Omodaru

"Whoosh!" Yet when the Limbo shadow struck, Chen eerily twisted his body aside... dodging it!

Madara: "What!?"

"Tch." In the extreme backward lean, Chen thought: What a Madara, opening with 'Limbo' right away? If I didn't have this [Omodaru], I really wouldn't be able to face him head-on here!

Madara was surprised, but his seasoned cunning was genuine. "Hm? His gaze didn't follow the Limbo shadow's movement. That means he can't actually see the shadows, can he? He can't see them yet dodges—is it perception like Naruto's?"

No, it's too early to conclude. Let's probe further!

The Limbo shadow doubled back, swinging a fist at Chen's unprotected nape, launching a second strike!

"Whoosh!" Chen, still in his leaning posture, forcefully bent forward, dodging Limbo once more!

"That is!" Madara narrowed his eyes, catching a key detail. When the Limbo fist was one and a half palms away from Chen's nape, its speed was eerily slowed!

Slowing close-range attacks? But that alone doesn't explain how he dodges an invisible strike!

Turn up the intensity!

—Limbo: Border Jail!

Madara's eyes both activated Limbo! Four shadows launched a relentless flurry of rapid attacks!

Chen sensed the mounting invisible pressure! He simply closed his eyes, focusing his concentration to the max!

His feet shifted, pivoted; his waist, hips, and arms drove his body forward, back, leaning, and ducking!

Hidden beneath the black God Robe, every sinewy muscle seemed to have its own will, executing extreme movements that even a masterful Taijutsu shinobi couldn't replicate!

If an uninformed third party were present, they'd only think he was dancing rhythmically to empty air!

"To think such a thing exists..."

Madara clenched his arms tightly.

Because what he saw was Chen dancing within his Limbo!

"He's enveloped in a layer of 'Personal Barrier,' roughly thirty-three centimeters thick! It changes shape with his limb movements but always covers his entire body. No matter which direction a Limbo attack touches the barrier's edge, it slows down. This mechanism gives him the prerequisite to possibly dodge Limbo."

"Additionally, when the barrier is touched, it produces a 'ripple' effect from the outside inward. These ripples faithfully transmit the position and direction of the external attack to his 'skin,' through the sense of 'touch.'"

"So he can't see Limbo, nor directly sense it, but he dodges through this indirect perception."

"Given that Limbo's precursor can't be caught, this Personal Barrier likely exists whenever he activates his Mangekyo state, similar to Obito's 'Kamui' in his right eye."

"But his true strength isn't just the dōjutsu—it's his 'body,' which can quickly and precisely react to the indirect perception of Limbo through the ripples."

"This shows he inherently possesses formidable physical prowess, with considerable skill in Taijutsu and the Body Flicker Technique."

"Limbo is a technique that only the Rinnegan and Six Paths Senjutsu can counter, yet he handles it with ease using only the 'Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.' For that alone, he's qualified to stand before me!"

"Whoosh!" Madara stopped Limbo.

Chen straightened his posture without any wasted motion.

But in truth, that last exchange was extremely close to his limit.

Dodging the combined assault of four Limbo shadows was the maximum reaction his current body, paired with the Personal Barrier, could achieve.

If there were one more Limbo shadow, or if Madara himself joined the attack, I might have to rely on other means to cope.

And Limbo can also use the user's techniques, like Susanoo.

Madara clearly wasn't going all out—just probing. So I don't need to go all out either.

Chen said calmly, "Is the test of my strength over?"

"Hmph." Madara asked noncommittally, "What's the name of the dōjutsu you used with your right eye just now?"

"[Omodaru]."

"Omodaru, huh? A rare 'Time Dōjutsu.'"

"As expected of Uchiha Madara, to recognize it as a Time Dōjutsu at a glance."

"To slow down Limbo, which isn't bound by the physical laws of this world, is definitely not a physical 'slowdown.' What else could it be but a Time Dōjutsu? The true power of Omodaru shouldn't just be that Personal Barrier, right?"

Chen admitted generously, "Yes, that's only its most basic ability."

Madara lowered his folded arms, eager to try. "Let me see the higher-level abilities!"

It seemed that even after a bleak end, Madara's innate passion for battle hadn't changed—he could even set other matters aside for now.

Chen said, "That's fine, but before my dōjutsu, wouldn't you rather ask why you've been summoned here by Impure World Reincarnation?"

"Haha." Madara let out a laugh, then said darkly, "If I ask, I might have to take you out right away! If I don't ask, I can enjoy myself a little longer!"

"I see, as expected..."

Chen's mind was as clear as a mirror.

Before his death, Madara had reached a century-long reconciliation with Senju Hashirama, acknowledging Hashirama's Nindo.

The Uchiha Madara standing here was no longer the embodiment of darkness.

If I truly plotted harm against the shinobi world, he would surely execute me on the spot.

Madara stretched his arms, shifting a few steps, as if getting used to this body.

It was clear that he wasn't underestimating Chen in the slightest, but rather treating him as a genuine opponent.

After all... aside from Naruto and Sasuke, the only one who could evade Limbo was the Chen standing before him now!

He said eagerly, "Come on~, I won't use Limbo this time, so feel free to attack!"

Chen didn't respond immediately. He first lowered his head to glance at the quartz watch strapped to his left wrist.

The time was 7:58 PM.

Well then... to get Lord Madara to listen to me seriously, I'd have to satisfy his curiosity first.

"Crackle!" The moment he made up his mind, violent purple lightning erupted from Chen's left palm, surging past his wrist and condensing into a solid mass.

This lightning release required no hand seals—it was the technique Kakashi had refined after losing his Sharingan in the Fourth War, taking his Chidori a step further: [Purple Lightning].

"Purple lightning, a nature transformation extension, is it? The power should be passable." Madara's eyes reflected the purple electric light as he commented casually.

So then, how will you use your right eye's ability to land that technique on me? Let me see it for myself!

"Whoosh." Chen took a deep breath and charged straight at Madara!

Oh? A frontal assault? Trying to slow me down with Omodaru as you close in? Too bad—I won't let you get close so easily...

Madara raised his hand and formed the 'Boar' seal before his chest!

"Fire Style: Great Fire..."

At that instant, as Chen sprinted to the spot where Madara had been standing, he raised his Purple Lightning, his right eye trembling as it emitted a vermilion glow!

"...Annihilation!"

—Omodaru!

"Whoosh!" Madara, who was about to release his fire technique, vanished from his original spot!

Along with the faintly trembling black lines in the air, he abruptly appeared at the edge of the Purple Lightning's blade in Chen's palm!

He had returned to the starting point before his warm-up movements!

Even more critically, the hand seals he had been forming were reset to his arms-crossed stance.

Even the Fire Style chakra that had been gathering in his throat, ready to be unleashed... had vanished without a trace!

"Hiss!" Suddenly realizing something, Madara sucked in a sharp breath and pulled back with all his might!

But Chen had already seized the advantage with his dojutsu, and his follow-up combo was executed with fluid speed!

"Shing!" The Purple Lightning swept through, shattering Madara's left arm before he could lower it, and carving away the features on the face of Hashirama displayed on his chest!

Madara halted his retreating form, staring at Chen for a long moment without saying a word.

Chen didn't press the attack ungratefully. Instead, he restrained the Purple Lightning with measured restraint and said, "Time reversal—that's a higher-level application of Omodaru."

"And to still dodge a vital hit under such extreme circumstances where you'd already been struck—only the legendary Uchiha Madara could manage that!"

"Rustle..." Dust swirled back to form Madara's left arm, then smoothed over the features of Hashirama's face on his chest.

It took Madara a long while to recover his composure. He asked, "What's the limit of your time reversal?"

"About five minutes," Chen said calmly.

Because in his plans, both Madara and 'the other one' were crucial figures. There would be plenty of long-term cooperation ahead, so there was no need to hide something that would eventually come to light.

Madara's gaze grew heavy.

Omodaru—without a doubt, this was a dojutsu even more twisted than Obito's Kamui mechanics. And time reversal was likely not the full extent of this ability, nor the full extent of these eyes.

Someone who could awaken eyes like this... in any era, could never be an unknown nobody.

Madara asked gravely, "Uchiha Chen, is it? With strength like yours, why weren't you seen during the Fourth Great Ninja War?"

Because back then, we were still developing.

My brother and I only had Mangekyo Sharingan.

Why waste our limited dojutsu power on a war we were already guaranteed to win?

My original plan was for us brothers to each offer one eye to the other, each awakening one Eternal Mangekyo. After the war ended, I would convince Naruto and Sasuke to form an alliance to resist external threats together.

But I never imagined my brother would leave me one day, dying so inexplicably that not even Impure World Reincarnation could summon back his departed soul!

Nor did I expect Naruto to be so stubborn and unyielding.

In the end, I was forced to inherit my brother's eyes and readjust my plans entirely!

Chen thought many things, but only four words escaped his lips: "My time hadn't come."

"Hm?" Madara raised an eyebrow, staring deeply at Chen.

His time hadn't come.

The Fourth Great Ninja War—the five great ninja nations forming the Allied Shinobi Forces, Obito and him successively absorbing the Ten-Tails and transforming into the Six Paths, and after that beast Black Zetsu stabbed him in the back, even Kaguya Otsutsuki descended... and he said his time hadn't come?

Then what exactly was he planning to fight?

Those four short but profoundly intriguing words sparked Madara's curiosity toward this man, whose face bore some resemblance to a young Hashirama and whose demeanor shared some likeness with his own younger self.

Youngster, you've successfully caught my attention...

Madara asked, "Speak. For what purpose have you summoned me with Impure World Reincarnation?"

Chen glanced at his watch again.

Exactly 8 PM.

It seemed about time.

He looked up to gauge Madara's opinion. "Mind if we talk somewhere else?"

Madara had noticed Chen looking down at his watch earlier.

Ha, interesting. It seemed he was a man with a strong sense of time...

Madara: "Oh? Does it make a difference?"

Chen: "It does. This is a site I specially arranged for Impure World Reincarnation—gloomy, poorly lit, not a good place for conversation. And there are no comfortable seats, no fine tea or refreshments. Two people chatting dryly here would be like something was wrong with them."

Madara chuckled inwardly: Ha, it seemed he not only had a strong sense of time but also a strong sense of space.

He decided to test him further. "And if I refuse to go?"

Chen said, "Then you can wander around for a while and see the current state of the ninja world. At 8 AM tomorrow, I'll come find you on time!"

Madara tilted his head, a '?' practically floating above it.

It seemed he was strong not only in his sense of time and space but also in his sense of autonomy! Was he really not afraid that, in one night, I might do something outrageous out there? Wouldn't Naruto and Sasuke come after him for that?

"Fine. Where to?" Since he had nothing better to do anyway, he might as well see what this guy was up to.

"My place."

"Your place? Where?"

"A thousand kilometers away, in the Land of Lightning."

"Walking there?"

"No. Flying."

Chen strode over to Madara and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Whoosh!" A Black Vortex burst forth from Chen's right eye.

After being sucked in, a vast white world appeared before them, filled with many grid-like rooms.

"Where is this?"

"The Otsutsuki Time Zone, the inner space of my Omodaru. Using this space as a relay point, I can also perform Space-Time movement..."

Madara: "..."

"Whoosh!" The scene shifted again. Under the evening wind and moonlight, a cozy little house appeared, with a beautiful woman waiting at the entrance.

—"Honey, welcome home~. And this beside you... is Uncle Madara, right?"