Hunting Soul Rings

Madara slowly pulled out the blood-red kunai in his hand and carefully wiped it clean on Scarface's clothes.

"You were already quite good!"

Madara's thumb lightly brushed over the small wound on his face that still stung faintly. "You're the first person in this world to wound me, Uchiha Madara."

Madara did not spare Scarface another glance. Instead, he turned his attention to the two Spirit Beasts still locked in battle not far away.

At this point, they had clearly yet to sense the approaching danger.

"Next, it's your turn!"

Madara looked at the two beasts that remained utterly unaware and sneered disdainfully.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" Meng Yiran ran out from the bushes and asked Madara anxiously.

"Of course, I'm collecting the spoils!" Though deeply impatient, Madara still turned his head to explain to Yiran.

Madara knew perfectly well that there was definitely a group behind that Scarface Soul Master, and they would arrive soon after the fighting began.

The reason they had not come yet was probably thanks to Meng Yiran's grandparents, the Dragon Duke and Snake Grandma!

Though Madara thought Meng Yiran was weak—so weak that he had no interest in making a move against her—her grandparents had silently helped him after all.

He would take that Crimson Serpent as payment!

Madara was not the kind of person to repay kindness with enmity, but he also hated owing others favors.

Then, utterly ignoring Meng Yiran's urgent cries, Madara charged headlong at the two Spirit Beasts tangled in battle.

The two enormous Spirit Beasts had not expected that, at such a critical point in their fight, a Soul Master so reckless of his own life would dare charge at them.

The Crimson Serpent carelessly swung its tail at Madara, intending to smash this little bug that had interrupted its battle to death.

The two tomoe in Madara's eyes spun rapidly as he nimbly dodged the Crimson Serpent's whipping tail like a cat.

Then, with Chakra attached to his feet, Madara raced up the Crimson Serpent's body along its tail, charging toward its head.

Naturally, Madara would not let off the Crimson Serpent after it had dared attack him. As he sprinted and leaped forward, he held the blade of his sickle flat and dragged it ahead of him.

Riiip!

Like scaling a carp, he scraped up every scale on the Crimson Serpent's body.

"Hiss!" Feeling the agonizing pain in its body, the Crimson Serpent let out a shriek. Ignoring the Great Eye at its side, it turned its head and bit down at the charging Madara.

"Tricks like these!" Before Meng Yiran's disbelieving eyes, Madara leaped straight into the Crimson Serpent's mouth, seemingly seeking his own death.

But just as the Crimson Serpent prepared to clamp down viciously, it discovered that its jaws could not close no matter what it did.

Madara took the opportunity to leap out of its mouth. One of his hands was empty, while the War Fan that had been in it was now firmly wedged inside the Crimson Serpent's jaws.

The Crimson Serpent's entire mouth was forced open, making it look utterly ridiculous.

Just as Madara was about to deal with the utterly defenseless Crimson Serpent, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over his mind.

Not good!

The sharp pain of biting through his tongue, coupled with his unwavering will, instantly cleared Madara's mind. He forcefully shook his head and looked to the side.

It turned out that the Great Eye Spirit Beast, which had been watching the show from the sidelines, was unwilling to be outdone and had used its ability on Madara.

"You actually dare court death!"

Although the Sharingan's abilities had yet to be developed, its attainments in the realm of genjutsu were not something a Spirit Beast less than a thousand years old could challenge.

Madara drove the Sharingan with all his might and met the Great Eye's gaze without yielding.

Mysterious ripples spread outward from the Great Eye like waves. Yet the instant they struck Madara, it was as if waves had hit a reef, rebounding toward the Great Eye instead.

The Great Eye had not expected its attack, which had always worked without fail, to be broken. Caught off guard, it suffered a severe backlash.

The Great Eye, which had been floating in the air, was struck by the rebounding waves. It let out a pained shriek before falling limply to the ground.

But by then, the Crimson Serpent had seized the opening to spit out the War Fan from its mouth. With distinctly human-like apprehension, it coiled itself up and watched Madara vigilantly.

"Beasts really are things that bully the weak and fear the strong!"

Madara looked disdainfully at the Crimson Serpent, which cowered and did not dare come forward. The contrast between its massive body and his small one was especially stark.

Madara deeply hated these disobedient beasts, like that great Nine-Tails fox. It had been so terrified upon meeting him—where had all its former arrogance gone when it bullied the weak?

Though Madara thought this, he would not give the Crimson Serpent a chance to escape.

Madara gripped his sickle in one hand and grabbed countless ninja tools in the other, then charged forward with murderous force.

Soon after, roars, the sounds of fierce combat, and screams once again rang through the forest.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the Crimson Serpent that had been brimming with life moments ago collapsed with a thunderous crash. Its enormous body seemed to take in more breaths than it released, clearly on the verge of death.

The Great Eye, which had tried to sneak away, naturally could not escape Madara's wrath either. All the tentacles on its body were severed, and it rolled across the ground like a ball.

Watching Madara's terrifying assault, Meng Yiran hid off to the side as though she had already grown accustomed to it.

At some point, an indescribable emotion had appeared in Meng Yiran's gaze whenever she looked at little Madara.

Meng Yiran herself had not noticed that, in her eyes, Madara was gradually changing from the mischievous little brat she remembered into something else.

Madara wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead. The strain of three consecutive battles was becoming difficult for him to bear, but even stronger was the exhilarating sense of satisfaction within his heart.

Madara looked at the two Spirit Beasts, which had already lost the strength to resist, and prepared to kill the big-eyed one to absorb its spirit ring and officially advance to a two-ring Soul Grandmaster.

"Hey!" Madara pulled out his blood-red Kunai, tore off the best piece of cloth from those Soul Masters, and carefully wiped it down as he called out to Meng Yiran nearby.

"Are you calling me?" Meng Yiran pointed at herself in confusion, having completely lost her young lady's temper from earlier.

In this world, the most presentable thing was one's own strength. Madara's overwhelming power had already dealt a crushing blow to Meng Yiran's confidence.

Under the radiance of a truly brilliant gem, even gold and silver beside it would be made to seem dull and lusterless.

During the Warring States Period of the Shinobi World, it was precisely because of Madara and Hashirama that the other four leaders, despite their great ambition and ability, were firmly suppressed. Even the reputations of their descendants fell far short of theirs.

"This Crimson Serpent is yours!" Madara stepped on the Crimson Serpent, folded his arms, and lifted his chin as he spoke.

What?

Meng Yiran was also surprised by Madara's generosity. He had worked so hard to hunt down this Spirit Beast, and it clearly seemed far from ordinary, yet he was simply giving it away.

After the big-eyed creature was killed, the spirit ring that emerged was yellow, but it carried a faint purple halo. It looked to be around nine hundred years old, yet it would not pose the slightest difficulty for Madara.

"I'll be counting on you to guard me next!" Madara did not spare Meng Yiran another glance. He directly killed the big-eyed creature beside him and spoke indifferently.

Rather than being said to Meng Yiran, those words were meant for Dragon Duke and Snake Grandma, who were hiding in the shadows.

Meng Yiran looked at Madara as he sat with his back to her and absorbed the spirit ring, feeling somewhat at a loss.

Did he really trust her that much?

Meng Yiran summoned her martial spirit with utmost seriousness, then dutifully stood guard at the side.

Dragon Duke and Snake Grandma, concealed in the darkness, saw all of it clearly.