Chapter 330 – A Fierce Battle
"Is that his dōjutsu…?"
Madara stared at those golden Rinnegan, falling into deep thought. Even though the world around them had been drained into pure black and white, that pair of golden eyes hadn't lost a single trace of their color.
"We can only fight him head-on," Kakashi said quietly.
Madara didn't respond. Instead, he summoned the Six Paths Staff. At the same time, his shadows emerged as well, each one holding six identical staffs of their own.
"I'll go first," Madara said.
Six Madaras appeared in front of Hatake Yusuke in an instant. Within this space, Madara could move freely without any limitations.
All six attacked Yusuke from different angles at once. Yusuke coated his fist in Armament Haki and drove it straight into the Madara in front of him.
Something bizarre happened.
All six Madaras were blown backward at the same time.
"So fast…" Madara muttered in surprise.
This time, Yusuke had no intention of giving him another chance.
He vanished and reappeared behind one of the shadows that was hiding Madara's real body, then threw a single punch. The shadow exploded on the spot.
At the same moment, Kakashi charged in and slashed at Yusuke. Yusuke raised his palm, stopped the blade barehanded, and sent Kakashi flying with a counterblow.
Madara, whose shadow had just been destroyed, restored himself once more.
Only then did Yusuke fully realize—
This entire space was completely under Madara's control.
Every time Yusuke appeared, Madara would immediately shift his real body into a shadow. And inside this space, those shadows would never truly die.
Even if the energy consumption kept rising, this ability was still incredibly troublesome.
"Room."
Without the slightest hesitation, Yusuke activated the power of the Ope Ope no Mi, blanketing the entire space.
"Awakening."
The layer of blue light instantly transformed into a transparent black barrier.
Everything inside this space was now under Yusuke's control.
"…What?" Madara stared at Yusuke in shock.
"What's wrong, Senior Madara?" Kakashi rushed over.
"My space has been taken. Or more accurately, this space is no longer completely mine," Madara said, frowning.
"Seriously?" Kakashi's eyes widened.
"But he hasn't fully mastered it either. He can only use my space abilities," Madara added heavily.
After that, Madara's gaze hardened, and he canceled Limbo Descends, Heavenly Prison Boundary. If he kept it going, it would bring him no advantage at all. In fact, there was a real chance Kakashi would be the first to fall.
"Hah… hah…"
Madara covered his aching eyes. At this moment, the tomoe in his Rinnegan had temporarily disappeared. Just imagining it was enough to understand how terrifying the eye power consumption of that technique had been.
"Senior Madara, your consumption is too heavy. This time, let me be the main attacker," Kakashi said.
Madara nodded slowly. Even if he didn't like it, he had no other choice. He knew better than anyone how much the Eight Gates burdened Kakashi's body. If they delayed any longer, Kakashi might collapse first.
"Eight Gates, Seventh Gate: Gate of Wonder—Open!"
The steam around Kakashi's body turned blue. A terrifying aura surged outward in all directions.
"So this is the power of the Seventh Gate… this boost is truly monstrous. Then just how terrifying is the Eighth Gate, really…"
Kakashi couldn't help but recall Guy.
The power that had erupted from Guy back then had even surpassed his own. Under normal conditions, Guy opening the Seventh Gate was only at the level of a Kage. But the moment the Eighth Gate was unleashed, his strength had soared past Super Kage and reached the realm of the Six Paths.
Just thinking about the Eight Gates was enough to make one's heart tremble.
"One Sword Style, White Tiger Slayer: Breaking the Army!"
A gigantic white tiger formed from Kakashi's sword slash and charged at Yusuke with a thunderous roar.
But Kakashi wasn't done yet.
A blade of pure lightning formed in his hand.
"Lightning Style, Azure Dragon Roar: Flowing Water!"
A massive dragon woven from crackling lightning surged forward, racing straight toward Yusuke.
Seeing this, Yusuke clasped his hands together and formed a blade of light.
"Ame no Murakumo."
Blades of yellow light flew out and slashed toward Kakashi. But because they weren't coated in Armament Haki, they failed to shatter Kakashi's incoming wave of attacks.
Instead—
They were swallowed by it.
Yes. Swallowed.
Kakashi's surging attack actually grew several times larger.
"Interesting… you've really reached this level. I truly didn't expect it," Yusuke said, a hint of surprise in his voice.
It had to be known—Yusuke himself had only reached this level of swordsmanship by coincidence.
At this stage, one no longer needed to "sense the breath of all things." Instead, one released that breath outward entirely.
Yusuke called this level—
Perfect Swordsmanship.
Because the breath was fully released, it looked, at a glance, as if it were full of openings. But in reality, there wasn't a single flaw.
Any weakness could be covered by the opponent's own power.
Meanwhile, Kakashi's eyes were filled with pure focus.
Yusuke drew back his Limitless. He opened both hands, gazing calmly at the roaring white tiger and the blue lightning dragon charging straight at him.
The attacks crashed into Yusuke's body.
That terrifying power felt like thousands of blades tearing into his flesh at once.
A burst of white light exploded outward, then slowly faded away.
In the end, everyone stared at Yusuke.
His body was covered in countless slash marks. That overwhelming attack had struck him directly, without exception, leaving pale white lines crisscrossing his entire form.
"…How is that possible?" Kakashi stared in disbelief.
"Hahaha! Kakashi, that's still not enough. I truly didn't expect your swordsmanship to reach this level. But if you want to break through my physical body, it won't be that easy," Yusuke said with a smile.
"Terrifying… Not only is his Limitless nearly unbreakable, even his physical body is this strong. Is there really anyone who can defeat a monster like this?" The spectators were filled with shock.
"Mother, do you know how far Lord Yusuke's strength truly goes?" Black Zetsu asked Kaguya.
"I don't know. He's too strong. And he can still wield that golden Rinnegan. Perhaps his power isn't inferior to the members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan… it might even surpass them," Kaguya replied.
She didn't say the last part out loud.
In her heart, she was deeply shaken. He was clearly just a native of the ninja world, yet he had reached a level like this.
The attack Kakashi had just unleashed—even at her peak—wouldn't have been easy for her to withstand without using every method she had.
And yet, Yusuke hadn't even defended.
"Kakashi, do you still have something stronger?" Madara looked at him.
"I do… but it takes a long time to charge," Kakashi admitted.
"Good. I'll buy you the time you need," Madara nodded.
Madara's strength was being completely suppressed by Yusuke. Only Kakashi could still deal meaningful damage.
Kakashi nodded and began gathering all the chakra and Haki within his body toward his heart.
At the same time, Madara raised his hand. Numerous Truth-Seeking Orbs appeared around him.
"Expanded Truth-Seeking Orb—Gather."
The orbs began to merge, growing larger and larger.
A gigantic Truth-Seeking Orb—one even bigger than Kaguya's—shot toward Yusuke.
Madara knew that every powerful warrior had their own pride. Faced with his strongest attack, Yusuke wouldn't dodge.
That was why Madara wasn't worried at all about missing.
"This technique… I can use it too."
"Expanded Truth-Seeking Orb."
A massive black sphere formed in Yusuke's hand, rapidly expanding until it was several times larger than Madara's.
"…This is bad."
Kaguya's expression changed as she looked around.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Join my Patreon here:
patreon.com/FaaanzKun
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —