Chapter 180: A Change of Hands, The Final Battle Approaches

"Roar…"

Amidst the roars, five massive white pillars shot up from the ground like fireworks, scattering in all directions.

Of course, this was from Yagyu's perspective, viewed from a high vantage point.

In reality, five white mud pillars had erupted from the shattered remains of the Gedo Statue.

At the top of each pillar was the face of an animal—monkey, ox, insect, and so on.

After the five pillars with animal designs flew out, they landed around the edges of the super-massive crater.

Once the pillars touched the ground, no more extensions emerged from the Gedo Statue, and the connection to it was severed.

However, the pillars continued to move, their tips merging to form a massive white sphere.

Then, the white sphere, like Deidara's clay, molded itself into the shapes of several animals.

Soon, these animals took on their true colors, becoming living creatures.

These animals were none other than the famous Eight-Tails Gyuki, Seven-Tails Chōmei, Five-Tails Kokuō, Four-Tails Son Gokū, and Two-Tails Matatabi.

"I almost thought I wouldn't make it out. I didn't expect anyone other than the old man to be able to defeat that thing."

"Where's that guy with the same eyes as the old man? I'm going to kill him!"

"Kill? Let's just run! Be careful, or that guy will capture us again."

"..."

As soon as the five Tailed Beasts emerged, they began to communicate. Matatabi, who resembled a demonic cat, immediately expressed her fear of being sealed again and wanted to find Nagato to kill him.

Even if she died, she wanted to make sure he was utterly destroyed.

But Chōmei was quick to remind her to run, taking the lead in escaping.

There was no other choice. The scene before them was too terrifying.

Even though they were at the bottom of the super-massive crater, they only occupied a small portion of it.

But outside the crater stood a Thousand-Armed Kannon taller than the highest peak in the world.

Although they were inside the Gedo Statue, they were of the same origin as it. To be precise, they were all part of the Ten-Tails, just with independent consciousness.

What the Gedo Statue saw, they could see as well.

So when the Gedo Statue was shattered, it felt as though they themselves had been destroyed.

Even though they didn't feel any pain, the power that could destroy the earth and reshape the map was something they couldn't handle.

Even if they joined forces, it would only take a few slaps from the Thousand-Armed Kannon to finish them.

So Chōmei, the only one who could fly, didn't hesitate to flap its wings and flee to the left side of the Thousand-Armed Kannon.

Seeing Chōmei escape, Kokuō and Matatabi also didn't hesitate to run on all fours.

Son Gokū was a bit slower, but it quickly fled as well.

Only Gyuki remained, sensing for Killer Bee's location.

After failing to sense Killer Bee's chakra or find his body, Gyuki finally chose to leave.

Yagyu didn't care about the Tailed Beasts' escape, nor did he try to stop them.

After all, his goal and dream wasn't to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.

Even if the Tailed Beasts escaped, or if Nagato was killed and the Rinnegan accidentally destroyed, Yagyu wouldn't care.

Of course, if the Rinnegan wasn't destroyed, that would be a good thing.

After all, Yagyu had been inspired by Itachi Uchiha—eyes could be transplanted!

After obtaining the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques from Ino, Yagyu had also accessed Itachi's memories and found the method of eye transplantation used by the Uchiha clan on her.

Now, Yagyu's ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu had all reached their peak, placing him at the pinnacle of human capability.

He could effortlessly perform various ninjutsu and combination techniques, even achieving things Hashirama Senju couldn't do.

For example, making the Wood Dragon and Wooden Golem use the five elemental releases.

After entering Sage Mode, Yagyu, with his perfected Sage Body, could easily overpower Might Guy in the Seventh Gate. Any injuries he sustained would heal rapidly and without hand seals.

As for genjutsu, unless it was a Kekkei Mōra-level genjutsu, no one's genjutsu would work on him. Meanwhile, Yagyu's genjutsu would work on anyone below the Six Paths level, including Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju with their perfected Sage Bodies.

This was because Yagyu not only possessed the Yamanaka clan's Kekkei Genkai but had also successfully transplanted Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan, Tsukuyomi.

If not for the fear of alarming Black Zetsu and Obito Uchiha and disrupting his plans, Yagyu could have easily dealt with Nagato, who was stronger than in the original story, just by using ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu, without even needing his exclusive dojutsu, Yomotsu Hirasaka, or the Complete Body Susanoo.

Ignoring the Tailed Beasts' escape, Yagyu casually tossed a kunai.

Once the kunai fell from the sky into the crater, Yagyu teleported to the bottom of the super-massive crater. He observed the Gedo Statue, whose body was squirming as its wounds healed at a visible rate, his eyes glowing red.

Yagyu had a vague idea of the truth.

Either Nagato had been turned to dust by the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands: Top Transformation, along with the Rinnegan, or he had hidden inside the Gedo Statue.

If Yagyu remembered correctly, the 100,000 White Zetsu clones were hidden inside the Gedo Statue, a secret known only to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, Black Zetsu, Madara Uchiha, and Obito Uchiha.

During the earlier bombardment, Yagyu was certain he hadn't sensed any space-time fluctuations.

This meant Nagato couldn't have been rescued by Obito Uchiha.

But his chakra and body disappearing was also a fact.

If he wasn't dead, he must have hidden.

Yagyu, who believed in fate and destiny, was more inclined to believe Nagato had hidden.

After all, the Gedo Statue's defensive capabilities were no joke. Even the destructive power of the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands: Top Transformation couldn't shatter the Gedo Statue in a single punch.

Using the Gedo Statue as a shield, Nagato would have had plenty of time to recover.

Moreover, his control over the Gedo Statue surpassed that of the original story, so it wasn't impossible that he had discovered the Gedo Statue's hidden space.

Unfortunately, Yagyu's Byakugan was too low-level.

In his vision, he could only see the vast ocean of chakra within the Gedo Statue, with no trace of human meridians. He couldn't see what was inside the Gedo Statue or sense any other chakra presence.

This was the difference in dimensions!

Even though Yagyu possessed the power to shatter the Gedo Statue, he and the Gedo Statue were not on the same level or dimension.

Just like the Super Saiyans in the Dragon Ball world, who possessed terrifying combat power but were still inferior to the gods in terms of realm.

"Even at this point, he still hasn't come out? It seems something's wrong over there."

Yagyu suddenly looked in a certain direction, thinking to himself.

Madara Uchiha was the most crucial piece in Black Zetsu's Infinite Tsukuyomi plan and the most important sacrifice for reviving his mother.

Similarly, in Yagyu's plan, Madara Uchiha was also the most important piece.

Now that the Fourth Great Ninja War had been going on for over ten days, Yagyu had expected Madara to have appeared by now.

But to his surprise, Orochimaru still hadn't reanimated him.

Clearly, Orochimaru's cooperation with Black Zetsu wasn't as deep as Kabuto's partnership with Obito Uchiha in the original story.

Similarly, Kabuto's mentality in the original story couldn't compare to Orochimaru's now.

As a spectator, Orochimaru's patience was extraordinary.

It was unclear whether he genuinely didn't care or was worried that reanimating Madara Uchiha would put him in danger.

But Yagyu wasn't in a hurry.

Unlike Black Zetsu, who couldn't do anything to Orochimaru, Yagyu could deal with Orochimaru in an instant.

Thus, Yagyu shifted his focus back to the Gedo Statue, which had mostly healed. He reached out to touch it, intending to use Wood Release and his unique sensory abilities to find the entrance to the Gedo Statue's hidden space.

The next moment, Yagyu's pupils contracted slightly.

Pop—

A sound like a balloon popping echoed.

The Gedo Statue, whose wounds had been squirming and healing with white mud, suddenly turned into a massive cloud of white smoke.

As the wind and rain dispersed the smoke, the Gedo Statue had vanished.

"Huh?"

Yagyu raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised this time.

The Gedo Statue had been summoned away?!

As the shell of the Ten-Tails, the Gedo Statue was different from the nine Tailed Beasts.

Just as Nagato, no matter how powerful, couldn't use the Rinnegan's exclusive dojutsu, in the original story, when Madara Uchiha was first reanimated, he tried to summon the Nine-Tails but failed because it was sealed inside Naruto.

However, after being revived, Madara, with only one Rinnegan, immediately stripped Obito Uchiha, the false Rinnegan wielder, of his control over the Gedo Statue.

Therefore, without the true Rinnegan, it was impossible to summon the Gedo Statue.

But now, the Gedo Statue had been summoned away!

How could Yagyu not be surprised?

He was certain this wasn't Madara Uchiha's doing.

Nagato's doing? Then how did he escape the range of the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands: Top Transformation?

After all, he was the Outer Path's main body, not the Six Paths of Pain, which could be summoned at will.

There had been no space-time fluctuations earlier, meaning it wasn't Obito Uchiha who rescued him.

Moreover, Yagyu had thought Nagato had hidden inside the Gedo Statue's hidden space.

But now, it turned out Nagato had already escaped, and Yagyu hadn't even noticed how. How could Yagyu not be surprised?

"It seems I underestimated the strongest of this era."

After the initial surprise, Yagyu couldn't help but smile.

Clearly, he didn't care.

As the victor, he didn't need to care.

No matter how the other party escaped, they were just a rat.

If he didn't kill the rat this time, he could try again next time.

Thus, Yagyu teleported away from the bottom of the super-massive crater.

He didn't go find Samui to deepen his relationship with the icy beauty. Instead, he returned to the Four Red Yang Formation barrier.

At this moment, Naruto and Sasuke were still fighting Minato Namikaze and Tobirama Senju.

As for Hashirama Senju, he was trapped by Yagyu's Wood Clone and the second layer of the Four Red Yang Formation.

Otherwise, the act couldn't continue.

A single Wood Clone couldn't defeat Hashirama Senju.

If the Wood Clone was destroyed, Naruto and Sasuke would be in danger.

Facing the combined assault of the three Hokage, unless Naruto mastered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and he and Sasuke used the Armored Susanoo, they would be crushed by the three Hokage.

But Yagyu, having had his fill of battle, didn't plan to keep up the act. He turned into a blur, charging towards Tobirama Senju, ready to help Sasuke and Naruto defeat the former Hokage one by one, setting the stage for the final battle.

Meanwhile, in a cave within a certain mountain.

"Obito… what are you doing?"

A White Zetsu clone stared in shock at the two figures before it—one standing, one lying down.

Both wore tattered black cloaks with red clouds, their bodies covered in wounds.

The one lying down was on the verge of death, barely clinging to life.

This person was Nagato.

The other was Obito Uchiha.

At this moment, Nagato's left eye was closed, with a trail of blood running down his cheek.

His body was pierced with spikes of different colors—black and wood-colored—creations of Yin-Yang Release: Black Rods and Wood Release: Wooden Spikes.

Looking at Obito Uchiha, Nagato, who was on the brink of death, weakly realized, "Obito… so you're not Madara Uchiha."

"Whether I'm Madara Uchiha or not doesn't matter. Our goal is the same—to create peace. We just have different methods."

Obito, who had removed his mask to reveal the scarred half of his face, ruthlessly dug out his own left eye, which had turned white and lost all vision. He then inserted the Rinnegan he had taken from Nagato's left eye into the empty socket.

With the help of the Hashirama cells in half his body, Obito, like Madara Uchiha in the original story, could use the eye immediately.

Whether out of arrogance, carelessness, or sheer stupidity…

After equipping one Rinnegan, Obito didn't touch Nagato or his remaining right eye. Instead, he walked out of the cave, pulling a brand-new, pre-prepared mask with two empty eye sockets from his Kamui dimension and putting it on.

"…Summoning Jutsu!"

Soon, his voice echoed from outside the cave, reaching the White Zetsu clone and Nagato.

Seeing Nagato, who was about to die, his body sealed by the Black Rods and his internal organs pierced by the wooden spikes, the White Zetsu clone approached.

Squelch—

The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed.

A few seconds later, the White Zetsu clone disappeared from the cave.

Nagato's life force completely faded, and he lay on the cold ground.

Strangely, as he died, the body that had been restored to its peak by the Gedo Statue's life-sustaining technique withered at a visible rate, quickly returning to its original state—or even worse.