Uchiha Madara had always believed he was the one in control, that only he could decide the fate of others.
Little did he know, he was nothing more than an insect trapped in a web, easily manipulated.
Black Zetsu had planted the seeds long ago, merely waiting for this final moment to strike.
"Because I was never a manifestation of your will in the first place. That's why they all looked at you with pity. Madara, you are truly pitiful," Black Zetsu said, his voice filled with malicious glee.
Excitement surged through him, a mixture of elation and relief.
Relief that the plan had succeeded.
Joy that he was about to see his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, at last.
"Look at him, everyone. Isn't Uchiha Madara pathetic?" Takuya sighed.
The others were left in stunned silence.
None of them had expected things to take this turn. Even if Madara had been deceived, he shouldn't have met his end like this.
Yet here he was—betrayed by the one he trusted most.
"You were nothing more than a clown, a fool who fell for my deception. Everything you did, every decision you made, was guided by my hand. Even the tablet in the Uchiha shrine—I altered it."
"Everything I have done was to bring back my great mother," Black Zetsu declared, savoring Madara's despair.
He wanted Madara to die with full awareness of how thoroughly he had been used.
From the days of the Sage of Six Paths, Black Zetsu had been at work.
It was he who had influenced Indra, leading him down the dark path, pushing him to turn on his comrades to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan. The difference was that Indra's bloodline was strong enough to skip straight to the Eternal Mangekyō level.
Just like his father—the Sage of Six Paths—who had gone straight from the three-tomoe Sharingan to the Rinnegan, skipping the Mangekyō stage entirely.
"So… I was just a pawn?" Madara whispered.
The realization crushed him. The frustration, the indignation—all of it vanished, leaving behind only humiliation and regret.
But there was no medicine for regret.
From the moment he believed the words on the Uchiha tablet, his fate had been sealed.
Even if he hadn't believed it, Black Zetsu would have found another way to push him toward the path of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
This was destiny—one he could never have escaped.
"Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!"
Madara screamed, writhing in agony.
Something inside his body was trying to break free.
His form began to swell, as though he was inflating like a grotesque balloon, stretching unnaturally until he no longer looked human.
The sight sent chills down everyone's spines.
And then, at the peak of his grotesque transformation, Uchiha Madara was no more.
Floating in the sky was a woman with flowing hair that nearly reached the ground.
It was like watching a horrific magic trick—except this was no illusion.
"This is terrifying," Kushina murmured, shivering as goosebumps crawled across her skin. She rubbed her arms in an attempt to shake them off.
"Kurama… you won't ever explode like that, will you?" she asked, half-jokingly.
"Don't talk nonsense!" Kurama snapped, thoroughly offended.
What do you take me for? Some kind of deranged fox?
That was an insult.
Still… the presence of the Sage's mother was overwhelming.
Her mere existence was suffocating.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna… lay low," Kurama thought, making the wise decision to shrink back and remain silent.
Whatever happened, Takuya could handle it. No need for him to worry.
"Mother," Black Zetsu called out eagerly.
Like a loyal pet finally reunited with its master, he wriggled his way into Kaguya's robes, immediately beginning to recount everything that had transpired in the shinobi world.
"This is bad," Hashirama muttered.
Even hardened warriors like Hashirama and Tobirama felt the weight of her presence pressing down on them.
Kushina and Nawaki were even worse off. They hid without hesitation.
If not for the fear of getting smacked by Takuya, Nawaki would have latched onto him for protection.
Kaguya's mere gaze sent a chill down his spine, as if he had been plunged into an icy abyss.
"Takuya, the Sage of Six Paths' mother has appeared. Where is the Sage himself?" Ōnoki asked, swallowing hard.
He fought the urge to tremble.
No matter how fearsome this woman was, he couldn't show weakness.
If he did, the Third Raikage would never let him live it down.
"I don't know. He should be here soon," Takuya replied.
He was only guessing, of course. He couldn't say for certain.
But there was no denying the sheer pressure Kaguya radiated.
Honestly, Takuya had to give props to those protagonists in certain stories—the ones who traveled back in time and somehow managed to romance this woman, becoming the father of the Sage of Six Paths.
"Is it you, Hagoromo?" Kaguya suddenly spoke.
Her gaze locked onto Hashirama, scrutinizing him closely.
Hashirama felt his body freeze.
It was as if some ancient, incomprehensible force had latched onto him.
"No… you are not Hagoromo. You are his child… Ashura?"
Kaguya muttered to herself.
"You have Hagoromo's eyes. You are his descendant."
Her gaze then shifted toward Takuya.
The moment she laid eyes on him, he felt like everything about him had been laid bare.
The Rinnegan was strong, yes.
But in the face of this ancient progenitor, even the wielder of the Rinnegan could only feel powerless.
If it weren't for the fact that Kaguya had been conveniently given a major intelligence debuff in the original story, Naruto and Sasuke wouldn't have stood a chance.
They had been utterly outmatched.
And the strangest part?
Kaguya had actually been swayed by physical attraction.
It was like watching an ethereal goddess descend from the heavens, only to fall for some random mortal man.
Even more absurd was how her expression softened, her gaze turning hazy with admiration, her face flushing red.
"So, are you here to stop me?"
The sheer intensity of her presence locked onto him.
For a moment, Takuya almost let out a stream of expletives.
I HAVEN'T DONE ANYTHING, WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME?!
Do you want me to hit you?
…Okay, fine, I probably can't actually hit you.
Takuya acknowledged Kaguya's power.
But so what?
She was still going to drink his foot-washing water.
"Bye-bye now. Exile."
Takuya wasted no time.
He activated his ability, sending her on an all-expenses-paid trip through the void.
Kaguya barely had time to react before she was forcefully bound and hurled into a space-time rift.
A storm of emotions surged through her.
Hagoromo's descendant… possessed the power to control her?!
Boom!
Unlike Madara, she was gone for less than a second before she tore through the rift and returned.
She barely looked affected.
But the dark expression on her face made it clear—the experience had not been pleasant.
Who knew where she had been sent?
Still tucked away in Kaguya's robes, Black Zetsu sighed in relief.
That brat was dangerous.
Thankfully, his mother was strong enough.
She wasn't as useless as Madara.
"Mother, please, stop—"
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01.
DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING