Even though Shiraishi's Black Mist and the Snake Queen's unique Ryuchi Cave arts masked their presence and chakra signatures, Uchiha Madara's sharp instincts identified their anomaly with a single glance.
While Madara was arrogant, he maintained a baseline of respect for the Three Great Sage Regions. He spoke indifferently, his voice carrying across the battlefield: "Since when did the Sages of Ryuchi Cave take an interest in the affairs of the mundane world?"
Madara's gaze was fixed directly on the Snake Queen. As for Shiraishi, although he sensed a faint trace of Sage chakra on him, Madara didn't give him a second thought.
Shiraishi's ANBU mask made him look like a mere attendant, someone Madara deemed beneath his notice.
"Ryuchi Cave?" Reto and Queen Sari exchanged confused looks, but the elders of the Hagoromo clan—who possessed extensive ancient knowledge—understood the weight of that name. After a brief explanation, the gravity of the newcomers' origins settled over the defenders.
Madara himself was wary. The Warring States period was undergoing a violent transformation. Senju Hashirama had already secured the Sage inheritance of Shikkotsu Forest; if Ryuchi Cave was moving pieces on the board now, what were their motives?
Destroying the Hagoromo clan was the cornerstone of establishing the Hidden Leaf and the final act of the Warring States era. Madara would permit no interference.
Sensing Madara's hostility, the Snake Queen's brow furrowed. She didn't fear him, but she knew this man was a monster.
His power was already reaching the heights of the ancient Indra and Ashura, and the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan made him a nightmare for any opponent—especially a Sage of Ryuchi Cave.
Her specialty lay in illusions and spiritual energy; against a Uchiha, whose eyes were the natural predators of serpents, even an eight-headed sage had to step carefully.
Shiraishi remained silent, playing the role of the subordinate. Currently, he and the Snake Queen were in a delicate partnership, and if Madara wanted to believe she was the one in charge, Shiraishi was more than happy to let her take the heat.
The silence stretched until the Snake Queen, growing impatient with the staring match, finally spoke.
"This queen is merely passing through Roran. I have no intention of interfering in your squabbles."
Her voice was a divine, haunting composite of multiple tones—a "multi-track" vocal effect that sounded mechanical yet ethereal, adding to her mysterious aura.
The Hagoromo clansmen, who had hoped for a powerful ally to turn the tide, felt a crushing wave of despair. If even a Sage of Ryuchi Cave bowed out before Madara, their fate was sealed.
Shiraishi, meanwhile, was mentally taking notes on her vocal technique. That voice synthesis trick... I should learn it for ANBU reconnaissance.
"That sound requires specific serpentine vocal organs," the Snake Queen whispered, seemingly reading his mind. "If your subordinates want to learn it, they'd need organ transplants and Orochimaru-level body modifications."
"I'll just build a mechanical simulator with ninja tools," Shiraishi replied dryly.
Madara, satisfied with the Sage's retreat, turned back to the Hagoromo. He swung the Uchiha Gunbai, creating a violent vortex of energy.
"Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
A wall of fire erupted, turning the landscape into an inferno. This wasn't a standard Great Fireball; it was a sea of flames ten times more powerful, covering over fifty meters in a single breath.
In the future, it would take twenty Shinobi Alliance members using Water Wall simultaneously to barely contain it. Under Madara's hand, a B-rank jutsu was performing at S-rank levels.
Watching the god-like display, Shiraishi felt a rare pang of disbelief. "I know Madara doesn't have Sage Mode or any external chakra boosters. Why is his internal chakra volume higher than mine?"
"That is the grace of the Eternal Mangekyo," the Snake Queen explained. "It removes the physical burden on his body. As for the volume... well, he is this generation's Indra."
The Mangekyo Sharingan was usually a curse—a power born of negative emotion that ate away at the user's vision and health.
But the Eternal version broke that curse, granting endless light and tireless ocular power. With it, Madara had conquered countless clans and led the Uchiha to their zenith.
By contrast, the Hagoromo were in ruins. Their Amanonuhoko was unresponsive, and their legendary talismans were being incinerated before they could be activated.
While Madara dominated the center, the Senju and Uchiha forces swarmed the city. They were ruthless.
Since the Hagoromo had killed so many of their kin—including children—the Leaf's ancestors showed no mercy. Teenage Hagoromo scouts were cut down where they stood.
However, the Snake Queen noticed something odd. In the chaos, several of the fallen Hagoromo corpses seemed to... vanish.
She turned to Shiraishi, her eyes wide. "What did you just do?"
"Ahem... " It's just a few bodies," Shiraishi whispered behind his mask. "Good for research back home."
"You are a madman," she hissed. "Aren't you afraid Madara will hunt you down?"
"The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan..." Shiraishi's eyes reflected the dancing flames, glowing with an intense, suppressed battle lust.
Since the death of Namikaze Minato, Shiraishi hadn't had a worthy opponent in his own time. Seeing Madara at his peak was a rare gift. "I've actually been dying to see what it can do."
"Then why are you still standing here?"
Shiraishi's gaze turned cold and calculating. "Because first, I need to find a way to steal that Amanonuhoko. Compared to the half-baked Box of Ultimate Bliss, that spear is a true masterpiece."
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