Chapter 224 : Extremely Domineering
The battle started incredibly abruptly.
Before Uchiha Madara's words could even fade, Uzumaki Karin vanished, striking forward like a bolt of red lightning.
The ground where she had just stood instantly caved in, forming a crater. Spiderweb-like cracks spread outward as crushed stones bounced from the edges and scattered into the air.
In the very next instant, she appeared right in front of Uchiha Madara.
Her speed was unimaginably fast—it looked like teleportation, or as if she had been standing there all along. The chakra aura blazing around her surged, transforming from a thin, pale red layer into a roaring inferno that distorted the air within a several-meter radius.
Uchiha Madara seemed somewhat surprised.
His eyes widened slightly, and his brow twitched as he looked at Uzumaki Karin, who was already right in front of him. Mid-air, her body was arched in a pouncing posture, one hand formed into a claw with fingers hooked, aiming straight for his face.
He grinned.
His mouth stretched wide, revealing both rows of teeth, fully displaying the demeanor of a powerhouse.
Boom!!
A massive explosion rang out.
Uchiha Madara raised his hand, blocking Karin's claw with his palm.
Palm and claw clashed. It was a collision of pure physical might—no ninjutsu, no Kekkei Genkai, just raw strength.
The eruption of power was like a meteor striking the earth. A shockwave blasted outward from between them, violently shoving the surrounding air away.
The expression on Uchiha Madara's face froze. Blue chakra instantly surged around his body, yet under the sheer force of the impact, he was sent flying backward.
His feet left the ground, and his body shot backward like a kicked pebble, crashing into massive trees. Trunks snapped instantly, sending wood splinters flying.
With unyielding momentum, he smashed through a second tree, then a third, then a fourth...
Amidst the deafening rumbles, he kicked up a trail of dust, wood chips, and leaves swirling in the air. His body plowed a deep trench into the earth, the displaced soil churning up on both sides like two low walls.
Uzumaki Karin landed, her feet stomping the ground with a muffled thud that cracked the earth even further.
She let out a long breath, white steam billowing from her mouth like hot breath in the dead of winter. The corners of her mouth curled up, her eyes shining brightly. She was in a state of absolute exhilaration.
On the other side, a loud crash echoed.
Uchiha Madara flipped up from the ruins, shoving aside the broken logs and rubble pinning him down, and stood up.
The blue chakra skeleton around his body was shattering. It was the ribcage of his Susanoo, fractured by the impact and now dissolving into blue chakra fragments that drifted into the air.
He stared intently at Uzumaki Karin, a distinct smile on his face.
"Magnificent."
His voice was loud, carrying a tone of genuine admiration.
"Impressive."
Uchiha Madara patted the dust off his clothes.
"Pure taijutsu... how truly nostalgic! It seems you've inherited that brat's true teachings. To possess such power at your age is simply astonishing."
Her response was to vanish once again.
Accompanied by a roar and a piercing shriek that tore through the air, she shot toward Uchiha Madara like a bolt of lightning. She was even faster than before—so fast that the torn air let out a sharp whistle, leaving a long trail of red light in her wake.
"Stop calling him a brat! You should show my teacher the respect he deserves. After all, he is an existence far stronger than you!"
The blue skeletal frame around Uchiha Madara materialized once more. First the ribs, then the flesh—blue chakra stacked and coiled over the skeleton.
In the blink of an eye, the fourth form of the blue Susanoo took shape.
Towering before everyone was a blue chakra giant, twenty to thirty meters tall.
Its arms were long, and in its hand, it gripped a chakra blade. The blade was massive, its tip pointing downward.
The Susanoo raised its arm, lifting the longsword high above its head, the edge gleaming with a cold blue light under the moon.
Then, it slashed down fiercely.
The longsword cleaved down from above with incredible speed, leaving a blue afterimage in the air.
Uzumaki Karin was in a high-speed sprint.
Still mid-air, she was mere meters away from the Susanoo's giant blade. Compared to the towering giant, she appeared incredibly tiny, like a red moth diving into a blue flame.
"Besides, as my teacher's student, isn't it perfectly normal for me to master his skills?"
As she spoke, she clenched her fist, wrapping it in a pale red chakra aura. The glow was bright, like a compressed fire over her knuckles. Yet, compared to the Susanoo, the radiance on her fist was like a firefly, seemingly insignificant before the massive blue blade.
But she didn't dodge. She charged straight ahead, raising her fist above her head to meet the descending chakra blade, using her fist wind to clash head-on with the giant sword.
Fist and blade met in mid-air, colliding violently.
For a split second, time seemed to freeze. Everyone stared blankly at the scene.
Then, a terrifying roar erupted.
Boom!!!
The sound was so deafening that the entire forest shook, and loose stones on the ground bounced into the air.
Accompanied by a shocking backdraft of air, sand and stones flew as a gale surged from the epicenter of the clash. The wind violently bent the surrounding trees, sending dead leaves and debris flying everywhere, forcing everyone to squeeze their eyes shut.
The twenty-to-thirty-meter-tall blue Susanoo actually took two steps back the moment the fist and blade collided.
Its feet stomped two deep craters into the ground, its massive body swaying. Meanwhile, the longsword in its hand cracked under the intense impact. The fissures spread from the edge to the spine, webbing across the entire blade.
The next moment, the longsword shattered. Blue chakra fragments exploded from the blade like broken glass, dissipating into the air.
Uchiha Sasuke shielded himself with his arms, peering through the gap between them to watch the clash.
He saw the Susanoo stumble back and the chakra blade shatter, and he saw the red figure crash down from the sky.
At this moment, his heart was pounding wildly. His scalp tingled, and he felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
*What kind of power is this? What kind of madness?*
Hyuga Neji watched, his cheeks twitching.
His Byakugan could perceive far more details. He saw the pale red chakra aura on Karin's fist violently expand at the moment of impact, blooming like a red flower. He also saw the kinetic force travel from her fist into the blade, and then through the giant's entire body, causing the chakra within the Susanoo to vibrate so intensely that the giant's form became somewhat unstable.
Uchiha Itachi also wore a solemn expression.
His Mangekyo Sharingan was still active, the patterns in his pupils slowly spinning, capturing Karin's posture as she landed.
The ground acted like a pool of still water; as Uzumaki Karin's body crashed into it, a massive splash of earth erupted.
She then flipped up, tumbling a few times before steadying herself, her breathing slightly ragged.
After stabilizing her stance, Uzumaki Karin looked up at the blue Susanoo, the corners of her mouth curling into a grin.
"Old man, your Susanoo isn't all that tough, is it?"
Uchiha Madara stood within the Susanoo's chest, looking down at Karin on the ground. His expression had grown more restrained.
"Brat, your fists are certainly interesting, but did you really think you could defeat me with just that?"
He raised his hands, clasping them together in front of him.
The Susanoo's arms also raised. Fresh chakra surged from Madara's body, causing the Susanoo to expand, growing from twenty or thirty meters to a towering forty meters tall.
Uzumaki Karin frowned as she looked at the enlarging Susanoo.
"Now that's more like it."
She pushed off the ground, her body launching forward once again.
This time, she didn't jump. Instead, she sprinted close to the ground, moving even faster than before, leaving a long red trail of light behind her.
In an instant, she reached the Susanoo's feet and leaped. Her body shot up from the ground like an arrow, aiming straight for the Susanoo's head.
Uchiha Madara's hands moved, and the Susanoo's longsword slashed in from the side, cleaving toward Uzumaki Karin.
Karin twisted her body in mid-air, flipping over the flat side of the blade to evade the strike. She tapped her foot against the spine of the sword, using the momentum to propel herself even higher.
She was getting closer and closer to the Susanoo's head.
Uchiha Madara raised his other hand, and the Susanoo mirrored the motion, swatting its massive blue hand toward Karin.
The hand was enormous—larger than Karin's entire body. Its five fingers spread wide, pressing down on her like a falling wall.
Uzumaki Karin twisted her body again, slipping right through the gaps between the giant fingers. Her speed was so immense that she appeared as nothing more than a red blur weaving through the blue digits. Passing through the hand, she arrived right in front of the giant's head.
The next moment, she clenched her fist and punched the Susanoo squarely in the head.
Her fist was wrapped in a pale red chakra aura, the glow dragging a long tail of light through the air.
The fist slammed into the Susanoo's head.
Boom!!!
The head of the forty-meter-tall blue giant was knocked backward by the punch. A distinct crater appeared on its face, with cracks spreading outward from the edges. Chakra fragments drifted from the fissures, dancing in the moonlight like blue snow.
Standing inside the Susanoo's chest, Uchiha Madara swayed slightly as the giant staggered.
Uzumaki Karin dropped from the sky, her feet hitting the ground. She stumbled a step forward before steadying herself.
Her breathing was much heavier now, her chest heaving violently, and beads of sweat formed on her forehead.
"Old man."
Her voice was breathless.
"Your turtle shell is pretty tough."
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