Chapter 553: Belts? They're Just Limiters for Gods

"Drip."

"Drip."

Scarlet blood beads slid down Tobirama Senju's pale cheeks, finally splashing onto the damp earth; his eyes, blurred by blood, revealed a faint sense of impending death.

Lifting his head to look at the seven Another Riders of various forms before him, he once again forced himself to stand upright, his hunched frame written through with weakness.

"Bai Mao, take them and run."

A white figure blocked his field of vision, raising a hand to hold him behind them.

"I should have said, I will be the one to cover the retreat."

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

The armor he took such pride in was covered in scars, the repair progress unable to keep up with the rate of destruction, and his pristine cloak had also become tattered, hanging powerlessly.

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

Madara Uchiha replied calmly with a classic line; the faceplate on his turned-away head was mostly missing, and his single scarlet eye, radiating a cold power, was filled with determination.

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

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

Among them, Kagami Uchiha could not even maintain his Sharingan, and could only lean on that uniquely shaped scarlet greatsword with both hands, yet there was no sign of retreat on his face.

"Lord Hokage, Master, let us be the ones to cover the retreat."

The fine iron armor that Hiruzen Sarutobi had specifically put on when leaving home was already shattered, and his unprotected upper body had been struck by Number Four's scorching magma, his entire chest charred black.

If not for Koharu Utatane's timely medical treatment, he likely would have perished on the spot.

"Based on you lot... stop joking."

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

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

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

Tobirama Senju straightened his back and stepped forward to stand beside Madara Uchiha; as things stood, the fact that they were trapped was entirely due to his erroneous decision-making.

"If your skills are inferior, there is nothing to say."

Madara Uchiha, on the contrary, was open-minded and generously admitted his own shortcomings; as he spoke, scorching chakra rose from his body once more, and his recently shattered armor was renewed.

"Your body..."

Seeing this, Tobirama Senju frowned imperceptibly; in such high-intensity combat, even with the assistance of the Nine-Tails' chakra, Madara Uchiha's own physical stamina should have long since decayed to its 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 Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju 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 a doubling, but an exponential increase.

In Tobirama Senju's view, the reason Madara Uchiha had not fallen until now was most likely due to his father, who had died early, begging for mercy in the underworld.

"I feel great; I can still keep at it with them for a whole day."

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

In a place where no one could see, a blue necklace shaped like a dragon's claw was hanging quietly around Madara Uchiha's neck.

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

PS: 1 health point = 1 day of life force.

It was precisely because of the support of this extra life force that Madara Uchiha could maintain a state of firing on all cylinders anytime, anywhere.

Then again, how could Gin Uchiha keep such a good thing as a Dragon's Tooth to himself? Naturally, he gave one to every close blood relative he had a good relationship with.

When giving them out, he claimed they were a newly developed health product of his own, with miraculous effects for longevity if carried long-term; Madara Uchiha and the others took it as a joke, but did not refuse.

Tajima Uchiha did ask a few more questions, and Gin Uchiha had to explain that he had discovered a certain magical ore; only then did his uncle nod in sudden realization, exclaiming at his nephew's good luck.

As an old veteran of the Warring States period who had seen much of the world, he had naturally heard legends of magical ores rich in life force.

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

For those who had not practiced the Strength of a Hundred Seal, the health points added by the Dragon's Tooth could only extend the carrier's lifespan to the maximum, while the aging of bodily functions was irreversible.

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

So, the Strength of a Hundred Seal is the MVP~

"Focus your attention, they're coming again!"

Tobirama Senju, who was still doubting whether Madara Uchiha was just holding on, suddenly saw the figures of several Another Riders disappear from where they stood; he shouted immediately and retreated rapidly with the F6.

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

"Clang!"

The two red and white gun-blades collided, the impact generating a shockwave half a person high; Madara Uchiha stared fixedly at the Another Rider before him that was so similar to himself, a sense of crisis inevitably rising in his heart.

During the previous several exchanges, he discovered that this Another Rider, transformed from a clone, showed significant, leap-frog progress after every battle following their first encounter.

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

The same situation was occurring with the other clones, which caused his pressure to increase exponentially; even with the meager assistance of Tobirama Senju and the others, he was struggling to hold his own.

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

If he was like this, then Tobirama Senju and the others, who were much weaker than him, were even more miserable; for some reason, Number Two and Number Eight among the clones kept targeting Bai Mao, and the two of them chased the eight people in circles.

Although the strength of the F6 was considered top-tier among ninjas, they were somewhat insignificant in front of the clones; if not for the presence of the battle-hardened Tobirama Senju, these few kids would have likely reported to the Pure Land at the very start.

"Ah!"

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

While locked in a struggle, he caught a glimpse with the corner of his eye of the F6 being toyed with by the half-man, half-beast Number Two clone, and immediately swung with force, flying backward.

"Hehehe..."

The Number Two clone, having cornered the F6, let out an unintelligible, strange laugh from the mouth beneath its tiger-head mask, raising the claws on the back of its hands high, clearly about to send them on their way.

"How dare you!"

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

"Buzz, buzz, buzz~"

But how could the Number Eight clone let him have his way? The giant chainsaw in its hand erupted with bursts of electric light, smashing toward Tobirama Senju's head with unstoppable force.

"Damn it."

Seeing this, Tobirama Senju had no choice but to give up on releasing his ninjutsu, instead throwing out a shuriken in an attempt to delay the Number Two clone's attack.

Swish~ Swish~ Swish—

But the effect... was hard to judge; the opponent simply ignored the hidden weapon flying toward it, and the cold, gleaming claws slashed down fiercely.

Am I going to die?

Kagami Uchiha, who was 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 character 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 path less than ten centimeters from his curly hair; he opened his eyes in confusion, and a white fox-tail cloak fluttered before his eyes.

"Great-uncle!"

Having returned from the gates of hell, Kagami looked excitedly at the figure standing before him, even forgetting the usual honorifics.

"Daring to touch the saplings of Konoha, you have already invited your own death!"

Boom—

A blue phantom emerged from Madara Uchiha's body, and the short gun-blade in his hand was instantly covered in a blue edge; the terrifying, immense force pushed Number Two back repeatedly.

"Snap."

Hearing a crisp snapping sound, the Number Two clone's claws finally could not bear the load, shattering into fragments under the attack bolstered by Madara Uchiha's Susanoo power.

"Crash!"

The blue edge slashed from top to bottom across Number Two's body, which was unable to dodge, instantly splitting it in two; the corpse, spraying blood from its forehead, swayed a few times before falling to the left and right.

"Plop~"

The armor wrapping its entire body faded away like a tide, finally turning into a shattered dial that fell onto Number Two's hideous remains, vanishing with the wind a few seconds later, as if it had never been there.

"Crack!"

Jigen did not even look at the shattered wine glass in his hand, letting the bright red wine drip onto himself.

Staring intently at the Number Two clone being slaughtered by Madara Uchiha, his eyes, which ignored everything, finally revealed a rare flash of anger.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Losing a clone that had not 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 moment of birth, Jigen had planted his own Karma on every clone; usually, these Karmas were in an inactive 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, eliminate that Nine-Tails knight!"

The exasperated Jigen issued the highest command in the minds of all the clones; Number Eight, who was chasing its prey, paused, and Tobirama Senju took the opportunity to use a Body Flicker, landing beside Madara Uchiha.

"Thank you."

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

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

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

Hearing this short but soul-stirring remark from Madara Uchiha, Tobirama Senju looked at Madara Uchiha's indomitable back for the first time with the same gaze he once used to look up to his older brother.

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

"Is this your Will of Fire?"

Tobirama Senju muttered to himself in a daze, his thoughts broken at an inopportune moment by the bedraggled F6 behind him.

"Master, how should we support the Hokage?"

Kagami Uchiha leaned in, propping himself up with his Blood-Drinking Sword; having escaped death, he showed no intention of retreating, his eyes still flashing with an undying will to fight.

"Support?"

Glancing at his dispirited disciples, Tobirama Senju shook his head imperceptibly; recalling the heroic and fearless spirit of Madara Uchiha, he took a deep breath, raised his hand, and beckoned the F6 to his side.

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

"?"

The F6 froze; were they really to abandon the Hokage to face the enemy alone?

"We need two people to act as bait now to help me draw the enemy's attention."

"I'll do it!" *2

"Me."

Watching Kagami and Hiruzen start at zero frames, Danzo, who was 0.01 seconds late, turned livid, but he raised his hand nonetheless.

"Me too."

"Enough, that's enough people."

Tobirama Senju glanced at Danzo, shook his head lightly, and turned his gaze to the two resolute-looking youths, Kagami and Hiruzen.

"Are you two prepared to die?"

Staying behind as bait was essentially a suicide mission; Kagami Uchiha and Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at each other, neither seeing the slightest hint of fear in the other's eyes.

Born as ninjas, one must always be prepared to face death.

"Always ready!" *2

"No!"

Rejected, Danzo stood up abruptly, his hawk-like eyes staring fixedly at Tobirama Senju.

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

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

"But we ask to die on the same day!"

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

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

"Gin once said, 'Before the three armies move, the healer goes first.' How can you go into a group fight without me?"

As the flower of the F6, Koharu Utatane successfully broke free from the shackles of fear with the help of her companions and stood smiling with the others.

"You all..."

Seeing this scene, Tobirama Senju fell silent; he had originally intended to use this trial to pick out a few future successors of the Will of Fire for Konoha.

But now it seemed his own heart was too narrow.

These disciples were each a successor worthy of trust, but Konoha only had two leadership positions; he could only pick the best among the tall.

Scanning the firm faces of his disciples, Tobirama Senju, having made up his mind, raised his hand and pointed to 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 seeing the look of entrustment on Tobirama Senju's face, he froze in place, realizing he seemed to have missed something important.

"Of course, as for the rest of you, you must also assist those two well."

Rumble—

As soon as he finished speaking, the figure of Madara Uchiha flew backward; sliding to a stop beside them, he looked irritably at the group still lingering in place.

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

"Uh, we wanted to..."

"Want to my ass, get out of here, don't stay here and drag me down."

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

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

"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 pouch on his back, and charged toward the clones with a savage grin.

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