Inside the cave
The light was dim.
On the stalactite in the distance, a drop of water hit the ground with a bang and shattered into pieces.
Sitting in front of the Gedo Statue, Madara, with a wrinkled old face, stared sullenly at the man in front of him.
"Who are you?"
The aged Madara spoke, his cold eyes locking onto the intruder.
He already knew that this person had ruined his plan and made him miss the chosen heir.
"Me?"
"Just an ordinary Sixth Hokage."
Hokage?
Sixth?
Madara could understand these words individually, but together, they made no sense.
He even felt like the other party was playing tricks on him.
Did he really think he knew nothing about the outside world just because he had been in hiding?
Konoha had only just had the Fourth Hokage.
Where did a Sixth Hokage come from?
Self-proclaimed, perhaps?
Also… this person didn't even wear a Konoha forehead protector.
And yet, he dared to call himself Hokage?
Did he think Madara had gone senile?
"Young man, are you joking?"
Madara narrowed his eyes, and a terrifying aura instantly enveloped the entire cave.
"Yo~! Quite the presence. For an old man, you're impressive!"
The man clapped his hands and smirked.
Madara: "…"
Is this brat mocking him?!
Damn it!!!
Madara's eyes widened for a moment, and he nearly acted on impulse.
"Don't!"
Ryosuke quickly stopped him.
"Don't move, or your old bones might give out. Sit tight while I collect something first."
Madara had no idea what this brat was rambling about.
But one thing was clear—this guy wasn't taking him seriously.
Him?
Just as Madara's fury peaked, a hand suddenly appeared—plucking out a strand of his hair.
Madara: "???"
In that instant, Ryosuke had already returned to his original position, tucking the hair away with a grin.
"Alright, now you can go back to being mad."
The smirk remained on Ryosuke's face.
Madara fell silent. Not because he had calmed down, but because he was shaken.
That speed…
Appearing out of nowhere, pulling out a strand of hair, and vanishing just as quickly.
What if his target had been his eyes?
Or his throat?
Could he have dodged it?
Madara asked himself.
No. He couldn't have escaped.
And the worst part?
There were no fluctuations of space-time ninjutsu.
This wasn't teleportation. It was raw speed.
What kind of monster is this brat?
Madara had lived a long life, seen countless battles. But he had never seen or even heard of speed like this.
A troublesome one, indeed…
"Why aren't you angry anymore?"
Ryosuke smiled at the now-silent Madara.
"What the hell do you want?"
Madara asked, realizing this wasn't an ordinary ninja.
This level of physical prowess was beyond even his own.
"Nothing much. I just heard that a legendary ninja was still alive, so I came to take a look." Ryosuke lied with a casual grin.
Not a single hint of hesitation.
"And? Are you disappointed?"
Madara's tone was cold.
"Not bad. You're a bit old, but you still have the aura of a warrior." Ryosuke mused.
Being judged by a junior—Madara found it irritating.
But recognizing the man's strength, he held back his temper.
"Well, you've seen me. Now leave." Madara ordered.
Ryosuke said, "Not yet. I need your help with something first."
"What is it?" Madara frowned.
"Before that, let's fix your body. At this rate, you might drop dead before we get anywhere."
As Ryosuke spoke, his eyes transformed.
Red, rippling patterns spread across his irises—Rinnegan.
Even the ever-composed Madara nearly jumped in shock.
"Rinnegan?! Impossible!!!"
Madara was stunned.
He had spent decades carefully evolving his Sharingan to awaken Rinnegan.
And he thought he was the only one!
But this brat…
This unknown young man…
He already had them?!
"Rinne Tensei."
Ignoring Madara's shock, Ryosuke activated his Rinnegan's ability.
In the blink of an eye, the frail, ancient Madara was rejuvenated.
His once-withered body was restored to its prime—his peak before the battle at the Valley of the End.
Even his eyes, which had degenerated over time, returned to their Eternal Mangekyō state.
"This… this is my younger body!"
Madara flexed his fingers, feeling his restored physique.
The tubes that once fed him life support fell away.
With each step, he adjusted to the strength he had lost long ago.
"Was this your Rinnegan's ability?"
Madara turned, his tone unreadable.
"Yep. If you want to thank me, now's the time." Ryosuke smirked.
"Thank you?"
Madara chuckled darkly.
"I should thank you properly!"
Before the words fully left his lips, he lunged forward.
"I knew it."
Ryosuke sighed, easily blocking Madara's punch.
An effortless motion.
"It's pointless. You're no match for me in hand-to-hand combat."
He deflected Madara's attacks with ease, as if it were child's play.
Madara's frown deepened.
Realizing a direct fight was futile, he quickly retreated, forming hand seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation!"
A beam of flame blasted toward Ryosuke in an instant.
Great Fire Annihilation is just a B-rank Fire release ninjutsu, but in the hands of Madara, it displayed power comparable to an S-rank technique.
But—
Ryosuke simply smiled, and with a quick tap, a massive amount of water spewed from his mouth, not only dousing Madara's Fire release but even filling the entire cave.
A few seconds later—
Boom!!!
With a loud noise, the entire mountain outside collapsed like a landslide, and an endless torrent of water surged from within, rumbling and sweeping in all directions.
Madara also rushed out of the water at this moment. He looked around, searching for Ryosuke.
"Are you looking for me?"
At that moment, Ryosuke placed a hand on Madara's shoulder from behind.
"What?!"
Madara hadn't expected Ryosuke to have such a bizarre ability to move in the sky and subconsciously launched a counterattack, but it was in vain.
The next second—
Boom!
A figure flew out, crashing heavily into the raging torrent of water.
Ryosuke retracted his foot with a smile. Just now, he had kicked Madara away.
[Sixth Hokage Yagami Ryosuke]: "Kick Madara.jpg!"
He snapped a photo of Madara being kicked and sent it to the chat group.
[First Hokage Senju Hashirama]: "Ah! Madara, are you okay?!"
[Second Hokage Senju Tobirama]: "Hahaha~! Isn't this Madara?! Someone kicked his ass, is this your doing, Sixth Hokage? Good!! Great kick!!!"
[First Hokage Uchiha Madara]: "Huh~! Boring. That's not me. Any Madara from another parallel world is trash!"
[Fourth Hokage Hatake Sakumo]: "Um... Ryosuke, did you find Madara?"
[Sixth Hokage Yagami Ryosuke]: "I did. And by the way, I rejuvenated him. Otherwise, people would say I bullied an old man."
[Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato]: "If it's Madara, even if he's too old to walk, I don't think he's just an ordinary old man!"
[Second Hokage Senju Tobirama]: "Rejuvenate? You have that kind of ability, Sixth Hokage?"
[Sixth Hokage Yagami Ryosuke]: "Yes, it's my Rinnegan's pupil technique. Just a trifle. When you all grow old, I'll give you a shot so you can regain your youth."
[Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen]: "Ahem~! Sixth Hokage is truly young and promising! The world needs people like you. I feel ashamed of myself!"
[Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato]: "..."
[Second Hokage Senju Tobirama]: "Shut up, Monkey! Don't embarrass yourself. Even if you don't feel ashamed, I, as your teacher, feel ashamed for you!"
Clearly, everyone in the group recognized the terrifying potential of Ryosuke's ability.
If he could restore youth when someone aged and if it was unlimited, wouldn't that mean immortality?
Because of this, Hiruzen, who rarely spoke in the group, bit the bullet and flattered Ryosuke, even though he knew it might offend Madara.
But while Madara was terrifying, he wasn't a direct threat.
Ryosuke, on the other hand, could travel freely between the worlds of these group members.
However, Hiruzen himself didn't feel ashamed for doing this, but Tobirama couldn't stand it.
Why did he become blind back then and accept this guy as his student?
Regret!
He truly regretted it!!
While Tobirama scolded him, Hiruzen in this parallel world didn't take it to heart.
He didn't dare refute Tobirama directly. Aafter all, it would ruin his image in front of the other Hokages. But deep down, he didn't care.
To him, this Tobirama wasn't his real teacher. His real teacher had died a long time ago.
So, he had no reason to care about the opinions of this Tobirama from another world.
"Ugh! This Ryosuke has been slandering me so much. In his world, I must have plotted against him, right?"
"Damn it! What were you thinking, another me? Why would you scheme against such a powerful young man?"
"Now look, karma has hit me!"
"I'm too innocent!!"
Hiruzen sighed, feeling like the biggest victim. He did nothing wrong.
But now, he's taking the blame for his counterparts in other worlds.
What's worse is that Danzo was always mentioned alongside him.
"This Hiruzen is still trying to flatter me?" Ryosuke sneered.
This old man was still delusional.
But seeing Hiruzen go quiet again, Ryosuke ignored him.
Instead, he turned his gaze to the distance.
Under the raging water, a massive blue Susanoo burst forth.
"Now that's more like it!"
Ryosuke grinned.
Madara, who had been kicked away by Ryosuke, activated his ultimate technique—Susanoo.
And not just any version—
The Perfect Susanoo!
The massive blue giant rose into the sky and, looking down from above, swung its sword toward Ryosuke.
To be honest, Madara's Perfect Susanoo stood over 700 meters tall.
Meanwhile, Ryosuke was just... one man.
Compared to the Susanoo, he was as insignificant as an ant on the ground.
And now, that giant was swinging a sword at him. It felt a bit like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.
But—
This mosquito might just be stronger than expected.