At this moment, the ultimate form of Susanoo loomed with its three monstrous heads, each seemingly fixated on Natsuro in the sky.
Then, as if it had found its destined opponent, all three beastly heads roared in unison. Their collective roar blew away the clouds that had just reformed after the earlier flames had faded, erasing them without a trace!
Next, the six demonic arms of the Susanoo simultaneously made a grasping motion, and in an instant, a massive blue flame-wreathed sword appeared in all six of its hands.
In the very next moment, all six hands gripped the long hilt of the sword. Though it was merely gripping it, the surrounding space began to tremble violently.
And that… was just the sheer force of the grip alone!
"Come, Natsuro! This is all of my power, my full strength, beyond all limits... Susanoo!"
"This… this can't be real!" Black Zetsu stared in disbelief, his eyes twitching. For once, he was immensely grateful for Natsuro's existence.
Because this scene made it clear, if not for the threat of Natsuro, if Madara had truly been given a quiet environment to train, he might have really been able to suppress Kaguya's power, devouring all chakra entirely!
At that point, the world would welcome a new absolute ruler, one as terrifyingly dominant as Kaguya herself!
A disturbing, blasphemous thought crept into Black Zetsu's mind, one he couldn't shake no matter how hard he tried…
Was this version of Madara really any weaker than his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki?
While Black Zetsu trembled from that thought, Natsuro looked down at the demonic, god-like Susanoo blazing with blue flames and couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.
"…Such a terrifying power," Natsuro murmured.
In truth, at this point, he could simply use Flying Thunder God to escape. After a while, Six Paths Madara would be completely consumed by Kaguya's will, and at that time, he could face Kaguya directly.
That would be the most beneficial course of action for him. After all, even if he defeated Six Paths Madara here, it wouldn't stop Kaguya's resurrection.
In fact, the conditions for Kaguya's return were already fulfilled. Unless Madara himself could suppress her will, there was nothing left in this world that could stop her resurrection.
In other words, engaging Madara now was entirely pointless for him.
But…
When a warrior pours everything into their final strike, how can one simply run away?
To avoid a direct clash is the choice of a coward. But a challenger? A challenger steps forward without fear, invincible in their courage!
Natsuro took a deep breath. In the next instant, the tiny, adorable sprite appeared on his shoulder, it was the long-unseen Umbreon.
Even though Umbreon seemed to sense the impending danger, it still calmly licked Natsuro's face, as if indifferent to the looming threat.
The moment Umbreon appeared, Natsuro's eyes reflected the boundless distortion of space.
Just like before, when he was trapped in an alternate dimension where even time flowed differently, he could still sense his clones through Umbreon. Now, that same connection allowed him to draw upon even more powerful and vast spatial-temporal energy.
This power was omnipresent. Not even Six Paths Madara or Kaguya could escape the rules of space-time.
At this moment, the space around Natsuro expanded, encompassing even the space that surrounded Madara himself. Within this vast field, the power of space-time trembled, condensing rapidly toward him.
Even though Madara hadn't deeply studied space-time techniques, he could still sense the massive spatial fluctuations.
"As expected… space-time power!" Madara muttered, unfazed.
Yet despite everything, he showed no fear. Fixing his gaze on Natsuro, his hands made a gripping motionm and in sync, the ultimate Susanoo clenched its great sword tighter.
Instantly, a terrifying blue flame erupted from the blade. At the same time, the rest of Susanoo's body dimmed in comparison.
This was… Madara focusing all of his power into this one sword strike. Even space itself, he would slice it apart!
"Natsuro Shindōkawa! Take my final strike!" Madara bellowed with a maniacal laugh.
"Divine Susanoo: The Final Blade!!!"
In an instant, the sword beam surged across the sky, splitting the heavens themselves.
Under this boundless blade of light, everything else seemed to lose its color. The entire world was reduced to a single, overwhelming streak of blue flame!
The sword beam didn't pause at all, it charged straight toward Natsuro, carrying the destructive force of creation and annihilation.
"Huuh!"
Natsuro stood his ground, unflinching. He had already gathered all the space-time power he could draw in. In his hands now was a mass of space so twisted it defied sight itself.
Even one's vision seemed to be pulled toward it irresistibly.
This was the gift Natsuro had originally prepared for Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. But it turned out he would have to use it now.
Fixing his gaze on the approaching blade of light, he condensed the warped space into a single, devastating slash.
The space-time power locked in.
"Extreme Dimensional Blade!!"
In the next instant, Natsuro's blade met Madara's head-on.
In a flash, the two strikes collided, and then…
In that moment, space itself shattered under the force of their clash. Even time seemed to grind to a halt.
Sound had long lost its meaning. At the moment of impact, the world fell silent, as if an explosion occurred too great for any living being to perceive.
Even the residual fragments of their attacks ripped space apart, leaving tear after tear across the battlefield.
The land, already scarred beyond recognition, could no longer withstand their might and crumbled entirely. Seawater from the depths surged upward, flooding into the newly opened chasms!
"They… they actually changed the landscape?" Black Zetsu gasped. He didn't doubt their power could reshape terrain, but they hadn't even been trying to do that.
So just the aftershocks of their clash caused such catastrophic destruction?
This level of battle was completely beyond Black Zetsu's comprehension.
At this moment, he could only pray, that after this collision, Six Paths Madara would be completely consumed by his mother's will, and that Natsuro would perish in the aftermath.
But... would things go the way Black Zetsu hoped?
The land lay broken. Sea poured in. The calamity continued. Their power seemed infinite, tearing sky and earth apart without end.
Finally, the world-ending clash began to dissipate, its fury slowly ebbing with time.
The demonic Susanoo was now gone, what remained was the grotesquely swollen body of Six Paths Madara, marked with several slashing wounds, his head barely visible through the bloated mass.
Opposite him, Natsuro stood, breathing heavily. His condition wasn't much better. His clothes were torn and stained with blood, indicating that Madara's final sword had indeed struck him.
Umbreon clung to Natsuro's body, tirelessly licking at his wounds, trying to heal him as best it could…
Indeed, Madara's Final Blade had broken through the space-time slash and struck Natsuro.
But Natsuro was no less formidable, his space-time defying slash had pierced Madara's ultimate sword and sliced through his body.
In truth, Madara had been chopped into several pieces during the explosion. But his massively swollen body instantly engulfed those pieces, making the damage less visually apparent.
As for Natsuro, although he had taken the brunt of the Final Blade, most of its power had been depleted during the clash, so it was not enough to kill him.
But… even the residual force of that attack managed to cut through the defense of the Truth-Seeking Ball that Natsuro deployed at the last moment. That level of power seemed to have surpassed what Shinra Tensei could erase.
Nevertheless, he was still alive after this cataclysmic clash, and not only had he taken Madara's final blow head-on, but he had even barely gained the upper hand in the end!
"Heh… You're truly incredible, Madara Uchiha!" Natsuro grinned, laughing as he spoke. The long-forgotten sensation of pain surged through his body, firing up every nerve.
But the pain didn't dampen his spirit. On the contrary, it only fueled his excitement. He was even itching for another round, unfortunately...
Six Paths Madara would no longer be able to fulfill that wish.
"…Seems like… in the end, I still lost," Madara finally accepted his fate. In the instant of their collision, he had already come to terms with it. Even without being consumed by Kaguya, he probably… was still not a match for Natsuro.
Because Natsuro had held back this kind of power from the beginning, it meant he wasn't fighting Madara with everything he had all along. But why?
Perhaps… he had foreseen that an even stronger enemy would appear after him?
That thought left Madara feeling somewhat ashamed…
But in the end, Madara could feel everything, his entire being, being split open by that space-time power. So...
As the bloated mass of his body began to engulf his head completely, Six Paths Madara looked at Natsuro one last time, and smiled.
Then, he uttered just two words... "Thank you…"
Yes, he—Six Paths Madara—had fought to the bitter end and been defeated by Natsuro Shindōkawa, the Sixth Hokage. He hadn't gone out like a fool, being manipulated from the start, with everything taken from him and ending up a total failure!
"You're welcome." Natsuro sighed as he watched Madara's form being entirely consumed by the swollen flesh.
A being as powerful as Madara reaching such an end… He couldn't help but relate to it. If his own plan wasn't accepted by the world...
Then would his fate be the same? Crushed by a hero leading the united might of humanity?
Even if that hero wasn't Naruto or Sasuke, but someone else? Perhaps an Ōtsutsuki from the moon? Or maybe a new generation's leader?
…Well, if that time ever came, he'd face it then. At this point, he couldn't give up on his plan. He couldn't stop moving forward. He could only keep climbing, toward the throne of ultimate power.
That position, he would not yield to anyone!
Snapping back to reality, Natsuro felt the vast chakra within the bloated flesh. He couldn't help but gasp again.
With chakra of this magnitude, even a random attack could likely obliterate the world. So how did Naruto and Sasuke manage to defeat Kaguya?
Can it really be explained just by saying Kaguya wasn't skilled at fighting?
In any case, the resurrected Kaguya would be his final and strongest enemy.
And this battle would determine the fate of all humankind.
"Heh… the pressure's pretty insane, huh~" Natsuro chuckled. But so what?
This was the path he chose. A path where he didn't rely on Naruto or Sasuke, facing it all alone, taking on the hardest road imaginable!
At that moment, Black Zetsu let out a sigh. It was indeed wishful thinking to hope Natsuro would die in that previous clash.
Then, like a pool of liquid, Black Zetsu began spreading over the bloated mass of flesh. It was clear, once he fully covered it, Kaguya would soon be able to move again.
"Natsuro Shindōkawa, you really are a freak," Black Zetsu said as he merged with the flesh.
"Oh? Why do you say that?" Natsuro asked while healing his wounds. He made no effort to stop Black Zetsu. There was no point. Kaguya's resurrection was already inevitable, Black Zetsu was merely speeding it up.
"Because even the reincarnations of Asura and Indra—oh, maybe you don't know who they are, they were the sons of the Sage of Six Paths. The First Hokage and Madara Uchiha were their reincarnations," Black Zetsu explained.
"And then?" Natsuro asked calmly.
"Heh… Don't you get it yet? Even Asura and Indra couldn't reach this point on their own. So why you? Why are you the one who made it this far?" Black Zetsu hissed.
"Who knows?" Natsuro shrugged casually. He had nothing more to say. If someone had told his younger self that he'd one day make it this far… he wouldn't have believed it either.
And in truth, if he had more time, he was confident he could emerge even stronger.
Unfortunately, there was no longer time left for peaceful cultivation.
So, Natsuro smiled, he could only keep fighting!
Bearing the weight of the entire world's fate on his shoulders, he believed that under this crushing pressure, he would ultimately break through that final barrier in the heat of battle—and emerge victorious.
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