"Next time?"
A faint smile appeared on Ning Feng's lips.
It won't be long...
During the battle earlier, the fighting had been too intense.
He hadn't had the time or opportunity to place a Flying Thunder God mark on Madara.
However, having Obito come retrieve Madara had been a huge mistake.
After all—
Ning Feng had already left a Flying Thunder God seal on Obito.
As long as that mark remained on Obito's body, Ning Feng could instantly appear before him with a single thought.
About two breaths later, Ning Feng focused on sensing the Flying Thunder God mark on Obito.
Whoosh!
His figure vanished from the battlefield instantly.
"Hah... that guy really is formidable."
Inside the space-time passage, Madara suddenly spoke.
"No wonder the Eye of the Moon Plan has been delayed for so long."
Obito shrugged helplessly.
Beneath his mask, his expression was bitter.
He had once believed that after mastering the Six Paths techniques and awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, he would be unmatched in the ninja world.
Yet he had run into a monster like Ning Feng.
The two simply weren't on the same level.
Moreover, their ideals directly conflicted.
As a result, Obito found himself frustrated by Ning Feng at every turn.
Soon, the two arrived at a cave on the outskirts of the Rain Village.
It was one of their temporary hideouts.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Obito's brows furrowed.
As someone highly familiar with spatial fluctuations, he immediately sensed something unusual.
Beneath his mask, astonishment flashed across his face.
"How... how did he get here?"
"What? Who?"
Madara looked over in surprise after hearing Obito mutter to himself.
However, before his words had fully fallen—
He too sensed the disturbance in space.
As a man who had once stood at the peak of the ninja world, spatial techniques weren't his specialty, but they certainly weren't a weakness either.
At the very least, he understood how to counter and remain vigilant against them.
This fluctuation...
It felt familiar.
Flying Thunder God?
Before he could finish processing the thought—
A ghostlike figure holding a blade appeared silently behind Obito.
The instant he appeared, he slashed directly toward Madara's neck.
The blade reflected no light in the dark cave.
Furthermore, Ning Feng had infused it with Wind Release chakra, making the strike even faster and sharper.
The sword arrived almost simultaneously with the sound of its passage through the air.
Like the scythe of death.
Clang!
Obito reacted before Madara did.
A chain shot up and blocked in front of Madara's neck, colliding directly with Ning Feng's blade and sending bright sparks flying.
"This bastard..."
Only after hearing the clash did Madara react.
He spun around instantly and exhaled a torrent of flames.
The fire was so intense that it illuminated the entire dark cave.
Its range was enormous as well—
Even Obito was engulfed within it.
Yet there wasn't the slightest surprise in Obito's eyes.
His Sharingan began emitting subtle ripples.
He was already preparing to retreat into Kamui space.
"What incredible reaction speed."
Even Ning Feng couldn't help praising them.
That strike had been aimed straight at Madara's throat.
The Flying Thunder God wasn't merely fast—it was an ambush from an impossible angle.
For Obito to react quickly enough to place his chain between them was already an astonishing feat.
Madara's reaction had also been lightning-fast.
But unlike Obito's prediction, Madara's response had been pure instinct.
In other words—
Obito had anticipated Flying Thunder God.
Madara had relied entirely on physical reflexes to keep up with both of them.
It seemed that space-time techniques truly weren't his specialty.
Though Madara's reaction was incredible, in the eyes of masters of space-time ninjutsu like Ning Feng and Obito, it was still slightly lacking.
"Still..."
A smile tugged at Ning Feng's lips.
"It seems Madara forgot that I have the Rinnegan."
A pure ninjutsu counterattack like this had long been engraved into Madara's combat instincts.
Whenever he was attacked—
His first response was to retaliate with his strongest Fire Release.
Unfortunately...
A protective barrier appeared before Ning Feng.
At the same time, he drew several Flying Thunder God kunai from his storage space and casually tossed them behind his back.
This cramped cave wasn't ideal for utilizing Flying Thunder God to its fullest.
But Madara and Obito weren't in peak condition either.
Madara had just endured a Kirin empowered by the strength of eight Tailed Beasts.
His ocular power hadn't even fully recovered yet.
As for Obito—
He had just finished a prolonged battle with Minato and was similarly exhausted.
While Obito's performance during the Fourth Great Ninja War had been spectacular, that version of him possessed a Rinnegan and controlled six Tailed Beasts.
Furthermore, his abilities had still been largely unknown at the time.
Even so, Obito's current strength had already reached the threshold of the Super Kage level.
The reason was simple.
Kamui was absurdly overpowered.
Moreover, his Fire Release mastery was comparable to Madara's.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, he and Madara had nearly wiped out the Allied Shinobi Forces with Fire Release alone.
Ordinarily, Obito's raw Fire Release wasn't quite equal to Madara's.
But with Kamui's distortions enhancing it...
Masked Obito's combat power had become terrifying.
Thus, even if the current Obito wasn't as strong as his future self, Ning Feng dared not underestimate him.
At the same time—
Ning Feng possessed the Rinnegan.
Most ninjutsu was effectively useless against him.
Defeating him in taijutsu was nearly impossible.
As for genjutsu?
That was even less realistic.
He currently suppressed eight Tailed Beasts within his body.
Any illusion would be broken instantly.
And regarding taijutsu...
With a physique that had already surpassed Hashirama Senju's, Ning Feng could be considered the strongest close-combat fighter in the ninja world.
Hisssss...
The blazing flames were continuously absorbed by the barrier.
At the same time, they replenished Ning Feng's chakra reserves.
A grin spread across his face.
He drew the Kusanagi Sword and hurled it directly at Madara.
"Damn it!"
Madara's expression changed immediately.
He cursed inwardly.
His Fire Release attack had been a battlefield instinct.
Yet now, it had simply become fuel for Ning Feng's chakra recovery.
"That sword..."
Although his Preta Path could absorb the Wind Release chakra infused within it—
The physical force of the blade itself couldn't be absorbed.
Which meant—
He had to dodge.
Whoosh!
Just as he moved to evade the incoming sword—
Ning Feng's figure appeared.
"Hm?"
Only then did Madara notice the Flying Thunder God seal engraved on the sword's hilt.
"This is bad!"
Obito's expression changed drastically.
He hadn't expected Ning Feng's attack to be so decisive and ruthless.
The moment he arrived—
He had gone straight for the kill.
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