Chapter 143 (Patreon)

Whoosh!

Mihawk's grip on Nemesis shifted slightly.

A deep-purple aura began spilling from the black blade as Advanced Armament Haki flowed through it.

A moment later, Advanced Conqueror’s Haki wrapped around the sword.

Crack! Crackle!

Pitch-black lightning erupted from Nemesis and shot straight into the sky.

The dark clouds that had been split apart by their previous clash were instantly blown away.

Within seconds, the entire sky had been cleared, revealing an uninterrupted expanse of blue.

The earth trembled beneath the pressure.

Deep cracks spread across the desert, while the forest Madara had created swayed violently beneath the overwhelming force pouring from Mihawk’s sword.

Madara’s Rinnegan narrowed.

“So you were still holding back.”

The Perfect Susanoo tightened its grip around its enormous katana and forced more chakra into the blade.

Its second hand drew the other katana before bringing both weapons down toward Mihawk in a devastating cross-shaped strike.

Mihawk held Nemesis in one hand.

Facing the two enormous blades descending upon him, he swung his sword only once.

Clang—BOOM!

The collision unleashed an explosion that shook the entire battlefield.

Purple aura and pitch-black lightning erupted between the blades, spreading across the sky like a violent storm.

The remains of Madara’s forest were torn from the ground.

Enormous trenches ripped through the desert, while several mountains beyond the battlefield cracked beneath the force of the shock wave.

One mountain peak split down the middle.

Another had its entire upper half torn away and sent crashing into the valley below.

The Allied Shinobi Forces several miles away were forced to brace themselves against the violent wind.

Crack!

A fracture appeared across one of the Perfect Susanoo’s enormous katanas.

Then another appeared.

In the next instant, both gigantic blades shattered.

The dark-purple arc released from Nemesis continued forward without slowing and passed straight through the Perfect Susanoo.

For a brief moment, the towering blue warrior remained completely still.

A narrow line appeared across its body, stretching diagonally from its shoulder to its waist.

Riiip!

The Perfect Susanoo split apart.

The colossal warrior capable of confronting the Nine-Tails was destroyed by a single slash.

Its severed halves rapidly lost their shape before dissolving into streams of blue chakra.

Madara fell from the crystal on its forehead.

He twisted in midair and landed heavily upon the shattered ground. The force of his landing carved two long trenches behind his feet.

When Madara finally came to a stop, the excitement on his face had been replaced by a far more serious expression.

“To think you could destroy my Perfect Susanoo without relying on those eyes...”

His gaze shifted toward the purple aura and pitch-black lightning still surrounding Nemesis.

“This power of yours cannot be underestimated.”

At the beginning of their battle, Madara had regarded Mihawk as nothing more than an unusually talented youngster.

Even after Mihawk cut through his Fire Release and destroyed his first Susanoo, Madara had still approached their battle with the attitude of an adult entertaining a gifted child.

That changed when Mihawk shattered both meteorites with a single casual Ranged Slash.

After Mihawk stopped the Perfect Susanoo’s katana, Madara finally acknowledged him as an opponent worthy of his full strength.

Now, after watching the Perfect Susanoo fall to a single Haki-coated slash, Madara’s evaluation changed once again.

Mihawk was no longer merely a talented brat or an entertaining opponent.

He was an enemy powerful enough to threaten Madara’s plans.

Even Tobirama Senju, the younger brother of Hashirama and the Second Hokage, had never earned that position in Madara’s eyes.

When Madara had once confronted a young Ōnoki, he had treated the future Tsuchikage with the condescending patience of an adult dismissing an angry child.

Only Hashirama had ever received Madara’s complete attention and respect.

Now there was Mihawk.

Strength was the only thing capable of earning Madara’s genuine acknowledgment.

It was the same kind of respect that Might Guy’s Eight Gates Released Formation in the anime had forced from him.

Madara might currently possess only an Edo Tensei body, preventing him from using the full power and unique abilities of his Rinnegan, but his strength still stood far beyond that of an ordinary Kage.

Throughout his battle with Mihawk, he had already used nearly every power available to him in his current state.

Wood Release.

The Rinnegan.

Two meteorites.

The Perfect Susanoo.

Aside from the Nine-Tails he had once controlled during his battle against Hashirama at the Valley of the End, Madara had revealed nearly his entire arsenal.

Mihawk had overcome all of it.

He had even become the second person after Hashirama to destroy Madara’s Perfect Susanoo head-on.

Madara had no choice but to admit that without the endlessly replenishing chakra and regenerative body granted by the Edo Tensei, he would no longer be in perfect condition.

Madara never hesitated to acknowledge a worthy opponent.

However, the moment he recognized Mihawk as an obstacle to the Infinite Tsukuyomi, that admiration transformed into unmistakable killing intent.

He would eliminate Mihawk regardless of the cost.

Madara raised his hands and brought his index and middle fingers together.

Mihawk slowly descended through the air with Geppo.

The deep-purple aura continued flowing from Nemesis, while pitch-black lightning flickered around its blade.

Madara stared directly at him.

“Before we continue, tell me your name.”

Mihawk leveled Nemesis toward him.

“Nerona Mihawk.”

“Mihawk...”

Madara repeated the name before giving a slow nod.

“I will remember it.”

“You are the most remarkable warrior of this era. Your talent and strength are great enough that even I cannot afford to ignore them.”

Madara’s expression hardened.

“That is why I will kill you here, no matter what it takes.”

He formed another hand seal.

“Wood Release: Wood Clone Jutsu!”

The ground surrounding Madara split apart.

More than a dozen pieces of wood emerged and rapidly took human form.

Within seconds, over a dozen identical Madaras stood across the battlefield.

Boom!

Blue chakra erupted from the original Madara and every Wood Clone simultaneously.

The chakra expanded rapidly, transforming into more than a dozen Armored Susanoo that surrounded Mihawk from every direction.

Madara stood among them with his arms folded.

“The greatest advantages of the Edo Tensei are an immortal body and chakra that recovers without end.”

“No matter how powerful your sword may be, you still possess a living body.”

“Let us see how long you can continue cutting.”

Mihawk’s breathing remained steady.

Neither his Haki nor the hand holding Nemesis showed the slightest instability.

Madara’s eyes became even more solemn.

Mihawk had destroyed the Perfect Susanoo without displaying any visible exhaustion.

The Mystic Eyes of Death Perception had not been involved, either. That last slash had come entirely from Mihawk’s swordsmanship and Haki.

The Wood Clones were not proof that Madara had regained the advantage.

They were proof that he no longer believed he could defeat Mihawk in a direct confrontation.

Mihawk calmly surveyed the Armored Susanoo surrounding him.

“You believe numbers will make a difference?”

Madara smiled.

“Why not find out?”

The Armored Susanoo moved simultaneously.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

More than a dozen colossal warriors charged from every direction, their footsteps shaking the desert.

Several enormous katanas descended upon Mihawk at once.

Whoosh!

Mihawk stepped against the air with Geppo and disappeared from the center of their formation.

The gigantic blades struck nothing but empty ground.

Boom!

The desert collapsed beneath the combined attack, creating an enormous crater.

Before the Susanoo could withdraw their weapons, Mihawk appeared beside the head of the nearest one.

Nemesis flashed.

A dark-purple Ranged Slash wrapped in pitch-black lightning swept horizontally across the battlefield.

Crack!

Three Armored Susanoo were severed at the waist.

The Wood Clones inside them were split apart at the same time.

The slash continued for several miles before striking a distant mountain.

A perfectly smooth line appeared across the mountain’s center.

Moments later, its upper half slid from its base and crashed into the earth with a deafening roar.

Two more Susanoo attacked Mihawk from behind.

Without turning around, Mihawk lowered his body and allowed one enormous katana to pass above his head.

He then stepped against the air, shifted his position, and guided the second katana into the path of the first.

Clang—BOOM!

The two gigantic blades collided.

Before either Susanoo could recover, Mihawk appeared between them and swung Nemesis upward.

Purple aura erupted from the blade.

Both Armored Susanoo were split apart from waist to shoulder.

Their massive bodies dissolved into blue chakra as the severed Wood Clones fell toward the ground.

Another Susanoo brought its sword down from directly above.

Mihawk raised Nemesis with one hand.

The two blades did not touch.

Advanced Armament Haki and Advanced Conqueror’s Haki erupted between them, creating a gap filled with violent purple energy and pitch-black lightning.

Crack!

The enormous katana shattered from its tip to its hilt.

The resulting shock wave tore through the desert and destroyed another mountain ridge beyond the battlefield.

Mihawk completed his upward swing.

The Armored Susanoo was cleaved cleanly in two.

Madara’s Wood Clones immediately began regenerating, while their shattered Susanoo slowly re-formed around them.

However, Mihawk destroyed them faster than the Edo Tensei could restore them.

Every flash of Nemesis brought down another Susanoo.

Every collision tore open the earth.

Dark-purple Ranged Slashes crossed the battlefield, cutting through Madara’s forest and leaving smooth scars across the distant mountains.

Madara repeatedly changed positions among his Wood Clones, searching for an opening.

He found none.

Mihawk moved between the towering Susanoo with Geppo, slipping through their attacks as if their enormous swords were moving in slow motion.

Within moments, more than half of the Wood Clones had been cut apart and were still struggling to regenerate.

Mihawk remained completely unharmed.

For the first time since the battle began, Madara was being forced entirely onto the defensive.

His immortal body and replenishing chakra allowed him to continue fighting, but neither could close the difference between them.

Madara watched another three Armored Susanoo collapse beneath a single slash.

The smile remained on his face, but his Rinnegan had become colder and more focused than ever.

He had multiplied his forces yet had not gained the advantage.

Mihawk stopped in the air above the ruined battlefield.

Purple aura rolled from Nemesis, while pitch-black lightning climbed its blade and tore across the clear sky.

He raised the black sword toward the remaining Susanoo.

“You wanted me to take this seriously.”

A faint smile appeared on Mihawk’s face.

“Now you have my attention.”