Chapter 266: Six Paths
Compared to Minato and Kushina, who were functioning only through residual chakra, Naruto—though gravely injured—was still in far better condition.
But he was calm.
He had long accepted the difference in power between himself and Uchiha Madara. That gap wasn't something experience or timing could overcome. It was the difference between mortals and gods. So, he had resigned himself to fate, allowing the tailed beast to be extracted from his body.
Until now.
After hearing his parents' voices, something shifted deep within him. A force—unexplainable, yet undeniable—rose up and pushed him to his feet.
"I was ready to die when I set out on this path."
He walked slowly to his mother's side, his back facing Kurama, and placed his hands on the massive chain.
"Even though I've always been pushed forward by fate… I was prepared for what I'd face."
"So don't torment yourselves because of me—not out of guilt or regret."
His powerful chakra suppressed the Ten-Tails' pull significantly more than either of his parents could.
Kushina stared, wide-eyed, at the young man who now stood beside her—so familiar, yet so changed. Her once-savage tone faltered.
"Naruto… Naruto…"
She repeated his name in a whisper, as though unsure it truly belonged to the man in front of her. Her expression wrinkled like old bark—strained, overwhelmed.
More than a decade had passed since she last held him as a newborn. Now, her baby had grown into a young man with eyes like his father's… and she hadn't been there for any of it.
Minato, who had remained near the cage, looked on in silence. Compared to Kushina, who had been sealed and isolated, he had witnessed pieces of Naruto's life—through chakra fragments, echoes within the seal.
But those glimpses were not blessings.
From the moment the village hid Naruto's identity, from the day the child was shunned and ostracized, Minato had wanted to turn away. For the first time in his life, he'd wanted to run.
Though he stayed, watching quietly from within Naruto's body, guilt weighed on him like a mountain. He couldn't even bring himself to tell Kushina what their son had endured.
And now, as Naruto spoke—so calm, so understanding—Minato couldn't bear it. Every word was a dagger. Because it had been his dream to make Naruto a hero. His decision to entrust him with the Nine-Tails. His arrogance that had shaped this path.
As a father… what right did he have to decide Naruto's fate?
He had failed to protect his son. Failed to give him a life free of suffering.
And now, both he and Kushina had no idea how to speak. Just as Naruto hadn't known how to face them—neither did they.
---
"Why are you both so sad?"
Naruto's voice broke the silence, still facing forward.
"Shouldn't we be happy? We're finally together."
"Even if it's faint, the memory of when I was born has become clearer as I've grown stronger. Little pieces, little feelings… they come back."
"That moment—it's carved into me. Like a seal etched into stone."
"The warmth of my parents' arms... it's unforgettable."
He gripped the chain tighter, resisting the urge to turn around.
"Or were you expecting me to cry?" he asked softly. "To scream and ask why you left me?"
A pause.
Then he smiled.
"I'm sorry... but while you were asleep, your son grew up quietly. I'm not the child who cried in your arms anymore."
"I don't want to just be protected by you anymore. I want us to fight together... as a family."
His voice, though hoarse, grew steadier.
The iron weight in his heart—the bitterness, the solitude—softened. Even after everything he had endured, this moment gave him peace.
---
"I'm sorry… Naruto. I wasn't a good mother."
The warmth behind him returned—familiar, overwhelming. Pale hands reached around and pressed against his own, holding the chain with him.
"I failed you."
Another pair of hands joined—larger, steadier—wrapping over both of theirs.
"I was an arrogant father," Minato said quietly.
"But no matter what happens… I love you, Naruto."
"Me too." Kushina's voice cracked.
The three of them—together, just as they had been on that night over a decade ago—held the chain as one, pouring their chakra into it.
Behind them, the Nine-Tails silently watched, a pang of sadness rising in his massive chest. That moment... it was the very scene that had led to his imprisonment.
And now, more than ten years later, history repeated itself.
But this time, the child in the cradle had grown up.
---
"Then… let's go!"
From the battlefield, Uchiha Madara watched in silence.
Naruto—who had been limp and lifeless—suddenly stood again.
He gripped the chain embedded in his chest with both hands, blood gushing from his wounds, but he didn't flinch.
Golden chakra burst from his body, forming a brilliant cloak around him.
Madara's brows twitched.
The resistance on the Ten-Tails' chain had spiked—Naruto's resolve now burned with something different.
Not just survival.
Perseverance.
Courage.
Madara narrowed his eyes.
"Tch… If only I had met you a few years later. You might have become troublesome."
He sighed, raising a hand.
Rinnegan power surged once more into the Ten-Tails.
The monster howled violently, pulling the chains harder, its ten tails thrashing like wild snakes.
Naruto's chakra flickered.
The golden light around him dimmed, his strength buckling under the pressure.
The chain began to drag forward, little by little.
And yet—Naruto smiled.
A genuine, heartfelt smile.
Because even if he was dying—
At least in this moment…
He wasn't alone.
He felt warm.
Although his father's and mother's chakra had long dissipated, Naruto still felt a warmth he had never known before. That warmth swept away the last trace of fear lingering in him as he faced death.
In that moment, Naruto realized—he wasn't completely indifferent to life and death. If he truly had no fear of dying, he wouldn't have been so desperate in his pursuit of strength. After all, only by growing stronger could he find peace of mind.
But maybe...
He had now discovered something more reassuring than power. This feeling—this warmth—was perhaps the second time in his life he felt genuine happiness.
With a relieved smile, Naruto could feel the cage sealing the Nine-Tails inside his body being crushed by the sealing force on the chains. At the same time, he felt his own life force being drawn out alongside the Nine-Tails, slipping further and further away.
Was it worth it, in the end?
Just as he was ready to fall into an eternal sleep and bring closure to his journey—
"Are you giving up already? I thought you'd hold on a little longer."
Uchiha Madara's voice cut through the silence, dragging Naruto back to consciousness.
Naruto opened his eyes, startled to feel a clay-like substance covering his body. A rich vitality surged through him, enveloping his near-dead form.
That sticky, unfamiliar sensation forced him to blink, and he locked eyes with Uchiha Madara.
"You…"
Though confused, Naruto could clearly sense that Madara was healing him—restoring the life force drained by the Nine-Tails' extraction.
"I promised someone I'd spare your life," Madara said coldly. "Whether I kill you or not is insignificant to me. So, I'll let you live."
As his words fell, more White Zetsu closed in, surrounding Naruto. But even their help was far from enough to fully restore the vitality lost by a Jinchūriki after a tailed beast extraction.
"...Was it Ryosuke?"
Naruto hesitated but asked softly. Who else could possibly earn a promise from Madara?
Yet Madara didn't answer.
Instead, Naruto suddenly felt a strange, familiar energy flowing into his body through the White Zetsu. Unlike raw life force, this power welcomed him—it felt like something he had once possessed and mastered. It fused effortlessly with the Sage Chakra within him, rapidly repairing the damage left behind.
Madara watched him in silence for a moment before slowly descending from the Ten-Tails. While their exchange continued, the beast—having absorbed the Nine-Tails—began to change.
The Ten-Tails' massive form shifted. Branch-like appendages spread out, and the grotesque face at its head vanished completely. With a deep rumble, its body expanded even more, growing into something unmistakably tree-like.
"This moment... it's finally arrived."
Madara's voice trembled—not with fear, but with excitement.
Behind him, Black Zetsu grinned coldly. The thousand-year plan was nearing its conclusion.
"Come, Ten-Tails!"
Madara, now shirtless, floated before the monstrous beast. As he called out, the Ten-Tails dissolved into a mist-like vapor and rushed into his body.
"Power... this is true power!"
Madara clenched his fists. His already monstrous chakra swelled to unimaginable levels—endless, boundless.
Natural energy saturated the air like an ocean, yet Madara no longer feared it. Instead, he reveled in the ecstasy of transcendence.
Then... the eye.
Inside his mind, an eye took shape. A scarlet Rinnegan, marked by nine black tomoe arranged in perfect symmetry.
With it, he saw everything—every tremor of the earth beneath his feet, the rotation of the planet, the breath of every lifeform. The power of the Six Paths surged through him.
His long hair turned stark white, his skin paled. The divine energy flowing through him coalesced into a staff and truth-seeking orbs that floated behind him like a halo. He even felt something akin to horns emerging from his head.
"Such a familiar change..."
Looking down at his pale skin and white hair, Madara felt himself evolving beyond humanity.
Then, suddenly, he turned his gaze sharply toward a distant point.
Hyuga Ryosuke.
His chakra had remained undetectable until now, but in this new realm—this divine awareness—Madara could feel it clearly.
He too had reached the realm of the Six Paths. And he had done it without the Ten-Tails.
How?
How had Ryosuke reached this level without external crutches? Without tailed beasts? Had he used another power source? Or had he truly evolved on his own?
Doubt began to gnaw at Madara's confidence. That swelling arrogance, born from overwhelming strength, now faltered.
Behind him, Black Zetsu smiled grimly. He could sense Madara's fear—the unease in his eyes, the direction of his gaze.
Even he didn't know the full truth of Hyuga Ryosuke's power, and that made him anxious.
"Madara-sama," Zetsu urged, "the sacred tree still needs time to mature."
"Why not summon it now, before you confront Ryosuke? Whether we win or lose, we'll still be able to act."
Madara was quiet for a moment before nodding. "A good idea."
With a strike of his scepter, the ground trembled—an enormous, ancient tree burst forth from the earth, towering skyward.
"What... what is that?!"
"What is Uchiha Madara doing?!"
"Hurry! Prepare the defenses!"
For a brief moment, the entire war paused.
Every shinobi turned to look at the massive tree and the man floating beside it. No one dared approach. No one dared act.
Even Madara's clones stood idle. He wasn't one to kill for pleasure.
All eyes fell on the newly formed sacred tree, and on Madara—now something more than human.
Among them was Senju Hashirama, who could only watch in silence.
They all felt it.
Madara, already overwhelming, had ascended once more.
And with that, the flicker of hope in the hearts of the Allied Shinobi Forces faded.
Victory now seemed like an impossible dream.
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