Chapter 280: Evolution, Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki
Inside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, all nine tailed beasts had been sealed. Now that it had fully revived, its form underwent a drastic transformation. No longer a mere statue, it became a colossal monster with ten tails.
The surging vitality and terrifying chakra pouring out of it made even Uchiha Madara feel deeply wary.
He knew the Ten-Tails was rapidly maturing and eager to transform into the Divine Tree, so it could devour all chakra in this world.
However, one final step was required to make the Ten-Tails into the Divine Tree: either becoming its jinchūriki himself and casting Infinite Tsukuyomi, or sacrificing someone of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline to it. If the Ten-Tails consumed such a person, it could quickly grow strong enough to bear a chakra fruit.
To Madara, the first method was clearly more reliable and easier to accomplish.
Of course, casting Infinite Tsukuyomi required the power of the Rinnegan.
At the moment, the Rinnegan was still in Uzumaki Nagato's possession.
So Madara couldn't directly activate that technique yet.
Without wasting words, he stepped forward and placed his hand on the rampaging Ten-Tails.
In an instant, a terrifying power surged into the beast, and Madara began absorbing it rapidly.
Sensing that it was about to be sealed, the Ten-Tails thrashed violently, immediately placing immense pressure on Madara.
His brows furrowed slightly as he released all of his chakra to suppress the Ten-Tails.
After a fierce struggle, he managed to absorb it further.
Soon, Madara sealed the massive Ten-Tails entirely within his body, making himself its jinchūriki.
"With this, all I need now is to reclaim my eyes, and I can proceed to the next step."
He muttered to himself.
Yet he had underestimated the Ten-Tails' power.
Though sealed within him, the Ten-Tails did not submit. Instead of sharing its strength, it raged violently, trying to break free of its restraints.
The pressure on Madara mounted again.
Within mere seconds, his expression turned grim, then twisted in pain.
His body began to deform—signs that the Ten-Tails was going berserk, about to break its seal and rip free from him.
Madara knew well: as the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, if the beast escaped, he would die.
Even though he was in his Edo Tensei form, he wasn't sure if he could recover from such a consequence, and he dared not risk it.
"My current strength is still lacking… If I were at my peak in life, you beast wouldn't dare act so wildly!"
With a cold snort, he forced himself to fight back against the Ten-Tails within.
His spirit dove swiftly into his inner world, where he found himself in a special seal space, facing the Ten-Tails' true form.
The beast, bound inside a massive cage, was thrashing with such force that the prison's structure was already warping.
The moment Madara appeared with his cold expression, the Ten-Tails bellowed at him.
"Let me out!"
"So, you can speak as well?"
"All the better. You have only two choices, Ten-Tails. Either obey me—help me harvest the world's chakra and condense a chakra fruit for my evolution—or wait for the other Ōtsutsuki to come and take you down."
Before he could finish, the Ten-Tails opened its maw and spewed a foul breath at him.
But after that furious roar, it fell silent.
"Hmph…"
Madara sneered. "Seems you still have some sense."
"Cooperate with me, and your treatment won't be poor. Defy me, and the consequences will be beyond your imagination."
"Now—submit!"
As he spoke, he seized the moment of the Ten-Tails' hesitation and suddenly opened his eyes wide.
At once, the power of his Eternal Mangekyō struck the beast.
The mighty ocular jutsu subdued the Ten-Tails, erasing its will.
"With so much chakra, and yet… nothing more than this."
Madara mocked as he watched the subdued beast.
Then suddenly, his body stiffened.
A tremor ran through him.
"This is…"
His eyes widened with uncertainty.
From the cage, an endless tide of chakra surged forth like a towering tsunami, crashing toward him.
But it wasn't attacking—it was merging with him.
This meant the Ten-Tails' power was finally becoming his own.
Madara felt both shock and elation.
Shock, at the sheer terror of this power—it was beyond anything he had ever imagined.
Elation, because it would all belong to him.
He dropped all defenses, letting the ocean of chakra flood into him, taking it all without reservation.
Inside the seal space, he devoured and fused with the Ten-Tails' chakra. Meanwhile, in reality, his body transformed.
Brilliant light flared as his battered armor and mortal flesh crumbled away.
In their place appeared a pure white robe adorned with magatama, his skin a blue-white hue.
His eyes shifted from Mangekyō into a form with nine tomoe, and even a horn-like protrusion grew from his forehead.
A Truth-Seeking Staff manifested naturally in his hand, while behind him floated several black orbs—Truth-Seeking Balls—standing guard like loyal protectors.
Madara, fully transformed, slowly opened his eyes and examined his new form.
"So this… is my evolved state? The power of a god…"
As he reveled in the overwhelming, inexhaustible power coursing within him, a sudden sense of danger struck.
Instinctively, he looked upward.
A thunderous boom shattered the ceiling, sending rubble and debris into nothingness under the force of the blast.
Through the gaping hole above, Madara saw a figure he knew all too well—Ōtsutsuki Isshiki!
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