An enormous earth wall about twenty meters wide and tens of meters high rose from the ground with the injection of chakra. It grew to tens of meters high in a flash and blocked the incoming kunai with ease.
Although it was one against four, Akira could at least take some initiative.
"Are there only four of you? The woman in the lead seems to be the leader. She looks a bit like my Madara..."
"Wait, Madara wields a giant gunbai and that unruly hair... could it be-"
"It couldn't be that funny, right?"
While Akira was analyzing the situation on the battlefield (specifically the leader), Uchiha Karitō stood there, feeling uncomfortable as if he had just eaten a fly.
After everything, not only had his opponent refused to meet his gaze directly, but even his "masterpiece" had been defeated in a ridiculous fashion.
Furious, Karitō quickly formed seals targeting Akira and the two shadow clones on the earth wall.
"Asshole! How dare you look down on me,Fire Style! Fire-"
Just as Karitō was about to unleash a technique, another Uchiha nearby immediately stopped him from acting recklessly.
"Karitō, don't forget our mission. Also, we're deep in Senju and Uzumaki territory. Don't make too much noise..."
However, Karitō did not accept his companion's reminder with any grace.
"Stop talking nonsense! Don't interfere with what I'm doing!"
With that, Karitō ignored his teammates and continued preparing his own ninjutsu.
[Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!]
Karitō had good reason to be arrogant.
His Dragon Flame Bomb, normally a deep orange, turned white hot as he pushed his chakra to the limit and destroyed the earth wall effortlessly.
Even Akira, who had been focusing on whether or not the woman was Madara, was nearly caught by the blaze.
Fortunately, Akira was no pushover. The powerful physique of the Senju clan and chakra reserves dozens of times greater than an average shinobi gave him a solid foundation to develop himself on.
As a result, even though the fire reached dangerously close, Akira dodged it without difficulty.
Annoyed now, Akira shot a glare at the shadow clone who had failed to "block the bullet" for him, then turned his attention to Karitō once again.
"Oh, you fucking dimwit! How dare you mess up my 'plan of clinging to the powerful'! Go to hell!"
As soon as Akira shouted those words, the other two shadow clones lit up visibly. They shared every intention and impulse of the original, so of course they were excited at the prospect of latching onto Sister Madara.
However, before anything else could happen, one clone noticed Akira holding onto an unconscious Mito while preparing water-style chakra in his free hand.
"Don't be reckless!"
One shadow clone jumped beside Akira and stopped him mid-action. A direct kill might be simple enough, he wasn't worried about their lives but this could complicate things with Madara later.
"Those are Madara's people. If we kill them, how are you gonna explain it to her?"
"What should I do then?"
Shadow Clone A looked visibly annoyed seeing their original suddenly act like a fool, as if they weren't sharing one damn mind.
"You want us to hold them off so you get a chance to talk to Madara, right?"
"Obviously."
Though his plan to sacrifice his own clones had been exposed outright, Akira felt no shame whatsoever. They were just clones afterall.
"Pah... even tried to throw us away like tools," one of them grumbled under his breath. Even so, they accepted it. Afterall, he was the original body.
"Leave Mito to me."
"Oh... okay."
Akira handed off Mito without hesitation and gave one last order to Shadow Clone B. "I'll be gone for a bit, handle the Uchihas."
"I know, I know…"
Shadow Clone B barely finished grumbling before turning toward the others with focused eyes. He launched into battle almost immediately after that without waiting for anyone else's cue.
Akira ignored them completely. After giving his instructions, he looked toward the Uchiha woman again.
"Heheh... Madara, time to cause trouble for you again!"
She shifted her gaze from her subordinates back toward Akira, finally noticing him watching her directly.
"Too young to be our target," she thought aloud. "He must be the Senju vanguard... So this is [Unparalleled Wisdom]. The mission may have failed... but-"
Her eyes narrowed sharply at him.
"He'll serve as interest for this mission."
Without warning or explanation, she walked straight through the battlefield toward Akira himself, ignoring her struggling companions. Akira did exactly the same in return.
They closed a hundred meters in seconds and met face-to-face with fists drawn, no hesitation between them.
*Bang!*
Their fists collided in midair with enough force to tear apart the wind around them. Leaves blew past wildly from both sides under the force of that single clash.
"Hahaha…"
Madara laughed out loud when she saw Akira only step back slightly after taking her full punch head-on.
"No one but 'Hashiramama' has ever satisfied me this much in a fight. You might actually be qualified."
"Is that so?"
Akira gave a small smile in response, proud rather than cocky this time.
"does That means I've earned your recognition?"
She looked confused for a moment but caught herself. No matter what angle he was coming from, she wasn't about to offer him comfort or clarity mid-fight.
"Let's talk after if you survive."
She shifted suddenly, dropping her stance and pulling out her large Gunbai before slamming it straight toward his body without holding back.
Akira caught the timing, reacted instantly and leapt backward without trying to block it directly.
*Boom!*
Her gunbai cratered the ground where he'd stood. Dust kicked up wildly and stones scattered outward in chunks of broken earth and burnt chakra residue.
"Asshole, how dare you play games with me?!"
She stepped through the swirling dust clouds with her Sharingan flaring to life, red and spinning violently now with three tomoe visible in each eye.
"Wait," Akira backed away slightly again but kept his voice casual. "Don't you think we should move somewhere else? You really want this much attention here?"
He hadn't reveal his identity her openly earlier, not with so many Uchiha nearby watching closely. The name 'Hashiramama' had been clue enough though; no one else would drop that casually except her. So yes, it was her alright: Uchiha Madara herself. It just wasn't the time for a reunion in front of her team. Especially not if they were keeping secrets from each other's clans...
Madara ignored everything, clearly losing herself in combat. Her team's lives clearly weren't worth much to her either. It was evident in every choice she made here.
She raised the Gunbai again, ready to strike once again.
Akira sighed under his breath and retreated mid-air while forming a seal secretly behind his back.
*Bang.*
Smoke exploded from the spot he vanished from — and when it cleared, a bright-eyed boy no older than twelve stood grinning in his place now.
"Sister Madara!"
Madara froze completely mid-strike — her expression twisted into stunned disbelief instantly as she hear the voice of a shota.
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