Madara Uchiha knew his plan had sprung a leak.
It had failed. He hadn't been resurrected as the Sage of Six Paths, or even on the cusp of becoming one. That was bad news.
But it wasn't a total disaster. This failure was likely the "ninety percent done, but the last ten feels like fifty" kind—because Madara could sense all nine Tailed Beasts were now present in the same space.
Young people being unreliable wasn't surprising. They'd still laid the stage for him. Failure didn't matter. All Madara had to do now was "count to four and start again."
That casual "all he had to do" perfectly captured his undiminished, domineering aura.
Standing on the ground, looking up at Qianyu, Madara seemed like the one who should be scorning everything.
"Qianyu. You're still not dead?"
The greeting made Qianyu pause. Huh. That sounded familiar.
So many years had passed. It seemed Madara had completely forgotten about his… outstanding debts.
Qianyu glanced at Sasuke. "I'll go greet an old friend. You two handle Kaguya. But don't seal her. The Sage's sealing techniques are top-tier. Once sealed, undoing it is a nightmare."
Sasuke opened his mouth, then closed it. Honestly, compared to Kaguya, he'd rather fight Madara Uchiha. He had his own unfinished business with the Uchiha ancestor… in a way, he wanted to kill the old man more than Qianyu did.
But no dice. Madara was back, but he still only had one life. Sasuke didn't have first pick. He had to focus on the task the Sage gave him… well, half the task.
"Oh, almost forgot… this is yours."
Qianyu turned to leave, then stopped. He waved a hand.
A blond plummeted from mid-air.
Naruto had been in free-fall through the space-time corridor for a while now. He was thoroughly disoriented.
Qianyu made to leave. But he wasn't the only one here. Kaguya, alive for millennia, had never been so thoroughly ignored.
She extended her right arm. Hidden by her wide sleeve, a sharp point condensed in her palm. Then…
All-Killing Ash Bones!
A bone spear shot toward Qianyu's back with a sharp shriek.
Qianyu wouldn't get hit by something so obvious. He simply reached back—and caught it. No defense. He grabbed it bare-handed.
As expected, his hand began disintegrating on contact.
"True annihilation properties… Kekkei Mōra, indeed."
Without visible effort, his hand severed cleanly at the wrist. A new one regenerated instantly.
Kaguya's two most troublesome moves were the Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Expansive Truth-Seeking Ball. The former did nothing to Qianyu. The latter, even he had to respect—it could theoretically erase anything. But…
Without the Ten-Tails, Kaguya could use neither.
The reason she could still use some Kekkei Mōra techniques was the same principle as Nagato being able to use various natures after losing his Rinnegan.
The All-Killing Ash Bones were powerful. But Kaguya's attack method? How was it different from throwing a shuriken? At this level of combat, who could possibly get hit by that?
This wasn't the super-gravity dimension anymore. No terrain lock. No guaranteed hit.
In short, Qianyu shook off Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, leaving the final boss to the "Child of Prophecy" and the "Child of Prophecy's Best Friend." He landed beside Madara Uchiha.
"Madara. How old are you? Why is your head still so cloudy? Destroying the world, creating a new one… it's all so… anthropomorphic. Is that a normal human thought process?"
Qianyu stopped before him, his tone almost… pleading.
Madara stared at the Rinnegan in Qianyu's sockets. He couldn't fathom what had happened to this man over the years.
He wisely didn't ask. He just tilted his head, chin pointing upward. "That person. That's 'Nameless,' right? You being alive is one thing. Why is he alive?"
"Don't get it? He's originally from this era. For reasons you'd understand, he went back to the time of Konoha's founding… In a way, he's the 'you' of this time. But he changed. Largely thanks to you."
There really was no point in Madara's struggle anymore. Even resurrected, he wasn't "the chosen one." The protagonist of this era was long decided. Simple logic: whoever bore Indra's reincarnated chakra was the real deal.
Abandoned by Indra, Madara was just a bootleg.
Sasuke was an outsider in Madara's era. Madara was an outsider here.
"I see… He does carry a presence similar to mine…"
Madara seemed to be making small talk. In reality, his mind raced. How to clear the obstacles? How to capture all nine Tails in one move and ascend?
Thinking burned brainpower. He needed time. Hence, more chatter.
"That white-eyed woman with long hair. Who is she?"
"Her? That's Kaguya Ōtsutsuki. Mother of the Sage of Six Paths. True form of the Ten-Tails. Creator and master of Black Zetsu… Sealed a thousand years ago. Now resurrected using the nine Tails."
Madara's head snapped around. His face—normally a mask—contorted with shock, fury, and utter confusion. Who knew a stoic's facial muscles could be so expressive?
"Black Zetsu? What are you talking about? Black Zetsu?"
"Yep. A thousand years ago, Kaguya was sealed by the Sage. But she left a backup plan to resurrect herself: a fragment of her will split off. Black Zetsu.
"For a millennium, its sole purpose was reviving its mother. But it lacked power. So it conned, deceived, and tricked less-intelligent shinobi into doing the hard work for free.
"Oh, one more thing. That stone tablet your clan treasures? Black Zetsu altered it ages ago.
"So, Madara. See your role now?"
In Madara's self-perception, he was top-tier in both power and intellect. Yet after Qianyu's few sentences, he realized there was a more common term for people like him in such stories… "Clown."
"No. Impossible. I created Black Zetsu. It's an extension of my will…"
A proud man couldn't accept being a puppet. Madara couldn't even concede to Hashirama. How could he accept being a puppet's puppet?
"Black Zetsu existed a thousand years ago. Hard to say who's older between it and your ancestors, but it's definitely a generation ahead."
Qianyu suddenly felt Madara's resurrection was a good thing. At least he could narrate these story details to him piece by piece.
No need to ask. Hearing these facts, having his true self-perception completed… Madara would be thrilled.
The old Madara was just arrogantly proud. Now, he was the "Complete Madara."
Madara's eyes bore into Qianyu. After an internal struggle, he asked, "How do you know these things… No. When did you know?"
"Huh? My situation's special. Let's say… you can assume I knew all this back when I was selling kunai in Kikyō Castle."
Qianyu's gaze was utterly sincere, as if saying, The Shinobi World is dangerous. You should hurry back to the Pure Land.
Long ago, Madara saw Qianyu as an insignificant nobody. A toad on his foot—annoying, but harmless. Now he understood. No wonder Qianyu sometimes looked at him with that mocking glint.
Only Qianyu. Without even lifting a finger, with just a few words, he could push Madara Uchiha's psychological limits past the breaking point.
And then, he broke.
Madara let out a sudden roar. His hands flew through seals:
Ninjutsu: Rinne Technique — Outer Path: Gedo Statue!
The next moment, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—currently locked in combat with Naruto and Sasuke—abruptly appeared before Madara.
The statue was a sentimental thing. It still answered Madara's call.
The only problem? The Gedo Statue was still inside Kaguya.
"Uh, the statue's inside her. I skinned it and took the meat, but I haven't gotten to the bones yet," Qianyu commented from the side.
Don't underestimate Kaguya, even with most chakra gone. She still had plenty of… accessories. The Gedo Statue. Black Zetsu. Obito Uchiha.
Clearly, Kaguya came for a "team fight." She brought all her gear.
Kaguya turned, saw Madara, and flinched visibly. She took an instinctive step back. What the hell is that? A face on its head, another on its chest?
What, to commemorate lost love?
She didn't get a chance to counterattack. Half the people present could use space-time ninjutsu.
The next instant, Kaguya vanished. In her place stood Sasuke Uchiha—he'd swapped with her using Amenotejikara.
"You… also have the Rinnegan…"
What broke Madara further was the Rinnegan suddenly seeming like a common commodity.
Sasuke had just sent Kaguya back to her original battlefield. The next moment, he vanished too. But as he disappeared, Madara was sent flying sideways in a perfect faceplant.
Qianyu blinked. Ahem. I saw that. Sasuke came over just to deliver that kick.
Couldn't blame the kid. He held a grudge. Sasuke clearly hadn't forgiven Madara for what happened to his former comrades.
Distracted and unbalanced, Madara took the hit. But when he stood, he didn't counterattack. He used the momentum, lunging toward the other side of the dimension.
He was going for the Tailed Beasts.
Qianyu instantly gave chase, shouting advice. "Madara! Just because you can't get the Gedo Statue doesn't mean you should give up! Forcing nine Tails into your own flesh will cause problems… Giving up leads to blowing up! You're really planning your own demise!"
Jokes aside, Qianyu couldn't let Madara reach the Tails.
Madara's idea aligned with Kaguya's: reclaim the Tailed Beasts. But there was a key difference. Kaguya had the foundation (her body) but lacked mobility, thanks to two stubborn roadblocks.
Madara, meanwhile, had mobility. But he lacked the foundation. No Gedo Statue? How do you package the Tails?
How many steps to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki? Skipping the "acquire Gedo Statue" step wasn't an option.
If possible, Madara wanted to avoid conflict with Qianyu until he secured the Tails. He wasn't stupid.
Looking at Qianyu now, sensing that indescribable chakra… Madara had an inkling. He just didn't want to believe it.
But getting the Tails without defeating Qianyu was impossible. As Madara flew forward, the ground beneath him surged. A massive earthen hand rose and swatted at him.
Madara changed direction instantly, narrowly avoiding it.
His combat skills and instincts were beyond doubt. His cerebellum was far more reliable than his cerebrum.
Dodging one attack didn't mean he'd escaped Qianyu. Because now, the entire ground had come alive.
Madara took a deep breath and uttered three words: "Yin-Yang Release…"
"Good eye. More specifically, it's the Sage of Six Paths' Creation of All Things technique."
With the entire environment turning against him, Madara had no choice. Despite already having the Rinnegan, his Perfect Susano'o erupted from the ground in an instant.
The colossal construct leaped into the air. It drew a massive chakra blade and swung.
A dense, high-energy slash carved a canyon into the earth.
The living ground didn't die. If anything, it got angry.
The earth surged like a tsunami. An impossible wave of soil and rock rose, blotting out the sky, climbing to a height far surpassing the Perfect Susano'o.
If that wave landed, Madara could use his Susano'o as a coffin lid.
Facing the tidal wave of earth, Madara didn't retreat. He charged. Another slash.
The canyon from his first strike hadn't healed. It became a chasm within the wave. One more cut would clear a path.
But as the giant sword descended toward the canyon, two more abstract, massive hands manifested on either side. With a colossal CRASH, a scene of exaggerated "bare hands stopping a blade" played out.
From the palms of the giant hands, a flood of blue flame erupted.
In a blink, the earthen tsunami became an ocean of blue fire.
Bone-Chilling Flame? Again?
The Susano'o was engulfed in an instant.
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