The Continuation of the Myth

For a moment, the air in the arena fell silent. Neither Senju Tobirama, Hashirama Senju, nor Madara Uchiha had expected to hear such words from Li Ke.

Hashirama Senju, in particular, found Li Ke's talk of actively provoking war to be completely at odds with the yearning for peace he had felt when they exchanged blows earlier.

Madara Uchiha, however, couldn't help but burst into wild laughter.

"Hahahahahaha!!! Hashirama! Did you hear that?! Your so-called successor inherits my will! Hahaha!!"

Madara Uchiha felt there was nothing more amusing in the world.

However, Li Ke held a different opinion.

He watched Madara Uchiha's constantly spinning eyes, preparing for the man to switch his Sharingan to activate Izanagi.

In fact, he was discussing these matters with Madara here precisely to stall for time before Madara could use Izanagi.

It wasn't that he feared a direct confrontation with Madara, but rather that if he could easily defeat Madara, there was no need to create unnecessary complications.

His main objective had never been to fight Madara.

But most crucially, he strongly disagreed with what Madara was saying.

"Actually, Madara-sama, what I'm inheriting is precisely the will of the First Hokage."

Li Ke's voice once again shocked Hashirama Senju.

"Huh?"

Hashirama Senju scratched his head in his Mind Space, while Senju Tobirama beside him remained silent, as he was the one who best understood Li Ke's meaning.

"What do you mean, brat? Haven't you seen the hypocrisy and fragility of this world's Ninja System? Haven't you realized the falsity of the Ninja World, leading you to these thoughts?!"

Madara Uchiha knew of Li Ke, he just hadn't paid much attention at first. But the current Li Ke forced him to pay attention.

"Yes, Madara-sama. When I learned that I would have to fight on the battlefield at eleven, and even my younger brother would have to fight a year later, I understood the helplessness of ninjas and felt the distortion of the Ninja Village System."

Madara Uchiha felt he didn't quite understand what Li Ke was trying to say, but Li Ke was also setting a trap for him.

"Therefore, I want to end this system. Madara Uchiha-sama, I believe you have also been striving to end the Ninja System until now, haven't you? So there's no need for us to fight, is there?"

Li Ke knew very well in his heart that Madara Uchiha would not give up on the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Because--

"Ridiculous."

Madara Uchiha's expression turned cold.

"I originally thought you could see the truth of the Ninja World, but I didn't expect you to be as foolish as Hashirama!"

He looked at Li Ke, but it was as if he were looking at Hashirama Senju.

"Hatred can never be severed. Everyone has their own demands of the world, of others, their own thoughts, their own things they want to accomplish! Peace, mutual trust, these are all illusions! Because as long as one person's desires are not met, the entire world can never truly have peace!"

Madara Uchiha waved his arm in anger. After his conflict with Hashirama Senju, he had pondered whether his idea of unifying the Ninja World was too extreme.

But the result was that he was right!

He and Hashirama should have swept across the entire world; it was Hashirama who stopped him!

Hashirama was content with this relative peace, but he was not!

He was not content with a future where conflict was bound to erupt!

And Hashirama was already content!

"Even two like-minded individuals can betray each other for a common goal, because everyone's desired outcome and wishes are different, let alone those who don't share the same aspirations! If this cannot be severed, then this world will never have peace! The peace you pursue is merely a false peace!"

Madara Uchiha spread his hands, and violent chakra surged from his body, making Li Ke doubt whether stalling Madara's Izanagi had been meaningful at all.

With this level of chakra, this strange pupil power, would Madara truly be limited by Izanagi's duration?

Li Ke was unsure, because by now, with the clash of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha's chakra, too many things had already surpassed the common sense of ninjas.

At this moment, what applied here was the common sense of myths!

"Madara-sama, as long as a person possesses self-awareness, there will be dissatisfaction."

Li Ke looked at Madara Uchiha sternly.

"Your plan, is it to use some powerful genjutsu array, or to rely on the power of a potent Sharingan, to forcibly make people abandon their personal desires?"

He had almost directly pointed out the Eye of the Moon Plan, which involved using the moon as a mirror to cast genjutsu upon the entire world, immersing everyone in a world constructed by genjutsu that fulfilled all their desires.

Madara Uchiha froze again. He hadn't expected this brat to guess his intentions. But looking at the Four-pointed Star Sharingan spinning in Li Ke's eyes, he couldn't help but laugh wildly again.

"Hahahaha!! Hahahahaha!! Is it the power of the Sharingan that made you understand all this?! Seeing the same scenery as me?! Interesting brat! What a pity! You weren't born in the era of Madara and Hashirama!"

Madara Uchiha's eyes widened abruptly, and the figure of Susanoo reappeared.

"So, what is your choice?"

Li Ke could feel the chakra of Hashirama Senju within him becoming unprecedentedly active, so when he spoke, his voice strangely carried a double emphasis.

"If it's a plan like this, then Madara-sama, I will kill you here, because by doing this, you are killing humanity, killing the possibility of human progress."

Yes, Hashirama Senju's killing intent flared up intensely once more.

"Ha... As expected, no one in this world can understand me, not even you, a brat who speaks with such respect!"

Madara Uchiha felt a wave of disappointment. He had believed Li Ke could understand him, that he was the heir to his own will, yet he never expected that even after awakening the power of the Sharingan, the boy could still only see what any ordinary mortal saw.

Can false eyes only ever perceive a false world?

Madara Uchiha closed his eyes, then opened them once more.

"Then, let us continue our battle! Let us convince one another with power!"

Violent chakra surged forth once again, manifesting a power even more tyrannical than before.

The Complete Body Susanoo stood fully revealed upon the earth at this very moment!

The towering God of War, with its crimson eyes, glared down at the humans on the ground like a deity ready to unleash divine punishment upon those who dared offend its will!

At this same moment, Li Ke clearly sensed the strange chakra within Hashirama Senju. Under these circumstances, that chakra had become frantically active, surging with relentless power.

In this instant, he felt as though he could accomplish anything. Moreover, although Hashirama Senju and Senju Tobirama remained silent, Li Ke could feel that their hearts and minds were now perfectly aligned with his own!

His "Heroic Spirit Summoning" had undergone a qualitative change because of this!

His chakra was liberated! There was no longer a need to expend energy to maintain the existence of Hashirama Senju and Senju Tobirama!

Thus, while Li Ke continuously poured out Sage Chakra to make the Wood Golem grow ever larger, he used the power of his Dojutsu to rapidly clad the golem in chakra armor, all while continuing to articulate his perspective.

Because this concerned his core philosophy, there were some things he had to make clear!

Madara Uchiha did not launch an immediate attack, granting him the time to speak.

"The First Hokage and you cast aside the hatred between your clans. For the sake of a greater good—namely, peace—you chose the Hidden Village system, transforming ninjas from clans into villages, effectively becoming the leaders of nations. The Second Hokage then secured the mechanisms of this system, and the Third Hokage continued it, embedding the village system deep into the hearts of the people..."

Li Ke pressed his palms together. At this moment, aided by that peculiar power, it was Hashirama Senju and Senju Tobirama who were supplying him with chakra!

"Infinite" chakra!

"The First Hokage and you ensured that children no longer had to go to the battlefield at five or six, no longer had to become 'adults' at such an age. So, even though you two did not rule the entire world—regrettable as that may be—you still pushed the history of the Ninja World a great step forward. Now, in my era, overthrowing the ninja system and the existing national structures is the next step toward bringing about peace!"

As he spoke, Li Ke's expression turned solemn. A massive flower bud made of wood expanded beneath him. As it rose to match the height of the Susanoo, the bud bloomed, revealing a Wood Golem that had undergone a drastic transformation. It now resembled the terracotta warriors of the Qin Dynasty, and the purple armor upon it leaned closer to the appearance of a guardian deity protecting the gates of heaven!

King of Martial Formation: Qin!

This was Li Ke's Wood Golem technique!

At this moment, a scene from mythology had truly manifested here!

"Therefore, the world is constantly moving forward. Lord Madara, Lord Hashirama, you struggled your entire lives, then passed your achievements to those who followed, watching with hope as the next generation completed your wishes—that is what it means to be human! But Lord Madara, the world you desire is not impossible to achieve in the future! Thus, your plan is meaningless! It cannot lead humanity to true peace! Your plan is the false one, blind to the future! It is merely a fleeting satisfaction, the ultimate proof that you have abandoned the world and abandoned your own ideals!"

Facing Madara Uchiha, Li Ke did not hesitate and launched his attack!

"Therefore, I will defeat you!"

"Well said, but it is meaningless!"

Madara Uchiha's Sharingan grew increasingly eerie. He knew Li Ke was right; Li Ke's ideas were correct.

But—

He was not reconciled!

When he was young, he could have achieved what Li Ke could only achieve in the future! So, after he had seen this world for what it truly was, why could he not take it a step further?

Why, after he had given everything for this world, was his reward the extinction of his brothers and the betrayal of his closest friend?

Such a world was false! If he did not stand up, how many more tragedies born from this falsehood would the future have to endure?

Since humanity was destined to repeat these tragedies, then under the mercy he provided, they would achieve absolute peace!

No need to think, no need to worry; they could simply spend their lives in satisfaction within a genjutsu!

He would thoroughly sever this false and sorrowful world!

If this world was false, then he would use something even falser to ensure everyone could be happy for a lifetime!

This was the greatest love that he, Madara Uchiha, could bestow!

Under the stimulation of Li Ke and Hashirama Senju's chakra, faint purple patterns even appeared in his eyes. But unfortunately, his youth at this moment was a fabrication. Though he burned his will and pushed his chakra to the limit, some things simply could not be reached!

"Let power articulate who is right and who is wrong between us! Murata, Qingtan!"

The two blades clashed once again. This time, the ninjas, finally understanding what was happening, stared in stunned silence as the two behemoths battled between heaven and earth. The violent shockwaves generated by the collision of the blades were enough to force the ninjas, tens of kilometers away, to keep their eyes squeezed shut!

"What on earth... is that? Is it a god? Is that really chakra?"

The young ninjas voiced these questions, while the ninja known as Onoki felt his body begin to tremble uncontrollably.

He could not be mistaken, absolutely not!

That figure!

Even from tens of kilometers away, even if the giant's form was difficult to discern, the moment he saw that blue-purple demon god, he knew exactly who it was.

Madara Uchiha!

The Asura!

The man who, if not for the God of Shinobi, would have nearly destroyed every other hidden village!

"Damn it! Isn't he dead?! Then who is fighting him? Who is that?! Is that Wood Release? Why does that Wood Release have a Susanoo technique?!"

He watched it all in shock, completely unable to comprehend what was happening.

But he wasn't the only one shocked.

Konoha ninjas, Kirigakure ninjas, Kumogakure ninjas, countless ninja eyes were cast upon this spot, watching these two gods battle across the land!

But these were merely mortal eyes. Many more gazes were cast from the age of myths!

"That's... Mother's aura!"

Black Zetsu, clad in darkness, stared in astonishment at Li Ke, who was manipulating a Wood Golem against Madara Uchiha, constantly reshaping the surrounding landscape. He smelled his mother's scent on Li Ke!

And Li Ke, with his white eyes flashing, manipulating the giant Wood Golem against Madara Uchiha, reminded him of Kaguya Otsutsuki controlling the Ten-Tails!

"How is this possible? He's not a direct descendant of the Six Paths Sage, nor does he possess the chakra of Asura or Indra. How did he do it... to continuously trace back to the source of his bloodline..."

Black Zetsu didn't understand, but he grew even more excited!

Because Li Ke could awaken the Rinnegan himself! Not only that, if Li Ke obtained the Rinnegan, he could almost immediately resurrect his mother, Kaguya, the source of all chakra!

However, Black Zetsu didn't know that, in the gap between life and death, a man seated in the void, with horns on his head, purple eyes, and a red eye in the center of his forehead, watched Li Ke battling Madara Uchiha and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

"Indra, Asura... neither of you sees as clearly as a twelve-year-old child. Will you continue to fight?"

He was satisfied with Li Ke's interpretation of humanity, but also displeased with his children's stubbornness!