Chapter 269: Eternal Immortality
"What... what is this!?"
"Run! Run!"
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet Technique!"
…
Whether in the great nations like the Land of Fire, Land of Earth, and Land of Wind, or in smaller lands such as the Land of Snow and the Land of Soup—vines surged from the earth, launching indiscriminate assaults on human beings.
These attacks spared no one.
Ninjas, civilians, men, women, children... regardless of strength or status, they were entangled and bound by these sinister vines—drained of life, reduced to dry husks.
The vines were unnaturally hard, resistant to conventional blades, and worse still—they absorbed chakra. If one wasn't at least Chūnin-level, or hadn't mastered chakra nature transformation, it was nearly impossible to destroy them.
As the roots spread across the continents, the sacred tree at the center of the Water Country grew at an astonishing pace. Once just towering, it now resembled a divine bridge—stretching from the earth to the moon.
At this moment...
Under the veil of night, the entire Land of Water lay silent and desolate.
The fires had long burned out. Darkness swallowed everything.
Forests, mountains, lakes—entire regions were carved away as if a divine sword had cleaved through the landscape. What remained was barren earth.
This devastation included the land where Ryosuke and Uchiha Madara stood.
"You want to let that tree mature and absorb its full power?"
Under the blood-red moon, the two of them stood alone in what felt like a hollowed-out world. The natural world itself seemed to retreat, instinctively fearing the aftermath of their battle.
Madara's burning gaze met Ryosuke's calm one.
"Senior," Ryosuke said coolly, "do you really intend to undergo your final transformation in front of me? You want me... to watch you get stronger?"
Though his voice was soft and devoid of emotion, the words dripped with mockery.
"…You're welcome to stop me," Madara replied grimly, fists clenched tight. "If you can."
He had considered this outcome.
Their time together hadn't been long, but Uchiha Madara could already read some of this junior's thoughts.
Ryosuke seemed the type to battle strong opponents not just to win, but to learn. To observe, analyze, refine himself through conflict. Morality, peace, war—those things seemed peripheral.
If Madara still held value, if he remained a subject of study... Ryosuke might even allow him to evolve.
Though Madara couldn't understand why this Hyuga descendant was so obsessed with strength—to the point of obsession—he couldn't deny that he wanted to use that drive against him.
After entering the Six Paths Realm and clashing with Ryosuke, Madara quickly realized he couldn't win in his current state.
But...
That didn't mean it was over.
Having said more than he intended, Madara stayed alert. He eyed Ryosuke warily, expecting a sudden strike.
But what came next confused him.
"I really won't interfere," Ryosuke said.
Madara narrowed his eyes.
The white-haired youth dissipated the pale chakra shroud from his body—exiting the Six Paths state with casual ease.
Just as Madara had theorized, Ryosuke wasn't the kind to take advantage of a weakened foe. He wanted to be challenged—to feel threatened.
Ideally, he'd even watch his opponents take different paths to power, hoping for unique results.
But Ryosuke wasn't about to let Madara think this outcome was some kind of victory—so he called it out plainly.
Yet in the end... he still let Madara proceed.
He just wouldn't let him believe he'd predicted it.
"You can start your transformation now, Senior," Ryosuke said nonchalantly, then bent his knees—clearly preparing to sit.
As he moved, debris from the battlefield began to levitate. The stones floated toward him, drawn by invisible force, swirling in mid-air.
By the time Ryosuke actually sat down, the floating rubble had already formed a throne beneath him.
A massive, elegant stone chair hovered in the sky. Its armrests were shaped like snarling Nine-Tailed Foxes, and the high back bore a single carved eye—an unmistakable Byakugan.
There he sat: the pale-haired boy upon his floating throne, posture calm, expression serene.
Smiling faintly.
Eyes cold.
He looked less like a shinobi and more like a king of legend—one whose name existed only in ancient stone texts.
Madara's heart sank.
"Incredible control…"
He didn't care about appearances. What bothered him—deeply—was the precision with which Ryosuke manipulated chakra.
Every shard of rubble had moved perfectly, as if each piece already knew where to go.
The calmness with which Ryosuke executed such a delicate task mid-air, mid-battle was far more terrifying than brute strength.
Of course, with everything he'd observed since the battle began, this kind of feat felt inevitable.
But understanding it didn't mean Madara had to accept it.
If he wanted to achieve something this intricate, he'd have to be cautious—measured. Nothing like the relaxed, almost lazy way Ryosuke had done it.
Now, the boy sat in the air, watching him—no, studying him.
Like a scholar examining a rare beast.
Madara inhaled sharply, forcing himself to look away and focus on the sacred tree.
Still injured, still bleeding, he slowly floated upward, heading toward the tree's central root.
Behind him, Ryosuke followed.
No matter how many times Madara accelerated, Ryosuke followed with perfect ease. In the end, Madara stopped trying to increase his speed.
The feeling was unbearable.
He felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat—especially with that faint smirk still plastered across Ryosuke's face.
Once upon a time, he had looked down on others the same way.
And now, that same condescension was being turned against him.
The more he flew, the more uneasy he became.
Would absorbing the Sacred Tree's power even be enough?
What if after all of this he still couldn't defeat Ryosuke?
Would this boy really stand by and let him unleash the Infinite Tsukuyomi?
No. That wasn't likely.
If Ryosuke was letting him go this far, it was because he believed—even hoped—that Madara might show him something new.
The only reason he hadn't interfered... was because of his own desire to grow stronger.
He wanted to see himself chasing him—surpassing him.
The Infinite Tsukuyomi had nothing to do with improving strength, but it could very well affect the Hyuga clan. Hyuga Ryosuke would never allow that to happen.
Uchiha Madara understood this clearly.
"If everyone is trapped in a beautiful dream," Ryosuke suddenly spoke from behind, "no one will work hard."
In an instant, Madara's hair bristled. He stopped mid-air and turned around sharply.
Once again, he was met with that calm, smiling face.
And above that expression—those bright, discerning eyes that seemed to stare straight through his soul.
"Senior, the tree is about to bear fruit," Ryosuke said gently, almost like a reminder, urging him forward.
But Madara didn't turn to look at the sacred tree behind him. Instead, he locked eyes with Ryosuke, and with a hint of desperation in his voice, asked, "What… do you know?"
At that moment, the ideals of Infinite Tsukuyomi and world peace faded to the background.
What Madara truly wanted—was to understand what this white-haired boy had seen. What he knew. Could he read minds?
"What do you think?" Ryosuke replied with a smile, offering no real answer. Then he added, "You should go and finish what you came to do, Senior."
Madara said nothing in return.
But neither did he move.
Time seemed to freeze. Neither spoke again, locked in a silent battle of will.
Not far away, Black Zetsu anxiously paced and twisted in place, nearly frantic. He couldn't do anything now.
Madara's power had far surpassed expectations since stepping into the Six Paths realm. His will burned too fiercely—like a sun. Zetsu couldn't get near him.
At this point, Zetsu could only hope Ryosuke would seriously injure Madara for the sake of "Mother." Only then might there be an opportunity to seize Madara's body and revive Kaguya's consciousness.
"You should go now."
Seeing that Madara still hadn't moved, Ryosuke spoke again—this time, a bit more helplessly.
At last, Madara stirred.
As if thawed, he turned around and flew silently toward the sacred tree.
But something had changed.
Now, Ryosuke could no longer read his thoughts.
Earlier, when Madara had frozen in place, he had realized—Ryousuke might be reading his mind.
And with unimaginable willpower, he silenced his thoughts, locking his focus on a single goal: absorb the sacred tree, and defeat Ryosuke.
Whether that level of focus could actually block mind reading, Madara wasn't sure. But it was his only choice.
Ironically, he was right. Ryosuke truly had no way to peer through that kind of mental singularity.
Floating behind him, Ryosuke kept trying. Again and again, he attempted to pierce the veil. But nothing surfaced—only that single overwhelming drive echoed in Madara's mind.
Reading minds was once a dormant ability of the Byakugan, as was the power to foresee the future.
But with time, the Hyuga bloodline had degraded. These abilities were lost. Even with Ryosuke's transformations and his ascent to the Tenseigan, he hadn't fully reclaimed them.
Most of the ocular techniques Ryosuke possessed were discovered and developed through his own insight and experimentation.
Unlike the Uchiha, who inherited ancestral knowledge with their awakened eyes, Ryosuke had received very little from his evolving bloodline.
That's why he sought out Kaguya Otsutsuki.
He believed she held the secrets of the Otsutsuki techniques—especially the two mysterious powers he craved most: mind reading and future sight.
Despite his immense knowledge, despite his understanding of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang Release, these abilities eluded him.
In the past, he could only trigger them passively, under unique conditions. They were like whispers from fate.
But now... now, Ryosuke had found a lead.
During the battle between Shanks and Madara, he'd sensed the presence of Haki. During his later meditation and mental simulations, while replicating the use of Observation Haki, he felt it: the key.
Something stirred.
Through that sensation, he seemed to touch the threshold between passive and active use—finally crossing from merely seeing the result, to knowing it.
In the past, he knew the outcome—but never how it came to be. The Byakugan had potential for mind reading and foresight, but it couldn't initiate them.
Now, through Observation Haki and its fusion with his own ocular powers, Ryosuke had begun moving from 0 to 1—toward active mind reading.
And from there… 1 to 2. Then 2 to 3.
The path ahead was clear: to observe fate, and ultimately, to control it.
To become a master of the long river of destiny.
This pursuit mattered more to Ryosuke than almost anything else.
Destiny had always haunted him.
It grew heavier with each power he gained. Too many questions, too many unresolved mysteries tied to that word—fate.
It gnawed at his sanity, giving rise to endless, wild theories.
That was why he needed greater strength—not just to protect or conquer, but to dissect reality itself. To reveal the truth behind the shadow that followed him.
And for the first time in a long while, he finally felt like he was moving forward.
"Absorb it… absorb it…"
"Let it become one with you…"
A vague, booming voice echoed in Madara's mind.
As the sacred tree neared maturity, the image of the Rinnegan with nine tomoe kept flashing through his consciousness. His mind began to tremble under its influence.
By the time he stood before the tree, his body was no longer his own. Compelled beyond resistance, he formed a hand seal.
"When the two become one," Madara muttered under his breath, "I shall become eternal... immortal."
Even he wasn't sure why he said it—but the moment the words left his lips, the sacred tree turned to mist, just as the Ten-Tails had before.
The swirling fog surged into his body.
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
Madara's scream tore through the sky.
He could feel it.
The Ten-Tails within him trembled—elated—as if a loyal hound had just found its master.
A tidal wave of chakra flooded his being, stronger than anything he had ever experienced. It wasn't just energy—it was history. Memories long buried. Echoes of ancient times poured into his soul.
With them, his frail, human life began to stretch… grow…
At that moment, Uchiha Madara finally understood—what it meant to be truly eternal.
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