At the center of Kiri village.
In midair, a massive sphere of earth floated, sealing the First Hokage inside. On the ground, the Mizukage building had been reduced to ruins.
At this moment, the already battered surface collapsed further, forming a large crater. With an earth-shattering roar, the towering Demonic Statue of the Outer Path emerged from deep beneath the ground.
Hmm?
The Deva Path spotted the statue first and immediately assumed it had been summoned by Madara to fight him. Soon after, he noticed the nine open eyes on the statue's head, and his expression instantly changed.
Ten-Tail?
Though Nagato had never seen the revived Ten-Tail in person, the moment he laid eyes on it, an instinctive fear gripped him—he wanted to flee.
With Uchiha Madara possessing the Rinnegan and having revived the Ten-Tail, the enemy's strength was overwhelming—so much so that even the Deva Path stood no chance at victory.
However, what Nagato failed to notice was...
Across from the Deva Path, Madara Uchiha himself also wore a shocked expression.
He had clearly retrieved only four Tailed Beasts, so why had the other five eyes on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path opened as well? Could it be because the chakra inside its body had become distorted, triggering a frenzied state?
Madara quickly formed several hand seals and activated the ocular power of his Rinnegan simultaneously, attempting to reestablish control over the frenzied statue and manipulate it once again.
Yet, it proved ineffective.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
After emerging from underground, the Demonic Statue fixed its nine eyes upon Madara and the Deva Path standing before it, staring with an eerie and savage gaze, glints of cold light flickering through their pupils.
Not good.
Both men sensed danger and instinctively stepped backward—but in the next instant, the statue charged straight toward them.
"Roar!"
Letting out a sky-piercing roar, the Demonic Statue leapt into the air. It raised both fists high like colossal hammers and came crashing down right on top of Madara and Pain.
Boom!
A tremendous sound, like mountains collapsing and the earth splitting, accompanied the impact. It created a crater the size of a meteor impact and sent shockwaves rippling outward, damaging a large portion of Kiri's buildings.
Fortunately, all the ninja and civilians had already evacuated, avoiding any casualties.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Caught in the explosion's force, Madara and Nagato alike were blasted backward together, each tumbling dozens of rotations before stabilizing themselves.
This is the terrifying might of the Demonic Statue?
At that moment, both men rose to their feet, casting grave looks toward the distant statue.
"It seems now that the statue has become the Ten-Tail and escaped Madara's control. This situation favors me greatly. I need to find a way to make Madara and the Demonic Statue fight each other, then take the opportunity to ambush and eliminate Madara, before using an even larger [Planetary Devastation] to seal away the Ten-Tail."
Inside a cave outside Mist Village, Nagato's eyes gleamed with sharp insight as he contemplated silently.
"If the statue has gone berserk, could it be due to the enemy's interference? After all, they also possess the Rinnegan, making it entirely possible for them to influence the statue's condition. Regardless, I must remain cautious."
Madara became extremely wary inside, keeping vigilant against both the Deva Path and the Demonic Statue.
Just then, the Demonic Statue suddenly made a move completely unexpected by both men.
It sent Uchiha Madara and Deva Path flying with a single powerful blow, but instead of pressing the attack, it glanced at the two before swiftly turning around and stampeding toward the village's outskirts.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had taken off.
What was going on?
Once they regained their senses, neither one wasted a moment on fighting each other. Together, they rushed after the statue.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Demonic Statue moved like a giant chasing the sun, sprinting wildly through the mountain ranges of Mist toward the setting sun.
Wherever it passed, trees toppled, boulders tumbled, and flocks of birds burst into the sky.
Uchiha Madara and Deva Path chased desperately behind, barely managing to catch a glimpse of the dust trailing from the statue's rear.
Not long afterward,
The Demonic Statue burst out from the thick mist-covered mountains of the Land of Water and reached the endless coastline, speeding up as if preparing to leap into the sea.
From appearances, the statue had regained self-awareness and no longer wished to be bound by Madara or anyone else, so it tried escaping into the vast ocean, never to return.
No way—we must stop it!
Witnessing this scene, Uchiha Madara paled in shock, ignoring everything as he unleashed his chakra, becoming an arrow shot from a bow, soaring into the air to intercept the statue.
The Demonic Statue was the key component of his Moon Eye Plan. If it escaped, all his efforts would vanish like illusions.
Thus, when Madara reached above the statue, without hesitation he formed hand seals, aiming to create a massive [Planetary Devastation] to pin the statue down here.
Apparently sensing Madara's intent,
the statue suddenly turned its head, roaring furiously from afar at Madara, sending forth a wave of chakra from its abyss-like gaping mouth that arrived instantaneously.
[Shinra Tensei!]
Madara coldly shouted, unleashing a powerful repelling force from his entire body to neutralize the chakra wave. At the same time, he hadn't stopped forming the seals—his hands clapped together in a seal, about to generate the black sphere.
But just then, something went horribly wrong.
Hmm?
Suddenly, Madara stiffened entirely—arms and legs paralyzed—his attempt at [Planetary Devastation] forcibly interrupted.
A strange force surged into his body, seizing control and paralyzing him instantly.
It was Heiyan inside the statue who made his move.
As the "pilot" of the statue, his earlier attack using the statue to emit the chakra shockwave toward Madara had merely been a feint. In reality, simultaneously, he activated spores hidden inside Madara's Elephant Path clone, seizing control of Madara's body and rendering him immobile.
As soon as Madara's jutsu was interrupted, the statue plunged headfirst into the sea, sending up a massive splash.
Swish!
Diving forward like a master swimmer, its limbs churning the water rapidly, the Demonic Statue cut a straight white line across the azure sea surface, slicing ever deeper into the ocean.
Deva Path arrived late, witnessing just in time the sight of Uchiha Madara being "struck" by the chakra shockwave from the Demonic Statue, his entire body going rigid and plummeting from midair.
Realizing the statue could no longer be caught, Deva wasted no time, rushing directly toward Madara, taking advantage of his vulnerable state to finish him off.
At this point, Heiyan had already freed Madara from the control of the Parasitic Spores, not wanting to destroy the Elephant Path just yet—he intended to keep it alive in order to locate Madara's original body.
Thus, Madara and Deva Path launched into another brutal clash on the beach.
Fueled by fury, Madara attacked mercilessly, quickly forcing Deva Path into continuous retreat, unable to mount an effective defense.
At a critical moment.
Shua—
Obito arrived in time, taking Deva Path and vanishing into Kamui's space, escaping swiftly.
"Hmph."
Madara let out a cold snort but had no intention of chasing after Deva Path and Obito. Instead, he continued flying across the sea surface, tracking the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Unfortunately, he searched the nearby waters repeatedly but couldn't find any trace of the statue.
Boom!
The calm sea surface erupted from Madara's chakra attack, splashing up massive waves.
All he could do now was seethe in helpless fury.
Meanwhile.
In a local inn outside Mist Village.
After Heiyan's original body successfully entered the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and completed his mission, his Shadow Clone brought Mei Terumi and the others, summoning Guagua the Stealth Frog.
With its help, they left Mist Village and reached Penglai Ninja Village.
Upon returning to the mountaintop villa in Penglai, Heiyan found Pakura at home. He briefly explained the situation to her and entrusted her with temporarily watching over the three troublesome kids, especially Kisame and Zabuza, who were both troublemakers requiring extra attention.
Soon after, his Shadow Clone seemed to suffer some kind of long-range interference, making his chakra highly unstable as his form blurred slightly.
Heiyan signaled Pakura not to worry about him. To prevent an uncontrolled chakra explosion, he deliberately released the clone technique, disappearing from where he stood.
"Come on, follow me downhill. I'll take you all to visit the village first, and then find somewhere for you to settle down."
Pakura smiled warmly as she glanced at the obedient Mei, with Kisame and Zabuza standing shoulder to shoulder beside her.
Seeing Pakura's retreating figure, the three children exchanged glances before finally following behind.
"Wah!"
No sooner had they stepped outside the door of the mountaintop villa than Mei cried out in amazement upon seeing the bustling Penglai Ninja Village below the mountain, her small face filled with awe.
Kisame and Zabuza were also stunned.
They had never known such a village existed somewhere out at sea, and it clearly rivaled even the Five Great Ninja Villages.
"Sister, may I ask who Grandpa Sage Turtle is? Was this entire village built by him?"
On the mountain path, unable to contain her curiosity, Mei carefully asked Pakura.
"Huh? Didn't he tell you?"
Upon hearing this, Pakura paused momentarily, asking in response.
Seeing all three kids look utterly clueless, she couldn't help laughing lightly before telling them,
"The so-called 'Sage Turtle' is actually just a fake identity. His real name is Uzumaki Heiyan."
"Uzumaki... Heiyan?!'
The three young ones felt the name sounded somewhat familiar but couldn't quite place it immediately.
For a moment, silence hung in the air.
Then, startled gasps rang out one after another along the forest path midway down the mountainside.
Kiri.
BOOM!
The Planetary Devastation suspended above the village was shattered by Madara's ocular power. Countless rocks rained down like a storm, scattering in all directions.
The Hashirama Senju broke free from the sealing restraint.
Together with the Trio from Akagakure, these were now the last few Impure World Reincarnation Puppets Madara had left.
This battle would mark the beginning of Madara's downfall...
He not only lost numerous puppets and was forced to relocate his original body, but worst of all, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had vanished without a trace.
Madara Uchiha racked his brain, yet couldn't figure out what had happened.
As a result of this battle, many Kiri ninja and villagers defected as well, leaving half the village's fighting strength destroyed.
Unwilling to accept defeat, Madara gathered the remnants of Kiri forces and offered an enormous bounty, ordering them to chase their enemies to the ends of the Earth if necessary—both the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and its foes must be found.
Inside a cave outside the village.
Obito arrived with Deva Path. The latter's clothing was torn, many of his Black Receivers broken—he had sustained heavy damage.
"Thank you for your help. This time, I owe you one."
Nagato in the wheelchair panted heavily and sweated profusely while speaking to Obito.
Among the Six Paths of Pain puppets he created, others could be freely sacrificed, used as disposable tools—but not Deva Path.
Because Deva Path was created from Yahiko's corpse, embodying Konan's and Nagato's beliefs—it was the soul of the Six Paths of Pain.
"Nagato, now you should understand how messed up this world really is," Obito sighed, spreading his hands in persuasion. "The ninja here are abnormally strong. So give it up. It's time to go back home."
He couldn't wait to leave this place even for a single day.
"No way."
But Nagato stubbornly shook his head, eyes firm as he spoke. "I must find the young Nagato in this world, along with Yahiko and Konan, and take them away with me. I won't let them go through the same suffering we once endured ever again."
Konan stepped forward then, gently placing her hand on Nagato's shoulder as she addressed Obito:
"You've seen it yourself too—Nagato expended tremendous chakra during this battle. Even if he agreed, he wouldn't have the strength to use the Dragon Vein or open the space-time gate for a while. So let's wait just a little longer. Although our relationship has been tense before, in this unknown and dangerous parallel world, we should stand united as Akatsuki now more than ever."
"Well... you're right."
Obito shrugged his shoulders in agreement.
Still, staying inside this cave any longer wasn't an option—the place might soon be discovered by Madara or his subordinates.
Therefore, after thorough discussion, the three decided to relocate—to somewhere remote deep within Water Country—to regroup and devise better plans.
One day later.
An uninhabited island stood alone upon endless sea.
Splash.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path surfaced from beneath the waves, crawling onto shore. Controlled by Heiyan (the one who controls the statue), it swam nonstop for over a thousand miles, reaching the edge of this world.
Naturally, it was Heiyan's chakra that made the statue open all nine eyes.
Heiyan's chakra was simply too vast, equal to the combined amount of the remaining five Tailed Beasts. So when Heiyan fused with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, it awoke.
However, a minor issue arose during this process.
Merging completely with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path turned out to be much more difficult than Heiyan had imagined.
Despite his careful planning and implanting six Parasitic Spores one after another into the statue's body over several years in order to gain control over it,
when the statue absorbed both the Tailed Beast chakra and Heiyan's own chakra, the Ten-Tails' awareness unexpectedly revived. Immediately afterward, it began battling Heiyan for control of the statue.
To the Ten-Tails, Heiyan was an invader attempting to seize its home, so its awareness was extremely fierce and cruel, repeatedly trying to devour Heiyan's physical body and soul as punishment for his intrusion.
Heiyan naturally fought back hard.
During the past day, while manipulating the statue to swim away toward the ocean's depths, he waged a fierce battle against the Ten-Tails' awareness inside the statue.
This process was thrilling, heart-stopping, and life-threatening.
Fortunately, Heiyan ultimately came out on top.
He successfully erased the Ten-Tails' awareness and took complete control over the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Now came the final step.
[Boom! Boom! Boom!]
The statue walked through the woods of a deserted island until finally reaching deep inside the island, arriving at a valley.
Then it sat cross-legged again, lifting its hands upward in a prayer-like pose.
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