Chapter 559: How Bad Could a Birthday Gift from a Cousin Be?

Back in his hometown on the Otsutsuki planet, Isshiki was a top student among his peers; not only could he skillfully use the various abilities of the Otsutsuki clan, but he also earned the title of Advanced Divine Tree Cultivator with excellent grades.

However, few Otsutsuki knew that he had actually been secretly studying alchemy on the side, and his refining techniques were masterful.

At this moment, Jigen raised his hand toward Number Seven, who was still struggling to recover while lying in the crater created by the Ship-Breaker, and a bright red aura instantly coiled toward him.

"Ugh."

Sensing a deep sense of crisis, Number Seven widened his eyes, but his self-healing abilities were limited, and his recent fatal wounds had not yet recovered; he could only watch helplessly as the red aura enveloped him.

"Ah!"

The next second, a burning sensation from the depths of his soul erupted, and Number Seven let out a scream, terrified to find that his body was decomposing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Hmm?"

Seeing this unbelievable scene, Uchiha Madara, who was kneeling on one knee, frowned; even though he had never seen such a bizarre method, he could guess that Jigen was stacking buffs for the upcoming battle.

"Don't think you'll succeed!"

He forced himself to stand up, raised the menacing Ship-Breaker again, and leaped up; the massive war hammer roared as it smashed toward Jigen, who was concentrating on his alchemy.

"Tsk!"

Feeling the tidal wave of pressure from Uchiha Madara, Jigen gave a soft click of his tongue, and a black glint lit up in his eyes once more.

But this time, he did not use the ability of Sukunahikona to shrink himself to dodge.

"Blindly fleeing is truly not very elegant."

Shaking his head faintly, Jigen's pupils constricted.

"Daikokuten."

High in the air, Uchiha Madara's internal alarm bells rang, and goosebumps broke out all over his body; sensing an unknown threat, he forced his body to twist in mid-air, dodging the invisible ocular jutsu attack.

"Tap!"

Still unaware that he had narrowly escaped death, Uchiha Madara landed ten meters away from Jigen, looked around, and his scarlet eyes were filled with confusion.

Why didn't anything happen?

Am I being too sensitive?

I really scared myself for nothing.

Seeing Uchiha Madara break free from the lock of his ocular jutsu, Jigen showed a look of regret on his face; he hadn't expected this human's vigilance to be so strong.

"Ah! ~ Ahhh!"

But thanks to this interlude, Jigen had inadvertently finished the refining; in the distance, Number Seven, shrouded in red light, let out a scream and completely vanished from this world.

And in Jigen's hand, there was now an extra pill radiating a profound aura.

Nearby, Number One and Number Eight looked at the red pill, and their bodies instantly turned cold; the good buddy who had been sitting at the same table as them just a moment ago had now been grabbed by Jigen and refined in an instant.

The two exchanged a lingering look of fear, seeing the same terror in each other's eyes.

If Jigen still couldn't defeat Uchiha Madara, the next one to be refined might be one of them, or perhaps they would be cooked together—no one could escape.

"The quality is not bad."

Jigen examined the pill in his hand, which had condensed the source power of Number Seven, a look of surprise appearing on his face; this medicine is quite potent!

I didn't expect that after a clone absorbed the power of a Tailed Beast to advance, its life level could actually touch the threshold of the pure-blooded Otsutsuki clan.

"Boom!"

Uchiha Madara could no longer care about unknown threats; he swung the Ship-Breaker in his hand with great force, smashing it head-on toward Jigen's thin frame; the air pressure generated by the falling giant hammer caused the other's wide monk robe to billow high.

"Rumble!"

A violent explosion rang out, and Uchiha Madara, holding the giant hammer, felt a surge of joy; he could clearly feel that his strike had not missed.

The law of victory has been determined~

"Creak~ creak~"

Suddenly, a slight sound reached Uchiha Madara's ears, and he was then surprised to find that his giant hammer was being pushed upward by a terrifying force.

Looking closely, Jigen, who should have died under his hammer, was actually holding it up with one hand, completely unscathed; the pill from before was gone, but from the swallowing motion in his throat, it wasn't hard to guess the pill's whereabouts.

"Gulp~"

"Truly delicious power."

Enjoying the surging energy within his body, Jigen narrowed his eyes, and the black markings on his face were actually slowly disappearing.

Uchiha Madara frowned; for some reason, the sense of crisis in his heart grew stronger, and he immediately poured all his power into his arms, attempting to end the match.

"Human, you should feel honored."

However, no matter how much Uchiha Madara exerted his strength, the Ship-Breaker remained motionless; not only that, but Jigen's slightly pleased voice fell into his ears, word for word.

"You are the first human on this planet worthy of me using this form."

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, Uchiha Madara, along with the Ship-Breaker in his hands, was sent flying by an unknown force.

"Thump!"

After performing a few backflips in the air to dissipate the force, he landed steadily on the ground; after raising his head, his scarlet eyes were filled with shock.

"Who exactly are you?"

Looking at the enemy whose appearance had changed drastically not far away, Uchiha Madara widened his eyes in disbelief.

This form can no longer be called human, right?

Before his eyes, Jigen, who had looked somewhat human just a moment ago, had completely shed the category of humanity in his appearance.

His skin was pale as if coated in latex paint, and a long, curved horn grew from his head to the back of his skull, like a crown; there was only one eyebrow on his forehead, growing above his right eye.

And below that was a strange pupil Uchiha Madara had never heard of, a golden wheel-like pattern with eight triangles surrounding the pupil.

As for the other eye, he was somewhat familiar with it—it was the useless, weakling Byakugan.

Having transformed back into his Otsutsuki form, Isshiki elegantly adjusted his long-sleeved tailcoat, and his two distinct pupils radiated a thick, oppressive aura that left Uchiha Madara unable to catch his breath for a moment.

"I am not human, I am a god!"

Ever since he was nearly killed by Kaguya's sneak attack, this was the first time Isshiki had appeared in his true form.

The chakra pill refined from the clone was extraordinarily potent, actually able to forcibly liberate Jigen's unqualified vessel for a short time, allowing Isshiki to experience his former glory.

Feeling the abundant power within his body, although he knew this power was only temporary, he still couldn't suppress the excitement in his heart.

"Playing god!"

Uchiha Madara gritted his teeth, the veins on his hands bulging; he raised the heavy Ship-Breaker in front of him once again.

Even though his Sharingan was warning him that the enemy was terrifyingly strong at this moment, the pride and belligerence carved into his bones only made Uchiha Madara's fighting spirit soar higher.

"Hehehe, I didn't expect that besides Hashirama and that man, there would be such an interesting opponent in this world."

Licking his dry lips, Uchiha Madara's mind flashed with the honest smile of Hashirama Senju and the dashing back of the mysterious Decade, and the scarlet color in his eyes intensified.

"Under the gaze of these eyes, you still haven't lost your fighting spirit; you are worthy of the noble blood flowing in your body."

Looking at the high-spirited Uchiha Madara, a faint look of appreciation hung on Isshiki's face.

Although he had an irreconcilable grudge with Kaguya, that woman was ultimately from his own clan, and the Uchiha Madara before him was Kaguya's descendant; by extension, he was equivalent to his own descendant.

"What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Listening to Isshiki's inexplicable words, Uchiha Madara curled his lip; a rich blue chakra erupted from his body, and he kicked off his legs, turning into a blue bolt of lightning as he charged toward the satisfied-looking Isshiki.

The menacing Ship-Breaker in his hand was covered in a thick layer of blue transparent spikes, making its already terrifying size even more exaggerated.

"Majestic Attire: Ship-Breaker!"

The hill-sized Ship-Breaker crashed down, and a faint smile tugged at the corner of Isshiki's mouth; a glint flashed in his right eye, and he vanished instantly.

"Rumble!"

After a bout of earth-shaking, the gravity on Uchiha Madara's face did not diminish; the entire process of Isshiki's disappearance had not escaped his eyes, but even now, he still couldn't guess the method the other used to vanish.

In a moment of distraction, Uchiha Madara suddenly felt a chill on his cheek; shifting his gaze down, he saw a familiar black rod pressed against his shoulder.

Behind him, Isshiki was floating in mid-air, his eyes carrying a faint look of mockery.

"Boom!"

Feeling that he had been toyed with, Uchiha Madara twisted his body violently, and the Ship-Breaker in his hand smashed horizontally toward Isshiki behind him with irresistible force.

"Clang!"

Unexpectedly, this time the other did not disappear, but instead raised a black rod to block the Ship-Breaker; as the sound of metal clashing rang out, the giant hammer wrapped in Susanoo was steadily held off by the tiny black rod.

"Snap~"

Not only that, the Susanoo, known for its strongest defense, began to disintegrate at a speed visible to the naked eye the moment it touched the black rod.

Seeing this, Uchiha Madara's pupils constricted; is Susanoo's status so low now that any Tom, Dick, or Harry can poke it twice?

What else, is the blue plastic bag not famous for nothing~

"Bang!"

Once the Susanoo was completely dismantled by the black rod, Uchiha Madara retreated decisively, but Isshiki clearly didn't want to play the cat-and-mouse game anymore.

Raising one hand, countless black rods were born out of thin air, and with a light wave, they fell like rain.

"Clang~ Clang! Clang!!!"

Uchiha Madara hurriedly raised the Ship-Breaker in front of him to defend against the black rods that could easily break through his Susanoo, calculating how to fight back.

"Boom!"

Just as he was pondering, a black shadow suddenly appeared above his head; Uchiha Madara tilted his head in confusion, only to see that a massive black cube was hanging over him.

"What the hell is this?"

He hadn't sensed when this black cube had appeared at all, and his Sharingan could only see the chakra flowing on its surface.

After a brief moment of shock, he saw the cube falling rapidly and subconsciously raised the Ship-Breaker to block it.

"Clang~"

The moment the two made contact, Madara Uchiha's expression changed drastically; the weight of the black cube far exceeded his imagination, and if he had met it head-on, he would certainly have been the one pinned to the ground.

"Whoosh!"

He raised one hand and performed the Body Flicker Jutsu, which he had not used in a long time; in the blink of an eye, his figure appeared dozens of meters away, his hands gripping the Ship Breaker trembling slightly.

However, something even more surprising to him occurred: that black cube of considerable volume had actually vanished into thin air.

"Huh?"

Subconsciously rubbing his eyes, the black cube was indeed nowhere to be seen; facing such unknown methods, the sense of crisis in Madara Uchiha's heart surged.

"That was just an appetizer."

Isshiki floated in mid-air, his yellow Dharma-wheel eyes fixed upon the Ship Breaker clutched in Madara Uchiha's hands.

He could tell that the reason Madara Uchiha was able to transform into this current appearance of a Forest Fairy was most likely due to this strange weapon.

"Sukunahikona."

A sharp glint lit up in his Dharma-wheel eyes, and the ability within his black eye was instantly unleashed; he intended to destroy this weapon in one go and force Madara Uchiha to completely reveal his true form.

"."

Just as Isshiki was immersed in his fantasy, Madara Uchiha, seeing him suddenly stop moving, blinked in confusion for a few seconds, then tentatively took a leap and smashed the Ship Breaker in his hands hard against the other's face.

"Slap!"

Even though the Ship Breaker was already pressed against his face, Isshiki still firmly believed that his ability could not go wrong.

But the cruel reality told him that the Sukunahikona, which had never failed before,

had failed.

"Rumble~"

Caught off guard, Isshiki, having taken a direct hit from the Ship Breaker, was sent flying by Madara Uchiha, whose strength had been increased sixfold; his entire body turned into a streak of light and vanished into the horizon.

"Ah? It actually wasn't a trap?"

Watching Isshiki turn into a shooting star, Madara Uchiha looked at his own hands in confusion; he had originally thought the other party had relaxed his guard to set a trap for him.

He never expected Isshiki to be so straightforward, truly wanting to perform a stunt of taking a giant hammer with his little face.

A moment later, Isshiki, with a dark face, walked out from a dark red portal that appeared out of thin air, with several small, healing holes still remaining on his face.

"Where did you get that hammer?"

This was the first time he had looked at the Ship Breaker squarely; he had originally thought this hammer was merely a crude crystallization of human technology, which would surely be like clay chickens and pottery dogs under the great power of their Otsutsuki.

Yet reality had slapped his face hard; his pride-and-joy ocular jutsu could not shrink this hammer, which couldn't help but make Isshiki feel a bit of curiosity toward the Ship Breaker.

A weapon that could even be immune to divine arts—once he obtained it, wouldn't he be able to walk sideways when he returned home!

"My cousin gave it to me for my birthday."

Madara Uchiha also did not expect Isshiki to ask about the origin of the Ship Breaker, so he subconsciously gave the correct answer.

"Birthday? Cousin?"

Isshiki frowned upon hearing this; he had originally thought such an awesome weapon must be a divine artifact left behind by some ancient powerhouse, but it turned out to be a gift Madara Uchiha received for his birthday.

And it was sent by a cousin, damn it; it sounds so cheap, doesn't it?

"Forget it, I'll study it slowly after I get it."

Glancing at the sincere-looking Madara Uchiha, Isshiki temporarily believed that the other party was not playing him; he shook his head lightly, and a serious expression emerged on his now-recovered face.

As soon as he finished speaking, his entire person vanished once again.

Madara Uchiha's pupils constricted, and he subconsciously assumed a defensive stance, his scarlet eyes spinning rapidly, searching for Isshiki's tracks.

"Puchi!"

The next second, a ghostly figure suddenly appeared behind him; the black rod in his hand easily pierced through his muscular body, and bright red blood instantly splattered.

"This shouldn't be... how is the opening behind you so obvious?"