Amidst this clash of titans, an unparalleled battle with the fate of the world at stake—the only spectator, Black Zetsu, let out a sinister chuckle.
At this point, he was fully siding with Natsuro, because only if Natsuro managed to kill Madara could his mother, Kaguya, truly be resurrected using Madara's body.
Originally, that task was supposed to be his. According to the initial plan, he was to exploit Madara's trust and stab him from behind with a betrayal as cold as ice.
But in his current state, without a strong enough host body, he couldn't do it.
He had hoped to use the corpse of Six Paths Obito—after all, it was a body that had once wielded Six Paths power, and could possibly bypass Madara's defenses if struck by surprise.
But Natsuro had already taken Obito's corpse, leaving Black Zetsu without a viable vessel…
So now, all he could do was hope that Natsuro would succeed in crushing Six Paths Madara in this battle.
Of course, Black Zetsu didn't want Natsuro to simply one-shot Madara again...
Even though he believed his mother was invincible, Natsuro's abilities had shocked him so many times that he couldn't be certain anymore.
What he wanted most now was for Madara and Natsuro to fight to the death, even if Natsuro won, he'd be completely drained and easy to finish off.
That way, once Kaguya was resurrected, she could effortlessly kill Natsuro and finally unify the world.
"Fight, fight… best if you both die together!" Black Zetsu hissed darkly.
High in the sky, two figures moved faster than the eye could follow, blurring through the air as they traded blindingly fast blows.
"Sage Art ~ Yin Release: Lightning Bind!"
Madara locked onto Natsuro, and for the first time, unleashed the Yin Release jutsu he gained after becoming the Ten Tails' Jinchūriki.
It wasn't that he didn't want to use it earlier... Bback then, using sage techniques against Natsuro felt like showing off carpentry in front of a master. Even Six Paths-level Yin Release had felt pointless.
Now, however, with near-infinite, god-tier chakra coursing through him, even the simplest jutsu underwent a qualitative transformation.
Madara pressed his palms forward, and between them, a twisting, purple lightning branch-like tendril erupted and shot toward Natsuro.
"Sage Art?"
Natsuro looked at the purple lightning approaching. He didn't particularly respect Madara's sage techniques. But with chakra reserves this ridiculous, even the most basic jutsu could overpower high-tier techniques used by Kage-level shinobi.
But Natsuro wasn't just any Kage. His own jutsu were just as overwhelmingly powerful.
Wild, crackling white lightning burst around Natsuro's body, its magnetic field so intense it made the very air feel dense and heavy.
Then, a piece of iron appeared within that field, and Natsuro discreetly embedded one of his Truth-Seeking Orbs into it.
"Sage Art ~ Lightning Release: Railgun!"
BOOM!
With a snap of his finger, a terrifying beam shot forth, like a high-energy laser fired from an alien battleship, tearing through everything in its path.
The moment Madara's Lightning Bind collided with the Railgun, the tendril shattered instantly, vanishing under the railgun's overwhelming power.
"Hmm?" Madara's eyes narrowed. Was Natsuro's jutsu really this powerful? Stronger than even his own boosted sage arts? That shouldn't be possible!
But then, his Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan, the one on his forehead, spotted something.
At the core of the railgun's projectile… was a Truth-Seeking Orb.
"I see now…"Madara realized the secret. If a Truth-Seeking Orb was involved, it made sense.
Still, the attack's trajectory was obvious, he dodged it easily.
But just as the beam grazed past him. A shadowy figure suddenly appeared behind him.
In that figure's hand was a swirling sphere of lava-red energy, seething like molten magma.
"Sage Art ~ Blazing Flame Rasengan!"
Without hesitation, Natsuro slammed it down.
BOOM!
The sheer power engulfed Madara's body in a burning inferno of lava, scorching everything around.
But Natsuro didn't look pleased.
Instead, he turned his gaze elsewhere, Madara was already standing at a different location, having swapped places with one of his Limbo: Border Jail shadows at the last moment.
So even using a railgun to fire a Truth-Seeking Orb behind him, then marking it for a Flying Thunder God teleport and using it in the blink of an eye... Still wasn't enough.
Madara had reacted in time.
Unfortunately, Natsuro also realized something, the Truth-Seeking Orb used in the railgun had been irreparably damaged in the blast. The iron core was just a primer, the orb was the main projectile, and its structure was destroyed in the process.
And since Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu doesn't work on Truth-Seeking Orbs, he couldn't create fake ones.If he could've, dodging it would've been a lot harder.
Still, not all was lost.
One of Madara's Limbo shadows had taken a direct hit from the Blazing Rasengan, and there was no surviving that.
The downside? Natsuro had lost another powerful trump card.
Madara, standing where the shadow used to be, stared at Natsuro. Though he had reacted in time, his heart was still pounding.
The Rasengan had almost hit him.. There were scorch marks on the back of his cloak, clear evidence of how close it had come.
But now wasn't the time for fear.
That jutsu just now was undoubtedly Flying Thunder God, and Natsuro had used a Truth-Seeking Orb as its marker.
So… Truth-Seeking Orbs could serve as FTG markers?
Madara was certain this wasn't something Natsuro had just discovered. He had likely held it back for this moment. He'd had opportunities to use it earlier, but hadn't.
So that was the surprise he'd been saving.
Madara narrowed his eyes, feeling the lingering heat on his back. It was a hell of a surprise, but…
Natsuro was now in the middle of him and his three remaining shadows. He was surrounded.
Madara formed a hand seal.
"Sage Art ~ Storm Release: Light Fang!"
From Madara's mouth, a piercing beam of purple laser shot toward Natsuro.
Not just from Madara himself, but also from his three shadows. Four purple lasers surged inward, converging on Natsuro.
The speed was insane, impossible to follow for most. But to Natsuro, his perception of time was already slowed down countless times over. What was blinding to others, he could see, and counter.
Four of his Truth-Seeking Orbs transformed into shields, intercepting the incoming beams.
But then, Natsuro's pupils contracted.
The moment the lasers struck the orbs… they shattered.
Especially the beam from Madara himself, its sharpness pierced the orb like it was made of paper, shooting straight toward Natsuro's forehead.
But just before impact, he vanished, reappearing beside another Truth-Seeking Orb via Flying Thunder God.
He managed to dodged, barely.
"Tch. So it still won't be that easy to kill you." Madara stared at him, growing more irritated. Even now, with the God Tree feeding him chakra from all living beings, he still couldn't fully suppress Natsuro.
In theory, he should be the apex of the world's power.
Yet Natsuro's strength… remained elusive.
A sudden question gnawed at Madara...
Just how did he get this strong? Was it really possible to reach this level without the Ten Tails' power?
If Natsuro had heard that question, his answer would likely have been: No. It wasn't something others could replicate, not now.
He had forged a path no one else could walk.
But, if things played out as planned, and his plan succeeded, then the path he had taken wouldn't be impossible to replicate.
At that point, the so-called "bloodline theory" would no longer be a limiting factor. Sure, those with strong bloodlines would still progress faster, but in theory, even people with weaker lineages could succeed too.
In other words, the ceiling would be lifted. Unlike chakra, whose upper limit had long since been capped.
"Hmm?"
At that moment, just as Madara was thinking of how he might finally overcome Natsuro, he suddenly noticed something odd about his body.
His physical limit for chakra absorption seemed to have hit capacity—
But the problem was…
The God Tree was still forcefully transmitting chakra into him in an endless stream.
Even if he wanted to stop it, it wouldn't listen to him at all.
What… the hell was going on?
Madara's pupils contracted sharply. He knew without a doubt, this wasn't normal.
But he didn't have the luxury of examining the problem.
Not while he was facing the strongest opponent of his entire life, someone who wouldn't give him a second to breathe.
So, if there was too much chakra? Just release it.
Immediately, a massive black chakra sphere began expanding in front of Madara.
That was… a Tailed Beast Bomb?
Natsuro also quickly took note of this, but he found it strange.
Why would Madara attack him with a Tailed Beast Bomb?
Something like that held zero threat to him. It would just waste chakra for no reason.
As he pondered Madara's intentions, the Tailed Beast Bomb had already been launched toward him.
Not sure what Madara was thinking, Natsuro calmly reached out, touched the bomb, and—
Poof, the Tailed Beast Bomb vanished from the battlefield, flung far away and hurled into the open sea.
Moments later, a massive explosion erupted in the center of the ocean, creating a huge whirlpool of deep-sea currents.
The power was definitely intense... But if it didn't hit its target, it was completely meaningless.
Even after shifting the blast, Natsuro remained alert, prepared for follow-up attacks.
But… none came.
Madara just… stood there?
Did he really launch a random Tailed Beast Bomb and call it a day?
Natsuro frowned. Was Madara looking down on him now? Throwing out meaningless attacks?
Meanwhile, Madara's expression darkened.
Even the massively chakra-intensive Tailed Beast Bomb hadn't kept up with how fast the God Tree was flooding chakra into him.
At this rate, his body might actually explode from too much chakra.
He might become the first Six Paths-level being in history to die from chakra overload.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Singularity!"
Madara couldn't accept that fate.
Without hesitation, he followed up with an extremely chakra-consuming fire jutsu.
This time, even his three Limbo: Border Jail shadows joined in.
Suddenly, sixteen massive fire dragons formed from pure flame appeared across the battlefield, roaring and charging straight at Natsuro in the center.
These dragons filled the sky, crowding every inch of space.
No matter how Natsuro moved, there was nowhere to dodge, he'd be hit from all directions.
But again, he found it… odd.
Yet another meaningless jutsu.
Sure, it was visually terrifying and packed plenty of power, but against his Truth-Seeking Orbs, it was utterly useless.
While Storm Release: Laser Fang could pierce the orbs, ordinary fire-style jutsu couldn't even scratch them.
He could just wrap himself in a Truth-Seeking Orb and block everything.
But… was it really that simple?
Natsuro considered it carefully.
Could it be Madara wanted him to use the orbs to block and obscure his own vision and sensory abilities, so he could prepare a sneak attack?
Natsuro hesitated briefly.
Then, a glowing red orb appeared in his hand.
If the situation wasn't clear, then he'd just use a different solution.
"Sage Art ~ Blaze Release: Vermilion Bird!"
In the next moment, endless flames surged up around Natsuro, completely engulfing him.
And then, from the fire emerged a majestic, awe-inspiring Vermilion Bird—a fire emperor incarnate, spreading its wings in the sky and letting out a fierce cry.
The fire dragons didn't hesitate.
All sixteen surged toward the Vermilion Bird like frenzied beasts.
But the moment they made contact...
They dissolved.
Their forms crumbled instantly, breaking back into raw flame and merging with the Vermilion Bird, only making it burn even more brilliantly giving the mythical bird an even more divine, kingly presence.
"Even if I don't know what you're up to… since it's come to this, don't blame me for being merciless."
Natsuro stared at Madara, who still seemed off.
But this… this was his chance.
Standing within the form of the Vermilion Bird, Natsuro was like a king of fire, commanding the flames.
He ordered the bird to beat its massive wings, leaving streaks of brilliant fire across the sky and charged straight at Six Paths Madara!
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