Chapter 551: A Genuine Counterfeit: It Turns Out It Was Just a Simple Template Before

Uchiha Madara's gaze grew profound. In just an instant, he felt a trace of threat from the strange, mysterious dial in the clone's hand, causing his initially eager heart to sink inexplicably.

At the same time, the moment the dial appeared, the Nine-Tails card at his waist began to stir violently.

The Nine-Tails, which had been full of vitality just a moment ago, now had its fur standing on end, its nine thick tails held high.

It stared at the dial in the clone's hand, baring its fangs, and there was even a hint of terror in its narrow, beastly pupils.

"Nine-Tails, do you know what that thing is?"

Discovering the Nine-Tails' unusual reaction, Uchiha Madara asked in his heart.

"I don't know."

The Nine-Tails shook its head. Although it felt a fear from the depths of its soul toward the dial, it did not know the origin of this object.

However, this was normal. Back when the Sage of Six Paths stripped the nine Tailed Beasts from the Divine Tree, he had left the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—the vessel for the Tailed Beasts' chakra—for his younger brother to handle, so it was understandable that the Nine-Tails had no impression of the cage that had imprisoned it.

A shudder born of instinct?

Seeing that he hadn't gotten an answer, Uchiha Madara looked thoughtfully at the various dials in the hands of the clones. To be able to make the Nine-Tails feel like it was facing a formidable enemy, the origin of this thing was definitely not simple.

Clone No. 1 held the dial in his hand up to his chest, his face full of arrogance, the previous decadence swept away. With a light press of his finger, the dial instantly shone with great brilliance.

"Shukaku!"

"That is... a raccoon dog head?"

Uchiha Madara, who had better eyesight, narrowed his eyes and took in the pattern depicted on the dial.

On the dial, which exuded an ominous aura, was none other than the One-Tail Knight who had once had a passionate battle with him.

And the dials in the hands of the other clones also featured Tailed Beast Knights that Uchiha Madara had seen before.

"Matatabi!"

"Isobu!"

"Son Goku!"

"Kokuo!"

"Gyuki!"

"Kurama!"

Voices rose one after another, echoing in Uchiha Madara's ears. Watching the clones suddenly shove the glowing dials into their bodies, he swung his gun-blade violently, and countless concentrated Tailed Beast Bombs poured out.

He was a knight, but he was also a ninja; it would be a sin not to punish an opening.

"Boom!"

The sound of violent explosions rang out instantly, drowning out the eerie sounds emitted by the dials. Thick smoke and dust surged up, but Uchiha Madara's heart sank.

Adhering to the principle of "no smoke, no damage," his attack likely hadn't worked.

Whoosh—

Sure enough, a gust of wind rising from the center of the explosion quickly swept away the smoke and dust, revealing seven figures with vastly different appearances inside.

"These are... knights?"

The moment he saw them, Uchiha Madara's pupils shrank slightly, because these figures before him bore a striking resemblance to the Tailed Beast Knights he had seen.

However, compared to the aesthetically designed knight armor, their forms had a bit more strange ferocity.

Taking the One-Tail Knight as an example, the raccoon dog-headed knight the clone had transformed into had sharp teeth on its naive-looking faceplate, and there were protruding sharp horns on its elbows and knees; its muscles were knotted, and its whole body exuded brutality and madness.

"Third round, begin."

Without waiting for Uchiha Madara to think further, the seven heteromorphic knights rushed toward him. The one leading the charge was none other than Clone No. 9, who had frequently crossed blades with him.

The opponent was now also clad in white and red armor, his body angular and sharp; compared to the Geats he had transformed into, No. 9 looked more like a manic beast.

"Die!"

Having entered State 3, No. 9 now possessed power comparable to the Nine-Tails Knight. As he leaped high, a ferocious-looking gun-blade appeared in his hand, and the heavy blade slashed down fiercely toward Uchiha Madara.

"Clang!"

Uchiha Madara raised his gun-blade to block, but the immense force transmitted through his hands shocked him; the opponent's strength had actually increased by more than a notch.

But it wasn't over yet. A blinding red light lit up in No. 9's eyes, and the cape behind him, which had seemed like mere decoration, suddenly stood up, erupting with trails of fire like thrusters.

The sudden turn of events caught Uchiha Madara off guard. While being forced back, he did not lose his composure.

He sank his lower body to stabilize his stance, his waist went limp, and his upper body leaned backward, using a back-bend posture to toss the unstoppable No. 9 behind him.

"Thud!"

Unable to stop his momentum, No. 9 slammed heavily into the rock wall behind Uchiha Madara, his entire head embedded in the hard rock, leaving only his body struggling outside.

"Stupid."

Simply evaluating No. 9, who had gained new power, Uchiha Madara shook his head in disdain.

Even if the power of these clones was strong, without the corresponding combat experience, they were nothing more than children wielding sharp weapons.

"How dare you look down on us! All together now!"

Not expecting No. 9 to be defeated at light speed after transforming, No. 1, who had been watching from the sidelines, waved his hand, and the remaining clones swarmed forward. Energy of various colors rose from their bodies.

For a time, a sea of sand surged with giant waves, ghostly blue flames bloomed in scorching magma, and the scales floating in the sky shone brilliantly under the reflection of pitch-black ink, like stars.

Uchiha Madara's gaze narrowed, and the nine fox-tail cape behind him swayed, his figure becoming elusive.

Under the blessing of super-speed, with just a sidestep, he dodged the several sand spears thrown by Clone No. 1, flashed, appeared behind him, and kicked him hard in the butt.

"Ah!?"

No. 1, who hadn't tracked Uchiha Madara's trail, was dumbfounded in mid-air, and then plunged headfirst into the sand wave he was controlling in a very shameful posture.

As soon as Uchiha Madara landed, a water spout suddenly surged from under his feet. Under the influence of Tailed Beast chakra, these water currents seemed to have a life of their own, wrapping him tightly within.

Having struggled for only a few moments, a blue figure suddenly condensed within the water flow; Clone No. 3, who had transformed into the turtle knight, had actually dissolved into the water.

He raised a sharp spear and stabbed toward Uchiha Madara's forehead.

"Hmph!"

Facing a desperate situation, Uchiha Madara only let out a cold snort. The cape behind him suddenly erupted with scorching flames, evaporating the water column wrapping him in an instant.

"Splash!"

Having lost its carrier, No. 3 landed in a sorry state, his body covered in wounds from the high-temperature burns.

The rhythm of the battle was extremely fast, and another wave of attacks followed. A red figure moved like a ghost, its speed so fast that even Uchiha Madara's Sharingan could not track it.

In the blink of an eye, he was surrounded by the speeding red figure, and a sense of being locked on welled up.

"Eat my six-legged kick!"

The red figure leaped high, a size-45 foot kicking toward Uchiha Madara's head. A red light flashed in Uchiha Madara's eyes, his cape swayed, and his figure also entered a super-speed state.

"Huh?"

No. 4, who had kicked at empty air, widened his eyes, unable to believe that he, who could even kick the Insect Emperor to pieces, could not kick Uchiha Madara.

"Are you fast?"

As Uchiha Madara's ghostly voice rang in his ears, No. 4 immediately moved his legs and entered the super-speed state again.

A white and a red figure crossed rapidly. After a few breaths, the red figure was the first to be thrown out of the high-speed channel, falling heavily to the ground.

"Bang!"

After exiting the super-speed state, Uchiha Madara crossed his arms with an arrogant look. In just the blink of an eye, he had beaten several arrogant clones until they were gasping and closing their eyes. It seemed this so-called State 3 was nothing more than a facade.

"Hmm?"

However, before Uchiha Madara could continue to be smug, he suddenly felt a slight numbness in his body, and his brow immediately furrowed.

"Hehe, do you feel your legs going numb?"

No. 7, wearing heavy silver armor, walked out sinisterly. Only then did Uchiha Madara notice that the surrounding air was filled with scales invisible to the naked eye. These tiny scales had bypassed the filtration of his faceplate and drilled into his body.

"You..."

Uchiha Madara just wanted to take a step, but the obstruction under his feet made him helpless. He looked down in confusion.

"Ink?"

He saw that at some point, the ground under his feet had been covered with black liquid. The viscous ink was like asphalt, sticking his feet tightly to the ground, making Uchiha Madara unable to move even half a step.

"No. 2, it's your turn!"

No. 8, who had cast the ink restraint, shouted. Uchiha Madara felt a chill at his waist.

A silver figure appeared behind him. Clone No. 2, who was nearly half-beast, had thick, sharp claw armor covering his arms.

"Roar!"

With a low growl, the giant claws stabbed fiercely toward Uchiha Madara's waist.

"How could I let you have your way!"

Just at this critical moment, a blue phantom emerged from Uchiha Madara's body.

【Lightweight Armored Susanoo】

Under the double protection, No. 2's claws stopped abruptly after just penetrating the Susanoo's defense.

Uchiha Madara also seized the gap of the opponent's daze, enlarged the fox-tail cape behind him, and the nine fox tails danced around like tentacles. No. 2 couldn't dodge in time and was swiped away by the fox tails for dozens of meters.

The surrounding surface was instantly destroyed. Uchiha Madara took the opportunity to break free from the restraints and leaped up, floating in the air.

"Huh? I can fly too!"

Not expecting to have unlocked a new ability, Uchiha Madara looked at the dancing fox-tail cape behind him in surprise, his heart full of joy.

It wasn't that he couldn't fly before, but the conditions for flight were somewhat harsh; he had to rely on Susanoo to do it.

But now, he only needed to transform to fly, and compared to the cumbersome Susanoo, this way of flying was more agile and more conducive to actual combat.

"Air combat, huh? Things are getting interesting."

Just as Uchiha Madara was immersed in the joy of his harvest, several pairs of wings suddenly spread out behind Clone No. 7. The buzzing wings flapped, and his heavy body actually flew into the sky at a not-so-slow speed.

"Although you possess the power of knights, compared to the originals, you are still far behind."

Looking at the ferocious silver knight, Madara Uchiha could not help but think of that iron-willed bounty hunter, whose strength and character had once earned his approval.

Unlike this grotesque fellow, who possessed the power of the Seven-Tails knight yet acted with such baseness.

"We are the genuine article!"

Number Seven raised a thick, short blade and charged at Madara Uchiha with speed invisible to the naked eye; the scales shaken loose from the wings behind him transformed into sharp spears, finally converging on a single point.

"A fake is a fake, after all."

Curling his lip in disdain, Madara Uchiha swept his fox tail behind him and dove downward; the gun-blade in his hand began to enlarge under his will, finally stopping at a size of ten meters.

"Boom!"

The massive gun-blade and the spears made of scales collided, erupting with a thunderous sound.

After a brief struggle, their figures crossed; Madara Uchiha landed steadily, and the massive gun-blade in his hand gradually faded, eventually returning to its normal size.

"I am not..."

Meanwhile, Number Seven, suspended in mid-air, was terrifyingly silent; a few seconds later, he struggled to turn his head.

A faint glimmer flickered in his scarlet compound eyes; the thick, short blade that had fallen from his hand began to disintegrate, and the wings behind him shattered inch by inch.

"Fake..."

"Thud!"

"Now only you remain."

After finishing off Number Seven, Madara Uchiha looked toward the purple minotaur; the Number Eight clone's gaze immediately shrank.

He had not expected his teammates to be such frauds—all bark and no bite; they had each opened their mouths and closed their eyes without even breaking Madara Uchiha's defense, which was simply a disgrace to their clone army.

As expected, in a desperate situation, one still had to rely on him, Number Eight!

"I am not like them!"

Under Madara Uchiha's mocking gaze, Number Eight raised the buzzing, massive chainsaw in his hand, his face full of arrogant fighting spirit.

"Oh?"

Madara Uchiha raised an eyebrow; he had not expected this clone to still have some backbone in a desperate situation, which was truly rare.

He immediately landed back on the ground and flicked the gun-blade in his hand.

"Then let me see what makes you different from them."

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

Greeting him was the massive chain-toothed blade descending upon his head.

"Well come!"

"Bang! ~"

Madara Uchiha raised his weapon with an excited face, and the shockwave generated by their collision instantly leveled the surrounding trees.

"Now that's got some kick!"

Having had the experience of battling the Eight-Tails knight, Madara Uchiha remembered its savage strength vividly; although the knight before him was a fake, the power it displayed was not the least bit weaker than the original.

"Ugh."

Number Eight bit the bullet and pressed all his strength into his arms, only then barely managing to match Madara Uchiha's force.

However, seeing Madara Uchiha's relaxed demeanor, he could not help but feel a sense of despair, and the chainsaw in his hand began to flail wildly, his attacks devoid of any method.

"Clang!"

After only a few exchanges, the chainsaw in Number Eight's hand was flicked away by a strike from his sword, and he was quickly defeated.

Looking with some displeasure at the purple minotaur who had just stirred up a bit of his passion for battle, Madara Uchiha ruthlessly kicked him away.

You're already spent after just a few moments of fun?

"Is that it? Is that all?"

"Tsk!"

High in the void, Jigen watched the rapidly defeated clones with an "as expected" expression on his face.

"Truly too foolish."

After shaking his head with slight helplessness, he set down his wine cup, and a wisp of blue energy ignited at his fingertip.

"Snap!"

Accompanied by a crisp sound, after Jigen snapped his fingers, the energy at his fingertip vanished without a trace, while the clones on the battlefield below all stiffened simultaneously, a faint blue light invisible to the naked eye igniting within their differently colored compound eyes.

"Switch!" (End of chapter)