Madara's words left everyone in Akatsuki's hideout stunned. Konan, in particular, stood there frozen, staring in disbelief at Nagato and Uchiha Madara.
The "Guardian Angel of God" seemed like she wanted to speak, but behind Madara, Obito's Sharingan began to shift. The crimson Mangekyō pattern rippled outward like water, transforming into concentric rings—proving Madara's words true.
The Rinnegan was the evolution of the Sharingan, and this fact was now unmistakably revealed.
Nearby, Hiruko stood dumbfounded.
"I understand! I understand!" Hiruko suddenly shouted as if enlightenment struck him. "Back then, during my Chimera Technique ritual, the ultimate limit I touched was the Rinnegan! My eyes can evolve from Mangekyō into Rinnegan!"
"Tch. A man without Uchiha blood, daring to covet Uchiha power…"
Madara shot Hiruko a single glance. With just that, he saw through him completely. Though Hiruko's aura wasn't weak, compared to Madara now, he was still far inferior. In essence, Hiruko was the same as Obito—changed into his current state through that so-called Chimera Technique.
But Madara had no interest in such a jutsu. His body already contained Hashirama's cells; that was more than enough. To further pollute his flesh with random scraps of others' bodies would be an insult!
"I once gave you the chance, Nagato."
Madara gazed indifferently at the silent red-haired boy before him. "I offered you the chance to be the savior. You failed to grasp it. You willingly let it go."
"Yahiko's death, the suffering of small nations, the ugliness of this world—all of it was laid before you. Yet you turned away, you forgot it all, and degraded yourself into Yuki Yoru's dog."
"So, since you've chosen to protect this filthy, ugly, laughable world… then I will act personally!"
"The false dream-world—that is what's laughable!"
Nagato suddenly lifted his head, his eyes locking onto Uchiha Madara with unyielding intensity. His mind was in turmoil; the things Madara spoke of were too overwhelming, so much that his thoughts seemed to freeze.
If his Rinnegan had truly been placed in him by Madara… If everything he had experienced as a child—including meeting Yahiko, including meeting Konan—was part of Madara's plan, then what did all of it mean?
Even if he had rebuilt himself since then, to have everything he once believed denied like this—how could Nagato possibly accept it?!
His body trembled uncontrollably. Madara's face only showed deeper disappointment.
"So, I really did choose the wrong person. To show such a pitiful form… If only Yahiko had the Uzumaki bloodline, I would've let you die and given my eyes to Yahiko instead. That might've been the best choice."
"Ma—da—ra!"
Something inside Nagato snapped. He suddenly raised his head, his eyes blazing at Uchiha Madara as he roared:
"I will—absolutely, absolutely, ABSOLUTELY kill you!!"
"Heh."
The Rinnegan in his eyes burst with dazzling radiance. But Madara only smirked in cold mockery.
The Rinnegan technique Nagato was about to unleash came to an abrupt halt. Across from him, Madara erupted with an overwhelming surge of ocular power.
In an instant, a colossal blue phantom burst from Madara's body, reducing the Akatsuki hideout to rubble.
When the dust cleared, the Perfect Susanoo loomed between heaven and earth, gazing down upon Nagato and the others like insects
"Prepare yourself, Nagato."
Uchiha Madara, standing tall with his arms crossed and an arrogant expression, spoke indifferently from within the brow of his colossal Susanoo.
Even with nothing more than the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes, he could still manifest a Perfect Susanoo.
This was his power—the power of Uchiha Madara, the power of Kami!
Nagato's expression darkened. The power of the Rinnegan was beyond his control, and that alone proved that everything Madara said was true.
These eyes were Madara's. Everything he had experienced—every path he had taken—was part of Madara's plan.
But…
"I am no longer who I once was!"
Boom!
With a violent tremor shaking the earth, Nagato suddenly clapped his hands together. Enormous trees burst from the ground, intertwining in an instant to form a towering wooden warrior, equal in stature to the Perfect Susanoo.
A colossal dragon coiled upon its shoulder—the Wood Golem, the Vajra Guardian!
Fueled by overwhelming fury, Nagato didn't hesitate. He directed the wooden golem forward, charging straight at the Susanoo.
The collision of the Perfect Susanoo and the Wood Golem split the heavens and shook the earth. Susanoo raised its twin blades and slashed down, while the Wood Golem countered with its fists. The wood-dragon bit and tore. The clash of the two giants ripped mountains apart and leveled the land, yet neither gained the upper hand.
"Hashirama…"
Inside the Susanoo, Madara stared at Nagato, who stood atop the wooden golem. For a fleeting instant, he was dazed, as though the one commanding that great wooden warrior was not Nagato, but his old friend—Senju Hashirama.
No. Impossible. Hashirama's power far surpassed this—this was only a Wood Golem.
"Madara!!"
From atop the golem, Nagato roared, his voice thundering like it carried all the rage from a lifetime of being manipulated by Madara. His spiritual power surged violently. Even though he could not fully activate the Rinnegan, under this power, his eyes took on an eerie brilliance.
The world-shaking aura burst outward. Nagato slammed his hands together again. The Wood Golem beneath him, which had fought the Susanoo to a standstill, trembled violently—
—and before Madara's shocked gaze, an immense Buddha rose skyward, towering into the clouds!
This colossal Buddha pierced the heavens and dwarfed the earth. Behind it, layer upon layer of a thousand hands unfolded. Just a glance was enough to make one's scalp go numb—anything compared to it felt insignificant.
Even the mountain-sized Perfect Susanoo looked like a child in front of this deity—utterly insignificant!
"Spiritual Power: Sage Technique!"
"Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands! Top Transformed Buddha!"
Nagato stood atop the Buddha's head, looking down at Uchiha Madara from above. His voice roared like thunder:
"I am no longer who I was before! Now, I am truly pursuing my dream—pursuing peace!"
"Even if my past self was laughable, ignorant, and weak—now, I have found my own path!"
"…This…"
Staring up at the towering Buddha, Uchiha Madara was momentarily lost. His three-tomoe Sharingan widened, doubt flickering in his heart — was the man before him truly Nagato, or could it be… Hashirama?
As the overwhelming spiritual power surged, the countless hands of the Buddha swung down together, unleashing a storm of wooden fists that fell like the collapse of the heavens themselves!
"What is he doing, spacing out at a time like this?!"
Below, Uchiha Obito frowned. He noticed instantly that Madara was, for the first time, distracted.
Black Zetsu, however, understood. He could only sigh inwardly.
Without reclaiming his Rinnegan, Madara's current power truly could not compare to Nagato's.
With the surge of spiritual power bolstering him, Nagato's strength had completely reached—and perhaps even surpassed—that of the former Senju Hashirama.
Without the Rinnegan, even Madara's Hashirama-infused body could not contend with him.
"Obito, Madara is alive now!"
Black Zetsu's low voice snapped Uchiha Obito back to his senses.
The Perfect Susanoo was mighty power—the razor-sharp twin blades of Susanoo slashed down countless wooden fists, shattering them one after another. But every time a row of fists broke apart, more followed—ten arms, then a hundred, then a thousand. They surged endlessly, unceasing and infinite!
Uchiha Madara desperately poured his Yin Release chakra into Susanoo, pushing its power to the very limit.
The twin blades of Susanoo carved through hundreds of the Buddha's giant arms, reducing them to splinters. Yet the sheer number was beyond counting, beyond resisting. At last, the Susanoo's blades faltered for just a moment—
—and in that moment of hesitation, Madara's opening was exposed.
In an instant, the vast Susanoo was swallowed by countless Buddha arms. A storm of fists rained down like falling stars, like a meteor shower smashing the Susanoo to pieces. The freshly revived Madara was suddenly dragged back to that day—
The day of the Valley of the End.
That day, Hashirama had unleashed the great Buddha just like this… and crushed him.
And now, decades later, after his resurrection, the vessel he had chosen was recreating Hashirama's power—and had done it again.
Could this truly be the strength of the Uzumaki clan?
For a moment, Madara's heart wavered. A trace of confusion, even clarity—he realized that during the long years he had slept within the Pure Land, the world had changed into something unrecognizable.
Ah, back in those days, tears never ceased…
"Are you spacing out, Madara?"
The dissatisfied voice yanked him out of his drifting memories. Before him, Obito appeared without warning.
The black Truth-Seeking Orbs had fused into a barrier, blocking the relentless fists of the Thousand-Armed Buddha. The punches were overwhelming, yet not even they could shake the shield of the orbs.
Amid the storm of fists, Madara stood behind Obito as if sheltered in a harbor, safe from the crashing waves of the endless ocean.
"…Have I really… grown old?"
For just a fleeting instant, the thought surfaced in Madara's mind. But he immediately cast it aside.
No—it's not that I've grown old. It's only that I haven't reclaimed everything yet!
"Go and take back my eyes, Obito!"
Madara's voice was low and commanding. Even before Obito, who had already stepped into the Six Paths realm, his tone brooked no argument.
Obito froze for a moment, but said nothing. He too needed Madara's power.
The barrier of Truth-Seeking Orbs held firm, shielding Madara from the Buddha's assault. Meanwhile, Obito's figure blurred, his Kamui silently carrying him closer and closer to Nagato.
"Die! Die!!"
Nagato screamed hoarsely, his face twisted, his very expression breaking apart as he poured every last ounce of spiritual power from within his body. He was determined to erase Uchiha Madara's existence in a single, overwhelming strike.
The earth shook violently, shattered apart, torn into a wasteland beneath the might of the Thousand-Armed Buddha. Smoke and dust surged thousands of meters high into the sky.
Amidst the haze, Nagato stood atop the wooden giant, panting heavily, his body and spirit utterly drained.
But at last—he could no longer sense Madara's presence.
The Truth-Seeking Orbs had hidden Madara's aura from him.
"It worked."
Confirming that Madara's presence was gone, Nagato's exhausted, withered face broke into a weary smile.
One down. Two more to go…
Splurt!
The sound of flesh being pierced echoed. Nagato's body froze where he stood, a mouthful of blood bursting forth. He looked down—
—at the hand thrust through his chest.
Uchiha Obito?!
He instantly recognized that hand. It belonged to his comrade of nearly ten years.
"…When…" Nagato coughed more blood.
"I long ago surpassed the limits of your understanding," Obito said coldly. Using the power of Yin-Yang Release, he halted Nagato's regenerative ability. "With the power of Kamui, toying with you was inevitable."
Splurt!
Obito crushed Nagato's heart in his palm. At the same time, his other hand dug into Nagato's eye sockets, forcibly ripping out the Rinnegan.
Withdrawing his bloodied hand, Obito shook it casually, while Nagato's body plummeted from the sky like a kite with its string cut.
"No!!!"
"Nagato!!"
Desperate cries rang out as countless paper sheets erupted into the air. Explosive tags spread across the entire sky, covering every direction.
In that instant, Hiruko appeared beside the dying Nagato. With Swift Release at full power, he snatched Nagato away, vanishing from the battlefield.
This new Akatsuki was bound by a different kind of unity. Even with their leader struck down, even with enemies as fearsome as Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Madara before them, they did not scatter or flee.
"Die, you bastards!!"
Seeing Hiruko rescue Nagato, Konan's paper wings flared in fury. Her rage could no longer be contained. Thousands of sheets of paper surged at her command, engulfing Obito, Madara, and everything below.
"Sacred Paper Emissary Jutsu!!"
BOOOOM!
"Your eyes."
The deafening explosion shook the entire world.
But Obito emerged unscathed, appearing calmly in front of Madara, tossing the freshly-plucked Rinnegan into his hands.
The Truth-Seeking Orbs easily blocked an explosion of that level. Against such a gap in power, unless the "Sacred Paper Emissary Jutsu" had been cast not by Konan, but by Little Boy (atomic bomb reference)… its destructive force would never be enough to touch Obito.
Without hesitation, Uchiha Madara dug out his own three-tomoe Sharingan. He cared nothing for the traces of Nagato's tissue clinging to the Rinnegan—he simply shoved them into his sockets.
Uzumaki tissue, after all, only helped the eyes adapt faster.
As the Rinnegan settled, Madara closed his eyes. Seconds later, he opened them again. Pale purple ripple-patterned eyes gleamed brilliantly.
And with them came a surge of overwhelming power, so immense even Obito narrowed his gaze.
"Hahahahaha!!"
Madara laughed wildly, reveling in the familiar sensation of infinite ocular power. His aura surged higher and higher, his presence growing ever more oppressive.
"Now, I lack nothing!!"