The cave was cold. Not the cold of winter. The cold of graves. Of places where light went to die.
I did not sleep. Sleep was for people who had not died today.
The voice inside my head counted down the hours. Three extractions available. Choose wisely. The dead are coming.
I know. Shut up.
Naruto was snoring. Loud. Annoying. Somehow comforting. Sasuke sat by the entrance. His eyes never closed. His Sharingan reflected the dying fire like two red moons.
Kakashi was awake too. His visible eye stared at the ceiling. His empty sleeve lay across his chest like a dead snake.
Shin. Kakashi's voice was soft. Barely a whisper.
Yes.
Come here.
I stood. Walked to him. Sat down against the same rock. His smell was blood and ash and old paper.
You said you died. Tell me what you saw.
I looked at my hands. The lightning was gone. The fire was sleeping. But the system hummed. Always humming.
Darkness. Then a screen. Blue text floating in nothing. Like someone had written my second chance in code.
Kakashi nodded. His eye crinkled.
Strange. But this world is full of strange things. I once had a student who could talk to frogs.
Hah. I almost laughed.
Naruto shifted in his sleep. Mumbled something about ramen.
Kakashi turned his head. Looked at me directly.
Can you really kill Madara?
Yes.
How?
I met his gaze. Did not blink.
I will take everything he has. His chakra. His techniques. His pride. Then I will put a rod through his chest. The same way he killed me.
Kakashi was quiet for a long time. Then he spoke.
The First Hokage could not kill Madara. He only wounded him. Made him hide like a rat.
The First Hokage did not have my system.
Hmm. Kakashi closed his eye. Then sleep. Tomorrow, we find out if you are a hero or a corpse with big dreams.
I did not sleep. I sat in the dark. Listened to Naruto snore. Listened to Sasuke breathe. Listened to the wind outside carry the screams of dying forests.
Morning came. Grey. Cold. The sun was a pale coin behind smoke clouds.
Naruto woke up hungry. Sasuke woke up angry. Kakashi woke up in pain.
I woke up ready.
The voice. Three extractions available. Who will you take from?
Show me the battlefield.
The system responded. A map appeared in my vision. Blue lines. Red dots. Green markers. The Collector's army was moving south. Toward the coast. Toward the remaining villages.
And there. A single red dot. Brighter than the others. Moving alone. Toward us.
Madara.
Ghhaa. My heart skipped.
What is it? Sasuke saw my face change.
He is coming. Madara. Alone.
Naruto jumped up. His fists raised.
Good! Let him come! I will...
You will die. I cut him off. Your chakra is half empty. Your leg is wounded. And you cannot use Kurama's full power without risking失控.
Naruto's mouth closed. His eyes dropped.
Sasuke stood. Hand on his sword.
Then what is your plan, ghost?
I plan to fight him alone.
No. Kakashi's voice was hard. That is suicide.
I smiled. Not a nice smile. The smile of a man who had already died once and found out it was not so bad.
You three stay here. If I win, I will come back. If I lose, run. Do not look back. Do not try to save me.
Shin... Naruto reached out.
I walked out of the cave. The morning air hit my face. Cold. Sharp. Smelling of ash and death.
The voice. First extraction. Who?
The dead jonin I took Flying Raijin from had also known the Shadow Clone technique. Not the basic one. The advanced version. The one that lets you think and feel through every clone.
Take it.
Chakra flowing. Technique acquired. Shadow Clone Mastery. You can now create up to twenty clones with full cognitive function.
I felt it settle in my bones. Like a second skin. Like an extra set of eyes behind my own.
Second extraction. Who?
I looked at the forest. Thought of all the bodies I had seen. All the dead techniques waiting to be stolen.
There was a Suna ninja who died next to me. His sand manipulation was weak. But his sensing ability was sharp. He could feel chakra from three villages away.
Take it.
Chakra flowing. Technique acquired. Sensory Perception. Range: five kilometers. You can now feel every living thing within that radius.
The world exploded. Colors became sounds. Sounds became smells. Smells became chakra signatures. Hundreds of them. Thousands. The Collector's army. Moving like ants.
And one. One signature burning like a second sun. Madara.
He was two kilometers away. Coming fast.
Third extraction. Last one for today. Choose carefully.
I closed my eyes. Thought about Madara. Thought about his perfect Susanoo. His meteor summoning. His wood style. His limbo clones.
I cannot take everything at once. But I can take one thing.
What hurts Madara the most? What made him lose to the First Hokage?
Truth-Seeking Balls? No. Those were from becoming the Ten-Tails jinchuriki. He did not have that yet. Not in this resurrected body.
Wood Style. Hashirama's cells. Madara had stolen them. Used them to gain power. But wood style had a weakness. It required life force. Massive amounts.
I cannot take wood style. Too big. Too hungry.
Then what?
The answer came. Small. Simple. Deadly.
The Eight Gates. Not all of them. Just the first three. Enough to boost my speed. Enough to match Madara's reflexes.
There was a dead jonin from Konoha. He had opened the first three gates in his final moments. I had felt the chakra surge before he died.
Take it.
Chakra flowing. Technique acquired. Eight Gates Release: First Gate (Gate of Opening), Second Gate (Gate of Healing), Third Gate (Gate of Life).
My body burned. Not pain. Power. Pure, screaming power. My muscles tightened. My vision sharpened. My heart beat like a drum.
The voice. Extractions complete. Next available in twenty-four hours.
Madara was one kilometer away.
I stepped out of the forest. Into a clearing. Burned trees. Black earth. A sky the color of bruises.
And there he was.
Walking toward me. Slow. Casual. Like he was taking a morning stroll through his garden.
His armor was dark. His hair was wild. His eyes were red. The Sharingan spun lazily. The Rinnegan glowed purple.
He stopped ten meters away. Looked at me. No recognition. No interest. Just curiosity. Like a cat looking at a mouse that had not started running yet.
Hm. A small sound. Then a voice. Deep. Old. Tired of everything.
You are the one. The ghost who stole my kill.
I said nothing. Just watched. Waited.
Madara tilted his head.
I killed a thousand men yesterday. But one body was missing. One soul did not arrive in the pure land. Yours.
I still said nothing.
Hah. Madara smiled. No warmth. Just teeth.
The Collector told me about you. A system. Like his. But different. You take. He gives.
I took a step forward. My hands empty. My feet light.
The First Gate. Gate of Opening. Opened.
My brain sped up. The world slowed down. Every leaf in the wind. Every grain of ash. Every twitch of Madara's fingers.
He noticed. His eyes narrowed.
Interesting.
The Second Gate. Gate of Healing. Opened.
Pain vanished. My body became a machine. Every muscle perfect. Every joint oiled. Every breath fuel.
Madara raised one hand. A black rod formed in his palm.
Let me show you the difference between a ghost and a god.
He threw the rod. Faster than sound. Faster than thought.
The Third Gate. Gate of Life. Opened.
My body moved. Not by choice. By instinct. The rod passed through where my head had been. I was already three meters to the left.
Madara's eyes widened. Just a fraction.
Flying Raijin.
I appeared behind him. A kunai in my hand. Aimed at his neck.
He spun. Caught my wrist. His grip was iron. His chakra was a furnace.
You are fast. But speed without power is just running in place.
He squeezed. My bones groaned.
I smiled.
Shadow Imitation Technique.
My shadow had been touching his shadow for three seconds. His body froze. His eyes went wide.
What...
My shadow crawled up his legs. His chest. His arms. He could not move. Could not blink. Could not breathe.
Hoh. He laughed inside his frozen throat. A Nara technique. Stolen. Like everything else about you.
I pulled the kunai back. Aimed at his eye.
Goodbye, Madara.
Something hit me in the chest. Hard. Like a mountain falling on me.
I flew backward. Crashed through three trees. Landed in ash. Coughing blood.
What hit me?
I looked up. Madara was still frozen. But standing next to him. A second Madara. Transparent. Blue. A limbo clone.
Ghhaa. I forgot. The Rinnegan allows limbo clones. Beings from another dimension. I cannot see them. Cannot touch them. Cannot shadow them.
The clone walked toward me. Slow. Deliberate. Madara's voice came from both bodies at once.
You took techniques from dead men. But you forgot one thing. I am not dead. I have never been truly dead. And I have techniques that no dead man can teach you.
The clone raised its hand. A sword of black chakra formed.
The First Gate. Still open. The Second. Still open. The Third. Still open.
I pushed myself up. Blood running down my chin.
The voice inside my head. Warning. Your body cannot sustain the Third Gate for much longer. Thirty seconds remaining.
Thirty seconds. That was enough.
I activated Flying Raijin. Not to escape. To attack.
I teleported to the kunai I had dropped near Madara's feet. Appeared right in front of the real body. Still frozen by shadow.
The limbo clone swung its sword. Too slow. I was already moving.
I put my hand on Madara's chest. Right over his heart.
The system. Not extraction. Something else. Something I had not tried before.
Drain.
The system screamed. Unauthorized command. Drain is not available until level...
I do not care. Drain his chakra. Now.
The system hesitated. Then obeyed.
Madara's chakra flowed into me. Like a river into a cup. Too much. Too fast. My body burned. My eyes bled. My skin cracked.
The shadow technique broke. Madara could move again. But he was weak. His chakra was half gone. His limbo clone flickered. Faded.
What... what are you?
I looked at him. My eyes were red. Not Sharingan. Just blood.
I am the end of you.
I raised my hand. Lightning gathered. Not Chidori. Something bigger. Something stolen from a dead Cloud ninja.
Black Lightning.
The bolt struck Madara in the chest. He screamed. His armor melted. His flesh burned.
He fell to his knees.
The Third Gate closed. My body collapsed. I could not move. Could not breathe. Could only watch.
Madara looked at me. His eyes were fading. But he was smiling.
Hahahaha. Good. Good. This is what I wanted. An enemy worth fighting.
His body began to dissolve. Black smoke. Red light. The resurrection technique was pulling him back to wherever the Collector kept his toys.
I will be back, ghost. And next time, I will bring everyone.
He vanished.
The clearing was empty. The sun was higher now. The smoke was thinner.
I lay in the ash. Stared at the sky. My body was broken. My chakra was empty. My system was silent.
But I was alive.
And Madara had run.
Hahahahaha. I laughed until I coughed blood.
Footsteps. Naruto appeared above me. His face was pale. His eyes were wide.
Shin! I felt the battle from the cave! That was... that was...
Sasuke stepped next to him. His Sharingan spinning. His jaw tight.
That was insane. You fought Madara alone and made him retreat.
Kakashi limped into view. His visible eye was soft. Almost warm.
Not bad for a ghost.
I closed my eyes. The voice whispered. One more extraction tomorrow. The Collector is coming. The dead are coming.
I know.
But for now. Just for now. I rested.
The ghost had survived another day.