Chapter 181: Everyone Feels Secure, The Complete Nine-Tails Jinchūriki

"What? Obito actually killed Nagato?!"

The news of Nagato's death and the theft of his Rinnegan was quickly shared by the White Zetsu clone with its original body.

Upon hearing this, Black and White Zetsu, who were using the Mayfly Technique to search for Orochimaru, were both shocked.

Clearly, they hadn't expected Obito Uchiha to act under such circumstances, and they were even more surprised that he had the strength to kill Nagato, whose physical abilities had been restored to their peak for his age.

After all, if Nagato hadn't been so powerful, to the point where they couldn't even attempt to assassinate him, Black and White Zetsu wouldn't have chosen to pressure or ambush Orochimaru to use the Impure World Reincarnation to revive Madara Uchiha.

It was precisely because they believed that neither the Hundred Faces nor Obito Uchiha could defeat Nagato, and that their Mayfly Technique made it difficult to ambush him, that they had abandoned this plan.

But now, to their surprise, Obito Uchiha had done what they thought was impossible.

After the initial shock, Black Zetsu sneered, "That guy really has his own ideas. He's not content to just be Madara's proxy."

"So what do we do next?" White Zetsu asked, puzzled. "Do we still go find Orochimaru and force him to use the Impure World Reincarnation to revive Madara?"

"...There's no need to rush anymore."

Black Zetsu pondered for a few seconds before slowly shaking his head. "The White Zetsu clone has already taken the other Rinnegan. We've regained the initiative. Let's see what Obito plans to do."

Although Obito's killing of Nagato disrupted Black Zetsu's plans, he also felt a sense of glee.

The Uchiha clan really had a problem with their brains—they were too arrogant.

If it were him, or any rational person, they wouldn't have just taken one Rinnegan. Even if Obito was reluctant to part with his right eye's Kamui intangibility, he should have at least taken Nagato's right Rinnegan.

Even if he didn't use it himself, he should have thrown it into the Kamui dimension or destroyed it on the spot.

But instead, he didn't do that.

Whether it was arrogance, stupidity, or concern that Yagyu would destroy the Gedo Statue, Obito's decision to leave one Rinnegan behind gave Black Zetsu the upper hand.

His thousand-year plan was secure!

Even if Orochimaru didn't reanimate Madara Uchiha, it didn't matter.

When the time came, Black Zetsu could simply find a target, transplant the other Rinnegan, and use the Rinne Rebirth Technique to revive Madara Uchiha.

This thousand-year game was his to win!

Thus, Black and White Zetsu stopped using the Mayfly Technique to search for Orochimaru and instead changed direction to find and monitor Obito Uchiha, to see what this new piece on the board would do.

——————

"To lose five Tailed Beasts? What a useless fool!"

At this moment, Obito Uchiha didn't know that the White Zetsu clone had taken the other Rinnegan from Nagato.

Even if he did know, he might not have cared. After all, in the original story, Obito only took one Rinnegan. If he had gone for the other, the White Zetsu clone wouldn't have been able to deliver it to Madara Uchiha.

Right now, Obito Uchiha was extremely confident and arrogant.

Because, unlike in the original story where he saw Madara Uchiha's body in Kabuto's hands and realized that Madara would inevitably be reanimated, Obito now didn't care about his identity being exposed. His only thought was to become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki before Kabuto could reanimate Madara.

Once he became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, the failsafe Madara had placed in his heart would be useless.

But now, Obito Uchiha didn't know that Black Zetsu had secretly guided Orochimaru to Madara's body and revealed part of the world's truth to him, allowing Orochimaru to restore Madara's body to its peak condition, ready to be reanimated at any moment.

So, Obito Uchiha didn't care at all about the loss of the other Rinnegan or the White Zetsu clone taking it.

Because he knew very well that not everyone could become a Rinnegan wielder.

Only those with vast chakra and life force could transplant the Rinnegan, familiarize themselves with it, and then master and use the Rinne Rebirth Technique.

The best vessels were naturally the Uzumaki clan, the Senju clan, Kisame Hoshigaki, and Jinchūriki.

But most of these people were already dead. Among their allies, the only ones who could transplant the Rinnegan were himself, with half his body made of Hashirama's cells, and Kisame Hoshigaki.

And Kisame was his man.

Even the most special of the White Zetsu, Tobi, couldn't become a Rinnegan host. Otherwise, Madara Uchiha wouldn't have transplanted the Rinnegan into Nagato; he would have had Tobi sacrifice himself to die and revive during the Third Great Ninja War.

So Obito Uchiha, who had successfully used Izanagi to kill Nagato while he was recovering inside the Gedo Statue, felt just as confident as Black Zetsu that becoming the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and initiating the Eye of the Moon Plan was a sure thing.

However, as he looked at the Gedo Statue, which he had summoned back and was mostly repaired, Obito frowned and muttered in dissatisfaction.

With one Rinnegan transplanted, he no longer needed to connect to the Gedo Statue to see that it had lost a significant amount of chakra.

Clearly, the Tailed Beasts sealed within had taken advantage of the Gedo Statue being shattered and in its weakest state to escape.

Soon, Obito calmed down and didn't dwell on it.

If they ran away, he'd just capture them again.

With his Kamui's space-time speed, even if the five Tailed Beasts split up and fled, they couldn't outrun his space-time teleportation.

Thus, Obito quickly formed hand seals.

Poof—

In the next second, the Gedo Statue turned into a massive cloud of white smoke and disappeared.

As the wind dispersed the smoke, Obito's figure also vanished.

——————

"Wood Release: Silent Binding Technique!"

"Sealing Technique: Soul Imprisonment!"

"Impure World Reincarnation—Release!"

While Obito Uchiha used Kamui to chase down the Tailed Beasts and reclaim their chakra, Yagyu, at the Four Red Yang Formation, quickly teamed up with Sasuke and Naruto to defeat the former Hokage one by one. Using Wood Release, sealing techniques, and the Impure World Reincarnation, he released Tobirama and Hashirama Senju from the reanimation jutsu.

"Sorry to trouble you again, junior."

"So you've mastered the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands, huh? Yagyu, I hope you don't repeat my path. Create peace according to your own vision, and try not to let too many people die."

After the Impure World Reincarnation was released, the souls of Tobirama and Hashirama Senju were freed from their reanimated bodies.

The former apologized to Yagyu, while the latter immediately noticed the Thousand-Armed Kannon, which stood like the highest peak in the ninja world. In an instant, he sensed the entire ninja world, as if witnessing the devastation of the battlefield, and thus gave Yagyu this advice.

"Don't worry, Lord First. I will create an era of peace without any conflict." Yagyu nodded, his expression serious as he made the promise.

As long as his plan succeeded, there would be no conflict in the ninja world until the Ōtsutsuki clan arrived from outer space or the hidden Ōtsutsuki Isshiki emerged from whatever dimension he was hiding in.

Just like during Hashirama's time, no major or minor country would dare to cause trouble in Yagyu's era.

And once the Ōtsutsuki clan was dealt with, the ninja world would be Yagyu's to command.

Even if he didn't unify the ninja world, this world would become his possession.

After watching the Senju brothers' souls ascend to the heavens, Yagyu turned his attention to Minato Namikaze, who was bound by tree branches like a dumpling, with only his head exposed. Both his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and Sage Mode had disappeared. Yagyu asked Naruto, who looked reluctant, "Do you want to keep the Fourth here so you two can spend some time together?"

"No need!"

Before Naruto could speak, Minato shook his head and smiled. "Just being able to see Naru again is more than enough for me. Yagyu, Sasuke, could you let me talk to Naru alone for a bit?"

"Sure."

Yagyu nodded, then prepared to leave with Sasuke.

At that moment, Minato suddenly spoke up. "Yagyu, could you temporarily release my bindings? I have a gift I'd like to give Naru."

"...Alright."

Yagyu gave Minato a meaningful look before forming a single hand seal.

In the next second, the tree branches binding Minato like a dumpling automatically unraveled.

"Impure World Reincarnation!"

As soon as he regained control of his body, Minato quickly formed hand seals, becoming a free soul that even the Hundred Faces couldn't control.

Having a rough idea of what Minato wanted to say to Naruto and what gift he intended to give, Yagyu didn't stay to be a third wheel. Instead, he placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder and, using the Flying Thunder God Technique, disappeared without warning, heading to support the Konoha forces who had been blocked by the White Zetsu army and the reanimated shinobi army for nine days.

By the time Naruto reunited with them, his strength would undoubtedly skyrocket, making him the true complete Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.

"Huh?"

However, as soon as Yagyu appeared next to Hinata, his gaze turned to a certain direction, his expression one of surprise and astonishment.

"Yagyu, did you win?"

Seeing Yagyu appear beside her, Hinata, who had been worried about him these past days and had often used her Byakugan to check on his battles, was overjoyed.

"Yes, we won."

Yagyu nodded with a smile, then formed a hand seal to create a Wood Clone and instructed, "But it seems there's been an unexpected development. I'll leave for a while."

After speaking, Yagyu disappeared without warning.

When he reappeared, he was underground, using the Mayfly Technique to merge with the earth and plants.

"Roar… Damn Uchiha, damn Mangekyō Sharingan!!!"

"Go back to where you belong, beast… Clatter!"

At the border of the Land of Rain, the sound of a beast's roar echoed, mixed with angry shouts and the clinking of chains.

The Two-Tails Matatabi, which had been on the verge of escaping the Land of Rain, had been caught by Obito Uchiha.

Faced with Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan enhanced by Hashirama's cells and the power of one Rinnegan, as well as the Tailed Beast-specific chains spat out by the Gedo Statue he had summoned, Matatabi had no resistance and was quickly immobilized and bound.

Ignoring Matatabi's roars, Obito formed hand seals to control the Gedo Statue and pull the Two-Tails toward him.

As Matatabi was dragged closer, nine chains quickly began absorbing its chakra, much like how the Eight-Tails Gyūki had been absorbed.

However, the absorption speed was several times slower than with Gyūki, and Obito had to maintain his hand seals.

Clearly, the Gedo Statue, having lost five Tailed Beasts, was far too weak.

If it hadn't been partially revived earlier, with the chakra of two Tailed Beasts still inside, and if Obito hadn't thoroughly studied the Six Paths Techniques and Yin-Yang Release that Madara had left him, Obito would have needed the help of the Akatsuki members to quickly seal Matatabi.

Yagyu didn't interrupt Obito's sealing process, merely marveling at how fate and destiny could be so unpredictable.

He had thought Nagato had escaped using some unknown method, but it turned out he had been defeated by Obito Uchiha.

What surprised Yagyu even more was that Obito, whose true strength without Kamui intangibility was on par with Kakashi's, had managed to kill Nagato, whose physical abilities had been restored to their peak.

After all, in the original story, Obito hadn't dared to make a move against Nagato, even when he was in a weakened state. He had only dared to go after Konan to steal the Rinnegan after Nagato's death, and even then, he had almost been killed by her.

But now, he had actually taken the Rinnegan from a Nagato who was even stronger than in the original story.

This definitely wasn't about strength—something Yagyu didn't know about must have happened!

Unbeknownst to Yagyu, Obito's success was entirely due to the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands: Top Transformation.

After seeing the Rinnegan fall into Obito's hands, Yagyu watched for a while as Obito sealed Matatabi before teleporting back to his home in Konoha. There, he hugged Hanabi and Hikari Uchiha, who were on school break and waiting for the war to end, and went to sleep.

After his battle with Nagato, Yagyu had expended a massive amount of chakra using the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands and needed to rest to prepare for the final battle.

Yagyu slept until nightfall, when he was awakened by his Wood Clone, which had teleported back.

Not yet fully recovered, Yagyu took out a batch of Gelel Stones from his spatial backpack, absorbing their special energy to restore his condition to full. Then, he kissed the still-sleeping Hanabi and Hikari on their cheeks before teleporting back to the battlefield.