How could Black Zetsu, who possessed the Rinnegan and only a fraction of the Otsutsuki clan's power, be defeated?
Sealing with Yin-Yang Release, combined with an almost unbreakable barrier, and finally enhanced with senjutsu.
Even if Black Zetsu was better at hiding than White Zetsu, not even microbes—invisible to the naked eye—would escape this Underground Chamber.
"Black Zetsu!" The elderly Madara wore a pale blue skeletal armor.
All he received was laughter echoing throughout the chamber—"Hehehehe!"
The hidden Black Zetsu naturally wouldn't reveal himself so easily.
Two reincarnated Asuras and one reincarnated Indra.
Though he possessed the Rinnegan, he still needed to proceed cautiously.
Until something was cut off by the barrier.
Shen, whose left eye dripped blood, had been continuously using Tianjin'nu, second after second, before finally detecting Black Zetsu.
In truth, he also wanted to activate Magatsuhi in his right eye to end this immediately.
Yet the chakra-absorbing Rinnegan likely demanded more ocular power than the Eternal Mangekyō could offer, making such a technique impossible.
"This is Mother's ability," Black Zetsu sneered.
Then, he employed the Yin-Yang Release, confidently passing through the barrier and emerging above ground.
[Sage Art: Torii Seal!] Giant wooden gates rained down from the ceiling, crashing one after another onto Black Zetsu.
Madara immediately placed both palms on the ground, reinforcing the barrier with Yin-Yang Release.
"And add mine too!" called Shen, now in Sage Mode, slamming his hands together, creating numerous pillars composed of mixed chakra natures.
Surrounding Black Zetsu in a triangular formation, these pillars emitted multi-elemental threads that gradually constricted toward the center.
"He has the same natural affinity for Sage Art as I do," Impure World Reincarnated Hashirama murmured wistfully.
Though he had passed away over twenty years ago, he marveled at how Konoha now had such a young yet remarkably strong successor.
But recalling the words spoken by the opponent before exiting the illusionary space—regarding future plans—his expression turned bitter.
"Hashirama!" Madara shouted urgently, restrained from freely attacking due to supplying life energy to the demon elephant.
"I know!"
Countless grotesque branches erupted from the earth, entwining around the dozens of Torii Seals.
Multi-elemental threads, resembling lasers, barely halted near the dense tangle of branches.
Without the Sage's Body, no one could fully unleash the true power of the Sage's Eye.
Faced with the combined sealing techniques of two Legendary Shinobi and a third rivaling their strength, escaping would definitely not be easy.
At least in Shen's eyes—who temporarily couldn't use Tianjin'nu—this time, his opponent truly seemed doomed.
But within the calm center of the seal, both experienced fighters Madara and Hashirama sensed something very wrong.
"Even though you have Mother's ability, you still failed to detect exactly where my real body is," Black Zetsu's voice echoed once again through the entire Underground Chamber.
Realizing this, a horrified Shen immediately forced activation of Tianjin'nu's ability.
"Don't keep wasting your ocular chakra like this. When you summoned the previous Reincarnated Asura, I already decided to trap you all here forever!"
The previously calm underground chamber began violently shaking.
Shen, relying on Sage Mode perception, and Impure World Reincarnated Hashirama both sensed something was wrong with the entire space.
Madara immediately covered all the tubes connecting him to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path with Susanoo.
The ground outside the underground space was actually moving closer toward them.
[Planetary Devastation], Madara muttered softly, staring at the central point they had just sealed.
If Kaguya could use Yin-Yang Release to create Black Zetsu, then Black Zetsu with the Rinnegan could definitely perform similar operations too.
As the underground chamber gradually collapsed inward, Shen and Impure World Reincarnated Hashirama both huddled beneath Madara's Susanoo, which stood five or six meters tall.
"Kid, you can do this too, right?"
"My ocular chakra hasn't recovered yet."
"What about you, Hashirama?"
"If I told you I just realized I'm in the Impure World Reincarnation state, would you believe me?"
Underneath Madara's aged face, his lips kept trembling.
Without the Mangekyo Sharingan, Susanoo could indeed still be used.
But regarding its strength, it was definitely far weaker than before.
"If none of you are going to help, then just get out!" Madara declared indifferently, issuing his final ultimatum.
Impure World Reincarnated Hashirama quietly created a wooden dragon using Wood Release, knowing full well that this man was really capable of throwing him outside.
Shen forcibly covered the wooden dragon with Susanoo's skeletal frame, actually fearing that this nearly centenarian old man might kick him right in the butt and send him flying outwards.
Getting trapped within [Planetary Devastation] definitely wouldn't kill them.
But moving even slightly would probably be impossible.
The space opened by combining Susanoo with the wooden dragon was only about twenty meters wide.
[Hmph!] The pale-blue Susanoo expanded into a towering humanoid form seventy to eighty meters tall.
This was the maximum Madara without the Mangekyo could achieve.
[Then, I'll use the Wood Humanoid!] A red glow startled Impure World Reincarnated Hashirama into lowering his previously joined hands.
Susanoo combined with the Wood Humanoid? Madara inwardly resisted such an operation.
Especially with Hashirama's version!
"Kid, your half-baked Susanoo won't be enough to carry out the plan."
[Yes, yes, yes!] You're absolutely right, Lord Madara! I'll definitely master Perfect Susanoo as soon as possible!" A submissive Shen immediately expressed his agreement.
Although he was using it only the second time ever, it didn't affect his usual confidence at all.
Kakashi, by borrowing Obito's chakra, had been able to instantly activate Perfect Susanoo.
This shows that Perfect Susanoo doesn't necessarily require the Eternal Mangekyō.
Furthermore, the abilities of Tianjin'nu and Magatsuhi could ensure that each time Shen used Susanoo, he could recover seventy to eighty percent of his consumed ocular chakra.
Only the ocular chakra consumed during reality superposition couldn't be restored through this clever method.
The pale-blue [Four-Armed Susanoo] and the wooden dragon wrapped within a bright white skeletal framework both strained to their maximum capacity, attempting to expand against the slowly contracting space.
White Zetsu popped up in front of the three with a "swish."
"There's definitely no Black Zetsu at the central sealing point."
When various barriers were about to collapse, he went over to inspect the situation.
After existing for several thousand years, could any of them be easily defeated?
Even Hashirama, revived through the Impure World Reincarnation technique using one White Zetsu as a medium, couldn't fully manifest his former power.
With only one Sharingan and dependent on the Demonic Statue for life force, Madara could barely stand and fight using [Susanoo] and [Yin-Yang Release].
Shen, who had just awakened his [Mangekyo Sharingan] and whose condition hadn't recovered yet, was even less comparable to these two powerful figures.
Sealing Black Zetsu was the only viable plan the three had agreed upon in the Illusionary Space.
However, villains are still villains—there's practically no chance they'll suddenly act stupid and get themselves killed.
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