Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Madara Uchiha clapped his hands, and a lifelike giant wooden dragon burst from the ground, shaking its head and tail, baring its fangs and claws. Its two long whiskers fluttered in the wind and snow, and it wrapped itself around the deep red Susanoo. It carried the Susanoo, which was only in its second state and did not even have a lower body, into the sky and began to frantically extract Uchiha Munen's chakra.

After confirming that Zongxuan had indeed awakened the Rinnegan,

He was thinking about how to defeat this junior. Scolding Obito Uchiha for his incompetence did not mean that he truly disregarded Mugen Uchiha. Although he did not know how Nagato had lost due to time constraints, the fact that this junior could awaken the Rinnegan already proved his extraordinary abilities.

That disdain was merely a verbal argument; deep down, he held this junior in high regard.

Therefore,

He chose a very conservative tactic.

Instead of aiming to kill Uchiha Munen in one blow, if the plan is to wage a war of attrition, although his strength in the Edo Tensei state cannot be compared with his peak strength in life, he still has the advantages of being impossible to kill by conventional means and having an inexhaustible supply of chakra.

relatively,

Uchiha Sogen is a living person.

You will feel tired, in pain... Well! Feeling pain is not a bad thing. Only by feeling pain can you truly experience the thrill of killing. A numb body that cannot feel pain cannot excite you at all!

far away,

Besides feeling tired and in pain, living people also have limited chakra. Even Hashirama had his limits, let alone this pure-blooded Uchiha descendant. Rather than seeking a decisive victory in one battle, it would be better to wage a war of attrition.

We can wear this brat down.

The purpose of forcing Sogen to activate Susanoo was to facilitate the Wood Dragon Technique to devour Sogen's chakra. Hashirama had used the Wood Dragon Technique to cause him considerable trouble back then, and even the Nine-Tails was weakened by the Wood Dragon Technique, which led to Sogen running out of energy in the later stages of the battle and ultimately losing to Hashirama.

and also,

The weakness of the Wood Dragon Technique is that it is easy to miss when dealing with small targets. Its huge size makes it impossible to accurately grab a small ant. Even if it does touch it, it can easily shake off the Wood Dragon. Only when dealing with a behemoth of similar size like Susanoo can it tightly entangle it, making it difficult for it to break free, and then it can devour the enemy's chakra at will.

"...I see, the Wood Dragon Technique?"

Zongxian suddenly realized.

I misunderstood!

This ancestor is waiting for me here. Is he preparing to... wage a war of attrition? It's not a bad idea. Indeed, even with the Rinnegan awakened and my chakra has increased dramatically, I still can't compare to Senju or Uzumaki.

When crushing enemies who are inferior to you, you don't need to worry about this issue. However, when facing opponents of the same level, the amount of chakra will be a crucial factor affecting the final outcome.

past,

Madara Uchiha, wielding the Nine-Tails, fought a fierce battle against Hashirama Senju. However, he was dragged into a five-day, five-night war of attrition by Hashirama. Even with the Nine-Tails combined, Madara couldn't outlast the monster Hashirama and tasted the bitterness of defeat.

"Chakra... Is this my biggest weakness right now?"

He felt the Susanoo's chakra being devoured by the wooden dragon.

Zongxian's lips curled up slightly, then quickly smoothed out.

then,

He deliberately released Susanoo, looked up at the wooden dragon with its mouth wide open as if to bite him, his gaze narrowed slightly, and activated the [Stone Long Whiskers] technique. The invisible power of his eyes fell on the wooden dragon, petrifying it from its rugged head and horns. Its two long, flowing whiskers also turned into hard stone, although because of its enormous size, they did not turn into stone in an instant.

But his head was petrified.

That was enough to disrupt the balance of the Wood Dragon Technique; there was no need for him to continue expending his eye power. The collapsing Wood Dragon fell to the ground.

"Is this... two Mangekyou Sharingan techniques? What a lucky kid."

Even Madara Uchiha,

At this moment, a slight feeling of jealousy arose in my heart.

Why can't I have such luck? I don't even ask for two different eye techniques. I just want one offensive eye technique, whether it's an illusion attack or one that can interfere with matter. Either one would be great. If I had a more powerful eye technique, my battle with Hashirama back then might have had a different outcome.

Just as he was sighing in his heart,

Zongxian, who was falling from the sky, looked over.

Madara Uchiha's nerves tensed up abruptly, and rings of illusory, azure-blue ribs appeared, blocking the invisible eye power. He did not intend to personally experience Uchiha Sogen's other Mangekyou Sharingan eye technique as before.

With his eyesight,

From Mu Long's experience, it's clear that this eye technique possesses the characteristics of a sealing technique. Even the immortal and indestructible Impure World Reincarnation state might not be able to withstand such an eye technique attack... Fortunately, this junior did not use this eye technique immediately beforehand.

Otherwise... it will be very troublesome.

However, they are young and lack combat experience, so it's normal for them to make mistakes.

Seeing the outer layer of Susanoo turn into stone, Madara Uchiha calmly peeled off the petrified part, then infused his eye power to regenerate the missing part. The junior seemed to realize that he could not completely petrify Susanoo in one go.

He did not continue to project his eye power to unleash this move in the fight.

Continuing down this path will only turn it into a war of attrition, a pure contest of chakra reserves.

"This is really troublesome! No wonder Obito, that good-for-nothing, was no match for him." After this round of exchanges, Madara Uchiha truly acknowledged Sogen's strength. Even with minor flaws, it was not enough to overshadow his brilliance. This junior was a formidable opponent.

but--

"That's more fun!"

Madara Uchiha laughed.

Even though this body can't feel the thrill of boiling blood, the mind is soaring at this moment. Fighting against such an opponent is what makes it fun. Bullying a bunch of weaklings is just not interesting at all. That kind of thing is so boring that it makes you want to yawn.

"Come on! Uchiha Mugen, let's continue this battle to the death!"

Madara Uchiha shouted loudly.

[Chapter 430: Bai's Choice]

What would it feel like for two top-tier Uchiha to fight?

this problem,

Only by witnessing it with one's own eyes can one understand how terrifying the scene was.

The deep crimson and azure blue Susanoo resembled two towering giants, both simultaneously entering their fourth form, adorned with Tengu armor and completing their lower bodies. Their majestic and towering bodies seemed to be able to reach out and touch the dark clouds above. With a wave of their hands, they could whip up a fierce wind, disrupting the falling snow, and with a stomp of their feet, the earth would shake and mountains would tremble, easily flattening the surrounding forest.

Just standing there,

It gives people the impression of being the embodiment of natural disasters.

The deep crimson Susanoo held a large katana in both hands.

The azure-blue Susanoo wields two curved wild swords.

They looked at each other and brandished their weapons.

All I saw was—

Their figures flashed like lightning.

Swords clashed in mid-air.

It emitted a thunderous roar, a continuous and deafening sound, as if the sky itself were about to be shattered.

This was a fierce and evenly matched battle.

Each clash of swords unleashed a massive shockwave that spread in all directions, whipping up a blizzard that formed snow-white rings that expanded outwards. This magnificent and wondrous man-made spectacle was truly breathtaking.

Despite their enormous size, the two Susanoo were incredibly agile. Even the Anbu members who were traveling with Kimimaro could no longer see their sword-wielding movements clearly, only the flashes of blades and sword shadows in the sky.

"What... is this?"

The ANBU member standing beside Kimimaro let out a bewildered groan.

Such a gigantic monster,

simply,

It's even more terrifying than the Nine-Tails.

At least back then, on the night of the Nine-Tails' rampage, he was just a genin and could clearly see the Nine-Tails' every move from afar. But now, as an elite member of the ANBU, his vision can no longer keep up with the movements of these two behemoths. He tried to forcefully capture the movements of the two Susanoo, but he almost made his eyeballs twitch.

"Keep retreating."

Kimimaro took a deep breath, did not answer his subordinates' questions, and instead issued new orders.

The ANBU members had no objections and followed Kimimaro away from the vortex of the great battle. With their small bodies, they were simply not qualified to participate in a battle of this scale. The result of forcing their way in would be no better than a rabbit trying to persuade a tiger or lion to stop fighting!

Those affected by the battle between Sogen and Madara Uchiha were not only Kimimaro and his group; Obito and Shisui, who were engaged in fierce combat, also had to change battlefields to avoid being killed by the aftershocks of the battle between the two Susanoo.

but,

While Obito was fighting with Shisui, a little restlessness quietly grew in his heart. Perhaps... it was time to take back his other eye. In the past, due to considerations such as hiding his identity and friendship, he had never taken back the eye that Hatake Kakashi possessed.

Even though he knew that by collecting both eyes, he could control the power of Susanoo.

He awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan with only one eye, so he could never activate Susanoo. In the past, relying on Kamui, he felt that it didn't matter if he didn't have Susanoo, because even when dealing with behemoths like the Tailed Beasts, he could still use the Wood Golem Technique to take over.

But today he realized that he might have made a mistake.

His mastery of the Wooden Puppet Technique had a very limited ceiling. It was fine for dealing with Jinchuriki who would go berserk and lose control when transformed into their One-Tailed Beast form, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to contend with other Uchiha who had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan, especially now that he had witnessed the clash between Uchiha Mugen and Uchiha Madara.

I realized with deep emotion that I seemed to have made a serious mistake.

Just as Obito Uchiha was reflecting on his past mistakes, Haku and his group, who were planning to secretly escape while avoiding the aftershocks of the battle between the two Susanoo, also encountered a rock blocking their way.

Didn't you hear what I said before?

"what?"

Hearing the words coming from behind him, Bai suddenly turned around.

The speaker was a young man, standing on a treetop to his side.

His physique was standard and well-proportioned. He wore a very simple, pale long robe without any patterns or decorations, and a pale mask with the character "天" (heaven) engraved on his forehead, which concealed his true appearance. Only a pair of light purple, wavy eyes looked over, causing Bai to feel a little fear for no reason.

No, that's not right.

This fear was not without reason; Bai knew in his heart that this fear came from the masked man.

"Do I have to say it again? I don't remember your memory being this bad, but fine, I'll say it one more time! Hand over Mitarashi Anko and surrender obediently. I'll spare your lives since you haven't killed any of my Konoha ninjas along the way."

The masked Heavenly Dao clone repeated the previous request.

Then--

"This chakra... a clone of the Sixth Hokage?"

Tobirama Senju stared suspiciously at Sogen's Deva avatar on the tree.

Especially those eyes,