Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Uchiha "Madara" remained silent, but his heart was far from the calm facade he projected.

'I miscalculated.'

His original intention was merely to test this genius of the Uchiha clan and see if there was any chance of recruiting him. With his current strength and the infamous name of Uchiha Madara, he figured he could easily retreat unscathed even if the boy refused to submit.

With Kamui at his disposal, the thought of being trapped had never even crossed his mind.

But now, that impossibility had become reality.

The opponent's Mangekyo Sharingan could interfere with his Space-Time Ninjutsu, meaning he could neither phase through attacks nor escape into the Kamui dimension.

If they were outside Konoha, it wouldn't be an issue; he could just run if he couldn't win.

But this was Konoha.

He was deep inside the village, and the massive commotion they just caused would quickly attract the local shinobi. When that happened, let alone recruiting anyone, escaping with his life would become a serious problem.

At this thought, the man beneath the mask furrowed his brow deeply.

The surrounding flames reflected off his mask, flickering in the shadows.

The original training ground had completely vanished. The ground was scorched black, covered in deep fissures like a dried-up riverbed.

The trees were in an even more pitiful state. First torn to shreds by Kamui's distorting spatial power, they were then swallowed by the flames of the Blast Wave Wild Dance. All that remained were charred stumps still smoldering in the dirt.

As far as the eye could see, a radius of several hundred meters had been utterly devastated by their battle. Further out, the burning forest continued to blaze, the firelight glaring even under the morning sun.

This level of destruction was far beyond a standard ninjutsu duel.

"Hmph."

Uchiha "Madara" finally spoke, his voice maintaining that low, raspy tone laced with a carefully crafted indifference. "Don't get too cocky, brat. Your eyes just happen to counter mine. Do you really think that's enough to keep me here?"

Uchiha Taiga chuckled, his footsteps never faltering as he continued his approach.

"You can't leave right now. That's a fact. Honestly, I'm looking forward to seeing what other tricks you have up your sleeve."

He stopped a few meters away, slowly raising his chakra blade until the tip pointed directly at the masked man.

"If you really are Uchiha Madara, then show me what you're capable of. The Asura of the Ninja World surely has more to offer than this, right?"

Truth be told, Taiga was absolutely thrilled.

Ever since transmigrating into the ninja world, his Sage Body had restricted him, preventing him from ever truly letting loose in a fight.

For one, he never had a proper opponent. After all, anyone who exploded the moment they touched a bit of his chakra would be a headache for anyone to deal with. If you can't afford to provoke them, you hide.

But now, the drawbacks of his Sage Body were gone, he had learned ninjutsu, and a perfect opponent had just delivered himself right to his doorstep.

It was simply too exhilarating.

As for whether revealing his mastery of ninjutsu would cause trouble for him in the future?

*Heh.*

Taiga never cared about such trivial matters. He was only going to get stronger. Whoever wanted to cause trouble was welcome to try; he would just crush them and be done with it.

Hearing his taunts, the eyes of Uchiha "Madara" turned ice-cold.

Reaching his right hand to the side, space distorted once more, and the sword he had thrown earlier reappeared in his grasp.

Taiga's eyes flickered slightly at the sight.

'Kamui can be used like that too? Good to know.'

Wasting no more words, Uchiha "Madara" charged forward.

The two clashed once again.

*Clang!*

Blades crossed. This time, the masked man was clearly more cautious, bracing himself so he wouldn't be knocked back by Taiga's monstrous strength. His swordsmanship became much more vicious, aiming every strike at Taiga's vitals, his fighting style gradually mirroring his opponent's.

"Haha, finally decided to use the Sharingan's copying ability?"

Despite his teasing, Taiga didn't yield an inch. With his pseudo-Lightning Style Chakra Mode fully activated, electricity crackled wildly around his legs and feet. He moved like a bolt of lightning, constantly shifting positions around his enemy.

The two darted across the ruins, sparks flying wildly as their blades flashed in the sunlight.

Uchiha "Madara" thrust his sword straight for Taiga's heart.

Taiga sidestepped the lethal blow, simultaneously delivering a backhanded diagonal slash. The blade grazed the masked man's ribs, slicing open a shallow gash.

"You're still too slow."

Retreating two steps, Uchiha "Madara" reached for his ninja pouch with his left hand. Three kunai flew from his fingertips in a triangular formation, aiming for Taiga's face, throat, and chest.

Taiga swung his blade in rapid succession—*clink, clink, clink*—deflecting all three projectiles.

But the moment the kunai were swatted away, his opponent was already upon him, bringing his sword down in a heavy overhead chop.

Taiga raised his blade horizontally to block, using the momentum to launch a vicious kick straight at the man's stomach.

Uchiha "Madara" twisted his body to evade the kick, flicking his right wrist to change the trajectory of his sword into an upward slash.

Taiga stepped back half a pace, the sharp edge whistling just past his chin.

The two separated, each retreating a few steps to create distance.

During that brief exchange, their fighting styles had become increasingly similar. Even though Uchiha "Madara" still couldn't match Taiga's sheer speed, he managed to hold his ground and trade blows evenly.

It had to be said, the Sharingan's copying ability truly shined when it came to taijutsu and kenjutsu. In just a few short moments, the masked man had already replicated the vast majority of Taiga's swordplay and physical combat style.

From this perspective, Uchiha Obito—hiding behind the guise of Uchiha Madara—was certainly no slouch when it came to personal combat skills.

A second later, Uchiha "Madara" clamped his sword between his teeth and rapidly formed hand seals.

Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger.

Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!

A massive sphere of flames, several meters in diameter, erupted from his mouth and hurtled straight toward Taiga.

Lightning flashed beneath Taiga's feet as he shifted several meters to the side, dodging the direct impact of the fireball.

Simultaneously, he formed a one-handed seal and exhaled.

Water Style: Water Wall!

A towering wall of water rose from the ground beneath him, completely blocking the residual flames of the Great Fireball.

Water and fire collided, generating a massive cloud of white steam that instantly blanketed the entire battlefield.

Within the thick mist, the two figures clashed once more, the relentless ringing of crossing blades echoing through the air.

In the distance, several dark silhouettes were rapidly approaching.

The leading figures wore the standard uniform of Konoha's ANBU, their faces hidden behind animal masks. They halted at the edge of the ruins, staring at the utterly decimated area before them, their faces beneath the masks filled with absolute shock.

"What in the world happened here?"

"Quick, send a signal! Notify the councilors!"

An ANBU operative pulled a flare from his waist pouch and yanked the cord.

A streak of red light shot into the sky, exploding high in the air.

Behind them, even more ANBU and Konoha shinobi were rushing toward the scene. The commotion was far too massive to go unnoticed; it was inevitable that their battle would draw the attention of the village's forces.

Before long, the ANBU and regular shinobi fanned out, completely encircling the center of the battlefield.

The flames showed signs of dying down, but the battle between the two men never ceased. If anything, it grew even more perilous and fierce.

"That's... Uchiha Taiga, the genius of the Uchiha clan!"

Someone recognized the figures in the center, naturally identifying Taiga.

Others spotted Uchiha Itachi huddled in a distant corner of the battlefield. They immediately escorted him away from the danger zone while asking questions.

"What happened here?"

Itachi had witnessed the entire fight and was still reeling in shock. He opened his mouth to speak but had no idea where to even begin.

*Swoosh!*

Several figures landed nearby, led by Uchiha Fugaku, with a group of Uchiha shinobi trailing right behind him.

"Father!"

Seeing the new arrivals, Itachi finally snapped out of his daze.

"What happened?" Fugaku demanded.

Itachi hurriedly explained, "Taiga-sensei brought me here, and we ran into a strange man. The man claimed to be Uchiha Madara, and then he and Sensei started fighting."

"What?!"

Fugaku was utterly stunned.

It wasn't just him; the Uchiha shinobi behind him all paled in horror. Even the ANBU operative who had escorted Itachi away swayed on his feet.

The news was simply too earth-shattering.

"Impossible! Uchiha Madara is dead."

Fugaku frowned deeply, the stress lines on his face becoming even more pronounced.

Meanwhile, back in the center of the battlefield, the fight had reached a fever pitch, with both combatants unleashing everything they had.

However, anyone with a discerning eye could see that Uchiha Taiga held the upper hand.

"You're losing your focus. Trying to figure out how to escape?" Taiga asked with a grin.

The two had just clashed again and were now standing a dozen meters apart.

Seeing Uchiha "Madara" remain silent, Taiga continued, "Don't bother. Your Space-Time Ninjutsu is completely countered by me; you're not going anywhere. I'm going to rip off that mask and see exactly what kind of face you're hiding underneath."