Chapter 557: Golden Zenith: There's a Reason for the Price

Inside the card space, the Nine-Tails' massive body began to dissolve rapidly, transforming into streams of golden light that surged into Tobirama Senju's body.

Feeling the powerful Tailed Beast chakra merging into his meridians, Tobirama Senju, shocked by the Nine-Tails' terrifying power, suddenly heard a sharp, thin voice in his mind.

"I was once called a natural disaster by ignorant humans."

As it spoke, the Nine-Tails' body rapidly reorganized within Tobirama Senju's consciousness space; its entirely bright red fur was actually shifting to gold, and finally, as the Golden Legend Nine-Tails, it opened its large mouth and exhaled wisps of scorching heat.

"Now, let me show you the power of a natural disaster that can destroy the world."

The next second, Tobirama Senju, who hadn't yet reacted, was pulled back to reality by a blindingly strong light; unable to help but raise his hand to shield his eyes, he was surprised to find something hard in his hand.

"This is..."

Looking suspiciously at the golden fox buckle in his hand, he had seen the same model on Madara Uchiha's waist before, though that one was white and red.

"This is my true power; consider it a beginner's bonus for you."

The Nine-Tails' shrill voice sounded again; Tobirama Senju looked up at the Great Buddha's hand about to descend, and with no time to think further, relying on the operating instructions that popped into his mind, he skillfully split the fox buckle into two.

"DoomsGeats!"

"Set! Judgement!"

Inserting the two buckles into the sides of the driver on his waist, Tobirama Senju raised one hand and looked ahead.

"Henshin!"

Accompanied by the emotionless electronic voice from the golden fox buckle at his waist, he mimicked the transformation pose Madara Uchiha once used and flipped the golden fox buckle.

"RevolveOn!"

"Snap!"

The fox buckle instantly unfolded automatically, and a beautifully crafted golden Nine-Tails sat atop the driver, its nine raised tails erupting with scorching heat.

"JudgementBoost!"

Golden armor condensed out of thin air, covering Tobirama Senju's body seamlessly, and a terrifying, man-eating aura surged forth.

"ReadyFight!"

The nine golden fox tails behind him slowly lowered; feeling the surging, powerful strength within his body, Tobirama Senju's pupils shook beneath the golden faceplate, his face carrying a trace of imperceptible regret.

"To think it's this strong..."

If he had known Tailed Beast Riders were this strong, he would never have agreed to sell off those Tailed Beasts.

If they gathered all nine Tailed Beast Riders, the entire ninja world would have to take the name "Senju."

"Master?!"

Suddenly, a voice of extreme surprise woke Tobirama Senju; the still-flashing mirror-boy finally recovered a bit of strength and slowly crawled up from the pit.

"Snap!"

Watching the gorgeously transformed Tobirama Senju, he slapped himself in disbelief; the sharp pain on his face made him recognize reality.

The master had really transformed into a Tailed Beast Rider, and a Golden Legend-level rider at that; honestly, he looked several times more impressive than his uncle.

"Crack!"

Tobirama Senju did not speak; feeling a sense of intuition, he raised his hand, and golden light particles gathered in his palm, finally forming a golden gun-blade. He held the weapon horizontally across his chest, and the nine golden fox tails behind him moved without wind, turning into golden energy that coiled around the blade.

"Swish!"

With a fierce swing, a golden sword aura shot out, expanding rapidly in flight until it became the size of the Great Buddha's palm.

"Rumble!"

The golden sword aura slammed heavily into the Great Buddha's wooden palm; the volatile energy was instantly ignited, and following a violent explosion, the Buddha's palm was blasted into wood chips.

"Holy crap!"

Seeing this, the mirror-boy nearly dropped his jaw; he had risked his life using light techniques and couldn't even scratch the wooden figure, yet the master had chopped off one of its hands with a single simple strike.

"I will defeat the mastermind hiding behind the scenes."

Holding the sword in one hand and stepping forward, Tobirama Senju's voice was soft but landed firmly in the mirror-boy's ears; the determination and confidence in his tone made him feel as if he were seeing that high-spirited master from years ago.

"Whoosh!"

The Golden Geats leaped, turning into a golden streak of light rushing toward the unreachable head of the Great Buddha.

Tobirama Senju knew the size difference between himself and the Great Buddha was vast, and dragging it out would only waste time, so it was better to capture the leader first and go straight for the clone at the top.

However, the clone, having seen through Tobirama Senju's plan, would not let him have his way so easily; the countless large hands carried by the Buddha descended in unison, determined to blast the golden rider into dust in mid-air.

"Tsk!"

Tobirama Senju frowned slightly; although he was agile, facing the dense forest of arms, he could only rely on the flames erupting from the fox tails behind him for propulsion, narrowly dodging the Buddha's attacks.

Seeing himself locked on by countless arms, Tobirama Senju raised the gun-blade in his hand, and golden light coiled around it once more.

Just at this critical moment, a red figure blocked his path, leaving Tobirama Senju slightly stunned.

"Ha!"

Crossing his hands together, a beam of golden energy poured out; wherever it passed, explosions erupted, and countless wooden arms were destroyed by the scorching energy.

"Master, leave this to me!"

The mirror-boy, having repelled the first wave of arm attacks, turned back and nodded gently at Tobirama Senju.

There was still over a minute left before the transformation ended, and he would do his utmost to buy time for the master.

Tobirama Senju nodded in return, and without the slightest hesitation, his figure turned into an unstoppable streak of light again, charging toward the top of the wooden figure.

"Rumble~"

The wooden hands immediately changed course, reaching out to grab Tobirama Senju.

"Don't even think about it!"

Seeing this, the mirror-boy's eyes sharpened, and an orange-red light flared at his pointed head; the next moment, a scorching beam of light shot out, destroying all the hands chasing Tobirama Senju.

"Your opponent is me."

The red giant lowered his hands, his egg-shaped eyes full of determination; even though his body was tiny in front of the Great Buddha, it could not extinguish the burning passion in the heart of Kagami Uchiha.

"Ha!"

Striking that familiar starting pose again, the red giant leaped, charging forward without hesitation toward the countless wooden hands looming overhead.

A hearty, full-scale decisive battle had begun.

"Tap!"

Under the cover of Kagami Uchiha, Tobirama Senju traveled unimpeded and finally landed steadily on the head of the wooden figure; the clone controlling the Great Buddha narrowed its eyes.

As a combat weapon specifically designed to hunt Tailed Beast Riders, the clone was very sensitive to the aura of Tailed Beast Riders; although the golden rider before him was not its target, the chakra he emitted made it drool.

If I steal a little bit, Number Nine shouldn't notice, right?

"Swish!"

A sound of air being torn came suddenly to its ears; the conflicted clone became alert instantly. The golden rider, who had been some distance away, had already closed in right before its eyes.

It immediately tightened its hands, and countless thick wooden branches surged from beneath its feet, turning into tough vines and attacking Tobirama Senju, who was raising his blade.

"Clatter!"

A golden blade flash passed by, and the wooden branches the clone had hastily spawned were severed by the golden rider's blade.

Not only that, but Tobirama Senju took advantage of the clone's hesitation to accelerate his figure once more.

"Screech!"

A blinding golden light flashed past; the expressionless clone suddenly widened its eyes. Compared to the blood spurting out before it, the sharp pain coming from its chest left it at a loss.

"Whoosh~"

Having succeeded in one strike, Tobirama Senju shook the blood droplets off the gun-blade; the sudden acquisition of great power left him feeling a bit dazed, and his eyes beneath the faceplate held a trace of confusion.

But soon, he regained his composure; now was not the time to think about such trivial matters. Madara Uchiha was still waiting for his support, and he had to take down this clone as quickly as possible.

"Whoosh!"

After confirming the plan, he turned into a golden light again and killed toward the clone.

"Clang!"

The clone, its chest wound already healed, saw the golden light attacking it, quickly adjusted its state, and assumed Hashirama Senju's classic blocking stance.

"Clang~ Clang-clang~"

In an instant, the dull sounds of stomping and blocking were incessant; the clone accurately blocked all of Tobirama Senju's attacks.

Seeing that the attacks were fruitless, Tobirama Senju immediately flew backward, shook his somewhat numb palms, and his gaze fell upon the clone's fleshy palms.

Looking at the blood-dripping palms, he felt a little better; if the opponent could really block his attacks without injury, wouldn't his transformation have been in vain?

So he pressed forward again, preparing to follow up on his victory; the two figures began a tense and exciting taijutsu contest on the spacious head of the Great Buddha.

Golden blade flashes and deep blue monstrous strength collided frequently; the energy explosions generated by the clash of the two powers could be seen clearly even from miles away.

"Drip~ Drip~"

The gray-brown giant hammer was stained with human skin tissue, and the already blackened blood dripped slowly from the blood groove of the ship-breaker onto the ground, gathering into a pool that reflected the sturdy figure of Madara Uchiha like a mirror.

"That is... the power of the Nine-Tails. What is that white-haired guy doing?"

With the aid of his Mangekyo Sharingan, Madara Uchiha could see the combat aura on the head of the wooden figure in the distance clearly; one of the familiar powers was exactly the Nine-Tails, which had been with him day and night for over a decade.

"Tap"

"Tap-tap..."

Before him lay several corpses still in spasms; of the seven alien riders he was fighting, nearly half had been lost, with only Number One, Number Seven, Number Eight, and the strongest, Number Nine, still standing.

The others had been well-served by Madara Uchiha with the sharp weapon in his hand and should have gone to report to the Pure Land by now.

It was just a pity he didn't know if clones had souls and if they met the entry standards for the Pure Land.

"Target found."

The Number Nine clone, currently confronting Madara Uchiha, also sensed the Nine-Tails chakra overflowing in the distance, and a flash of greed appeared in its eyes.

"Number Nine, you aren't thinking of sneaking off, are you?"

Sharply sensing that his teammate had ulterior motives, Number One suddenly turned his head and questioned him aloud.

Facing Uchiha Madara, who had suddenly pulled out a strange ninja tool and transformed into a muscular hunk, the few clones on his side were no match for him at all.

Number Three, who had the strongest defense, had his hard skull smashed in by a single hammer blow.

Number Two, who excelled at sneak attacks, was sliced in half vertically by the opponent.

Number Four wanted to rely on his super-high movement speed to unleash a lethal six-kick combo on Uchiha Madara, but ended up having all three of his legs broken by the opponent instead.

As for the few clones whose lives were still intact, everyone felt endangered at this moment and could only huddle together to confront Uchiha Madara, while quietly discussing how to fight in coordination.

The miserable state of the previous three clones was still fresh in their minds; fighting Uchiha Madara one-on-one now was simply a path to certain death.

"The Master said that the mission is always the top priority."

Glancing at the suspicious-looking Number One, Number Nine used Jigen as a shield with a plausible excuse.

"Hmph! You think I don't know you're preparing to run away? What a coward."

Sneering with disdain, the Number One Knight couldn't help but mock him. Although Number Nine felt annoyed, he rarely refrained from retorting.

That's right, he really did want to escape. The Uchiha Madara before his eyes was simply a pervert; the final outcome of him staying would likely be getting hammered into dumpling filling by the opponent.

"What are you lot muttering about? Hurry up and die!"

"Thud!"

Seeing that the few Another Riders were standing still, Uchiha Madara, feeling a bit impatient, frowned. The giant hammer in his hand crashed to the ground, instantly triggering a tremor that shook the earth and mountains.

It truly lived up to being produced by the Great Cousin; the effect was just great.

Looking at the Hullbreaker in his hand, Uchiha Madara couldn't help but recall the time when his father was still alive, often showing off the ninja tools the Great Cousin had given him. Those unreserved praises were still etched in his heart to this day.

"Everyone, charge together! No need to talk about any knightly spirit with him!"

Another Riders are knights too~

Uchiha Madara's arrogant attitude successfully ignited the fury of the Another Riders. Number One gritted his teeth, waved his hand, and took the lead, transforming into a stream of light as he rushed over.

The others were stunned for a moment, surprised by Number One's sudden heroism, so they followed closely behind, unleashing their full strength, determined to cut Uchiha Madara down from his horse.

"Well come!"

Seeing that the enemies were finally willing to engage in melee combat with him, Uchiha Madara laughed loudly, the two heavy weapons he dual-wielded whistling with power.

"Slap!"

Number One, who arrived in front of him first, couldn't dodge in time and was precisely smacked in the face by the Hullbreaker. His upper body was instantly torn into fragments by the terrifying brute force.

"Haha... huh?"

Looking at the "flesh and blood" scattering across the sky, Uchiha Madara's smile had just spread when it was interrupted by the sand and gravel falling into his eyes.

What was permeating the sky was not flesh and blood at all, but clearly yellow sand.

It was actually a diversion; Number One hadn't led the charge at all, merely sending a Sand Clone to fool everyone present.

Seeing this scene, the remaining Another Riders cursed in unison.

"Damn it!"

But it was already too late to stop their momentum. Number Eight, who had the strongest physique among them, had no choice but to bite the bullet and raise the chainsaw in his hand, colliding with the Hullbreaker in Uchiha Madara's hand.

"Snap!"

The indestructible chainsaw shattered instantly, and the smoking saw teeth scattered all over the ground. Number Eight was also sent flying by the immense force generated during the collision, smashing heavily into the forest and knocking down dozens of towering trees along the way.

Seeing this, the Number Seven clone immediately flapped his wings to fly high, but before he could gain altitude, Uchiha Madara threw the Black Cleaver in his hand, severing the wings behind him at the root.

He was dead for sure.

Now only Number Nine remained. He looked at Uchiha Madara, who was slowly approaching him, in despair, cursing Number One, who had caused the total wipeout, in his heart.

"Number Nine, go execute your mission."

Just as Number Nine was preparing for a desperate struggle, a cold voice rang in his ears.

Following the voice, he raised his head and looked at the figure slowly descending from the sky. The flame of hope ignited once again in Number Nine's heart.

"Who are you?"

Discovering that there was another meddler, Uchiha Madara stopped in his tracks, a flash of imperceptible surprise crossing his scarlet eyes.

He hadn't even noticed this person's presence just now.

"I am not a human, I am..." (End of chapter)