For several minutes, thousands of massive wooden fists, each as large as a mountain, continuously bombarded the ground.
During these minutes, the entire Land of Rain experienced a powerful earthquake.
Combined with the constant rainfall, many old and dilapidated buildings collapsed.
The Kumogakure forces and White Zetsu clones closest to the Thousand-Armed Kannon, as well as the animals within the Land of Rain, couldn't even stand steadily. Only a few ninja with excellent chakra control managed to keep their footing.
Even the surrounding ground, shaken by the violent earthquake, developed massive cracks. If not for their quick reflexes, many would have fallen into these fissures.
Looking at the Thousand-Armed Kannon, which, despite being far away, seemed as if it were right in front of them, the Kumogakure forces and White Zetsu clones were left utterly dumbfounded.
"Can... can Wood Release really do something like this?"
White Zetsu, who shared the vision and information of his clones, couldn't help but tremble as he spoke.
"This is the Wood Release ultimate technique that Hashirama Senju used to create the Valley of the End."
Black Zetsu, who also shared the information from the White Zetsu clones, replied solemnly.
Back then, he had personally witnessed Hashirama Senju use this Wood Release technique to defeat Madara Uchiha and the Complete Nine-Tails clad in the Armored Susanoo.
If Hashirama hadn't held back and had intended to kill Madara and the Nine-Tails at the time, this Wood Release technique would have forced Madara to use Izanagi.
This was because it was a massive, indiscriminate attack. Unless one possessed the Flying Thunder God Technique or Obito Uchiha's Kamui intangibility, there was no way to avoid the barrage of thousands of massive wooden fists, each as large as a mountain.
Each wooden fist contained an astonishing amount of Sage chakra, and the power of each punch was greater than that of the Heavenly Obstacle Quaking Star.
"Will Nagato die?" White Zetsu couldn't help but worry. "If he dies, will the Rinnegan have already been destroyed?"
"He won't die so easily."
Black Zetsu, however, wasn't worried at all. "The Gedo Statue has already begun to revive, and Nagato's physical abilities have returned to their peak. Since he can use so many of the Gedo Statue's abilities, he must have already discovered the hidden space within the Gedo Statue, which is the dwelling place of the 100,000 White Zetsu clones."
"As long as he hides there in time, the Gedo Statue's defensive capabilities should be able to block most of the damage. However..."
Black Zetsu trailed off, falling silent.
Because of the Yin-Yang Release: Spiritual Possession Technique, White Zetsu also knew what Black Zetsu was about to say.
While Nagato would likely survive, the Gedo Statue's fate was uncertain.
Of course, Black Zetsu wasn't worried about the Gedo Statue being destroyed.
The Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands was indeed powerful, an SSS-level technique on par with the Truth-Seeking Orb, but it still hadn't reached the level of Kekkei Mōra. No matter how destructive it was, it couldn't kill the Gedo Statue.
After all, chakra was something that the God Tree produced as chakra fruit, which was then distributed by the first person to eat the chakra fruit, the "Progenitor of Chakra."
As the shell of the Ten-Tails, which, once absorbed, could awaken several innate Kekkei Mōra abilities, the Gedo Statue, which had yet to reclaim the nine Tailed Beasts, was essentially a super-weakened version of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, possessing strong immunity.
Even among SSS-level techniques, while the Truth-Seeking Orb's self-destruction could unleash a white light and explosion capable of destroying all creation, it might not cause the same level of damage as the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands: Top Transformation.
After all, the Truth-Seeking Orb was a magic-based attack!
But the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands: Top Transformation was completely different, as it contained two abilities capable of harming the Ten-Tails: the natural energy of this planet and the map-altering physical attack power.
Although this technique couldn't kill the Gedo Statue, it was highly likely to shatter the Gedo Statue before it evolved back into the Ten-Tails.
Once the Gedo Statue was shattered, even if it could recover, it would consume a massive amount of chakra and enter a severely weakened state.
Just like when Obito Uchiha stole the Tailed Beasts' power from Madara Uchiha's body, or when Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was sealed and the nine Tailed Beasts broke free from her and Madara's bodies.
When the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and the Ten-Tails continuously die, their chakra severely depleted, and they enter a state of extreme weakness, the nine Tailed Beasts, which had been divided into independent entities with self-awareness by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki using Yin-Yang Release, would have the chance to escape from the Ten-Tails' body, causing the Ten-Tails to revert to the Gedo Statue.
This was what Black Zetsu was worried about.
If the Gedo Statue was shattered, it would be like the container holding the eight Tailed Beasts breaking. The eight Tailed Beasts, which had been so painstakingly sealed, might all escape.
At that point, if Yagyu accidentally killed one of the Tailed Beasts, this once-in-a-millennium opportunity would be delayed for several more years.
Thinking of this, Black Zetsu suddenly said coldly, "Go deliver an ultimatum to Orochimaru. If he continues to brush us off or refuses, then we'll take a gamble."
"Are you sure?" White Zetsu asked. "Which plan are we going with?"
"All of them!" Black Zetsu replied solemnly.
Madara Uchiha was the best chess piece for casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi. As the owner of the second pair of Rinnegan in the ninja world, he was also the best sacrifice for reviving Mother.
To revive Madara Uchiha, Black Zetsu had prepared several strategies and plans.
The best one was naturally for Nagato to use the Rinne Rebirth Technique to truly revive Madara, just as Madara had envisioned.
At the same time, after using the Rinne Rebirth Technique, Nagato, who didn't have half his body sustained by Hashirama's cells, would either die immediately or be weakened to the extreme. Even if Madara hadn't left a curse mark in Nagato's heart, he could easily retrieve the Rinnegan.
At that point, Madara would be at his true peak, able to use the Rinnegan's exclusive dojutsu.
Just like how Devil Fruits in the One Piece world always have a mutually restraining ability, every technique in the Naruto world has elemental and mutual restraints, even Yin and Yang Release techniques.
With only the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, no matter how hard Madara tried, he would never be a match for Hashirama Senju.
Because Hashirama's attributes completely countered his.
The terrifying chakra of the Sage Body allowed Hashirama not only to possess instant self-healing but also to freely enter Sage Mode, directly ignoring genjutsu at the level of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
If Hashirama only had the Sage Body and no Kekkei Genkai, then as a member of the Senju clan, he would at best be able to fight Madara to a standstill using chakra bursts and various jutsu, repeating the fate of previous generations of Asura and Indra reincarnates.
His Sage Body and Sage techniques would at most only correspond to Madara's Susanoo and exclusive dojutsu.
But the problem was, Hashirama was the strongest Asura reincarnate in history.
In fact, his strength surpassed even that of Ōtsutsuki Asura, the second son who needed Hagoromo's power-up.
Faced with Hashirama Senju, who possessed the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai, Madara Uchiha, who was also the most outstanding Indra reincarnate in history, perfectly demonstrated the Naruto world's version of "If Zhou Yu exists, why Zhuge Liang?"
Moreover, the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was the limit for an Indra reincarnate.
To surpass an Asura reincarnate who had also reached their limit, the Indra reincarnate would have to go beyond their limit.
To go beyond this limit, they would either have to receive Hagoromo's power-up like Ōtsutsuki Asura or steal Asura's chakra to achieve the unification of the two poles.
The dying Madara Uchiha was someone who had achieved the unification of the two poles.
As long as he was fully revived at his golden age, he would surpass Hashirama Senju.
Even if Yagyu could also use Hashirama's ultimate Wood Release technique, he would still be no match for Madara Uchiha.
Faced with the Limbo, which was even more bizarre and powerful than space-time ninjutsu, Yagyu wouldn't even last a single round against Madara.
Therefore, Black Zetsu's worst-case plan was to take advantage of the situation to ambush Nagato and force him to use the Rinne Rebirth Technique.
This way, Madara Uchiha's body, which Orochimaru had hidden away, would instantly revive.
Even if the revived Madara didn't have the Rinnegan or even eyes, he could easily kill Orochimaru.
In the face of the Shinobi World's Asura and the God of Shinobi, whether it was the Five Kage, the Sannin, or even the so-called Demigod, they were no different from children.
But this worst-case plan was something Black Zetsu really didn't want to use unless absolutely necessary.
The consequences were just too great!
Although he hadn't spoken to Nagato at his current peak, Black Zetsu, who had lived for over a thousand years, could guess Nagato's current wariness of them.
First, they had given him the Yin-Yang Release: Black Rods and the Six Paths Techniques, allowing Obito Uchiha to stand on equal footing with Nagato.
Now, they had given Nagato Madara's life-sustaining method and revealed the White Zetsu clones' miraculous ability to restore his legs.
Even if it wasn't Nagato, a powerhouse who surpassed the Five Kage, even a young Deidara would be able to guess that Black Zetsu and Obito Uchiha's understanding of the Rinnegan far surpassed his own as its owner.
It was clear that Nagato might have already guessed that he wasn't the true owner of the Rinnegan.
His wariness and vigilance towards Black Zetsu and Obito Uchiha would definitely reach their peak.
Even Orochimaru had managed to develop a technique to detect the White Zetsu clones' clothing. Although Black Zetsu had lived for over a thousand years, his strength wasn't actually that great, and he couldn't comprehend the level of a super-Kage. He wasn't sure if Nagato could detect his and White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique.
If Nagato could detect them, then failing to possess him wouldn't be a big deal.
What Black Zetsu feared was that Nagato, when faced with certain death, might choose to destroy the Rinnegan, ensuring that neither they nor Yagyu could obtain the Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue.
In that case, unless one of this generation's Asura and Indra reincarnates, Yagyu or Sasuke Uchiha, achieved the unification of the two poles and obtained the third pair of Rinnegan in the ninja world, Black Zetsu's plan to revive Mother would be delayed indefinitely.
The consequences of this worst-case plan were something Black Zetsu couldn't bear, and he didn't dare to take that risk.
Because he thought of more.
Even if Nagato couldn't detect them, Yagyu definitely could.
If Yagyu noticed their sudden approach, Yagyu might either attack them or even steal or destroy the Rinnegan.
Thinking of that scenario, Black Zetsu couldn't help but shudder.
If the Rinnegan fell into Yagyu's hands, then even if Madara was revived, it would be difficult to turn the tables.
Therefore, Black Zetsu decided to take the last two options.
Have Orochimaru use the Impure World Reincarnation to revive Madara, and if he refused, threaten and force him, or have Obito Uchiha take action.
Or hand over the body tissue of Madara Uchiha that he had secretly kept to the Hundred Faces, allowing them to use the Impure World Reincarnation to fight Orochimaru for control of Madara's body.
As long as Madara's consciousness returned to the real world, the hidden mechanisms he had left behind would activate, and they might still be able to turn the tables.
Thus, Black and White Zetsu used the Mayfly Technique to escape while the other Akatsuki members were resting.
But they didn't know that as they merged with the earth and plants, using the roots and underground water currents to move at high speed, disappearing from the underground base of Amegakure in the blink of an eye, the space where they had been twisted into a small vortex.
Obito Uchiha, who had also gone down to rest, emerged from the twisted space.
"Heh..."
A cold laugh came from behind the mask, and Obito's figure twisted and disappeared once more.
Meanwhile, the Thousand-Armed Kannon had also stopped its bombardment.
Just like how Hashirama had turned the flat plain into the Valley of the End.
As the massive dust cloud that had covered the area dissipated, a super-massive crater, one that even a meteor impact couldn't compare to, appeared on the Land of Rain's surface.
At the bottom of this super-massive crater lay a corpse of white sludge—the shattered Gedo Statue.
The Gedo Statue's body, which was as large as a mountain, now occupied only a small portion of the super-massive crater.
This showed just how enormous the crater was.
Moreover, this was the Land of Rain, where it rained constantly.
This super-massive crater would eventually be filled with rainwater, forming a super-massive lake.
At that point, the Land of Rain would undoubtedly have a landmark as famous as the Valley of the End, and in the future modernized ninja world, some magazines might even rate this lake as the largest in the ninja world.
"Is he dead?"
Yagyu stood atop the Wooden Golem's head, using his Byakugan to scan the bottom of the crater for Nagato's traces.
However, his Byakugan couldn't find Nagato's body, and his sensory abilities couldn't detect Nagato's chakra.
Although he didn't believe Nagato could survive his SSS-level technique, which was on par with the Truth-Seeking Orb in terms of destroying all creation, Yagyu, who believed in fate and destiny, felt that Nagato wouldn't die so easily.
"Roar..."
At that moment, a series of roars reached Yagyu's ears, growing louder and closer.
The Gedo Statue, which had been turned into white sludge, was undergoing a transformation.