On the plain, both forces came to a halt.
Roughly two hundred meters separated them.
Ryuto stood in the middle of the Senju force, looking at the dark mass opposite them.
They were all Uchiha.
Every one bore the fan-shaped clan crest and wore red and white, a jarring sight.
"Deploy." Hashirama Senju's voice came from the front, quiet but clear enough for everyone to hear.
The Senju force began to move.
Shield-bearing defensive ninja formed the front line, the main attackers occupied the middle, support squads covered both flanks, and ranged fighters and medics stayed in the rear.
Their formation shifted quickly; clearly, they had practiced it countless times.
Ryuto took his twenty men to a position slightly back on the right flank.
As Hashirama had said, their squad would provide mobile support, going wherever the pressure was greatest.
"Lord Ryuto, how should we fight?" Takuma Senju asked quietly.
"We'll see," Ryuto said. "Stay close and don't fall behind. Charge wherever I charge. I'll handle the tough ones; you take care of the rank and file."
"Understood."
Opposite them, the Uchiha had finished forming up as well.
One man stood at the very front.
Black hair, red armor, and a large fan on his back.
Madara Uchiha.
Ryuto recognized him at a glance.
Madara looked over too.
His scarlet Sharingan swept across the Senju ranks, then stopped on Ryuto.
His gaze was exactly the same as it had been in the valley last time.
"He's got his eye on you." Hashirama Senju had come up beside Ryuto at some point.
"I noticed," Ryuto said.
"Stick to the plan." Hashirama patted his shoulder. "Don't fight him head-on. Just hold him up."
"Got it."
Hashirama returned to the front.
Neither side spoke.
The wind howled across the plain, stirring up dust.
It was frighteningly quiet.
Then Madara raised his hand.
"Kill."
One word.
The Uchiha force moved.
They surged forward like a tide.
"Meet them!" Hashirama roared.
The Senju force moved too.
The two tides of people collided.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Ninjutsu clashed, kunai flew everywhere, and explosions mingled with battle cries.
Ryuto drew a deep breath.
"Follow me!"
He pushed off the ground, ki erupting as he shot forward.
Takuma Senju and the twenty men followed close behind.
Ryuto did not charge straight ahead.
He circled around to the right flank, where several Uchiha squads were attacking the Senju's flank defenses.
"Ki Blast!"
Ryuto swept both hands out, flinging two golden blades of ki.
With two dull thuds, two Uchiha ninja were sent flying before they could react.
"Who's there?!"
The remaining Uchiha turned to look.
Ryuto was already right in front of them.
One punch.
An Uchiha flew backward, knocking down three people behind him.
Then a kick.
Another two went flying.
Takuma Senju and the others caught up then, engaging the remaining Uchiha.
"This side's handled! Head left!" Ryuto shouted, charging toward the left flank.
The situation on the left was even worse.
Three Uchiha Jonin, leading more than a dozen Chunin, had a Senju squad pinned down.
Several Senju had already fallen.
"Lord Hashirama said support will be here any moment!" a Senju ninja shouted as he fought.
"How long is 'any moment'?!" another roared. "If they don't get here soon, we're all going to die here!"
"It's here now."
Ryuto dropped from the sky, planting his foot on an Uchiha Jonin's shoulder.
Crack!
The Jonin grunted and dropped to his knees.
The other two Jonin turned, their Sharingan instantly locking onto Ryuto.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Two fireballs blasted toward him from either side.
Ryuto did not dodge. He thrust both hands forward.
"Ki Blast!"
A golden beam blasted out, driving both fireballs straight back.
Boom!
The blast wave knocked everyone nearby off their feet.
The two Uchiha Jonin were struck by their own fireballs and collapsed, their bodies charred black.
"Holy shit..." A Senju ninja's mouth fell open.
"Don't just stand there! Mop up!" With that, Ryuto charged elsewhere.
He made four or five runs back and forth like that.
Ryuto led his twenty men like a firefighting crew, heading wherever the Senju could no longer hold out.
Each time, he rushed in at high speed, dealt with the enemy's strongest fighters in a few moves, then left his teammates to clear the field.
Their efficiency was frightening.
On the battlefield, people on both sides noticed the man in black.
The Senju's morale soared.
"That's Lord Ryuto!"
"He's incredible! One squad broke through an entire Uchiha flank!"
"Keep up! Keep up!"
The Uchiha began adjusting their tactics.
"Watch the one in black! Don't let him get moving!"
"Groups of three! Cover each other!"
But it was useless.
Ryuto was too fast.
With his ki erupting, his charges were practically instantaneous. The Uchiha ninja could not stop him at all.
Even when coordinated ninjutsu occasionally blasted toward him, Ryuto could use the Flight Technique to rise into the air and evade it, then throw down a few Ki Blasts to harass them.
"That fighting style is so damn cheap!" an Uchiha Chunin cursed.
The moment he finished speaking, Ryuto landed in front of him.
"Who are you calling cheap?"
One punch.
The Chunin went flying.
At the center of the battlefield.
Madara Uchiha had not moved.
He simply stood there, watching Ryuto charge back and forth through the battlefield with his Sharingan.
"Brother, that man is Ryuto." Uchiha Izuna walked up beside Madara, his face still a little pale. "He's stronger than last time."
Madara said nothing.
He watched Ryuto blast three more Uchiha ninja away with a Ki Blast, then move at high speed to dodge the counterattack, catching a wounded Senju who had nearly been struck by a kunai along the way.
"His rate of growth is abnormal," Madara finally said.
"Should I go deal with him?" Izuna asked.
"No need. Our lines can't advance. It's time to retreat. Before we do, let me see whether he's worthy of dancing."
With that, Madara moved.
He stepped forward, shooting like a cannonball toward Ryuto's position.
Senju ninja along the way tried to stop him.
Madara did not even look at them. He simply swept his hand out.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Seven or eight Senju ninja flew backward as though they had been hit by a train.
"Madara's coming!" Takuma Senju shouted.
Ryuto had just finished dealing with an Uchiha squad when he turned to look.
Madara was already within fifty meters.
Those scarlet Sharingan were fixed firmly on him.
"Everyone, scatter!" Ryuto barked.
Takuma Senju and the others immediately fell back.
Ryuto stayed where he was, motionless.
Ki circulated wildly through his body, and every muscle tensed.
Madara stopped ten meters in front of him.
"We meet again," Madara said.
"Yeah," Ryuto said. "We didn't finish last time."
"We'll make up for that now."
With that, Madara charged straight at him.
No ninjutsu, no genjutsu, just pure taijutsu.
A punch blasted toward Ryuto's face.
Ryuto's ki erupted, and he met it with a punch of his own.
Boom!!!
Their fists collided, unleashing a blast of air.
The ground around them split open.
Ryuto felt his arm go numb. He slid five or six meters backward before stopping.
Madara stood exactly where he was, not budging an inch.
"Your strength has improved considerably," Madara assessed. "But it's still not enough."
He charged again.
This time, he unleashed a continuous assault.
Fists, elbows, knees, kicks.
He moved so fast that he left afterimages.
Ryuto fought with everything he had, covering his entire body in ki and incorporating the techniques of Senju taijutsu.
Pushing off the ground, turning his waist, driving his shoulder forward.
Every punch carried an eruption of ki.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two traded more than a dozen blows.
No one around them dared approach.
Waves of air mingled with chakra fluctuations, plowing up the ground again and again.
The longer Ryuto fought, the more alarmed he became.
Madara's taijutsu was far too powerful.
Every move was precisely right-its power, speed, and angle were frighteningly perfect.
Besides, Madara hadn't been using his full strength at all.
He seemed to be probing, observing.
"You're learning the Senju's techniques," Madara suddenly said, forcing Ryuto back with a punch. "But you haven't got them right."
Ryuto said nothing and steadied his breathing.
"Your fighting relies on instinct," Madara continued. "Bursts of Ki, speed, strength. But no killing intent."
"Killing intent?"
"Yes." Madara stopped attacking and looked at Ryuto. "You hit people to bring them down. I hit people to kill them."
He pointed at the battlefield around them.
"Look at those Senju and Uchiha. Every move they make is meant to kill the other side. They thrust Kunai at throats and blast Ninjutsu at vital spots. And you?"
"You blast people away with Ki Blasts and knock them unconscious with your fists. You save people on the battlefield and carry the wounded. Do you think this is a sparring match?"
Madara's tone held mockery.
"You won't last long on the battlefield fighting like that."
Ryuto froze.
He really hadn't thought about killing anyone.
Before crossing over, he had been an ordinary person. Even in a fight, the most he would do was knock someone unconscious.
Although he had been through a few battles since crossing over, he still subconsciously avoided vital spots.
"I..." Ryuto opened his mouth.
"No need to explain," Madara cut him off. "I'm just telling you where your problem lies."
He turned around, his back to Ryuto.
"Only when you develop killing intent will you truly qualify to be my opponent."
"Right now, you're not worthy."
Just as he finished speaking, Hashirama Senju's voice rang out.
"Madara!"
Wood Release surged from the ground, forming a wall between them.
Madara looked back and glanced at Hashirama.
"Keep your people in line," Madara said. "The next time we meet, if he hasn't improved, I'll kill him."
Hashirama walked over to Ryuto's side and looked at Madara.
"You won't get the chance."
Madara smiled.
It was an arrogant smile that begged for a punch.
"I'll be waiting."
He raised his hand and made a gesture.
"Retreat."
The Uchiha forces began an orderly withdrawal.
Madara gave Ryuto one last look, then turned and left.
The battlefield fell quiet.
The Senju ninja began clearing the battlefield and treating the wounded.
Ryuto still stood where he was.
His mind was filled with what Madara had just said.
"Killing intent..."
"Ryuto." Hashirama patted his shoulder. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine." Ryuto shook his head. "Was he... right?"
Hashirama was silent for a few seconds.
"Yes and no."
"What do you mean?"
"You do need killing intent on the battlefield," Hashirama said. "If you don't kill the enemy, the enemy will kill you and your teammates. That's reality."
"But killing intent isn't the goal." He looked at Ryuto. "My goal is peace. For the sake of peace, sometimes I have no choice but to kill. But I don't enjoy killing."
"Madara is different. He treats battle as entertainment and killing as a way to prove himself."
"You need to find your own path."
Ryuto lowered his head and looked at his fists.
He had indeed held back while trading blows with Madara.
Several times, he had had a chance to strike a vital spot, but he had subconsciously shifted his aim a little.
"I understand," Ryuto said.
"Good." Hashirama smiled. "You did well today. Takuma's tally showed that you took down at least thirty Uchiha ninja on your own, including six Jonin."
"Not bad, I guess."
"Madara has his eye on you." Hashirama's expression grew a little more serious. "The next time you're on the battlefield, he might come looking specifically for you. Be careful."
"Yeah."
Ryuto raised his head and looked in the direction the Uchiha forces had retreated.
Madara's figure was no longer visible.
But those scarlet Sharingan eyes still seemed to be staring at him.
"Killing intent..."
Ryuto clenched his fists.
Ki circulated through his body, a little denser than before.
He knew he had to make a choice.
Before you continue