Snap!
A sharp claw ripped through the diamond-shaped space between Madara Uchiha's eyebrows, piercing his body. The claw withdrew just as swiftly, throwing his mangled form to the ground.
"No! Impossible!"
As Madara Uchiha plummeted, his body began regenerating rapidly, but his eyes were locked on the Nine-Tails he had been controlling. "The Outer Path power I cast wasn't severed, so why is this happening?!"
Madara's perception was that the Nine-Tails' consciousness and soul were still bound by his Outer Path chains. Its body was also restrained by the black rods that transmitted chakra. Yet, strangely, he couldn't control the physical body.
It was as if another consciousness, identical to the Nine-Tails' own soul, was puppeteering the beast from within.
Madara Uchiha's gaze snapped to the sky. "It's you!"
As he shouted, his body slammed into the ground with a deafening BOOM!, sending up a massive cloud of dust. Under the cover of the debris, Madara's hands rapidly formed hand seals.
He immediately dispelled the Gedo Mazo summoned in the distance, ensuring its safety. Then, he burst from the dust cloud, transforming into a swift afterimage as he bolted toward Nagato's location.
"This Nine-Tails going out of control must be that guy's Rinnegan eye technique—just like my Limbo: Border Jail," Madara thought, his mind racing. "And he's gathered a Tailed Beast from who-knows-where, reaching the level of the Sage of Six Paths. He's only getting stronger."
Madara Uchiha's body trembled as a realization hit him, and his speed increased even further. "An extra Tailed Beast, and he let the Nine-Tails escape... I understand."
"There might have been more than just one God Tree and Ten-Tails from the start. That guy found a second God Tree, a second Ten-Tails! That's why he didn't take the Gedo Mazo, ignored the eight Tailed Beasts inside it, and even released the Nine-Tails! If that's the case, then everything makes sense."
Feeling he had figured out the truth, a chill ran down Madara's spine. He'd been dead too long, losing the vigilance of a ninja.
"I can't fight them head-on. I have to escape with Nagato immediately. Then I'll control him to revive me with Rinne Rebirth, fuse with the Ten-Tails, and achieve the power of the Six Paths. As long as I possess the Sage's power, I'll still be the strongest."
Madara immediately plotted his escape route, convinced he would be stronger than Menma. As for Obito and Black Zetsu, he didn't even mention them. He could easily guess the two who went to confront Menma at the Wind Void Village wouldn't have a good ending—they might have even exposed his plans.
Menma watched Madara flee like a stray dog, a smirk playing on his lips. The nine-tomoe Rinnegan between his brows emitted a faint black-red light that seemed to captivate the soul.
"But in that case," Menma chuckled softly, "your soul and everything else will be mine."
He didn't immediately give chase. Instead, he dispelled his Susanoo. Relying on his newly acquired power, he stood in mid-air, his gaze fixed on the motionless Nine-Tails in the distance.
"Let's try this new ability again."
Menma raised his hand slightly. A Truth-Seeking Ball, condensed from the seven attributes of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, instantly transformed into a jet-black arrow. It sliced through the air, whistling as it flew from Menma's palm toward the top of the Nine-Tails' head.
Whoosh!
Crack!
The exposed black rod atop the Nine-Tails' head shattered under the arrow. The portion embedded within the beast's body turned to dust and vanished completely. Simultaneously, within Kurama's consciousness, the pale purple chains binding its hands and feet crumbled.
Kurama, freed from the bindings, snapped back to consciousness. Its unfocused pupils gradually regained their light.
"Strange... I remember being controlled by Madara Uchiha, didn't I? Why did I fall asleep like in a dream after seeing Menma's eyes..."
Kurama scratched the back of its head with a paw, looking utterly bewildered. Completely unaware of the error, it called out to Menma naturally, as if its memory had been altered.
"Menma must have killed that red-eyed Madara Uchiha! That's right!"
Too lazy to think further, Kurama immediately began searching for Menma's figure. Then it saw him in the distance, Truth-Seeking Balls floating between his hands.
"This is... the power of the Sage of Six Paths!"
Kurama recognized the familiar black Truth-Seeking Balls at a glance. Its face filled with excitement and exhilaration, and it burst into wild laughter.
"Hahaha! I bet on the right person! I have someone to protect me again! Menma, your adorable little Nine-Tailed Fox is here!"
Like a husky finding its owner, the Nine-Tailed Fox, tongue lolling out, ran joyfully toward Menma floating high in the sky.
Looking down at his experimental subject, Menma nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. I easily modified the Nine-Tails' memories and thoughts. But I should probably undo it quickly. This Nine-Tails feels a bit disgusting..."
As he spoke, the nine-tomoe Rinnegan between his brows lit up with a dark red light once more.
The next moment, the Nine-Tailed Fox abruptly stopped mid-run. Its face and body began to tremble violently—not from fear, but from unbearable shame. It slashed its own muzzle with a claw, leaving a row of deep marks.
"I... I just called that brat Menma 'Master'?! Something's not right, something's definitely not right!"
The thought of calling itself "Little Nine-Nine" made the Nine-Tails want to bury her face in the ground. Honestly, it was incredibly embarrassing for a fox. She wished she were a mouse right now so she could crawl into a hole and disappear.
Menma glanced at the Nine-Tails, who was awkwardly standing there wishing she could die on the spot, and shrugged indifferently. After focusing his senses on the Flying Thunder God mark on Nagato, he vanished from the spot.
---
Meanwhile, watching Nagato supported by Konan rapidly disappear into the distance, Madara, his Rinnegan glowing, unleashed a burst of chakra.
"Come here!"
Whoosh!
The immense gravity of Universal Pull manifested. Konan and Nagato, whose chakra had been drained by Madara, were instantly and uncontrollably thrown toward him.
"Konan, run! His target is only me!" Nagato tried to push the woman supporting him away. He knew Madara's Universal Pull was only aimed at him, trying to capture him.
But Konan remained unmoved, gripping him tighter. "No. If he catches you, he'll escape. I have to hold him off until Menma catches up!"
With that, Konan adjusted her direction and unleashed a burst of chakra backward. Instantly, her body split into countless layers, transforming into white papers interspersed with explosive tags that shot toward Madara behind her.
Dance of Shikigami!
"A futile resistance."
Facing the white paper and explosive tags, Madara made no attempt to dodge or block. Instead, a black rod materialized in his other hand.
BOOM!
The paper and explosive tags detonated on contact with Madara, unleashing layers of fire. However, the next moment, Madara emerged unscathed from the flames. Grabbing the incoming Nagato with one hand, he thrust the black rod in his other hand toward the paper-transformed Konan.
Tear!
Konan's paper-transformation was useless; the black rod pierced her shoulder instantly, blood gushing out. Just as Madara prepared to conjure another black rod to finish off the relentless Konan, a figure using the Flying Thunder God Technique arrived beside Nagato.
At the same time, the nine-tomoe Rinnegan between his brows looked directly at Madara.
The next second, Madara abruptly stopped his thrust toward Konan's throat. He stood frozen in place, as if on pause. A pale red chain, visible only to Menma, stretched from Madara's chest to Menma's hand. This was a power derived from his Rinnegan after advancing to the Six Paths level—the ultimate, enhanced version of his Mangekyou Sharingan.
Domination!
---