Chapter 171: So What if You’re Cheating?

With the Totsuka Blade in one hand and the Yagakigami Sword in the other, Shūichi's blades shone blue-violet, extending into enormous swords.

Blue lotus flames bloomed around him as he flew through the air, striking at Madara's Susanoo with both swords.

Madara's Susanoo wielded dual swords and scabbards, effectively giving it four blades. However, Susanoo's massive size made it less agile compared to Shūichi's Fire Release Chakra Mode.

Each strike shattered Susanoo's armor, but Susanoo's regeneration was astonishing. Even with the enhancement from Shūichi's Bijuu Sealing Mark, his Blue Flame Vacuum Slash still couldn't completely breach Susanoo's full-body defense in a single hit.

"Among ordinary shinobi, this ability would indeed stand out."

Madara's Sharingan spun, tracking Shūichi's swift movements.

Suddenly, with a precise slash, he struck Shūichi dead-on.

Shūichi crossed his swords defensively, but the Blue Flame Vacuum Slash shattered, and he was sent flying by Susanoo's force.

In an instant, a barrage of magatama came hurling at him.

Yasaka Magatama!

With a swift move, Shūichi's Fire Nether Chains materialized, coiling and slapping the magatama out of the way like writhing dragons.

At that moment, Susanoo's twin blades crossed, slashing down as if to tear the sky itself.

Chains spread out like the legs of a spider, forming a circular, purple-blue barrier.

Boom!

Susanoo's twin blades crashed against the barrier in a brilliant burst of light before shattering it, sending Shūichi flying backward from the shockwave.

Madara raised his arm, and Susanoo threw a massive blade, piercing straight through Shūichi's body.

Boom!

Shūichi's form exploded into a wisp of hair, scattering in the wind.

High above, the real Shūichi appeared, slashing down and deflecting Susanoo's massive sword, which crashed into the ocean with a roar.

Immediately, four shadow clones appeared around him, their Fire Nether Chains lashing out.

Susanoo's four arms moved to defend, but the sheer number of chains began to bind it tightly.

Shūichi's hands gathered two Rasenshuriken, each shimmering with different energies.

Magnet Release Rasenshuriken!

Lava Release Rasenshuriken!

He launched the shuriken one after the other.

Inside Susanoo, Madara raised an eyebrow. "No wonder you captured the One-Tail and Four-Tails; your power truly surpasses that of a Kage!"

As the Rasenshuriken approached, Susanoo exerted its strength, yanking on the Fire Nether Chains.

Shūichi's clones immediately released the chains to avoid getting pulled in and blocking the Rasenshuriken themselves.

Now free of the chains, Susanoo raised a blade to block the incoming Magnet Release Rasenshuriken.

Boom!

The shuriken exploded, unleashing a powerful magnetic force that engulfed Susanoo entirely.

"Hm?"

"The Magnet Release of the One-Tail? Not bad."

Madara sensed his control over Susanoo faltering.

Before he could recover, the second Lava Release Rasenshuriken crashed into Susanoo's blade, shattering it. The lava power surged, spinning violently, and even the full-body Susanoo began to disintegrate piece by piece.

"This is turning into a bit of a problem, Madara-sama!" Zetsu's voice chimed in.

"This barely counts as a warm-up…"

Madara leaped backward, slipping out of Susanoo.

Just then, Shūichi appeared directly overhead, sweeping down with a Dragon Flame Breath that cut Madara's body in two.

An instant later, Madara's bisected body dissipated like an illusion.

"So what if you're cheating?"

Seeing Madara unharmed below, Shūichi's eye twitched.

All that effort… for nothing!

Danzo's Izanagi, granted by Hashirama's cells, could negate all damage for sixty seconds with a single Sharingan. Uchiha Obito, with Hashirama cells, could extend this to five minutes.

So what about Uchiha Madara? Surely, his duration wasn't any less than Obito's.

What's the point of fighting him?

Even sealing jutsu isn't effective against him.

…

From below, Madara looked up at Shūichi, floating in the sky. "Though you're far from Hashirama's level, reaching this point at your age is indeed impressive."

"Madara-sama," Zetsu reminded, "time is running out."

Madara ignored Zetsu, locking eyes with Shūichi as his remaining Sharingan spun, casting genjutsu.

It didn't work.

"Seems White Zetsu wasn't exaggerating with his intel!"

Madara smirked, his interest in the young shinobi growing.

"Unfortunately, I'm out of time…" Madara chuckled, "but there will be other chances."

"Maybe you'll even grow to Hashirama's level. That would be worth my full attention."

Madara turned and leapt into the forest, vanishing from sight.

High above, Shūichi watched him go without trying to stop him.

There was no stopping Madara if he wanted to leave.

Madara wasn't an ordinary powerhouse, and he was very familiar with the Flying Thunder God Technique, able to move just as swiftly as Shūichi.

That's why Shūichi hadn't tried to approach Madara using Flying Thunder God—he wasn't about to end up like Tobirama, struck down in an instant.

The black rods created by Yin-Yang Release don't just work on Edo Tensei; they'd immobilize him too, and without backup, that would be dangerous.

"As I am now, I can't defeat Uchiha Madara, even in his aged state with White Zetsu armor."

"Even if I tried to outlast him, I'm not sure I'd win."

"And if I can't seal his soul, outlasting him is meaningless anyway."

Shūichi sighed inwardly.

Edo Tensei? He would never use it!

"Uchiha Madara beneath me?"

Shūichi dispelled his clones, energizing himself. "With the hacks of the Sharingan and Rinnegan, I've still got a long way to go…"

"But I'm not even thirteen yet. Someday, I'll take down Madara!"

Landing, Shūichi glanced in the direction where Obito had disappeared, deep in thought.

Should he intercept Uchiha Obito?

"From what I can tell, Madara manipulated the Mist Village's policy, implanted the Three-Tails into Rin, and orchestrated everything."

"Rin ultimately chose to die by Obito's kunai?"

Shūichi hadn't witnessed it himself but could deduce it from the wound on Rin.

"Someone he loved died by his own hand…"

Shūichi shook his head, doubting he could convince Obito.

Even if he revealed everything he knew, whether Obito would believe it was another matter.

Unless… he could bring Rin back to life.

But…

Shūichi's face darkened.

That guy Madara had no sense of honor. In the end, he made sure Rin's heart completely exploded.

Swoosh!

Deactivating Fire Release Chakra Mode, Shūichi's form vanished.

…

With a quick series of Flying Raijin teleports, Shuichi returned to Konoha in one breath, appearing directly at Konoha Hospital.

Inside, Rin Nohara lay connected to multiple tubes, her blood circulation and breathing barely sustained by the machines. Her heart, however, was entirely gone. Despite the combined efforts of his shadow clone, Yakushi Nono, and the medical Jonin in the hospital, no one had found a way to regrow her heart before her other organs failed.

Shuichi's shadow clone had returned to Konoha with Rin and Kakashi as quickly as possible, but they hadn't teleported directly. They had paused several times along the way to keep her stabilized. The fact that she was still alive was a testament to the speed they managed. Soul Imprisonment Technique had kept Rin's spirit tethered to her body; otherwise, the moment her heart was destroyed, her soul would have departed for the Pure Land.

Assessing the situation, Shuichi furrowed his brow.

"Shuichi, I…" Asuka hesitated, trying to find words.

Shuichi shook his head. "Your chakra isn't enough to heal this kind of injury. This isn't just damaged organs; her heart is entirely gone."

He turned to Yakushi Nono. "Director, how much longer can she hold on?"

Yakushi Nono's forehead glistened with sweat. "No more than five minutes."

Nodding, Shuichi walked out of the room. Outside waited Hiruzen Sarutobi, Kushina Uzumaki, Tsunade, and Shizune. When they saw him, all eyes immediately turned to him.

"Shuichi, what happened? And Obito…?"

Without preamble, Shuichi explained, "Third Hokage, I was a bit too late. Obito was taken away."

Kushina jumped in. "By the Mist Ninja?"

Shuichi shook his head. "No, not by the Mist. Obito killed them all; I think he even saved Kakashi."

Everyone was stunned.

Without elaborating further, Shuichi said, "Third Hokage, Lady Tsunade, there's only one way to save Rin now: we need cells from the First Hokage." He explained, "Rin's heart was cursed to explode just when I was about to heal her."

Hiruzen's expression darkened. "So that's how it happened…"

Tsunade looked troubled. "Our research is nowhere near ready. Even weakened, Grandfather's cells are still too much for an ordinary person to handle."

"She's no ordinary person now. Mist implanted the Three-Tails inside her," Shuichi pointed out. He glanced at Hiruzen. "Third Hokage, I believe Danzo should have a few Sharingan in his possession. We could implant a pair in Rin to help suppress the First Hokage's cells as we transplant them."

Shuichi's plan was Rin's only hope. Heart transplants were impractical under such time constraints, and while Sharingan implants could work almost immediately, the same couldn't be said for hearts.

Hiruzen took a brief moment before nodding. "If that's our only option, then proceed."

"Yes, Lord Third," Shuichi replied, creating a shadow clone. The clone went to Tsunade's lab to retrieve the weakened Hashirama cells she'd cultivated, while Shuichi himself headed to the Hokage's office for the Sharingan Danzo had surrendered. Unfortunately, they were only two-tomoe Sharingan; the three-tomoe were likely reserved for Danzo's own use.

With the Hashirama cells and Sharingan in hand, Shuichi returned to Konoha Hospital and immediately began the surgery. The eye transplants were straightforward, but the Hashirama cell transplant was extremely risky.

As the cells were implanted, Asuka gasped. "It's growing so fast!"

Rin's heart was regenerating at an astonishing pace, something they hadn't been able to achieve with medical ninjutsu alone. But soon, things took a dangerous turn.

"Shuichi, Rin's own cells are being consumed by the First Hokage's cells!" Yakushi Nono warned, her voice tense. "The two-tomoe Sharingan isn't strong enough to control them."

"I see it," Shuichi replied. "Asuka, please use Adamantine Sealing Chains to control the spread of the Hashirama cells."

Asuka nodded. Chains shot out from her back, wrapping around Rin to limit the expansion of the Hashirama cells.

Shuichi pressed his hand on Rin's abdomen, releasing the Three-Tails from its seal.

A flood of crimson chakra burst out, accompanied by a roar as the Three-Tails' head emerged. But Shuichi promptly shoved it back.

Fire Nether Chains!

Eight Trigrams Seal!

The Three-Tails was forced back into a seal, and its chakra was redirected to support Rin, helping her fight against the Hashirama cells. Yet, even weakened Hashirama cells combined with the power of the Two-Tomoe Sharingan and the Three-Tails seemed insufficient to completely suppress the cells.

"Shuichi, we can't hold it all back," Asuka's voice trembled. "The First Hokage's cells are overwhelmingly strong."

Shuichi frowned, understanding that Rin's unconscious state was a significant part of the problem. With her heart restored, he pressed his hand on her collarbone, leaving a Bijuu Sealing Mark on her. Through this curse mark, he directed his chakra to resist the Hashirama cells.

Simultaneously, he cast the genjutsu, Palace of Memories, sending his spiritual body inside her mind to communicate with Rin's soul, urging her to regain control over her body and resist the Hashirama cells with her own will.

To further strengthen her, Shuichi cast Fire Nether Chains, embedding chains into her body to restrain the growth of the Hashirama cells.

After several complex efforts, the rapid spread of the cells finally subsided.

Everyone let out a breath of relief.

Yakushi Nono checked Rin's vitals and reported, "All organs and her circulatory system are stable now."

"Rin likely won't be able to continue as a shinobi," she added. Shuichi nodded.

His Fire Nether Chains had sealed off her ability to use chakra. If she did, the Hashirama cells would have access to that energy as well.

"Hm?" Shuichi's brows furrowed.

(End of Chapter)

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