Madara Uchiha now stood atop the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The moment the colossal statue emerged, it unleashed a sky-piercing roar: "Roar!"
The shockwave blasted away the surrounding dust.
That roar instantly drew the attention of Chōmei and Kurama.
"Whoa—Demonic Statue of the Outer Path? Doesn't matter. Kazuyama's here, nothing to worry about!"
Chōmei was startled for only an instant before relaxing again. After all, he had followed Kazuyama Gekkō to meet the Sage of Six Paths himself.
He was confident in their strength. Even the Demonic Statue wouldn't get anything easy against them.
"Tch. The troublesome thing finally shows up."
"Kurama? What did you say?"
Unlike Chōmei's calm, the Nine-Tails reacted with clear alarm the moment he saw the statue.
He couldn't help it—this was the Ten-Tails' body. Even if it lacked the chakra of the nine tailed beasts and existed only as an empty shell, it was still part of the Ten-Tails.
Something that naturally suppressed all tailed beasts.
No wonder Kurama was panicking.
With the Demonic Statue supporting him, Madara Uchiha's confidence surged once more.
"Kazuyama Gekkō, even if you possess the power of the Six Paths…"
"The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path belongs to the same realm, though incomplete."
"But I have no other option now."
"If I can seize even a few Tailed Beasts… not even you will be beyond my reach."
Hearing Madara still speak with such confidence, Kazuyama Gekkō burst into laughter.
And the more he laughed, the louder it grew—every note filled with unrestrained mockery.
Madara's face immediately darkened. Without hesitation, he ordered the Demonic Statue to attack.
The statue opened its maw and released a purple chakra dragon, while the protrusions on its back crackled with lightning.
The chakra dragon and bolts of lightning shot toward Kazuyama.
"Solidify."
Facing the sudden attack, Kazuyama calmly spoke a single word.
The overwhelming assault froze instantly—as though time itself had stopped. Madara's pupils constricted.
Through his Rinnegan, he could see Kazuyama's movements clearly.
No ornamentation, no excess motion. Only crystal forming at incredible speed—so fast that the moment the attacks reached him, they were already crystallized.
Both the lightning and the chakra dragon were encased in crystal before Madara even had time to react.
"Honestly, where does your confidence come from?"
"You think the empty shell of the Ten-Tails is enough to overturn anything?"
"Even if you completed the Ten-Tails and became its Jinchūriki, we'd only be equals."
"Let alone now—you can't even become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki."
"Crystal Release: Ten Directions Seal!"
Kazuyama's disdain deepened. Crystal Release surged forth, encasing the Demonic Statue entirely—and Madara Uchiha along with it.
At the same time, four circular patterns appeared around them—the symbols of Yang Release. They formed four array points at the cardinal directions, completing a sealing formula.
The Demonic Statue stood at the center. The moment the seal activated, it was stripped of any ability to move.
Not even the Summoning Technique could budge it.
The overwhelming chakra gave the Demonic Statue no chance to resist.
"Damn it!"
Madara's voice came from a distance. Though the crystal had sealed the statue, he had swapped positions with his Limbo shadow at the last second, narrowly escaping the seal himself.
But seeing his freshly summoned Demonic Statue immobilized so completely made his heart sink.
Still, he did not give in. On the contrary, his fighting spirit surged stronger.
"If shadows can't reach you, then I'll use another method."
"I'll attack you directly!"
"Rinnegan: Heavenly Prison!"
The Limbo World was a shadow world activated by Madara after awakening the Rinnegan. It was a plane where shadow clones attacked unseen, and Madara himself could swap positions with them.
But that was not the full extent of the Rinnegan's power.
Its true strength lay in the hidden shadow world itself.
Using his ocular power, Madara could construct invisible structures there—structures that could crush all things unless countered by Senjutsu or Six Paths power.
"He abandoned shadow-form attacks…"
"And instead wants to strike me directly through the shadow world?"
"A forest of spikes… and glass-like constructs. Impressive, but still too weak."
Kazuyama could perceive every shift around him—even those occurring in the shadow realm. In his senses, the area around him was completely filled with spikes and razor-sharp glass.
It reminded him of how Madara immobilized Sasuke in the original story.
Only this time, Kazuyama Gekkō was the one experiencing it.
"Clang."
Kazuyama didn't bother reacting. He simply activated his Crystal Release, which crushed straight through everything.
The shadow realm's attack collided with the crystalline surge—and shattered entirely.
"Damn it! Does the Rinnegan do nothing?!"
Madara felt like the world was collapsing. He had struggled endlessly to attain the Rinnegan and awaken the Limbo world.
He believed he had surpassed Hashirama Senju, believed he was the strongest in the ninja world, believed no one could stand above him.
In his grand vision, he was the god who would rule all.
But reality had struck with brutal force.
The kid he had once wanted to kill in his twilight years—Kazuyama Gekkō—had risen above him, wielding power on par with the Six Paths.
For the first time, regret flickered in Madara's heart.
Had he known this would be the outcome, he should have killed him before he grew strong—no matter the cost.
"Madara, how's it going on your side?"
"Huh? What happened to you?"
A voice suddenly rose beside Madara—and quickly turned to shock.
Black Zetsu emerged from the ground. Seeing Madara's battered state and Kazuyama Gekkō standing opposite him, he sensed immediately that something had gone horribly wrong.
"That's the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?"
"Encased in crystal?"
As Black Zetsu surveyed the battlefield, he finally saw the situation clearly.
The Demonic Statue was sealed.
Madara Uchiha looked furious and exhausted.
Kazuyama Gekkō, meanwhile, wore a smile so smug it could make anyone want to punch him.
And on the other side, even Muren Uchiha was struggling terribly.