Boom--
Above the boundless ice field, two figures resembled a pair of hurricanes sweeping across the vast sea. Wherever they passed, the heavens shattered and the earth ruptured, with shards of ice flying wildly. The chakra generated from their collisions formed a rampaging chakra storm around the two!
The entire sea area vibrated. The observing Kirigakure ninja could only see two dark shadows flashing back and forth. They wanted to go up and help, but they had no way to intervene at all, and could only silently pray in their hearts for their own leader to win.
Yet in the center of the storm, Byakuren wore a pale expression, his blue-and-white hair and beard fluttering in disarray in the air, his eyes filled with undisguised shock.
For the moment the two seemed evenly matched, but he knew very well that he held no advantage whatsoever. Every single one of his attacks exhausted his full strength, which resulted in a terrifying consumption of chakra. In contrast, Uchiha Madara maintained a relaxed and effortless posture from beginning to end; rather than a battle, it felt much more like he was just playing for amusement.
In truth, that was indeed the case. Madara was undoubtedly a passionate combat enthusiast. Compared to the final outcome of victory or defeat, he actually enjoyed the process of fighting much more. As long as an opponent could spark his interest in battle, he did not mind spending some time playing along with them.
This was also why, during the Fourth Shinobi World War in the original timeline, Madara clearly possessed the strength to swiftly defeat the Five Kage, yet still accompanied them in a prolonged battle.
Ever since the end of the Warring States Era, Madara had never engaged in a truly unrestrained fight. Although he usually