In Amegakure, beside a vast lake, Uchiha Fugaku sat on the soaked ground as a steady drizzle drenched his body.
He looked utterly miserable.
His body was covered in blood, so much that even the falling rain couldn't wash it away.
His eyes remained tightly shut.
He was completely blind.
There was nothing that could be done about it.
Uzumaki Kushina and Himeji had simply been too powerful. He wasn't a match for either of them alone, let alone both of them working together. Throughout the battle, all he had been able to do was endure relentless punishment.
Uchiha Fugaku had only one thought.
This is impossible...
If he hadn't used Chikara Shin to seal so many meteorites earlier, he would have died long ago.
Even then, escaping with his life had cost him dearly.
He had sacrificed two Sharingan, including his only Mangekyo Sharingan, to activate Izanagi.
Fortunately, none of that mattered anymore.
Once he became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, even his blind eyes would be restored instantly.
Before him stood the Gedo Statue.
Only its head protruded above the lake's surface, while the rest of its enormous body remained submerged beneath the water.
Uchiha Fugaku kicked the already-sealed Kinkaku and Ginkaku toward it.
The Gedo Statue opened its massive mouth and inhaled sharply, drawing the Nine-Tails' chakra out of the brothers.
After absorbing the final portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra, the tightly closed ninth eye of the Gedo Statue finally began to open.
The tailed beasts had to be sealed in order, from the One-Tail through the Nine-Tails.
Otherwise, even gathering all nine tailed beast chakras would not resurrect the Ten-Tails.
Now...
The chakra of all nine tailed beasts had finally been assembled.
"ROAR!"
The Gedo Statue let out a thunderous roar.
Its massive body trembled violently as all nine eyes snapped open simultaneously.
The chakra radiating from within it became even more violent, and its enormous form gradually began to transform.
At that moment, Uchiha Fugaku's expression suddenly changed.
His face turned deathly pale.
He abruptly lifted his head toward the Land of Fire and cursed through gritted teeth.
"Damn you..."
Before he could finish speaking, a black streak resembling a rainbow shot across the sky and crashed into the lake beside him.
The impact displaced nearly all the lake's water, sending it erupting outward like a gigantic blooming chrysanthemum.
The Uchiha Flame Formation surrounding the Gedo Statue didn't even last half a second.
It was pierced as effortlessly as paper.
Uchiha Fugaku's hands trembled violently.
Without the slightest hesitation, he abandoned the Gedo Statue, turned around, and fled.
His instincts screamed that if he didn't escape immediately, he wouldn't survive long enough to witness the Ten-Tails' resurrection.
Pouring every ounce of chakra into his body, he continuously enhanced himself with Lightning Release.
Driven by desperation, his speed exceeded even his normal peak by nearly thirty percent.
Perhaps this was the legendary power born from risking one's life.
Unfortunately...
It was meaningless.
A chilling killing intent locked onto his back.
Realizing death was closing in, Uchiha Fugaku rapidly formed hand seals, preparing to unleash a ninjutsu.
Before he could finish, the shinobi behind him grabbed his leg.
Hayashi smirked.
"Get back."
With a single motion, he swung Uchiha Fugaku high into the air before hurling him straight toward the violently churning lake.
Uchiha Fugaku had no chance to disperse the impact.
His back slammed into the water with an explosive crash.
At almost the exact same instant, Hayashi appeared beside him.
His fingers curled into claws as he seized Uchiha Fugaku by the head and drove him downward.
One standing.
One lying.
Together, they blasted through the lake and plunged toward its depths.
In the blink of an eye, Uchiha Fugaku's head and back smashed against the protruding big toe of the submerged Gedo Statue.
The toe shattered instantly under the tremendous impact.
Still gripping Fugaku's head, Hayashi raised his arm slightly before slamming him into the Gedo Statue again.
Uchiha Fugaku resembled a nail being hammered into stone.
Even then, Hayashi wasn't satisfied.
He pulled his arm back once more and drove Fugaku forward with another devastating strike.
The entire lake churned violently, boiling as towering waves erupted across its surface.
Uchiha Fugaku's skull and spine shattered completely.
From beginning to end, he never had the chance to utter a single word.
He died instantly.
Hayashi calmly returned to the surface.
"Weren't you planning to let him cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
A moment later, Uzumaki Kushina and Himeji appeared beside him.
Allowing Uchiha Fugaku to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki before forcing him to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi had been their original plan.
Compared to Six Paths Madara, Fugaku was far easier to control.
Had that not been the intention, Himeji would have killed him during their previous battle instead of allowing him to escape.
Neither of them had expected Hayashi to suddenly change his mind.
"I just killed Uchiha Madara."
Hayashi let out a quiet sigh.
"For some reason, I'm not in a very good mood."
"Since even Uchiha Madara never became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, I decided on the spot that Uchiha Fugaku should accompany him instead."
"That way, Madara won't be lonely on the road."
Himeji and Kushina accepted the explanation without much reaction.
Inside Kushina, however, the Nine-Tails stood with its arms crossed, practically cursing out loud.
It had wanted Madara dead for ages.
Hayashi ignored the Nine-Tails' silent complaints and continued.
"Even with Uchiha Fugaku dead, Black Zetsu will still find a way to resurrect Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
As soon as his words fell, a figure slowly emerged from beneath the ground.
It was Black Zetsu.
But it wasn't alone.
It had completely fused with White Zetsu, whose body was now entirely under Black Zetsu's control.
To resurrect Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, Black Zetsu had prepared four possible vessels.
Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Fugaku.
Uzumaki Nagato.
And itself.
Now that the first three were dead, it had no choice but to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki itself.
However, Black Zetsu possessed no true physical body.
As a creation born from Yin-Yang Release, it instead chose to merge with White Zetsu.
White Zetsu itself was a creation of the Gedo Statue and possessed Senju Hashirama's cells.
Black Zetsu had also preserved Madara's body through the Gedo Statue for many years, allowing it to obtain Indra's chakra as well.
It subsequently implanted Madara's cells into White Zetsu.
As a result, White Zetsu now possessed both Indra's and Ashura's power.
Its body was finally capable of containing the Ten-Tails.
Black Zetsu formed a series of hand seals.
The Gedo Statue gradually merged into the fused body of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.
"RUMBLE!"
Across the entire ninja world, every shinobi with sensory abilities instinctively looked toward the sky.
They all sensed the same overwhelming presence.
It was immense.
Oppressive.
Suffocating.
It felt like pure despair.
Finally...
The fusion was complete.
Black Zetsu emerged once more.
The chakra radiating from its body was unimaginably terrifying.
Its brown hair rapidly turned pure white.
Its chakra condensed into flowing white robes marked with black tomoe.
Black Zetsu slowly clenched one hand.
Without any visible source, black liquid appeared out of thin air.
The liquid quickly solidified into a black staff.
Grasping the staff, Black Zetsu looked down upon the world with an indifferent gaze.
Behind it, nine pitch-black spheres condensed into existence.
They floated in a perfect ring around its body.
At last, Black Zetsu smiled.
"Finally..."
"Finally, I can resurrect Mother."
Its laughter was carefree and innocent, like that of a delighted child.
Yet the cold, venomous malice within its eyes made the scene profoundly unsettling.