Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Zongxian didn't expect to kill the ruthless Uchiha Madara with this move. He considered many possibilities, such as the possibility that the Konohana Sakuya Technique might not be able to affect Uchiha Madara's mental will. After all, Uchiha Madara had also awakened the Rinnegan, and it was not impossible that he possessed a high level of resistance like Nagato.

It's also possible that, like Obito Uchiha, he could unleash his eye power and break free from the constraints of the Konohana Sakuya Technique.

even,

I've also wondered if Madara Uchiha in his Edo Tensei state would become a 'perpetual motion machine'. Edo Tensei users have 'infinite' chakra, and chakra is a combination of spiritual and physical energy. Theoretically speaking, the spiritual energy of Edo Tensei users is also inexhaustible.

however,

The current outcome is not any of the three scenarios mentioned above.

The Konohana Sakuya Technique successfully affected Uchiha Madara, as evidenced by the thriving cherry tree. The tree was filled with eye power stored in its buds, but... it stopped abruptly at this point. The buds seemed to be frozen in the river of time, remaining in their bud state, unable to bloom in the future.

"I have very bad luck."

Madara Uchiha spoke slowly and deliberately.

The genjutsu world created by the Mangekyou Sharingan distorts the perception of time. What seems like a long time has passed here is actually just a moment in the outside world. So there's no need to rush. There's plenty of time to talk to the younger generation of this clan.

“Unlike you and lucky kids like Obito, my Mangekyou Sharingan eye techniques are pretty useless. [Ama-Iwato], this is my Mangekyou Sharingan eye technique. Its ability is very simple: it can defend against all mental attacks against me. However, in the past, this eye technique of mine has never been used.”

"After all, you understand, right? Which clan in the ninja world can surpass us Uchiha in genjutsu? The only one who can defeat the Uchiha in genjutsu is another Uchiha. I thought I would never have the chance to use my eye technique in my entire life, but I never expected... it would come in handy today."

Hear this,

Zongxian suddenly realized,

No wonder Konohana Sakuya's technique failed.

Is it a defensive eye technique?

No wonder... There are no records of Madara Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan techniques in the clan's archives. Even the elders who saw Madara Uchiha did not know what kind of Mangekyou Sharingan techniques he possessed.

It wasn't that Madara Uchiha hid well.

Rather, it's because Madara Uchiha's Mangekyou Sharingan eye techniques are too useless. Indeed, unless you're fighting against another Uchiha, such eye techniques are rarely used. Moreover, unlike Amaterasu or Ishigami, they don't interfere with real matter or allow you to observe the specific effects of the abilities. Unless Madara Uchiha himself says so, it's really impossible to know anything about them.

"Hey kid, what's your name?"

"Uchiha Munen".

"Uchiha Munen? Now that you've become the Sixth Hokage, the Uchiha clan must be under your control, right? You must have seen the stone tablet beneath the Naka Shrine, right? And I heard you've awakened the Rinnegan, so... you must know everything on the stone tablet, right?"

"What? Ancestor, are you trying to persuade me to abandon the light and join you in fighting for the peace you speak of?"

Zongxian looked at Madara Uchiha, who could have easily broken through Konohana Sakuya's technique at any moment, but chose not to move and was talking to him in this illusion where his sense of time was distorted. He couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry, Ancestor, I have no interest in the kind of boring peace you mentioned. I still prefer to create my own future with my own hands."

"is it?"

Madara Uchiha wasn't angry about being rejected. He stared at Sogen for a moment, then curled up the corners of his mouth. "Since that's the case, then there's nothing more to say. Let me see what you're really capable of!"

The moment the words fell,

The cherry tree that had bound Uchiha Madara began to tremble violently. The buds on the tree withered rapidly, the once strong and elastic branches became dry, and the thick trunk shrank at a visible speed. Uchiha Madara gently shook his head, and the huge cherry tree collapsed, turning into ashes and disappearing in all directions.

All the pupil power that had been drawn away was returned to his body.

The next moment,

This false garden in the spiritual world also collapsed. In the last moment, Sogen's consciousness saw Madara Uchiha's consciousness being swallowed up by a stone house made of rock slabs, without suffering any harm from the Konohana Sakuya Technique.

This round of confrontation

Ultimately, they were unable to harm Madara Uchiha, their ancestor, in the slightest.

but,

Zongxian didn't suffer any loss either.

It can only be said that they are evenly matched.

“Uchiha Madara, the dead should lie obediently in their graves. The ninja world is not a place for the dead like you. Your era has long passed. There is no place for the dead like you in the ninja world today,” Sogen said to Uchiha Madara calmly.

Although Konohana Sakuya's technique failed to achieve its goal,

But... this doesn't stop Sogen from issuing an ultimatum to his ancestor, Madara Uchiha: if genjutsu can't deal with him, then ninjutsu and taijutsu will suffice.

[Chapter 429. The Art of the Wooden Dragon]

It erupted—

A fierce battle erupted in an instant!

Upon receiving Sogen's domineering ultimatum, Uchiha Madara, feeling slighted by his juniors, launched a fierce attack. He swiftly formed hand seals and unleashed a torrent of flames like a tsunami. This was [Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation], one of Uchiha Madara's most frequently used fire release techniques.

Such a technique would definitely be considered a decisive killing move in the hands of an ordinary ninja.

But in Madara Uchiha's hands, it was nothing more than a probing attack.

"it's useless."

Zongxian pursed his lips.

He casually raised his right hand.

His palm met the surging sea of ​​fire. At that moment, the chakra in his body began to circulate in reverse. His palm was like a black hole, pulling the vast sea of ​​fire towards his palm. Every last drop was 'swallowed' up. If it weren't for the surrounding snow being melted and evaporated by the high temperature, the blazing flames would have seemed like an illusion.

"...Sealing Technique Absorption Seal?"

Madara Uchiha saw through the true nature of this move.

The reverse chakra circulation couldn't escape the Sharingan's observation, and it also confirmed that this brat named Uchiha Sogen had indeed awakened the Rinnegan, because 'Sealing Technique Absorption Seal' is an ability belonging to the Preta Path of the Rinnegan's Six Paths.

"That's right, this is the Sealing Technique Absorption Seal."

Zongxian blinked, his scarlet eyes subtly transforming into light purple ripples. "The power of these eyes... you should be familiar with it, right? So, Ancestor, let's have some serious fun! Don't be careless! The Heavenly Rock Cave Technique shouldn't be able to defend against ninjutsu and taijutsu attacks, right?"

The moment the words fell,

Zongxian launched a counterattack.

The right hand that had swallowed the sea of ​​fire did not lower itself; instead, it released a vast repulsive force, pushing the falling snowflakes towards Uchiha Madara.

"Shinra Tensei... Tsk! This is really troublesome."

Madara Uchiha frowned.

This move is difficult to counter!

but,

It means they are difficult to deal with, but not that there are no solutions.

Madara Uchiha pushed off with his feet and charged forward, directly meeting the repulsive force that was vaguely shaped by the white snowflakes with his bare body. His body was instantly shattered as expected, but the flying dust quickly gathered together and reassembled into the shape of Madara Uchiha's body.

and,

They continued their rapid advance towards Zongxian.

The Shinra Tensei technique has a five-second buffer time. After being used once, it requires a five-second wait before it can be used again. The Sealing Technique Absorption Seal technique can be said to counter 99% of ninjutsu attacks. No matter how powerful the ninjutsu is, it cannot break through the Sealing Technique Absorption Seal's defense, even Earth Release techniques are no exception.

The sealing technique absorption seal only means that the absorption speed of earth-escape techniques is relatively slow, not that it cannot be absorbed.

Therefore,

To injure Uchiha Sogen, one would need to exhaust the Shinra Tensei, a technique that combines offense and defense and has virtually no blind spots, and also find a way to break the Preta Path's sealing technique, Absorption Seal. At the same time, one must be careful not to let Uchiha Sogen's palm touch one's body, as the Human Path has the ability to extract souls.

honestly,

These numerous restrictions are already enough to make one feel hopeless.

First of all, using genjutsu against the Uchiha would be laughable, and the sealing technique absorption seal effectively disables most ninjutsu attacks. In addition, the Human Path's unreasonable soul extraction ability further reduces the scope for taijutsu to the extreme.

The Ninja Body Illusion technique restricts all of the ninja's abilities.

Anyone else facing Sogen would likely lack the courage to even make a move, as they wouldn't know what to do. Fortunately, Madara Uchiha was no ordinary person; having also awakened the Rinnegan, he was well aware of its various abilities, so—

"Wood Release: Insertion Technique".

Sharp, sturdy wooden spikes emerged from Madara Uchiha's palm. When he was only about ten steps away from Sogen, he suddenly flung the bundle of wooden spikes from his palm, which flew towards Sogen's head, chest, abdomen, and other parts of his body. The Sealing Technique Absorption Seal can indeed absorb nearly 90% of ninjutsu attacks, but its limitation is that it requires the use of both hands as suction ports to absorb the ninjutsu.

Therefore,

The way to break the sealing technique is to attack from multiple points. This doesn't refer to a large-scale offensive ninjutsu like the Great Fire Annihilation Technique, but rather to disperse the attacks and launch them at different locations simultaneously. For example, with the Wood Release: Insertion Technique, one or two wooden spikes can be easily intercepted, but if three, five, seven, eight, or even more than ten wooden spikes fly over at the same time, it is difficult to intercept them all with just two hands.

The Shinra Tensei has already been used up.

As for using other ninjutsu for defense... at such close range, it would be quite difficult to say. Moreover, ordinary ninjutsu might not be able to defend against his Wood Release technique. This technique is one of the most deadly moves among all Wood Release techniques. Because it is too cruel, even Hashirama Senju rarely used it.

However, Madara Uchiha didn't care about whether it was cruel or not; he only cared about whether it was practical.

Right now,

If you want to block those wooden spikes, the only way is... Susanoo, hmm?

Zongxian flicked his right hand, summoning a large, round flame fan that stood in front of him. The gourd-shaped fan easily deflected the wooden spikes, which were strong enough to pierce rocks, but left not even the slightest mark on the flame fan.

"Obito, you piece of trash!"

Madara Uchiha cursed angrily.

Nagato is dead, the Rinnegan is lost, and even his Flame Fan has been stolen! It's just... so disappointing.

Fortunately,

Disappointed as I am,

The battle must continue. Although they were unable to force out Sogen's Susanoo, this does not prevent the plan from continuing.

"Earth Release: Rock Iron Cannon".

Madara Uchiha spat out a series of stone bullets the size of date pits. These bullets flew into the air and grew larger in the wind, eventually becoming the size of watermelons. They were truly cannonballs. He then blasted them towards Sogen. Similar to the Insertion Technique, the dozen or so unrelated stone bullets could not be withstood by the sealing technique alone.

“I’ve already said that, Ancestor! You’re underestimating me too much. Were you playing ninja games with a child back then?” Zongxian raised his eyebrows unhappily as he looked at the incoming stone projectile. “It seems he needs to suffer a bit to learn his lesson.”

In a flash,

Deep crimson ribs were visible.

They easily deflected all the stone projectiles.

"Kid, we've been waiting for you to use Susanoo!" Madara Uchiha never forgot that the brat in front of him shared the same surname as him. While the power of the Rinnegan was certainly something to be wary of, the Susanoo technique was something that could not be ignored. He knew very well how powerful Susanoo was.

In some situations, Susanoo is more useful than the complex abilities of the Rinnegan.

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique".