Now Shigure had already obtained the Six Paths power contained within the tailed beasts.
At the same time, he had also acquired the Six Paths power derived from the chakras of Asura and Indra.
Which meant that only one source of Six Paths power remained.
The Ten-Tails.
Strictly speaking, the Ten-Tails' power could also be considered the ultimate form of the tailed beasts' Six Paths power. However, through the system's abilities, Shigure had essentially copied the Six Paths power from the tailed beasts individually.
But that power was still incomplete.
Only by incorporating the power of the Ten-Tails could the Six Paths power truly become whole.
The reason why the Sage of Six Paths had been able to strengthen his own Six Paths power—and even allow his consciousness to persist after death—was most likely because he had become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki.
If that was the case, then Shigure would also have to obtain the complete Ten-Tails.
Thinking about this, Shigure felt a trace of impatience.
However, it would still take some time for Ringo Ameyuri and the others to return to Kirigakure.
Although he was eager to act, his Six Paths power had just been strengthened significantly.
He could use this time to further develop and refine his Six Paths abilities.
At that moment, in another location, Madara Uchiha returned to Orochimaru's hidden base.
Nearby, Obito Uchiha was adapting to his newly transplanted eyes—the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
However, no matter how much he trained, he still could not feel the sensation Madara had once described.
The feeling that would push the Sharingan to evolve into the Rinnegan.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru was conducting his own research, trying to determine why Obito's Sharingan had stopped evolving.
According to Madara's explanation, the fusion of Uchiha power and Senju power should allow the Sharingan to evolve into the Rinnegan.
But strangely, nothing like that was happening in Obito's case.
When Madara returned to the base, he looked toward Orochimaru.
"Have you discovered anything?"
Orochimaru shook his head.
"Not yet. However, during the experiments, I did think of an interesting possibility."
"What possibility?" Madara asked.
Obito also stopped his training and walked closer.
Orochimaru spoke slowly.
"When Madara-sama awakened the Rinnegan, you were the son of the Uchiha clan's leader. Your bloodline represented the most exceptional inheritance of the Uchiha clan."
"If the Uchiha bloodline contains a certain latent power, then perhaps awakening the Rinnegan first requires the Uchiha's own power to reach a certain threshold."
When Orochimaru finished speaking, Madara seemed to understand something.
So that was the reason.
Why had he succeeded back then, while Obito showed no progress at all?
"That's very likely," Madara said with a nod.
Obito sighed helplessly.
"So in the end, everything still comes down to bloodline power. Hard work alone can't change that."
Madara remained silent, thinking carefully about how to further strengthen Obito's Uchiha bloodline.
"If we fuse more Uchiha bloodline into Obito and strengthen his lineage… would that work?"
Orochimaru nodded.
"Of course. Bloodline fusion is no longer particularly difficult for me."
"But the question is—where will you find additional Uchiha blood?"
Madara suddenly smiled.
"There is a place."
Obito froze for a moment.
"A place? Aside from me, the only surviving Uchiha should be Uchiha Sasuke. And Sasuke is probably in Kirigakure…"
Madara shook his head.
"No… that's not quite right."
"I learned something interesting during the Five Kage Summit."
A mysterious smile appeared on his face.
"The Uchiha clan has been revived."
Obito was stunned.
The first person who came to his mind was Shigure.
"Him?"
"Did Shigure revive the Uchiha clan to obtain their power?"
Madara shook his head again.
"Apparently not. It was at Sasuke's request. The revived Uchiha clan is now living in Kirigakure, and it seems they've already joined the village."
Hearing this, Orochimaru's eyes lit up with excitement.
The Uchiha clan had been revived.
Which meant—
He now had far more experimental material.
For the Rinnegan.
Even Orochimaru could not help but feel excited about such power.
The Rinnegan.
It was a power he had long desired to obtain.
"Since the Uchiha clan has been revived, acquiring Uchiha bloodline shouldn't be too difficult anymore," Orochimaru said slowly.
Obito frowned.
"Even so, the Uchiha clan has joined Kirigakure. If we appear inside the village, that man will notice us immediately."
"If we're discovered, escaping will be a problem."
Madara nodded in agreement.
"That's true."
He had secretly gone to the location of the Five Kage Summit precisely to witness Shigure's strength with his own eyes.
But what he saw there had shocked him.
Shigure's power was far beyond what he had expected.
Even if Madara were to be fully resurrected, he wasn't certain he could defeat him.
Because of that, they had to proceed carefully.
Orochimaru smiled faintly.
"There's no need to enter Kirigakure."
"Kirigakure's shinobi must leave the village to carry out missions. It's impossible for the Uchiha clan to remain inside the village forever."
"As long as one of them leaves the village… we'll have our opportunity."
Madara smiled.
"That was my thought as well."
The only issue was time.
As for the Senju clan's power, there was no need to search for other Senju descendants. The cells of Hashirama Senju were already more than sufficient.
Suddenly, Obito spoke again.
"Madara… can you still sense Black Zetsu anywhere?"
Madara shook his head.
"I can't sense him at all."
Black Zetsu was supposed to be the embodiment of his will. Logically, it should have remained by Obito's side.
Yet it had suddenly disappeared.
That was strange.
Madara had given it strict instructions: assist Obito as much as possible and ensure the plan was completed.
But now it had chosen to leave Obito.
Could it be that after existing for so long, something had changed?
Perhaps Black Zetsu was no longer merely the embodiment of his will… but had developed its own consciousness.
It wasn't impossible.
For now, however, Madara was more curious about where Black Zetsu had gone.
At that very moment, Black Zetsu had already attached itself to a member of the Hyūga clan.
And that Hyūga shinobi had arrived somewhere extraordinary.
The Moon.
As the Hyūga ninja stepped onto the lunar surface, Black Zetsu revealed a strange smile.
Looking down at the ground beneath his feet, he muttered softly:
"Mother… soon…"
"I will be able to revive you."
"But first… that troublesome man must be dealt with."
Just as he finished speaking, several figures streaked across the sky.
A group of shinobi quickly surrounded the Hyūga ninja under Black Zetsu's control.
They were members of the Ōtsutsuki clan who lived in seclusion on the Moon.
These Ōtsutsuki had inherited the legacy of Hamura Ōtsutsuki and the power of his lunar civilization.
And now…
They might be the only force capable of opposing Shigure.
Black Zetsu observed them carefully.
The more he sensed their chakra, the more astonished he became.
These people still possessed extremely pure power.
Power that had been preserved for generations.
Five…
No.
Even more terrifying than that.
(End of Chapter)
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