Chapter 140 (Patreon)

“Wha—?!”

Hinata’s pupils contracted as the sea of flames, strengthened by the gravitational pull, roared toward them like a raging tsunami.

She raised her hand, preparing to blast it back with repulsive force.

At that moment, Nerona Mihawk suddenly stepped forward.

The black blade Nemesis swept through the air, releasing a dazzling silver-white arc of light.

The surging sea of flames rapidly vanished wherever the light passed. Within moments, only a few tiny embers remained before they, too, faded away.

The flames had not been torn apart, nor had they been extinguished by water. There was no steam and not even a trace of lingering heat.

It was as though the sea of fire had never existed.

After breaking free from the gravitational pull, Madara landed on the ground with his arms crossed. The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

“So those are the eyes capable of ‘killing’ anything... They truly are remarkable.”

Whoosh!

Mihawk leaped down from the rocky mountain and charged straight toward Madara.

Watching him approach, Madara narrowed his eyes slightly.

“A swordsman with those strange eyes... Does that mean allowing you to get close would be dangerous?”

His smile widened.

“In that case, I suppose I should become a little more serious.”

Boom!

Power erupted from Madara’s body as a brilliant blue Susanoo rapidly formed around him, wielding two swords.

The Susanoo raised the sword in its right hand and swung it forward, unleashing a blue Ranged Slash of considerable size.

The attack carved through the ground as it raced toward Mihawk.

Shing—!

Mihawk responded with a single swing of Nemesis.

The next instant, the blue Ranged Slash vanished without a trace.

Madara’s Sharingan shifted into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and his brow finally furrowed.

“It can even kill an attack created by Susanoo? Just where is its limit?”

After erasing the Ranged Slash, Mihawk’s Mystic Eyes of Death Perception faded, leaving his eyes their usual red.

Without slowing down, he returned Nemesis to its sheath and lowered his stance, one hand resting on the hilt.

Boom!

Advanced Armament Haki instantly coated the black blade, causing a purplish aura to surge around it.

Mihawk drew Nemesis in one fluid motion.

A dark-red Ranged Slash, sixteen or seventeen meters tall, erupted from the blade and tore across the earth with a thunderous roar.

The attack was extraordinarily fast, and the distance between Mihawk and Madara was already short.

Within seconds, the dark-red Ranged Slash collided head-on with Susanoo.

Boom!

The tremendous force blasted Susanoo—and Madara within it—nearly a hundred meters backward.

Crack...

As Madara was driven back, crisp cracking sounds came from the Susanoo surrounding him.

Fractures rapidly spread across its body.

Madara raised his eyes toward the shattered portions of Susanoo, yet his expression remained calm.

That unfamiliar energy carried a force capable of penetrating defenses and destroying its target from within—all from a seemingly simple slash of that black blade.

Madara’s Sharingan had clearly captured the moment that power passed through Susanoo and tore it apart from the inside.

For the first time, genuine interest appeared in his eyes.

“A sword technique I have never seen before... No wonder the Chakra within your body is nowhere near as powerful as that girl’s.”

An arrogant smile appeared on Madara’s face.

“This is the first time I have crossed blades with a swordsman like you. I admit it—you have successfully awakened my fighting spirit.”

After saying that, Madara glanced toward the Allied Shinobi Forces gathered to his right.

Whoosh!

His figure suddenly disappeared.

An afterimage streaked into the ranks of the Fourth Division.

Thud! Bang! Crack!

The sounds of fists and kicks striking flesh echoed continuously throughout the formation.

Whether chūnin or jōnin, regardless of their strength, every shinobi who stood before Madara was effortlessly sent flying.

Crack!

Madara appeared in front of a sword-wielding shinobi, seized him by the throat, and crushed his neck without the slightest effort.

He then snatched the sword from the dead shinobi’s hand and rushed back through the Allied Shinobi Forces.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

The visual prowess of his straight-tomoe Mangekyō Sharingan, combined with his astonishing speed, allowed him to cut through the shinobi like wheat before a scythe.

The sword spun continuously in Madara’s hand.

With every turn, armor shattered and flesh was torn apart.

“Aaagh!”

“Stop him!”

“Damn it!”

Screams rose one after another throughout the Allied Shinobi Forces.

Madara’s assault had been so sudden that even Ōnoki and Gaara failed to react in time.

By the time they prepared to counterattack, Madara had already broken through the formation and was charging toward Mihawk with the stolen sword in hand.

His speed was so great that a long plume of dust trailed behind him.

“Damn it!”

Gaara gritted his teeth.

Madara had entered their formation as though no one were there, slaughtered their forces, taken a weapon, and departed just as effortlessly.

“Everyone, please withdraw from this area.”

Just as Gaara was about to make his move, Hinata’s voice came from above.

She flew over the battlefield and spoke calmly.

“Leave that man to Mihawk-kun. You should go and support the other divisions.”

“Hinata, what are you saying?!” Gaara shouted. “That man is Uchiha Madara! This is no time to stubbornly insist on a one-on-one battle!”

Hinata’s expression remained serious.

“This is Mihawk-kun’s decision. If even he cannot defeat Madara, then no number of people sacrificing their lives here will make any difference.”

“You...”

Gaara was left speechless.

Hinata was normally gentle and levelheaded, but whenever Mihawk was involved, she seemed to become a completely different person.

They had been together for ten years. During that time, Mihawk’s influence had become an inseparable part of the person she was.

Those years of growth, combined with the awakening of the Tenseigan, had given Hinata the resolve of a true warrior.

Her gentleness remained, but beneath it now lay an unyielding strength.

“Enough...”

Ōnoki spoke with a grim expression.

“Let him deal with Madara for now. If he fails, the Five Kage will have no choice but to fight together.”

He turned toward the battlefield where Mihawk and Madara were about to clash.

“When two monsters like them fight, the destruction will be immense. We cannot allow their attacks to engulf the Fourth Division.”

Ōnoki looked at Gaara.

“Kazekage, organize the retreat first.”

“I... understand.”

Gaara hesitated, but eventually nodded.

He stepped onto a platform of sand and flew back toward the Fourth Division to organize the evacuation.

By then, Mihawk and Madara had already begun fighting.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The continuous sound of colliding metal rang across the battlefield.

Sparks scattered past their faces with every exchange.

Throughout the battle, Mihawk kept his eyes open and stared directly into Madara’s Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. He showed no fear that Madara might use genjutsu against him.

Mihawk possessed several ways to resist it.

His Mystic Eyes of Death Perception were one of them.

Advanced Conqueror’s Haki was another.

Even so, Madara’s performance surprised him.

Mihawk was not using his full strength, yet Madara was still keeping up remarkably well.

This was the first time since Mihawk’s template had reached one hundred percent that anyone had managed to keep pace with him, even while he was holding back.

That alone was enough to genuinely impress him.

Realizing that Mihawk’s gaze remained perfectly clear, and sensing the pure, overwhelming fighting spirit radiating from him, Madara did not hesitate to praise his opponent.

“Judging by your age, you were not even born before I died!”

Madara’s smile widened as their swords collided again.

“I never imagined this era would produce someone like you!”