Chapter 558: Can't Win? Time to Pop Some Pills

Jigen floated slowly from the air to stand before Uchiha Madara, his body wreathed in an unfathomable aura, his deep eyes carrying a faint trace of anger.

He had gone to great lengths to cultivate those few vessels, only for Uchiha Madara to ruin more than half of them in the blink of an eye; if he didn't make this descendant of Kaguya suffer a little, he feared he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly tonight.

"I am..."

"It's you, you loser!"

"???"

Before Jigen could finish his high-and-mighty self-introduction, Uchiha Madara, who had been frowning, suddenly brightened, raising the Hullbreaker in his hand high with a look of pleasant surprise on his face.

"You're the guy who kidnapped Haxi-lama! Hand him over to me right now!"

Having shared intelligence with Tobirama Senju, Uchiha Madara had a fresh memory of Jigen, who was a major criminal suspect, and had long since firmly imprinted the man's features in his mind.

Now that this suspect had appeared on his own, how could he not be excited?

"Vulgar."

Interrupted, Jigen looked displeased. Instead of responding to Uchiha Madara's questioning, he turned his head and nodded slightly toward the No. 9 clone.

"Go, now."

"Yes!"

No. 9 nodded hurriedly and fled without the slightest hesitation, running in the direction of Tobirama Senju.

"Damn it! Do you think I'm air?"

Watching Jigen treat him like air, Uchiha Madara's anger flared instantly. He kicked off hard with both legs, his entire body turning into a blur as he vanished from his spot.

"Whoosh!"

Relying on the enhancement of his physical body, Uchiha Madara successfully entered high-speed movement mode.

In just a single breath, he had already flashed before Jigen. The muscles in his arm bulged, and he swung the Black Cleaver down fiercely; the axe blade, flickering with a chilling cold light, still had wet bloodstains on it.

"Ignorant."

Facing the biting gale, a faint sneer appeared on Jigen's face. The moment the giant axe was about to land on his head, a flash of black light crossed his eyes.

"BOOM!!!"

The giant axe fell, carving a bottomless, terrifying wound into the ground where Jigen had been standing. However, Uchiha Madara, sensing that the feel of the strike was wrong, frowned first, his scarlet eyes filled with confusion.

The attack had missed.

His Sharingan had not been deactivated for even a moment, yet he hadn't discovered how Jigen had dodged his fierce strike.

"Whoosh~"

Just as he was frowning in thought, several black shadows shot toward his back. Uchiha Madara sensed it and immediately raised the flat of the Black Cleaver to defend.

"Clang! Clang-clang!"

A harsh metallic ringing sounded. Uchiha Madara was actually forced back repeatedly by the unknown attack, his arm holding the Black Cleaver feeling slightly numb.

Looking down, he saw that the indestructible axe face had actually been struck with tiny cracks, and the culprit behind it all was nothing more than a few unremarkable short black rods.

"Swish~"

Before Uchiha Madara could react further, the black rods that had fallen to the ground seemed to have a life of their own; they floated up on their own and finally returned to the hand of Jigen, who had appeared out of nowhere.

"How did you dodge my attack just now?"

Uchiha Madara did not act rashly this time, his vigilant gaze carrying a hint of doubt. The opponent's elusive ability was too bizarre; even the Sharingan, known for being able to see through everything, could not crack it.

"Naive."

Jigen still did not reply. He proceeded to join the short rods in his hand together. The black rods fused rapidly, eventually becoming one long black staff. After skillfully spinning it a few times, he mocked coldly.

"Yo-ho, look at my temper!"

When had Uchiha Madara ever endured such provocation? He immediately swung the Hullbreaker, repeating his previous tactic; the fierce attack almost tore through space.

But the result left him greatly disappointed. Every time he attacked, the strange monk before him could magically vanish for an instant, only to reappear and whip him with the black staff in his hand.

"Whack! Whack! Whack!"

Although Uchiha Madara's current physical strength was superb and ordinary attacks couldn't harm him, the black rod in the monk's hand was different. Every time it struck his body, it caused significant damage.

It wasn't just the assault of pain, but also a strange ability that affected the flow of his chakra.

"Is it space ninjutsu?"

Once again knocked back by the black rod, Uchiha Madara did not rush to attack again. The opponent's fighting style gave him a sense of déjà vu, sharing a similar effect to the skills of a certain white-haired man.

"Truly like a fly."

In the gap while Uchiha Madara was complaining, Jigen lowered his eyelids and took an imperceptible look at his slightly trembling hands, his eyes filled with faint shock.

What is up with this human? He's actually tougher than that guy Isshiki.

He had originally intended to finish off Uchiha Madara in a few moves and go back to continue sipping red wine, but he hadn't expected that his attacks, coordinated with Sukunahikona, were basically ineffective. He had swung his chakra rods until they were smoking, yet he hadn't even broken the opponent's defense.

"Since that's the case..."

Jigen's gaze sharpened. His current strength was indeed not strong enough. If he wanted to take down Uchiha Madara quickly, he would have to activate the Karma form.

Thinking of this, Jigen didn't dawdle and immediately activated the Karma form. The black mark on his chin spread rapidly across his entire body, and the Otsutsuki's source power was successfully activated.

"State One."

"What is that?"

Uchiha Madara watched Jigen, who had entered State One, with vigilance. Under the perspective of his Sharingan, the power within the opponent was growing exponentially, nearing a level that could threaten him.

"Swish!"

Adhering to the principle of striking first, Uchiha Madara seized the opening of Jigen's transformation, and the Hullbreaker in his hand crashed down.

So what if you have a tattoo?

My cousin has one too!

"Clang!"

But unfortunately, this attack was easily blocked by Jigen, who held up a chakra rod with one hand.

"How is that possible?!"

Feeling Jigen's overwhelming brute strength, Uchiha Madara looked in disbelief at the Hullbreaker being slowly lifted.

"Get back!"

After a brief moment of shock, he immediately poured the power within his body into his arms, which finally slowed the opponent's upward push.

Jigen frowned slightly; he hadn't expected Uchiha Madara to still have strength in reserve. In that case, he would have to finish the opponent off in one go.

"State Two."

The terrifying giant force from below doubled again. Uchiha Madara's hands couldn't help but tremble. What kind of background did this monk have? His strength was so powerful; he was definitely no ordinary person.

Jigen, who had grown horns on his head, had now awakened more than half of his peak power. As far as he was concerned, there should be no more rivals on this planet.

"Then let me ask you, why is your head so pointy?"

Looking at the horned Jigen, Uchiha Madara was instantly stunned. You say you're into tattoos, fine, but why are you doing body modification too?

"Are you ready to die?"

Jigen didn't answer the question. The black rod in his hand instantly elongated and stabbed fiercely into Uchiha Madara's chest.

"Thud!"

The force of this strike knocked him back several steps. Blood surged in his chest, and he almost couldn't catch his breath.

After steadying his figure, no look of cowardice appeared on Uchiha Madara's face; instead, his fighting spirit soared.

"This is interesting."

Only an enemy like this was worth him going all out.

"Clang!"

Uchiha Madara flew up and hammered at Jigen again. Having entered State Two, Jigen abandoned the idea of using dojutsu to dodge; he also had great confidence in his own strength.

A mere native, surely he could be handled easily.

"Clang! Bang! Hi!"

Two figures crossed rapidly in the open space. From time to time, metallic ringing sounded, and the sound of physical collisions was incessant.

"That's the stuff!"

Uchiha Madara became more excited the more he fought. He used his physical strength to the limit, and for a time, he did not fall behind in the contest of strength against State Two.

"What should we do? Should we help?"

On the other side of the battlefield, No. 7, who had escaped death, had his wings regrown. He turned his head to look at No. 8, whose clothes were slightly dirty, and couldn't help but ask.

"I..."

"Help! Why wouldn't we help! The advantage is with us!"

No. 8 blinked, hesitated for a moment, and just as he was about to speak, another voice cut in first.

"You guy, you still have the face to show up?"

Hearing the familiar tone, No. 7 and No. 8 immediately turned their heads. Seeing No. 1, who had snuck up beside them at some point, they were instantly furious.

This guy who had deserted in the face of battle was not worthy of being a member of their Heteromorphic Knights.

"Cough, cough, cough... that was a feint."

Hearing this, No. 1's figure stiffened. He coughed a few times feignedly and began to make excuses for his desertion, claiming that he was just luring the enemy into a trap.

"You're full of it!"

No. 7 was furious; he had almost been cut in two by Uchiha Madara.

"Alright, No. 7, whatever grudges you have, talk about them later. Let's go help first."

With the situation tense, No. 8 stepped in as a peacemaker. After No. 1 and No. 7 glared fiercely at each other, they had nothing more to say.

"Move!"

Seeing the two settle down, No. 8 showed a satisfied smile. With a wave of his hand, the three figures rushed toward Uchiha Madara once again.

"Tsk!"

Catching a glimpse of the three alien knights who had come to provide reinforcements, Uchiha Madara's complexion turned ashen; he had originally been evenly matched with the monk before him, but now the balance of the battle was about to be broken.

"Hoo."

Jigen, meanwhile, let out a long, secret sigh of relief; his current state was actually not as good as one might imagine, and having activated the Karma state twice in succession, this body was about to reach its limit.

Once this incident was resolved, he would have to find a new vessel to transition into, otherwise, he would definitely not last until the fruit matured.

"Bang!"

Knowing he could not continue to tangle with Jigen, Uchiha Madara raised his hand to deflect the black rod and retreated rapidly.

Just when everyone thought he was preparing to run away, Uchiha Madara performed an act that made everyone's jaws drop: he actually charged straight toward the three clones.

"What is he trying to do?"

Seeing Uchiha Madara's act of throwing himself into a trap, Number One's face was filled with confusion.

But the next moment, his look of astonishment froze on his face; there was not a hint of panicked desperation on Uchiha Madara's face, but rather it was filled with predatory killing intent.

"Not good!"

His brain raced for a second, and he guessed the opponent's goal; his sprinting feet slammed to a halt instantly.

Uchiha Madara wasn't running away; he wanted their lives.

Number One's brain turned fast, but that didn't mean the other two clones were as smart as him; Number Seven was still waving his feathered wings with glee, rushing to the front of Uchiha Madara with the excellent result of being in first place, completely unaware of the surging killing intent directed at him.

"Die!"

This time, there was no such good luck as before; what greeted Number Seven was a giant hammer crashing down with a roar.

"Clang!"

Between life and death, it was too late for Number Seven to repent, so he could only grit his teeth and raise the short blade in his hand, attempting to block the opponent's terrifying strike.

"Crunch~ crunch~"

Even Number Three, known for his defensive power, hadn't been able to withstand Uchiha Madara's Ship-Breaker, so there was even less possibility for Number Seven; the thick short blade lasted only a second before it began to crack and shatter.

"Boom!"

The great power of the Ship-Breaker was unstoppable; it not only shattered Number Seven's companion weapon but also smashed through his heavy chest armor, pinning him fiercely into the ground.

Seeing Uchiha Madara kill Number Seven in the blink of an eye, Jigen couldn't help but widen his eyes, regretting his carelessness in letting an excellent vessel be destroyed by the opponent's desperate counterattack.

"Clatter~"

Lifting the Ship-Breaker, Uchiha Madara shook off the flesh and armor fragments stuck to the spikes and cast his gaze upon the mangled Number Seven, only to find that the opponent's chest was still rising and falling slightly.

Holding the mindset of finishing him off, he had just prepared to send Number Seven on his way when Jigen's figure arrived; Uchiha Madara had no choice but to twist his body to dodge the black rod shooting toward him, and backhanded the black blade in his hand.

"Whoosh~"

"Clang!"

Using the black rod to deflect the incoming black blade, Jigen's eyes were full of anger; Uchiha Madara did not retreat, leaping up and gripping the Ship-Breaker with both hands, his attack sounding like thunder.

"Thud!"

The famous swordsmanship master Kenpachi Zaraki once said:

Two hands are stronger than one.

Using both hands to wield the Ship-Breaker, the intensity of Uchiha Madara's attack was more than a notch fiercer than before.

"Damn it."

Jigen was actually unable to parry, using the ability of Sukunahikona once again to shrink himself, thereby dodging the opponent's attack.

Seeing the opponent disappear again, Uchiha Madara immediately jumped away from the spot and charged toward Number Eight, who was standing by and watching.

You're good at running, aren't you?

I don't believe they can run away too.

Viciously raising the Ship-Breaker to smash toward Number Eight, Uchiha Madara's face was full of satisfaction; this was a strike into which he had poured all his strength, and even a Tailed Beast would have to be sent back to the furnace for repairs on the spot.

From Jigen's performance, it was not hard to analyze that these clones were crucial to him; Uchiha Madara naturally would not let the enemy have his way.

"Stop!"

Seeing this, Jigen thought, this won't do; the vessels he had worked so hard to cultivate were not to be wasted like this, so he immediately canceled the shrinking, his figure as fast as lightning, and flashed in front of the Ship-Breaker the moment before Uchiha Madara could kill Number Eight.

"Boom!"

A violent explosion rang out; Number Eight was blown away by the shockwave and fell beside Number One; looking closely, the thick armor on his chest had been shattered by the aftermath of the attack, revealing a blood-drenched chest.

One could imagine that the terrifying degree of this attack was absolutely not something these clones could withstand.

As the dust settled, a large crater dozens of meters in diameter appeared where the group had just been standing; Uchiha Madara knelt on one knee, his hands soaked in blood, which slid down the handle of the Ship-Breaker.

And opposite him, Jigen, who had taken the brunt of the attack, was not having an easy time either; the chakra rod in his hand had long since shattered into pieces, blood could not stop seeping from his mouth, and an unhealthy pallor appeared on his cold, aloof face.

Swaying as he straightened up, having just taken Uchiha Madara's full-force hammer blow, Jigen's body was on the verge of collapse.

The only plan now was...

He turned his head, his cold gaze sweeping over the two clones standing at the edge of the battlefield, and amidst their terrified expressions, it finally landed on Number Seven, who was lying on the ground, breathing his last.

"Hoo... fortunately, barely salvageable." (End of chapter)