novelraw Chapter 387 - 387 Uchiha Gunbai
Chapter 387 - 387 Uchiha Gunbai
On the other battlefield.
Menma landed on the gnarled branch of an ancient giant tree that required several people to embrace, spawned by the Nativity of a World of Trees.
His gaze looked towards the messy forest across the river where Madara had crashed. The dust there hadn't completely settled, but an even more violent, excited aura was brewing and rising within.
He certainly didn't believe that his kick earlier, though fierce, hadn't used his full strength, could completely resolve Madara, who had retrieved the Rinnegan and restored most of his peak power.
Sure enough, the next moment, a hearty, seemingly suppressed-for-decades wild laughter exploded like thunder from deep within the forest, shaking leaves to fall rustling!
"Hahahaha—!!!"
The laughter was filled with fully ignited fighting spirit and extreme excitement upon meeting a strong enemy.
Menma could even imagine Madara's twisted, fanatical smile right now.
It's the standard Uchiha maniacal laughter.
"To so easily shatter my Complete Body Susanoo! Brat! I, Uchiha Madara, admit that in pure power, you have even surpassed that guy Hashirama!" Madara's voice was like a great bell, carrying an arrogant and fervent tone, echoing above the battlefield.
Accompanying this declaration, a red figure shot into the sky like a cannonball from within the forest, landing steadily atop the tallest tree canopy across the river, facing Menma across the water.
Madara's dark red layered armor was somewhat damaged, a trace of blood still lingered at the corner of his mouth, but the light in those Rinnegan was even more blazing than before, as if burning with two purple flames.
He stared fixedly at Menma, took out a scroll inscribed with complex sealing formulas from within his armor, formed hand seals, then fiercely slapped it on the scroll!
"Summoning Technique!"
Poof! A burst of white smoke exploded.
As the smoke dispersed, Madara already held a massive, ancient-looking fan in his hand.
The fan surface was painted with two pairs of six-tomoe patterns, edges black, emitting a mysterious chakra fluctuation.
It was the Uchiha Clan's heirloom artifact, the Gunbai!
"To force me to use this fan, brat, you can be proud!" Madara heavily planted the Gunbai on the branch beneath his feet, making a dull sound, his tone carrying a kind of pride as if showing his trump card.
Menma's gaze fell on the Gunbai.
The Uchiha Gunbai…
Rumored to be a weapon made from the Shinju's branch, capable of reflecting Ninjutsu back, even able to reflect Naruto's miniature Tailed Beast Bombs.
Menma pondered inwardly: 'Not a bad trophy, I can take it back for research.'
Just as the two faced off across the river, with Menma contemplating whether to simply snatch this fan, an extremely subtle, fatal sense of crisis suddenly assaulted him from his side!
Menma's brows slightly raised. His body leaned slightly to the side.
An invisible attack almost grazed his clothes, instantly severing a thick branch behind him!
"Hmph, I almost forgot about this." Menma snorted coldly, seemingly not surprised.
He almost simultaneously, while dodging sideways, his left foot kicked upward like lightning!
Thump!
A dull thud rang.
Though he kicked empty air, it felt like he's hitting something solid!
Something invisible was kicked flying by him.
Simultaneously, a dense Dark Chakra rapidly condensed in Menma's right palm, forming a cold, sharp black Chakra Rod.
He didn't attack immediately but slowly focused his Ocular Power into the Byakugan in his right eye!
"Byakugan!"
With his low voice, the veins around his right eye instantly bulged violently. The pure Byakugan Ocular Power was pushed to its limit!
Moreover, an even vaster Ocular Power, through some invisible connection, surged from the still-unopened fissure on his forehead, empowering this Byakugan!
Instantly, Menma's vision underwent an earth-shaking change!
The world turned into black-and-white lines and flowing chakra pathways in his eyes.
More importantly, he clearly 'saw' that around him, four semi-transparent 'shadows' with contours identical to Madara had silently appeared at some point!
They were surrounding Menma from four different directions like ghosts, watching him covetously!
Limbo: Border Jail!
Menma understood inwardly. This was the clones created by the Rinnegan's unique Dojutsu. These shadows were immune to physical attacks, and ordinary Ninja and Dojutsu couldn't perceive or attack them. Only those with Rinnegan or equivalent-level Dojutsu could deal with them.
"So you really... can see the Limbo clones!" Across the river, Madara, seeing Menma activate his Byakugan and accurately respond, looked grave.
'Merely Byakugan and Mangekyo Sharingan should absolutely be incapable of seeing through Limbo: Border Jail!'
'Could it be... the golden Chakra Mode or the third eye on his forehead from the White Zetsu intelligence were the key?'
'But he hasn't used them yet...'
A feeling of being looked down upon surged in his heart, making Madara even more furious.
The purple light in his Rinnegan blazed brightly.
With a thought-
Those four clones instantly launched a silent, deadly coordinated assault on Menma from four tricky angles!
Their speed was extremely fast, their attack trajectories sealing most of Menma's evasion space.
Menma's expression remained unchanged. Under the Byakugan's insight, these clones' movements were clearly visible.
He easily dodged the first shadow's attack while the already-prepared black Chakra Rod in his hand accurately stabbed forward!
Squelch!
The black rod imbued with Yin-Yang Release power solidly pierced that clone's chest!
The clone let out a silent roar, its movements instantly stiffening, then was firmly nailed by the black rod to the tree trunk beneath Menma's feet, unable to struggle!
Just as Menma prepared to deal with the other three clones similarly, Madara across the river had already seized this fleeting opportunity!
Swoosh!
His figure tore through the air, instantly crossing dozens of meters of river surface. The Gunbai in his hand cleaved down towards Menma's head!
Powerful and heavy, as if wanting to split Menma and the tree beneath him in half!
Menma reacted extremely quickly, immediately abandoning attacking the shadows, raising the black Chakra Rod in his hand to block upward!
Clang—!
A deafening metallic clang exploded!
The black rod and Gunbai collided fiercely, emitting blinding sparks!
A violent shockwave spread outward from the two as the center, shattering and blowing away all surrounding leaves!
Madara, failing with one strike, leveraged the collision's recoil. His body spun in the air like a top, his right leg covered in red arm armor sweeping like a battle axe, carrying a sharp whistling sound, fiercely aiming for Menma's waist and abdomen!
However, Menma was faster!
The moment Madara spun to exert force, Menma's left leg had already lashed out like a whip, faster, stronger, accurately kicking the shin of Madara's sweeping right leg!
Thump!
Another dull thud rang!
Madara only felt intense pain in his shin. His entire body uncontrollably flew backward, tumbling several times in mid-air before barely stabilizing, landing on another tree branch, his face terrifyingly dark.
Menma, seizing the advantage, didn't relent. Chakra erupted under his feet, his figure closely pursuing!
The two engaged in an intensely fierce Taijutsu battle again within this dense forest created by the Nativity of a World of Trees!
Madara displayed the ferocity and cunning of Uchiha-style Taijutsu to the fullest. Fists, feet, elbows, knees… every part of his body became a lethal weapon. His assault was like a violent storm, continuous!
Yet, relying on the superhuman insight and reaction speed brought by the Rinnegan, he could barely keep up with Menma's pace.
His opponent's Taijutsu strength was astonishing!
The opponent's movements not only incorporated the solid foundation of Konoha-style Taijutsu but also contained the precision and pressure points of the Hyuga Clan's Gentle Fist. One could even see shadows of Uchiha-style Taijutsu and the essence of other great Ninja Villages' Taijutsu styles!
These completely different styles were perfectly fused into a brand new Taijutsu system on him!
Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!
The two figures moved and crossed at high speed between the branches of giant trees. Each collision erupted with dull roars and scattered Chakra Shockwaves.
Trees were shattered and collapsed by the residual force of their fists and feet… wood chips flew everywhere.
But the situation was almost one-sided suppression!
In every clash, Madara was suppressed by Menma's slightly superior strength and speed!
The dark red layered armor on his body, under continuous heavy blows, shattered more severely. More and more bruises and cuts appeared on his exposed skin. Blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth.
The more he fought, the more alarmed Madara became!
'This guy's Taijutsu...'
'It's practically all-encompassing, yet forming its own style!'
He could barely keep up with the opponent's speed relying on the Rinnegan's insight!
Moreover, the opponent hadn't used any proper ninjutsu from start to finish!
This made the Gunbai in his hand, specifically for reflecting Ninjutsu, almost a useless decoration, only usable as a relatively sturdy ordinary ninja tool. This made him extremely frustrated.
Thump!
Another straightforward, heavy fist clash!
Their fists collided, producing a dull sound like boulders colliding!
Menma's figure swayed slightly, then stabilized, landing on a nearby thick, horizontal tree branch, breathing steadily as if the intense battle just now was merely a warm-up.
Madara was shaken backward by this immense force, sliding over ten meters before barely stopping.
His right arm used for the punch had its arm armor long shattered and fallen off. The entire arm was a bloody mess… one could even see white bone fragments!
Intense pain made veins bulge on his forehead.
However, thanks to the powerful regenerative power brought by the transplanted Hashirama's cells, the injury on his arm was healing at a visible, rapid pace… flesh wriggling, bones reconnecting.
But Madara's expression didn't improve in the slightest… instead, it became even heavier.
Because he could clearly feel that the Chakra and life force forcibly drawn from the Gedo Statue to maintain this body's 'peak condition' were being rapidly consumed like a floodgate opened in this high-intensity battle and fast recovery!
"Cough..." He coughed out a mouthful of blood, pulled out the Gunbai stuck in the tree trunk beside him, his gaze becoming even fiercer and more desperate.
He knew he couldn't drag on like this anymore!
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Madara's hands rapidly formed hand seals, pouring a large amount of remaining Chakra into his throat, then fiercely exhaled a searing sea of flames surging like a tidal wave!
The power of this fire sea was terrifying, as if wanting to burn everything before it to ashes!
He gripped the Gunbai tightly, already prepared to reflect any Water Release or other elemental Ninjutsu the opponent might use.
However, Menma's reaction once again exceeded his expectations.
Facing the overwhelming sea of flames surging towards him, Menma didn't even bother forming hand seals.
He just calmly raised his left hand, palm facing forward.
"Shinra Tensei."
A vast, invisible repulsive force erupted with a roar!
The surging fire sea, upon contacting the repulsive force field, as if hitting an unshakable wall, abruptly stopped its forward momentum. Then, faster than its approach, as if slapped back by an invisible giant hand, it surged back towards Madara!
"What?!" Madara's pupils contracted sharply. He never expected the opponent to counter his Fire Release in this way!
With no time to think, he instinctively gripped the Gunbai with both hands, fiercely blocking forward with the fan surface!
"Uchiha Return!"
The surging-back fire sea, upon contacting the fan surface, seemed absorbed by a strange power, then transformed into countless more dense, more violent fireballs. Like festive fireworks, they shot explosively in all directions… sky and forest!
It set the large forest areas ablaze, painting the sky crimson.