Freelancer in Naruto

Of course it wasn't really "too cramped" to fight in there—Madara simply didn't want to demolish his own hideout.

Once he stepped outside, Obito used Kamui and teleported to the surrounding forest. Senshi, likewise, activated the teleportation power of his Kāma and appeared in the open air.

From a distance, Senshi saw two towering Susanoo giants looming before him. When Madara noticed Senshi had followed them out, he looked satisfied.

In an icy voice, he said to Obito, "You were right. This guy is definitely our biggest obstacle on the path to realizing our plan. This time, we go all-out and kill him for good—otherwise we'll just face more headaches down the line."

Obito nodded. "Understood."

He had felt that way since before he'd even brought Madara back. He'd wanted to eliminate Senshi, too—he'd tried once before, failed, and almost died in the attempt.

Seeing both Madara and Obito clad in Susanoo, Senshi got a mischievous idea. Rather than using his "Lightning Susanoo" to engage them in a Gundam-like showdown, he broke out a technique Madara knew all too well.

Senshi clapped his hands and chanted:

"Nativity of a World of Treess!"

Right after he spoke, the entire forest around them sprang to life, morphing into a crazily expanding sea of trees. As they surged wildly, Madara's eyes flickered with surprise.

"This brat's Wood Release is even stronger than Hashirama's? Unbelievable!"

He hadn't even finished thinking that when Senshi launched another jutsu. Clapping his hands again, he shouted:

"True Several Thousand Hands!"

Boom––!

Rumble…!

Yamato might've yelled "True Several Thousand Hands" over and over but rarely managed even a "True Several Hundred Hands." Senshi, though, was conjuring the real thing. With the ground shaking violently, a colossal wooden Buddha statue rose skyward.

Obito had never gotten this far in previous battles with Senshi—he always lost before that stage—so he was seeing this technique for the first time. Madara, on the other hand, was probably the ninja most experienced at fighting the True Several Thousand Hands. Even so, what he witnessed now was in another league.

To Madara, Senshi's Wood Release seemed to surpass Hashirama's across the board, which was terrifying. Startled as he was, Madara didn't slow down. He had his Susanoo charge the wooden behemoth, sword in hand. Unlike Obito's near-complete Susanoo, Madara's scaled up to its final stage as he dashed forward, signaling his intent to go all-in.

Obito did likewise—he knew better than Madara just how strong Senshi really was. As Madara attacked, Obito coordinated, too, launching a two-pronged assault on Senshi.

Facing two Susanoo giants, Senshi looked utterly unfazed. He clapped his hands again:

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!"

The massive forest swelled once more, and then a colossal wooden dragon burst from underground, lunging straight for Obito's Susanoo. Its body was enormous, its surging momentum irresistible. Against any other foe, Obito could bully them with his "Gundam" Susanoo, but against Senshi, that advantage vanished. He had no choice but to hunker down and defend, barely holding off the dragon's rampage.

Yet Senshi's chakra was like an infinite ocean. While Obito's Susanoo tangled with the first wood dragon, Senshi summoned another three or four. In a snap, Obito was besieged by five wood dragons at once.

Madara saw it and let out a cold snort. "Relying on numbers, are we? Then how about this?"

He finished speaking and used "Susanoo Splitting," creating twenty-five blue Susanoo clones throughout the forest. If this had been the Five Kage, they would've been on their knees already—poor Tsunade would be half a second away from her '50% Tsunade near-death cameo.'

But their opponent was Senshi this time, so the story went differently. Merely a "genius" trying to provoke the God of Hard Work? Laughable.

Clap!

"Wood Release: Wooden Golem Technique!"

Senshi slapped his hands together again. Madara was no stranger to the Wooden Golem, but what Senshi invoked made it feel like something entirely new. Instead of producing just one golem, he summoned twenty-five of them to wage war against Madara's Susanoo legion.

Madara: (O_O)???

Obito: (O_O)???

They were both stunned. Didn't Senshi need to spend any chakra? How could he cast so many high-level jutsu so casually? It looked like it barely even fazed him.

By this point, Obito held nothing back. He formed two colossal black shuriken—his signature weapons—in his Susanoo's hands. Locking onto the surrounding wood dragons, he activated his jutsu:

"Kamui Shuriken!"

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Two black Kamui shuriken shot forward with terrifying speed, powerful enough to slice off the Ten-Tails' tails in another era.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Crack, crunch!

Flying through the air, the Kamui shuriken annihilated several of the wood dragons Senshi had summoned. But the shuriken themselves were burning out quickly, and with Senshi calling up more dragons to swarm Obito, the onslaught only got fiercer. Soon Obito's Susanoo found itself bound and ensnared by multiple dragons.

That's when Senshi pulled the move Danzo had always wanted to pull on Konoha's "F3." Another towering wooden figure materialized in front of Obito's Susanoo, its large palm raised overhead, bearing a giant "seat" character. Obito tried to make his Susanoo throw more Kamui shuriken, but it was helplessly pinned by so many wood dragons.

Standing on the giant Buddha's head, Senshi looked down at Obito and said, "Head-Pats no Jutsu!"

He activated Kakuan's Tenth Edict on Enlightenment Palm, about to slap it onto Susanoo's crown. But before he could seal Obito, Madara saved the day by using Susanoo's best trick:

"Yasaka Magatama!"

Several enormous magatama projectiles hurtled in from afar, forcing the wooden giant's strike off-target. Then Madara locked onto Senshi and launched the same move again:

"Yasaka Magatama!"

Standing on the Buddha's head, Senshi didn't seem concerned. Once again, he clapped his hands.

"Wood Release: Wooden Shield!"

As the giant magatama zipped in, an enormous wooden shield with a fierce demon-face design rose in front of Senshi, absorbing Madara's attack completely.

Seeing the two had pretty much shown their hands, Senshi finally made his big move.

Clap!

"Top Transformed Buddha!"

Another Buddha statue emerged from atop the colossal Thousand-Armed statue's head. Under Senshi's direction, the massive construct unleashed a barrage of attacks on both Madara and Obito. Thousands of wooden fists filled the sky, raining down like a massive storm against their Susanoo forms from all directions.

Madara's Susanoo clones fell first, fracturing under the relentless pounding and ultimately shattering to bits. Obito and Madara were left barely hanging on, but they had no time to catch their breath before Senshi pulled another stunt.

Clap!

"Lightning Susanoo!"

Crackle!

Rumble…!

In a single moment, the sky turned dark. Lightning flashed wildly, converging into a single point. The next second, the power of the Goro Goro no Mi manifested a gigantic Raijin figure with a golden trident, looming over Madara and Obito like a god of thunder.

Madara: (ΩДΩ)!!!

Obito: (ΩДΩ)!!!

Their minds went blank. Senshi's power was beyond anything they'd imagined. He could have simply combined True Several Thousand Hands + Top Transformed Buddha + Lightning Susanoo and put them away in one smooth combo. Yet he'd been playing around with Wood Dragon, Wooden Golem, and the like as if it were a game.

Whatever Madara thought, Obito himself was devastated. Madara still had Rinnegan abilities, but Obito no longer wanted to let him demonstrate any more "Uchiha True Power." Clearly, that "true power" still paled in comparison to Senshi.

Abandoning any idea of fighting on, Obito said to Madara, "Let's retreat. He's too strong. We can't beat him."

Madara's face grew stormy and grim. Before the fight started, he'd never imagined this outcome. Realizing there was no choice, Madara nodded, and Obito activated Kamui to make their escape together.

"Hold it!"

Seeing Obito prepare Kamui to flee with Madara in tow, Senshi called out lazily from atop the gigantic Buddha's head.

Hearing his voice, Obito paused. Senshi had used a space-time jutsu not long ago to appear in their underground stronghold. That alone proved Senshi could track them somehow.

Even if at the time he'd only locked onto Naruto's position, he'd also battled Madara and Obito up close for quite a while since, plenty of time to place a space-time mark on them. They couldn't outrun him now.

Sure enough, Senshi's next move confirmed Obito's suspicions: with a single gesture, he teleported the unconscious Naruto from the underground chamber straight into his grasp.

Obito and Madara's faces turned sour—this era of "special eye powers" had ended before it even began. Whether Mangekyō Sharingan or Rinnegan, none of it mattered in front of that Kāma brand.

Obito quietly asked Madara, "You got any other moves left?" After all, Senshi was the strongest of their era, while Madara was the strongest of the Warring States. Surely Madara couldn't be completely helpless.

Madara replied in a low voice, "I could still use some of the Rinnegan's powers, but it'd be pointless against him."

What he didn't say was that if he'd known how crazy things were outside the Pure Land, he would've stayed put until Senshi died of old age.

But that wasn't an option anymore, nor had Black Zetsu advised delaying his resurrection if circumstances seemed unfavorable. Now he had no choice but to get through this somehow or end up back in the afterlife.

Seeing Madara so resigned, Obito felt deep regret. If he'd known, maybe he should have revived someone like Uchiha Tajima instead—maybe that was the true "Uchiha power." Snark aside, Obito leaned over and whispered, "So what now?"

Madara shook his head. "It's not our call."

Clearly, Senshi alone would decide their fate.

While Obito and Madara felt massive pressure and dread over their future, Senshi remained perfectly calm. He'd realized earlier that Madara and Obito could be used both to generate missions and to complete them.

They each had their own plans—plans which conveniently furthered the "Black Zetsu Commission." Eventually, one of them would be sacrificed to resurrect Kaguya.

In the meantime, both of them would need to buy Tailed Beasts from him if they wanted to keep pushing forward. Senshi could barely count how many times he'd effectively "won."

Brightening at the thought, Senshi called out to them with a cheerful grin. "Relax, you two. You know the rules. I'm a peace-loving mercenary who puts jobs first. The more peaceful the ninja world is, the more missions come my way—so naturally, I'm not into pointless violence."

Obito inwardly seethed at how ridiculous that sounded—Senshi was the most violent ninja in the world, in his opinion—but after that beating, he didn't dare say anything aloud.

Madara simply looked around at the destroyed environment—shattered cliffs and cracked ground—his silence making the point. But seeing Senshi was no longer attacking, Madara felt a glimmer of hope.

So he asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Senshi just smiled. "Me, Uzumaki Senshi? I'm not a fighter by nature. I prefer settling things peacefully. You two aren't my mission targets, so I've got no reason to hassle you. Plus, to achieve your goals, sooner or later you'll need to work with me—since you're after the Tailed Beasts that I happen to control."

Obito: (O_O)???

Madara: (O_O)???

What was going on? That was a big flip in attitude. But the point was clear: if no one had paid Senshi to go after them, he wouldn't lift a finger for free. Which, in a way, worked out—they'd remain alive until perhaps someday someone hired Senshi for their heads.

What truly confused Obito and Madara was that Senshi seemed to propose collaboration. But how? Their plan involved the Nine-Tails, whose Jinchuriki was Senshi's own disciple. Extracting the beast would kill him. How could they cooperate on that?

Compared to Obito, Madara thought more deeply. White Zetsu's intel indicated Senshi's motto was "mission first, everything else second." That might mean there was still room to negotiate about the Tailed Beasts. A spark lit in Madara's eyes: times had changed, and it was foolish to rely on his Warring States mindset.

With renewed optimism, Madara said, "Senshi, are you suggesting we could hire you—via a formal mission contract—to get the Tailed Beasts for us?"

Obito was screaming internally, Are you dreaming? There's no way it's that easy. But before he could finish that thought, Senshi, grinning, replied, "See, Madara-bro, you've got a real head for this. The ninja world isn't all about violence. It's about commissions and missions."

Madara didn't wholeheartedly agree with Senshi's worldview yet, but as long as communication was possible, that was progress.

He'd seen enough of Senshi's power by now to know Senshi could absolutely kill them if he wanted. So better to play along and get past this crisis first.

After mulling it over, Madara asked carefully, "But just earlier, we were at each other's throats. Won't that affect our ability to work together?"

Senshi nodded emphatically. "There are no eternal enemies, no eternal friends—only eternal commissions and missions."

That clicked for Madara. This was a man driven by profit, not a bloodthirsty killer. Senshi was all about maximizing benefits, not murder for murder's sake.

With Senshi, 'friend' or 'enemy' could shift at any time, depending on what there was to gain. Take Orochimaru, for instance; in Senshi's eyes, he was in a superposition of "friend" and "foe."

Which side Senshi took depended on whether Orochimaru had work for him.

Realizing Senshi's stance, Madara relaxed—this crisis seemed to be winding down. If he could handle the matter of "tasks," they might walk away unscathed. Considering Senshi's style and his own plan, Madara asked, "Senshi, can we hire you to collect all the Tailed Beasts?"

That made Senshi's eyes light up. This was on a bigger scale than he'd imagined—meaning big money, big hire-points. He answered without hesitation, "Absolutely! As long as the commission's sufficient, I'll bag every Tailed Beast for you. Why fight over a handful of beasts yourself? It's so tedious. Plus, your own success rate might be iffy. Why waste your time and energy when you can just pay me to solve all your problems in one shot?"

Madara was seriously tempted. This was a new era of "missions over everything," where money trumped both power and cunning. As the former leader of the Uchiha, he had stashed away a sizable nest egg before leaving his clan. It'd gone unused for ages.

Now, it might be just what he needed. No resource is ever truly wasted; it just has to be applied in the right place.

Madara adapted to the new rules lightning fast, while Obito stood there totally dumbfounded, feeling like all his previous efforts were a joke.

He'd carefully orchestrated chaos in Amegakure, grabbed Nagato's Rinnegan at a crucial moment, weighed his options before reviving Madara, then teamed up to fight Senshi—and now Madara and Senshi were on the verge of shaking hands for a business deal?! Obito felt like the real clown here.

Meanwhile, Senshi, oblivious to Obito's inner turmoil, was thinking about how to "seal the deal" with Madara—namely, how to push some Tailed Beasts off his surplus inventory.

He recalled how Hashirama had practically begged the other four Kage to buy his leftover Tailed Beasts in the old Five Kage Summit. As Senshi amused himself imagining that scene, Madara was pondering how to actually collaborate with him.

From Madara's viewpoint, other beasts might be simple enough to handle—but the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki happened to be Senshi's student. Admitting he wanted the Nine-Tails might provoke Senshi. Yet they needed the Nine-Tails for the Eye of the Moon Plan. That put him in a bind.

Luckily for Madara, he wasn't aware of a certain "Tailed Beast Partition (Extraction?) Jutsu," which would allow the Tailed Beast to remain usable while the Jinchuriki survived. That level of technique was practically a medical miracle in the ninja world.

But across from him, Senshi misread the tension in Madara's expression as a worry over whether Madara still had enough money—maybe he didn't have the funds to hire him.

Senshi told himself to assume Madara was good for it until proven otherwise. Surely, if Madara had walked out on the Uchiha, he wouldn't have left all his cash behind.

If the funding worked out, the next question was Nagato. Though Senshi had a surplus of Tailed Beasts, they were still in demand throughout the ninja world—each village wanted one to form its own Tailed Beast weapon, and the Akatsuki once wanted them to scare the entire world.

But now that Amegakure had more or less absorbed the smaller countries, forging alliances near and far, making everyone "feel pain" wasn't exactly viable anymore. With no continuing demand from Akatsuki, the last best buyer might be Madara himself.

Senshi wasn't about to forcibly seize Tailed Beasts from the Five Great Nations and then charge them a ransom—that'd come off like kidnapping, not legit mercenary work. They'd certainly boycott him.

Which meant if Akatsuki had no new Tailed Beast orders and the Five Kage were off-limits, Madara was indeed the only remaining big customer. If he didn't buy them, Senshi's "stock" would go unsold.

Coming to that conclusion, Senshi took on a serious, businesslike air and fixed his gaze on Madara, ready to negotiate terms for their collaboration.

~~~

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