Chapter 137: This Village Was Originally Founded by Me

A mark suddenly lit up atop the Hokage Rock, and Minato Namikaze's figure appeared instantly at the rock's edge. His sharp gaze quickly locked onto the strange figure standing atop Tobirama's statue head.

Minato sized up his opponent; the ancient armor bearing the Uchiha clan crest made his brow furrow. And the chakra fluctuations emanating from the other party were simply unheard of, causing him to tense every muscle in his body, ready to respond to any possible attack at any moment.

Sensing the movement behind him, Madara Uchiha slowly turned around. His gaze fell upon Minato, and the corner of his mouth curled into a meaningful cold smile.

"Hmph, Flying Thunder God Technique? It seems Konoha has still managed to train a few decent ninja."

Hearing this, Minato's brow furrowed slightly. He asked in a deep voice, "Who are you? Why are you attacking Konoha?" At the same time, his right hand silently reached toward the ninja tool pouch at his waist, ready to launch an attack at any time.

Hearing this question, Madara Uchiha instead let out a cold laugh: "Attacking? You think far too highly of yourself. I'm just here to take back what belongs to me. This village was originally founded by me."

The words had just fallen when Minato's pupils shrank violently, his brain racing to organize the information: powerful chakra, claiming to have founded Konoha, armor bearing the Uchiha clan crest...

Suddenly, an impossible name flashed through his mind.

"You're Madara Uchiha?!" Minato blurted out in shock. Then he shook his head again: "Impossible, Madara Uchiha died long ago after his battle with the First Hokage at the Valley of the End!"

Madara scoffed: "Died? Ridiculous. How could I, Madara Uchiha, be killed so easily?"

"That was merely my plan to obtain greater power." Madara's tone was flat, as if discussing a trivial matter.

Minato's brow tightened, his vigilance growing even greater.

At this moment, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to Madara's strange eyes. They were a pair of eerie purple eyes, with peculiar concentric circle patterns within, emitting a heart-pounding pressure.

"These eyes..." Minato thought to himself, recalling records he had once seen in ancient tomes, "similar to the eyes of the Sage of Six Paths... Could it be the legendary Rinnegan? Is the greater power the other party spoke of this...?"

If the other party truly possessed the Rinnegan, then the strength of this man claiming to be Madara Uchiha before him probably far exceeded his imagination. The situation was more dangerous than he had anticipated, and he had to be extra careful.

Minato forced himself to remain calm and asked in a steady voice: "What exactly is your purpose in coming to Konoha? Why would a 'dead man' suddenly appear here?"

Madara curled the corner of his mouth into a cold smile, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes: "I naturally came here to take back what belongs to me—the Nine-Tails."

Hearing the other party's words, Minato's heart sank; he realized Madara's true target was Kushina.

Then he took a deep breath, quickly calming his emotions. Looking directly into Madara's eyes, he said in a firm tone: "Since your target is the Nine-Tails, it seems there's nothing left for us to discuss. People from the past era should no longer interfere with the matters of the present."

"Then let me see how much the strength of today's Konoha ninja differs from our era." Madara Uchiha said with his arms crossed.

The words had just fallen when Minato's right hand reached toward the ninja tool pouch at his waist with the speed of thunder too fast to cover one's ears, his fingers quickly rummaging inside.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

The next moment, several kunai poured down like a storm, tracing irregular arcs as they flew in all directions. Some headed straight for Madara, while others precisely nailed into the ground and rocks around Madara.

Minato's intention was obvious—to launch a direct attack while also laying Flying Thunder God markers around Madara.

However, facing this seemingly fierce offensive, Madara remained calm and composed.

"Flying Thunder God Kunai?" Madara slowly spoke, his voice full of contempt, "It seems the new generation of Konoha hasn't improved at all, but to me, this is nothing more than child's play."

The words had not yet fallen when Madara lightly raised his hand; in an instant, a powerful chakra fluctuation burst forth from within him.

The flying kunai seemed to strike an invisible barrier, all of them deflected. At the moment the kunai were flung away, Minato selected the nearest one.

While the clanging sounds still echoed in the air, Minato's figure had already vanished from the spot.

"Whoosh!" Minato instantly appeared behind Madara; in his right palm, a rotating blue chakra sphere was spinning wildly.

"Rasengan!" Minato shouted in a low voice, without hesitation pushing the Rasengan toward Madara's back, the air stirred by the high-speed rotating chakra emitting a sharp whistling.

Madara's purple Rinnegan flickered slightly, the corner of his mouth curling into an amused smile: "Interesting."

Just as the Rasengan was about to touch Madara's back, Madara suddenly turned around, his right hand directly grabbing the rotating blue sphere. Minato's eyes widened, watching in disbelief as the Rasengan was easily absorbed by Madara, vanishing without a trace.

"What technique is this?" Minato was shocked in his heart, but the experienced him did not pause because of it.

Alarm bells rang loudly in Minato's heart, but his reaction speed did not decrease in the slightest. At the moment the Rasengan was absorbed, his left hand had already gripped a sharp dagger, stabbing straight at Madara's chest with the speed of thunder too fast to cover one's ears.

Madara's turning speed was astonishing; a hint of approval flashed in his eyes: "Good speed, but too straightforward."

An invisible powerful repulsive force burst forth from within Madara; Minato felt as if his entire body had been struck heavily, flying backward uncontrollably. But even at this critical moment, Minato still maintained astonishing calm. His wrist shook, and a Flying Thunder God Kunai tore through the air, heading straight for Madara's face.

Madara slightly turned his head, letting the kunai brush past his shoulder, a hint of appreciation flashing in his eyes: "Testing my abilities? Smart."

Minato adjusted his posture in midair, landed, and rolled to dissipate the impact, quickly steadying himself. His brain was racing at this moment, analyzing the information gained from the fight just now.

"Absorbing ninjutsu, controlling repulsive force, but seemingly unable to use it twice in a short time." Minato calculated silently in his heart, his gaze becoming sharper: "Is this the power of the Rinnegan...?"

"I need to be more careful." Minato muttered in a low voice, then his figure flickered, quickly distancing himself from Madara.

Madara watched Madara's movements with interest, the corner of his mouth curling into a teasing smile: "What, does the Yellow Flash get scared too?"

Minato ignored Madara's provocation, quickly forming hand seals with both hands, a glint flashing in his eyes: "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

With a low shout, a mist suddenly spread across the battlefield.

Suddenly, several Minato clones rushed out from the mist, forming hand seals in neat unison.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" The clones shouted simultaneously, strong wind pressure howling forth, mixed with sharp air currents heading straight for Madara.

Facing the fierce attack, Madara instead revealed a disdainful cold smile: "Trivial tricks." He quickly formed hand seals with both hands: "Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

In an instant, a huge fireball spurted from Madara's mouth, rapidly expanding to an astonishing size. The scorching flames devoured all the wind blades and continued forward, instantly enveloping Minato's clones.

"Bang bang bang!" After several muffled sounds, the clones turned into white smoke and dissipated in the flames.

"Whoosh!"

At this moment, a sound of tearing through the air came from behind; Madara suddenly turned around, only to see Minato appearing who knows when within arm's reach, a blue sphere of light spinning wildly in his right palm.

"Rasengan!" Minato shouted in a low voice.

Amidst the piercing whistling, the Rasengan struck Madara's chest directly. The air was stirred by the high-speed rotating chakra, emitting a sharp hiss.

However, Madara's reaction was astonishingly fast; purple light flashed in his eyes, and a huge blue skeleton instantly condensed into form around him.

This energy construct was like the skeleton of a half-body giant, emitting a heart-pounding pressure, firmly protecting Madara within.

(Chapter End)