Facing Madara's attack, Gento's reaction was not slow in the slightest.
He did not dodge, nor did he back down.
Instead, he immediately formed hand seals.
The chakra inside his body surged like a torrent toward all of his chakra points.
"Eight Gates! Gate of Opening, open! Gate of Healing, open! Gate of Life, open! Gate of Pain, open! Gate of Limit, open!"
Opening five gates in a single breath.
His skin took on a faint reddish tint, and his body temperature rose rapidly.
The surrounding air warped from the intense heat.
Veins bulged and muscles swelled, making him look like an about-to-erupt volcano.
At the same time, the dojutsu technique of his Rinnegan, Yaegaki, had already been activated.
Eight layers of chakra armor enveloped him layer by layer, looking like transparent glazed glass.
The newly obtained immortal tool, the Panlong Staff, also materialized in his palm out of thin air.
Gento instantly held the staff horizontally to block.
Clang!
Madara's iron fist smashed against the Panlong Staff, emitting a deafening metallic screech.
The shockwave rippled outward, kicking up a storm of dust.
The ground beneath Gento's feet fractured, debris flying everywhere.
Yet, his body did not budge in the slightest.
Looking at the deep crater formed beneath his feet, Gento secretly rejoiced in his foresight to choose this desolate, uninhabited wilderness to reanimate Madara with Edo Tensei.
Had this battle taken place in the Hidden Gento Village, the resulting losses would have been absolutely unacceptable to him.
Furthermore, he was all too familiar with Madara Uchiha's temperament.
This Shinobi Shura, whether in life or death, was by no means a docile individual.
The very first thing he would do upon resurrection was bound to be initiating a fight.
Looking at it now, his decision was incomparably correct.
There was no human presence for dozens of miles around.
They could fight however they pleased.
On the other side, failing to connect with a single strike, Madara quickly withdrew his fist, shook his hand, and a flash of surprise crossed his eyes:
"What a hard ninja tool."
"And this Eight Gates..."
"You kid indeed have some tricks up your sleeve."
Gento did not reply, instead immediately swinging his staff to counterattack.
The Panlong Staff swept outward with a low dragon roar.
The golden veins on the staff lit up, and the black dragon's eyes projected an eerie light.
Madara sidestepped to dodge, his right leg whipping toward Gento's waist like a lash.
Gento used the staff as a shield, blocking once more as his figure retreated several steps by borrowing the impact's force.
The two locked eyes for an instant, then burst into motion simultaneously.
This was a peak duel in the truest sense of the word.
Gento pushed the power of the Eight Gates' fifth gate to its limit, his fists and kicks pouring down like a torrential rainstorm.
His taijutsu was wide and sweeping, each strike carrying enough force to shatter mountains and crack boulders.
The air was compressed into cannonballs, blasting crater after crater into the ground.
Madara's taijutsu, on the other hand, was far more experienced and seasoned.
He had been tempered through countless battles during the Warring States Period, possessing combat experience that far exceeded Gento's, and his movements were domineering and fierce; every dodge was timed perfectly, and every counterattack aimed directly for a vital spot.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Caterwaul!"
Madara's experience was simply far too seasoned.
In the gaps between his dodges, he could still swiftly find the time to form hand seals.
Several fire dragons spewed from his mouth, lunging at Gento with bared fangs and claws.
Gento swung his staff in a wide sweep, and the golden veins on the Panlong Staff suddenly flared.
Those fire dragons crashed into the staff's body, only to be completely absorbed like clay oxen entering the sea.
Gento only felt a warm wave of energy transmit from the staff to his palm, replenishing his consumed chakra.
"It can absorb ninjutsu?"
Madara's eyes narrowed slightly, and a smile curled at the corners of his lips.
"Interesting."
He ceased his probing, unleashing ninjutsu like a rapid-fire cannon.
Fire Release ninjutsu rained down upon Gento, blotting out the sky.
Gento swung the Panlong Staff, absorbing the majority of the ninjutsu.
But Madara's attacks were too dense; there were bound to be some that slipped through.
A wisp of flame grazed Gento's shoulder, sending him staggering backward.
Yet, the defensive power of Yaegaki was on full display at this moment.
The majority of the flame was blocked by the outermost layer of armor.
The residual force only made Gento's shoulder feel slightly warm, without even scratching his skin.
He glanced down; the outermost layer of Yaegaki's armor merely showed a few cracks, which were quickly repaired by chakra.
"What a hard turtle shell."
Madara frowned slightly.
Gento rubbed his shoulder, his eyes gleaming with an excited light.
He immediately realized that this battle with Madara Uchiha was an excellent opportunity to grow his own combat experience!
An opponent of this level could not be found anywhere else in the entire shinobi world.
Therefore, he was in no hurry to win, instead thirstily studying Madara's fighting style mid-battle.
His positioning, his timing, his feints, his angles of counterattack.
Every single move and style was highly worthy of reference.
Madara also gradually noticed this.
This kid was getting more proficient and harder to deal with the longer they fought.
While he could easily suppress him at the start, now he had to deal with him seriously.
And although Gento's raw strength was superior to Madara's, due to his lack of combat experience, he still got hit by Madara's attacks from time to time.
Were it not for the terrifying defensive power of Yaegaki, he would have been injured long ago.
Madara, too, gradually discovered during the fight that Gento was stealing his techniques.
"Using Madara Uchiha as a sparring partner, huh?"
Madara snorted coldly, a flash of displeasure crossing his eyes.
He ceased holding back his strength, forming hand seals as his dojutsu power surged violently.
The Mangekyo Sharingan in his eyes suddenly shifted, turning into concentric circles of pale purple.
Rinnegan!
Gento's pupils contracted sharply.
Isn't this Edo Tensei form a bit too cheating?
Madara's original Rinnegan was still kept in his own hands!
Yet, after being reanimated by Edo Tensei, Madara was actually able to replicate the Rinnegan based on the imprint in his soul!
Although this replicated Rinnegan could not exert the full power of the original, it was still astonishing enough.
"Limbo: Hengoku!"
Madara gave a low shout as four invisible shadows split from his body, lunging toward Gento from all directions.
These shadows had no physical form, could not be seen by the naked eye, and could not be detected by ordinary sensory perception.
Even so, Gento, possessing the Rinnegan, could see them.
Four translucent Madaras were charging toward him at extreme speed.
Gento dared not be careless, spinning the Panlong Staff in his palm. The black dragon's eyes on the staff blazed brightly, and the golden veins writhed like living things.
He swung the staff in a wide sweep, repelling the first shadow.
However, the other three shadows lunged at him simultaneously from different angles, cooperating in perfect, seamless sync.
"Just what I wanted!"
Gento did not retreat; instead, he surged forward.
With the power of the Eight Gates fully unleashed, he swung the Panlong Staff so tightly that not even a drop of water could leak through.
The staff's shadows rose like mountains, enveloping him entirely in a black curtain of light.
Madara's attacks were blocked time and again. With every collision, the Panlong Staff absorbed a portion of the energy, greatly diminishing the power of Limbo: Hengoku.
Madara's brow furrowed tighter and tighter.
He had originally thought that using his Rinnegan would directly defeat Gento and teach him a lesson.
He had not expected this kid's weapon to be so extraordinary.
That black iron staff could not only absorb ninjutsu, but it could even devour the energy of dojutsu techniques like Limbo: Hengoku.
With every attack being weakened, Gento only fought more bravely as he went on, his chakra increasing instead of depleting.
"Hahaha!"
Madara suddenly burst into loud laughter, his voice echoing through the valley.
"Good! Good! Good!"
He uttered three "goods" in a row, the battle intent in his eyes burning even more intensely:
"It has been far too long since I have had such a satisfying, unbridled battle!
"This fight is untainted by any interests, not fought for any purpose; it is purely a contest between you and me!
"Kid, you are worthy of me going all out!"
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