Chapter 498

"Drip."

"Drip."

Scarlet blood beads slid down Senju Tobirama's pale cheeks, finally hitting the moist ground. Those eyes, blurred by blood, revealed a faint sense of death.

Raising his head and looking at the seven Different Riders of various forms in front of him, he once again braced himself to straighten his body, his hunched figure full of weakness.

"White-haired guy, take them and run."

A white figure blocked his vision, raising his hand to stop him behind his back.

"I should have said that I would cover the retreat."

Senju Tobirama frowned; he had never seen such a disheveled Uchiha.

His proud armor was covered in scars, the repair progress unable to keep up with the speed of destruction. His spotless cape had also become tattered, hanging limply.

"This is an order; I am the Hokage!"

Uchiha Madara replied lightly with a classic quote. The faceplate he turned away had already lost more than half, and a scarlet eyeball revealing cold power was full of determination.

"Ma... Master, we can still fight."

In the gap between their conversation, six disheveled figures gathered around. The F6, who were in high spirits half a day ago, were now covered in wounds.

Among them, Uchiha Kagami couldn't even maintain his Sharingan and could only lean on that uniquely shaped scarlet greatsword with both hands, but there was no intention of retreat on his face.

"Lord Hokage, Master, let us cover the retreat."

The fine iron armor that Sarutobi Hiruzen had specially changed into when he went out was already shattered. His unprotected upper body had been hit by Clone No. 4's scorching magma, and his entire chest was already charred black.

If it weren't for Koharu Utatane's timely medical treatment, he probably would have died on the spot.

"Just based on you guys... stop joking."

Uchiha Madara glanced at the F6, who were like remnants of a defeated army, shook his head slightly, and then turned his gaze to the seven Different Riders closing in step by step, his fists clenching subconsciously.

I'm sorry, Izuna, I might break my promise this time.

"It's my fault; I underestimated the enemy's strength."

Senju Tobirama straightened his back and stepped forward to stand beside Uchiha Madara. Now that things had come to this, the fact that they were trapped was all due to his wrong decision.

"If your skills are inferior to others, there's nothing to say."

On the contrary, Uchiha Madara was open-minded and generously admitted his shortcomings. As he spoke, scorching chakra rose from his body again, and the shattered armor was renewed.

"Your body..."

Seeing this scene, Senju Tobirama frowned imperceptibly. In such high-intensity combat, even with the assistance of the Nine-Tails' chakra, Uchiha Madara's own physical stamina should have long since decayed to the limit.

Admittedly, chakra could support a ninja in long-term combat to the greatest extent, just like the decisive battle before the founding of Konoha, where Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama fought for days and nights before exhausting their strength.

But that battle could not be mentioned in the same breath as the current encounter. The intensity of 1v1 versus 1v7 was not just a doubling, but a geometric increase.

In Senju Tobirama's view, the reason Uchiha Madara hadn't fallen yet was very likely due to his long-dead father begging for help from below.

"I feel great; I can still wear them out for a whole day."

In Uchiha Madara's tone, there was none of the weakness Senju Tobirama had imagined; on the contrary, he was full of vigor, making one wonder if he had secretly taken some medicine.

In a place where no one could see, a blue necklace in the shape of a claw was hanging quietly around Uchiha Madara's neck.

【Dragon's Claw】: Gain 9% maximum HP, gain 5 HP every two days.

PS: 1 HP = 1 day of vitality.

It was precisely because of the support of extra vitality that Uchiha Madara could maintain a state of "full firepower" anytime, anywhere.

Then again, how could Uchiha Gin keep such good things as Dragon Teeth to himself? Naturally, every close relative he had a good relationship with got one.

When he gave them out, he claimed they were newly developed health products that had the miraculous effect of prolonging life if carried for a long time. Uchiha Madara and the others just took it as a joke, but they didn't refuse.

Uchiha Tajima did ask a few more questions, and Uchiha Gin had to explain that he had discovered some kind of magical ore. Only then did his uncle suddenly realize, nodding and exclaiming at his nephew's good luck.

As an old hand with wide experience during the Warring States Period, he had naturally heard legends of magical ores rich in vitality.

However, in the process of testing the Dragon Teeth, Uchiha Gin discovered that this item had a drawback.

For those who had not practiced the Yin Seal, the HP increased by the Dragon Teeth could only extend the carrier's lifespan to the greatest extent, while the aging of physical functions was irreversible.

Even if Uchiha Madara lived to be 100, he could still be spirited and clear-headed, but his body could not escape the ravages of time.

So, the Yin Seal is the MVP~

"Concentrate, they're coming again!"

Senju Tobirama, who was still doubting whether Uchiha Madara was just holding on, suddenly saw the figures of several Different Riders disappear from where they were. He immediately shouted and led the F6 to retreat rapidly.

Uchiha Madara did not retreat like them; instead, he picked up his gun-blade and met the difficulty head-on.

"Clang!"

The two red and white gun-blades collided. The impact generated by the collision whipped up a wave of air half a person high. Uchiha Madara stared fixedly at the Different Rider in front of him that was very similar to himself, a sense of crisis inevitably arising in his heart.

During the previous several exchanges, he discovered that this Different Rider transformed from a clone had a relatively obvious leap in progress every time they fought after the first encounter.

The moves in its hands were becoming more and more methodical, and its control over its own power was becoming more and more proficient.

The same situation also appeared in the other clones, which made his pressure increase significantly. Even with the "better than nothing" assistance of Senju Tobirama and the others, he was struggling to support himself alone.

So much so that in the end, he could no longer be as relaxed as before, and he was covered in countless wounds.

If he was like this, then Senju Tobirama and the others, who were much weaker than him, were even more miserable. For some reason, No. 2 and No. 8 among the clones kept targeting the white-haired guy, and the two of them chased the eight people around in circles.

Although the F6's strength was considered top-tier among ninjas, it was somewhat insignificant in front of the clones. If it weren't for the presence of the battle-hardened Senju Tobirama, these kids would probably have reported to the Pure Land at the very beginning.

"Ah!"

A scream from behind pulled Uchiha Madara's fleeting thoughts back to reality.

In the middle of the struggle, he caught a glimpse of the F6 being toyed with by the half-man, half-beast Clone No. 2 out of the corner of his eye, and immediately swung with force, flying backward.

"Heh heh heh..."

Clone No. 2, which had forced the F6 into a dead end, let out an inexplicable weird laugh from its mouth under the tiger-head mask. The sharp claws on the back of its hand were raised high, and it looked like it was about to send them on their way.

"How dare you!"

Senju Tobirama, who was being chased by the purple minotaur, saw this scene and shouted with eyes splitting in anger. But having temporarily lost the Flying Thunder God Technique, he could only form seals rapidly, attempting to use his proficient ninjutsu to save the situation.

"Buzz buzz buzz~"

But how could Clone No. 8 let him have his way? The giant chainsaw in its hand erupted with bursts of electric light, smashing toward Senju Tobirama's head with unstoppable momentum.

"Damn it."

Seeing this, Senju Tobirama had no choice but to give up releasing ninjutsu and instead threw out a shuriken, attempting to delay Clone No. 2's attack.

Whoosh~ Whoosh~ Whoosh—

But as for the effect... it was hard to say. The other party directly ignored the hidden weapon attacking it, and the sharp claws gleaming with cold light slashed down fiercely.

Am I going to die?

Uchiha Kagami, who was standing at the very front of the F6, revealed a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth. He was indeed not the kind of protagonist told in Uncle Gin's stories, just a background board mentioned in passing in history books.

"Clang! —"

In the second after Kagami closed his eyes to wait for death, a red and white gun-blade blocked the space less than ten centimeters from his curly hair. Opening his eyes in confusion, a white fox-tail cape fluttered before his eyes.

"Uncle!"

Kagami, who had walked back from the gates of hell, looked excitedly at the figure blocking in front of him, even forgetting the usual honorifics.

"Daring to touch Konoha's seedlings, you have already invited your own death!"

Boom—

A blue phantom emerged from Uchiha Madara's body, and the short gun-blade in his hand was instantly covered with a blue edge. The terrifying giant force pressed No. 2 back repeatedly.

"Snap."

Only a crisp snapping sound was heard. Clone No. 2's sharp claws finally couldn't bear the load, turning into fragments under the attack reinforced by Uchiha Madara's Susanoo power.

"Crash!"

The blue edge slashed across No. 2's body from top to bottom, instantly splitting it into two. The corpse, spraying blood from its forehead, swayed a few times before falling to the left and right.

"Plop~"

The armor covering its entire body receded like a tide, eventually turning into a broken dial that fell onto No. 2's hideous remains, vanishing with the wind a few seconds later as if it had never been there.

"Crackle!"

Jigen didn't even look at the broken wine glass in his hand, letting the bright red wine drip onto his body.

Staring fixedly at Clone No. 2, which had been slaughtered by Uchiha Madara, his eyes, which ignored everything, finally revealed a rare anger.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Losing a clone that hadn't fused with Tailed Beast power was still within his acceptable range; it would only take some time and money to cultivate another one.

But the clones that had obtained Tailed Beast power were different.

At the beginning of every clone's birth, Jigen had planted his own Karma. Usually, these Karmas were in an unactivated state.

Once they absorbed Tailed Beast power, the Karma would be activated, subsequently beginning to decompress his original power. As long as the clone grew fast enough, the thawing speed of the Karma would also accelerate, and his reincarnation progress would accelerate accordingly.

Therefore, every clone that activated the Karma was precious to Jigen.

"Concentrate your power and eliminate that Nine-Tails Rider!"

The exasperated Jigen issued the highest order in the minds of the clones. No. 8, who was chasing its prey, paused. Senju Tobirama took the opportunity to use a Body Flicker and landed beside Uchiha Madara.

"Thank you."

Looking at the F6 who had survived the disaster, Senju Tobirama breathed a sigh of relief and thanked Uchiha Madara very sincerely.

"Protecting Konoha with one's life is the mission of the Hokage."

Shaking the blood off the gun-blade with a swish, Uchiha Madara said calmly and then rushed toward the gathered clones without looking back.

After hearing this short but shocking sentence from Uchiha Madara, Senju Tobirama looked at Uchiha Madara's indomitable back for the first time with the same eyes he once used to look up to his Big Brother.

At this moment, the figures of two generations of Hokage overlapped in his heart.

"Is this your Will of Fire?"

Senju Tobirama muttered to himself in a daze. The disheveled F6 behind him broke his train of thought at an inopportune time.

"Master, how should we support Lord Hokage?"

Uchiha Kagami leaned over while leaning on his blood-drinking sword. Having survived death, he had no intention of retreating, and the will to fight to the death still flickered in his eyes.

"Support?"

Scanning his dispirited disciples, Senju Tobirama shook his head imperceptibly. Recalling Uchiha Madara's heroic and fearless spirit, he took a deep breath, raised his hand, and summoned the F6 to his front.

"Now the enemy is many and we are few; this is not the time to talk about support."

"?"

The F6's expressions stalled. Are they really going to leave Lord Hokage to face the enemy alone?

"Now we need two people as bait to assist me in attracting the enemy's attention..."

"I'll do it!" *2

"I..."

Looking at Kagami and Hiruzen, who had started at zero frames, Danzo, who was 0.01 seconds late, instantly turned blue in the face, but still raised his hand afterward.

"I also..."

"Enough, there are enough people."

Senju Tobirama glanced at Danzo and shook his head slightly, then turned his gaze to the two determined-looking Kagami and Hiruzen.

"Have you two made the determination to die?"

Staying behind as bait this time was basically a situation with ten deaths and no life. Uchiha Kagami and Sarutobi Hiruzen looked at each other, neither seeing the slightest fear in the other's eyes.

Born as ninjas, one must be prepared to die at any time.

"Always prepared!" *2

"No!"

Danzo, who had been rejected, stood up abruptly, his eagle-like eyes staring fixedly at Senju Tobirama.

"We F6 are a group; we don't ask to be born on the same year, same month, same day..."

As if infected by Danzo's momentum, Akimichi Torifu also stood up, his hill-like body carrying an oppressive force that could not be ignored.

"But we ask to die on the same year, same month, same day!"

"That's right, Kagami, if you two want to act cool, you can't forget me."

Mitokado Homura pushed up his glasses, revealing a smile he thought was handsome.

"Gin-san once said, 'The three armies have not moved, the healer goes first.' How can you not bring me when fighting in a group?"

As the "flower" of the F6, Koharu Utatane successfully broke free from the shackles of fear with the help of her companions and stood with everyone with a smile.

"You guys..."

Seeing this scene, Senju Tobirama fell silent. He had originally wanted to use this test to pick out a few successors to Konoha's future Will of Fire from the F6.

But now it seemed that his mind was too narrow.

These disciples were each worthy of being entrusted as successors, but Konoha only had two leadership positions; he could only pick the best among the short.

Scanning the determined faces of his disciples, Senju Tobirama, who already had a decision in his heart, raised his hand and pointed at the two most outstanding ones.

"Hiruzen, Kagami, the future of Konoha is entrusted to you two."

Huh?

Danzo didn't feel much when he first heard this, but after seeing Senju Tobirama's expression of entrusting them, he was instantly stunned on the spot. He seemed to have missed something important.

"Of course, there are also you guys; you must also assist them well."

Boom—

As soon as the words fell, Uchiha Madara's figure flew backward. After sliding to their side, he looked angrily at the few who were still lingering on the spot.

"Ah? Why haven't you left yet?"

"Uh, we wanted to..."

"Want my ass, hurry up and leave, don't stay here and drag me down."

Uchiha Madara got up, a faint light flickering in his eyes as he looked at the clones.

After pondering for a moment, he stripped off the driver at his waist and threw it along with the Tailed Beast card to the bewildered Senju Tobirama.

"This thing hinders my performance; you keep it for me for now."

As he spoke, he pulled a black double-edged giant axe and a brown giant hammer covered in spikes from the ninja tool bag behind him, and rushed toward the group of clones with a sinister grin.

"Are you ready to dance?" (End of chapter)