Arata saw that a single remark from him had already enraged Uchiha Madara, yet he felt no fear at all.
Having just broken through to the peak of the Super-Kage tier, he was eager to see for himself—between him and this former pinnacle of the shinobi world, who was truly stronger.
After all, Arata had set his sights on unifying the entire shinobi world. And Uchiha Madara was destined to become his enemy sooner or later. If he could eliminate this man before Madara fully spread his wings, then everything afterward would become vastly simpler.
Perhaps the Fourth Great Ninja War wouldn't even happen. Arata's path to unifying the shinobi world would be far smoother.
Of course, Arata hadn't forgotten the greatest hidden mastermind behind all of this—Black Zetsu, lurking in the shadows. That thing was surely observing this battle from some concealed corner.
If Black Zetsu wasn't dealt with, Arata doubted he could ever truly unify the shinobi world.
After all, that creature's objective was to gather all ten tailed beasts and resurrect Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
[Ding! Based on the host's current status, the system has generated three optional choices.]
[Option 1: Ignore Black Zetsu's plans and allow Kaguya to be resurrected.
Reward: Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan.]
[Option 2: Kill Black Zetsu before the Fourth Great Ninja War.
Reward: Sage Body of Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo.]
[Option Three: Allow Black Zetsu to resurrect Kaguya, then defeat her.
Reward: Three-thousand-year God Tree Fruit.]
[The system will determine which reward is granted based on the host's actions.]
Just as Arata was about to make his move, the sudden system prompt startled him.
After scanning the options briefly, he fell into hesitation.
Any one of these rewards would be enough to propel him straight into Six Paths–level territory.
The first option—the Nine-Tomoe Rinnegan—was something even Six Paths–level beings didn't necessarily possess. Even Uchiha Sasuke, after receiving a direct power-up from the Sage of Six Paths, only awakened a six-tomoe Rinnegan.
Eyes of that caliber would undoubtedly elevate Arata straight to the Six Paths tier.
And the difficulty was practically nonexistent—he would only need to do nothing and let Black Zetsu resurrect Kaguya.
The downside was obvious. Once Kaguya revived, her strength was unpredictable. Arata might very well be killed outright. And besides, there was still the third option—the reward likely wouldn't be granted until Kaguya was sealed again.
The second option was far more difficult. Killing Black Zetsu before the Fourth Great Ninja War wouldn't be easy. That creature was a crafty old fox—one that never acted without certainty. Unless Madara was at his weakest, Black Zetsu probably wouldn't even reveal itself, pretending instead to be Madara's will incarnate.
Moreover, Black Zetsu was born of yin and yang. Without mastery over Six Paths–level Yin–Yang Release, even encountering it wouldn't guarantee the ability to kill it.
That said, finding Black Zetsu wasn't impossible. Once the Akatsuki formed, Arata could simply head straight for their base. The real question was whether he could actually capture and destroy it.
Still, the reward for option two was incredibly tempting—Ōtsutsuki Hagoromo's Sage Body. That was a genuine Six Paths–level physique. With it, Arata's minimum ceiling would rival the Sage of Six Paths himself.
With such power, sealing Kaguya again would be trivial.
As for option three, the difficulty was just as extreme—if not worse. Not only would Kaguya have to be revived, Arata would then need to defeat her. That wasn't something a mere Six Paths–level fighter could easily accomplish.
In the original timeline, it took Naruto and Sasuke—both Six Paths–level—working together just to barely seal Kaguya.
Even centuries earlier, when Kaguya was first sealed, it wasn't done by Hagoromo alone. His brother, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, had fought alongside him.
Kaguya's strength, even among Six Paths–level beings, was likely at the absolute ceiling—perhaps even at the pinnacle of that realm.
Still, the reward matched the difficulty. A three-thousand-year God Tree Fruit. Kaguya herself had only consumed a fruit that matured over a thousand years, yet that alone made her the progenitor of chakra.
That was proof enough of how terrifying the fruit truly was.
If Arata consumed a fruit aged three times longer, his strength would likely reach—or even surpass—Kaguya's level.
Especially considering he also possessed the Rumble-Rumble ability, a power of unknown origin but staggering potential.
After all, a three-thousand-year fruit was worlds apart from Kaguya's mere thousand-year one.
Though he wrestled with the choice in his mind, in reality only a blink of an eye passed.
In the end, Arata made no decision.
He decided to deal with the Uchiha Madara standing before him first.
If he couldn't even defeat Madara, he had no business pondering those options at all.
But that brief moment of hesitation was all it took.
His opponent was Uchiha Madara.
While Arata was lost in thought, the Nine-Tails had already condensed a Tailed Beast Bomb far larger than its own body.
This level of Tailed Beast Bomb could only be formed when the Nine-Tails possessed a complete balance of yin and yang chakra. The chakra that had later been split between Minato and his son would never have been capable of producing something like this.
Arata's expression turned grave.
This wasn't a joke—it was a true nation-destroying attack.
In the next instant, he raised his right hand toward the sky and spoke in a low voice:
"Lightning Armor: Second Gear."
Never before had he activated Lightning Armor in this manner. This was the first time.
Madara, who had personally witnessed Arata's battle with the Monkey Sage and his solo stand against the twenty-thousand-strong allied army, was already familiar with most of Arata's techniques.
Yet this gesture—raising his right hand to the heavens—was something entirely new.
Just as Madara frowned in confusion, a vivid, lifelike lightning dragon burst forth from Arata's raised hand.
It was the same lightning dragon Arata had used before—
—but this time, it was several times larger.
The dragon's head alone exceeded thirty meters in size, its body stretching well over a hundred meters. Only now did it become clear that Arata had never gone all out before.
The lightning dragon didn't target Madara.
Instead, it shot straight into the sky.
The moment it pierced the clouds, it let out a thunderous roar.
Roar—!
The dragon surged through the clouds, twisting and coiling.
Madara's expression darkened instantly. He understood Arata's intent.
"Trying to change the weather…"
Madara had studied Arata's techniques. Most of them were Lightning Release—high-level lightning, at that.
A stormy sky was Arata's ideal battlefield.
And this jutsu wasn't relying on elemental clashes like Sasuke's Fire Style–based weather manipulation—it was pure Devil Fruit power.
The area affected would span over fifty kilometers.
At the same time, Arata's body began to expand rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, he once again assumed Lightning Armor: Second Gear, his form now nearly matching Susanoo in scale.
This time, the Lightning Armor's body reached a staggering height of one hundred and twenty meters.
***************************
Read advanced chapters ahead of everyone else on my P@treon.
P@treon/GodDragcell