lord Madara let out a cold snort, clearly dissatisfied.
Of course he wouldn't believe that Shimoku attacked Black Zetsu simply because he looked ugly—a completely absurd reason.
Though it was true that Black Zetsu wasn't exactly handsome.
Still, if this brat were really that foolish, he wouldn't have lasted this long!
Therefore, the reason Lord Madara was indulging in this rare conversation—
On one hand, he genuinely showed favor toward the child and looked down upon bullying children.
On the other hand—his left arm hadn't finished repairing yet. Rushing into another fight wouldn't give him an advantage.
"Believe whatever you want..."
"You loser who lost to Hashirama."
Shimoku scoffed bitterly.
Lord Madara: "???"
"Child, cherish the opportunity I've given you."
"Although you're talented, I won't tolerate your stupidity forever!"
Shimoku: "Got it, you loser who lost to Hashirama."
Lord Madara: "..."
"You little brat, don't push your luck!"
Shimoku: "I'll be careful, you loser who lost to Hashirama."
Lord Madara: "!!!"
A surge of intense rage boiled up from Madara's heart, coursing through his entire body, nearly bursting out from his mouth.
At this moment, Madara felt like without even using any ninjutsu,
he could unleash a full-scale [Great Flame Annihilation].
This brat was just so infuriating!
His tongue was even sharper than that bastard Tobirama!
However.
Just at this moment,
hundreds of meters away, behind the massive [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path],
a powerful chakra fluctuation abruptly erupted!
"[Contract Seal]!"
Shimoku's clone seized the perfect timing, activating this sealing technique—the [Contract Seal]—to sever contracts.
In an instant,
it ripped both the Four-Tails and Five-Tails out of the [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path].
...
"You little brat!"
Seeing this, Lord Madara roared furiously, instantly figuring out the truth.
Clearly,
before teleporting here, Shimoku had already made plans.
The primary objective? Naturally—to eliminate Black Zetsu, that conniving bastard.
Once he removed the threat, Shimoku could directly confront Lord Madara. Even manipulating Madara to his side remained highly possible.
If a decisive strike proved impossible,
then he needed alternative strategies to gain some benefit!
After all, he didn't come here just to shoot the breeze with Lord Madara.
Looking at things now, the most valuable assets belonging to Madara were:
[Rinnegan], [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path], and [two tailed beasts].
The [Rinnegan] still rested in Madara's sockets—it wouldn't be easy to take them.
And without obtaining the remaining [Rinnegan], it would be difficult to claim control over the [Demonic Statue].
Because the contract between the [Demonic Statue] and the [Rinnegan] was naturally bonded; even if he seized the statue's physical form, Madara could easily summon it back anytime with a simple Summoning Technique.
Therefore, only one target remained—the two tailed beasts sealed inside the statue.
Although the tailed beasts were sealed inside the statue, Shimoku's [Contract Seal] had a chance of disrupting their seals.
But the Binding Force of [Rinnegan] on the Demonic Statue was extremely strong — not at all safe.
The only option was to distract Lord Madara and provoke intense emotional reactions, further weakening the [Rinnegan]'s grip on the Demonic Statue.
Only then could the chances of extracting the two Tailed Beasts be greatly increased.
This was exactly why Shimoku had been deliberately provoking Lord Madara all along.
Certainly not just for the sake of watching a certain ancestor squirm...
Clearly enough,
Shimoku had succeeded.
He successfully extracted both Tailed Beasts and sealed them away one by one.
Without giving Lord Madara any chance to react,
Shimoku's clone vanished in a flash with the [Flying Thunder God].
...
"Thank you for the gift, dear ancestor! I won't hesitate to accept it!"
Seeing his clone succeed,
Shimoku himself dropped his earlier sarcasm and grinned as he happily thanked Lord Madara.
This only made Lord Madara's mouth twitch even more in anger.
In fact, he didn't even know how else to describe this remarkable junior of his!
All these years, this kid was still the first one, aside from Hashirama, who could make him lose his composure
and then take advantage of that momentary lapse to gain an upper hand.
So cunning —
Like a fox way beyond his years!
Indeed, even more annoying than that bastard Tobirama!
Eventually, he got so angry
that Lord Madara suddenly burst into wild laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Very impressive indeed!"
"You're really no ordinary kid..."
"I admit, I underestimated you!"
"If I could get mad at such clumsy tricks, then I should probably reflect on myself too."
Lord Madara admitted honestly
and quickly calmed the anger inside him.
Though arrogant, he wasn't conceited.
Nor would he ever deny failure or make excuses for it.
Otherwise, back then he wouldn't have admitted defeat against Hashirama and left behind a contingency plan, faking his death to deceive Hashirama...
Meanwhile, seeing Lord Madara not getting angry but instead laughing,
Shimoku became even more cautious.
Originally, he had planned to take advantage of Lord Madara's momentary lapse
to strike boldly again,
trying to snatch the other [Rinnegan] as well.
Unfortunately, judging by the current situation, the opportunity seemed slim now!
After all, with Lord Madara regaining composure, combined with his rich combat experience and the extreme difficulty posed by the [Wheel Demonic Shadow],
It wouldn't be easy for Shimoku to completely defeat him.
Unless he was willing to pay the price and force-activate either the [Eight Gates] or [Baryon Mode].
That might lead to victory,
but it would still waste a lot of coins;
Moreover, there's even a chance that the [Rinnegan] might end up kicked into dust — which would be counterproductive...
He could only admit —
Truly worthy of being the fabled [War God of the Ninja World].
Except for Hashirama, that one weakness, it was almost impossible to shake Lord Madara's will again...
Now that Shimoku had already succeeded,
Madara also saw no point in continuing the confrontation.
After all, those two Tailed Beasts were definitely unrecoverable anyway.
Instead, he became rather relaxed, directly sitting down on the ground.
While continuing to repair his left hand, he looked up toward the distant Shimoku and asked:
"Hey! Kid."
"Were you planning to attack me again just now?"
"How? Do you have your eyes on my [Rinnegan] as well?"
After decades of experience, Madara had become as cunning as an old fox. He saw straight through Shimoku's intentions.
Power can be surpassed, you know.
But the accumulation of years and experience is not easily overcome.
Shimoku was still too young.
"Yes!"
"Can you just give it to me, Honored Ancestor?"
"That way I won't have to raise a hand."
Old Man Madara: "..."
"Hmmph hmmph—"
"You've really got some shameless nerve!"
"If only the previous Uchiha leaders had even half your guts and skills, they wouldn't have been bullied by Konoha all those years..."
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