Madara's pupils contracted. At that moment, he felt the power he had just gained through Hollowfication suddenly weaken. His speed, strength, reaction time, and every aspect of his physical abilities dropped noticeably.
"What is this?!"
The bizarre condition caught him completely off guard. At the same moment, Yasuo's sword had already reached him in a flash of steel.
Pfft!
Blood sprayed through the air. Madara rapidly retreated. Even with Bone Armor protecting his body, a fresh crimson wound appeared across his abdomen, blood quickly flowing from it. But moments later, bone covered the wound once more, and the injury rapidly healed through High-Speed Regeneration.
"I need more power..." Madara muttered. The man before him, armed with only a sword, was worth more than an army of thousands. His strength exceeded everything Madara could understand.
"ROAR!"
A thunderous growl echoed out. The black-and-red pillar of energy spiraled into the heavens, while more and more white bone spread across Madara's body.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Lightning even began striking the ground around him. At the same time, the vertical eye on his forehead snapped open. A long bony tail extended behind him, transforming into a deadly weapon, and narrow skeletal wings emerged from his sides. White bone covered every inch of his body until Madara had fully transformed into a Hollow.
He raised his head toward the sky. Terrifying power surged from his body like a tidal wave. The intensity of that power had already surpassed the limits of this world, breaking through space itself, shattering boundaries, and exceeding anything he had possessed before.
Yasuo studied the transformed Madara, his gaze growing more serious. "No Heroic Power at all... That really is troublesome. But I can still win." His right hand rested on the hilt at his waist, his eyes becoming razor-sharp.
"ROAR!"
At that moment, Madara suddenly lifted his head and released a world-shaking roar. Violent energy erupted around him. The ground shattered and exploded apart, tearing open everything in its path as the shockwave raced outward. Then, as fast as lightning, Madara appeared before Yasuo. His long white bone claw gripped a black-and-red sphere of energy and slammed downward.
"Wind Wall!"
Instantly, a wall of wind appeared before him. Madara's claw struck it and stopped completely, unable to advance even an inch. Then the black-and-red energy sphere exploded, pushing Yasuo backward. But almost immediately, Madara charged again.
"Steel Tempest!"
Yasuo stepped forward, his body shooting ahead to appear before Madara almost instantly. Even Madara, now unleashing his full power, was momentarily stunned. Then he reacted at once, bending backward sharply.
Whoosh!
The sword swept across, barely grazing the tip of his nose. The speed of the attack was beyond imagination. Then, just as Madara was about to straighten up again, he heard three words from above him.
"Steel-Cutting Flash!"
Whooooosh!
A violent gale erupted instantly, sweeping Madara's entire body into the sky.
Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice!
Powerful sword energy tore through him from every direction. Blood sprayed outward as his body spun helplessly within the tornado, losing all sense of direction as he was carried along by the raging sword wind. Below, Yasuo looked up at the tornado moving across the battlefield. He stepped forward, his sword already beginning another swing.
But at that very moment, Madara seemed to sense something from within the storm. The vertical eye on his forehead suddenly opened wide. Tomoe, ancient markings, and bone-white patterns all appeared simultaneously. Black lines intertwined the strange symbols together, forming a terrifying design that inspired instinctive dread in anyone who looked upon it.
"Forest of Fear's Tremor!!"
The vertical eye on his forehead trembled violently and burst forth with a terrifying light. Below, Yasuo was just about to attack when his entire body suddenly froze. He could no longer move. His sword could not swing. It was as if his mind and spirit had been completely seized.
The tornado naturally dispersed. Madara burst out from within it, blood pouring from his body like rain. Yet almost immediately, High-Speed Regeneration restored him to perfect condition. Having surpassed Starlight Rank Seven and obtained new power, Madara's abilities had become incredibly formidable. The vertical eye on his forehead possessed an exceptionally powerful bloodline ability; in fact, it was already approaching the level of a Minor Divine Ability.
Yasuo had first been struck by a spiritual shock. Immediately afterward, immense force surged in from every direction and crushed toward the space where he stood.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
His bones, muscles, and entire body visibly deformed. It was as though some invisible giant hand was forcibly compressing him inward. The pressure lasted for three or four breaths, and then it suddenly vanished. But the next moment, an explosive force erupted outward from the center, blasting Yasuo high into the sky. He crashed heavily into the ground, bounced several times, and finally lay motionless.
"Huff... Huff..." Madara bent over, breathing heavily. Large beads of sweat dripped from his body onto the ground.
This technique was extraordinarily powerful. The force it unleashed was enough to overturn an entire minor world in an instant. Madara was confident that among experts below Starlight Rank Seven, not a single one could withstand it. And now, all of that power had been concentrated onto a single target. The resulting force was unimaginably terrifying, and even Madara himself believed survival to be impossible.
First came the mental and spiritual shock, stunning the target and preventing any chance of evasion. Then came the crushing force from all directions, a pressure capable of instantly destroying a mountain. Finally, the repulsive force exploded outward from the center, reducing the victim to pieces. No one could survive such an attack. No one could withstand Forest of Fear's Tremor.
Yet in the very next moment,
"Heal."
Two calm syllables echoed across the battlefield. The Yasuo who had been lying on the ground slowly stood up again. A green glow enveloped his body, as though he were bathing in a spring of life. The crushed and broken parts of his body rapidly recovered, and within only a few breaths, he was standing before Madara once more, completely restored.
"To wound me to this extent is an honor you'll remember for the rest of your life. But this ends here." His sword slowly slid from its scabbard, the scraping sound of steel against the sheath sending a chill through the air.
Madara moved, preparing to attack again. But before he could, Yasuo spoke once more, his eyes sharp and icy cold. An incomparable aura erupted from him, instantly locking Madara in place.
"You might as well stop struggling. After all, I'm the one who wins."
Suddenly, Yasuo stepped forward. With a single stride, he crossed the distance between them and appeared directly before Madara. Madara's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints. The sword flashed. At that instant, Yasuo's body twisted and collapsed into a single point, appearing suddenly and vanishing just as fast.
"Wind Technique: Breath of the Gale."
The calm voice drifted into Madara's ears. Only then did Madara's body begin spinning through the air before crashing heavily to the ground.
"One sword. One thought."
(End of Chapter)
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