On Medical Ninjutsu, I, Madara, Acknowledge You as One of the Strongest!

I never expected this guy to possess seal-less self-healing medical abilities similar to Hashirama's. And to recover from wounds like these in such a short time... Without a doubt, his Medical Ninjutsu has reached Hashirama's level...

Madara stared at Yayoi's body. Though he had been severely injured, he recovered in the blink of an eye. Madara's gaze flickered, and surprise appeared on his face.

He had only seen Medical Ninjutsu of this level in Hashirama, his dear friend and fated rival. No other medical ninja could reach Yayoi's level without forming hand seals.

And this little girl's body is actually giving off the aura of chakra... Is she a Tailed Beast?

Even with Madara's vast experience, he could not immediately tell what kind of creature Irori was.

"What is your name?"

Standing atop the chakra giant's head, Madara could not help asking.

"Oda Yayoi, General of the Land of Night."

By the time Yayoi said this, his injuries had completely healed, without a single scar remaining.

"I'll remember that name. I've only seen Medical Ninjutsu at your level in Hashirama. When it comes to Medical Ninjutsu, I, Madara, acknowledge you as one of the strongest!"

Madara's words were undoubtedly the highest possible praise for Yayoi's Medical Ninjutsu.

"What an honor. Then, have you had your fun, Lord Madara?"

Yayoi unconsciously emphasized the word "fun."

"You noticed?"

Madara sounded surprised.

"I have seen you at your peak, Lord Madara. More than a year ago, when you hunted the Seven-Tails in the Land of Night, I was there."

Yayoi fell silent for a moment before answering.

"Were you the ninja at the edge of the battlefield using Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall? No wonder you looked somewhat familiar. What a pity that beast was too weak. It wasn't worthy of being my mount."

Madara seemed to recall something as he replied.

If Yayoi had not brought it up, Madara would have nearly forgotten about it. After all, it had not been anything important.

"So, are we still going to fight? Even against you, Lord Madara, I will fight to the end."

Yayoi took a deep breath. The Chakra Cloak draped over him kept his body in a constant state of battle readiness.

If he did not maintain that state, Madara could kill him in an instant during the coming battle.

His opponent did not need to use any techniques at all. Every strike from his Susanoo would be an unimaginably terrifying, fatal attack.

"That would be fine, but I've lost interest now. Someone unpleasant has appeared here. Let's leave it at that."

Madara formed hand seals.

Bang.

A cloud of white smoke swept past. Madara vanished, and even the Susanoo dissolved into the air without a trace.

"This is..."

Irori's purple pupils trembled slightly.

"Just as I suspected, the one here really was a Shadow Clone..."

Yayoi was not surprised by the sight. He merely smiled helplessly.

From the very beginning, he had found Madara's strength strange.

Not because it was too great, but because his attack power was too weak.

Now, everything had been confirmed. The one who came here had only been a Shadow Clone.

The only question was how much chakra that Shadow Clone possessed compared to Madara's original body.

As for why Madara could use Shadow Clones, the Sharingan's copying ability was simply too useful.

It was only a B-rank Ninjutsu with no special requirements. Madara probably only needed one look to use it with ease.

"You people truly are impressive. Working together, you actually endured Madara's attacks for so long and even forced out the third stage of his Susanoo."

A cold voice sounded.

Yayoi and Irori turned toward the voice. A white-haired man appeared, dressed in black ninja attire beneath layered blue armor.

It was Tobirama Senju.

"Lord Tobirama, you've been here for a while, haven't you?"

Yayoi pressed his somewhat sore neck until it cracked, then dismissed the Chakra Cloak around his body.

Madara had clearly sensed Tobirama's presence. If Tobirama joined in as well, Madara must have realized that the battle could drag on endlessly, and he lost interest in continuing.

After all, no matter how powerful Madara's original body was, a Shadow Clone's strength had its limits.

"I just arrived."

Yayoi did not believe a single word Tobirama said.

This man might have arrived long ago, but he had been searching for Madara's opening, so he kept his chakra concealed and did not let it leak out.

However, once Madara unleashed the third stage of his Susanoo, its attack range became too vast. Tobirama had clearly been caught up in it, allowing Madara to sense his presence.

"Master Mu!"

Ōnoki's agonized cry suddenly came from afar.

He was covered in blood and could barely stand, yet he forced himself onward with sheer determination, trying to reach Mu, who had been gravely wounded and knocked unconscious.

"That kid is really lucky. He actually survived an attack like that."

Yayoi was somewhat surprised by Ōnoki's resilience. The boy was remarkably hard to kill.

Though Ōnoki would become powerful in the future, he was currently nothing more than a minor grunt whose life was in grave danger even watching from the edge of the battlefield.

"At the last moment, he used an Earth Release Technique to hide deep underground, avoiding most of the sword aura's force. Otherwise, not even scraps of him would have remained."

Tobirama had observed everything clearly and knew exactly how Ōnoki had escaped Madara's chakra sword attack range.

"Ōnoki, don't force yourself. Let me handle it."

Yayoi used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside the unconscious Mu, stopping Ōnoki from pushing himself further.

Tobirama came along with Yayoi.

His Body Flicker Technique was equally refined, allowing him to keep pace with Yayoi effortlessly.

"What troublesome injuries. They're actually this severe... Madara was far too ruthless..."

Tobirama frowned deeply. One glance at Mu's wounds was enough to tell him that Mu's life could fade away at any moment.

His waist had nearly been severed by the sword aura, exposing the flesh and bone still connecting his body.

Fortunately, his vitality was relatively strong. Relying on his immensely powerful chakra, he had barely held onto his final breath.

"What do you think, Lord Oda? Can you treat injuries like these?"

Tobirama looked at Yayoi, using an honorific in his tone.

Ōnoki, the attendant, did not matter much, but Mu was a representative of the Land of Earth. If he died here, things would become extremely troublesome.

In particular, Mu was a trusted subordinate of Ishikawa, the First Tsuchikage, and was most likely being trained as his successor.

If this matter was mishandled in the slightest, it could trigger a war between the Land of Earth and the Land of Fire, leading to the outbreak of a Shinobi World War.

He knew that his elder brother Hashirama had always wanted to preserve peace in the Ninja World and would never wish to see war break out.

Madara's actions had completely crossed the line.

No matter what, Madara was only Konoha's advisor. His elder brother Hashirama was the Hokage who made the decisions!

"If his natural lifespan had reached its end, then even I could not bring him back. But injuries like these are still within my ability to treat."

Yayoi did not hesitate. He swiftly held his palm over Mu's waist wound, and a mass of green chakra filled with vigorous life gently wrapped around it.

Bloody flesh buds began to writhe and reconnect.

The broken bones also joined together and healed under the chakra's effects.

Tobirama sighed in relief, but his expression also turned solemn.

The chakra this general is using... Rather than chakra, it is more like some kind of living creature merely wearing a layer of chakra as its outer shell...

Madara's evaluation had not been wrong in the slightest.

This was a medical ability capable of rivaling his elder brother Hashirama's, one that could be called the strongest level in the Ninja World.

In terms of Medical Ninjutsu alone, Yayoi had truly reached the pinnacle of the ninja world, one of the strongest in another sense.

"That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Lord General!"

Ōnoki was so overwhelmed with joy that tears streamed from his eyes. He kept wiping them away at the side.

Meanwhile, Irori found Kakuzu buried beneath the rubble and helped him lift the enormous rock pressing down on him.

He lay in the crater without immediately getting up. His expression clearly suggested that he was questioning his entire life.

Could Uchiha Madara truly still be considered a ninja at that level of power?

He had been searching for an opportunity to strike throughout the battle, even if only to distract Madara.

But in truth, until he was blasted away by the shockwave caused by the sword aura, he had not found a single ideal opening.

The high-level Lightning Release and Fire Release techniques he had only recently acquired never even got a chance to show themselves.

That feeling of defeat left Kakuzu deeply wounded inside.

"That guy really had it rough."

Kakuzu stood from the earthen pit and glanced at Mu's miserable state, his heart shuddering violently.

Fortunately, most of Madara's four sword auras had been aimed at Yayoi, Irori, and Mu. Otherwise, Kakuzu felt his fate would not have been much better than Mu's.

Madara's sword aura truly could have blown apart all of his hearts in an instant!

"This should be enough. Unless something unexpected happens, he'll wake up tomorrow."

After some time, Yayoi finished treating Mu.

The bones and flesh severed at his waist had been flawlessly reconnected. Even the burns lingering on his skin had been healed by Yayoi.

These burns weren't left by Madara's attack. Were they injuries from an earlier battle?

With the mindset of seeing a rescue through to the end, Yayoi had healed Mu's burns while treating the wound on his waist.

Compared to the nearly severed wound at Mu's waist, burns like these were not worth mentioning in Yayoi's eyes.

"Come with me next. There is an outpost our Senju Clan built more than ten kilometers south of here."

Tobirama spoke, telling Ōnoki to carry Mu as he prepared to lead everyone to the outpost he mentioned for some rest.

After what had happened, going to Konoha would clearly have to wait until Mu woke up.

"Irori, go back first. Leave things here to me."

With the battle over, Yayoi told Irori to return.

"Yes."

Soon after, Irori vanished in a puff of white smoke, returning to the Tenshu Tower in the Land of Night.

...Can that girl truly still be considered a puppet?

Tobirama stared at the spot where Irori had vanished, unable to stop himself from lowering his head in thought.

In truth, he had arrived silently at the battlefield shortly after Yayoi and Madara began fighting. He had been waiting for Madara to reveal an opening before getting Yayoi and the others out of danger.

Irori's Ice Release and Water Release had left a deep impression on him.

Her formidable Ice Release could suppress the first and second stages of Susanoo, while the Water Release she used could extinguish Madara's Fire Release.

Strength like that was absolutely not mediocre in the Ninja World.

He had gathered more or less some information about Irori.

For example, around half a year ago, she had displayed the immense power to freeze an island and the surrounding sea in the northern waters of the Land of Night, gaining widespread fame.

Yet no matter how he looked at her, she did not resemble a puppet.

Not only could she act independently and possessed intelligence and the ability to think, but her body had also demonstrated an incredibly strange ability to recover on its own after being injured by the Susanoo.

A Tailed Beast in human form...

Tobirama silently came to that conclusion.

In his heart, he had already unconsciously marked Yayoi as someone who required close attention.

(The protagonist might not be able to defeat Madara yet, but he still had to maintain his bearing and style.

As for Ōnoki, he was thirteen or fourteen at this point, and when standing around, he looked like a minor grunt.)