After becoming a Jinchūriki—and transforming five of the Six Paths of Pain into Edo Tensei Jinchūriki as well—Nagato's overall strength had surged dramatically. Even if he had not yet reached true Six Paths–tier, he was unquestionably the strongest existence below that level.
Even if Hashirama Senju were to be revived, it was far from certain he could defeat the current Nagato.
High above the battlefield where countless experts were locked in fierce combat, several golden cicadas hovered in the sky. Their compound eyes functioned like ultra-high-definition cameras, recording everything unfolding below and transmitting it all directly to Rokuro.
At this moment, Rokuro himself was still inside the Uchiha Clan compound in Konoha, yet through the hundreds of golden cicadas distributed across the three major battlefields, he could perceive the entire situation with perfect clarity.
Naturally, he had already seen the Edo Jinchūriki Six Paths of Pain—
and had even pinpointed Nagato's exact location.
"With Izumi watching over that side, a mere group of Edo Jinchūriki isn't worth worrying about. Even if Nagato personally enters the battle, he won't stand a chance…"
"But—"
Dozens of virtual display panels floated before Rokuro. He reached out and tapped one of them, enlarging it.
The image displayed was not the battlefield where the Six Paths of Pain were fighting the Uchiha.
Instead, it showed a desolate hill several kilometers away.
There should have been no one there.
Yet through the golden cicadas, Rokuro had detected the presence of an extremely powerful individual hidden within it. Judging by chakra volume alone, this person was nearly on par with Nagato.
"At this point in time, someone possessing chakra on this level…" Rokuro murmured.
"There's no need to guess. It can only be that person."
As soon as he finished speaking, the image on the screen vanished—
as if a video stream had abruptly lost its signal.
Rokuro smiled faintly.
With a casual motion of his right hand, he summoned the Dimensional Blade and sliced forward through space.
In the very next instant, he appeared precisely at the location where the image had disappeared.
"Such overwhelming dōjutsu power… and this abyss-like pressure that inspires instinctive dread," Rokuro said calmly.
"If my guess is correct, then you must be the strongest figure in the history of the Uchiha clan—
(Indra doesn't count; he wasn't an Uchiha, his surname was Ōtsutsuki)."
"Uchiha Madara-senpai."
"I am your junior, Uchiha Rokuro. My respects."
Rokuro stood before Madara, Dimensional Blade in hand. His words were polite—but his body showed not the slightest gesture of a bow.
Clad in armor from the Warring States era, Uchiha Madara scrutinized the younger man before him. At the same time, an overwhelming aura erupted from his body, surging forth like a storm—clearly an attempt to suppress Rokuro from the outset.
Yet Madara quickly realized—
No matter how violently his killing intent crashed forward like raging waves, Rokuro remained unmoved—
like a towering mountain.
No matter how powerful the tide, it would only break apart upon impact, incapable of shaking him in the slightest.
"Uchiha… Rokuro?"
"That would be me," Rokuro replied with a faint smile.
"Judging by your current state, Madara-senpai, you must have been revived through Edo Tensei by my teacher, Orochimaru."
"Come to think of it, I haven't been able to contact him for quite some time now. I wonder how he's doing."
"Hmph."
Madara snorted coldly.
"That man called Orochimaru possessed decent strength. Unfortunately, while he had the ability to steal Uchiha power, he lacked the talent to truly master it."
"He is already dead—by my hand."
Rokuro had long anticipated this outcome.
But he did not believe Orochimaru was truly dead.
If one were to rank the strongest characters across the entire Naruto storyline—
early stage: Orochimaru.
mid stage: Nagato.
late stage: Uchiha Madara.
final stage: Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Each era produced its own god.
But if one were to ask who was the hardest to kill—
Then aside from the immortal Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, the answer would almost certainly be Orochimaru.
The Living Corpse Reincarnation he created, when combined with curse marks, was practically comparable to Voldemort from another magical world.
As long as the curse marks existed, Orochimaru could revive endlessly.
And that was only in the original timeline.
In this world—due to Rokuro's intervention—Orochimaru's curse marks had been further refined, making him even harder to kill.
"Madara-senpai, don't underestimate my teacher," Rokuro said calmly.
"Perhaps his raw combat strength is inferior to yours—but when it comes to immortality and resurrection…"
"You wouldn't even be able to see his taillights."
Madara frowned slightly but did not dwell on the matter.
In his eyes, the current war was nothing more than a prelude to the Eye of the Moon Plan.
Once he became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, grasped true Six Paths power, and activated Infinite Tsukuyomi—
At that point, concepts like immortality and resurrection would become meaningless.
Under Infinite Tsukuyomi, all would be reduced to ants.
Except for himself.
The entire shinobi world would fall into an eternal dream.
"Uchiha Rokuro," Madara said coldly.
"After my revival, I heard about you. For someone like you to appear among the younger generation… it surprised me."
"But even you remain bound by the very nature of the shinobi world. Could it be that you—"
Rokuro raised a hand, cutting him off mid-sentence.
"Stop. Let me guess—you're about to say that the shinobi world is filled with war, war breeds hatred, hatred gives rise to new wars, and the cycle continues endlessly. Right?"
Madara's expression darkened.
"Do you deny this? Is that not the reality of the shinobi world?"
"I absolutely deny it," Rokuro replied without hesitation.
"Yes, wars break out frequently in the shinobi world—but they are not caused by hatred."
"Hatred can cause conflict between individuals, even endless cycles of vengeance. But wars between nations are never born from hatred."
"They are driven by far more practical considerations."
Gazing at the most charismatic villain in the Naruto world, Rokuro felt a tinge of disappointment.
"Madara-senpai, I admit I once held a favorable impression of you. But I have to say—your thinking is outdated."
"You never truly understood the essence of war."
"And that other man of your era—Hashirama Senju—though hailed as the God of Shinobi and possessing the terrifying power to destroy a nation single-handedly, was no better when it came to governance."
Rokuro shook his head.
"What a pity."
"With power like yours, the two of you lacked even basic political competence."
"No wonder the shinobi world has been plagued by conflict for so many years."
"With the strength you both possessed back then, if you had truly worked together—Susanoo cloaked over the Great Buddha—the entire shinobi world would have been unified decades ago."
"There would be no conflicts like the ones we see today."
"A real shame."
Madara had never heard of the phrase 'Susanoo cloaked over the Great Buddha', but as a firsthand witness of the Valley of the End, he instantly understood what Rokuro meant.
Unfortunately, his ideals had differed from Hashirama's from the very beginning.
Enemies before Konoha was founded.
Never allies afterward.
The thought of joining forces like that had never once crossed his mind.
"Enough," Rokuro said calmly.
"We've said more than enough."
"Uchiha Madara—your scheme is obvious. Gather the tailed beasts, become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, then activate Infinite Tsukuyomi."
"Plunge the entire shinobi world into an eternal dream."
"And you call that saving the world?"
"How laughable."
Rokuro's eyes transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Terrifying dōjutsu power surged forth like a tsunami.
Madara's expression turned solemn as his own eyes shifted into the Mangekyō form.
"I will never allow you to turn the shinobi world into a dead land," Rokuro declared coldly.
"The future of this world will be decided by me."
"You—dead man—should return to where you came from."
The moment his words fell—
Rokuro activated his Mangekyō dōjutsu.
Black dōjutsu power spread rapidly, enveloping everything within a one-kilometer radius.
Space itself froze.
All beings
all objects
were immobilized.
Then
The Dimensional Blade tore space apart and slashed straight toward Uchiha Madara.
END OF CHAPTER
(Some chapters in patreon are double chapters)
5 IN 1 - BE A MEMBER, GET 5 ONGOING STORIES!!
Forbidden Java Jutsu - MrBehringer's Secret
👉 patreon.com/MrBehringer