Chapter 398: The buckle that best fits the local setting

The Magnet Release sand spear, which could easily pierce through armor made of refined iron in normal times, appeared so fragile in front of Uchiha Madara's Susanoo armor.

Upon impact, it could only produce a harsh creaking sound; other than that, it caused no damage.

"Huff, huff..."

Shamon pressed his hands together, panting slightly. Beads of sweat the size of beans slid across the green dragon tattoo on his forehead, following his collapsed garlic-shaped nose, and dripped down.

"I was holding a glimmer of expectation for you, but now it seems it was just good luck."

Uchiha Madara looked at Shamon, who had fallen into a predicament, with disappointment. He had thought that the other party could survive to the end because they had some extraordinary qualities, but after all that, they were just a lucky person who had been overlooked.

"Don't look down on people!"

Feeling Uchiha Madara's contempt, Shamon gritted his teeth, crouched down, and slapped his hands onto the ground.

The spreading Magnet Release chakra turned the surrounding rocks into sand, and the ground beneath the two instantly turned into soft, glutinous yellow sand.

"Quicksand Waterfall Flow!"

"It's impressive that you have the guts to challenge me, but... that's the only thing I can praise you for."

Lowering his head to glance at the field card Shamon had laid out, Uchiha Madara shook his head. This baldy was indeed courageous, but ordinary ninjutsu attacks simply couldn't break through his Susanoo's defense.

"Sand Waterfall Imperial Funeral!"

Ignoring Uchiha Madara's cold sarcasm, Shamon focused on maneuvering the yellow sand beneath his feet, raising a sand wave dozens of meters high, and charged head-on toward the fox knight clad in Susanoo armor.

"Mere gravel, not even half of what I am."

Facing the incoming yellow sand, Uchiha Madara's eyes narrowed. He tapped the Nine-Tails buckle at his waist with one hand, and his own fire attribute was instantly introduced.

The white fox at his waist turned visibly red-hot, and the raging chakra burned through his body, dyeing the white chest armor into a scorching fire-red.

Raising the white longsword in his hand, Uchiha Madara struck a slashing pose. Accompanied by the infiltration of fire-attribute chakra, raging flames ignited on the white sword body.

When the energy accumulated to the extreme, Uchiha Madara swung lightly, and a scorching sword energy shot out, hitting the incoming sand wave directly.

"Boom!"

The scorching aura instantly covered the entire battlefield, and the resulting thick smoke blocked the battlefield. Everyone off the stage smelled a burnt odor of smelting and immediately stretched their necks, wanting to see what had happened.

"No... impossible!"

Shamon, who was fully focused on maneuvering his Magnet Release, felt a large amount of sand grains slip out of his control. With his brows tightly furrowed, he was still confused, but when he looked up, he saw a scene that terrified him.

"Wow~ so beautiful!"

Mako and Koharu Utatane in the viewing area covered their small mouths in surprise, their beautiful eyes filled with bright little stars.

"Actually smelting sand into glaze, just how high must one's Fire Release attainments be to do this!?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who prided himself on being a master of ninjutsu, couldn't help but feel ashamed at this moment. If one were to talk about the Sarutobi clan, they were also experts at playing with fire, but compared to Uchiha Madara, the gap was clearly like clouds and mud.

"The Clan Leader's Fire Release is second to none in the entire Ninja World. If you want to ask him for advice, I can help you make the connection."

Uchiha Kagami, who was on the side, stepped forward and patted the dejected Sarutobi Hiruzen comfortingly. As he spoke, his eyes carried a thick look of pride.

Looking at the sand wave he had painstakingly condensed being smelted into brilliant glaze by Uchiha Madara in one strike, Shamon felt bitter in his heart.

"Huff... I haven't lost yet!"

However, thinking of the predicament of his hometown, Shamon cheered up again, looking at Uchiha Madara not far away with determined eyes. At this moment, the fire-red on the other party's body had long since faded, but wisps of steam were still rising from him.

"The appearance of lingering on and refusing to admit defeat is truly ugly."

Shaking his head, Uchiha Madara's last bit of patience for such a small bug struggling in desperation was worn out. He flashed and disappeared from where he stood.

When he appeared again, he was already behind Shamon, and the white longsword radiating a man-eating aura fell quietly.

"Clang!"

Fortunately, Shamon's taut nerves saved his life; the moment before the blade could pierce his body, a thick armor of sand instantly covered him, narrowly blocking the fatal blow for him.

"Oh?"

Not expecting Shamon's defensive speed to be so fast, Uchiha Madara raised his brows, and his figure disappeared again. The next moment, white longswords slashed toward the green tanuki knight from all directions.

"Clang~"

"Slap!"

"Pitter-patter~"

Shamon hurriedly maneuvered the yellow sand to protect himself, but unfortunately, he didn't hold on for long before he was shaken by the giant force penetrating his body, leaving him dizzy. His entire person flew backward, slamming heavily onto the steaming glaze, stirring up a sky full of crystals.

"Cough, cough, cough... Pfft!"

The pain of his internal organs shifting triggered a violent cough, causing internal bleeding from his internal injuries to spray out of his mouth. Shamon lay in the crystal-clear glass shards, his lifeless eyes looking at the gloomy sky.

It was dusk at this moment, and the continuous drizzle fell on the green tanuki's faceplate, sparking a pitter-patter sound.

Just like that, I lost. I'm really unwilling.

"Tsk... it's already like this, and that baldy still won't admit defeat?"

In the viewing area, the Gin-Jin brothers looked at Shamon, who was being ruthlessly ravaged by Uchiha Madara, and after looking at each other, they spoke.

"Clearly the weakest knight, why is he still so persistent?"

"This is simply a waste of time."

Senju Tobirama, with his arms crossed, frowned slightly. Why hadn't this guy Uchiha Madara finished the battle quickly? Did he not want to save his older brother?

Truly the naturally evil Uchiha!

"Divine Lord, that tanuki knight is so pitiful."

Mako pursed her lips, her black eyes carrying faint pity.

"Teacher! Ganbatte!"

Suddenly, a thin figure stood up in the crowd. Chiyo, with tears faintly in the corners of her eyes, puffed up her small face and used her loudest voice to cheer for Shamon in the arena.

"Stand up! You are the ace ninja of Sunagakure! The last hope of the Land of Wind!"

"Is that Chiyo..."

Shamon, whose consciousness was already somewhat scattered, felt a glimmer of light in his dim eyes. Following the sound, he turned his head with difficulty, looking at his disciple who was holding her hands high in the viewing area. A flame of hope slowly ignited in his heart.

That's right, I am the ace ninja!

"Oh? You can actually still stand up?"

Uchiha Madara looked with some surprise at Shamon, who was slowly standing up. From the perspective of his Sharingan, this man's body should have been completely broken.

"As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will fight to the end."

After forcing himself to stand up through the pain, Shamon looked at Uchiha Madara with eyes like torches.

"Then let me shatter your hope."

Who can't say pretty words?

Curling his lips with disdain, Uchiha Madara raised his white longsword and attacked the isolated Shamon again. Sharp sword energy erupted from the blade.

Seeing this, everyone widened their eyes. Mako turned her head to the side, unable to bear watching the cruel scene that was about to follow.

"I am the ace ninja of the Kazekage's Sunagakure!"

Between life and death, Shamon's belief in his heart sublimated once again, and the power within his body resonated with the buckle.

He saw the green buckle at his waist, which symbolized the gale, suddenly light up with a dazzling light, and a profound power rose abruptly.

Uchiha Madara, who was halfway there, saw this and stopped his steps with an inexplicable look, waiting.

"This is..."

As the light dissipated, Shamon looked down at the green buckle with a shuriken symbol at his waist, his mouth hanging open in surprise.

"Interesting, you finally brought out something new."

Uchiha Madara didn't attack immediately but instead looked with great interest at the new buckle at Shamon's waist.

Only he and this baldy in front of him possessed such items, so he was naturally very curious about how far the other party could go.

"I will never let this power down."

Stroking the Ace Ninja buckle that had evolved from the Gale buckle, Shamon's eyes became sharp. He saw him raise one hand, support the other at his waist, and push lightly, snapping the buckle into the driver.

"Ninja! Ready Fight."

Emerald-green heavy armor covered his black base body. The crossbow in his hand turned into a sharp dual-blade. His yellow compound eyes turned red due to the enhancement of his five senses.

Transformed into the Ace Ninja form, the aura Shamon erupted was more than a notch stronger than before.

"Is this the power of the Ace Ninja?"

When the gale dissipates, only the Ace remains to guard the Land of Wind~

Uchiha Gin in the viewing area crossed his hands and rested his chin on them, his eyes filled with playfulness as he looked at the emerald-green tanuki knight.

He hadn't expected Shamon to actually be able to bounce back from the bottom at such a critical moment and unlock a new form.

However...

A ninja is no match for a god.

"I will not fall!"

Holding the sharp dual-blade in front of his chest and feeling the surging power in his body, Shamon looked at Uchiha Madara, who was waiting not far away, with a face full of fighting spirit.

"Very good, continue to dance~"

Facing Shamon's provocation, Uchiha Madara waved the white longsword in his hand calmly. The aura radiated by this new form of the other party was indeed not bad, but it wasn't strong enough to make him feel a sense of crisis.

"Whoosh!"

Under the blessing of the Ninja buckle's power, Shamon's agility was enhanced to the maximum, and his speed was more than twice as fast as before.

In just the blink of an eye, Shamon appeared behind Uchiha Madara, holding the dual-blade in his hand high, seemingly intending to copy the other party's operation.

"Hmph!"

But all of this fell entirely into Uchiha Madara's Sharingan. He saw him raise the longsword in his hand without even turning his head, easily blocking Shamon's sneak attack, and also sent a back-kick, kicking steadily onto the other party's chest.

"Bang!"

Uchiha Madara, feeling that he had hit the target, hadn't even had time to be proud before he heard a muffled sound behind him. After a glance, he discovered that what he had kicked was only a shadow clone, while the real Shamon had long since disappeared.

"Where are you looking?"

Just as Uchiha Madara frowned and searched for Shamon's trail, the other party's voice rang in his ear. Following the sound to look, he saw nothing; the empty arena had no figure at all.

"Tsk!"

Uchiha Madara, not believing in evil, activated his Mangekyo, and only then did he discover some clues. He saw a vaguely fluctuating aura on the open ground not far away, but in normal vision, there was nothing there.

"Swish!"

He raised his hand and threw a sword energy toward that direction, but it didn't hit any target.

"Eh?"

While Uchiha Madara was still confused, an emerald-green figure suddenly jumped out from the sand behind him. The dual-blade in his hand was dancing with wind, slashing straight onto his back armor.

"Bang!"

"Nani?"

The crowd in the viewing area saw this scene and all showed expressions of disbelief, especially the Gin-Jin brothers who had fought Uchiha Madara. They opened their mouths wide with tiger eyes bulging; even if they racked their brains, they couldn't figure out what means Shamon had used.

"Ultimate ninja ability? This is the buckle that fits the worldview~"

Only Uchiha Gin saw the trick in it. Shamon's Ace Ninja buckle enhanced the basic abilities of a ninja to the maximum, such as the Three Body Technique, stealth techniques, and so on—a series of unique ninja skills.

His cousin had been caught off guard and sneak-attacked by this kind of introductory ability. It seemed his foundation wasn't solid enough. When he went back, he would have to let him practice his basic skills well; he shouldn't think he could do whatever he wanted just because he had unlocked a good-looking pattern.

"Damn it."

This was the first time Uchiha Madara had been broken through in this match. Turning his head to look at the scar on his back armor, although the wound was slowly recovering, the indignation in his heart overflowed his chest.

His eyes carried a dangerous light as he stared fixedly at the emerald-green tanuki knight who had landed not far away, cold ocular power gathering in his eyes.

"Come on! But the premise is..."

Shamon felt the chill deep in his bones and immediately shivered. But with the power of the Ace Ninja, he still raised the dual-blade in his hand, and his figure gradually became blurred along with the sound of his voice.

"... you can find me."

"As you wish."

Uchiha Madara became serious for once. Facing the strange means of Shamon, he thought for a second and directly reached out to tap the Nine-Tails buckle at his waist.

"Ouch! What are you doing~"

The Nine-Tails, which was holding its stomach and frowning in the consciousness space, sensed Uchiha Madara's summons and stood up extremely reluctantly, dragging its large belly that was weighing on the ground, and raised its head to ask.

"Didn't you say you wouldn't let me help?"

"The final interpretation right is in my hands."

Uchiha Madara, who had poked his head out in the consciousness space, narrowed his eyes expressionlessly and spoke coldly.

"I'm a bit inconvenient right now. You can take as much chakra as you want."

Seeing that Uchiha Madara's mood wasn't very good, the Nine-Tails, which had just been tough, instantly withered again, dragging its belly to the ground. Its expression was slightly painful; its belly was currently in pain like a knife twist, possibly because it had eaten something bad.

"Don't think about being lazy. I need your ability."

Uchiha Madara shook his head, ignoring the Nine-Tails' feelings at all, and ordered it to go out and help.

"Ah? But my stomach..."

"Hurry up, or I'll make you look good!"

"Wuwuwu... I want to report this to the Pure Land!"

Forced by Uchiha Madara's lewd power, the Nine-Tails had to resign itself to its fate, drooping its head, and turned into a wisp of chakra and floated out.

In reality, the light in Uchiha Madara's yellow compound eyes flashed, and the red patterns on his body erupted with bursts of light again. The addition of the Nine-Tails' power turned his body, which had been 80% white and 20% red, into a 50-50 split.

【Kamen Rider Geats Nine-Tails Link Form】

"Did you finally realize the importance of the Tailed Beast itself?"

Uchiha Gin looked with some surprise at his cousin's change. This form meant that Uchiha Madara was now starting to fight in coordination with the Nine-Tails, no longer the form from before that was just purely squandering the Tailed Beast's power.

"Nine-Tails, find his current location for me."

In the Nine-Tails Link form, human and beast shared five senses. The Nine-Tails had the special ability to perceive good and evil and could very accurately find enemies hiding in the surroundings, so Uchiha Madara handed the task of finding Shamon to it.

"Northeast corner, 40 degrees."

It took the Nine-Tails less than three seconds to confirm Shamon's location, so fast that it didn't even use perception.

Nothing else, just by using its sense of smell, the Nine-Tails could smell the stench of that stupid tanuki.

"Swish!"

Out of trust in the Nine-Tails' ability, Uchiha Madara started at zero frames and swung a sword energy toward the point it reported.

"Clang!"

Only a sound of metal clashing rang out. Shamon, holding the dual-blade emitting blue smoke, appeared in the direction of the attack with a look of astonishment. It seemed he had been shocked by Uchiha Madara's precision strike.

"It must be a guess!"

Shamon was very confident in his hiding means and believed that Uchiha Madara had just been a blind cat hitting a dead mouse. He immediately activated the stealth technique again, and his whole person gradually disappeared from where he stood.

"Where?"

"Southwest, 45 degrees."

"Swish!"

"Bang!"

Uchiha Madara's attack this time didn't test anymore and went all out. The speed was so fast that Shamon couldn't dodge at all and had to raise his weapon to block. Unfortunately, the gap between the two sides was too wide, and this strike broke his defense directly.

"Crack~"

The dual-blade in his hand broke into two pieces directly, and a wound deep enough to see bone was torn open on his chest by the aftermath of the sword energy.

If he hadn't used the Body Replacement Technique at the last moment to unload most of the attack, Shamon might have been cut in half at the waist.

"Huff, huff... How on earth did he find me?"

Shamon, holding half a broken blade in each hand, looked with horror at Uchiha Madara, who had a smug expression. Even if he died, he couldn't figure out how the other party had discovered his trail; this was a stealth technique that could even fool the Sharingan.

"It's the stinky fox!"

"Ha? What do you mean?"

Just as Shamon was confused, Shukaku's sharp voice rang in his ear. In the consciousness space, Shukaku held its stomach with both hands and spoke with indignation.

"That guy has merged with the stinky fox."

Shukaku naturally knew how Uchiha Madara had discovered them; after all, the fact that the Nine-Tails had a sharp dog nose was an open secret in the Tailed Beast circle.

"Merged?"

"That's right, but it's not complete enough. It can be seen that that guy doesn't fully trust the stinky fox."

Although Uchiha Madara's current form could use the Nine-Tails' ability, it wasn't a true perfect form.

Uchiha Madara, who couldn't fully hand over his body to the Tailed Beast, still couldn't activate the true power of the Tailed Beast.

That was why this current new form was called Nine-Tails Link, not Kurama Link.

"Not complete enough is already enough for us to suffer."

Shamon felt bitter in his heart. Since Uchiha Madara could now accurately find him, the advantage of his Ace Ninja form was gone.

"No way, you guys are too far apart."

Shukaku rarely didn't mock him but looked at Shamon with a sigh. In its view, Shamon, as an ordinary person, being able to force Indra's reincarnation to this point was already a highlight of his life, enough for him to brag about for three generations.

"Is there really no other way?"

Shamon didn't want to give up easily, so he asked Shukaku sincerely.

"No, can't help, wait for death~"

Picking its nose with a "don't care" expression, Shukaku turned and merged into the desert in the consciousness space. It could be seen that it didn't want to offend Uchiha Madara, this Indra reincarnation, because of Shamon.

The cunning Shukaku, after analyzing the pros and cons, directly gave up~

The days ahead were long. Its cooperative relationship with Shamon would last at most less than a hundred years, but Indra could reincarnate forever. If it offended him now, it wouldn't have a good life in the future~

It would rather do nothing than make a mistake.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

No matter how Shamon called, Shukaku had no response. Seeing this, he had to place his last hope on himself.

"You're actually distracted during a fight. Who are you looking down on?"

Shamon, who had just returned to reality, heard the death-summoning voice from the underworld. Swallowing his saliva with difficulty, he turned his head and looked at the red-and-white fox knight holding a sword against him. The sorrow in his heart grew even stronger.

"Where is that stupid tanuki?"

Suddenly, a sharp voice like a eunuch came from under the fox knight's faceplate. Shamon, who was feeling dejected, was confused for a moment after hearing it, but soon guessed the owner of the voice. He steadied himself and replied.

"Shukaku is inside, but it seems a bit inconvenient."

"Hmph~ I knew it. That stupid tanuki is not only fat and greasy but also cowardly as a mouse, not daring to touch me in reality at all."

Borrowing Uchiha Madara's body, the Nine-Tails was finally able to communicate with the outside world. Looking at the dejected Shamon, the corners of its mouth curled up high with pride, and its mocking voice was heard clearly by everyone present.

"That voice, it's not the Clan Leader, right?"

Uchiha Kagami blinked in confusion. Uchiha Madara's voice now was like a different person, making him unable to help but feel a bit worried.

"Don't worry, that's the Nine-Tails' voice."

As one of the few people who had heard the Nine-Tails speak, Senju Tobirama spoke to comfort his disciple, who was somewhat at a loss, but his eyes remained on Uchiha Madara, seemingly considering something.

"Who told you to speak? Get down!"

Just as the Nine-Tails was preparing to continue talking trash for a while, Uchiha Madara's voice, carrying slight annoyance, drilled out from between his teeth.

"Tsk~ Didn't we agree that after finding the stupid tanuki, you'd let me have some free time?"

The Nine-Tails curled its lips and voluntarily exited the login, letting Uchiha Madara go back online.

"Surrender, or die?"

Uchiha Madara, whose eyes were slightly red, inevitably had some negative emotions under the influence of the Nine-Tails' chakra. Looking at Shamon, who was being held by the sword, the killing intent on his body appeared and disappeared.

"What if I say no?"

Even under the threat of death, Shamon still insisted on his belief. As the last hope of Sunagakure, no matter what, he could not fall with his back to the enemy.

"Then I'll fulfill your wish!"

Uchiha Madara showed a crazy expression, raising the longsword in his hand with one hand. The fatal edge flashed with a man-eating light, and its movement radiated a thick aura of death.

Under these circumstances, Shamon, knowing there was no retreat, didn't choose to escape. Instead, in the surprised eyes of the crowd, he turned around quickly, then raised the short blade in his hand with determined eyes, and emerald-green light bloomed around his body.

He chose to go all in.

He chose to believe in the hope power of the Ace Ninja.

"Crack!"

However, the next moment, Shamon fell into deep darkness.

The rain in the sky was still falling, and the cold darkness enveloped the twilight of hope. The long night had finally arrived. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 399 =====