Hinata watched Shinjō. Even though the person opposite her was the legendary Madara Uchiha, she still had blind trust in Shinjō.
The purple lotus mark between Shinjō's eyebrows flickered silently as a massive amount of pure golden Senjutsu Chakra surged into his body, covering it with a layer of white light.
" Sage Mode, activate!"
A surge of Chakra filled every cell in his body, and the cells, nourished by this powerful energy, seemed to emit joyful "sounds" in unison.
As Shinjō's Chakra quality improved, his Sage Mode bonuses also increased significantly.
With Sage Mode alone, he is confident he can Madara Uchiha.
Couldn't defeat Madara Uchiha, who possessed the Rinnegan? Was it just age spots?
Madara Uchiha was finally ready. His face was no longer as old and decrepit as before. Instead, he stood tall and straight, and his skin was as youthful as ever.
Only his long white hair proved that he was still the same aged Madara Uchiha from before.
Madara Uchiha looked at Shinjō across from him, his eyes revealing an unprecedentedly solemn expression.
This brat knows my name and came specifically to find the Rinnegan, so he must know my situation.
Now, facing himself, he showed no panic, but rather a calm and composed demeanor.
Especially the special Chakra emanating from him; this aura seemed to be Hashirama's Sage Mode.
"Hahahaha!" Madara Uchiha laughed.
"Kid, you actually have the strength to make this old man think highly of you."
Then let's fight to our hearts' content, and let this old man see if you're worthy to dance with me!
Shinjō smiled and said, "The great river flows on, each wave stronger than the last. I, as a junior, will certainly not disappoint you, senior. Since we can't fully utilize our skills here, senior, would you like to challenge me to a duel on the surface?"
Madara Uchiha wholeheartedly agreed; although the underground space was vast, it was far from enough for him to fight to his heart's content.
A Susanoo burst this underground space.
Blue Chakra surged from Madara Uchiha's body, quickly forming a skull shape on his body.
Meridians and muscles grew out of the giant skeleton, and a Chakra Cloak appeared on it. Two huge Chakra swords also appeared at the waist of Susanoo.
The blue half-body Susanoo drew a long sword from its waist and swung it twice at Shinjō.
The massive and sharp sword energy swiftly shattered the rocks on the roof, sending huge chunks of rock falling and kicking up a cloud of dust.
A ray of sunlight shone through the crack, illuminating the large amount of dust and forming a thin beam of light.
Madara Uchiha looked at Shinjō across from him, raised his chin, and said arrogantly, "Follow me."
The enormous half-body Susanoo began to grow legs, and the huge Susanoo used its head to forcefully prop up the gap that had been pierced by the sword energy.
The gap was quickly widened by Susanoo, revealing a huge crack. The blue giant swung his twin swords as he climbed upwards.
Soon, the gap was large enough to accommodate his body. The blue giant bent his legs and leaped upwards, jumping out of the vast underground space.
A wall of water emerged around the Shinjō, pushing aside all the surrounding rocks.
He took Hinata's hand, and a pair of purple and white wings sprouted from behind him.
With a powerful flap of his wings, he brought the two of them to the ground. He placed Hinata in a spot, away from the battlefield.
Hinata is quite strong, but she still can't participate in this kind of battle.
Hinata was well aware of her situation and found a rock to use as cover.
Shinjō flapped his wings again and flew into the air. Facing the blue giant opposite him, Chakra sword tens of meters long extended from Shinjō's fingertips.
" Sage Art: Storm Release - Instant Blade!"
The purple-white longsword moved at high speed, causing the surrounding air to emit a piercing roar.
After acquiring the Mangekyō Sharingan, Shinjō can also activate Susanoo.
Some things, once possessed and enjoyed, can become boring, Susanoo towards Shinjō were no exception.
He used to like it because he had a childhood dream of defeating enemies while piloting a "Gundam," but after actually owning it, Shinjō discovered that the enormous Susanoo wasn't quite a good match for his abilities. He had always pursued high-speed movement, but the Susanoo's large size made it seem cumbersome.
Especially now, facing the enormous Susanoo, Shinjō showed no fear whatsoever; on the contrary, his fighting spirit continued to rise.
" Madara Uchiha- senpai, while Susanoo powerful, it's not a very effective fighting style for me. Are you sure you want to fight me this way?"
Madara Uchiha knew that a larger Susanoo was not the best choice for dealing with an opponent with extremely high speed.
He had simply been out of battle for too long and had impulsively chosen to use Susanoo break through the ground.
But if I were to release Susanoo just because of a single sentence from that kid, wouldn't that mean I'm afraid of him?
"You brat, you weren't even born when I was dominating the battlefield, and you dare to tell me how to fight?"
Madara Uchiha activated his Chakra once more, and the blue giant's body grew even larger, sprouting a pair of wings on its back, and armor reappeared on its body.
Susanoo his twin swords and unleashed a fierce slash towards Shinjō in mid-air.
Two massive sword energies intersected and shot towards the Shinjō.
With a flap of its wings, Shinjō moved swiftly to the left. Two sword energies crossed, slicing a small mountain behind it into four pieces.
It truly lives up to its reputation as a symbol of destructive power.
Shinjō thought to himself that the power of such a casual strike was something his Instant Blade could not achieve even with all its strength.
Even though he had developed his Ninjutsu to its limit, he still seemed somewhat weak in the face of the Sharingan, an unreasonable Kekkei Genkai.
However, Ninjutsu isn't necessarily better the more powerful it is. This is the path Shinjō is currently taking—focusing on speed, coupled with fierce attacks.
No matter how strong the defensive power of Ninjutsu is, it will eventually have its limits, and ninjas themselves are even more vulnerable.
Even powerful figures like Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju could easily die if struck in a fatal spot.
No matter how great the power, it still belongs to humanity in essence.
The Light-Weight Rock Technique made Shinjō's body light, and the wings on his back gave him powerful momentum.
Facing the towering Susanoo, his rapid movement made him feel like a fish in water, just like an ordinary person facing a swarm of flies, no matter how hard he tried to catch it or slash at it with his sword, he couldn't do anything to it.
Shinjō, meanwhile, was dragging a long, thin dagger, seemingly ready to strike Susanoo's body at any moment.
Shinjō easily circled behind the massive Susanoo, raised his long sword, and slashed at its large blue wings.