An invisible layer of natural chakra threads was weaving a cocoon around Madara Uchiha's body.
Inside the cocoon, Madara recalled the way Jing Xiu had looked when he spoke.
Jing Xiu's expression had been serene, as though he had glimpsed the most wondrous, ethereal realm between heaven and earth.
His eyes had been as clear as morning dew, his smile as pure and sweet as a mountain spring.
Madara had never seen Jing Xiu wear such an expression, so it had left an unusually deep impression on him.
"Madara, remember this."
"The Dao manifests through techniques, and techniques find their way through the Dao."
"With techniques but no Dao, techniques are as far as you go."
"With the Dao but no techniques, techniques can still be sought."
Madara mulled over Jing Xiu's words again and again. Though he did not understand what the Dao was, he now understood what techniques were.
Such tremendous power, yet Jing Xiu sees it as nothing more than the fundamentals of strengthening the foundation, nourishing vitality, preserving health, and conditioning the body.
But it really is just the fundamentals.
Having grasped the essence of the golden light, Madara's chakra, already far beyond that of ordinary people, continuously merged with the natural chakra that filled the surrounding space.
Eventually, it condensed inside him into a "golden pill" that seemed barely there, faint and insubstantial.
Had Jing Xiu witnessed this, his jaw would surely have dropped. "How long has Madara even been cultivating? He's already condensed an illusory core!"
Madara's recollections seemed lengthy, but only an instant had passed in reality.
Though Butsuma Senju knew nothing of senjutsu, he faintly sensed that something was wrong with Madara Uchiha. Madara's condition unsettled him.
Just as the tachi in Butsuma Senju's hand came within a centimeter of Madara's forehead, Madara's eyes abruptly opened.
One hand clamped around Butsuma Senju's tachi like an iron vise, while the other rapidly formed hand seals.
Butsuma Senju reacted instantly. Abandoning his tachi, he activated the Body Flicker Technique and flashed backward.
More than a dozen lifelike fire dragons grazed Butsuma's hair and soared into the sky.
Looking at his singed hair, then at Madara Uchiha's overwhelming presence, Butsuma Senju sighed softly. "Retreat!"
The Senju elite jōnin looked at Butsuma Senju in confusion. "Clan Leader, that boy's eyes are vacant. That overwhelming presence is clearly just a temporary state."
"As long as we take turns attacking, we can outlast it. Then that boy will be ours to deal with as we please!"
Butsuma Senju sighed and looked toward a spot deep in the woods. "What do you think of that plan?"
As soon as he spoke, a tall figure walked slowly out of the forest, his scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan embodying the bloodshed of the shinobi world.
"Tajima, it really is you!"
There was delight in Butsuma Senju's eyes, but even more disappointment. "It seems Tennin's ultimate technique failed to finish you off."
"But how much of your strength do you have left now?"
Uchiha Tajima's upper body was covered in bandages, with blood still slowly seeping through in places.
"Butsuma, so all of this really was your scheme! You truly are the most treacherous of the three of us!"
Rather than answer Butsuma Senju's question directly, he gathered a vast amount of chakra into the tachi in his hand.
At the right moment, the Uchiha's secret Half-Moon Slash would once again be unleashed upon the world.
"Clan Leader, Uchiha Tajima is on his last legs. If we join forces, we can make sure he never leaves this place!"
The Senju elite jōnin offered his advice again. He believed that as long as his clan leader was willing to make sacrifices,
Both the Uchiha Clan Leader, Uchiha Tajima, and the Uchiha Young Clan Leader, Madara Uchiha, would meet their bitter ends here and now.
But Butsuma Senju shook his head, his gaze still fixed on the space behind Uchiha Tajima.
"So my two old friends have joined forces. Do you intend to keep me here?"
Hyuga Tennin stepped out of the shadows behind Uchiha Tajima, his stern face heavy with concern.
"Butsuma, you've disappointed me deeply! I thought the Senju of the Forest were a clan of love. I never imagined you would betray an ally for your own selfish desires!"
Butsuma Senju looked at Hyuga Tennin with an aggrieved expression. "We Senju attacked the Uchiha to help you escape."
"I haven't laid a finger on a single Hyuga shinobi. Tennin, how can you accuse me so unjustly?"
Uchiha Tajima and Hyuga Tennin had merely been drawn over by Madara and Butsuma's battle. Neither had returned to his own clan.
Thus, neither knew exactly what was happening on the battlefield.
But both were seasoned schemers in positions of power, and they naturally knew how to keep up appearances.
Butsuma Senju could detect nothing amiss in either man's expression.
The Senju elite jōnin spoke up once more. "Hyuga Clan Leader, your Hyuga Clan already had an alliance with our Senju Clan. Why did you first break that agreement, then ambush our clan leader?"
"Is this the extent of the Hyuga's magnanimity?"
"Byakugan!"
Hyuga Tennin did not even look at the Senju elite jōnin. He simply activated his Byakugan. One red pair and one white pair-the two most powerful eyes in the shinobi world-fixed their gazes on Butsuma Senju.
Even Butsuma Senju struggled under such immense pressure.
Butsuma Senju felt helpless. It looks like getting out of here alive today will be difficult!
The next moment, Uchiha Tajima swung his tachi. A massive blade of energy capable of cleaving heaven and earth took the shape of a crescent moon and hurtled straight toward the Senju elite jōnin.
The blade of energy moved at incredible speed. It was the Uchiha-style secret technique: Half-Moon Slash.
Butsuma Senju frowned slightly. He had assumed that Uchiha Tajima and Hyuga Tennin had already grievously wounded each other in their battle.
According to the intelligence he had received, both should have been on their last legs. How could they still possess such strength?
Butsuma Senju swung his own blade, blocking the Half-Moon Slash as he immediately ordered, "Retreat!"
Tajima and Tennin pursued them for dozens of kilometers, all the way to the edge of Greenleaf Cliff.
Only after watching Butsuma Senju and the Senju elite jōnin flee into the distance did the two return together to the Uchiha camp.
The Uchiha forces, which had grown restless after Madara's disappearance, witnessed Uchiha Tajima chasing down Butsuma Senju.
Their morale soared, and their cheers shook heaven and earth.
"Fourth Elder, take a few clansmen into the forest and bring Madara back. Everyone else, attend to your duties. The war has only just begun. Do not let your guard down."
While issuing his orders, Tajima also made sure to arrange for medical shinobi to treat Hyuga Tennin.
Both he and Hyuga Tennin were badly injured. Had Butsuma Senju detected any sign of fear in them earlier,
Never mind returning to their respective clans to take command-they would likely have struggled to leave the forest alive.
"Tajima, now that we've returned, any further entanglement by the Senju will accomplish nothing but wasting troops. Why are you still ordering heightened security?"
Hyuga Tennin felt there was no need to continue this battle. If the Senju pushed the two great clans too far, the Senju themselves would ultimately suffer.
And the Hyuga did not want the Senju crippled.
What the Hyuga wanted was for the Senju and the Uchiha to remain evenly matched. That way, as the third-greatest clan in the shinobi world, the Hyuga could benefit from both sides and develop steadily.
Uchiha Tajima gave Hyuga Tennin a penetrating look. "Tennin, do you still not understand?"
"Butsuma Senju won't give up until he's tested our true fighting strength."
"He only fled so pathetically because he didn't want to risk his own life!"
Just as the two were making active preparations for the war, an Uchiha chunin approached Tajima, looking frightened.
"Clan Leader, something's wrong! Young Master Madara is missing!"