As Tobirama sealed the Dragon Vein, Uchiha Madara reveled in the feeling of power that flooded his body.
Batch after batch of White Zetsu were being sacrificed under a forbidden technique that Orochimaru had custom-designed for Madara. With the assistance of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, they were being transmuted into vital life energy—rejuvenating his withered body!
Although the conversion rate was low…
If a single White Zetsu had 100 units of life force, only about 2 or 3 could actually be used to fill Madara's deficit.
But it didn't matter.
White Zetsu were like livestock—born to be cannon fodder. As long as the conversion wasn't zero, it didn't matter how many died.
They could always be made again.
"Just a little longer, Izuna! Once I reach my peak and awaken the Rinnegan, you'll see what kind of power I truly possess!"
Madara swept his arm grandly through the air, the Rinnegan in his eyes gleaming with brilliance.
"No one can defeat me!"
Uchiha Izuna listened with a gentle smile and nodded.
"I've always believed my brother is the strongest."
Looking at Madara in such prime condition, Izuna's heart was filled with satisfaction.
After learning of Madara's long-term plan to observe Kazuki and cultivate Obito as his proxy…
Izuna had instantly grasped the root of the issue—
It was aging that had made his brother so hesitant and insecure.
The pride and renown of days past had turned into a heavy burden, making Uchiha Madara too afraid to leap boldly into the shinobi world as he once had...
Instead, he now shrank back, seeking out a proxy.
Fortunately, Kazuki's rapid growth had inspired Madara, prompting him to take the first step: He used the Box of Ultimate Bliss to restore part of his body.
And after Uchiha Izuna was resurrected, he quickly perceived this and began coaxing and persuading Madara, making him believe he could return to his former peak.
Izuna was like a gentle whetstone, sharpening Madara's aged ambitions back into a deadly edge.
"Together, we are invincible!"
Madara let out a bold laugh.
"With Izuna by my side, the two of us brothers are undefeatable!"
Off to the side—
Uchiha Obito was fully absorbed in studying the life-force-based forbidden jutsu developed by Orochimaru.
It wasn't until the arrogant laughter of the Uchiha brothers disrupted him that Obito clicked his tongue in annoyance and scoffed coldly.
You two actually dare call yourselves undefeatable?
One of you was cut down by Senju Tobirama, and the other lost with the Nine-Tails against Senju Hashirama. And you call that 'invincible'?
"Do they think just because the Senju brothers are dead, they have no rivals left in the shinobi world? Ridiculous... I can't wait to see Madara's expression when he comes face to face with Senju Hashirama again—and Izuna's when he sees Tobirama."
Obito resumed studying the jutsu, the corners of his lips curling upward.
Holding an information advantage, Uchiha Obito was thoroughly enjoying the thrill of being the untouchable mastermind behind the scenes…
Sure, Madara was in excellent condition—but so what?
Over the past few days, Obito had noticed his own ocular power surging rapidly. Whether it was Susano'o or the activation of dual Kamui, both speed and intensity had grown by leaps and bounds!
The reason was simple: the special chakra given to him by Black Zetsu had awakened the full potential of his Uchiha bloodline—akin to Indra's chakra, but even more potent…
After all, Black Zetsu came from Kaguya's Yin-Yang Release.
The power it carried could pierce even the Sage of Six Paths–level physical body of Uchiha Madara. It far surpassed the worn-down and diluted chakra of Indra passed down over a thousand years—and came with active will and intention.
Unlike Asura and Indra's chakra, which only exerted subtle, gradual influence.
"So what if Uchiha Madara possesses the Rinnegan and a perfected body? Once they clash with Senju Tobirama, and I use Kamui to warp away the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path—what can Madara possibly do then?"
"Madara and Izuna say they're undefeatable?"
Obito murmured to Black Zetsu within him, "Rin, our team is the one that's truly unbeatable."
Black Zetsu nodded with a grin.
"That's right, Obito!"
Obito's words greatly pleased Black Zetsu—so much so that it no longer minded Obito's foolish obsession with helping Kazuki using forbidden jutsu.
After all, in Black Zetsu's view, none of that would ever come into play.
Once Kazuki's plans were disrupted, Black Zetsu would immediately tell Obito that Kazuki had been taken over by Senju Tobirama—and the only way to resolve it was for Obito to become the Ten-Tails jinchūriki…
If that happened, then once Kaguya regained the Ten-Tails and her overwhelming power, she would finally be able to break free from Kazuki's prison and conspiracy—and escape from the clutches of that terrifying older brother of his!
As for what would happen to Obito?
Black Zetsu promised it would plead with Kaguya to treat him as one of their own...
But what it didn't realize was—
Though Obito claimed he was doing all this for Kazuki, his deep understanding of Kazuki made it impossible for him to truly worry.
How could the strongest medical ninja in the shinobi world possibly lack forbidden jutsu more effective than Orochimaru's half-baked tricks?
All Obito needed to do… was help Kazuki break free.
Everything else, Kazuki could handle on his own.
Uchiha Obito was studying the forbidden jutsu of life force—for the sake of Uchiha Rin's survival.
He couldn't bear to go through another life-and-death farewell with her.
If it ever came down to only one of them being able to live, Uchiha Obito would unhesitatingly choose to let Rin—
But it wasn't just the shinobi of the ninja world advancing their respective schemes.
The Ōtsutsuki were on the move as well.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki had infiltrated Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure, using ocular power and techniques to control Rasa, the Third Raikage, and Ōnoki. Now, seated openly in the Raikage's office within the Cloud Village, he was taking inventory of the shinobi forces from all three villages.
"Mortals truly are worthless. I was initially worried that forcibly controlling them with dōjutsu would fail and expose my presence. If I had known it would be this easy, I might've started laying my plans a century earlier..."
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki muttered to himself.
Even he hadn't expected that the village leaders, who appeared to possess considerable resistance, would be so easily captured by his ocular techniques.
But what he didn't know was—
It wasn't that mortals were powerless. The current Isshiki, without having activated the Kāma state, could only wield a very limited portion of his original strength—barely enough to subdue any of the Kage.
Perhaps Rasa could be overwhelmed, but both Ōnoki and the Third Raikage were definitely capable of resisting.
But Kazuki had helped him...
Back when he granted the title of 'Three Surviving Shinobi' to those two men, Kazuki had, while they were in a state of extreme weakness, implanted a powerful genjutsu deep into their minds.
So—
While Isshiki believed himself to be the mastermind behind the scenes…
In truth, every move he made was clearly perceived by the supposedly 'controlled' Third Raikage, who acted like a living surveillance camera, relaying real-time information directly to Kazuki.
Meanwhile, in Konohagakure—
Toneri, who had quietly fallen under the control of Ōtsutsuki Hamura, arrived at the Hyūga Clan compound.
He wanted to see for himself: if the clan on the moon had ended in mutual slaughter, then what fate awaited the one on Earth?
Ōtsutsuki Hamura's timing couldn't have been more precise…
He had arrived just as Hyūga Hizashi, having rushed over from Kirigakure, pushed open the clan's gate—dust-covered and travel-worn—leading a group of branch family members.
...
"Sigh…"
Toneri—or rather, Ōtsutsuki Hamura—looked at the confrontation between the Hyūga main and branch families with a helpless shake of his head.
Always like this. Again and again!
Back on the moon, a similar conflict had broken out among Hamura's descendants. The branch family had sacrificed nearly all their members to gather the Byakugan into a single stone-like purple Tenseigan, which they then used to annihilate the main family—despite sharing the same bloodline.
Later, the surviving members of the branch family fused the Byakugan harvested from the main family's corpses into the purple Tenseigan, transforming it into a massive golden Tenseigan.
The golden Tenseigan not only possessed the power to move the moon itself but could also absorb chakra from those who lacked Hamura's bloodline.
"The branch family on the moon believed that the world my brother created was a mistake, and so they killed the main family who supported preserving the shinobi world's status quo…"
Ōtsutsuki Hamura concealed his presence with genjutsu and silently observed the farce being played out by his last remaining direct blood relatives, musing to himself: "Then in the shinobi world… what will the reason be this time?"
As he watched the scene unfold, Hamura was torn. Unlike his brother, the Sage of Six Paths, who had resolved to seal Kaguya without hesitation, Hamura's mindset had shifted over the past millennium…
Back then, they had treated Ōtsutsuki Kaguya with such violence—striking without even attempting proper dialogue. Was that truly the right thing to do?
And his brother's ninshū, built on the foundation of mutual understanding and intended to evolve into the shinobi world—was it really correct?
Looking over a thousand years of shinobi history, Hamura could not see even a hint of peace.
On the contrary, the seal on Kaguya was loosening more and more, and the unknown beings from beyond the heavens could descend at any moment—like a sword hanging over everyone's head, ready to fall at any time…
This was precisely why, after Kaguya broke free, he chose to possess Toneri and descend to the shinobi world in person.
Ōtsutsuki Hamura wanted to meet Kazuki.
He wanted to meet the extraordinary boy who, without the Rinnegan and without contact with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, had dragged Kaguya down from the moon—and sealed her again.
In Kazuki, Hamura seemed to glimpse a sliver of hope for the shinobi world's future.
A mere mortal who dared to challenge the power of gods, and who still held in his heart a love vast enough to protect this planet.
Ōtsutsuki Hamura wanted to hear what Kazuki thought—what kind of future he envisioned…
However, if Kazuki had been possessed by Kaguya and now intended to destroy the shinobi world, then Hamura would still choose to act…
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