As Belaque spoke, a black two-headed bird in the sky spotted someone behind the army and immediately dove down at high speed.
"Let me show you that I can protect myself. Hurry over and help them," Belaque said, easily dodging the two-headed bird's attack.
In the next instant, the two-headed bird crashed heavily to the ground. Its wings flapped twice before all signs of life vanished.
Uchiha Madara looked at the two-headed bird. Just as he thought it had accidentally flown into the ground and killed itself, he turned around and saw Belaque holding a still-beating heart.
The black heart seemed not to realize it had already left its body and continued to throb without stopping.
"I'm not only good at stealing things. A beautiful girl like me can steal hearts too," Belaque said to Uchiha Madara with a smile.
Uchiha Madara looked horrified. He had not even seen Belaque move. He knew she was skilled at stealing, but he had never expected that skill could be used to kill.
"What a terrifying woman," Uchiha Madara said helplessly.
Looking at the vast swarm of monsters ahead, Uchiha Madara swiftly formed a hand seal.
"Wood Style, Thorn Spike!" As Uchiha Madara finished the seal, sharp, elongated thorns began rapidly growing from beneath his feet toward the south gate. Along the way, the thorns pierced countless monsters, impaling them upon their growing spikes.
Following the path the thorns had opened for him, Uchiha Madara hurried toward the south gate.
After traveling for a while, the thorns stopped growing.
Just as Uchiha Madara wondered whether he really had gotten old, and whether his chakra could only last this long, a massive black bear swung its paw down at him from beneath the thorns.
Uchiha Madara was just about to dodge when a flash