On the battlefield of Roran, the duel between Uchiha Madara and Aoki Shiraishi had nearly leveled half the city.
As Madara unleashed his massive, overlapping Yasaka no Magatama assault, Reto and the others watched with eyes full of terror.
"To think he can project so many Magatama at once..."
Shiraishi's scalp tingled as he stared at the dense swarm of incoming projectiles. He hadn't expected Madara's strength to be this overwhelming.
While his Ancient Crane Sage Seal possessed formidable defense, it couldn't withstand such a relentless, saturated bombardment. At the peak of his Mangekyo's power, Madara could fire these gems infinitely.
Facing the crisis, Shiraishi did not retreat. Six Dimensional Holes manifested around him, while the earth beneath the Amanonuhoko began to churn and twist.
The Amanonuhoko in Shiraishi's hand was, in essence, a high-level evolution of Yin-Yang Release; its core function was to elevate Shiraishi's existing ninjutsu to a more potent Sage Art level.
By perfectly blending Sage chakra with the ley line energy of Roran's underground Dragon Vein, Shiraishi gathered a force so immense that even Madara was forced to treat it with caution.
To buy time, Shiraishi used the six Dimensional Holes in tandem with the Crane Seal to create a high-speed, airtight defensive zone. As wave after wave of Magatama struck, they collided head-on with the darkness of the dimensional rifts.
Space-time Ninjutsu?
But the Yasaka no Magatama cannot be broken by ordinary space-time tricks!
With a thunderous explosion, just as a Dimensional Hole attempted to redirect a Magatama, the gem split into three.
One part detonated violently, disrupting the rift's stability, while the other two formed a vortex that tore the Dimensional Hole to shreds.
Though the rifts were bypassed, the radiant Sage energy gathering at the tip of Shiraishi's sword made Madara feel as if he were facing a mortal enemy.
At that moment, the earth transformed into a colossal, surging torrent of mud and stone.
Sage Art: Ultra Thousand-Wave Surge!
This was the perfect combination of Ryuchi Cave's Sage Mode and the Thousand-Wave Surge. It turned the ground into Shiraishi's home turf.
Simultaneously, the Divine Sword, swirling with gale-force currents, merged with the golden Holy Sword skill to form a terrifying atmospheric vortex.
Forcing a massive draw from the Dragon Vein, Shiraishi even depleted the space-time energy within the Snake Queen to fuel his ultimate strike.
Sage Art: Sword of the Dragon Vein!
Under the weight of this vast offensive, Madara's Susanoo attempted to step out of the Thousand-Wave Surge's constraints.
However, Shiraishi's Holy Sword possessed a powerful "piercing" property that ignored many of an opponent's defensive shifts.
The blade pierced through the Susanoo's armor and sank into Madara's right shoulder. Simultaneously, several stray Magatama gems shattered Shiraishi's water membrane. The resulting impact sent Shiraishi reeling, coughing up a mouthful of blood.
"Excellent."
Despite being wounded by the Amanonuhoko, Madara was about to retaliate when the mud beneath his feet—governed by Inorganic Reincarnation—suddenly transformed into a colossal wall of sand that surged into the sky.
Sand Manipulation?
"How is this possible?! Sand manipulation at this scale!" Reto gasped, unable to believe his eyes. He hadn't known such terrifying control over sand could even exist.
As the tidal wave of sand crashed down, Madara didn't even turn his head. His Susanoo's fist condensed and struck out, shattering the sand into dust, only for a giant silver hand to manifest from the rear.
The collision of their powers caused a series of explosions that whipped up a blinding sandstorm. Feeling the sting in his shoulder from the Divine Sword's strike, Madara let out a cold sneer.
He forced his way through the Magatama just to stab my shoulder? This "mutual destruction" style of combat had only caused Madara a minor injury, whereas Shiraishi's own physical condition was clearly dire.
However, as the smoke cleared, Madara was startled to see the bodies of Shiraishi and the other Sage from Ryuchi Cave beginning to blur and dissolve, eventually vanishing completely from sight.
"They've disappeared?" the onlookers cried out, searching for any trace of the pair.
"Not disappeared," Madara muttered. "It was a space-time transfer similar to teleportation."
The sudden disappearance caused the towering sand constructs to lose their form and crumble into nothingness. Madara gazed at the ruins of Roran before slowly turning to leave.
That brat... I'll remember him. Though he didn't know the boy's name or origin, Madara had a premonition that they would meet again in the future.
Back to the Present
In the original timeline, Shirohebi-hime and Shiraishi reappeared within the ruins of Roran. The Sage of Ryuchi Cave immediately stepped forward and glared at him.
"You're a madman! Your reckless use of the Dragon Vein's power ended our time-travel journey prematurely."
The Dragon Vein's space-time energy was finite; it usually took ten to twenty years to recharge enough for another trip. Shiraishi's final gambit had forcibly cut their vacation short.
Shiraishi ignored her complaints. He began weaving hand signs to seal the Roran ruins. His face was pale; Madara's assault had been nearly unavoidable, and the lingering damage from the Yasaka no Magatama was still eating away at his body.
"Hmph."
Seeing Shiraishi's wounds showing signs of necrosis, Shirohebi-hime spat a stream of specialized mucus over him. The fluid coated his body, emitting a pungent, foul odor.
The smell was nauseating, but Shiraishi didn't pull away. He could feel the mucus actively healing his injuries with remarkable efficiency.
Is this a high-level application of Inorganic Reincarnation?
One of the core tenets of Ryuchi Cave's Sage Mode is Inorganic Reincarnation—the ability to grant life to the inanimate. In the hands of a Sage, it could create unpredictable medical miracles.
Orochimaru's snake ninjutsu was also derived from this school of thought, but Shiraishi found it difficult to synthesize such a specific medicinal fluid himself.
"I've taught you the mysteries of Inorganic Reincarnation," the Snake Queen said. "But ultimately, you aren't a native of Ryuchi Cave.
You lack certain physical organs. If you modified yourself like Orochimaru did, you could master these arts much more effectively."
"I'll pass on that," Shiraishi replied. He couldn't stomach the idea of looking like Orochimaru.
The Snake Queen shook her head at the Fifth Kazekage. "One more thing: while that future may be a parallel world to yours, this specific trip likely connects to and influences this timeline."
Historically, Roran had indeed been brought to the brink of collapse following the battle between the Hagoromo and Madara. Reto's sand manipulation—and the later foundations of Magnet Style—had no clearly recorded source.
With the disappearance of the Amanonuhoko... everything finally made sense. It also explained why the elderly Madara, upon seeing Aoki Shiraishi before his death, had broken into such frantic, mad laughter.
He had remembered Shiraishi. And the Madara who had attained the Rinnegan was far stronger than the one Shiraishi had fought in Roran.
He was likely looking forward to whether Shiraishi would provide enough of a "surprise" when they met in the future.
"What are your plans now, My Lady?"
"I think I'll accompany you back to the Hidden Sand for a look."
At those words, Shiraishi's expression stiffened. Bringing back Uzumaki Tomoko had caused enough trouble; now he was bringing back a thousand-year-old monster of indeterminate gender...
Thinking of Maki's likely reaction, Shiraishi felt a massive headache coming on.
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