259 Naruto: Snatching the Mangekyō

Somewhere in the Land of Fire,

Uchiha Madara descended from the sky.

Moments later, Black Zetsu emerged from the ground, appearing beside him.

Seeing Black Zetsu, Madara asked, "Where's Zetsu? Is he dead?"

The reason he had been resurrected in the first place was that Black Zetsu had controlled Zetsu into using the Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.

Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique was a forbidden technique of the Rinnegan—one of the highest-level resurrection jutsu.

It wasn't limited to a single target, it could revive multiple people at once.

Of course, forbidden jutsu were forbidden for a reason.

Using Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique required the user's life as a price, an unavoidable cost that could not be changed by mere will.

It didn't matter whether the target was a single individual or a whole group.

Of course, there were exceptions. Those with immortality could use the technique without dying.

In the original timeline, Uchiha Obito had used this jutsu after being possessed by Black Zetsu, yet he hadn't died immediately.

First, he still carried residual power of the Six Paths. Second, Black Zetsu was controlling him.

This proved that those with immortality or the power of the Six Paths could drastically reduce the technique's side effects.

Zetsu, however, was not among them. Once Black Zetsu detached from him, his fate was sealed.

"Lord Madara, Zetsu is dead," Black Zetsu answered respectfully.

Madara nodded calmly. "At least he served his purpose. His death was not in vain."

To him, Zetsu was nothing more than a slightly special White Zetsu—not something important.

Dying for his resurrection? That was simply using a tool to its fullest potential.

Only a Zetsu, with his unique properties, could endure the Rinnegan's immense chakra and ocular power.

Ordinary White Zetsu wouldn't even stand a chance.

"I need to find a way to restore the Ten Tails completely. As it stands, I don't have enough power to deal with Uchiha Akira and the others." Madara gazed up at the pristine white moon, deep in thought.

Beside him, Black Zetsu's mind raced, nearly unable to contain his impulse to act.

After a moment of hesitation, he looked at the Rinne Sharingan on Madara's forehead and decided against it.

"Mother's will has only just begun to awaken…" Black Zetsu thought to himself.

If he acted now, Madara wouldn't be on guard, and Otsutsuki Kaguya could indeed be resurrected. However, she would be in an unprecedentedly weakened state.

"Perhaps… it would be better to let Madara complete the Ten Tails first. That way, when Mother revives, her power won't suffer too much…" Finally, Black Zetsu made his decision.

Madara continued gazing at the moon, murmuring to himself, "How can I make the Ten Tails whole again? Right now, capturing the Nine Tails is out of the question."

Given the current situation, without a space-time jutsu of the highest caliber, capturing Konoha's Nine Tails was an impossibility.

Even with such a jutsu, an intricate plan would be required for any chance of success.

Konoha had too many strong fighters.

"Black Zetsu, do you have any ideas?" Madara turned to him.

Though Black Zetsu was a creation of his Yin-Yang Release, he possessed independent thought and knowledge. Different minds often led to different perspectives.

Hearing Madara's question, Black Zetsu was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Madara to ask for his opinion.

But since Madara was asking, it played right into his hands. This was the perfect opportunity to steer things toward completing the Ten Tails.

"Lord Madara, the Infinite Tsukuyomi. The Infinite Tsukuyomi can restore the Ten Tails completely—perhaps even make it stronger!" Black Zetsu suggested.

"Infinite Tsukuyomi?" Madara's eyes narrowed in thought.

Moments later, he nodded, a flicker of excitement in his voice. "Indeed… once the Infinite Tsukuyomi is cast, the entire shinobi world will be suspended within the Divine Tree's roots. Their chakra can be gathered..."

The Ten Tails was, after all, a chakra entity. While individual shinobi's chakra was insignificant in comparison, their sheer numbers made up for it.

The Sage of Six Paths had dispersed chakra across the world, and over time, it had spread so widely that nearly all lifeforms possessed some amount of it.

Or rather, there were no living beings that couldn't have their chakra extracted.

As long as they existed in this world, they could harness mental energy and physical power to produce chakra.

By draining all these lifeforms, restoring the Ten Tails—and even strengthening it—was entirely possible.

Seeing Madara's pleased expression, Black Zetsu sneered inwardly.

Compared to Nagato, Madara saw himself as the true inheritor of the will, making him much easier to manipulate.

Madara thought to himself, "Will the Infinite Tsukuyomi be enough to deal with Uchiha Akira? Probably not… I'll have to wait until the Ten Tails is fully restored before taking action against Konoha."

"Very well. Let the radiance of the Infinite Tsukuyomi shine upon this world!"

With that thought, Madara's body ascended into the sky, the Rinne Sharingan on his forehead opening wide.

In an instant, the brilliant white moon took on a deep crimson hue.

Gazing up at the now-blood-red moon, Madara murmured, "According to the stone tablet, one who possesses the Eye of the Moon… upon approaching the moon… can cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi… and drape the world in an eternal dream…"

At the same time, Uchiha Akira, on his way to Konoha, lifted his head toward the sky.

"That is…"

Seeing the crimson moon, he didn't hesitate. His chakra erupted, and a massive, mountain-like Complete Body Susanoo materialized.

The five figures standing beside him froze for a moment before noticing the abnormality in the sky.

Following Akira's gaze, they saw the blood-red moon hanging high above.

"A red moon? Fifth Hokage, what's going on?" Senju Tobirama asked.

"Infinite Tsukuyomi is about to be cast," Akira replied.

As he spoke, his Susanoo crouched down, its massive wings shifting to shield the five of them.

Of course, as an Edo Tensei summon, Tobirama was immune to genjutsu.

Akira was merely taking precautions.

The moment Akira shielded his group, the crimson moon's light intensified, illuminating the entire world.

Regardless of their location—whether it was day or night—so long as they were on this planet and not in an alternate space, all were enveloped in the moon's glow.

In an instant, their eyes rippled with concentric circles, transforming into Rinnegan-like patterns.

"Divine: Tree World Emergence!"

On the other side, Madara's cold voice rang out, and the entire planet's surface began to crack apart.

With the Infinite Tsukuyomi unleashed, the scale of this Wood Release jutsu was unprecedented.

"Rumble…"

Massive tree roots burst from the ground, twisting like colossal dragons across the land.

White tendrils unfurled from the roots, wrapping around those trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, suspending them in midair like silken cocoons.

Wherever one looked, countless white cocoons swayed among the immense tree roots.

The sight was nothing short of terrifying.