Six Paths Madara stared at the Vermilion Bird before him, its blazing wings even more dazzling and majestic than before. He understood that this transformation had happened because of his own Fire Release: Dragon Flame Singularity from earlier.
But now, he had no choice. Even knowing the consequences, he had to keep using high-cost jutsu like this. And even then, the drain felt too small compared to the overwhelming chakra flooding into his body.
Facing the fiery emperor charging toward him, Madara knew the first priority was to stop this Vermilion Bird.
Blue flames ignited around him, and in the blink of an eye, four Complete Body Susanoo avatars appeared across the battlefield.
It seemed that with the Rinne Sharigan now on his forehead, not only had Madara's ocular powers strengthened, but the activation speed of his techniques had also increased significantly.
Gazing at the massive Vermilion Bird that blotted out the sky, all three of Madara's Rinnegan eyes lit up.
Limbo – Susanoo – Shinra Tensei!!"
In the next moment, a repulsive force of unprecedented magnitude erupted from four directions, converging on the Vermilion Bird.
BOOM!!
In an instant, the radiant Vermilion Bird let out a mournful cry before exploding under the immense repulsion, even the all-consuming flames were quickly extinguished in the overwhelming force.
"Tch."
Natsuro grunted as the shockwaves of repulsion struck him from all four directions. He hadn't expected Madara's Shinra Tensei to have become this powerful.
Luckily, only the real Madara could unleash the most devastating version of the technique. The others, being shadows, were weaker. Otherwise, Natsuro wouldn't have gotten off with just minor injuries.
Still, the blast sent him hurtling backward.But as he flew, he launched a Truth-Seeking Orb upward like a cannon shell. As he neared one of Madara's shadows, he vanished, teleporting to the orb with Flying Thunder God, escaping danger once again.
Limbo shadows themselves didn't frighten Natsuro, but the real problem was that Madara could swap places with them at any time.
If Madara pulled it off, Natsuro could be in serious danger.
"So troublesome..." Natsuro muttered, staring at Madara. His blood was still boiling from the blast, he'd taken internal damage, but nothing he couldn't quickly recover from.
He hesitated.
He still had one final trump card, but it was meant for Kaguya. If he used it here… it would be gone.
Natsuro took a deep breath. His eyes lit with resolve.
If he lost here, there would be no facing Kaguya anyway.
The cart will find its way around the mountain. If things went south when the time came, he'd deal with it then.
Besides, maybe those internet comments from his past life were right, maybe Kaguya's combat strength wasn't actually as high as her lore made her out to be. Maybe Madara was stronger.
Just as Natsuro made his decision, he paused.
He noticed Madara's body… changing.
It was becoming bloated. Madara's expression twisted in pain and discomfort.
At their level, for something to physically overwhelm them like this, it had to be massive.
"What is this...?"
Natsuro looked at Madara, then toward the God Tree, and all the cocoons hanging from its branches.
He could feel it, those cocoons were being drained of chakra at incredible speed, and that chakra was being pumped straight into Madara.
So...
"Even Six Paths Madara… can't withstand the chakra of an entire world?" Natsuro murmured in surprise.
But really, it wasn't so hard to understand.
Madara's body, even after becoming the Ten Tails' Jinchūriki, couldn't compare to the innate physique of the Ōtsutsuki clan.He lacked the true foundation.
After all, Kaguya didn't just have Ōtsutsuki blood, she also ate the God Tree's fruit.
Natsuro believed the fruit was the key.
Madara became the Ten Tails' host, yes—but he had never gone through the transformation that came with eating the chakra fruit. He simply absorbed the tree itself.
The original process should've been like Kaguya's. Even if this world didn't have enough natural energy to bear another fruit naturally…
The Infinite Tsukuyomi had already gathered the chakra of all humans. That should've been enough to form another fruit. Then, by eating it, one would gain a new, upgraded body.
But Madara hadn't done that.
Instead, the God Tree had become a massive hose, pouring unlimited chakra into a container with limited capacity.
And now… that container was about to burst.
Natsuro recalled the original story. There too, Madara's body had swelled like a balloon just before Black Zetsu stabbed him.
This time, Natsuro's presence probably hastened the outcome. Madara didn't have the leisure to fully control the chakra flow, he had to keep fighting.
If he hadn't been here, Madara might've had time to adapt. With his talent, he probably would've succeeded and absorbed everything.Then who knows how far he might've evolved?
But the world didn't operate on "what ifs."
"Madara… looks like you're going to end up as the vessel for Kaguya's resurrection." Natsuro muttered, now disinterested. There was no joy in striking down a man already doomed.
"So that's how it is…"Madara's eyes widened. What he had previously struggled to comprehend suddenly made sense.
He recalled the strange voice he had heard in his mind.That voice belonged to the God Tree. And the God Tree's true identity…
Was none other than Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the progenitor of chakra.
In that moment, everything clicked.
The moment he was forced to absorb the entire God Tree, his fate had already been sealed.
"Heh… I thought it would take longer, until Madara was completely defeated, before it could happen…"Black Zetsu's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Now that they'd come this far, his plan was finally succeeding.
No one could stop his mother's resurrection now!
Even cautious, conniving Black Zetsu couldn't help himself. He leapt into the open and cackled malevolently.
"As expected of my mother, no, of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the progenitor of chakra! Of course she could pull this off!" His expression twisted with fanaticism.
"Black Zetsu… what did you say?! Aren't you just a manifestation of my will?!" Madara's eyes bulged. Even though he'd begun to suspect, hearing it said aloud still shocked him.
"Heh… wrong."Black Zetsu sneered."My will belongs to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!"
"Madara… you're no savior. You're just like Obito... Another pitiful fool lost in the dream I crafted for you!"
"Impossible… The Infinite Tsukuyomi was handed down by the Sage of Six Paths… a jutsu meant to bring eternal peace to the world!" Madara's pupils shrank. Was it all… just a lie?
No, he refused to believe it. The Stone Tablet was engraved by the Sage himself, it said so!
"Hehehe… oh, Madara…I existed long before you were even born. Finding the tablet left by Hagoromo, and modifying it, was child's play."
Black Zetsu no longer cared to hide the truth. He laid it all bare.
"Modified…?"
Madara's heart seemed to stop.
A crushing wave of dread surged through him.
"The Infinite Tsukuyomi isn't a dream to bring peace…It's a jutsu designed to collect chakra from every individual. To gather and enhance it. And all those humans caught in its light…Their final fate is to become our weapons of war—The White Zetsu."
Black Zetsu looked at Madara with a grin and said, "Well, I suppose you could say your dream of peace has been realized—after all, all of humanity has become weapons, unified under a single will. In this world, there is no more war!"
Madara's body trembled. "What… was all of it for?"
"You acted for this, driven not by your own will, but by hers. By Mother's will!" Black Zetsu cackled gleefully.
Natsuro watched Madara's increasingly bloated body and his completely shattered will.
It was understandable. From birth until now, Madara had devoted everything to a grand ideal. And now, someone was telling him that ideal had been a manipulated lie.
Anyone with even a shred of emotion couldn't possibly accept that and even someone as indomitable as Madara... finally broke.
He gave up, allowing the overwhelming chakra to swallow him.
Natsuro sighed as he looked on. Though Madara had been his enemy, it was hard not to feel something seeing such a legendary figure fall so tragically.
Yes, everything Madara had done had been manipulated. But his dream had been genuine.Only the method had been twisted and exploited, leading to all of this.
"Madara… can you still move?" Natsuro suddenly asked.
"Huh?" Madara turned his head slowly and looked at Natsuro.
"If you can still move, then take one last strike from me! Don't let yourself die at the hands of schemers. If you are a warrior, then die in battle!" Natsuro's voice rang out, deep and steady.
"Natsuro Shindōkawa…" A faint light returned to Madara's dull eyes as he stared at Natsuro above.
"Heh… Hahahahaha!!" Suddenly, Madara burst into laughter—wild, unhinged laughter, tears threatening to spill from his eyes.
"I never thought… at the very end, it would be you, my enemy, saying something like that to me…"
"I just didn't want to see such a powerful opponent meet such a pitiful end," Natsuro replied.
He had truly believed that after absorbing the God Tree, Madara would be able to fight him to the bitter end, especially since Black Zetsu hadn't had a chance to stab him this time.
But even without the betrayal, Madara hadn't been able to endure to the final clash.
"Is that so? Then, Natsuro Shindōkawa— As you wish, be ready for this next strike!"
Madara's eyes flew open, all three of them, each one now bleeding.
Suddenly, a previously destroyed Limbo: Border Jail shadow reappeared beside him.
Then, all four of his shadows took a synchronized step forward, fusing with Madara's body.
They weren't disappearing. They weren't holding back.
Madara had summoned every last ounce of ocular power. Every last drop of chakra.
Around him, blue flames ignited violently.
With terrifying force, they swelled and solidified, and in a flash, his Complete Body Susanoo reappeared.
Just as Natsuro thought that was it—
"OOOHHHHHHHH!!" Madara roared.
All three of his eyes bulged to the point of nearly bursting.
The Susanoo too reacted to its master, it howled in agony, clutching at its own mask as if trying to hold back some uncontrollable force inside.
ROAR!!
At last, the Susanoo couldn't take it.
It exploded.
"That's still… not enough!!" Madara's face twisted into a contorted grimace.
His roar shook the heavens, And miraculously, he forced down the chakra that had been trying to destroy him.
Once again, he began reconstructing the Susanoo.
Even if it had collapsed, as long as he was still here…
As long as his fighting spirit remained... Susanoo could rise again!
"Limit? Complete form? Power has no limit!
Susanoo—ARISE!!"
Madara's scream shook the very air.
And then, a new form of Susanoo emerged.
Taller... Wider... Far more monstrous.
A being of pure blue flames towered above the world, far beyond the scale of any Complete Susanoo before it.
This form no longer resembled a human.
It was more like a savage divine beast, a demonic god with three heads and six arms, descending upon the mortal world.
Its body was clad in armor that resembled dragon-like scales, and from its back sprouted wings large enough to block out the sun.
Each of its three faces showed a different majestic expression.
Its six arms were each forming a different hand seal, as if preparing to unleash six jutsu simultaneously.
This was power beyond limits. Who said Complete Susanoo was the end?
Power… is infinite.
Madara had gambled everything, even what he couldn't control, pouring it all into Susanoo in a desperate, all-in surge.
And in that moment…
It evolved... to its final, ultimate form.
If you want to read more...
Check out the patreon and get 55 chapters in advance -> SaintXI
Next Chapter: Natsuro vs Madara - The Last Stand