Madara had officially become a Sage of Six Paths-like existence!
At this moment, Obito lay on the ground, breathing heavily. He had completely lost his value as a pawn.
Blind, broken, and frail—he was like a lost dog.
Everything Obito saw was an endless darkness. His heart was drenched in despair. He thought to himself, This is it. Let it all end here.
Maybe death was his true destination.
Maybe only in death could he face Rin properly.
Madara looked over at Hashirama and snorted coldly.
"Hashirama, I had originally planned to fight you after my resurrection… but now it seems that's no longer necessary. I've ascended to a height you will never reach."
He paused, eyes cold and sharp.
"Oh well. Once I cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, I'll fight you again—within the dream world."
With that, Madara leapt into the air and appeared beside Naruto in an instant.
"The next step," he said, eyes gleaming, "is to hunt the remaining tailed beasts... like the one inside you. Once I do, I'll become the perfect Sage Body."
His eyes locked onto Naruto with pure desire, as if the Nine Tails was already in his grasp.
Sasuke glanced sideways. "Oi, Naruto. Madara's now on another level. You gonna move or what?"
Naruto grunted. But his mind was full of questions.
Wait… this isn't like before.
In the previous timeline, Obito had the Ten Tails inside him, and the chakra of the Tailed Beasts had to be extracted with the help of the Gedo Statue.
Only then did Madara absorb the chakra and become the Ten Tails' Jinchūriki.
But now… Madara had directly absorbed all the Tailed Beast chakra from Obito's body—without the Gedo Statue.
What was this technique?
Could the chakra really be extracted and absorbed like that?
This was completely outside of Naruto's expectations—even though he had already planned for Madara to become a Sage of Six Paths-type being, this was too fast.
"Kurama," Naruto called within his mind. "How did Madara manage to pull the Tailed Beasts from Obito without the Gedo Statue?"
Kurama frowned. "That's rare. I've only seen the old man—Hagoromo—use something like that."
Naruto narrowed his eyes. "What technique was that?"
Kurama recalled:
"The Sage of Six Paths was already an immortal, so he had no need for the Gedo Statue. He used his Rinnegan to make us exist within his body directly. As for the Gedo Statue… that was the husk of the Ten Tails, sealed away on the moon."
Kurama hesitated, then guessed:
"Madara must have absorbed Hashirama's Sage Chakra and grafted part of Hashirama's body onto himself—trying to artificially recreate the Sage's body. When he absorbed Obito, I noticed something. He made a specific hand seal. I've seen that same seal from the old man before."
Naruto inhaled deeply, thinking fast.
Madara had basically reconstructed a pseudo-Sage of Six Paths body for himself.
Then, using the Rinnegan and Hagoromo's ancient technique, he bypassed the Gedo Statue and directly absorbed the Ten Tails' chakra from Obito—becoming its new Jinchūriki.
No wonder...
Suddenly, he recalled something from his previous life—when they'd tried to seal Madara.
Madara had said something cryptic:
"Naruto, I should thank you. You extracted the Tailed Beasts from Obito… that way, I didn't have to weaken him myself."
Back then, Naruto didn't fully understand. But now he did.
It meant that even if Naruto hadn't extracted the Tailed Beasts from Obito, Madara still had a method to forcibly absorb their chakra and become the Ten Tails' Jinchūriki.
This must've been the method.
Back on the battlefield, Madara summoned a Truth-Seeking Ball and extended it into a shakujo (Zen Staff). Then, he soared toward Naruto.
Naruto scoffed. "Sasuke, it's time."
Sasuke sighed, "Finally. I thought you were going to hand yourself over to him."
Naruto activated Kurama Mode—his body shone in golden chakra.
Sage Mode engaged, and his sensory perception sharpened instantly.
On the other side, Sasuke's Susanoo unfolded. Jugo once again activated the Curse Mark, integrating natural energy.
Together, they charged at Madara.
"Take this!" Sasuke's Susanoo blade swung downward.
Naruto's massive Nine Tails chakra arm followed.
Madara sneered. His Truth-Seeking Ball expanded into a half-moon shield, blocking both attacks simultaneously.
"Trying to use Sage Jutsu on me?" Madara taunted. "I can do that too."
"Sage Art: Storm Style — Light Fang!"
A concentrated beam of light erupted from Madara's mouth, slicing like a laser. His head moved slightly—and the beam cleaved through Sasuke's sword and Naruto's chakra arms like paper.
"What?!" Sasuke's eyes widened. Even Obito never broke his Susanoo blade!
Naruto grunted, but quickly regenerated his severed chakra arm and launched a spinning tail sweep.
Sasuke reforged his sword instantly and attacked again.
Madara didn't flinch. With one motion, he swung the shakujo.
Clang!
He blocked both attacks again, effortlessly.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Damn it! This guy's way harder to deal with than Obito. Is this what you were waiting for?"
Naruto chuckled. "It's more than I expected, but… also what I prepared for."
Meanwhile, Kakashi spotted Obito lying weakly nearby.
"Sensei, over there—it's Obito!" he told Minato.
Minato nodded, threw a Flying Thunder God kunai, and teleported over.
Obito stirred, sensing movement. "Who's there?"
"It's me," Minato said softly. "Your teacher."
Obito murmured weakly, "Sensei…"
Minato reappeared at the Allied Shinobi Forces' rear line, holding Obito. Lin rushed to them.
"Obito! Obito—are you okay?!"
Seeing his state, Lin's eyes welled up with tears. Minato gently laid him down. Lin took Obito's hand, pressing it to her cheek.
"Obito, please…"
Kakashi knelt beside him. "Obito… It's me. Kakashi."
He reached out and took Obito's other hand.
Obito couldn't see, but he heard both voices.
Guilt and regret surged within him.
Then, he chuckled bitterly.
"Heh… Kakashi, Rin... doesn't this scene remind you of the cave at Kannabi Bridge? I was crushed under a boulder… couldn't move."
He coughed, rasping through cracked lips.
"If I had just died back then… maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this."
Kakashi held tighter. "Stop talking, Obito. Your breathing is unstable."
Minato looked at Tsunade nearby. "Tsunade-sama, please… can you heal him?"
Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "He's the one who started this entire war."
"I know," Minato replied. "But he's still my student."
Jiraiya stepped forward. "Tsunade, please. Help us."
Tsunade sighed. Minato reminded her too much of Hiruzen, and how he treated Orochimaru.
She finally walked over and began the treatment.
Back on the battlefield, Madara clashed again with Naruto and Sasuke. As they attacked, Madara suddenly dove with a sliding movement—dodging both.
Then, he vanished and reappeared behind them.
Naruto and Sasuke turned in shock.
But Madara's Rinnegan had already locked onto his next target.
"The Nine Tails is tricky," he muttered. "I'll start with the Eight Tails."
The Limbo: Border Jail shadow Madara struck Killer Bee directly.
Naruto's eyes widened. "No—he's targeting Bee-senpai!"
The Raikage saw it too, and his entire body surged with lightning.
"Damn Uchiha bastard! If you touch my brother—I'LL KILL YOU!"
With a roar, the Raikage blasted off the ground like a missile, flying toward Madara with fury.
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