After his maniacal laughter faded, Six Paths Madara suddenly looked up at the blood-red moon in the sky, as if he had sensed something, then smiled.
He turned to Natsuro and said, "Sixth Hokage, that jutsu you just used couldn't have come without a cost, could it? In other words, you no longer have the strength to stop me."
Madara had originally planned to fight him one more time before executing his final plan, but the urge from deep within pushed him to abandon that idea. Now was the moment to move forward!
"So let's postpone our battle for now. The time when all becomes one… has come. If you're still around after that—"
With those words, Madara soared toward the blood-red moon in the sky.
Natsuro silently watched Madara's figure ascend. Although his body was still enduring the tearing pain from the Dimensional Blades, that didn't mean he lacked the strength to stop Madara.
But why would Natsuro stop him?
At that moment, a faint smile crept onto Natsuro's lips. He murmured under his breath, "Honestly… have you really not thought about why the God Tree fell toward your direction?"
Indeed, it was no coincidence, the God Tree's collapse onto Madara had been intentional.
Knowing the original story, Natsuro needed Madara to absorb the God Tree in order to complete that jutsu!
Just like Madara said, he too was waiting for the moment when everything became one.
Now, Madara had flown up close to the moon. Staring at the massive blood-red orb, he muttered:
"According to the words etched on that stone tablet… those who possess the power of the Rinnegan—when close to the moon—can awaken the Eye that reflects the Moon, and realize the Infinite Dream."
He could feel the power of the blood-red Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan on his forehead, and a smile spread across his face.
"Shine upon the world, Infinite Tsukuyomi!"
Madara's voice rang out across the heavens. The blood-red moon, already reflecting his chakra, suddenly shifted—its surface now bore the same swirling pattern as Madara's Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan!
The Eye of the Moon had truly awakened in this world!
Everyone below also noticed the change in the moon and their expressions changed drastically.
"What happened to the moon?! Did they… actually succeed?!"
Natsuro gazed up at the moon, now emblazoned with the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan. He even felt a slight urge to experience the effects of the Infinite Tsukuyomi for himself.
According to his estimation, the jutsu would likely have little effect on someone who had already reached the Six Paths level. Even if he was caught in it, he believed he could break free through sheer power.
But... that was just a hypothesis.
And since Natsuro was now the only one left, if he messed up, the world would be truly doomed.
So, he decided to play it safe.
Nine Truth-Seeking Orbs floated behind him, then merged into a massive black sphere, enveloping his entire body.
Just before being sealed within, Natsuro's voice echoed out to the panicked people below:
"Don't worry. Just think of this as having a good dream. It won't be long before this is all over."
As his words faded, everyone looked toward the figure being swallowed up by the black sphere. They saw five blazing characters burning like fire behind him:
The Sixth Hokage!
Seeing this, they realized, even if this was the final plan of the Akatsuki, Natsuro likely wouldn't be pulled into the dream.
Which meant… there was still hope.
And as they recalled everything that had happened in the Fourth Shinobi War, the panic in their hearts slowly subsided.
With that kind of hope still alive, what was there to be afraid of?
Just like the Sixth Hokage said… they just needed to focus on having a good dream now.
High above, Madara looked down at the people below, at their fearful faces, and smiled with the satisfaction of his grand plan finally coming to fruition.
But soon after, he noticed that the fear and panic on their faces began to fade, replaced by calm—as if they were inspired by some unknown power.
"Hmph."
Madara glanced toward Natsuro, now completely wrapped in the Truth-Seeking Ball. Who else could be inspiring them but him?
Still, even though Infinite Tsukuyomi was a divine-level jutsu, Madara didn't believe its light could penetrate the Truth-Seeking Orb to affect Natsuro.
So…
Would they still fight after this?
That was exactly what Madara wanted.
"Now… let everything become one!"
Standing beneath the moon emblazoned with the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan, Madara pressed his hands together in a seal. The eye on his forehead widened, as if it were about to burst from its socket.
In the next instant, the red eye on his forehead flickered, and the Eye of the Moon above exploded in a blinding white light!
That light pierced the heavens—
Shining down on the Allied Shinobi Forces below;Passing through every barrier, reaching those in hiding;Crossing the seas, illuminating even the sea creatures;Even piercing the earth itself, reaching those underground.
In this world, there was almost nothing that could block the light of Infinite Tsukuyomi. It wasn't hindered by anything mundane.
And under this divine light, all sentient beings had their eyes transformed into blank, white Rinnegan, their consciousness slowly fading away.
This included Naruto and Sasuke, who hadn't yet received the Sage of Six Paths' power.Though they tried to resist… they ultimately failed.
But more importantly, they fully trusted that Natsuro would handle everything, so they weren't too concerned.
"So… it's finally come to this." Fukasaku, one of the Great Toad Sages, looked up at the blood-red moon and sighed. The next moments would decide everything.
Hang in there, Natsuro.
Soon after, the eyes of the Three Great Sage Beasts also turned into Rinnegan, they too were powerless to resist the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Under its power, all life across the world fell into slumber, collapsing where they stood.
For the first time since the world's birth, it was so completely, eerily quiet.
No sounds of life, no movement, only the rustling of leaves in the breeze.
Madara floated in the sky, laughing as he looked down on the silent world below.
"This light can even pass through shadows—there's no hiding from it. And now…"
He took a deep breath and brought his hands together again.
Bang!
The clap of his hands echoed loud in the now-silent world—a jarring sound.
"God Tree World Rebirth!"
With the activation of this jutsu—no, divine technique, massive roots began to burst from the ground and sea across the entire world.
And from these enormous roots descended countless white bindings, bandages, that wrapped the sleeping beings like cocoons, leaving no gaps.
Once fully wrapped, the bandages retracted, hanging all the cocoons from the colossal branches of a titanic tree that blotted out the sky.
Even underground creatures weren't spared, those aboveground or in the sea were hung from the branches, while those below were bound to the roots.
Since there were no longer any Edo Tensei zombies immune to the Infinite Tsukuyomi, no one escaped...
Except for Natsuro, still protected inside the Truth-Seeking Ball.
Finally, when the light of the Eye of the Moon faded, the blood-red moon returned to normal, its tomoe and Rinnegan markings disappeared.
At that moment, Natsuro released the Truth-Seeking Orb and opened his eyes.
He looked around at everything, the towering divine tree, and the countless cocoons hanging from its branches.
He knew exactly what was inside each one, every cocoon held a being that possessed chakra, or could generate chakra.
Not all living beings possess chakra within their bodies, but all lifeforms do have physical and spiritual energy, and the combination of those two forms chakra.
While that may be true in theory, not all creatures have the talent or ability to extract chakra.
But the light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi doesn't care whether you can extract chakra or not. It only cares whether you possess that energy. As long as you do, you are its target.
And if enough time passes afterward… Then the God Tree will not leave even a sliver of energy for those beings.
It will drain them completely, until they die.
After that, they will be reborn as new, mindless lifeforms, soulless husks known as White Zetsu.
Though that fate is reserved mainly for humans. As for the other creatures… even their bodies will become fertilizer for the God Tree.
That's why the battle can't be allowed to drag on for too long.
Natsuro looked up as Six Paths Madara slowly descended from the sky, floating down until they were on the same level.
"Now," Madara said with a booming laugh, "this world has only you and me left."
"That's not necessarily true. Isn't Black Zetsu still around?" Natsuro countered.
"Hmph. He's merely something I created, an embodiment of my will as Madara Uchiha." Madara scoffed. He had never cared about Black Zetsu's independent existence.
"Tch…" Natsuro glanced at Madara.
To think someone this powerful still believed that lie so completely...
But he didn't bother explaining. Instead, he said casually, "Actually, aside from Black Zetsu, there might be other beings out there. Ones not from our world."
"What are you talking about?" Madara frowned.
"You know the legend, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was said to be a visitor from another world. So who's to say there aren't more alien beings beyond her?" Natsuro asked.
"And even if there are, so what?" Madara said coldly. "Once all of this is over, if they dare set foot in this world, I will personally end their lives!"
Madara didn't deny the possibility Natsuro raised, but he still didn't care. He spoke with his usual overwhelming arrogance.
"Maybe," Natsuro nodded, silently evaluating Madara's strength.
Then he compared it with the power of Ōtsutsuki Urashiki, whom he had encountered before.
Honestly, in front of this version of Madara, Urashiki wouldn't even make a ripple.
Even if he used his clan's divine weapon, the fishing hook that could extract chakra, it likely wouldn't even budge Madara's monstrous reserves.
It would be like an amateur fisherman hooking a whale, he'd get dragged into the sea instead.
Without that artifact's special ability, Urashiki was a disgrace to the Ōtsutsuki name.
As far as Natsuro knew, every member of the Ōtsutsuki clan was supposed to be terrifyingly powerful.
Kaguya.Hagoromo.Hamura.Toneri, with the Tenseigan…
And among them, this Madara, empowered by the God Tree, would not rank at the bottom.
So to him, Madara's claim wasn't baseless.
It was entirely possible he truly did have the power to slay all Ōtsutsuki who lacked Ten Tails-level strength.
"Even if what you say is true, that's a problem for the future," Madara said, eyes locked on Natsuro."Right now, none of that matters!"
"I admit I lost our last round." He clenched his fists, feeling the power coursing through him, chakra being continuously drawn from the God Tree and the countless beings bound to it.
His chakra reserves had become unmatched.
And with it came an evolution of his physical form so profound that even Madara himself felt a trace of fear.
And that evolution was still ongoing.
With this power, he was sure, he could once again fight him on equal footing.
No, surpass him.
"This time… it's the new me. A brand-new round!"
"Come, Sixth Hokage! If you want to save them from the Infinite Tsukuyomi, then you'll have to defeat me first!"
Madara roared and launched himself at Natsuro.
His speed now surpassed anything he had demonstrated before, proof that absorbing the God Tree had pushed his power to yet another level.
"Looks like I still can't afford to relax," Natsuro muttered, drawing a deep breath as he watched Madara rush in.
Even though Madara was faster than before, speed was Natsuro's specialty. Madara still couldn't catch him easily.
But now that Natsuro could no longer enter his Divine Swift Release state, the gap between them had narrowed. He was still faster, but no longer untouchably so.
Which meant… Madara could now keep up.
A fierce light burned in Natsuro's eyes, because his plan had reached its final stage.
So let this be his final battle.
Let it be the celebration before his victory.
Natsuro and Madara clashed once again, and even their simplest collisions now sent earth-shaking tremors through the heavens.
The next round of battle… had begun.
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