"What the hell is going on?"
High in the sky, Madara Uchiha stared at Obito frozen in place, disbelief written all over his face.
Whether Obito lived or died no longer had anything to do with him. If anything, he would have gladly strangled that bastard himself.
But the real problem was this:
The one who had struck was Black Zetsu!
Madara watched in utter disbelief as Black Zetsu suddenly emerged and rammed a hand straight through Obito's body.
He simply could not accept what he was seeing.
At first, his mind was full of question marks.
Why would Black Zetsu do this? How did it even possess such ability?
But then, in the next instant, he seemed to realize something.
"Hey, wasn't that thing supposed to be the consciousness entity you created?"
Hashirama Senju could not help asking in a low voice, his face equally grim.
"What's going on with him? Could he be…"
"Yeah. At this point, it looks exactly like that."
Madara's expression turned ugly, and he ground his teeth as he muttered coldly,
"That bastard must have played me for a fool. He's the shadow hiding around the Uchiha!"
Madara had always been a man of extreme arrogance.
He had spent his life plotting against the shinobi world, plotting against everyone.
To him, Black Zetsu had been nothing more than a slightly more advanced pawn—an existence born from his Six Paths Technique, a manifestation of his will.
Its role had only ever been to guide Obito Uchiha, make him follow the established plan, and ensure that Nagato would eventually revive him.
But now, it seemed the truth was completely different from what he had believed.
Even after reading the "Senju tree root" and learning of "the shadow lingering around the Uchiha," he had never once suspected Black Zetsu.
After all, in his understanding, Black Zetsu was something he had personally created.
But now…
Now it seemed he had been wrong.
Not just wrong, but absurdly wrong.
Black Zetsu had never been the pawn.
He was the one being played.
He had been Black Zetsu's pawn all along, led around by the nose?
"The shadow around the Uchiha…"
Hashirama pursed his lips as well. He had not expected the truth to be this.
That thing had always looked powerless. Even before Madara, it had acted meek and submissive. No one would have imagined it had been hiding itself so deeply.
But now, looking at everything, it all perfectly matched the warning carved into the Senju relic.
If it had not hidden itself so completely, how could it possibly have remained beside Madara Uchiha for so long?
"It hid itself incredibly well. And it probably set its sights on you from the very beginning. Everything you did was likely under its watch.
Otherwise, it never could have understood you so well—or disguised itself as your own will. What a terrifying creature."
"…"
Madara fell silent.
The more he recalled the past, the more he thought of that damned, tampered stone tablet, the more his rage surged to the heavens.
He truly wanted to rush over there and rip that bastard apart on the spot.
But reason told him he should not do that now.
After all, he had not fully revived. And his power did not seem to be at that level either.
"So what is it trying to do now? Cast the real Infinite Tsukuyomi?"
Hashirama still lowered his voice and asked.
"I don't know."
Madara shook his head. His eyes were locked on the scene ahead, but he could already guess this would not end well.
Obito Uchiha… was probably finished.
And yet…
If he had not stopped, then the one standing there now would have been him!
"That thing… the real mastermind… How utterly unbelievable."
Not far away, Tsunade stared at the scene before her in shock. No matter how she thought about it, she never could have imagined events would develop to this point.
And most unbelievable of all—
Ren had guessed everything right again!
"Still alive all this time… hiding away because it had no power… lurking beside Madara…"
Hikari muttered under her breath. She remembered Ren's words clearly.
"It all matches up one by one. How does he always guess so accurately?"
"This isn't even the first time. Honestly…"
Tsunade was shaken too, but she still could not help grumbling. Still, she quickly regained her focus and spoke seriously.
"I don't know why, but I have a feeling something huge is about to happen. How are you doing right now?"
"I'm perfectly fine."
Hikari answered calmly.
And she truly was in excellent condition.
She had absorbed quite a bit of chakra.
Though the vast majority had been sent into the Tenseigan, since she was drawing on its power to activate the technique, she had still retained plenty for herself.
Her chakra was full, her ocular power overflowing. Even after casting such a large-scale Yachihoko, she was in even better shape than before.
And she was fully prepared to fight at any moment.
"That's good…"
Tsunade nodded.
In the next moment, numerous figures arrived behind her.
She glanced back.
Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya were already in position. Kakashi, Might Guy, and a number of Uchiha shinobi had also reached the battlefield.
Naruto had finished his fight and made it over as well. Sasuke had arrived a little later, but he too was ready.
And not only them—Konoha's other combat units had all gathered, while the forces of Kirigakure and Sunagakure had also reached the scene.
"The two of you are ready too, right?"
Tsunade turned toward not-too-distant Temari? No—toward Pakura and Mei, who were leading their respective forces into position.
"Of course."
"Don't worry. We've been ready."
Pakura and Mei answered without hesitation, and Tsunade's gaze shifted forward.
"Then move out! This time, we end everything!"
"Wh-What exactly are you doing?!"
Beneath the Divine Tree, Obito clutched his chest, his entire body frozen. Black Zetsu's power was pouring into him without pause.
His face was filled with shock. He tried to turn and look at Black Zetsu, but at this point he could do absolutely nothing.
"Madara? Was it Madara who told you to do this?"
"Madara?"
Black Zetsu's hoarse voice rang out, and there was unmistakable contempt in it.
"Madara Uchiha has no right to order me around. And if you had listened to him, maybe none of this would be happening now."
Black Zetsu had bottled all this up for so long that it no longer seemed interested in pretending.
Though it did not know how things would end, it knew this was the only chance it had. Its eyes fixed firmly on Obito.
Its chakra continued pouring into Obito's body, to the point where Obito could barely force any words out at all.
"In truth, everything you ever saw was arranged by me.
And everything I have done was for this very day!"
"Wh… what are you even saying…"
Obito's speech was already breaking apart, but he still struggled to get the words out.
"What… what I saw… wasn't I creating… a world that belonged to me?"
"There was never any world that belonged to you."
Black Zetsu's rasping voice echoed again. Out of the corner of its eye, it had already noticed Ren flying slowly this way.
Though it had no idea what Ren intended to do, it sped up all the same.
"All of it was for one thing only:
To bring my mother back!
You, Nagato, even Madara Uchiha—you were all nothing but pieces on the board.
I endured for all these years for this very moment!"
"You…"
Obito was horrified.
He had never imagined he would hear such words.
By now, half his body had already been covered by Black Zetsu.
He could feel his will losing all control over his own flesh.
He could do nothing anymore.
"Do you know something? You were never even worthy of carrying this out."
Black Zetsu suddenly let out a sigh.
"Madara Uchiha was always the best choice. He was the number one candidate to execute Infinite Tsukuyomi.
But that bastard looked at the relic Hagoromo left to Asura and directly abandoned everything.
Do you know how despairing that left me?
And then there was you—only you still clung to this plan.
Though in my eyes you are a pitifully worthless thing, I had no other choice."
Madara was the first choice?
Worthless?
He had been deceived?
Obito wanted to speak, but he could not.
At this point, he could only feel his chakra being driven into a mad frenzy.
"To be honest, I truly find it tragic.
That I had to rely on trash like you to carry this out."
Black Zetsu's voice sounded again, while its eyes lifted to the heavens. At the same time, the gigantic Divine Tree roared as it rapidly poured into Obito's body.
"You were never worthy of carrying this out.
And with your incomplete power, what right did you have to do so?
But I have no room left to choose.
Now, all I can do is risk everything—and you willingly threw yourself into this role.
So now, you and I shall complete this final dance together!"
With Black Zetsu's furious roar, Obito let out a scream of agony.
"So even without Infinite Tsukuyomi, it's going to force the summoning?"
In the distance, Ren simply watched everything unfold, with no intention of stopping it.
To him, dealing with one enemy or two made little difference.
Besides, Kaguya had always wanted to break free of the seal.
And her distrust of humanity's ability to fight had always been extreme.
To her, only her own judgment mattered. Only her own methods could protect against the future retaliation of the Ōtsutsuki.
But clearly, her two sons—and Ren—did not agree.
Those two sons, after all, had chosen to trust humanity instead of allowing their mother to hang all people from the Divine Tree.
That was what had led to the earth-shattering war, and to Kaguya's sealing at the hands of her sons.
So Ren's idea was simple:
He wanted Kaguya to see that humanity could do this.
"Though her battle IQ isn't exactly high, she did eat the fruit and possesses Kekkei Mōra…"
If that kind of fighting power could be brought over to his side, naturally that would be best.
And even if it could not—
Naruto and Sasuke had still not yet obtained their proper "boosts," and both Hashirama and Madara also needed to truly understand the power of the Ōtsutsuki.
Watching was not enough.
Only by experiencing it personally could they grasp the gap involved.
So if Kaguya could not be talked into cooperation, then using her as a whetstone was hardly a bad alternative.
"The only question is whether Black Zetsu can actually pull it off."
Ren thought silently, though his eyes also drifted toward the heavens.
He could feel those Ōtsutsuki drawing nearer and nearer.
"What perfect timing. My warm-up is over too.
The rest depends on your performance."
While Ren was thinking this, Black Zetsu's power continued to pour in, and an enormous force in the sky was descending like fate itself.
"The seal… has weakened?"
Even Black Zetsu froze for a moment—then was overjoyed.
The seal weakening meant everything had become simpler!
It could handle matters much more easily now!
Feeling Obito's pain, listening to his screams, Black Zetsu spoke with excitement.
"Obito Uchiha, your mission is complete!
Though both you and Madara introduced flaws into my plan, it seems my luck is still not bad.
Even without the chakra of Infinite Tsukuyomi, the seal itself has developed a problem.
I still succeeded!"
Black Zetsu's original plan had indeed required Infinite Tsukuyomi.
The idea had been to absorb all chakra from the masses through Infinite Tsukuyomi and use that to strike back at the moon's seal.
Even opening a tiny crack would have been enough.
Its mother would have been able to descend through that crack into the body it had prepared.
But too many unexpected complications had arisen.
Infinite Tsukuyomi was no longer possible. Madara's betrayal had left the body in a catastrophically incomplete state.
Fortunately, however, the seal itself had failed, and even Obito's inferior body could now be used!
"What… what does that mean?"
Obito was in unimaginable pain, but he still forced the question out.
"The Moon's Eye Plan… Infinite Tsukuyomi… wasn't it supposed to create a peaceful world?
Why… why is all of this happening? Why?!"
"Because all of it was false."
Black Zetsu spoke smugly, sensing its mother's will beginning to awaken.
"Do you still not understand?
The tablet was real. Hagoromo really did leave it to the Uchiha.
But the contents were never necessarily true.
The Moon's Eye and Infinite Tsukuyomi were all words I added to it!
I waited for this day for so long. This is everything I ever wanted.
So stop daydreaming!"
At Black Zetsu's words, true despair finally appeared on Obito's face.
Even when Ren had beaten him until his mentality nearly broke, he had not looked this hopeless.
But now, he was truly in despair.
Everything he had worked for, everything he had done, had all been a lie.
How could he possibly accept that?
"There was never any world you longed for. Never any world you intended to create. It was all false."
Black Zetsu continued, stabbing straight through Obito's heart.
"But your efforts were not entirely meaningless. At the very least, I saw your persistence.
You severed your past, killed your own teacher, betrayed your comrades, and started a war across the shinobi world.
Though you are still an unqualified vessel, at least this was your one moment of glory.
You can become the vessel of the Chakra Progenitor, the Rabbit Goddess.
That can be considered your greatest achievement.
So enjoy it."
Obito's eyes had already grown dim.
At that moment, his heart had completely collapsed.
He gave up resisting.
His body rapidly swelled, turning into something like a grotesque lump of flesh.
But soon, that lump shrank again.
And along with an immense surge of chakra—
a strange woman with a pair of horns appeared on the ruined battlefield.
"A woman?"
"Who is that now?"
"What overwhelming chakra…"
The instant that woman appeared, the entire battlefield fell silent.
Truthfully, for the shinobi of this day—whether Konoha's allied forces or the alliance of Iwa and Kumo—the stimulation and shock they had endured had already reached absurd heights.
They had not only witnessed a true "battle of sages," not only experienced the combat power of legendary Six Paths-level beings from ancient times, but they had also felt the pressure of the legendary two gods of the shinobi world.
When those people fought, numbers became meaningless.
Their power crushed everything.
For the first time, all these shinobi truly understood just how terrifying chakra could become.
Those so-called "gods" had never been myths at all.
They were real.
They truly could shatter mountains and split the earth with a casual gesture. They truly could turn all things to silence with every movement.
And before such sages and gods, they themselves were nothing but insects…
Even the aftershocks of someone else's battle were enough to bury them without a grave.
So when another woman appeared out of nowhere, although everyone still found it strange, the emotional shock simply was not as strong anymore.
They had been tempered into numbness.
"Hey… that woman, could she be…"
Hashirama turned to Madara with a strange look. He seemed to have thought of something.
Madara naturally understood what he meant.
"Yes. Most likely the one recorded in both the tablet and the Senju relic—
the mother of the Sage of Six Paths and the ancestor of the Hyūga."
"The Rabbit Goddess."
Legends were no longer legends.
They had become realities standing in plain sight.
Not only the ordinary shinobi, but even Hashirama and Madara had accepted this. And compared to the others, their ability to accept it was far greater.
So when Kaguya appeared, although they were surprised, they did not show too much on their faces.
Madara, however, clenched his fists hard.
"So that was the truth. Everything was for the sake of summoning this woman.
So that's what Infinite Tsukuyomi really was!"
Having witnessed it all with his own eyes, having seen what happened to Obito—the substitute who would have taken his place—
Madara was not just cold with sweat.
His fury had reached an unimaginable level.
He had always wanted to use Infinite Tsukuyomi to create a peaceful world.
Yes, his method would have cast the entire world into illusion, but in his view, would that not also grant every person their own beautiful dream?
Would that not still be a form of peace?
At least in his mind, once immersed in illusion, war, slaughter, hatred, hunger, illness, and pain would all vanish in that instant.
But reality had been cruel.
He had been deceived like a clown.
Everything he had done had been part of a lie.
And if everything had gone smoothly—if there had not been a person like Ren interfering—
then he would not have been creating peace at all.
He would have destroyed the world with his own hands.
The moment he understood that, Madara's fists tightened completely.
That was absolutely not what he had wanted.
And he absolutely would not let this go!
"Hashirama. Want to go mad with me one more time?"
Suddenly, Madara asked in a low voice.
Hashirama, unsurprisingly the one who understood him best, replied immediately.
"You want to charge in? But aren't you worried about getting in Ren's way?"
"…"
Madara shot him a glare without answering, but his entire body was already coiled and ready.
Kaguya, meanwhile, still seemed to be feeling the sensation of having escaped the seal.
Yet her eyes immediately turned to Ren.
"A clansman… no. A Divine Tree?"
She murmured softly.
Clearly, she had already recognized that Ren was extraordinary.
"Who are you? Was the one who completed Kekkei Mōra on the moon the last time also you?"
"Who I am isn't important."
Ren shook his head. Then he suddenly lifted his gaze toward the heavens and smiled faintly.
"What matters is that you haven't noticed anything wrong with the current situation?"
Something wrong?
Kaguya slowly raised her head as well.
Naturally, she had already sensed it.
Or rather, the very thing she had always dreaded most had already quietly come to pass.
Above the sky, at some unknown point, three strange figures had appeared, looking down upon everyone from on high.
Their clothing, their appearance—it was all almost identical to Kaguya's and Ren's current state.
That terrifying aura spread without restraint.
Most importantly, the gaze with which they swept across all living beings was one of absolute indifference.
As if they had been born superior, and in their eyes all other life was no more than ants.
Like higher lifeforms looking down on lesser creatures.
"So they've finally arrived…"
Ren looked at the three figures and identified them at once.
Not only did he already know them from his own knowledge, he had also seen them through the Tenseigan.
"Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki, Urashiki… and Kinshiki."
"Kaguya. So you really did escape."
Suddenly, Momoshiki spoke in a cold voice.
"But perhaps you should explain why it is you who carries the fruit's power, and why you are the one left here.
And this strange fellow here clearly is not Isshiki's reincarnation either.
How interesting. He is a clansman, yet not. A Divine Tree, yet also entirely different.
What exactly are you?
Though in the end, it doesn't matter what you are.
This planet, and the life upon it… are truly extraordinarily valuable."
At those words, Kaguya's already cold face became even more severe.
To her, this land had long since become her own garden.
How could she allow others to come here and harvest it?
The problem was that all her preparations had long been destroyed.
She had no great army with which to oppose them.
And Infinite Tsukuyomi had not been completed, so she had no way to recollect all of her chakra.
She was the Progenitor of Chakra, and that title had never been arbitrary.
The chakra contained in every living being of the shinobi world fundamentally belonged to her!
If she were at full power, then even if she could not defeat them, she could at least preserve herself.
But now…
"Mother, don't entangle yourself with them."
At that moment, Black Zetsu's voice suddenly sounded beside Kaguya alone.
"Ren is powerful. Let him hold off those three for now.
He can consider it the price for taking your power.
We must immediately gather that chakra. If you restore enough of it, your odds of victory will rise tremendously."
"Gather chakra…"
Hearing Black Zetsu's words, Kaguya narrowed her eyes.
After thinking briefly and judging the current situation, she made her decision.
"Hmm?!"
Suddenly, chakra burst from her body, and an overbearing spatial force swept across the area.
Momoshiki, Urashiki, and Ren all reacted at once.
Dark folded space suddenly appeared.
And Kaguya rushed straight into it!
"Trying to flee?"
The three Ōtsutsuki let out cold snorts, while Ren's gaze shifted toward the distance.
He already knew what Kaguya was planning.
She had appeared above Konoha's formation.
Obviously, she intended to reclaim her chakra!
"What a pain…"
Ren raised a brow.
He almost immediately moved to pursue her—
but in that moment, Kinshiki had already charged out!
At the same time, Momoshiki and Urashiki blocked Ren's path, their eyes fixed firmly on him.
"The chakra from earlier… that was yours, wasn't it?"
Momoshiki stared at Ren the way one would size up prey.
Urashiki, meanwhile, wore a faint smile.
"What moving chakra. I imagine it would taste absolutely delicious."
"So your target is me."
Ren raised a brow.
Then he laughed softly and shook his head.
"But that's fine too.
After all…"
"I've been waiting for this for a long time!"
The moment Ren's words fell, chakra exploded wildly from his body.
A strange chakra storm silently began to gather around him.
Then, in the next instant, he vanished and reappeared behind the two.
"?!"
Such ghostly speed made both Momoshiki and Urashiki pause in surprise.
But as Ōtsutsuki—beings who stood above all life in this world like gods—they naturally reacted at once.
Their "base stats" were never weak.
Both of them immediately drew weapons.
"Die!"
Momoshiki instantly condensed a black staff and swung it down with a shrieking whistle.
"Hmph!"
Urashiki pulled out his fishing rod, its red chakra rapidly gathering.
"No teamwork at all."
Ren remained utterly calm.
He naturally knew that these Ōtsutsuki all preferred to fight alone.
The coordination between these two could only be described as clumsy.
Neither of them was even considering the existence of the other beside them.
That, naturally, gave Ren his opening.
With a simple sidestep, he evaded Momoshiki's attack. At the same time, the golden sword in his hand struck straight at Urashiki's fishing rod.
Boom!
The instant the two immense chakras collided, a shockwave as solid as matter burst outward.
A tremendous chakra storm swept across the ground.
Under the roar of that force, Urashiki immediately noticed cracks beginning to spread across his fishing rod.
"How is that possible?!"
This clearly exceeded his expectations.
Even though he had already sensed Ren's power from the sky earlier, facing it directly was an entirely different experience.
"This guy's strength and speed are strange. And his Kekkei Mōra seems stronger than expected!"
Even among the Ōtsutsuki, Kekkei Mōra was a highly coveted power.
Of course he knew the being before him possessed Kekkei Mōra.
But he had never imagined this fellow's Kekkei Mōra would be this powerful.
"It's almost as if he devoured multiple high-level life planets…"
"Urashiki's at a disadvantage. This guy's much stronger than expected."
Momoshiki naturally noticed it too.
But instead of worrying him, it only excited him further.
Ōtsutsuki were not permitted to kill one another. Kaguya's betrayal of Isshiki had been an unforgivable sin—that was one major reason she had always feared them so deeply.
But this being before him—this half-clansman, half-Divine Tree creature with Kekkei Mōra—did not fall under those restrictions.
If he devoured this man, the boost to his own power would be enormous!
He had never once considered the possibility that he might lose.
"You insect that stole the power of our kind—die!"
Momoshiki shouted and launched another attack at once.
Urashiki quickly repaired his fishing rod with chakra and followed up immediately.
In the blink of an eye, the three figures collided like streaks of light, and heaven and earth darkened!
With thunder-like explosions continuously sounding, wave after wave of near-solid pressure blasted in every direction.
Those shockwaves seemed to shatter the sky itself, ripping open black voids in space all around them.
Their speed was too fast.
In an instant, they were soaring into the heavens, diving into the earth, overturning rivers and seas!
Everything was obliterated by the aftershocks of their battle, instantly broken apart into dust and debris.
Compared to Ren's earlier battle with Obito, this clash had gone to an entirely different level.
It was fiercer.
It was crueler.
And this time, Ren seemed to have raised his own power to yet another tier!
Bang!
Suddenly, a dull impact sounded overhead.
In the next instant, one figure dropped from the sky.
Like a meteor, it crashed violently into the ground!
At that moment, a blinding mushroom cloud rose into the heavens, and the surging air current seemed ready to engulf the entire shinobi world.
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