Chapter 358: Kaguya
"Alright, I'll leave it to you two."
Tonbo Tobitake nodded and retreated. The black shroud covering his body slowly faded away. Relinquishing the battlefield to Naruto and Sasuke, he made his way to Guy's side. He performed a quick check using his neural threads.
Finding that Guy's life signs were stable, he breathed a sigh of relief. He was alive and well.
"Orochimaru's technology is truly beyond reproach."
When it came to researching Hashirama's cells, Orochimaru was a true professional; he had effectively mapped them out completely.
"Guy-sensei, are you okay?" Rock Lee rushed over, his eyes brimming with tears.
"Guy is fine. He just needs time to recover. Once he's healed, his body will actually be on a whole new level," Tonbo explained.
Even though the Hashirama cells hadn't fully integrated into Guy's DNA, they acted as an external source of vitality. In time, Guy's physique would change; that powerful life force would make his future physical training significantly easier.
Meanwhile, in the direction of Naruto and Sasuke, no one else could help. Only Minato could provide support at critical moments using Flying Raijin. The battle was intense. Both Naruto and Sasuke had now received the power of the Six Paths, and Tonbo bore witness to it.
Through the neural threads he had previously placed on Naruto, Tonbo could sense the dramatic shifts in Naruto's chakra. He had done everything he set out to do: he'd given Madara a solid beating and collected physiological data on the Ten-Tails, Obito, and Madara.
Next was Kaguya. He would definitely have to join that fight; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to collect her biological data within the pocket dimensions—and that was the most important prize of all. Kaguya was an Otsutsuki who had consumed the fruit of the Divine Tree and restructured her own genetic information, granting her true immortality.
Rumble!Bang!
Naruto and Sasuke had undergone a total metamorphosis. They were now fighting Madara on equal terms—at times, they even seemed to be overwhelming him.
Crash!
Naruto's Lava Release Rasenshuriken struck the base of the Divine Tree, causing the gargantuan trunk to topple from the sky.
"Absorb it..."
As Madara watched the tree fall, a seductive power emanated from its flower bud.
"I see..."
Uchiha Madara absorbed the fallen tree into his body. Dodging Naruto and Sasuke's follow-up attacks, he soared high into the sky, facing the brilliant moon. He snapped off the horn on his head, revealing a third eye in the center of his forehead—a red Rinne-Sharingan.
The moon in the sky simultaneously reflected the same pattern.
"Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Naruto and Sasuke were hindered by Madara's Limbo: Border Jail, losing their chance to stop him. The moonlight cascaded over the earth, piercing through the clouds and shining down upon every living creature in the world. As the light touched them, a Rinnegan pattern appeared in the eyes of every living being.
Sasuke reacted instantly, encasing Naruto within his Susanoo.
"Hmm? It looks like Sakura and Kakashi won't be participating in the big fight this time..." Tonbo noted, raising an eyebrow as he saw Sasuke only protecting Naruto.
"Nekogami Possession."
The giant Fortune Cat manifested, shielding Tonbo, Guy, and the others. However, the moonlight still managed to penetrate the chakra construct.
"As I suspected, simple chakra protection isn't enough to block the Infinite Tsukuyomi. You need the power of the Rinnegan or an equivalent level of power like Sasuke. Fortunately, I didn't plan on relying solely on that."
Tonbo's eyes also manifested the Rinnegan pattern, as did the people lying on the ground around him.
"God: Deep Forest Emergence."
Madara continued the ritual. Countless bandage-like wrappings descended from the sky, cocoons of wood binding all living beings. Only the reanimated Hokage were ignored by the attack.
"The power of the Rinnegan allowed them to evade the Infinite Tsukuyomi," Black Zetsu observed, controlling Obito's body as he looked at the Susanoo blocking the light.
Gradually, the moonlight faded. Sasuke and Naruto emerged from the Susanoo just as Uchiha Madara descended from the heavens.
"This loathsome world will finally enter its most beautiful era. No matter how hard you struggle, it is all in vain. Hahaha!" Madara laughed wildly at the duo.
"Sasuke, no matter what, we have to take this guy down and save everyone," Naruto said, his expression grim.
"Yeah. This guy is really starting to piss me off," Sasuke agreed.
"Hahaha! Now that I have absorbed the power of the Divine Tree, you have no chance of victory. Just go ahead and enjoy your own little worlds..." Madara's laughter was arrogant and dismissive.
Gasp!
Before he could finish his sentence, a hand pierced through his chest from behind.
"You should join them too," Black Zetsu said, emerging from the shadows.
"You... you betrayed me? I created you..." Madara gasped in disbelief. Feeling his chakra spiraling out of control, he couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"I was never created by you. From the very beginning, you were merely my pawn—a tool to resurrect my mother, Kaguya."
Black Zetsu utilized Yin-Yang Release: Spirit Possession Assimilation, merging himself into Madara's body and forcing a violent transformation. The chakra of all living beings trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi began to funnel into him. As the massive influx of chakra surged, Madara's body began to warp and balloon.
Naruto and Sasuke watched in stunned silence, unable to grasp what was unfolding. Within moments, a female form appeared before them. Her alien appearance left them shocked, particularly the unfathomable amount of chakra radiating from her.
Obito's body, no longer under Zetsu's control, collapsed to the ground.
"Hagoromo..."
Kaguya Otsutsuki fixed her gaze on Naruto and Sasuke. She sensed Hagoromo's power. Looking at their hands, the sealing power etched there triggered a vivid, ancient memory.
"I will not be sealed by that power again."
The environment suddenly shifted violently as the entire space was replaced by a world of molten lava.
"Hehehe! Faced with Mother's power, you can only watch in despair as the world dies! Hahaha..." Black Zetsu's laughter echoed from Kaguya's sleeve. He had finally succeeded; he had freed his mother from her prison.
"Dammit, Sasuke! We have to seal her again!" Naruto shouted solemnly, kept aloft by Truth-Seeker Orbs. They were the only ones left who could do this.
"Yeah."
Whoosh—!
Minato, having recovered a small amount of chakra, returned to the battlefield only to find Naruto and Sasuke gone and everyone else encased in cocoons. Shortly after, the Third, Second, and First Hokage—freed from Madara's black receivers following his transformation into Kaguya—appeared beside him.
"Tobirama, is there a way to save everyone?" Hashirama asked.
"It's impossible in the short term. The enemy's power is too great; this isn't a Genjutsu that can be broken by ordinary means," Tobirama replied after examining a cocoon. He estimated that even for him, it would take about three months of research to find a way to break a jutsu that affected the entire world.
Since reanimated bodies were immune, it proved a solution existed, but they simply didn't have the time.
At the site of the Divine Tree.
Tonbo Tobitake, having bypassed the Infinite Tsukuyomi, appeared at the base of the remains.
"Naruto, Sasuke, sorry for making you lose the support of Kakashi and Sakura this time. But give me a minute—I need to dig up the roots of this Divine Tree first."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He summoned a horde of Phantasm Beasts to begin excavating the roots. This was prime material for crafting powerful ninja tools and would be essential for his plans over the next decade.
Naruto and the others can wait, he thought. They won't die in just a few minutes.
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