242 Naruto: Snatching the Mangekyō

Akira's gaze flickered slightly, a hint of surprise appearing on his face.

At this moment, Nagato's presence was far more powerful than before, and his appearance had changed as well.

If his previous state was similar to Six Paths Obito, then now, he more closely resembled Six Paths Madara.

His upper body was no longer bare, instead, he was draped in the same white cloak. Similarly, behind him floated nine Truth-Seeking Orbs.

However, unlike Six Paths Madara, there was a distinct scar-like mark at the center of Nagato's forehead—identical to the one on Uchiha Akira's own forehead.

Seeing Nagato's transformation, Akira's thoughts stirred.

Has he become even stronger after absorbing the God Tree? Or did Kaguya lend him more of her power?

"Do as you please." Akira shrugged indifferently. He was more than happy to observe how Nagato's strength had evolved after absorbing the God Tree.

He stepped back, allowing Nagato and Jigen to face off.

Jigen, noticing this, was furious. These lowly creatures dared to treat him with such disrespect—it enraged him to no end.

As Jigen glared, the mark on Nagato's forehead trembled before splitting apart, revealing a crimson eye.

A Six-Tomoe Rinne Sharingan!

"That eye…?" Jigen's expression darkened as an unpleasant memory surfaced in his mind.

Nagato's forehead eye bore an uncanny resemblance to the Rinne Sharingan possessed by Otsutsuki Kaguya!

The Ten Tails' eye? No… I can't sense Kaguya's presence in him, and the form is slightly different… Jigen's mind raced as he considered another possibility.

Indeed, the Ten Tails' eye only had six tomoe, whereas Kaguya's Rinne Sharingan was distinct.

More importantly, Jigen couldn't detect any trace of Kaguya's chakra from Nagato.

Suddenly, Nagato moved.

With a thunderous boom, the ground beneath him shattered as he shot toward Jigen like a cannonball. Swinging his staff with immense force, space distorted around it, the air erupting in sharp sonic booms.

This display alone made it clear—Nagato's power had skyrocketed compared to before.

Instantly, Jigen moved as well, his black rods slashing through the air as he met Nagato head-on without hesitation.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal rang through the battlefield.

Their movements were so fast that the average ninja couldn't even perceive them.

All they could see were bursts of sparks flashing across the sky, followed by the sheer devastation of the landscape.

They were moving faster than sound itself!

"So fast…!" Tsunade's expression shifted. Even with her level of perception, she could barely catch glimpses of their battle.

Fugaku stood with a grave expression, watching the fight intently.

Beside him, Shisui's crimson Sharingan spun rapidly, locked onto the battlefield with an intense focus. His expression was tense, his face heavy with concentration.

They could see the battle clearly—and precisely because they could, their faces were so solemn.

Clang!

Nagato swung his staff, knocking away a black rod that had materialized midair, while his Truth-Seeking Orbs rained down like cannonballs, sending piercing shockwaves through the air.

Clang!

Suddenly, more black rods appeared, intercepting Nagato's Truth-Seeking Orbs mid-flight, sending them scattering.

"He's already adapting to my abilities?"

Jigen narrowed his eyes as he blocked Nagato's strike, leveraging the momentum to retreat several meters away.

"You're not as powerful as I imagined." Nagato's Rinne Sharingan spun as he sneered. "Now that I've attained true eternity, you're nothing special!"

Jigen's expression turned icy. "Ignorant native. You're merely borrowing the power of the God Tree—how dare you act so arrogant?"

Nagato scoffed, gripping his Six Paths staff tightly as he lunged forward, resuming his fierce battle with Jigen.

On the sidelines, Akira stood at the edge of the battlefield, arms crossed, watching the fight with a calm expression.

The two other Akira clones had vanished.

While the battle at the Konoha front raged on, another event unfolded in secret—Black Zetsu had silently infiltrated Orochimaru's laboratory.

As he observed the snake-like man engrossed in his experiments, Black Zetsu let out a silent chuckle.

As Kaguya's third son, Black Zetsu wasn't a full-fledged Otsutsuki, but he still possessed some of their traits.

One of those was the ability to completely conceal his chakra signature.

Without a sound, Black Zetsu emerged behind Orochimaru.

With a liquid-like movement, he spread over Orochimaru's body, covering him completely.

A shudder ran through Orochimaru's body as he realized what was happening.

"I… can't…" His thoughts became disjointed, his mind slipping from his control.

Even Uchiha Sasuke, empowered by the Sage of Six Paths, had been momentarily paralyzed when Black Zetsu latched onto him—how could Orochimaru resist?

"Hehehe…" A sinister chuckle escaped from Orochimaru's mouth, though it now carried Black Zetsu's glee.

A vial of fresh, crimson blood appeared in Orochimaru's—now Black Zetsu's—hand.

A White Zetsu clone emerged from the ground, stepping into the laboratory.

Under Black Zetsu's control, Orochimaru's hands swiftly formed a series of hand seals.

"Edo Tensei!"

As grayish dust erupted from the ground, the White Zetsu clone wriggled and twisted before transforming into a young man clad in red armor, his long, jet-black hair flowing down his back.

It was none other than Uchiha Madara.

As he regained awareness, his voice carried a hint of joy.

"I'm finally revived!"

However, his joy was short-lived. The moment he glanced down at his hands, his expression darkened.

"Wait… This is Edo Tensei?" His voice turned cold.

His crimson Sharingan spun as his gaze locked onto the black mass clinging to Orochimaru's body.

"Black Zetsu, what's going on? Why didn't Nagato use Rinne Rebirth to fully revive me?"

"Madara-sama, things have deviated from your plan. Nagato betrayed you. He has become the Ten Tails Jinchuriki himself, and your proxy, Obito, is dead."

Black Zetsu relayed the situation succinctly.

Madara's face darkened. "My carefully crafted plan… has failed?! How is this possible?!"

Black Zetsu, hearing this, felt utterly speechless. A thousand sarcastic remarks flooded his mind, but he held them back.

Your so-called plan was full of holes from the start.

Most importantly, why would Nagato revive you? Did Madara seriously think he owed him that favor?

And anyone with half a brain could tell that Obito had his own agenda—did Madara really believe a mere curse seal was enough to control him?

Sometimes, dealing with Madara was downright exhausting.