Naruto: Wooing Tsunade from Day One!-Chapter 574: Battle Against Madara Once More

On the outskirts of the Land of Water, a desolate island lay forgotten by the world.

Howling winds swept across the landscape, and waves crashed violently against the jagged rocks on the shore, sending white sprays high into the air.

Inside a dark cave, flickering torches wavered in the wind, their dim light barely holding back the consuming darkness.

Shadows twisted and danced wildly along the cave walls, taking on the sinister shapes of clawing demons.

Towering in the depths of the cave stood the massive Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, its enormous form motionless, having already absorbed five Tailed Beasts.

Beneath its overwhelming shadow, Madara sat like a solemn statue, eyes shut, brows furrowed.

...

"What a coincidence, we meet again."

A sudden voice shattered the eerie silence of the cave.

Madara's eyes snapped open. He flipped backward instantly, retreating dozens of meters in an instant.

The next moment, Susanoo's blazing blue energy erupted like a volcanic explosion, its radiance tearing through the cave's darkness.

A towering, fully-formed Susanoo materialized, standing several stories high.

"Hatake Kawakaze?"

"You left a mark on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?"

A hint of surprise and doubt flickered in Madara's voice, but it only took him a moment to piece together how Kawakaze had tracked him down.

"That's right."

"You sure know how to hide."

"I left a marker, but even so, it took quite an effort to locate this place."

Kawakaze's voice was steady and confident as he leaped down from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Now, he stood between two colossal figures.

Yet, the composure on his face and the faint smile at the corner of his lips stirred an inexplicable sense of irritation within Madara.

...

"Since you're here, it's time we settle this."

Madara's voice was low and cold.

For days, he had been contemplating his future, weighing his next course of action.

But now, with Kawakaze standing before him, all those thoughts faded away.

If he could defeat Kawakaze, the entire Shinobi World would be his. No one would be left to oppose him.

If he lost, there would be only one outcome—death. He would be reduced to nothing more than a footnote in history.

...

"Good."

"At least you're aware that there's no escape for you today."

Kawakaze took a firm step forward.

At the same time, under Madara's command, Susanoo's colossal chakra blade descended like a bolt of blue lightning, cleaving through the air with devastating force.

Boom!

The cave trembled violently as massive boulders rained down from above.

The ground cracked and split apart like a shattered mirror, jagged fissures spreading in all directions.

Chunks of stone shot through the air like cannon fire, while dust and debris engulfed the battlefield, swallowing everything in darkness.

Under the sheer power of Madara's strike, the cave—already structurally weak—began collapsing like fragile paper, crumbling into ruin.

Then, as the dust began to clear, golden sunlight pierced through the haze, illuminating the wreckage of what was once a cave.

Kawakaze stood there, completely unharmed, not a single speck of dust on him, as though he had never even stepped into the chaos.

Above him, Madara's fully-formed Susanoo hovered in the sky, casting its immense shadow over Kawakaze.

...

"Yasaka Magatama."

In an instant, glowing blue magatama formed in Susanoo's hands before being hurled straight at Kawakaze.

The spinning chakra projectiles streaked through the air like meteors, each dragging a blazing blue tail behind it.

In the blink of an eye, they were upon him.

"It seems you still haven't learned your lesson."

Kawakaze remained unshaken, his expression calm and composed, as if everything was within his grasp.

In an instant, black Truth-Seeking Balls materialized before him, rapidly shifting into the form of a massive, darkly gleaming umbrella.

Boom!

A deafening explosion erupted.

The sheer force of the blast swept across the island like a raging tsunami, tearing through the dense forest and shredding trees into splinters.

Yet, amidst the devastation, Kawakaze stood unmoved, like an unshakable mountain, untouched by the chaos around him.

"Of course, I know this won't work on you."

Madara seized the brief moment of respite to complete the fusion of Susanoo and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, emerging before Kawakaze in his most formidable form. freeωebnovēl.c૦m

"This is the toy you're after?"

"Too big. I don't like it."

Kawakaze smirked disdainfully, a trace of mockery flashing across his face.

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and a gray bone rod, exuding an aura of death, shot from his palm like a bolt of lightning.

The bone rod tore through the air with a sharp, piercing whistle, like the wail of the reaper itself.

A powerful sense of imminent danger surged through Madara's heart. But the bone rod was too fast—there was no way to dodge it.

"How is this possible?"

Shock and disbelief were written all over Madara's face, his understanding of power once again shattered.

Without any violent chakra fluctuations, the gray bone rod simply impaled Susanoo's massive form.

Then, in an instant, the blue chakra armor began to disintegrate, vanishing like ice under the blazing sun.

From the point of impact, cracks spread like lightning across the armor, breaking apart into countless fragments of blue light before dissolving into nothingness.

In mere seconds, the once-magnificent Susanoo had disappeared without a trace, as if it had never existed.

Madara landed unsteadily atop the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, his gaze toward Kawakaze filled with disbelief—like he was staring at a ghost.

If the Truth-Seeking Ball longsword cutting through Susanoo was something he could still comprehend, then the sheer destruction caused by this seemingly insignificant bone rod completely overturned everything he had known about power for decades.

What kind of power was this?

He had never seen anything like it.

"The power of Kekkei Mōra truly is extraordinary."

Though Kawakaze had expected this outcome, witnessing Susanoo's utter dissolution firsthand still brought him a flicker of surprise.

The strength of the Ōtsutsuki Clan undeniably transcended ninjutsu.

"Kekkei Mōra?"

Madara refused to believe it. This legendary power—he had never even found a single trace of how to attain it.

"You heard me correctly."

"I have already mastered one of the Kekkei Mōra."

"You are no longer a threat to me."

"Are you ready to return to Konoha with me?"

A faint arrogance laced Kawakaze's words.

Before his voice had even faded, he vanished, moving so fast it seemed as if he had slipped through the seams of space-time itself.

In the blink of an eye, he reappeared beside Madara.

The markings on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path now emitted a faint glow, as if guiding him toward his target.