'Boom!'
The final gate located at the heart opened, as though every Chakra pathway in Seiryū's body had been unblocked.
His Chakra erupted violently, and the original blue Chakra aura turned blood-red.
The surging Chakra generated fierce winds that swept across the surroundings.
The power coursing through his body was accompanied by a stinging pain that spread through every part of him.
Seiryū used Kaidō to suppress the pain, while the pain tolerance he had developed through training also took effect.
"Let me see how strong you are."
The corners of Seiryū's lips curled upward. He raised his hand and threw a punch.
The overwhelming force struck the air, compressing it into a pillar that roared forward.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Madara stood proudly on the battlefield, his eyes slightly narrowed.
He raised one hand and released a powerful repulsive force that swept forward in a fan-shaped wave.
'Boom!'
The two attacks collided in midair like crashing meteors.
Amid the deafening roar, the earth cracked and split apart. Shockwaves swept across the area, leaving everything within a hundred meters in ruins.
"Not bad. You were defeated by this attack before, but you are stronger now."
Seiryū's voice seemed to come from both near and far.
He tore through the surrounding shockwaves and rushed forward like a streak of red lightning, instantly closing the distance between himself and Madara.
He threw another punch, taking advantage of Shinra Tensei's brief interval between uses.
A massive air cannon formed from the force of his fist and descended upon Madara.
"Roar!"
Amid a thunderous roar, the Rinnegan glowed, and a deep-blue Susanoo emerged.
The half-body Susanoo raised its fist and struck forward, colliding head-on with the incoming air cannon.
Once someone had awakened Susanoo, the Dōjutsu became engraved into their body and soul as part of their Kekkei Genkai.
Even if their eyes transformed, or they possessed only one eye or no eyes at all, they could still activate Susanoo.
'Boom!'
Susanoo shattered the air cannon with a single punch.
The resulting winds split around Madara and swept past him from both sides without affecting him.
"Compared to more than two years ago, you do not seem to have improved very much. I am curious about what happened to you."
Madara kept his gaze fixed on Seiryū, his tone calm and composed.
He was curious about what Seiryū had experienced during the past two years.
With Madara's insight, he could naturally see that Seiryū had not changed much.
Neither his appearance nor his strength differed greatly from more than two years ago.
It was as though those two years had left no trace on him.
With Seiryū's talent, it was impossible for him to have improved so little over such a long period.
What had happened to him?
"An accident occurred, and I was trapped for more than two years. Otherwise, I probably could have taken you down with one punch."
Seiryū seemed to be adjusting to the power of the Eight Inner Gates Formation and was in no hurry to attack again.
Having used it once before, he was now far more proficient at controlling the power of the Eight Inner Gates Formation.
Only power that could be controlled steadily could be used to its fullest potential.
Seiryū was a perfectionist and cared greatly about such things.
Hearing this, Madara replied calmly, "Your talent is the greatest in the shinobi world, but two years is not a long time. No matter how much you improved, there would still be a limit. At most, you would have caught up to Hashirama and me."
"Power gained by forcibly opening the Eight Inner Gates Formation cannot be considered your true strength."
"Huh? Are you joking?"
Seiryū was amused and replied mockingly, "Opening the Eight Gates does not count as my strength, but relying on the Rinnegan counts as yours?"
Madara looked down at Seiryū, his tone remaining calm.
"My point is, how long can you maintain this state?"
He naturally knew about the Eight Gates.
Opening the Eight Inner Gates Formation forcibly increased one's strength at the cost of one's life.
Although Madara did not know how Seiryū had avoided the fatal consequences, one thing was certain.
This state could not last forever.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
As he spoke, Madara brought his hands together and used Wood Style.
The earth began to tremble as countless trees erupted from the ground, forming a vast forest that surged toward Seiryū.
The advancing forest carried overwhelming momentum as it crushed everything in its path.
"Hadō #78: Zangerin!"
Seiryū drew a Chakra sword with his right hand and unleashed a jagged flying slash.
Although Wood Style was extremely durable, the trees were easily severed by the sharp attack.
However, the branches seemed endless and continued surging toward Seiryū.
The earth shook violently wherever they passed, and their momentum was astonishing.
"Serious Punch: Dragon Fist Burst!"
Seiryū's eyes shone brightly as the blood-red aura around his body surged.
He raised his right arm and punched the space in front of him.
'Boom, boom, boom!'
A punch delivered while using the Eighth Gate: Gate of Death was even more powerful and terrifying.
The dragon-shaped force of the blow swept forward, destroying everything in its path and carving a long trench through the battlefield.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Sensing the immense threat contained within the attack, Madara's Rinnegan glowed.
He raised one hand and released a powerful repulsive force that distorted the surrounding air.
'Rumble!'
The two fierce attacks collided with a deafening roar.
The earth seemed to be torn apart by a pair of invisible hands as enormous cracks spread across the ground.
Powerful shockwaves swept outward, forcing the Konoha shinobi to retreat.
Everything had happened too quickly.
Ryota had awakened the Rinnegan. Madara had appeared and transplanted the Rinnegan into his own eyes. Seiryū had opened the Eight Inner Gates Formation, and the battle had begun.
Excluding the brief exchange between the two, less than a minute had passed.
Yet even the aftermath of their battle was difficult for the others to withstand, making it almost impossible for them to approach.
"The Eight Inner Gates Formation. Seiryū can actually use it? Damn it, does that kid not understand the price of this Taijutsu?"
Jiraiya's expression was solemn and serious, and his eyes were filled with concern.
Duy had once opened the Eight Inner Gates Formation.
Although it had granted him incredible power for a brief period, the price had been his life.
If Tsunade had not studied Hina's unusual constitution and modified Creation Rebirth: Strength of a Hundred Technique so that it could barely be used on someone else, Might Duy would have truly died.
Even though Duy had survived, his injuries had been so severe that he could only remain in bed.
To put it bluntly, he was already crippled.
Now Seiryū had opened the Eight Inner Gates Formation as well.
His actions were far too extreme.
Tsunade never took her eyes off Seiryū.
After hearing Jiraiya's words, she replied, "Do not worry about him. His Medical Ninjutsu is very unusual and can prevent the Gate of Death from killing him."
Tsunade frowned, troubled by the situation before them.
"For now, we should think about how to handle the situation in front of us."
The others were surprised by Tsunade's words.
They were no longer unfamiliar with the Eight Gates.
Seiryū could actually avoid the fatal consequences of opening the Gate of Death?
He truly was a monster.
However, Tsunade was right.
Their immediate concern was how to respond to the current situation.
Madara, now possessing the Rinnegan, was even stronger than the Madara who had once swept across the shinobi world.
Such a threat could not be ignored.
Minato looked toward the battle, his expression determined but his tone somewhat helpless.
"Even the aftermath of their attacks makes it difficult for me to approach. This is no longer a battle that ordinary shinobi can participate in."
Sakumo said, "The only ones among us who could participate are Hokage-sama and Nagato. However, if they join the fight carelessly, would they interfere with Seiryū instead?"
Everyone who had come was among Konoha's strongest shinobi, but the gaps between them were still considerable.
Tsunade could use Sage Mode and Wood Style, while Nagato possessed the Rinnegan.
Their strength far surpassed that of the others.
If anyone could participate in the battle between Seiryū and Madara, it would be those two.
However, joining the battle might hinder Seiryū instead.
Fugaku clenched his fists.
Compared to those two, his Mangekyō Sharingan felt extremely weak.
He would probably be overwhelmed with ease.
Was the difference truly that great?
Tsunade frowned.
"Are we supposed to do nothing but watch?"
"I can interfere with Madara to some extent," Nagato said.
"However, whether it is Chakra, combat experience, or mastery of the Rinnegan, he surpasses me. I do not know how much help I can provide."
After Nagato spoke, everyone fell silent.
Just as they were hesitating, Seiryū's voice sounded directly inside their minds.
"If you have nothing else to do, deal with Ryota and Black Zetsu. Capture them. Even if you cannot capture Black Zetsu, do not allow Ryota to escape."
Black Zetsu was a dangerous schemer and a hidden threat.
Ryota was also connected to Seiryū's system mission, so he did not want either of them to escape.
Leaving them to Tsunade and the others was the perfect solution.
The voice that suddenly sounded inside their minds stunned everyone.
They exchanged glances and saw the same reaction on each other's faces.
Clearly, they had all heard Seiryū's words.
Tsunade raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of Jutsu is this? He can actually speak directly into our minds?"
She could be considered the person most familiar with Seiryū.
However, even she had not known that Seiryū possessed this kind of communication technique.
Was this not similar to the Yamanaka Clan's secret mind-transmission Jutsu?
Jiraiya looked toward Ryota, who had retreated to another position.
"Black Zetsu? Is that black creature another unusual life-form? It was able to control Ryota earlier, so it clearly is not ordinary."
Minato said, "We cannot participate in the battle over there. We should deal with the remaining threats first."
Black Zetsu's perception was extremely sharp.
It controlled Ryota's body and looked toward them, an evil smile appearing on its black face.
"It seems we have been targeted."
Madara's Three-Tomoe Sharingan had been transplanted into Ryota's eyes.
However, Ryota still found himself unable to regain control of his body.
He could not help asking coldly, "You. What exactly are you?"
Black Zetsu smiled sinisterly.
"I am merely Madara-sama's will."
Black Zetsu was extremely excited.
The Rinnegan had been born again, which meant its plan could continue.
Although the Eight-Tails had been killed again, no one knew how long it would take to resurrect.
However, Black Zetsu had made other preparations.
Edo Tensei.
As long as the technique was refined enough, someone resurrected through Edo Tensei could possess power comparable to what they had in life.
During the chaos in Konoha, Black Zetsu had secretly entered the Konoha Cemetery and located the remains of the former jinchūriki, Uzumaki Mito.
It had extracted some of Mito's flesh and blood, which could be used as a medium for Edo Tensei.
It also possessed flesh and blood from the Eight-Tails' jinchūriki, Killer B.
There was still a way to obtain the Chakra of the remaining two Tailed Beasts.
It might still be possible to revive the Ten-Tails and resurrect Mother.
The only uncertainty was that Black Zetsu's Edo Tensei was not refined enough.
Although Madara also knew Edo Tensei, his version of the technique was also insufficiently precise.
As far as Black Zetsu knew, only one person had successfully improved Edo Tensei enough to restore a resurrected person's power to the required level.
That person was Orochimaru, one of the former Legendary Sannin.
Unfortunately, Black Zetsu had searched for him for a long time without discovering his location.
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Ryota's eyes spun as he gritted his teeth in anger.
"After using me, you still intend to control me? Even if I die, I will not let you succeed."
Ryota had never fully trusted Madara.
However, he had not expected Madara to have already placed a restriction on him.
Worse still, it was a restriction he could not escape.
Madara had also acted too quickly.
He had appeared immediately after Ryota awakened the Rinnegan and had torn the eyes from their sockets without hesitation.
Ryota felt humiliated and furious.
As a proud member of the Uchiha Clan, there was nothing he hated more than being used as someone else's pawn.
Black Zetsu chuckled playfully.
"Do not waste your effort. Everything about you is under my control."
"You possess such power because of us. Senju Hashirama's cells, Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan, the Chakra of the Zero-Tails."
"Everything you possess has been altered by me. Unless you still possessed the Rinnegan and could use it to break the restriction I placed inside you, there is no way for you to resist."
"You can only remain under my control."
"Now use the last of your strength and contribute to our plan."
After speaking, Black Zetsu forced Ryota to act.
At the same time, the Konoha shinobi also moved.
"Roar!"
Susanoo could be used with one eye or even without any eyes once it had been awakened.
Under Black Zetsu's control, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Ryota's eyes spun rapidly.
Amid a thunderous roar, a deep-blue half-body Susanoo emerged.
Although it was no longer as powerful as before, the Chakra it released was still formidable.
Even without the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Ryota still possessed an extraordinary collection of abilities.
An ordinary Kage-level shinobi would still be no match for him.
"Roar!"
Another roar sounded as a red half-body Susanoo emerged around Fugaku.
When Ryota and Madara had invaded Konoha, the Uchiha Clan had also suffered casualties.
The emotional shock from those losses had caused Fugaku to awaken his own Mangekyō Sharingan.
'Boom!'
One deep-blue and one red, the two Susanoo collided head-on.
A deafening roar shook the battlefield as waves of air rolled outward and shockwaves spread across the surroundings.
The battle on this side had also begun.
(To be continued.)
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