Natsuki waved to Tenten and Shino, signaling for them not to worry.
Then he looked at Orochimaru. "Orochimaru, why are you still here? Aren't you afraid the aftershocks will tear you apart?"
Orochimaru just smiled. "A battle between sages—how could I miss it? Don't bother worrying about whether I live or die. Focus on fighting. You can't lose, or the shinobi world really will be destroyed."
Hearing that, Natsuki couldn't be bothered to deal with him anymore and instead locked onto Madara.
At this moment, Neji stood facing Madara, the pressure rolling off both of them climbing to its peak until the air itself felt scorched.
The next second, Neji moved first. Three Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) shot from his side, streaking straight at Madara.
It was only a probing attack. Neji had just reached the Six Paths level for the first time—he knew Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) were powerful, but he didn't yet know exactly how powerful, nor how they compared to Madara's.
Madara decisively shaped his own Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) into a circular shield. Neji's three orbs slammed into it—blocked cleanly.
But the collision detonated into a terrifying shockwave. A gale erupted across a radius of nearly a mile, violent enough to make the ground howl.
Just a simple clash, and it produced that kind of force.
Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) were truly monstrous.
And because of that, everyone more or less understood what it meant.
Their Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) were about the same in raw strength.
The difference was that Madara fought alone, while Neji had allies backing him. In theory, that meant Neji held the advantage.
But Madara's pride was higher than the heavens. He wasn't the type to fear a disadvantage. For years, he'd fought alone anyway. This was nothing new.
He tried a different approach—shaping five Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) into kunai-like forms and firing them at Neji.
Neji wrapped two of his own Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) around his hands and began using Hakke Shō (Eight Trigrams Palm) to knock the incoming orb-kunai away one after another.
As expected, he still preferred the fighting style he knew best. The Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) simply boosted both his offense and defense. He was still feeling it out, but his talent was absurd—almost immediately, he started building a style that belonged to him alone.
With a sharp whoosh, he blurred forward at extreme speed, striking with Hakke Shō (Eight Trigrams Palm) again and again.
Each palm carried a tidal, overwhelming might.
If Madara took even one clean hit, it would be a grievous wound at minimum.
Madara couldn't help himself—he actually applauded. "Good kid. Your talent is incredible. Does Konoha really have to be overflowing with monsters like you?"
Even as he praised him, he raised his shakujo staff to parry, while simultaneously controlling the Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) at his side—shaping them into various ninja tools and launching a relentless barrage.
Neji's combat instincts were just as terrifying. His Hakke Shō (Eight Trigrams Palm) flowed without pause, and his Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) automatically guarded his body. For a time, he actually drove Madara back step by step.
They were moving so fast that no ordinary person could even approach. Every collision between them kicked up shockwaves strong enough to crush the battlefield around them.
Natsuki and the others didn't act rashly. They were support—if they forced their way in, they wouldn't help at all. They'd only drag Neji down.
Still, under Neji's fierce assault, Madara began to show the first signs of losing ground.
Madara activated Rinbo: Hengoku (Limbo: Border Jail), striking with invisible shadows.
But Neji's eyes were no longer the Byakugan—they were the Tenseigan, evolved beyond it. Invisible shadows didn't mean anything to him. His palms flashed, fast as stormlight, shattering several of the shadow attackers.
Then he erupted with a brand-new move.
"Rikūdō Shinkūgeki (Six Paths Divine Vacuum Strike)!"
BOOM!
Neji slammed a palm forward.
That strike contained the power mechanics of Hakke Shō (Eight Trigrams Palm), fused with repulsive force and Six Paths senjutsu—and he even shaped a Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) into a palm seal, sending it out with the blow. Space itself twisted in front of the impact, like reality had been grabbed and wrung.
Just seeing that palm was enough to understand its terror.
If Madara got hit head-on, he'd be crippled even if he didn't die.
Madara didn't dare underestimate it. He hadn't expected Neji to be so gifted—so quickly weaving Six Paths power into his clan's palm techniques and forging a new, overwhelming move.
Compared to that, the rest of them really did look lacking.
And yet Madara was thrilled.
To step into the Six Paths realm and still find an opponent worthy of him—this was something to celebrate.
"Hahahaha! Neji, I acknowledge you! In pure talent, I, Madara, am inferior to you!"
Laughing wildly, he yanked the war fan from his back and covered it completely with Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs), intending to use the fan and the orbs together to fling the incoming Rikūdō Shinkūgeki (Six Paths Divine Vacuum Strike) back at Neji.
But at that critical instant, Natsuki flicked Kakashi a look.
Kakashi understood immediately. His Mangekyō spun, and he unleashed Kamui—warping space from afar and twisting the Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) off the surface of the fan, leaving the fan itself exposed.
"…Damn."
Madara's expression snapped tight. He hadn't expected that.
But the palm seal of Rikūdō Shinkūgeki (Six Paths Divine Vacuum Strike) was already there.
It struck the war fan dead-on.
A sharp crack rang out. The fan didn't deflect the force—under that impact, it shattered on the spot. And then came the roar of destruction as Madara was swallowed by the surging palm force.
Hashirama and Tobirama couldn't help but praise him. "That was beautiful, Kakashi."
"You picked the moment perfectly," Minato added without holding back.
Kakashi scratched his head, a little embarrassed. In truth, it was Natsuki's signal that reminded him—he'd only acted in time because of that. And the real terror was Neji's attack.
Kakashi hadn't expected Neji to be this extraordinary, either.
He'd only just entered the Six Paths realm, yet he was already combining his palm techniques with Six Paths power to create a new move. Even Madara had admitted inferiority. It was downright unreal.
It really made it feel like the Hyūga clan had once rescued a giant eagle with "Moonlight Whitebird"—and now that eagle had broken free of its cage and become a world-soaring roc.
"Be careful! He's definitely not dead!" Natsuki warned.
"I know."
Of course Neji knew. His eyes saw everything clearly.
As the dust and smoke dispersed, Madara stood there—scuffed and battered, but alive. In that final instant, he'd fully erupted the repulsive force of his Rinnegan, weakening part of the Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) power.
And a sage's body was absurdly durable, with recovery to match. Killing him wouldn't be that easy.
Madara counterattacked immediately.
He tossed the shattered war fan aside, raised one hand and formed a sword-finger seal against his brow—then, in the next second, both palms erupted with dense, purple lightning, engulfing Neji in an instant.
"Senpō: Inton Raipā (Sage Art: Yin Release Lightning Surge)!"
Rumble—CRASH!
Violet lightning raged like a living disaster, as if it could shred space itself.
But Neji didn't panic in the slightest.
His Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) began spinning around him, and repulsive force and senjutsu gathered into his hands as he spun as well—this was clearly the foundation of Kaiten (Heavenly Spin).
"Senpō Jūken: Rikūdō Kaiten (Sage Art Gentle Fist: Six Paths Heavenly Spin)!"
In an instant, a massive spherical barrier formed with Neji as its center.
The violet lightning slammed into it—and was completely reflected back, unable to deal so much as a scratch.
Madara could only use his Gudōdama (Truth-Seeking Orbs) to block the rebounding lightning as it came screaming back toward him.
(End of Chapter)
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