Mastermind of the Akatsuki

Facing Madara Uchiha's conditions, Byakuya fell into a brief moment of contemplation before nodding and saying, "I've heard of Madara-sama's title as the Shura of the ninja world. This time, I'll finally have the chance to see how much difference there is between Madara-sama and me."

(AN: Shura, in Japanese myth, is a characteristic of a warrior who fights not for justice or revenge but for his own enjoyment.)

Before meeting Madara Uchiha, Byakuya had already anticipated that a battle would erupt between them. It made no difference to him whether it was a pre-arranged trap or a literal sparring session. He understood Madara's character and knew that cooperation with him required matching strength.

Back during the Warring States era, only Hashirama Senju could achieve this and eventually subdued Madara with his power.

Upon hearing Byakuya agree to Madara's conditions, Black Zetsu and Obito's faces were filled with shock, and they secretly looked forward to seeing just how far the battle between Byakuya and Madara would go.

Black Zetsu knew Madara's strength and felt worried for Byakuya. As the reincarnation of Indra, Madara's strength had been at the pinnacle of the ninja world for decades, with only the reincarnation of Ashura, Hashirama Senju, able to barely suppress him. However, at that time, Madara only possessed Indra's power, lacking Ashura's strength.

Now, with both Indra and Ashura's powers, Madara was far stronger than during the Valley of the End and stood in a class of his own in the current ninja world. However, Byakuya still had a chance to win.

Although the Edo Tensei Madara possessed both Ashura and Indra's powers, he lacked the Rinnegan, so Byakuya should still be able to hold out for a few rounds.

Obito didn't understand the strengths of both sides, but that didn't stop him from hoping that Madara would teach Byakuya a lesson. Byakuya was indeed an exceptional fighter in the current ninja world, but Madara was a legendary ninja, and his strength was certainly far beyond Byakuya's.

They found an uninhabited area to serve as the battlefield, and Byakuya and Madara formed the opposing seal.

Seeing how much Byakuya valued the ritual before the fight, Madara smiled and said, "Kid, don't you hate Konohagakure? Why are you still using their opposing seal?"

Byakuya looked at Madara, neither humble nor arrogant, and said, "I hate the current Konoha, not the Konoha of the past, back when Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki were still around. Besides, this seal was originally created by Senju and Uzumaki."

Upon hearing this, Madara narrowed his eyes, feeling a mix of emotions.

As one of Konohagakure's founders, Madara didn't despise the village he had named and built. But when this village, once dedicated to protecting its companions, turned against them, he had already lost all hope for Konoha. Now, he was indifferent. If Konoha stood in his way, he would ignore it, but if they became a hindrance to his Eye of the Moon Plan, he would crush them without hesitation.

"You're good with words, kid, but don't forget, the battle has already started."

Before he finished speaking, Madara became a blur and vanished from his position. He swiftly approached Byakuya and used fluid techniques in the style of Uchiha.

Uchiha-style fluid techniques were beautiful and elegant, resembling a butterfly dancing on the battlefield.

Byakuya was fully alert and drew his short sword from his waist. He clashed fiercely with Madara, using Uchiha-style swordsmanship.

"This is Uchiha-style swordsmanship?" Madara paused in surprise, looking at Byakuya. "Where did you learn these techniques? They look pretty good."

"I have many Uchiha friends, so learning these techniques wasn't difficult," Byakuya replied. After a pause, he added, "I'll learn any ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu that can enhance my combat ability. I'm not like those old fools who are so stubborn."

'Interesting…' Madara thought to himself, now more intrigued by Byakuya. He sped up and instantly appeared behind Byakuya.

Byakuya swung his sword, slicing Madara's arm. However, Madara's counterattack, a punch, sent Byakuya flying several meters backward.

Feeling the sharp pain in his abdomen, Byakuya quickly created some distance and kept his eyes fixed on Madara.

Madara was a Warring States-era ninja, with far more battle experience than Byakuya. In addition, due to the Edo Tensei's nature, Byakuya knew that he would find it hard to overcome Madara in hand-to-hand combat.

Madara glanced at his recovering arm, then looked at Byakuya, who had been struck.

His previous strike was powerful enough to pierce through a boulder, but on Byakuya, it had no effect. This reminded Madara of Hashirama Senju's defensive power.

If he hadn't been in an Edo Tensei body, Madara thought, he might have been injured himself. However, his physical defense was far superior to the Edo Tensei body, and with his ability to use Susanoo, Byakuya could never truly hurt him.

At this moment, Byakuya suddenly clasped his hands together and slammed them onto the ground.

With the shaking of the earth, countless vines shot up from the ground, instantly transforming into a vast forest. These vines rushed toward Madara's position.

"Wood Release ninjutsu is quite impressive..." Madara commented, then accelerated, charging straight toward the forest. Just before the vines could strike him, he made hand signs and shouted,

"Fire Style, Fireball Jutsu!"

The Fireball Jutsu was a C-rank jutsu, not very difficult to learn, and a large-scale destructive technique that every Uchiha ninja was required to master.

But each Uchiha ninja's Fireball Jutsu was different.

When Sasuke, at the age of six, used Fireball Jutsu, it was the size of a soccer ball. A Jonin-level Uchiha's fireball could be as large as a millstone, but Madara's Fireball Jutsu looked like a blazing sun.

When the fireball crashed into the forest, a violent explosion immediately followed.

The center of the forest was completely destroyed, and the fire spread rapidly, threatening to burn the entire forest down. However, at the next moment, a heavy rain suddenly began to fall from the sky.

The rain quickly put out the fire, and the vine-covered area began to expand rapidly, eventually surrounding Madara entirely.

As the vines gathered together, they transformed into a massive wooden dragon.

The wooden dragon opened its giant mouth and charged toward Madara. If Madara were hit directly by such a monster, even with his Edo Tensei body, he would suffer heavy damage.

After witnessing this, Black Zetsu and Obito were both shocked. Black Zetsu knew Byakuya had transplanted Hashirama's cells and had the ability to use Wood Release.

But he hadn't expected Byakuya's Wood Release to be this powerful.

Obito, on the other hand, compared Byakuya to himself and realized he was no match for Byakuya in any aspect. He had lost to Byakuya in every way imaginable.

In the instant before the Wood Dragon could bite down, a smile tugged at the corner of Madara Uchiha's mouth.

With his hands crossed over his chest, Madara suddenly projected a deep blue skeletal frame around him. The frame quickly grew flesh and skin, and in his hands, he conjured two enormous blades over ten meters long, which he swung at the Wood Dragon.

The Wood Dragon clamped down on the Susanoo blades, and the two forces were momentarily locked in a deadlock.

Standing above the Wood Dragon, Byakuya narrowed his eyes, watching Madara within the Susanoo. He couldn't help but secretly admire Madara's strength. Though both were using Susanoo, the one wielded by Madara was far beyond the level of Itachi Uchiha's.

Itachi's Susanoo was intimidating due to the dual weapons it wielded, but Madara's Susanoo was a simple, no-frills embodiment of power.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Byakuya called out to Madara, "Madara-sama, how does my Wood Release compare to the First Hokage's?"

Madara smirked and replied, "Your Wood Release is indeed powerful, but it still pales in comparison to Hashirama's. He used the Wood Dragon technique too, but it was always an auxiliary skill for him."

As an ardent supporter of Hashirama, Madara wouldn't tolerate anyone claiming superiority over Hashirama's strength. After dismissing Byakuya's claim, Madara motioned with his fingers, and two wooden clones appeared on the ground. Both clones immediately summoned their own Susanoo.

In the blink of an eye, two identical Susanoo appeared beside the Wood Dragon, each lifting a long sword. If all four Susanoo blades struck the Wood Dragon, it would likely crumble into pieces within seconds, and Byakuya would be left facing the overwhelming threat of three Susanoo.

At that moment, the earth beneath the Wood Dragon and the Susanoo cracked open, and dozens of massive vines shot up from the ground. The vines coiled around the Susanoo like hunting serpents, immobilizing them.

After this, Byakuya continued, "Madara-sama, although I may not have the strength of the First Hokage, I can still control dozens of vines at once. If you remain complacent, you may lose this fight."

As his words fell, Byakuya tightened the vines, attempting to crush the Susanoo.

Madara chuckled. It had been a long time since he encountered such an interesting opponent. After forming a few seals with his hands, the Susanoo holding the twin swords grew two more arms from its back, which began swinging the swords to sever the surrounding vines.

Within moments, the massive vines were chopped into pieces.

Watching Madara's Susanoo tearing through the vines, Byakuya, still perched on the Wood Dragon's head, did not try to stop it. He smiled at Madara and said, "Madara-sama, before mastering Wood Release, I was a Paper Release user."

"Paper Release?" Madara didn't sense any particular threat, but his eyes narrowed slightly, feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.

At that moment, Madara noticed something odd as the vines were severed. Why were there snowflake-like paper pieces hidden within them? These paper pieces were inscribed with complex incantations that flickered ominously.

In the next instant, the explosive tags hidden within the paper detonated, causing an unrelenting chain of explosions.

While a single explosive tag would have had little effect, when they were detonated together, the power was staggering.

As the explosions raged on, the Susanoo's armor began to crumble, and flesh began to peel away. Cracks like a spider's web appeared, threatening the very core of the Susanoo. Even Madara's body was engulfed by the fire and explosions.

Though explosive tags aren't sealing techniques and thus couldn't pose a threat to Madara in his Edo Tensei state, the sight of his body being overwhelmed by explosions still irritated him. It had been many years since the Valley of the End battle, and he had never been wounded again, until today, when a mere child like Byakuya managed to hurt him.

When the flames died down, Madara's body slowly began to regenerate, returning to its normal form. He looked at Byakuya in the distance and made a decision. If this kid had the power to hurt him, then he had earned the right to be his opponent. It was time for Madara to go all out.

With this in mind, Madara's body once again projected a spectral form, and the Susanoo began to form at an accelerated pace.

This time, instead of the usual second or third stage, Madara was ready to unleash his ultimate Susanoo form, showing Byakuya just what it meant to truly battle at his full strength.

With an immense flow of chakra, the Susanoo's size rapidly expanded. It quickly surpassed fifty meters in height and seemed poised to reach one hundred meters.

At that moment, Byakuya dispelled the Wood Dragon technique and walked in front of Madara, smiling bitterly. "Madara-sama, your strength is truly unfathomable. I've used all my strength, and I still can't match the 'slightly holding back' version of you. Your power has surpassed even the First Hokage, hasn't it?"

Hearing this, Madara released his Susanoo and landed on the ground. He had always regarded the First Hokage as his rival, but he had never managed to defeat Hashirama in a true battle. Now, hearing Byakuya claim that he was stronger than Hashirama, Madara couldn't help but feel a sense of satisfaction.

On one hand, it was because he had inherited Hashirama's power, which made him stronger than Hashirama himself. On the other hand, it was because Byakuya had shown enough strength. Madara would have scoffed if anyone else had said they were stronger than Hashirama. But Byakuya's display of power was different, while he wasn't as strong as Madara or Hashirama, he was clearly one of the top fighters in the current ninja world, surpassing even the Five Kage.

Madara snorted and said, "You don't understand. Hashirama's strength is beyond what you can imagine. I know you defeated his Edo Tensei form not long ago, but that wasn't his true power. If Hashirama had used all his strength, you would already be dead."

"I see…" Byakuya responded with a fearful look, as if recalling something. Then, as if an idea struck him, he turned to Madara and asked, "Madara-sama, does this mean I've passed your test?"

Madara crossed his arms and replied indifferently, "Even though I don't want to admit it, your strength has earned my recognition. I'm willing to listen to your suggestions and play this 'game' with the Five Great Shinobi Countries."

Indeed, Madara saw the upcoming summit of the Five Kage as nothing more than a game. The meeting was meant to unite the Five Great Shinobi Countries against him, but in his eyes, it was just a game, no matter how many of the Five Kage gathered, they would never be able to defeat him.

Still, he admired Byakuya's strength and was willing to indulge him. Perhaps, within the Five Great Shinobi Countries, there might be a ninja who could satisfy his desire for a worthy fight.

A deeper reason lay behind Madara's decision. He had the distinct feeling that Byakuya hadn't yet used his full power.