Chapter 194: Black Zetsu's Counterattack
Uchiha Madara's transformation was known to almost no one.
Those on the distant battlefield only saw the Gedō Statue reappear, then quickly vanish again.
Except for... Black Zetsu!
Somewhere in the ninja world, Black Zetsu, who was being guarded by Uchiha Madara's Wood Clone, showed no outward change, but his inner self was intensely agitated.
Finally...
After a millennium, the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki had finally reappeared!
Just two steps away. As long as Uchiha Madara cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi and he infused Mother's will into it, Mother could be revived using Uchiha Madara's body.
"Such chakra. It seems the main body succeeded," Uchiha Madara looked in the direction of his main body, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.
Then, he turned to Black Zetsu and asked with a mocking smile, "Black Zetsu, are you happy?"
"Yes, I am very happy." Black Zetsu let out a raspy laugh, no longer using an honorific for Uchiha Madara. He asked, "Madara, you learned my identity from the Sage of Six Paths, didn't you?"
"So, you are indeed Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's third son?" Uchiha Madara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You're not sure?" Black Zetsu was slightly stunned. "Didn't the Sage of Six Paths tell you? Otherwise, how would you have gained his Six Paths Sage Mode?"
"I have not met the Sage of Six Paths," Uchiha Madara said honestly. "I only inherited his legacy."
"Then how did you know?" Black Zetsu's heart sank, a premonition of ill omen.
"Ōtsutsuki Toneri told me," Uchiha Madara said meaningfully. "His eyes can see the past. Whether it was Ōtsutsuki Kaguya secretly creating you when she was sealed by the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, or you instigating Indra to cause the Ninjutsu world war, or even altering the information on the stone tablet left by the Sage of Six Paths, and using Yin–Yang Release to hint that you were the embodiment of my will—all of this was seen by him."
Hearing this, Black Zetsu fell silent.
He hadn't expected that his identity was exposed not because Uchiha Madara discovered some secret, nor because that Hagoromo fellow told him, but because of the dōjutsu of Hamura's descendant.
An eye that could see the past—Black Zetsu hadn't imagined such an overbearing dōjutsu existed in this world.
However, dōjutsu is a reflection of the heart, and the Mangekyō Sharingan can derive dōjutsu no less powerful than the Rinnegan, and even more disturbing.
It wasn't strange for an ultimate dōjutsu to derive an ability to see the past.
However, his birth and the instigation of Indra happened a millennium ago.
Ōtsutsuki Toneri's eyes being able to see scenes from a millennium ago was simply absurd.
Didn't that mean Uchiha Madara's contingency for revival had also been discovered long ago?
Why would he allow Uchiha Madara to be successfully revived?
Knowing that the Gedō Statue could transform into the Ten-Tails by collecting nine Tailed Beasts, and that someone with the Rinnegan could become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, why didn't he kill a jinchūriki to temporarily put a stop to the Tailed Beast?
This thought repeatedly surfaced in Black Zetsu's mind.
If it were him, if he couldn't retrieve the Rinnegan, he would definitely choose to eliminate a jinchūriki, causing the Tailed Beast to temporarily die.
However, Ōtsutsuki Toneri, whose eyes could see the past, did not do so.
This made Black Zetsu smell a conspiracy.
Before he could ponder further, he heard Uchiha Madara ask again, "Do you know Ōtsutsuki Isshiki?"
"Ōtsutsuki Isshiki?" Black Zetsu was stunned again, quickly flipping through his memory bank for names of Ōtsutsuki clan members he knew, then asked uncertainly, "Is he Ōtsutsuki Toneri's father or ancestor?"
Uchiha Madara's face darkened, his expression flickering. "You, the will of the Rabbit Goddess, don't even know Ōtsutsuki Isshiki?"
Black Zetsu's heart suddenly skipped a beat, feeling this was an incredibly important piece of information. He quickly asked, "Why do you think I must know this person?"
Uchiha Madara did not explain. Instead, he pondered for a few seconds, then slowly asked, "As a product of Yin–Yang Release, do you have all of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's memories?"
"I'm Mother's third son, how could I have Mother's memories?" Black Zetsu's tone was somewhat angry, as if he felt Uchiha Madara putting him on par with his mother was an utter disrespect to the Rabbit Goddess.
Uchiha Madara suddenly understood.
It seemed that Black Zetsu didn't know about Ōtsutsuki Isshiki.
Perhaps even the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura might not have known about this existence who came to Earth with their mother, and whose status was even higher than their mother's.
After all, the Rabbit Goddess's status was unparalleled; how could Ōtsutsuki Kaguya tell her sons that she was merely a servant who had even committed a betrayal to usurp power?
Only Ōtsutsuki Toneri's eyes, which could see the past, knew of such a secret.
It was just unknown how much truth there was to this secret.
But it didn't matter. Now his main body had become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, and his chakra had already far surpassed Izayoi and Ōtsutsuki Toneri.
As long as he captured Ōtsutsuki Toneri, or extracted his soul to read his memories, he would know the truth.
Thus, Uchiha Madara chuckled, "Wait for the result here with me, Black Zetsu... As long as my main body has a way to restrain you, I'm sure it will give you a beautiful ending."
"Heh heh..."
Black Zetsu laughed instead of getting angry. "Madara, you're underestimating me too much. No... you're underestimating the Rabbit Goddess too much, aren't you?"
Uchiha Madara's expression suddenly changed. "What do you mean by that?"
"Your Six Paths Sage Mode can't sense my presence, can it?" Black Zetsu's tone was full of certainty, his smile playful. "The Ten-Tails is merely an incarnation of the God Tree. The true essence is the chakra fruit that ripens once every thousand years. This is the primary and secondary, the higher and lower rank... You monkeys simply cannot comprehend Mother's power."
Uchiha Madara's mood instantly plummeted.
Just as he was about to transmit his entire conversation with Black Zetsu to his main body in real-time.
Uchiha Madara's body suddenly became unable to move.
"Black Zetsu, you..." Uchiha Madara's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.
Black Zetsu, attached to his body, let out a sinister chuckle. "A mere Wood Clone, do you truly think you can control me? From the very beginning, I had the ability to break free from you, I was just worried about disrupting the plan."
"Now that you've become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, the outcome is already decided."
"Madara, you are merely my pawn. Even if you inherited the Sage of Six Paths' legacy, you still cannot change the fate of a pawn!"
The black substance, which had consumed half of Uchiha Madara's body, began to spread to the other half.
Before long, Uchiha Madara's Wood Clone was completely devoured by Black Zetsu.
As a product of Yin–Yang Release, Black Zetsu himself was a highly accomplished manifestation of Yin–Yang Release.
Only the Yin–Yang Release of the Chakra Ancestor could create a life form like him.
As long as he possessed or pierced a body, even Uchiha Madara, who had become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki and possessed an immortal body, would still lose control of his body.
Let alone a mere Wood Clone.
After dealing with the Wood Clone responsible for monitoring him, Black Zetsu used Mayfly to dive into the earth, rapidly heading towards Uchiha Madara and Izayoi's location.
At this moment, Izayoi was intently observing Uchiha Madara.
Various colored bubbles, numbering in the double digits, floated around Uchiha Madara.
Izayoi directly ignored the bubbles below the red tier, whose upper limits couldn't even reach the other dimension, focusing only on the rainbow-colored and red bubbles.
The original Uchiha Madara had only one rainbow-colored attribute: Kekkei Genkai: Rinnegan.
Because his Six Paths Sage Mode was an ability granted to him by the Sage of Six Paths, which he could only enter by relying on the sun mark on his hand. Unlike Izayoi's cells, which contained physical energy, spiritual energy, and natural energy, allowing him to activate Six Paths Sage Mode even if he left Earth, even in the depths of space where there was no natural energy.
Therefore, Uchiha Madara's Sage Body was only a red attribute, like Uzumaki Naruto's, and hadn't been able to evolve in two years.
But now, Uchiha Madara had several more rainbow-colored attributes, including Sage Body.
Kekkei Mōra: Rinne Sharingan (Rainbow)
Sage Body (Red) (Rainbow)
Kekkei Mōra: Wood Release (Rainbow)
Self-Healing (Rainbow)
Levitation (Rainbow)
All-Element Affinity (Red) (Rainbow)
There were a total of six new rainbow-colored attributes.
Including his pre-existing Kekkei Genkai: Rinnegan (Rainbow), Uchiha Madara now possessed seven rainbow-colored attributes.
Among them, the Wood Release and All-Element Affinity attributes caught Izayoi's attention.
Izayoi himself also possessed five rainbow-colored attributes, only two fewer than Uchiha Madara.
If Uchiha Madara's Wood Release and All-Element Affinity hadn't been elevated to rainbow-tier by becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, he would also only have five rainbow-colored attributes.
However, the two extra rainbow-colored attributes were precisely those that Izayoi didn't possess.
Wood Release, elevated to a rainbow tier, had indeed become a Kekkei Mōra, as it was the power of the God Tree.
Chakra originated from the God Tree's fruit. Kekkei Genkai were products of the fusion of two chakra nature transformations. Wood Release was the Kekkei Genkai closest to the God Tree.
Without a Sage Body or powerful life energy, others combining Water Release and Earth Release nature transformations would definitely not create Wood Release, but rather Scorch Release.
By absorbing the Ten-Tails, which was the transformed God Tree, Wood Release would inevitably return to its origin, reaching an inter-dimensional level.
As for Kekkei Mōra, it was a product of the fusion of seven nature transformations, similar to a Truth-Seeking Orb, but more advanced.
Uchiha Madara's All-Element Affinity being elevated to rainbow-tier was likely due to his Wood Release and Rinne Sharingan.
Izayoi's eyes couldn't help but narrow slightly.
It seemed this was another sub-attribute.
Perhaps he could also, like upgrading ninja aptitude, upgrade All-Element Affinity to an inter-dimensional level, thereby reducing the difficulty of synthesizing Kekkei Mōra.
Uchiha Madara was unaware of Izayoi's thoughts.
At this moment, he was feeling the changes in his body, muttering, "Is this the power of the Sage of Six Paths? Incredible, it's completely on a different level than before."
Looking at Izayoi across from him, Uchiha Madara suddenly felt that the other party's chakra was so minuscule.
Absorbing the Gedō Statue, which had sealed seven Tailed Beasts, not only granted him the combined chakra of seven Tailed Beasts, but his very life form had undergone a qualitative change.
Moreover...
Uchiha Madara suddenly lowered his head and looked at his hand with the white sun mark, digesting the information in his mind, his eyes filled with shock.
Was this the Sage of Six Paths'... true legacy?
Uchiha Madara couldn't help but grin, saying to Izayoi, "I won!"
As his words fell, the Sage Staff in Uchiha Madara's hand instantly transformed into a strangely shaped black longsword.
Izayoi was familiar with this black longsword; he had seen it in the past.
Uchiha Obito, who became a Six Paths gatekeeper in the original story, had also possessed it, and had defiled its divine reputation as capable of creating and destroying worlds.
This sword was the Sage of Six Paths' primary weapon... the Sword of Nunoboko!
Also known as... the Sword of Wish Fulfillment!
Swish!
Uchiha Madara suddenly swept the sword horizontally.
A dazzling white light instantly magnified in Izayoi's vision.
As if seeing something, Izayoi's nine Truth-Seeking Orbs immediately flew in front of him, liquefying and fusing together to form a black shield, blocking the incoming white light.
The white light failed to penetrate the shield, but only that part of it was lost.
The remaining white light still sliced forward, flashing in an instant.
In that single instant, those on the distant battlefield, and even those in the Land of Lightning who were still awake, noticed that the dark sky turned to daytime for a few seconds.
The surrounding darkness was also completely dispelled, transforming into daylight.
Because it lasted for only a fleeting moment, everyone thought it was an illusion and instinctively looked up at the sky.
The next second, everyone's mouths gaped open, their eyes filled with horror and disbelief.
Above the Land of Lightning, the clouds that had seemed so close had all vanished.
The night sky, filled with countless stars, was so exquisitely beautiful.
That blood-red moon, also seemingly within reach, was equally mesmerizingly eerie.
A single roar from the Gedō Statue, blasting a huge hole in the clouds, was already a power that caused celestial phenomena.
However, compared to Uchiha Madara's single sword strike, it was still insignificant.
If it had been daytime, those present, looking at the battlefield where Izayoi and Uchiha Madara were, would have been even more shocked.
Behind Izayoi, a large section of the mountain range had been cut in half.
And unlike the perfect Susanoo's drawing slash, which merely shaved off mountaintops.
The engulfed mountains had been reduced to nothingness, no different from having been hit by a Truth-Seeking Orb explosion.
Uchiha Madara's strike was of the same nature as a Truth-Seeking Orb explosion, yet it did not consume a Truth-Seeking Orb.
The seemingly infinite chakra within his body showed no change whatsoever.
This meant that this attack... was merely a normal attack!
This was the power of the Sword of Nunoboko!
The Sword of Nunoboko in the original story, wielded by Uchiha Obito, was like heaven and earth compared to the one in Uchiha Madara's hand; they were completely on different levels.
Izayoi's eyes, rarely, trembled slightly.
Then, the corners of his mouth suddenly couldn't help but curl up, filled with excitement.
"Is this the power of the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki? No... Is this the power of the Sage of Six Paths?"
Izayoi's gaze, burning with fervor, fixed on the black longsword in Uchiha Madara's hand, praising sincerely, "Yin–Yang Release actually has such a usage! Such power is simply no less than spacetime power, which transcends the seven nature transformations. As expected of the Ninja Ancestor, to be able to develop such power, it's truly... amazing!"
Looking at Izayoi, who showed no fear but was instead exceptionally excited, Uchiha Madara was a little confused.
What's going on?
Was he not the one who gained the advantage?
......................
.........................
I want to take a moment to express my gratitude to those who support me on this journey. Your contribution make a real difference!
As a patron, you unlock:
Exclusive Access: Get advanced +70 chapters ahead of everyone else.
👉 Join now: P-a-treon/Chaos_God
(Just remove the- hyphen to access normally)
Thank You so much For your Support and for Reading!