"These three are truly troublesome. I didn't expect to have to go all out right from the start..."
Faced with the endless offensive techniques from Hakushi's trio, Madara found himself momentarily vexed.
If it were during his prime, this level of threat wouldn't require any serious attention—fighting them would be no different from sparring with children. But now, with his body aged, whether it was stamina, reflexes, or the chakra amount within him, he was far inferior to his peak days.
In such circumstances, if he didn't respond seriously, the consequences were obvious.
Individually, Hakushi's trio weren't particularly problematic, but the three working as one created a synergy—even a ninja stronger by a rank might only be toyed with by them, defeated in grief.
The blue water python winding around his blue Susanoo body was formed entirely from converging torrents, possessing troublesome abilities to bind and absorb an enemy's chakra.
If it continued to drain him, his already insufficient chakra would be depleted even faster.
So, without hesitation, Madara released more chakra at once, feeding it into the blue chakra giant. The two blue giant swords gripped in both hands shone even brighter than before.
Boom!
The Water Dragon God let out a miserable roar, two deep sword wounds appearing on its body, blue chakra flames lingering at the injury sites, swirling like snowflakes.
The damage caused by Madara's chakra giant sword lingered long after impact.
The Water Dragon God released its grip on the blue chakra giant, its body submerged into the currents, hiding most of its form, exposing only its head with blood-red slit pupils, ferociously menacing in the night.
The forest was already flooded by the Water Dragon God's Water Style Jutsu, creating a vast inland lake, transforming the land into a battlefield favorable to itself.
"It's wounded!"
"Don't let it keep disturbing Madara-sama!"
Countless White Zetsu stood atop the water surface. Their bodies adapted easily to many environments, so the lake produced by the earlier Water Style Jutsu assault hadn't inflicted any real harm.
After all, their numbers were overwhelming.
Even after Hakushi's trio culled a wave, there were still conservatively about 2,500 left.
They charged menacingly toward the Water Dragon God, though their attacks were weak—they had no weapons for battle, forced to attack barehanded.
The Water Dragon God lashed its tail, creating waves seven or eight meters high, sweeping away the surging White Zetsu and sending them flying afar.
"Useless trash."
Seeing this spectacle, Madara further disparaged White Zetsu's combat worth.
Normally, they acted arrogant and fearless, high and mighty, but on the battlefield, it was clear he shouldn't expect much from them.
Whether it was one hundred or three thousand, in battles of this tier, their only function was to stand aside gawking, sometimes shouting encouragement.
If they rushed in, there was no need to target them—the battle's aftershocks would overwhelm them.
They couldn't compare at all to the formal ninja squads of the Five Great Nations.
In this fight, the only thing commendable about them was their unwavering loyalty and fearless will to battle.
The lake created by the Water Dragon God covered the surface up to the thighs of the two chakra giants, almost submerging half their bodies. In terms of Water Style prowess, this was already astonishing.
Madara also noticed that in such an environment, Susanoo's movement slowed significantly due to the water's resistance.
To adapt, he'd need some time.
Yet Ruri, on the other side, manipulated her red chakra giant with flowing ease, launching an attack on Madara without any sign of sluggishness.
She clearly mastered the environment already—for this battle, she was prepared. Though she couldn't ignore the water's lower-body resistance, its impact was much less on her than on Madara.
The two chakra giant swords shattered the atmosphere's barrier, clashing against the red chakra giant sword slicing through the air as well.
The explosive roar of the impact made everyone's ears ring uncontrollably.
The double sword's pressure was greater than expected; sweat appeared on Ruri's pale face, her lips pressed tightly together.
Hakushi placed his palm gently on Ruri's shoulder, dispelling her fatigue and replenishing her depleted chakra.
With Ruri's chakra amount, sustaining such a large chakra giant was extremely taxing—the chakra expenditure was terrifying, an almost overloaded fight.
After all, Susanoo, according to Uchiha Clan records, was the ultimate pupil technique used only by ninjas who had awakened Mangekyo Sharingan.
With Hakushi's healing and chakra replenishment, Ruri's complexion improved considerably.
"What a monster."
Ruri had to admit that Madara's power surpassed each of them individually.
One-on-one, none of the trio could match Madara.
And that's when he's old and weakened; it was impossible to fathom the grandeur of Madara's power in his prime.
To share an era with him was both an honor and a sorrow of helplessness.
"Strong as a monster for sure, but he's only one person—that's our opportunity."
The remaining 2,000-plus White Zetsu on the battlefield were outside of Hakushi's calculations.
Because now that Ruri had unleashed this jutsu, unless equally formidable ninja showed up with full chakra, any number would just be meat for the slaughter.