Madara Uchiha's transformation was known to almost no one.
Those on the distant battlefield only saw the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path reappear, then quickly vanish again.
The only exception… was Black Zetsu!
Somewhere in the Shinobi World, Black Zetsu, who was being guarded by a Wood Clone of Madara Uchiha, showed no change in its outward appearance, but its inner being was extremely agitated.
Finally…
After a thousand years, the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki had finally reappeared!
Only two steps remained. As soon as Madara Uchiha unleashed the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and it injected its mother's will, its mother could be resurrected using Madara Uchiha's body.
"This Chakra… it seems the main body succeeded." Madara Uchiha looked in the direction of his main body, a slight smile playing on his lips.
Then, he turned to Black Zetsu and asked with a sarcastic laugh, "Black Zetsu, are you happy?"
"Yes, I'm very happy." Black Zetsu let out a raspy laugh, no longer addressing Madara Uchiha with honorifics. It asked, "Madara, you learned my identity from the Sage of Six Paths, didn't you?"
"So, you truly are Kaguya Otsutsuki's third child?" Madara Uchiha narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You're still not sure?" Black Zetsu was slightly startled. "Didn't the Sage of Six Paths tell you? Otherwise, how would you have obtained his Sage of Six Paths Mode?"
"I haven't met the Sage of Six Paths," Madara Uchiha replied honestly. "I merely inherited his legacy."
"Then how did you know?" Black Zetsu's heart sank, a foreboding feeling washing over it.
"Toneri Otsutsuki told me," Madara Uchiha said meaningfully. "His eyes can see the past—whether it was when Kaguya Otsutsuki was sealed by the Sage of Six Paths' brothers and secretly created you, or when you incited Indra to cause the Shinobi Sect civil war, or even when you altered the information on the Stone Tablet left by the Sage of Six Paths, and used Yin-Yang Release to imply that you were an embodiment of my will. He saw all of it."
Hearing this, Black Zetsu fell silent.
It hadn't expected that its identity was exposed not because Madara Uchiha had discovered some secret, nor because Hagoromo had told him, but because of a dōjutsu from a descendant of Hamura.
Eyes that could see the past—Black Zetsu had never imagined such a cheat-like dōjutsu existed in this world.
However, dōjutsu are reflections of the mind. Mangekyo Sharingan can even derive dōjutsu that are no weaker than the Rinnegan, or even more disturbing.
It wasn't surprising that a supreme dōjutsu could derive a dōjutsu that saw the past.
It was just that its birth and the incitement of Indra had both occurred a thousand years ago.
For Toneri Otsutsuki's eyes to be able to see events from a thousand years ago was truly preposterous.
Did that mean Madara Uchiha's contingency plan for resurrection had also been discovered by him long ago?
Why would he allow Madara Uchiha to be resurrected smoothly?
Knowing that collecting the nine Tailed Beasts into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path would form the Ten-Tails, and that someone with the Rinnegan could become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, why didn't he kill the Jinchuriki to prevent Madara Uchiha from becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki?
This thought had crossed Black Zetsu's mind more than once.
If it were in his shoes, and if he couldn't retrieve the Rinnegan, he would definitely choose to kill a Jinchuriki to temporarily eliminate the Tailed Beast.
However, Toneri Otsutsuki, whose eyes could see the past, did not do so.
This made Black Zetsu smell a conspiracy.
Before it could ponder further, it heard Madara Uchiha ask again, "Do you know Isshiki Otsutsuki?"
"Isshiki Otsutsuki?" Black Zetsu was startled again, quickly rummaging through its memory banks for names of Otsutsuki Clan members it knew. Finally, it asked uncertainly, "Is he Toneri Otsutsuki's father or an ancestor?"
Madara Uchiha's expression darkened, changing unpredictably. "As the will of the Rabbit Goddess, you don't know Isshiki Otsutsuki?"
Black Zetsu's heart immediately jumped. It felt this was an incredibly important piece of information and quickly asked, "Why do you think I should know this person?"
Madara Uchiha didn't explain. He pondered for a few seconds, then slowly asked, "As a product of Yin-Yang Release, do you have all of Kaguya Otsutsuki's memories?"
"I'm Mother's third child, how could I have Mother's memories?" Black Zetsu's tone was somewhat angry, as if it felt Madara Uchiha comparing it to its mother was a great disrespect to the Rabbit Goddess.
Madara Uchiha understood.
It seemed Black Zetsu didn't know Isshiki Otsutsuki.
Even the Sage of Six Paths and Hamura Otsutsuki might not have known about this being who came to Earth with their mother, and whose status was even higher than their mother's.
After all, the Rabbit Goddess's status was unparalleled. How could Kaguya Otsutsuki tell her sons that she was merely a servant, and had even betrayed her master to usurp power?
Only Toneri Otsutsuki's eyes, which could see the past, could know such a secret.
It was just unknown how much truth there was to this secret.
But it didn't matter. Now, the main body had become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, and its Chakra had far surpassed Izayoi and Toneri Otsutsuki.
As long as Toneri Otsutsuki was captured, or his soul was extracted to read his memories, the truth would be known.
So, Madara Uchiha chuckled, "Let's wait for the results here, Black Zetsu… As long as the main body has a way to control you, I believe it will give you a beautiful ending."
"Heh heh…"
Black Zetsu, far from being angry, laughed instead. "Madara, you underestimate me too much. No… you underestimate the Rabbit Goddess too much, don't you?"
Madara Uchiha's expression instantly changed slightly. "What do you mean by that?"
"Your Sage of Six Paths Mode can't sense my presence, can it?" Black Zetsu's tone was full of certainty, its smile playful. "The Ten-Tails is merely an incarnation of the God Tree. The true essence is the Chakra Fruit, which only appears once every thousand years. This is the primary and secondary, the superior and inferior… You monkeys can't possibly understand Mother's power."
Madara Uchiha's mood instantly plummeted.
Just as he was about to transmit his entire conversation with Black Zetsu to his main body in real-time,
Madara Uchiha's body suddenly became unable to move.
"Black Zetsu, you..." Madara's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
Black Zetsu, who was attached to him, smirked. "You really thought a mere Wood Clone could control me? I've been able to break free from the very beginning; I just didn't want to disrupt the plan."
"Now that you've become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, the outcome is already set."
"Madara, you were just my pawn. Even if you inherited the Sage of Six Paths' power, it won't change your fate as a pawn!"
The black substance covering half of Madara Uchiha's body began to spread to the other side.
Before long, Madara's Wood Clone was completely consumed by Black Zetsu.
As a product of Yin-Yang Release, Black Zetsu itself was a highly advanced manifestation of it.
Only the Yin-Yang Release of the Chakra Ancestor could create a lifeform like it.
Once Black Zetsu attached itself to or pierced a body, even Madara Uchiha, who had become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki and possessed immortality, would lose control of his body.
And this was just a Wood Clone.
After dealing with the Wood Clone that was monitoring it, Black Zetsu used the Mayfly Technique to burrow into the ground and swiftly move towards Madara Uchiha and Izayoi's location.
...
At this moment, Izayoi was intently observing Madara Uchiha.
Various colored bubbles, numbering in the dozens, floated around Madara.
Izayoi ignored the Perks whose upper limits couldn't reach other dimensions—the bubbles below red—and focused only on the colored and red bubbles.
Originally, Madara Uchiha only had one colored Perk: Kekkei Genkai: Rinnegan.
His Sage of Six Paths Mode was a power bestowed upon him by the Sage of Six Paths, requiring the sun mark on his hand to activate. Unlike Izayoi's cells, which contained physical energy, spiritual energy, and Natural Energy, allowing him to activate Sage of Six Paths Mode even off Earth or deep in the universe where Natural Energy was absent.
Therefore, Madara Uchiha's Sage Body was merely a red Perk, just like Uzumaki Naruto's, and hadn't been able to evolve after two years.
But now, Madara Uchiha had several new colored Perks, including Sage Body.
Kekkei Mōra: Rinne Sharingan (Color)
Sage Body (Red) (Color)
Kekkei Mōra: Wood Release (Color)
Self-Healing (Color)
Sky Control (Color)
All-Attribute Body (Red) (Color)
There were six new colored Perks.
Counting his existing Kekkei Genkai: Rinnegan (Color), Madara Uchiha now possessed seven colored Perks.
Among them, Wood Release and All-Attribute Body caught Izayoi's attention.
Izayoi also possessed five colored Perks, only two fewer than Madara Uchiha.
If Madara Uchiha's Wood Release and All-Attribute Body hadn't been elevated to the colored tier by the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, he would also only have five colored Perks.
Yet, the two extra colored Perks were ones Izayoi did not possess.
Wood Release, when elevated to the colored tier, indeed became Kekkei Mōra. After all, this was the power of the God Tree.
Chakra originated from the God Tree's Chakra Fruit. Kekkei Genkai was a product of the fusion of two Chakra Nature Transformations. Wood Release was the Kekkei Genkai closest to the God Tree.
Without a Sage Body or powerful life energy, others attempting to fuse Water Release and Earth Release Nature Transformations would not create Wood Release, but rather Lava Release.
After absorbing the Ten-Tails, which was the transformed God Tree, Wood Release would inevitably return to its origin, reaching an interdimensional level.
Kekkei Mōra, on the other hand, was a product of the fusion of seven Nature Transformations, similar to a Truth-Seeking Ball, but more advanced.
Madara Uchiha's All-Attribute Body's tier being elevated to colored should be due to Wood Release and Rinne Sharingan.
Izayoi's eyes narrowed slightly.
It seemed this was another sub-Perk.
Perhaps he could also upgrade All-Attribute Body to an interdimensional level, just like upgrading ninja aptitude, thereby lowering the difficulty of synthesizing Kekkei Mōra.
Madara Uchiha was unaware of Izayoi's thoughts.
At this moment, he was feeling the changes in his body, murmuring, "Is this the power of the Sage of Six Paths? Incredible, it's not on the same level as before at all."
Gazing at Izayoi across from him, Madara suddenly felt that the other's Chakra was so minuscule.
Absorbing and sealing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which contained seven Tailed Beasts, wasn't just about gaining the sum of the seven Tailed Beasts' Chakra; his very life essence had undergone a qualitative change.
Moreover...
Madara suddenly looked down at his hand, which bore a white sun mark, processing the information in his mind, his eyes filled with shock.
Is this the Sage of Six Paths'... true inheritance?
Madara couldn't help but grin, saying to Izayoi, "I won!"
After speaking, the Sage's Staff in Madara's hand instantly transformed into a strangely shaped black longsword.
Izayoi was no stranger to this black longsword; he had seen it before.
In the original story, Uchiha Obito, who became the gatekeeper of the Six Paths, once possessed it and defiled its divine power to create and destroy worlds.
This sword was none other than the Sage of Six Paths' main weapon... the Sword of the Divine Path: Sword of Nunoboko!
Also known as... the Sword of Desires!
Whoosh—
Madara Uchiha suddenly swept the sword horizontally.
A blinding white light instantly magnified in Izayoi's vision.
As if sensing something, the nine Truth-Seeking Balls around Izayoi immediately flew in front of him, liquefying and merging to form a black shield, blocking the incoming white light.
The white light failed to penetrate this shield, but that was just one small part of it.
The remaining white light continued to slice forward, vanishing in a flash.
In that fleeting moment, people on the distant battlefield, and even those in the Land of Lightning who were still awake, noticed that the dark sky turned to daytime for a few seconds.
The surrounding darkness was completely dispelled, replaced by daylight.
Because it only lasted for a fleeting moment, everyone assumed it was an illusion and instinctively looked up at the sky.
The next second, everyone's jaws dropped, their eyes filled with shock and disbelief.
Above the Land of Lightning, the clouds that had seemed so close had all vanished.
The starry night sky was breathtakingly beautiful.
That blood moon, also seemingly within reach, was filled with a demonic beauty.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path roaring and blasting a massive hole through the clouds was already a power that could alter heaven and earth.
However, compared to Madara Uchiha's sword strike, it was insignificant.
If it had been daytime, the people present looking towards the battlefield where Izayoi and Madara Uchiha were would have been even more shocked.
Behind Izayoi, a large section of the mountain range had been cut in half.
And unlike a Perfect Susanoo's draw-and-slash attack, which only shaved off mountaintops, here, the engulfed mountains had been reduced to nothing, no different from being hit by a Truth-Seeking Ball explosion.
Madara Uchiha's strike had the same nature as a Truth-Seeking Ball explosion, yet it didn't consume any Truth-Seeking Balls.
His almost infinite Chakra showed no change either.
This meant that this attack... was just a basic attack!
This was the power of the Sword of Desires!
The Sword of Nunoboko in Uchiha Obito's hands in the original story was simply incomparable to the Sword of Nunoboko in Madara Uchiha's hands; they were on completely different levels.
Izayoi's eyes rarely trembled slightly.
Then, his mouth unexpectedly curved into a grin, filled with excitement.
"Is this the power of the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki? No... is this the power of the Sage of Six Paths?"
Izayoi stared intensely at the black longsword in Madara Uchiha's hand, praising sincerely, "Yin-Yang Release can actually be used this way! This power is practically on par with space-time power, which transcends the seven Nature Transformations. Truly worthy of the ancestor of shinobi, to be able to develop such power... it's amazing!"
Madara Uchiha was a little confused, seeing Izayoi not afraid at all, but instead unusually excited.
What was going on?
Wasn't he the one who had gained the advantage?
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