"Wondering how I sensed you? You're still too green, boy." Madara chuckled.
The old man seemed to be rather amused.
In fact, he seemed rather upbeat, at least when compared to the figure Obito saw in the Third Great War of the original timeline.
"Even if my dojutsu's sensory ability is weaker than yours', my visual prowess is much higher, your gaze cannot escape my notice." Madara explained.
Even in old age, the man's pride and arrogance were undiminished, not even bothering to hide advantageous data from a possible enemy like Shiki.
'So he noticed my gaze and traced me back through the sensory chakra of my Ryugan. Just like Naruto used the sensory powers of Sage Mode to trace Nagato's chakra through Pain's rods.' The boy realized.
'That said, there is no easy way to counter this . . .' He internally grumbled but shook it off, remaining focused in the present moment was far more important with current circumstances considered.
Not at all bothered by Shiki's silent demeanour and battle ready posture, Madara scrutinized the boy using his Rinnegan.
'Chakra is circulating throughout his body in a special rhythm and pattern. This is likely part of some inherent ability or Hidden Jutsu, one meant to increase his passive defenses. He's also using some sort of taijutsu to harden his body at the same time.' The old man noted with interest.
Indeed. This was the initial form of Dragon Aspect, finally developed over the last few years to a functional level through the Nirvana Seal's use.
'From the information Zetsu gathered, this brat's specialty lies in speed, stealth and sensory, not defense. He is cautious and threatened by an enemy he cannot measure such as myself but, instead of relying on his specialties, he's going for a passive defense . . .' Madara analyzed.
'It makes no sense . . . Unless . . .' The old man's ringed purple eyes narrowed.
"You seem to be maximizing your passive defense . . . Almost as if you're expecting an attack you have no possibility of dodging or blocking, even sensing." He spoke to the boy.
"Now . . . For someone no doubt confident in his speed and sensory abilities . . . That seems rather strange . . ." Madara deliberately paused in his speech and enunciated each word very clearly, looking for reactions.
He was facing a Hollow of the Ryumon however, now that Shiki had recentered himself, he showed nothing the old man could sense.
It did not stop the boy from internally cursing his perceptiveness.
'He senses something is off, that I know more than expected, more than I was supposed to, far too much in fact . . . But the truth is too far removed from reason for him to deduce or even guess.' Shiki assessed.
Alas . . .
The boy should have already known what kind of man Uchiha Madara was.
If something bothered him, finding out through action was always the first and last option for a battle junkie.
Bang!
A thunderous impact ragdolled Shiki, embedding his body deep into the wall of the stone chamber.
'Fucker really just did it!' The boy internally exclaimed, Dragon Aspect greatly increased his resistance to all physical and ninjutsu damage while enhancing his physical abilities, so he ultimately was not injured.
Ryugan: Zenchi was strained to the limit.
'Nirvana Seal: Release'
Dense sealing script flowed throughout the boy's form, flooding him with Nirvana Chakra and priming his evolutionary potential.
His sensory abilities sublimated in his new dojutsu already had a cosmic intuition component, Shiki refused to believe he could not forcefully push them to do something as "minor" as detecting a clone in the alternate dimension of Limbo.
The boy peeled himself off the wall but, even as he did, his move had already been made.
'Assault Storage: Hidden Gate'
No hand seals, no body motion required, no traces of jutsu activation . . .
Out of thin air, a storm of chakra enhanced weapons materialized, striking at the seated Madara from every direction.
Madara smirked and his Rinnegan flashed.
'Almighty Push'
With a purely defensive use of his dojutsu, the old man effortlessly neutralized the barrage of weapons, each of them strong enough to punch through a regular Jonin's defensive jutsu considering how much chakra Shiki had put into them.
'Right, the Rinnegan is broken enough to be trouble even without a Limbo Shadow lurking.' The boy thought to himself.
Though he wanted to test some of his theories, he did not intend to do it at the cost of his life or freedom.
'He's still playing, I could use Underworld Shadow - Void to escape now, before he gets serious.' Shiki considered.
His senses flared with a minute warning . . .
But it was too late.
BANG!
Another impact, even more brutal than the first, sent the boy flying, blood pouring from his mouth this time.
'Old bastard adjusted for Dragon Aspect's defenses. How can that frail skeleton generate this kind of power!?' He questioned.
Shiki's senses then felt it.
The Gedo Statue behind Madara's stone throne was pumping him full of power, he could not move away so his increased physical abilities did not matter however, the Limbo Shadows mirrored the enhanced body without the chain tying them to the statue.
'Too dirty but . . . I felt it . . . Just before I got hit.' The boy felt progress.
There was no way he could just escape now, not when the chance to surpass his limits and grow even stronger showed itself so blatantly.
Shiki took a deep breath and opened his Ryugan wide, silently pushing his sensory abilities to the absolute limit.
'Trying to see my Limbo? Let's see if you have the qualifications.' Madara internally mocked as he looked at the boy.
Then, without bothering to try any other type of technique or strategy, he sicced his Limbo Shadow on him.
Like a pinball, Shiki's fate was to be haplessly knocked around.
Bouncing off the floor . . .
Crashing onto the ceiling . . .
Splattered onto the walls . . .
The boy had no way of fighting back.
But with Nirvana Seal: Samsara, constantly reconstructing his body to auto repair all the damage he took, Shiki could still keep going.
But content to watch what he believed were the boy's futile efforts to decipher his Limbo, Madara never went for the kill.
'Sealess self healing . . . Just like Hashirama's . . . Let's see how long you can keep up the struggle, little brat.' The old man thought with amusement.
Gradually however . . .
'Something is there . . . A faint blur . . . So faint I might miss it if I'm not straining my senses to the limit.'
And then . . .
BANG!
Shiki was unceremoniously sent flying once again.
'He moved . . .' Madara internally noted, his eyes imperceptibly widening with shock.
'The brat saw something coming and tried to dodge but misjudged the timing.' He deduced.
The attacker in the boy's senses was vague, blurry, like distorted air from a mirage.
Because of it, he could not properly gauge the range and trajectory of its strikes, resulting in missed timing.
'But I can track its general position now!' Shiki internally exclaimed.
He was beaten up and bloody but, despite his haggard appearance, clothes soaked in his own blood, all of his injuries instantly healed the moment they were inflicted.
Nirvana Seal: Samsara used the massive stores of Nirvana Chakra to instantly reconstruct his body in response to any injury.
'The counterattack starts now.'
+++++
Hey, Author here!
To promote the novel I will be releasing BONUS CHAPTERS on SUNDAYS based on the previous week's power stone count.
100 Power Stones = 1 Bonus Chapter
500 Power Stones = 2 Bonus Chapters
1000 Power Stones = 3 Bonus Chapters
Every earned BONUS CHAPTER on Webnovel will also be posted on Scribble.
Just a reminder that you can read up to a FULL MONTH ahead of this site on pa-treon.
I'm trying to become a full time Author now and I'm not going to be starting any new novels just so I can make sure this one is properly completed.
Find those sweet advanced chapters on pa-treon.com/lusoba without the -