I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 653 Fools are sometimes lucky because they are unaware of calamities.

"What an auspicious place! Is this the burial ground you chose for yourself? 57 Hamadala."

Amidst the tender leaves and seedlings, Tatsuma revealed a gentle, spring-like smile, while Madara displayed his murderous intent in a confrontational manner, having understood the unspoken meaning behind Tatsuma's words.

The area above this place is known as the Mountain Cemetery.

"Brother Chenma!"

Obito shouted excitedly, and seeing Tatsuma wearing a white cloak, he became even more excited and asked, "Brother Tatsuma, are you already the Fourth Hokage?"

In an instant, both Madara Uchiha and Tatsuma looked at Obito as if he were an idiot. Tatsuma was somewhat surprised that his actions did not cause Obito to turn against him.

Is he completely unaware of what he has been through?

But only for a moment, then Tatsuma averted his gaze, resumed his infectious smile, turned around, and said, "Yeah, isn't it beautiful?"

"Yes! I want to dress like this from now on!"

Rin would definitely love it, right? Obito thought to himself, even Tatsuma was thrilled to see him wearing this outfit. If he wore it like that, Rin would definitely look at him in a new light!

And wouldn't it be great if he could write "Fifth Hokage" on the back of his cloak?

Chenma snapped out of his daze and said, "Then you'd better work hard."

Since Obito is unaware of it, Tatsuma won't expose him; he wouldn't do something so foolish.

Madara looked at Obito. He was too lazy to explain anything to this idiot. Maybe if he really revealed the truth, this fool would think that he was the one stirring things up.

Sure enough, risk and reward are always positively correlated. This silly boy could be fooled by me with a few words, but he could also be easily fooled by Chenma.

If it were a child like Shisui, perhaps if his mind were twisted just once, it could never be corrected in this lifetime.

But it's incredibly difficult to distort the thoughts of such people, and besides, it's pointless to even think about it now.

Only then did Obito belatedly realize the tense atmosphere of the confrontation inside the cave. He quickly said to Tatsuma, "Brother Tatsuma, I was saved by this old man. He didn't hurt me."

"I know, but this old man seems to be hostile towards me."

Tatsuma smiled and nodded. From the moment he arrived until now, he had not used any malice to fight against Uchiha Madara. On the contrary, Uchiha Madara seemed to be driven to desperation and was wantonly venting his aura.

He glanced at Obito, who was being carried on Zetsu's back, then looked at Madara and said, "Madara, now that I'm here, I'll hand over the ninjas of Konoha to you, the Hokage, to take care of."

What if I say no?

Madara responded in a deep voice, and Tatsuma shrugged, saying, "Did you think I was asking you for something?"

Suddenly, Madara felt a numbness in his legs. Looking down, he saw that the melon vines he had thrown down were now wrapped around his legs. Although the force was not great, it was only a Wood Release technique that had grown by absorbing Obito's life force, and it was not used by Tatsuma himself.

Even Madara could easily break free from such constraints now, but this represented Tatsuma's attitude. The moment he lowered his head, Tatsuma disappeared, and another glimmer of light appeared in the cave.

"Sizzle~"

A head flew off, but strangely, no blood splattered. Tatsuma returned to his original position, holding Obito's belt, while Obito was holding a white arm.

Immediately, the arm wriggled and expanded rapidly, climbing towards Chenma's body and instantly enveloping him.

"Strange power!"

Tatsuma unleashed his power, breaking free from Zetsu's restraints and casually tossing him back to Madara's side. White Zetsu also clung to Madara, injecting the large amount of chakra he had absorbed from Tatsuma into Madara's body.

"you"

Madara frowned. Something was wrong. Even his nemesis, Hashirama Senju's chakra wouldn't have this kind of healing ability. It was only when Hashirama Senju used the No-Seal Healing technique that his chakra would transform into this special, vibrant chakra.

Tatsuma smiled and said, "I don't want you to be killed by my chakra attack before the battle even begins."

Madara narrowed his eyes, feeling his body gradually becoming younger. His droopy eyelids tightened, allowing him to see Tatsuma more clearly.

What an interesting young man!

But thinking about it, it makes sense. How could Tatsuma be so easily ambushed? Even though he used himself as bait, risking being attacked by Tatsuma, he used his methods on the seemingly incompetent Zetsu.

If Tatsuma were willing, even White Zetsu probably wouldn't be able to absorb his chakra, right? After all, Tatsuma's Wood Release also has the effect of absorbing chakra and life force, and it's even stronger than White Zetsu's.

In other words, if Tatsuma intentionally absorbed the essence of White Zetsu, it would be Zetsu that would ultimately wither, not Tatsuma.

Tatsuma placed Obito in the melon field, and the seedlings gradually enveloped him. The life force that Tatsuma injected into Obito's body also put Obito into a deep sleep, and the life force continuously repaired Obito's body.

"Is that enough?"

Compared to Obito's somewhat "weak and unable to absorb the nourishment," Madara easily digested the chakra and life force brought by Tatsuma. Although his face was still old, he no longer had the decaying aura of someone on the verge of death.

There's no way around it. No matter how strong one's life force is, it can't reverse the passage of time and restore a person's youthful appearance. Only by sealing away the youthful state with the Yin Seal and replenishing enough chakra can it be done.

However, Madara Uchiha's actual physical condition has recovered considerably. Although he hasn't returned to his prime, this is already the limit that his life force can achieve.

Madara Uchiha knew that absorbing more life force would be futile, so he shook his head and said, "This is enough. However, your arrogance will be your downfall."

He grinned, his chakra finally activating. He hadn't felt this exhilarated in decades. He looked at Tatsuma and said:

"I've killed countless enemies in my life, but you will be the one I remember most fondly!"

"Knock knock~"

Madara Uchiha stomped his foot, and the pipe connecting him to the Gedo Mazo behind him detached, unleashing a violent chakra that felt even more ominous than the chakra of the tailed beasts.

A fierce wind swept through the cave, causing the rice seedlings scattered all over the ground to roll towards Chenma, and even the roots that had penetrated to an unknown depth were all pulled out.

"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"

Accompanied by a whirlwind stirred by chakra, a sea of ​​fire swept in, as if to burn all the wood-style plants to ashes.

"Sakamoto Tatsuma, you possess the chakra of all nine tailed beasts, don't you? It seems... the plan can be completed today!"

Inside the cave, besides the White Zetsu that Tatsuma had killed, there were still many White Zetsu moving around. However, Madara Uchiha didn't even glance at them, and he remained unmoved even as they wailed in the sea of ​​fire.

"How ruthless! Truly, the Uchiha are born evil."

As soon as Tatsuma spoke, Madara Uchiha's chakra became increasingly violent, the sea of ​​fire became even more intense, and his unreserved killing intent pressed down on Tatsuma.

As expected, he couldn't bear to hear those words. Let those words become this young man's last words.

The sea of ​​fire was right in front of him. The melon vines around Chenma had turned yellow and even carbonized and were swept into the fire. But Chenma calmly raised his hand to form a hand seal.

"Water Release! Big Explosive Water Wave!"

Chakra surged in his throat and was exhaled by Tatsuma. The massive amount of chakra instantly turned into flowing water, like a tidal wave rushing forward, as if to extinguish a sea of ​​fire.

"Boom! Boom!"

Water and fire are incompatible. The rising steam instantly filled the entire cave, turning it into a pressure cooker. The spreading tree root channels were simply not enough to expel the rising steam, which eventually ignited the cave.

"Bang bang bang!"

As the boulder crashed down, Madara Uchiha's figure darted through the air, his speed so fast that even Tatsuma struggled to keep up.

"Rasengan!"

Uchiha Rebound!

Tatsuma turned around, raised the Rasengan and hurled it at Madara Uchiha, who had instantly appeared behind him. Madara, however, had a fan as tall as a person in his hand, and he swung the fan to meet the Rasengan head-on.

"Rustling sound~"

The Rasengan dissipated, and countless wind blades gathered on the fan, slashing towards Tatsuma.

"Ninjutsu! Rock Kamiya!"

Tatsuma clapped his hands together, and chakra condensed on his body into a semi-transparent tortoise shell to meet the slashing wind blades. The wind blades were fierce, but could only helplessly dissipate.

"Hahaha~ So the Fourth Hokage of Konoha is a coward after all!"

Standing atop a collapsed boulder, Madara Uchiha looked down at him, laughing maniacally. Tatsuma released his grip, dusted off his sleeves, and said, "I just didn't want to ruin these clothes. I don't want to end up like you, dressed in tattered hemp."

"Keep being stubborn, kid!"

"No, you're just being stubborn. Of course, at your age, it's probably very difficult to get other parts of your body hard."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chenma stepped on the ground, and the natural energy absorbed by the melon vines surged into Chenma's body. In the blink of an eye, the face of the Great Sun Immortal appeared on Chenma's face.

"Just like Hashira's Sage Mode."

Looking at Tatsuma's appearance, Madara Uchiha's face showed a hint of nostalgia. Tatsuma curled the corners of his mouth and said, "You two are really alike. The First Hokage always talks about Madara, and you can't stop talking about the First Hokage either."

"Hmph! You talk as if you've actually met him."

A hint of displeasure appeared on Madara Uchiha's face. He was clearly just a young man born after Hashirama's death, yet he acted as if he knew Madara Uchiha. It was really annoying.

Suddenly, without warning, Madara Uchiha ripped off his tattered hempen clothes, revealing a human face on his chest. He said, "Let me show you just how powerful Hashirama really is. You can't compare!"

As he spoke, Madara Uchiha clasped his hands together, and the natural energy from the melon vines on the ground was also drawn away by Madara Uchiha. The Sage's face on his chest also faintly appeared and gradually stabilized.

As the Sage Chakra surged, Madara Uchiha's already powerful aura multiplied several times over. His long hair flowed freely, and his imposing demeanor allowed Tatsuma to witness the splendor of the peak of the Warring States period.

The chakra and tailed beast power within Tatsuma's body also became active, the erupting chakra clashing with Uchiha Madara's chakra. He looked up and asked, "Uchiha Madara, with only your transplanted eyes left, can you still use the Uchiha clan's divine power?"

"Ha! The Sharingan is just a key; only the weak need to unlock it, while I've always been the one breaking down doors!"

Azure chakra gathered around Madara Uchiha's body, gradually transforming into a skeleton, upon which strands of flesh and blood clung.

"As expected of the strongest Uchiha, only someone like you is worth defeating!"

"Sage Art! Wood Release! Vajra Extinction! Buddha Transformation on Top!"

(End of this chapter)