In the clearing outside the east gate, the autumn wind swept up dust and carried a grim chill.
Madara Uchiha stood in the center of the clearing, his hands hanging naturally at his sides.
Setsuna took a deep breath.
He knew Madara Uchiha all too well-in the Arena, he had fought every version of Madara more times than he could count.
Edo Madara's Susanoo, Rinnegan Madara's Tengai Shinsei, Six Paths Madara's Truth-Seeking Orbs-he could recite the startup and recovery animations for every skill with his eyes closed.
As long as he caught the startup, he could dodge; as long as he caught the recovery, he could counterattack.
That was the only thing that had kept him alive using C-rank ninja in Super Kage matches.
But now-
Madara Uchiha did nothing.
He formed no hand seals, drew no blade, and took no opening stance. He was waiting for Setsuna to make the first move.
A thin layer of sweat seeped down Setsuna's back.
All his experience predicting attacks became useless in that instant.
It felt like a mind game against a Madara Uchiha who used the Gunbai for defensive counters-if the enemy stayed still, so did he; if he struck first, the enemy would counter and grab him.
But he had no choice.
Dragging this out would accomplish nothing.
Setsuna gritted his teeth and shoved all his Arena experience out of his mind.
If he couldn't exploit startup or recovery, he would attack first.
He kicked off the ground, his five-and-a-half-year-old body shooting forward like a cannonball.
With the boost from level-three stamina, he was more than an order of magnitude faster than other children his age. But to Madara Uchiha, he looked no different from a toddler running toward an ordinary adult.
Setsuna pushed off the ground, his body shooting straight ahead like a bullet from a gun, and swung his right leg in a sweeping kick at Madara's head.
Madara did not raise his right arm, yet the outside of his forearm met Setsuna's shin.
A solid, dull thud rang out. Setsuna felt as though he had kicked an iron pillar.
The force of the kick surprised Madara a little-that was not strength a five-year-old should possess.
Using the rebound from the block, Setsuna twisted over in midair, drew a kunai with his right hand, and stabbed straight at Madara's head.
Madara sidestepped. The kunai brushed past his ear and struck empty air, while his right hand reached straight for Setsuna's neck.
Suspended in midair, Setsuna had nothing to push off to dodge. If that hand caught him, he would lose.
Yet Setsuna did not panic in the slightest.
A pitch-black arm suddenly thrust out of the shadow beneath the front of his shirt and met Madara's palm.
The instant Madara tightened his fingers, the Shadow Hand burst with a muffled bang, crushed straight into black mist by his grip.
Taking advantage of that momentary obstruction and the shadow's recoil, Setsuna propelled himself out of Madara's reach.
He landed, rolled, and braced one hand against the ground. Cold sweat had already broken out across his skin.
Only then did Setsuna feel the pressure of their difference in height. He had to compensate for his shorter reach.
The shadows beneath his arms suddenly swelled. Two arms as thick as an adult's shot out of them, their hands gripping a scythe.
If he wasn't tall enough and his arms weren't long enough, he would make up for it with Shadow Hands.
A flicker of interest crossed Madara Uchiha's eyes. The Second Elder and Toshihi had reported this technique to him, but this was his first time seeing it himself.
Setsuna swept the scythe at Madara's neck. Madara leaned his upper body back slightly, and the blade slid past his throat.
Using the follow-through of the slash, Setsuna turned his wrist and swept upward toward Madara's ribs. Madara lowered his left hand, pressed his palm against the back of the scythe blade, and knocked the attack aside.
The scythe changed direction in midair, shifting from a horizontal slash into a vertical chop straight at the top of Madara's head.
Madara tilted slightly to the left, and the scythe cut through empty air beside his right shoulder.
The Shadow Hands exerted their strength again, using the momentum of the missed downward chop to sweep the scythe upward, its tip aimed at Madara's chin.
Madara raised his right hand and flicked the blade off course with the back of it. At the same time, he pressed his elbow down against the long shaft, pinning the entire scythe to the ground.
Only then did Setsuna notice that Madara Uchiha had not moved from his spot the entire time.
Cold sweat trickled down the curve of Setsuna's bald head. This didn't feel like fighting Madara Uchiha. It felt like fighting a pure taijutsu specialist.
He remembered that, according to the lore, Madara's taijutsu stood at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World-Rock Lee could put up a fight by opening the Gate of Death, and even Might Guy had to use Night Guy.
For the first time, he realized that all this man's flashy skills in the game were nothing more than restrictions forced on him for the sake of balance.
The real Madara Uchiha needed no ninjutsu to make someone feel suffocated.
But Setsuna still had one move left.
Setsuna pulled back two steps, formed hand seals in front of his chest, and spewed a Great Fireball from his mouth.
Trailing a long tail of flame, the fireball hurtled toward Madara.
A flicker of approval crossed Madara's eyes. He leaned back and to the right, letting the fireball skim past his left shoulder before it struck the clearing and erupted into orange-red flames.
The firelight stretched Madara's shadow long and dark, extending from beneath his feet all the way to the edge of the clearing.
A faint smile appeared on Setsuna's face. This was exactly what he wanted.
Countless pitch-black hands burst out of the shadow behind Madara, wielding different weapons as they attacked Madara Uchiha from behind.
Under the Great Fireball's intense light, the shadow was deeper and darker than usual, and the Shadow Hands were far more solid than before.
Yet Madara Uchiha remained completely unruffled. A light hop was all it took to defeat the move.
The instant his feet left the ground, a gap opened between his soles and his shadow. The Shadow Hands crossed beneath his feet, grasping at empty air.
"Interesting." The corners of Madara Uchiha's mouth lifted slightly.
But the moment he landed was exactly what Setsuna had been waiting for.
The Great Fireball's light abruptly went out.
Without the intense light sustaining it, the shadow behind Madara rapidly shrank back to its original size.
And at the very instant Madara's feet touched the ground, two Shadow Hands holding kunai were already waiting in the shadow beneath him.
They stabbed straight out of the shadow directly below him.
The kunai blades sliced through Madara's trouser legs and cut into the skin of his calves.
Bang.
With a muffled pop, Madara's body turned into a wooden log.
The Substitution Technique!
Setsuna's pupils contracted sharply. Before he could turn around, a large hand pressed against the back of his neck from behind, freezing him in place.
"You really do have some skill, brat."
Before Setsuna could react, Madara Uchiha lifted his hand and flung him toward Toshihi.
The impact forced Toshihi half a step back before he steadied himself. Looking down, he found Setsuna puffing out his cheeks in his arms, looking exactly like an inflated pufferfish.
"He's yours." Madara Uchiha left him with those words.
Kagami and Xiao An, who had watched the entire fight, stood with their eyes wide and mouths hanging open. Only after they were sure the fight was over did they draw a sharp breath.
Xiao An tugged at Kagami's sleeve, stammering, "F-f-fight," over and over. Kagami nodded vigorously, admiration practically spilling out of both their eyes.
Kagami pulled Xiao An over to Toshihi, his little curls bouncing with excitement. "That was amazing, Setsuna! Your Shadow Technique-it was incredible!"
Setsuna folded his arms and tipped his chin up slightly, putting on an air of "That was nothing."
That bastard, Madara Uchiha.
He hadn't shown the slightest desire to attack from start to finish. He hadn't even moved his feet.
He wasn't fighting me. He was toying with me.
That condescending composure was more infuriating than getting utterly thrashed.
Seeing that the panel showed only +5 rebellion points, he inwardly cursed Madara Uchiha for being stingy.
Uchiha Setsuna clenched his teeth.
Next time. Next time, I'll beat the shit out of him.
I don't care if Madara Uchiha is the Asura of the Ninja World. Even if I have to fight his Susanoo, I'll drag him out of that turtle shell and beat him senseless.
"Stop cursing the clan leader in your head." Toshihi flicked his smooth forehead with a crisp smack.
Setsuna clutched his forehead and gave a defiant snort.
Watching from a distance, Madara Uchiha smiled faintly.
That brat had exceptional combat instincts.
He had used a Shadow Hand to escape while airborne, created distance with the recoil, and compensated for his short reach with a Shadow Scythe in the shortest time possible.
Even more surprising was how he had used the Great Fireball.
A five-and-a-half-year-old child had used Fire Release to create intense light under those circumstances.
The Great Fireball itself was only a feint. The real killing move lay hidden in the deep shadows created by its light.
He had used ninjutsu to alter the terrain conditions and tilt the battle in his favor.
That kind of talent was truly rare.
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