A massive cloud of chakra smoke rose into the air, accompanied by a surge of water vapor. The mist, thick enough to obscure the sky, was formed by the steam generated from the large-scale collision of Water Release and Fire Release techniques.
At the peak of his power, Kei unleashed his chakra, which was far stronger than that of Gengetsu. With the advantage of the surrounding environment, five eerie, grinning faces emerged within the vast sea of mist.
Hailstones began to fall from the sky.
The oil, produced by the advanced transformation of the Hydrification Technique, was mixed with steam. As the descending hail cooled it rapidly, the oil contracted and solidified, eventually forming five clones in the shape of young boys—these were the Steaming Danger Tyranny clones.
The technique was now fully formed.
The clones, resembling Tobirama by about 80%, bore sinister smiles on their faces. With a single movement, they charged straight at the incoming Madara!
Since their bodies were composed of water and oil, their speed was in no way inferior to Kei's full-powered Body Flicker Technique.
Clang!
One of the clones' right arm transformed into a ninja blade and clashed against Madara's scythe, sending the clone flying backward. The remaining four clones launched attacks at Madara's neck, lower back, abdomen, and heart!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the air.
Madara's scythe moved as if it were an extension of his body—slicing, sweeping, and countering with fluid precision!
With effortless ease, he blocked all five clones' attacks. Then, with a swift motion, he reached for the Gunbai on his back. A powerful gust of wind howled through the battlefield, sending all five clones flying backward!
"This is not enough! Such feeble attacks, how do you expect to make me enjoy this battle?!" Madara's aged voice carried an overwhelming arrogance and dominance.
He swung his fan, its tail end lashing out.
The scythe, attached by chains, whistled through the air and wrapped tightly around the neck of one clone. As the restrained clone was still midair, its body barely had time to expand to twice its size before the chain constricted, forcing it to detonate prematurely!
Boom!
The explosion, only slightly more powerful than an explosive tag, didn't harm Madara in the slightest. With a swift counter using the fan, he blocked the attacks of the four remaining clones while simultaneously retracting his scythe with the chain.
The exploded clone rapidly shrank back into its youthful form and immediately rejoined the battle.
Madara preemptively triggered another explosion by striking a second clone, but this time, the force of the blast was enough to send him skidding backward several meters.
He watched as one of the remaining clones grew larger and larger. At the same time, the two clones that had detonated earlier were already beginning to reform.
His eyes burned with excitement and battle frenzy!
Five infinitely regenerating, infinitely exploding oil-water clones…
This technique was proving to be even more troublesome than he had anticipated.
A technique similar to Shinnō's physical transformation, huh? Kei stood in front of his summoned beast, keeping his sharp gaze locked on Madara's every move.
Even though Madara's outward appearance remained that of an old man—unlike Shinnō, who had regained his youth—his strength and speed had far surpassed their previous levels.
And this was despite the fact that his Sage Body had already been weakened by one rank, now downgraded to the purple-tier! No one could predict just how strong his taijutsu would become if he were to fully recover.
In theory, the Steaming Danger Tyranny clones, which expand and detonate upon heating, should have been the perfect counter to Madara's ultimate-level Fire Release. Yet, relying solely on his unparalleled combat skills, he was managing to hold them off—at least for now.
It was worth noting that in the original story, just one clone was enough to trouble Gaara and nearly put him in a dire situation.
Rumble!
As the battle between the wood clones and shadow clones raged on, boulders and trees were being flung across the battlefield. Countless vines spread and twisted wildly.
The two wood clones had already activated the third stage of Susanoo, obliterating everything in their path with ease.
Meanwhile, Kei's shadow clones, fueled by massive amounts of chakra, continued to unleash Big Ball Rasengan, colliding fiercely with Madara's various wood dragons and wood golems!
Wood fragments and shattered stones scattered in all directions. Within mere moments, the terrain of several dozen kilometers had been utterly transformed.
Although he could still create more shadow clones, simply prioritizing quantity over quality would be meaningless. Against Madara's wood clones, his shadow clones would be nothing more than cannon fodder.
On the other hand, if he focused solely on quality, it would drain too much of his own combat strength. After all, the dozen or so shadow clones he had just created had evenly split his chakra. And immediately afterward, he had used the infinitely exploding Steaming Danger Tyranny technique, which was an absolute chakra devourer.
In the original story, Gengetsu became extremely weakened just from creating a single Steaming Danger Tyranny clone. Yet Kei had created five at once—and still wasn't in a weakened state.
This was thanks to [Transmigrator] and [Sage Body]!
His Sage Body's hyperactive cells continuously pumped energy into his chakra pathways, while [Transmigrator], cultivated over nearly ten years, provided him with an immense pool of spiritual energy.
In just a short time, Kei had already recovered 20% of his chakra—and that 20% was already several dozen times greater than what he had before!
Hah… That should be enough. Kei exhaled deeply, rolling his neck to loosen up.
In the next instant, his body flickered—he had activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, reappearing right next to one of his Steaming Danger Tyranny clones!
Tobirama had long since provided the perfect demonstration of how to combine clones with high-speed attack techniques. Learning by example, Kei's integration of Steaming Danger Tyranny with Flying Thunder God would only make the technique even more formidable!
Zzzz—Boom!
A Big Ball Rasengan shot straight toward Madara's face.
Madara barely managed to block the attack with his Gunbai. At the very moment before it could be reflected back, two Steaming Danger Tyranny clones attacked his vital points from both sides!
"Yes! Yes! Let me feel it! The thrill of fighting with my life on the line! Hahahaha!"
His Sharingan spun wildly, its three tomoe flashing. Using the Gunbai's recoil from the Big Ball Rasengan, he forcefully retreated backward.
But waiting right behind him, a Steaming Danger Tyranny clone, already swollen to its limit, had been preemptively detonated by Kei!
BOOM!
Madara instinctively shielded himself with his fan. Yet, the intense explosion sent waves of pain through his internal organs, and his body was violently launched forward! At that moment, a wood clone, sensing the danger, rushed to his aid.
A surge of blue chakra erupted from its body, instantly forming the third-stage Susanoo, whose massive frame wrapped around Madara in an instant!
But Kei had already teleported directly inside Susanoo, appearing right next to Madara!
The Gunbai, huh? Madara instantly realized, in the split second when the fan had clashed with the Big Ball Rasengan, this guy had marked it with the Flying Thunder God mark.
And the reason he hadn't noticed? It was because of… Kei's giant clam. Using the hallucinogenic mist released by it, he had created an illusory mirage.
Though this genjutsu had been completely useless against the wood clone's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, it had successfully deceived Madara's own three-tomoe Sharingan.
"Farewell." Kei thrust his right hand forward.
It wasn't as large as the Big Ball Rasengan, but this Water Rasengan, radiating a deep blue glow, blasted toward Madara's face!
Zzzz—BOOM!
Madara barely managed to lift his scythe to block it.
But in just a single instant, the Water Rasengan pierced through the scythe and exploded against his chest!
"Brat! We will meet again!"