The perspective shifted to Madara and Obito.
The two quickly reunited.
Looking at Obito's bruised and swollen face, Madara fell into a long silence.
"…Who beat you into this state?"
Obito's eyelid twitched.
"…It's a long story."
"I can only say…"
"…It was a group beating."
The two looked at one another.
Neither said much.
Yet both immediately realized that something equally terrible must have happened to the other.
A plan they had carefully prepared for decades had collapsed almost overnight.
Even with their extraordinary mental fortitude, the blow was devastating.
One possessed an immortal Edo Tensei body.
The other survived by relying on Hashirama's cells and White Zetsu.
Yet at this moment…
Both of them felt as though they had aged decades.
But…
Give up?
Impossible.
Not in this lifetime.
Not in the next.
After remaining silent for only a short while, both regained their composure.
Madara slowly clenched his fist.
"Taking back the Rinnegan through brute force will be difficult."
"If that's the case…"
"I'll simply seize it amidst the chaos."
"I refuse to believe…"
"…that I, Uchiha Madara, cannot reclaim the eyes that originally belonged to me from a mere little girl."
Madara's voice was calm, yet filled with absolute confidence.
Beside him…
Obito remained silent with his head lowered.
Compared to Madara…
He understood the current situation far more clearly.
Madara had only fought chinatsu.
Obito…
Had been beaten up by chinatsu and nearly every member of the Akatsuki.
The current military strength surrounding Konoha had become frighteningly powerful.
Trying to snatch the Rinnegan head-on was almost impossible.
Creating chaos to steal it…
Was probably their only remaining chance.
Even then…
Success seemed unlikely.
If Kamui were still his exclusive advantage, perhaps he would still have an opportunity.
But…
Why could chinatsu also use Kamui?
Wasn't Kamui supposed to be the unique Mangekyō Sharingan ability of his own eyes?
How had she mastered it?
This was simply…
Too unreasonable!
The more Obito thought about it, the tighter his fists became.
Since despair accomplished nothing…
Then the only choice was to continue struggling.
After regaining their fighting spirit…
The two immediately began preparing their next move.
Increase their combat power.
Recruiting powerful shinobi and rebuilding the Akatsuki from scratch was no longer realistic.
That left only one option.
The Tailed Beasts.
Madara and Obito immediately began searching for them.
Against wild Tailed Beasts, a Mangekyō Sharingan or stronger dōjutsu possessed overwhelming superiority.
Even ordinary Genjutsu was enough to suppress most of them.
As for Jinchūriki…
Neither Madara nor Obito believed they could escape.
Of course…
That was only if the Tailed Beasts were still there.
Land of Earth.
Four-Tails…
Son Gokū.
"…Where is he?"
Five-Tails…
Kokuō.
"…Gone too?"
Land of Water.
Six-Tails…
Saiken.
"…Missing?!"
Near Takigakure…
Seven-Tails…
Chōmei.
"…What the hell?!"
The two traveled across mountains and rivers.
From one nation to another.
Searching almost the entire shinobi world.
Yet forget absorbing the Tailed Beasts…
They couldn't even find one.
The lake where the Three-Tails, Isobu, once lived had practically been turned upside down by the two of them.
Not even a single turtle shell remained.
Only after investigating several more locations did they finally realize the truth.
Someone…
Had arrived before them.
Every Tailed Beast they intended to capture had already been attacked.
After spending so much time searching…
They had accomplished absolutely nothing.
Their already fragile morale suffered another heavy blow.
Eventually…
Madara and Obito silently sat beside a quiet river.
Each found a large stone.
Each rested one elbow on a knee.
Each supported his chin with one hand.
Neither spoke.
From a distance…
The scene looked astonishingly similar to the famous sculpture…
The Thinker.
After several minutes of silence, Madara slowly opened his eyes.
"Black Zetsu…"
"Black Zetsu!"
Hearing Madara's repeated summons, Black Zetsu slowly emerged from the ground.
Madara had always believed Black Zetsu was the physical manifestation of his own will.
He had doubted countless people throughout his life…
But never Black Zetsu.
He believed himself to be the mastermind manipulating everyone else.
In reality, however, he was merely another pawn.
Black Zetsu was the true manipulator, guiding everything toward the resurrection of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
Appearing before Madara with obvious reluctance, Black Zetsu no longer showed the same enthusiasm as before.
Previously, Madara and Obito had still possessed tremendous value.
Now…
Their usefulness had dropped considerably.
"Is something the matter?" Black Zetsu asked calmly.
Madara narrowed his eyes.
"What do you think about the current situation?"
Black Zetsu shrugged.
"What do you think? Just look around."
"..."
Madara stared silently at Black Zetsu.
Something felt… different.
Black Zetsu had never spoken to him with such an attitude before.
Realizing his mistake, Black Zetsu quickly adjusted his expression.
Although these two pieces were becoming increasingly useless, they still retained some value.
Then…
I'll squeeze every last bit of usefulness out of them.
Thinking this, Black Zetsu returned to his usual respectful demeanor and began explaining his newest plan to Madara and Obito.
Three days after chinatsu began training in the Eight Gates…
From sunrise until sunset, she practiced tirelessly, forcing her body to master every stage of the Eight Gates.
Although her proficiency couldn't compare with Might Guy's decades of training, she could now forcibly open the higher Gates as long as her body could withstand the strain.
Fortunately…
Enduring pain had never been chinatsu's weakness.
Although she hated pain, her tolerance for it was exceptionally high.
After all, she had personally torn out her own eyes to obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and had survived countless life-threatening battles.
"Eight Gates Released!"
"Seventh Gate Gate of Shock!"
"Open!!"
A violent shockwave erupted around chinatsu.
Blue vapor exploded from every pore of her body, wrapping her entire figure.
Unlike the first six Gates, the aura surrounding the Seventh Gate wasn't chakra.
It was the intense steam produced as enormous amounts of sweat instantly evaporated.
The moment the Seventh Gate opened, every trace of fatigue and pain disappeared, replaced by overwhelming physical power.
Even so, the tremendous burden placed upon the body could never truly be eliminated.
chinatsu slowly exhaled.
Watching from nearby, Might Guy's eyes filled with tears.
He immediately took out a white handkerchief and wiped them away.
Youth…
Such dazzling youth!
"chinatsu!"
"You truly astonish me!"
"You already possessed an incredible physical foundation, but you mastered every opening method of the Eight Gates in only three days."
"You're a genuine genius!"
chinatsu smiled modestly.
"It's all thanks to your guidance, Guy-sensei. Without an expert personally teaching me, I would have spent months trying to figure everything out on my own."
After closing the Seventh Gate, chinatsu let out a long breath before collapsing onto the ground.
"Now I've finally mastered the Eight Gates…"
She looked toward the distant sky.
"Don't get too arrogant, you Ōtsutsuki."
"I'm ready for you now."
Thanks to her powerful Sage Body, the muscle damage caused by the Seventh Gate rapidly healed.
She had only intended to rest briefly before resuming her training.
However
An overwhelming pressure suddenly descended from afar.
chinatsu's expression changed instantly.
She shot to her feet and turned toward the source of the oppressive chakra.
That direction…
That location…
Her pupils suddenly contracted.
"Damn it…"
"That's my house!!"
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