As expected of Uchiha Madara. Even at a tenth of his peak strength, he’s still this hard to handle!

  Kita thought, noting the scratches and minor wounds across her body. Her clothes were torn, her bck robes tattered. The ground was a mess: craters of all sizes, shattered shuriken and kunai scattered everywhere, puddles of water, patches of scorched earth. She panted heavily, and Madara was in no better condition. His bck robe, once simir to hers, was torn, his mask cracked and partially broken. The exposed Mangekyō Sharingan appeared fatigued. His bck rod was shortened, and the ground around him was littered not only with the weapons he had summoned via Yin-Yang Release but also the severed segments of the rod. If his summoned weapons were this damaged, the iron weapons in Kita’s hands were even more so—scars and fractures visible on each.

  By now, neither Madara nor Kita had the energy to use rge-scale ninjutsu. What remained was sheer stamina holding them up. For Kita, and perhaps for Madara as well.

  She swung her sword. Water chakra coalesced along the bde, forming a thin watery trace with sparks of electricity threading along its surface. Before Madara could rush in, Kita moved with lightning speed, her lightning chakra armor now only able to enhance her feet for mobility.

  Ssh, stab, leap, slice sideways, flip, lock the throat…

  A continuous chain of attacks avoided his defenses completely. It looked exhausting, but only someone like Kita—known as the “human harvester”—could sustain such relentless close-combat strikes for minutes on end.

  These were inescapable melee attacks once she tched on. Madara quickly analyzed the situation: his Mangekyō Sharingan couldn’t be used long-term, chakra and stamina depleted, and using Kamui now could leave him unable to activate Izanagi. The fight could not be prolonged—time was critical.

  The bck rod shot from his hand, blocking a horizontal ssh capable of decapitating him. Simultaneously, his left hand darted toward Kita’s vital point. But the instant it touched, his arm tingled—and his right arm was severed cleanly. Lightning chakra surged through his body, further slowing his already deyed movements. Strangely, no blood fell from the severed limb—only a white, viscous unknown substance.

  Damn it… this guy really is a monster!

  Kita leapt over his head, thrusting her weapon at his back. Madara felt a chill in his spine. Had he not used Kamui just moments before, this strike would have pierced straight through.

  This guy cannot be underestimated!

  The weapon passed through him, but Kita did not retract it. She twisted her wrist and sshed from chest to left shoulder. Madara, relying on phasing, couldn’t defend the vital spot—blood spurted from the ssh.

  Damn it. I have plenty of right-side limbs, but only one left side!

  Ignoring her injuries, Kita attacked again. This time, a strike that should have gone through his body shattered upon colliding with his bck rod.

  “Cng.”

  “Pff.”

  The defensive weapon shattered, but the bck rod pierced through with terrifying precision, ripping through his lungs. Kita’s breathing grew heavy. She endured, stepping back just before Madara could grasp her throat, also retreating from the rod. Even so, she attached her st explosive tag to his chest—BOOM!

  Kita staggered back five steps. Behind her, a hundred-meter cliff loomed. Madara likely no longer had the energy to use Mangekyō Sharingan. One explosive tag was enough for this state—enough to halt him.

  He actually still moved after that!

  Even in this condition, he could move? Why?!

  Luckily, she had used Izanagi in advance. She didn’t anticipate he would have exhausted himself to the point of being unable to counter the tag—but it was enough.

  Gritting her teeth against the pain, she focused.

  “Since you’re going to die anyway, I’ll satisfy your curiosity. This is Uchiha ocur jutsu, Izanagi. By sacrificing sight, it turns illusion into reality. Kita, you’re strong, but you shouldn’t have provoked me. I don’t know how you freed the Fourth Mizukage from my genjutsu, but you’ll pay. Farewell.”

  No! I cannot let him kill me!

  Pain tore through her body, a sensation worse than death. She stared at the wooden stake piercing her, incredulous at the sight of Madara’s broken mask. Why… why can he use Wood Release?!

  This was the secret art of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. Now, only Orochimaru’s experiments or Zetsu could use it. Why Madara? And Izanagi—what is that?

  Even near death, Kita’s mind raced. The final Wood Release had caused immense damage, but she avoided the vital point. Even so, stepping back meant certain death if she fell.

  She released the steel-wire-wrapped kunai from her sleeve. Pain nearly paralyzed her, but adrenaline surged. The kunai snagged onto a tree along the cliff. Her body slid several meters, cutting into her flesh. Blood trickled, but her fall stopped.

  She looked at the blood blossoming on her left shoulder. Three ribs fractured, her left side numb from pain, right arm dislocated. Below, dozens of meters to the water, luckily free of rocks. A direct plunge could knock her unconscious but likely wouldn’t break her completely—though leg fractures were possible.

  If she remained without treating the Wood Release injury, blood loss would be fatal within minutes. Her chakra was depleted—she couldn’t even use the Shadow Clone Technique to signal Pain.

  Thoughts racing, she felt herself fall again. Before she could look up, the sensation of weightlessness returned.

  Several breaths ter, she hit the water like iron. The cold sent her will sinking into the dark depths, but she could not die—not with Konan and the others unaware of Izanagi.

  I absolutely cannot die!

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