Chapter 398: The buckle that best fits the local setting

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

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

"Hoo, hoo..."

Shamon put his hands together, panting slightly. Large beads of sweat rolled down from the green dragon tattoo on his forehead, following his sunken garlic nose and dripping down.

"I had a glimmer of expectation for you, but now it seems you were just lucky."

Uchiha Madara looked at Shamon, who had fallen into a predicament, with disappointment. He had thought that if the other party could survive until the end, they must have had some extraordinary qualities. It turned out that after all this, 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."

Glancing down 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 Storm Funeral!"

Ignoring Uchiha Madara's cold sarcasm, Shamon focused intently on maneuvering the yellow sand beneath his feet, which then stirred up sand waves dozens of meters high, rushing toward the fox knight clad in Susanoo armor all at once.

"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 red to the naked eye. Roaring, burning chakra permeated out of his body, and the white chest armor was subsequently dyed 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, roaring flames ignited on the white sword body.

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

"Boom!"

The scorching aura instantly filled 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.

"Im... impossible!"

Shamon, who was maneuvering the Magnet Release with all his heart, felt a large amount of gravel slip out of his control. With his brows tightly furrowed, he was still puzzled when he looked up and saw a scene before him that shocked him incomparably.

"Wow~ So beautiful!"

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

"He actually smelted the sand into glaze! Just how high must his Fire Release attainment be to do that!?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen, who prided himself on being a master of Ninjutsu, couldn't help but feel inferior 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.

"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 a connection."

Uchiha Kagami, who was to the side, stepped forward and patted the dejected Sarutobi Hiruzen as if to comfort him. As he spoke, his eyes carried a thick look of arrogance.

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

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

However, thinking of the predicament of his hometown, Shamon regained his spirit once again. With a firm gaze, he looked at Uchiha Madara not far away. At this moment, the fire-red on the other party's body had already faded, but strands of steam were still rising from his body.

"The appearance of struggling on at death's door and refusing to admit defeat is truly ugly."

Shaking his head, Uchiha Madara's last bit of patience for this kind of little bug that refused to give up was worn away. He then flashed and disappeared from his original spot.

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

"Ping!"

Fortunately, Shamon's tense nerves saved his life. At the moment before the blade was about to enter his body, thick Sand Armor instantly covered his body, narrowly blocking the fatal blow for him.

"Oh?"

Not expecting Shamon's defensive speed to be quite 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.

"Ping~"

"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 that penetrated his body, leaving him dizzy. His whole 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, which pulled at the internal bleeding caused by his internal injuries, causing him to spray it out from his mouth. Shamon lay in the crystal-clear glaze fragments, his lifeless eyes looking at the gloomy sky.

It was currently dusk, and the continuous drizzle fell on the faceplate of the green tanuki, triggering a pitter-patter sound.

To lose just like this, I'm really not reconciled.

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

In the spectator stands, the Gin-Jin brothers looked at Shamon, who was being ruthlessly ravaged by Uchiha Madara. 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 hands crossed over his chest, frowned slightly. Why hadn't this guy Uchiha Madara finished the battle quickly? Could it be that he didn't want to save his older brother?

Truly the naturally evil Uchiha!

"Master, that tanuki knight is so pitiful."

Mako pursed her lips, her black eyes carrying a faint look of pity.

"Teacher! Gambare!"

Suddenly, a thin figure stood up in the crowd. Chiyo, with tears faintly in the corners of her eyes, puffed out her small cheeks and used her greatest 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 and looked at his disciple, who was raising her hands high in the spectator stands. 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 at Shamon, who was slowly standing up, with some surprise. From the perspective of his Sharingan, this man's body should have already been 'poro-poro-da'.

"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 doesn't know how to say pretty words?

With a disdainful curl of his lips, Uchiha Madara raised his white longsword and attacked the isolated Shamon again. Sharp sword Qi 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, the belief in Shamon's heart sublimated once again. The power within his body and the buckle produced a certain resonance.

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

Uchiha Madara, who was halfway there, saw this and stopped his steps voluntarily with a strange look in his eyes, pausing to wait.

"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've finally brought out something new."

Uchiha Madara didn't attack immediately. Instead, he looked at the new buckle at Shamon's waist with great interest.

Only he and this baldy in front of him possessed this kind of prop; he was naturally very curious about what the other party could achieve.

"I will never let down this power."

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 gently, snapping the buckle into the driver.

"Ninja! Ready Fight."

Heavy armor, completely emerald green, covered his black base body. The bow and crossbow in his hand transformed into a sharp dual-blade. His yellow compound eyes turned red due to the enhancement of his five senses.

Having transformed into the Ace Ninja form, the momentum Shamon erupted with 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 spectator stands, crossed his hands and rested his chin on them. His eyes, looking at the emerald green tanuki knight, were filled with a playful look.

I didn't expect Shamon to actually be able to rebound from the bottom, unlocking a new form at such a critical moment.

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 within his body, Shamon looked at Uchiha Madara, who was waiting not far away, with a fighting spirit.

"Very good. Continue to dance~"

Facing Shamon's provocation, Uchiha Madara waved the white longsword in his hand calmly. The aura emitted by the other party's new form 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 greatest extent, his speed more than twice as fast as before.

In just the blink of an eye, Shamon appeared behind Uchiha Madara, raising the dual-blade in his hand high, seemingly intending to follow 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 additionally sent a back-kick, landing it steadily on the other party's chest.

"Bang!"

Uchiha Madara, feeling that he had hit the target, hadn't even had time to be proud when he heard a dull sound behind him. After a glance, he discovered that what he had kicked was actually just a clone, while the real Shamon had already disappeared without a trace.

"Where are you looking?"

Just as Uchiha Madara was frowning and searching for Shamon's tracks, the other party's voice rang out in his ear. Following the sound to look, he ended up looking at nothing; the empty arena had no figure at all.

"Tsk!"

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

"Swish!"

Raising his hand to throw a sword Qi in that direction, he ended up not hitting any target.

"Eh?"

Just as Uchiha Madara was still puzzled, a green figure suddenly jumped out from the gravel behind him. The dual-blade in his hand danced with great vigor, slashing straight onto his back armor.

"Bang!"

"Nani?"

The crowd in the spectator stands showed expressions of disbelief at this situation, especially the Gin-Jin brothers who had fought Uchiha Madara; they widened their tiger eyes and opened their mouths wide. 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 greatest extent, such as the Body Replacement Technique, Stealth Technique, and a series of other unique ninja skills.

His cousin had been caught off guard and sneak-attacked by this kind of entry-level 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 competition. Turning his head to look at the scar on his back armor, although the wound was already slowly recovering, the indignation in his heart overflowed his chest.

With dangerous light in his eyes, he stared fixedly at the emerald green tanuki knight who had landed not far away, cold pupil power gathering in his eyes.

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

Shamon felt a chill that penetrated to the bone and immediately shivered. But with the power of the Ace Ninja to rely on, he still raised the dual-blade in his hand, and his figure gradually became blurry along with the sound of his voice.

"... you can find me."

"As you wish."

Uchiha Madara became serious for a rare moment. 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. It stood up extremely reluctantly, dragging its large belly that was weighing on the ground, and raised its head to ask.

"Didn't you say not to let me help?"

"The final interpretation right is in my hands."

With an expressionless face and narrowed eyes, Uchiha Madara, who had poked his head out in the consciousness space, 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 for a moment, instantly withered again. It dragged its belly and lay on the ground, its expression slightly painful. Its belly felt like it was being cut by a knife; perhaps it had eaten something bad.

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

Uchiha Madara shook his head, not caring about 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!"

Cowed by Uchiha Madara's lewd might, the Nine-Tails had to resign itself to its fate, drooping its head and turning into a wisp of chakra to float 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 once again. The addition of the Nine-Tails' power turned his body, which had been 80/20 white and red, into a 50/50 split.

【Kamen Rider Geats · Nine-Tails Link Form】

"Have you finally realized the importance of the Tailed Beast itself?"

Uchiha Gin looked at his cousin's change with some surprise. 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 their five senses. The Nine-Tails possessed 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°."

The Nine-Tails only used 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 threw a sword Qi toward the point it reported.

"Ping!"

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

"It must have been a guess!"

Shamon was very confident in his hiding means, believing 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 his original spot.

"Where is he?"

"Southwest, 45°."

"Swish!"

"Bang!"

Uchiha Madara didn't test him again this time and directly used his full strength. His 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 blow directly broke his defense.

"Crack~"

The dual-blade in his hand directly turned into two halves, and his chest was also torn open by the aftermath of the sword Qi, a wound deep enough to see the bone.

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.

"Hoo, hoo... How on earth did he find me?"

Shamon, holding half a broken blade in each hand, looked at the smug Uchiha Madara with horror. Even if he died, he couldn't figure out how the other party had discovered his tracks; 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 puzzled, 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 drink a pot."

Shamon felt a bit 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, for a rare moment, 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, already counted as the high point 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 crafty Shukaku, after analyzing the pros and cons, directly gave up~

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

It would rather do nothing than make a mistake.

"Hey! Hey! Hey!"

No matter how Shamon called, Shukaku didn't give any response. Seeing this situation, he had to place his last hope on himself.

"Actually spacing out during a battle, 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 desolation in his heart grew even stronger.

"Where's that stupid tanuki?"

Suddenly, a sharp voice like a eunuch's came from the mouth under the fox knight's faceplate. Shamon, whose heart was filled with despondency, blinked in confusion upon hearing it, but soon guessed the owner of the voice. He steadied his mind and replied.

"Shukaku is inside, but it seems to be 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 bump into 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, its smug corners of its mouth curled high, and its mocking voice was heard clearly by everyone present.

"That voice, it's not 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 of worry.

"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 fixed 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 appeared with 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, he could not fall with his back to the enemy no matter what.

"Then I will fulfill you!"

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

In this situation, Shamon, knowing there was no retreat, didn't choose to escape. Instead, in the surprised gaze of the crowd, he turned around quickly, then lifted the short blade in his hand with a firm gaze, and emerald green light bloomed around his body.

He chose to stake everything on one throw.

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

"Crack!"

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

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