"Is this Sage chakra?"
After absorbing Naruto's Sage chakra, Madara Uchiha took a moment to feel the unique energy, then sneered dismissively. "Hmph, it's nothing special. Compared to Hashirama's Sage chakra, it's like the light of a firefly next to the sun."
"Naruto..."
Sasuke Uchiha, unable to move and wracked with pain, had no idea where the attacks were coming from. Seeing Naruto, who had lost consciousness as the Nine-Tails was being extracted from him, Sasuke instinctively struggled, trying to attack Madara despite his condition.
"Hmm?"
Noticing Sasuke's resistance, Madara looked at the young man with a hint of surprise and didn't hold back his praise. "Impressive willpower. Unfortunately, your eyes tell me you won't become an ally. Given your resemblance to my brother, I'll make this quick for you."
Having already extracted the Nine-Tails' chakra from Naruto, Madara casually tossed Naruto aside, his life force rapidly fading. Then, with a wave of his hand, Madara used his gravitational pull to snatch Sasuke's Kusanagi Sword and plunged it into Sasuke's heart, ending the life of this young man who not only resembled his brother but also shared his stubbornness.
Having returned from the world of the dead, Madara's resolve to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi and sever the bonds of causality was as unshakable as a boulder. Nothing and no one could sway him.
These powerful brats, unwilling to submit and choosing instead to become obstacles to his plan, would simply be eliminated one by one.
"Yagyu, Naruto and Sasuke are in trouble!"
Ino, unable to connect with Yagyu's mind using her clan's secret technique, shouted loudly upon sensing Naruto and Sasuke's rapidly fading chakra.
Hearing this, Yagyu, who was mid-air battling Obito Uchiha, manipulating his Truth-Seeking Balls into various weapons and shields to attack and block, paused slightly. The Truth-Seeking Balls automatically reformed into a shield, blocking Obito's Six Paths Staff and the black beams formed from his Truth-Seeking Balls. Then, Yagyu vanished into thin air.
Obito didn't try to stop him or pursue.
At this moment, Obito was staring intently at Madara, who had just dealt with Naruto and Sasuke and was now heading his way.
Despite having become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and possessing unimaginable power, Obito could clearly sense Madara's immense chakra.
As Madara's former proxy, Obito had spent years acting in his name and walking the ninja world. He couldn't help but feel a deep sense of awe and fear toward the Asura of the Ninja World.
Especially now, seeing Madara confidently approaching him with only one Rinnegan, Obito felt an overwhelming pressure and couldn't help but speculate.
Did Madara leave more than just the curse mark on his heart? Was there another hidden contingency?
Impossible!
The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's body granted immunity to all ninjutsu.
Even if the curse mark was based on Yin Release or even Yin-Yang Release, it shouldn't affect him, the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki who had mastered all seven chakra natures.
Or was it that Madara had been hiding his true strength all along?
With these thoughts swirling in his mind, along with his deeply ingrained fear and wariness, Obito hesitated to attack Madara outright. Instead, he decided to wait and see what the old man was planning.
"Obito, you've taken something that doesn't belong to you. It's time to return it."
Madara looked up at Obito, who was floating in the air. Through the Rinnegan's ability to see chakra, Madara could clearly see the immense chakra within Obito's body and the terrifying power contained in the black spheres surrounding him.
Yet, Madara simply smiled and extended his hand, speaking in a calm, almost paternal tone, as if coaxing a misbehaving child to return a stolen toy.
But Obito replied flatly, "Our goal is the same—the Eye of the Moon Plan. It doesn't matter whether you or I cast it."
Seeing Obito's defiance, Madara's smile faded, replaced by a look of disdain. "You're not qualified to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi. And besides... we're not the same."
If Obito weren't so powerful now, Madara would have loved to mock him and reveal the truth about his past.
Madara's goal in casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi was to sever causality and bring true peace to the world.
Obito, on the other hand, wanted to create a world where Rin Nohara existed, a world he himself wished to lose himself in.
Without the resolve to protect the ninja world and its people, to endure the cold, harsh reality alone, one was unworthy of becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
That was why Madara said Obito wasn't qualified.
Before Obito could respond, Madara impatiently said, "Enough. I'll take it back myself."
With that, Madara glared at Obito with his right eye and shouted, "Limbo: Border Jail!"
In an instant, Obito, despite possessing the world's strongest body, felt a chill run down his spine—a primal warning of danger.
Boom—
Unfortunately, his Rinnegan wasn't his own, and his Mangekyō Sharingan wasn't advanced enough. The Ten-Tails within him wasn't complete, and he hadn't mastered Six Paths Sage Techniques.
Even though Obito's power had reached the level of a Six Paths gatekeeper, he couldn't see or sense the Limbo clones.
At best, he could only sense the incoming danger!
But before Obito could use his Truth-Seeking Balls to form a protective black sphere around himself, his body was struck with a loud impact. His clay-like skin dented as if struck by an invisible force.
The sheer power of the attack sent Obito crashing to the ground like a soccer ball, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Sage Art Wood Release... Silent Binding Technique!"
Madara clapped his hands together, converting the Sage chakra he had absorbed from Naruto into Wood Release chakra. He summoned a mass of tree branches to bind Obito, who was still reeling from the attack, attempting to strip him of control over his body and absorb his chakra.
Sealing techniques were indeed one of the few methods, aside from Six Paths Sage Techniques and physical attacks, that could affect a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
However, the Silent Binding Technique, at its current level, was far too weak.
While it might work well against opponents of similar strength or weaker, it was utterly inadequate against a being from another dimension.
Obito didn't even need to use his Cross Fire Technique. The Truth-Seeking Balls floating around him simply transformed into beams of light and shattered the binding branches into dust.
But Obito's expression was far from relaxed.
Not only was he unsure what had just attacked him, but the Wood Release had indeed affected him.
His chakra could be absorbed by Wood Release.
If he didn't deal with Madara quickly, the combination of that invisible attack and Wood Release could seriously weaken him.
Moreover, Obito had a sinking feeling that if he lost too much chakra and his strength was severely diminished, the Ten-Tails' will, which he had suppressed, might resurface and fight him for control of his body.
With this in mind, Obito, whose body had already healed itself, shot into the air.
Eight of the nine Truth-Seeking Balls surrounding him liquefied and formed a black sphere around him, while the remaining one orbited the sphere, ready for his command.
Boom, boom, boom...
As soon as the black sphere formed, a series of dull thuds echoed from within, causing Obito to sigh in relief. However, his mood grew even heavier.
There really was something invisible and undetectable attacking him.
As expected of the legendary Rinnegan's unique ocular technique—it was truly extraordinary.
At this moment, Obito discovered one of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's weaknesses.
He could no longer use Kamui.
If he could still use Kamui's intangibility, even if Madara's Rinnegan technique was a space-time ninjutsu like his own, it wouldn't be able to harm him while his true body was hidden in another dimension.
Realizing this, Obito felt a deep sense of unease.
An invisible and undetectable ability wasn't inherently terrifying. What was terrifying was that this ability also dealt significant damage. Even the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's body would suffer serious injuries if hit.
This meant Obito couldn't leave the protection of his Truth-Seeking Balls, or he would be at a severe disadvantage.
But hiding inside the black sphere made it impossible for him to kill Madara.
He could only hope that Yagyu would target Madara and help him eliminate the threat.
Compared to Madara, Yagyu, who was on the same level as him and also possessed Truth-Seeking Balls but lacked such a troublesome ability, seemed much easier to deal with.
Meanwhile, Madara frowned as he watched the black sphere being kicked around in the air like a ball, muttering, "What a troublesome ability."
From Madara's perspective, the Limbo clones were furiously attacking the black sphere formed by the Truth-Seeking Balls, but they couldn't make a dent.
Unlike earlier, when the Limbo clones had bypassed Naruto and Sasuke's Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and Complete Body — Susanoo to attack them directly, they couldn't penetrate the Truth-Seeking Balls.
Madara hadn't expected that something could counter his Limbo technique.
If Yagyu were here, he wouldn't be surprised.
In the original story, Naruto, after receiving power from the Sage of Six Paths, had used Truth-Seeking Balls to trap the Limbo clones.
As a standard Six Paths ability, the Truth-Seeking Balls were an all-purpose SSS-rank ninjutsu.
At this moment, Yagyu had arrived beside Naruto and Sasuke.
The two were lying motionless on the ground.
If one had X-ray vision, they would see that the chakra within their bodies had dwindled to the faint flicker of a candle flame, as if a single breath could extinguish it.
And indeed, that was the case.
Even a three-year-old could easily kill them now.
If nothing was done, they would die within a minute or two.
Yagyu crouched down, placing his hands on Naruto and Sasuke. A blue chakra aura enveloped his palms.
Within seconds, the blue aura dissipated, and Yagyu stood up, withdrawing his hands.
But to Hinata and Karin, who were watching from a distance, they could sense that Naruto and Sasuke's nearly extinguished chakra had suddenly recovered.
Chakra could run low, making it impossible to use, but it would never completely vanish.
When someone's chakra was gone, it meant their life was over.
Thus, to gauge someone's vitality and condition, one only needed to observe their chakra.
Just as Madara, in the original story, had known that Might Guy's next attack would be his last simply by sensing his chakra.
Seeing Naruto and Sasuke's chakra restored, the four girls breathed a sigh of relief.
This meant they were out of danger.
The method Yagyu used to heal Naruto and Sasuke was the same as Naruto's use of Yang Release to save Might Guy in the original story.
With Yin-Yang Release at his disposal, Yagyu no longer needed to rely on the Uzumaki clan's physical healing techniques. He could simply infuse chakra directly into their bodies.
Now, Naruto and Sasuke were back at full strength.
However, they remained unconscious, as if in a vegetative state.
Yagyu knew they were now meeting the Sage of the Six Paths in their mental space.
This generation's reincarnations of Asura and Indra were about to receive their power-ups.
But Yagyu didn't want them interfering with his plans. So, he grabbed them both and teleported away.
After dropping them off in Konoha, Yagyu reappeared beside Hinata and instructed, "You don't need to maintain the barrier anymore. The upcoming battle is beyond your ability to participate in or even observe. Go join the Allied Forces and have them retreat from the Land of Rain."
"...Understood!"
Using their clan's secret technique to create a temporary mental link, the four girls nodded obediently, then dispersed the barrier and vanished.
Before leaving, Hinata glanced at Yagyu with concern. "Yagyu-kun, be careful."
"Don't worry, we'll win."
Yagyu grinned, delivering a famous line.
Once the girls were gone, Yagyu turned and walked toward Madara and Obito.
It was time to wrap things up.
The disappearance of the barrier caught the attention of both Madara and Obito, who was still hiding inside his Truth-Seeking Ball.
Seeing Yagyu floating toward them, their hearts tightened.
What would come next? A two-on-one battle, or a three-way free-for-all?