Chapter 313 — Obito's Total Breakdown, the Ten-Tails Unleashed!
The sudden shift shocked everyone into silence.
Especially that phrase—"lower lifeforms."
It instantly made clear that whatever stood in Nagato's place was no longer Nagato.
And for Obito…
That single term hit like a hammer.
Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and Ōtsutsuki Genshiki—
they both loved using that exact tone.
Obito's mind blanked.
Why had Nagato suddenly become this?
Wasn't Nagato supposed to be evolving—
just like Kitagawa Gen?
Weren't they both "evolutionaries" of the same kind?
"What… what is happening…?!"
Obito's heart twisted with a creeping fear.
'Nagato' merely lifted his head, eyes full of contempt.
"Why? The reason is simple.
Because all of you were only ever meant to be—containers."
"Containers…"
That one word made Kimimaro's eyes widen.
Even Obito's breath hitched.
"Yes. Otherwise, why do you think I told you what I told you?"
Kitagawa Gen rolled his shoulders lazily, voice calm.
"Evolution comes from the self—not from some foreign power you don't even understand, one that controls you more than you control it."
"N… No… impossible…"
Obito staggered back, shaking his head.
He wanted to deny everything—
but the sight before him…
Nagato covered in black markings—
and a horn sprouting from his forehead.
A form he had seen before.
"One night… when I stole the Senju relic…
Ōtsutsuki Genshiki descended…
and the thing he fought…"
Obito froze.
His face twisted behind the mask.
"How… how can this be?!
Impossible!
ABSOLUTELY NOT!!"
He suddenly snapped, screaming like a man driven mad.
"That—That form—
That thing—
It can't be them!
It can't be—
it can't be—"
"Rin?"
'Nagato' spoke with amused venom.
Obito's heart stopped.
"I arrived a bit late, but I've watched plenty of your 'performances.'"
"What… what are you talking about…"
Obito growled, voice trembling.
But the entity inside Nagato had no intention of stopping.
Nagato's original consciousness still fought for control.
Meanwhile, the Ōtsutsuki inside him—Momoshiki—took his time, speaking as if sharing gossip.
"Everything you believed—every emotion, every 'guiding voice'—
was planted. Manipulated."
"…"
"That 'Rin' who led you?
What a joke.
Though admittedly… darkly funny."
"You—!"
"Imagine it… Isshiki Ōtsutsuki, mistaken for the soul of Rin.
A cosmic tyrant—treated as your 'guide to the right path.'
Truly unprecedented."
"SHUT UP!"
"And you believed it all.
Utterly.
Blindly.
Your devotion to this 'Rin'—adorable, in a pitiful way."
"SHUT UP!!!"
Obito finally snapped, roaring as he charged.
Even through the mask, the distortion of his face was palpable.
Everything inside him…
finally collapsed.
"WHY?!
WHY IS EVERYTHING LIKE THIS?!"
Obito's soul felt like it was burning alive.
All he ever wanted—
was peace.
A world he would build himself.
A world without tragedy.
A world where no child would ever become like him or Rin.
He gave up everything for that dream.
Betrayed everything for it.
And the truth?
A joke.
The roots of the shinobi world's suffering traced back to the Sage of Six Paths.
A man who manipulated millennia to prepare weapons against the Ōtsutsuki.
All the wars—
all the pain—
the world's endless cycle of hatred—
had been born from the Sage's "plan."
"And I…
I have been following his path…
trying to achieve peace…"
How ridiculous.
And worse—
Rin.
He thought she guided him.
Gave him direction.
Showed him the meaning of evolution—
But it was all false.
There was no guiding Rin.
No freedom-loving spirit.
No whispered encouragement.
The real Rin was somewhere in Konoha, or on this battlefield.
The Rin in his heart—
was an impostor.
A demon leading him into the abyss.
"DIE!"
Obito lunged at Momoshiki-Nagato with a wild scream.
His killing intent shook the ground.
Momoshiki only sneered.
"How fragile. Unable to accept the truth?
Truly, lower lifeforms are disappointing."
Of course, Momoshiki wasn't careless.
Nagato's consciousness fought him.
Kaguya's chakra inside Nagato also resisted.
"Troublesome container…
No matter.
I'll simply accelerate the release."
Momoshiki moved.
A devastating shockwave tore the earth apart.
Obito was blasted away like a rag doll.
Bodies flew everywhere.
Entire platoons were wiped out by the sheer force.
"Gh…!"
Obito coughed violently, blood dripping behind his mask.
But he still forced himself up—
"I DON'T ACCEPT THIS!"
"I WILL NEVER ACCEPT IT!"
He charged again.
And again—
BOOM
BOOM
BOOM
Explosions swallowed the battlefield, vaporizing everything nearby.
"Is… this…?"
When the smoke cleared, every shinobi stared dumbstruck.
"The Akatsuki… are fighting each other?"
"What kind of internal war is this?!"
"Did they lose their minds?!"
Even members of Akatsuki themselves were panicking.
"What are they doing?!"
"Should we… uh… leave?!"
Even Uchiha Madara almost got hit by Hashirama's Wood Dragon while staring.
"Damn it—of all times for this nonsense?!"
He dodged another Wood Style attack, cursing.
"Did Nagato discover something?
Or is Obito trying to steal my Rinnegan?!"
He had no idea.
Meanwhile, Kitagawa Gen and the others stared with numb scalps.
"Gen… Jiraiya's student… and Obito…"
Tobirama exhaled sharply.
"What exactly is going on?
Are they… possessed by Ōtsutsuki?"
"That's one way to put it."
Gen replied casually.
Gen glanced at Kimimaro—still frozen in confusion—and nodded before speaking.
"I noticed long ago that the chakra inside those two was… wrong.
Because I've encountered chakra exactly like theirs once before."
"You mean… Ōtsutsuki Genshiki's?"
Minato immediately grasped the implication.
Tobirama's expression darkened at once.
"Damn it… so it was them! Gen, you never killed them—
don't tell me…"
Tobirama might have been rattled, but he wasn't stupid.
Nagato's sudden transformation happened the moment the black creature ambushed him—and most likely dealt catastrophic internal damage.
Which meant only one thing.
Minato reached the same conclusion.
"If we kill them… then the Ōtsutsuki possessing them will revive faster?"
"Exactly. I've observed the pattern. This process is irreversible.
There's a chakra inside them that's constantly 'unsealing' itself."
Gen inwardly praised the reflexes of the two Hokage, then continued calmly:
"Fighting speeds up the release.
Serious injury speeds it up.
Death speeds it up even more."
"The only good news is that those parasites can't control them—only influence them."
"So they can't make the hosts kill themselves—but the hosts see us as enemies, and…"
Minato frowned.
Tobirama picked up the rest instantly:
"No matter what we say, they won't believe us.
So all you can do is slow them down by holding back in battle—correct?"
"…"
Gen blinked.
It seemed he didn't need to explain anything—the Hokage had already filled in all the blanks for him.
That was the advantage of reaching his level—
everyone automatically supplied the most reasonable explanations for your actions.
In truth, he was just waiting.
Waiting for the Ten-Tails to appear.
Waiting for the Ōtsutsuki to walk into his hands.
"But now… we have a small complication."
Gen tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he looked toward the battlefield.
A moment later, his brows rose slightly.
"…Well now."
"Damn it—once one of them gets possessed… there's no way to stop their revival?"
Tobirama's face twisted with frustration.
Minato noticed the subtle change in Gen's expression and asked:
"Gen, what happened over there?
Or… did you think of a solution?"
"A way to stop their revival?
Not yet."
"But stopping the host's mind from being overwritten—
that might be possible."
Gen smiled faintly as a thought flashed through his mind.
"As long as the person's will is strong enough, they might resist being taken over.
No matter how the body changes—at the end of the day, it's still theirs."
"A strong enough will…?"
Tobirama and Minato exchanged puzzled looks—
And then—
something massive detonated.
BOOM—
From the direction of Nagato and Obito's battle, the earth shook violently.
ROOOOAAAR—
A deafening, primal scream followed—
a sound that pierced straight into everyone's soul.
Through the billowing smoke, a colossal silhouette emerged.
A gigantic monster towered into view.
Ten wooden-looking tails waved lazily behind it.
And on its protruding forehead…
A massive Rinnegan snapped open.
Countless shinobi froze.
Even though none had ever seen this creature—
every one of them instinctively recognized it.
"This is… the Ten-Tails?!"