LightReader

Chapter 268 - Chapter 268: Amenotejikara and Infinite Tsukuyomi

After gaining the Six Paths Yang Power, Naruto activated the senjutsu within his body along with the Nine-Tails' chakra. With a speed almost impossible for the human eye to follow, he dashed over to the scorched body of Might Guy.

At this moment, even though Guy had opened the final Gate of the Eight Gates and unleashed all his strength to nearly destroy Uchiha Madara, his body had paid the ultimate price—reaching a point of no return.

But for Naruto, who was essentially "hacked" now, this wasn't a problem. He pushed forward through the sweltering air, approaching Might Guy, whose body still radiated intense heat.

He knelt down and extended his hand—marked with the sun sigil—and gently placed it over the last faintly beating portion of Guy's heart.

Thump, thump!

Six Paths Yang Power surged in. The heart began beating once more. The energy spread throughout his body.

Fresh muscle and flesh began to regenerate under Guy's charred skin. Unfortunately, the leg he had used to strike Madara had been completely destroyed. Not even Six Paths Yang Power could restore it...

"Good. One more potential client for the Breathing Art of the Sage Path."

Hidden in the shadows, Uchiha Kirin observed silently. He had the power to completely restore Might Guy—but not yet.

...

On the other side, Sasuke had also succeeded in absorbing the Six Paths Yin Power.

However, he had to do more than Naruto. He had to channel that Yin Power into his eyes—awakening the Rinnegan with six tomoe.

This brief window was exactly what Uchiha Madara seized.

Struggling to stand, he absorbed several Truth-Seeking Orbs and used their energy to heal his body.

Then, giving Sasuke and Naruto no chance to react...

He opened the third eye on his forehead and aimed its crimson Ocular Power directly at the moon!

Infinite Tsukuyomi.

In an instant, the Divine Tree responded to the call. Its roots, which still remained beneath the earth, once again took hold in the shinobi world—absorbing chakra from the Dragon Vein and all of the land to grow stronger!

The power of the Rinne Sharingan, with nine tomoe, spread across the sky. All beings caught in the moonlight—save for the incredibly strong or those reincarnated via Edo Tensei—were instantly pulled into the genjutsu and digested.

Their beautiful dreams led only to destruction.

Perhaps, for some who had suffered greatly in the real world, it was a blessing. A release.

But for others—those with high status in reality, or those who believed they could one day attain such status—it was not a gift, but a nightmare.

Some wanted to sleep. Others wanted to awaken.

But fate does not shift based on either group's will.

The real choice lies with those who wield great power—how they think, and what they choose to do...

Unfortunately, those with great power also tend to have great influence in reality. They can do whatever they want—there's no need for them to interact with NPCs in a dream world. Instead, toying with those they govern and tame in reality is a far more satisfying option.

...

At this moment, only the five most powerful Sages in the shinobi world remained awake, along with those under their protection—such as the few sheltered under Sasuke's Susanoo, the shinobi cats and pangolins guarded by Uchiha Kirin, and the three Great Sacred Grounds.

Even the Mountain God, a divine being, was unaffected due to his unique life form—but even he struggled to protect his followers by dispersing his strength.

To everyone's surprise, Neji, after completing his recovery, also resisted the hypnosis of Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Of course.

Powerful as it was, Infinite Tsukuyomi was still, at its core, a genjutsu. Neji's spirit, body, and even frequency were in sync with the entire shinobi world.

To drag him into an illusion would require not only the devouring of this world, but at minimum, the devouring of his entire physical form.

And the roots of the Divine Tree hadn't yet reached that level.

On the contrary, the energy drained from the shinobi world by Infinite Tsukuyomi allowed Neji to sense the world crying out in agony. Using this as an opportunity—and drawing on his insights gained from battling Six Paths Madara—Neji pushed both his fist intent and sword intent to a new level.

In a flash, he shattered another inner shackle.

Nature Energy and chakra from all around surged into his body. In a strange twist, Neji began to compete with Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Divine Tree for control over the world's power.

And now, relying solely on himself, Neji had reached the same level as Six Paths Naruto and Sasuke!

A bird that has broken free of its cage... will never be imprisoned again!

...

The three of them exchanged glances—there was no need for words. Regardless of what had happened before, stopping Uchiha Madara now was the absolute priority.

Each of them could sense the presence of Madara's Limbo Clones.

They moved in together, their roles clearly defined.

Naruto used taijutsu and black rods forged from Truth-Seeking Orbs. With the help of numerous shadow clones, he engaged Madara in close combat—looking for chances to seal the clones with the rods.

Sasuke used his own ninjutsu and the Rinnegan's ocular ability—Amenotejikara—to shift positions and pull Madara away, covering Naruto whenever he got knocked back.

Meanwhile, Neji brought his Gentle Fist to its absolute peak. Drawing upon the infinite energy source that was the shinobi world, he unleashed a barrage of fist marks and sword lights, scattering Madara's techniques and battling multiple Limbo Clones at once.

Maybe it was because their power had just spiked, or maybe Madara was still adjusting after his resurrection—

But for a moment, the three of them had the upper hand.

Six Paths Madara spat blood, struggling to even counterattack...

...

Up above, the spiritual form of the Sage of Six Paths cast a glance down. That gaze carried a trace of displeasure.

Uchiha Kirin looked up to meet it calmly, then explained that Neji's breakthrough had nothing to do with him—it was purely Neji's own achievement.

Moreover, as the Divine Tree grew, the shinobi world's power was gradually weakening.

Neji didn't possess his own strength. Relying solely on the world's chakra might seem endless, but in truth, the longer the battle dragged on, the weaker he would become.

...

Kirin turned his attention back to the battlefield.

"Perfect. I've tracked it... So that's how Amenotejikara's fluctuation works."

Uchiha Kirin only needed to observe Sasuke's teleportation a few times to understand the mechanics of Amenotejikara.

This eye technique could shift an enemy's position within his line of sight.

Though, it did lack some flexibility.

Still, it was the copying of Infinite Tsukuyomi that gave him a slight headache.

Even though the Rinne Sharingan on Madara's forehead wasn't yet as powerful as his own Ocular Power, it was still growing—and fast.

It was clear: if this continued, by the time it had enough power to revive Ōtsutsuki Kaguya, that eye would surpass Kirin's.

The only upside... Madara didn't seem to know how to use it properly.

...

After a thorough observation, Uchiha Kirin had deciphered part of the core mechanism behind Infinite Tsukuyomi—a genjutsu that straddled the boundary between reality and illusion.

But if he were to cast it, he'd need a brand-new Divine Tree to provide the scenery, making up for his own lack of ocular power.

Luckily, the Tailed Beasts' chakra had long been gathered. After the war, he could just use Black Zetsu to create a few Divine Tree seeds for backup...

----------------

Fanfic is finished on Patreon (324 chapters in total.) 

Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)

More Chapters