"So this is that 'Ōtsutsuki Toneri's' army?"
On the rooftop of one of Amegakure's last remaining steel buildings that still had an active barrier, Uchiha Madara stood with his arms folded. He looked down at the puppets and Edo Tensei dead locked in a furious struggle, still raging after a full day and night as though neither side knew fatigue, and remarked:
"They have no chakra threads, and although they have Yin–Yang Release black rods stuck in them, their eyes haven't become the 'Reincarnation Tenseigan.' This isn't the Six Paths Technique used by the Rinnegan. It appears that those so-called 'Tenseigan' eyes are akin to the Rinnegan, both stemming from the Sage of Six Paths, or perhaps the Sage of Six Paths' surname was actually 'Ōtsutsuki.'"
Standing next to him, Nagato asked, "So the Rinnegan is the end (apex) of the Ōtsutsuki bloodline?"
"You could say that. When the 'two poles unite into one,' it bestows the power to command all creation."
"Two poles unite…?" Nagato murmured in confusion.
Before he could think any further, Madara lowered his arms, the corners of his mouth curving upward. "That's the power called…"
He formed hand seals and thrust his arms forward, announcing the very jutsu Nagato knew so well:
"Wood Release: Nativity of a Sea of Trees!"
The ground quaked, countless cracks splitting the earth. A multitude of enormous, thick tree trunks—so big around that over a dozen people could wrap their arms around them—burst from the fissures. Surging upward as if anchoring themselves, they instantly wrecked the ring of steel buildings around the central area. Then, like a green tidal wave, they spread out in all directions, submerging the entire battlefield in the blink of an eye.
As the green wave advanced, its color visibly brightened, growing thick branches and leaves everywhere it passed. It left behind towering giant trees, each unbelievably tall.
"That chakra—it really is his. Another butterfly effect," muttered one of Izayoi's Wood Clones, which was watching the scene and transmitting information back to the real body in real time. Meanwhile, it directed the surviving puppet army to teleport away with Flying Thunder God Technique.
Aside from some puppets that were flooded by the forest wave and had their chakra instantly drained by the winding branches, the rest vanished abruptly. Only Edo Tensei's undead remained.
Seeing this, Madara frowned slightly and spoke with disdain: "Tobirama's Flying Thunder God, eh? How sneaky—just like that other guy."
"Don't bother with this battlefield—it's just a war of the dead," Nagato reminded him. "That 'Ōtsutsuki Toneri's' Tenseigan has an extremely overpowered telescopic and x-ray vision, and he can read lips. He's probably seen you and everything you said through his Tenseigan. If he and Izayoi join forces, plus Shimura Danzo with Kamui, I doubt my main body and Tobi can hold out for long."
"Relax. Nothing to worry about."
Madara gave a confident smile. "The moment that guy shows up, it'll only be a matter of seconds to reach you."
He'd barely finished when space rippled before them. A warped figure tumbled out—a man wearing a half-broken mask, with scarred forehead and cheeks, and a crimson glow flickering in a three-tomoe Sharingan. It was Uchiha Obito.
Seeing that failure of a man, Nagato's eyes revealed his disgust. Had Obito not given away his left eye or kept secret the Mangekyō's capabilities, or if he'd stopped playing mysterious games, Nagato wouldn't have lost so badly. If Nagato had known in advance, he could have reclaimed Obito's left eye—if not to boost Obito, then to slot it into Pain and strengthen them. Or just hide it so he himself wouldn't wind up cornered.
Nagato simply couldn't fathom Obito's logic. The man behind the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha and the Bloody Mist, who even killed his own teacher and clan, obviously didn't care about bonds of classmates or comrades. So why, after visiting Konoha so many times, had he never retrieved his left eye? A time–space ninjutsu of that caliber would be a huge threat even to Nagato himself. If Obito had snatched it back, he'd stand equal with Nagato—even if people discovered his identity. But he never did. Nagato couldn't figure him out.
Had Nagato tried to think of Obito and Kakashi's bond the same way as himself and Yahiko, maybe he'd understand.
"You're an utter disappointment, Obito," Madara said with a furrowed brow, "Haven't you bothered training the things I taught you all these years?"
Obito, who had expended two three-tomoe Sharingan for Izanagi, didn't reply. He simply removed the bulky container strapped to his back and tossed it to Madara. "Take it back. There's someone extremely dangerous in Kamui Space. His green orbs can instantly drain chakra. If they're strong enough, you can't even activate Izanagi."
"So that's Toneri, right? The real body or a clone?" Madara said with sudden interest.
Black Zetsu warned, "Lord Madara, we must focus on reviving you."
"You're right. I'll send a Wood Clone in there to keep him busy." Madara nodded, forming a Wood Clone with infinite chakra but lacking Edo Tensei's immortality. Obito first used Kamui to dispatch the Madara Wood Clone into Kamui Space; then he brought Madara, Black–White Zetsu, and himself inside. Meanwhile, Obito's Wood Clone lurking around Nagato and Izayoi's battlefield brought out Obito's main body and co. In only seconds, Madara and company had traveled from Amegakure to the wooded Land of Fire.
From Madara's resurrection to arriving here had taken about three minutes.
During that same time, Izayoi had just used Danzo's Kamui to knock Nagato and Tobi off the Hundred-Armed Buddha's head, keeping a large chunk of his own chakra. Izayoi then seized control of the Buddha, pummeling Nagato and Tobi with the statue's hundred giant arms.
"Shinra Tensei!"
Nagato unleashed a terrifying storm of repulsive force, shattering the Buddha's attacks. When the barrage stopped, he quickly formed seals to release the Summoning controlling the Gedo Statue, which had been pinned down by Nativity of a Sea of Trees and the Gate of the Great God.
Once again, the battlefield of the three colossal constructs returned to a one-on-one format. But the figures up top changed from "one vs. two" to "two vs. two." Izayoi stood openly, Danzo lurked unseen, while Nagato and Tobi stayed wary.
Receiving real-time updates from his Wood Clone, Izayoi felt uneasy and puzzled. He'd expected Madara's Edo Tensei from the moment Nagato revealed his Edo Tensei army, given that Madara's corpse was in Black Zetsu's hands.
He believed that a resurrected Madara and a stronger Nagato would likely clash. In the present, Nagato's powers and intellect far surpassed what they were in the original timeline, so Madara seizing back the Rinnegan shouldn't be easy. Even Obito had discovered that.
Meanwhile, the idea that Madara might slip a curse seal on Nagato's body was unthinkable. Possibly they'd join forces, but it looked like Madara now had the upper hand. What happened in that underground hideout?
At that moment, a figure appeared atop the Gedo Statue. Tobi saw him, suddenly exclaimed, "Lord Madara, welcome back," and Madara responded with a smile, "Good to see you again, Tobi."
Before Madara could continue, Tobi asked, "So, Lord Madara, was there any poop in the Pure Land after death? Did you feel the need to poop over there?"
"..."
Madara's forehead popped with veins; even Nagato re-evaluated Tobi, having no idea he held such bizarre hobbies.
Then Nagato said, "While our chakra's still sufficient, let me resurrect you."
"No rush. Let's clean up this mess first," Madara refused, gazing up at the black-haired teenager standing atop the Hundred-Armed Buddha, eyes brimming with hostility. "I want to see how he compares to Hashirama."
"Wood Release: Advent of a World of Flowering Trees!"
Madara formed seals, channeling vast chakra through the Gedo Statue into the earth, taking over part of the Nativity of a Sea of Trees.
Like writhing pythons, branches ascended from below to constrict the Hundred-Armed Buddha. Some trees even sprouted huge red blossoms.
Yet just as the branches twisted around most of the Buddha, they abruptly halted and sped back into the ground. The red blossoms never bloomed, simply withered away.
Madara raised his brow, sneering. "That level of Sage chakra's got a bit of Hashirama's style in it."
"Let's revive you now, or else once Toneri shows up, we'll be at a huge disadvantage. His Tenseigan can apparently evolve on its own, and apart from Yin–Yang Release and the rest of the Six Paths, we have no idea what else it can do. You can revert your Rinnegan back to the Mangekyō, right?" Nagato said again.
Madara—who'd been about to unleash Perfect Susano'o against Izayoi—recalled his Limbo: Border Jail, and wariness replaced his battle intent. "Very well, let's get the resurrection done."
With that, a white pipe extended from the Gedo Statue's head and plugged into Madara's back.
"Ugh…" The Edo Tensei's unlimited chakra poured in, causing the Gedo Statue to emit a deafening roar. Violent airwaves and sonic booms battered the forest, forcing Izayoi to narrow his eyes. Then enormous chakra chains erupted from the Gedo Statue's mouth, pulsing with purple chakra, coiling around Madara.
Next, the Buddha's chakra was rapidly drained, and one chain shot toward Izayoi. He didn't bother to resist, simply vanished. Meanwhile, near Madara, space began to distort. "This is Obito's other eye's ability?" Madara commented, slicing off his link to the Gedo Statue. "It's decent but only one eye; the Mangekyō can't reach full power."
Both Sharingan and Rinnegan are strongest in a pair, not just halved in might but significantly weakened. A second later, Madara's face changed as the swirling vortex avoided him and Nagato, instead aiming downward at the Gedo Statue's head.
Madara readied Susanoo, hoping to see if Yin Release could disrupt it. But right then, a figure appeared atop the Hundred-Armed Buddha—Obito with his left eye blinded.
"Well played, Obito," Madara praised sincerely. Nagato, who'd been forming seals to cancel the Summoning, paused. He swiftly landed near Madara and said, "Cover me."
"Obito!" Madara shouted. Obito flickered over. Tobi peeled off Nagato and reattached himself to Obito. Madara and Tobi formed seals, sending chakra into the ground to forestall any Mokuton ambush from Izayoi.
Obito took a quick glance at Madara, then at Black Zetsu's half-submerged figure in the distance. Realizing the predicament, he steeled his gaze on Nagato, preventing Danzo's Kamui from interfering.
"Outer Path—Rinne Tensei!" Nagato shouted. Instantly, Madara's body gave off wisps of whitish steam. The Edo Tensei cracks faded as the black sclera in Madara's eyes flickered like shattered glass, fragmenting into pieces that flaked off.
At that moment, space warped near Madara again. Obito promptly forced the vortex away. Moments later, a fist-sized black hole popped into view. A pale white hand stretched from it, then multiple green beams shot at Obito's trio.
Alarmed, Obito canceled his output of Mangekyō power, warping away. Having just resurrected, Madara sensed danger as well. He dodged sideways, conjuring Susanoo's skeletal form. Holding a glowing blue sword, he slashed at the oncoming beams. Yet his blade met no resistance; it looked like some rule-based power had neutralized it, melding his Yin Release chakra into the green orb.
In the next second, the green orb exploded like a shell, forming a colossal mushroom cloud. Meanwhile, Nagato, half-drained of chakra already, was too slow to respond—he failed to employ Preta Path and was impaled by a beam. He collapsed, losing combat ability.
From his body emerged nine different-colored beams that only Izayoi could see: 2 gold, 3 blue, 4 purple—although the text specifically says "two gold, three blue, four purple, total nine," it might be re-labeled differently; the essence is that multiple color-coded "entries" soared out.
The raging explosion then erupted. Thick branches burst from the ground, forming a wooden wall to shield Nagato from the shockwave. Black Zetsu, who had reattached himself to Nagato, used that chance to seize Nagato's eyes and quickly bring him over to Madara.
Rumble…
Deprived of Madara's and Tobi's chakra, control of the forest returned to Izayoi. The earth rumbled violently as thick tree trunks emerged, flinging Black Zetsu and Nagato into the air, then shooting wooden spikes at them.
At the last second, the branches froze, leaving only the unleashed wooden spikes. Black Zetsu conjured an eggplant-shaped wooden shield to cover Nagato, blocking the wooden barrage. A shadow-like figure merged with the earth and vegetation, fleeing at high speed.
"What a good combo," came Madara's approving voice within the forest. "Without Hashirama's Mokuton, those two kids almost succeeded."
In a swirl of movement, the trees parted to reveal Madara with Rinnegan eyes again. Crimson splatters lay around them, revealing how he'd forcibly seized Nagato's Rinnegan.
The terrifying ocular power seemed to sense the entire forest, causing the living vegetation to quiver, not daring to move. After merging both eyes, obtaining "the power that commands all," the dreaded Uchiha Madara was fully revived.
Countless color-coded "bubbles" appeared around this Shinobi Shura's figure—a swirl of different colors that only Izayoi could see. The most conspicuous bubble was a dazzlingly prismatic one, bearing the label:
[Kekkei Genkai · Rinnegan (Multi-Color)]
A brand-new tier surpassing even the red-level entries had finally appeared.
~~~
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