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Chapter 73 - Chapter 73: This Genjutsu—One Falls for It, the Other Stays Silent!

The three black tomoe in the blood-red eyes gleamed ominously in the dim cave.

Before his words had even fully left his mouth, Uchiha Madara had already leaped from behind the desk.

In an instant, he closed the distance between himself and Yamanaka Shinno. With a flick of his fingers, chakra threads shot out, wrapping around the scythe hanging from the cave wall.

The pipes connected to the Gedo Statue stretched and twisted as he moved, and with a powerful swing, the massive scythe—taller than a man—slashed forward, aiming straight for Shinno's face.

Madara's momentum never wavered. As his feet pressed forward, his hands swiftly formed the Tiger seal before he opened his mouth—

Four scorching fire dragons erupted, illuminating the cave with their blazing glow. The sheer intensity of the flames, coupled with Madara's overwhelming presence, made him look like the same battlefield demon who had once painted history with blood and fire.

Old? On the verge of death?

None of that mattered.

Once he decided to act, he was still that man—the one who made the entire shinobi world tremble in fear!

...

"Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change!"

With a sharp clap of his hands, the world in Shinno's eyes twisted and shattered.

The charging Madara vanished.

Instead, the aged man still sat behind the desk. He blinked once, and when his eyes opened again, he found himself by a gently flowing river, the sounds of water filling his ears.

A familiar, bowl-cut-haired boy stood there, skipping stones across the surface, his movements slow and unenthusiastic.

This scene...

Madara reached down and picked up a stone, tossing it past the boy. It skipped once, twice, then shot all the way across the river, reaching the other bank effortlessly.

"Girls really do learn things faster, huh..."

The bowl-cut boy hunched forward, dejected, tears welling up in his eyes as he squatted in a corner.

Even though Madara knew this was an illusion, he couldn't help but smile at the familiar sight.

So this is what happens when you grow old… You start reminiscing about the past.

Wait— girl?

Madara's expression stiffened for a split second before he noticed something else—the boy had grown.

And now, with teary eyes, he was clutching Madara's hand, looking as if he was about to faint from overwhelming emotion.

"M-Madara, please marry me! I'll... I'll always be good to you!"

"...What?!"

Stunned, Madara instinctively kicked the young Hashirama away.

"Waaah! Madara, don't be like that! I'm serious about pursuing you—boo hoo hoo!"

His face, his personality, even his voice—it was all identical.

A flawless illusion.

But… I'm a girl?!

Madara's face twitched as he prepared to forcibly break the absurd genjutsu.

And then—

What. The. Hell?!

His younger brother, Uchiha Izuna, had also turned into a beautiful young woman?!

And that damned Senju Tobirama—was he falling for his little sister now?!

Unacceptable!

Wait, wait—

The plot was moving way too fast!

The illusion shifted again.

Now, an adult Madara stood tall, having subdued all dissent within the Uchiha clan with sheer power.

She had finally been worn down by Hashirama's relentless pursuit and… married him?

And at the same time, his—no, her—sister had ended up with Senju Tobirama?

That bastard! How dare he?!

Before Madara could even question the twisted mind behind this ridiculous genjutsu, the scene changed once more.

She and Hashirama had built Konohagakure together, attracting clans who longed for peace.

Konoha was truly established.

Everything was progressing in a good direction. Sure, she and Hashirama still had their arguments from time to time.

But couples fought, and in the end, they always made up in bed.

After experiencing cold wars, hot wars, tatami mat battles, and kitchen conflicts, Hashirama had finally accepted her proposal—using absolute power to unite the other four newly established shinobi villages under one banner.

Though there were still occasional skirmishes, the combined might of Madara and Hashirama ensured the shinobi world remained in a stable state of peace.

And after that…

Wait, there was nothing else?

…Childbirth?!

Damn it all!

...

A flurry of hand seals.

Shinno left two shadow clones behind in the cave, standing by to intercept Madara if he pursued.

Then, in a blink, he vanished with Flying Thunder God.

His past experiences had taught him well—

Even activating a blue-tier skill came with a physical toll.

Normally, it wasn't a big deal, but against this opponent?

Even at full strength, he wasn't confident in his odds against Madara.

With the aftereffects of activating a skill briefly hindering him… Did he look like the kind of idiot who'd bet his life on Madara's scythe being dull?

After several consecutive teleportations, Shinno arrived at a vast, snow-covered glacier miles away.

Slipping into a natural ice crevice, he quickly used sealing tags from his ninja pouch to set up a simple barrier that would mask his presence.

Then, without hesitation, he gave the system a mental command—

[Activate: Sage Body]

A low hum resonated.

The moment the command was issued, a tingling sensation spread through Shinno's body.

His cells underwent a fundamental transformation—

His organs surged with vitality. Heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys—each completed rapid cellular renewal under the overwhelming force of Yang Release.

Powerful. Overflowing. Thrumming with energy…

His internal structure was reborn, as if an old, broken-down car had suddenly been fitted with an F1 engine.

Yang Release coursed through his veins, carried by his accelerating bloodstream, saturating every cell.

Muscles, bones, tendons, skin—

His spiritual energy stirred, drawn to the life force within him.

Chakra refinement had already become second nature, but now it was like a raging torrent, an unending flood surging within him.

Gone were the days when his body couldn't keep up with his mental energy, unable to generate more chakra no matter how hard he tried.

Now, his body had evolved to match his mind, and the results were staggering.

"My physical strength… has doubled?! This is insane!"

Clenching his fist, Shinno's body briefly turned to liquid, allowing impurities and waste from the rapid cell renewal to be expelled.

With neither his total weight nor cell count changing much, his raw strength had doubled, and his life force had increased hundreds of times over.

His chakra, once a mere trickle, had become an ocean.

Even his control over the five elements had improved in this newfound state of energy abundance.

"...When was the last time I fought without worrying about running out of chakra?!"

A wide grin stretched across Shinno's face.

The days of being stingy with his jutsu were officially over!

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