The assassination of the Daimyo plunged the Land of Lightning into chaos. Swords were drawn across the nation as a brutal struggle for the throne erupted!
Yet the instigator, Sasuke, had quietly returned to the small village where he'd left his cat.
"Meow~!"
The cat affectionately licked Sasuke's fingers, its three symmetrical whiskers on each cheek instantly reminding him of a certain friend he could never quite let go.
"That idiot Naruto must've heard about all this by now. If nothing unexpected happens, he'll come looking for me."
Not lingering in the village, Sasuke set off with his cat.
He planned to keep an eye on the shifting tides in the Land of Lightning—all while waiting for Naruto to arrive. Deep down, he was already prepared for an all-out clash with his old friend.
But the first to arrive weren't Naruto—they were a pair of unwelcome guests.
"Black Zetsu…"
Sasuke's gaze narrowed on the cloaked figure of Black Zetsu. Next to him stood a man in strange garb, with small braids hanging by his ears—fashion completely out of place for this era.
But what caught Sasuke's attention most: the man possessed the Sharingan.
Sasuke demanded, "Who is he, Black Zetsu?"
Black Zetsu grinned slyly. "What, you don't recognize your own ancestor, Sasuke?"
After a moment's scrutiny, Sasuke's expression turned odd. "Is that… Madara?"
Black Zetsu burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! Sasuke, your clueless act is almost as good as Naruto's!"
The man stepped forward, stoic and unsmiling. "I am Indra."
Sasuke's pupils shrank. "What?!"
Indra spoke in a flat, ancient tone. "Due to certain karmic ties, my chakra reincarnates in this world, dwelling within chosen descendants. You are my reincarnation, which means you share some of my qualities."
"Logically, since you were chosen by my chakra, I should treat you with honesty. But there are things I must do, and this so-called Impure World Reincarnation body is a hindrance…"
Sasuke cut him off coldly. "What exactly are you after?"
Indra's gaze sharpened. "Use your right eye to perform the Rinne Rebirth Technique on me. In return, if you have any unfulfilled wishes, I can grant them. What do you say?"
Sasuke let out a dark, mocking laugh. "Heh… Hahahaha! I thought you'd say something profound. Turns out, Indra, you're just as delusional as Madara!"
A chill flickered in Indra's eyes. "Reincarnation… I truly didn't want to embarrass you…"
"That's enough. Relic of a bygone age—rest in peace!"
As his words fell, six black horns sprouted from Sasuke's hair, and eight silver sage snakes coiled around him.
—Ryūchi Cave Sage Mode!
Indra looked mildly surprised. "Oh? Power from the Ryūchi Cave. Fate really is interesting."
Sizzle!
Sasuke's right eye snapped open, and dark purple Susanoo chakra erupted skyward. With the infusion of sage energy, even Susanoo's form began to change.
Black Zetsu cackled. "Looks like some people just won't cry till they see the coffin, right, Indra?"
Sizzle!
Indra'sSharingan shifted into the Eternal Mangekyō. The same dark purple Susanoo chakra condensed, forming a complete and towering avatar.
Two colossal titans faced off in the sky.
Sasuke sneered, "So this is your trump card, Indra? What you have, I have! What you lack, I possess! Aside from an immortal shell, you have no advantage!"
Indra's eyes gleamed with ancient wisdom. "Is that so? Let me show you the difference. You can inject sage energy into Susanoo. But I—can use Susanoo to perform sage arts. You'll see the difference soon enough…"
CRACK! Indra's Susanoo formed seals with both hands.
The sky darkened as natural energy in the atmosphere went berserk.
The scale was so vast that every master of sage arts felt it.
In the Land of Fire, atop the Valley of the End, Madara opened his eyes, gazing up at drifting clouds.
When emotions surge violently, two people sharing the same eyes can "resonate"—as proven with Kakashi and Obito.
Through Sasuke's eyes, Madara saw it all. He clenched his knees, murmuring, "So that's… Indra's power…"
In Amegakure, on the ninth floor of the tower, Naruto stared grimly at the sky.
Natural energy was surging toward the Land of Lightning.
"It's begun…"
His hand gripped the armrest tight.
Thump! Thump!
His heartbeat thundered in his ears, drowning out everything else.
Some great transformation was happening. The world had reached its tipping point.
BOOM—! A bolt of lightning split the sky.
"Urgh…!!"
A tremor shot through the depths of his pupils. Naruto clutched his eyes as blood streamed down.
"Naruto!"
Konan rushed to support him.
"I'm… I'm fine…"
Naruto stood. His eyes had transformed.
Three concentric ripples, each embedded with six tomoe—on both eyes.
Uzumaki Naruto had awakened the Dual Six-Tomoe Rinnegan!
No time for celebration. Naruto vanished in a flash of Flying Thunder God.
Valley of the End.
Uzumaki Naruto appeared before Madara.
Madara eyed the dazzling new eyes and slowly rose. "Finally. Three days late, just as you promised…"
A month and three days ago, the two had made a ceasefire before the Water Daimyo's palace.
Madara had agreed not to attack Sasuke or the ninja world. In exchange, when Naruto awakened his Rinnegan, he'd return Madara's own Rinnegan—and Madara would return Sasuke's left eye.
Madara had kept his word.
Naruto pressed urgently, "There's no time. We need to get to the Land of Lightning now, or Sasuke will be in danger!"
…
Land of Lightning, battlefield.
Natural energy surged like a tidal wave into Indra's Susanoo.
The power was so overwhelming that Sasuke's Susanoo couldn't even get close.
Sasuke was horrified. All the natural energy in the atmosphere is being absorbed by his Susanoo…!
Indra's voice was calm and cold. "Why else do you think I went out of my way to master sage arts?"
Crack! Crack!
All the sage energy absorbed into Susanoo was converted into pure, liquid lightning.
The power was monstrous—Susanoo had to morph just to contain it.
Sizzle!
Indra half-covered his right eye.
—Takemikazuchi!
CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
The lightning plasma seeped out, condensing in Susanoo's hands into a terrifying bow and arrow of pure lightning. Even from hundreds of meters away, the aura at the arrow's tip made Sasuke's hair stand on end.
Cold sweat trickled down his face. How… How can the gap be this huge?
"Because I am Ōtsutsuki Indra!"
A savage grin curled Indra's lips as the lightning arrow locked onto the distant Susanoo and shot forth, tearing through the sky!
—Six Paths: Indra's Arrow!
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
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