With Obito's rebirth, the altar could no longer withstand the strain—it collapsed with a thunderous crash.
Obito stood in mid-air on the altar. After breaking through to the Six Paths realm and obtaining the Rinnegan, he also gained the basic ability of a strong person: "flight."
"You did it, Obito!"
Black Zetsu's voice trembled with excitement as he gazed at the man floating before him.
Obito quietly felt the energy coursing through his body. The pale violet Rinnegan glowed with a ghostly blue brilliance.
Yes… he had done it.
After enduring endless torment and suffering, he had surpassed the limits of shinobi and become something akin to the Sage of Six Paths. Yet, inside, he felt no elation, no surge of joy—only a lingering sadness and emptiness.
If he had wielded this strength back in Higashimatsuyama… Rin and Kakashi would still be alive.
But the world offered no medicine for regret. There were no do-overs. This filthy, dark, and ugly world was cruel beyond measure.
Now that he had lost everything, the only thing left to him… was the thing of least value.
Power.
"This world… it needs me to change it. It needs me to cleanse it. Only when a dream of beauty descends upon reality can true peace be achieved!"
"Yuki Yoru, the Five Great Nations—it doesn't matter. Everything, and everyone, that dares to stand before me must be purged!"
His words fell like judgment on the void. Slowly turning, Obito fixed his gaze upon a distant cliffside. He raised his palm.
"But first… let's start with you, watcher."
"Banshō Ten'in."
"What—?!"
An explosive gravitational pull erupted from Obito's palm. The once-empty cliffside warped and twisted, and from within the distortion a figure was dragged into the open: a man clad in dark-gray battle garb, his spiky yellow hair flaring wildly.
Though a mask covered his face, his startled voice betrayed his shock at being exposed.
And then—counterattack!
"Hadō #67: Thunder Fire!"
"Bakudō #62: Hyapporankan!"
"Bakudō #63: Sajo Sabaku!"
Mist burst forth with a surge of spiritual power, filling the air. Crackling arcs of lightning danced within the fog, lashing out toward Obito. At the same time, pillars of reishi light rained down, pinning themselves into Obito's body. Massive, serpent-like chains materialized from nothingness and coiled tightly around him.
After doing all this, the person's body quickly retreated, but in just an instant, Obito, who had been hit by his two Bakudō and one Hadō, appeared directly in front of him!
"Wh–what?!"
"Second Division Vice Captain. Former wielder of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen's Longsword: Nuibari, Kuriarare Kushimaru."
Obito looked down at Kushimaru from a high position. His indifferent Rinnegan seemed to be able to see through everything about Kushimaru: "Do you think you can escape?"
From beneath the pale mask, Kushimaru chuckled softly.
"Not only have your eyes evolved into the Rinnegan… you've even grown horns upon your head. So—you used a ritual to drive your bloodline ever closer to the Sage of Six Paths. An impressive method indeed, Uchiha Obito."
"So you Shinigami truly do know."
Obito sneered: "I don't care what that guy Yuki Yoru wants to do, or why he only promotes his so-called spiritual power when he has the power to overthrow the shinobi world, because none of it matters anymore!"
"You think you control everything—that the world itself will bend to your schemes. But now… you'll pay the price for your arrogance and conceit. And you…" his voice dropped to a vnomous edge, "will be the first Shinigami to die by my hand!"
"Tch, tch…"
Kushimaru held the Zanpakutō in his hand. His Zanpakutō seemed to have already been released. It was not the usual Asauchi form but looked like a long spear.
This was probably why he was able to hide on the cliff, conceal his aura and whereabouts, and evade the detection of the White Zetsu.
"I may be a nobody back in the Soul Society… but if I let myself get killed here, Jūzō Biwa and the others would laugh themselves to death."
"So…"
Spiritual pressure howled outward from Kushimaru's body, his aura swelling to explosive heights in an instant.
"Bankai!"
"What?"
Black Zetsu's brow furrowed in disbelief. According to their intelligence, Bankai was supposed to be exclusive to Captain-class Shinigami. Yet this man—just a Vice-Captain—had achieved it as well?
Kushimaru's spear-like Zanpakutō thinned and elongated as it transformed, now resembling the long sewing-needle blade he once wielded among the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. Its razor tip gleamed coldly, tethered by a fine steel wire coiled around his wrist. In that instant, Kushimaru's reiatsu surged to its peak.
With a flick, he cast forth the blade in its Bankai form. Driven by his spiritual power, the Zanpakutō—Chishin ("Blood Needle")—shot through the air like a spear or harpoon, streaking toward Obito in the sky.
"So this is your Bankai? How laughable, Kushimaru."
Obito was expressionless. The moment it came at him, a fierce repulsive force burst from his body, repelling the blade far away.
Kushimaru sneered, ignoring Obito's mockery. He moved quickly while continuously chanting.
"Carriage of thunder, gap of the spinning wheel, divide this light into six!"
"Bakudō #61: Rikujōkōrō!"
"Wall of iron sand, pagoda formed of monks, glowing hot steel, silent in its resolve—stand firm!"
"Bakudō #75: Gochūtekkan!"
One after another, Bakudō was unleashed by Kushimaru as if they were free.
The light prison and iron pillars bound Obito's body. Obito's face showed ridicule, but at that moment, the blade that had been repelled did not fall to the ground after the repulsive force oo Shinra Tensei dissipated. Instead, it shot toward Obito again.
In the instant that the Bakudō sealed Obito, a powerful impact came from behind him, followed by a sharp pain that surged from his chest!
Obito's face showed obvious shock and disbelief. He looked at the blade that had pierced through his chest in disbelief: "How is this possible?! When?!"
Kushimaru's cold laugh cut the silence.
"My Blood Needle is not as simple as you imagined."
At his will, the Zanpakutō tore its way free from Obito's chest, hovering like a living thing beside its master. Then, without pause, it lunged again—aiming straight for Obito's skull.
One strike—clean and piercing.
No grand explosion, no dazzling flash.
Uchiha Obito's head was pierced clean through, as if it were nothing more than a target. Blood and pale matter trailed into the air before his skull dropped limply, his life-force rapidly fading.
But Kuriarare Kushimaru did not relax. His gaze snapped immediately onto Black Zetsu. According to Soul Society's intelligence, this creature was the true problem.
"You—"
"Pshhh!"
Before he could act, an indescribable agony tore through his chest.
"Wh—what…?"
Kushimaru lowered his head in disbelief, looking at the tip of the Yin-Yang Staff that had pierced through his chest, just like how his own Blood Needle had pierced through Obito's body moments ago.
Obito Uchiha, who had clearly been killed, appeared behind Kushimaru completely unharmed and, in turn, launched a fatal attack on Kushimaru.
"Do you think I don't know about your Shinigami's bizarre abilities? Did you think I was some brainless idiot like Nagato to fight you without knowing your release abilities?"
Obito leaned forward slightly, his voice cold, laced with mocking derision.
"Control at will. Indestructible thrusts. Waiting in the shadows to land a killing strike… your Zanpakutō truly does suit you, Kushimaru of the Seven Swordsmen."
"But unfortunately… this ends here."
The staff broke through his body. Kushimaru's body did not fall to the ground like an ordinary person. Instead, it began to fall apart like broken building blocks. Then, his entire body seemed to turn into spiritual dust and scattered everywhere, sparsely sprinkling into the rolling waves below.
This Yin-Yang Staff was not an ordinary weapon. It was a powerful Yin-Yang Release creation, and it also contained the power of the Six Paths within Obito's body.
Being hit by this kind of weapon, even a Shinigami's body would be unable to resist. If a fatal wound was caused by this weapon, death was certain!
"If I kill him outright, Yuki Yoru will probably sense it…"
Black Zetsu's gaze lingered on Obito's eyes. Despite Kushimaru's seemingly lethal chain of attacks, he had felt no fear. He knew well that Obito had multiple Sharingan transplanted within him. Even if the Shinigami had exploited Obito's temporary lapse in using Kamui, there was always Izanagi to erase fatal damage.
Yet—at that crucial instant—he hadn't sensed the distinct Yin chakra fluctuation of Izanagi.
That could only mean one thing.
"Is it a unique dōjutsu hidden within those Rinnegan…?" Black Zetsu speculated darkly.
Obito's expression was calm, his gaze steady.
"This was always a war. What you saw just now… was merely the opening signal."
Having stepped into the Six Paths realm, proclaiming himself the "Second Sage of Six Paths," his fear of Yuki Yoru had vanished completely. What remained was a single resolve—to erase Yoru and the decaying Five Great Nations from existence.
Black Zetsu blinked, then asked in a low tone:
"So what will you do? March straight into Kirigakure?"
Obito shook his head.
"No—that would be idiotic. My ultimate goal is still the Eye of the Moon. For that, the Ten Tails is indispensable. The Tailed Beasts remain our primary objective."
"But before that…"
Obito quickly performed hand signs. While activating a certain 'Madara Uchiha's chakra,' he slammed his right hand onto the ground.
"POOF!"
The sea wind swept aside the summoning smoke, revealing the monstrous, grotesque visage of the Gedo Statue.
Seeing the giant, Obito finally exhaled, a smile flickering across his face.
Everything was in place.
"Yuki Yoru… just you wait!"
...
The Pure Land.
With the rise of Yuki Yoru's influence spreading across the entire shinobi world, the number of wandering souls entering the Pure Land had steadily declined over the years. Yet for the sake of balance, the Sage of Six Paths and his brother had endured in silence, observing the living realm without interference.
But at this moment, both brothers simultaneously lifted their heads, gazing toward the dim, gray heavens.
"Someone has stepped into the realm of the Six Paths," Ōtsutsuki Hamura murmured. His expression darkened. "That was never part of your design, was it, Brother? If he were to turn against Indra or Asura, your grand plan could unravel into chaos."
Hagoromo's brows furrowed as if in deep thought—or perhaps in the act of sensing. After a long silence, his stern features softened into a calm resolve.
"The chakra carries a familiar echo," Hagoromo replied evenly. "One of Indra's descendants. To reach such heights… not an easy feat. But no—his intent is not toward Indra or Asura, even if their reincarnations have yet to fully mature."
Hamura's eyes narrowed. "You mean Yuki Yoru?"
His voice carried unease, and he shook his head. "You know what I fear, Brother. A man who has transcended the boundary of life itself—one who has touched the Six Paths—can perceive truths hidden from ordinary mortals. If Yoru also becomes aware of our design… if she, together with those reincarnations, were to disturb even the faintest shadow of Mother's existence…"
For Obito might have only just breached the threshold, but the Six Paths were the Six Paths. To step onto that plane was to wield chakra beyond mortal comprehension. And with such power, even one who was not a fool would inevitably sense fragments of truths best left veiled.
Hamura himself had little interest in his elder brother's schemes. His desires lacked Hagoromo's intensity; beyond his faith, there was only one being he cared for—his mother.
Hagoromo's grip tightened on the Sage's Staff. His voice was steady, resolute.
"Through my chakra, I can see clearly. His heart is fixed upon Yuki Yoru, and apart from that, a lingering obsession with a certain girl… her soul, after all, rests in my keeping."
He went on, tone firm and certain:
"Even if he should glimpse fragments of the truth, there is no need for alarm. The seal we laid is absolute. What he wields now is borrowed power, breaking mirrors with outside force—but he cannot shake our seal. Unless the Ten-Tails is fully revived and the God Tree itself summoned into this world, Mother will remain beyond his reach."
"…Perhaps," Hamura muttered, clearly unconvinced. His words trailed off into a sigh. Looking at his brother's unshaken confidence, he held back further argument.
He could only hope—pray—that everything truly remained within Hagoromo's grasp.