Chapter 193: Yagyu Takes Action, Dimensional Strike, and the Envious Obito

"Is that really Madara Uchiha?"

Looking at Madara Uchiha standing beside Obito Uchiha, Naruto, whose Sage Mode had amplified his senses to the extreme, immediately felt an overwhelming pressure that was completely different from Obito's. He couldn't help but ask Kurama in the tailed beast space.

"Yeah… Be careful. That guy's ocular power is terrifying."

Kurama gritted its teeth and spoke with a mix of anger and frustration.

In this world, the person Kurama hated the most wasn't Mito Uzumaki, Kushina Uzumaki, or Naruto Uzumaki—the three Uzumaki who had sealed it for decades. It wasn't Hashirama Senju, who had once casually subdued it with one hand while calling it dangerous. Nor was it Minato Namikaze, who had sacrificed his life to seal half of Kurama into the Shinigami's stomach. No, the one Kurama hated the most was Madara Uchiha.

After the Sage of Six Paths separated Kurama from the Ten-Tails, Kurama had lived peacefully for a thousand years, never interfering with human society or harming a single person. It simply lived in solitude, waiting for the Child of Prophecy that the Sage had spoken of.

But then, one day, Madara Uchiha appeared before it. With overwhelming power, Madara suppressed Kurama, forced it to become his summon, treated it like livestock, and ultimately led to Kurama being sealed in a dark, confined space for decades.

All of Kurama's suffering was caused by Madara Uchiha.

Thus, Kurama harbored a deep hatred for Madara, but it was powerless against him.

The ocular power of the Mangekyō Sharingan was simply too effective against tailed beasts.

Moreover, Kurama had been forced into a summoning contract with Madara. No matter where it was, Madara could summon it with a single hand seal.

Now that Madara had been revived, Kurama suddenly felt that the current situation wasn't so bad. It didn't want to leave the seal anymore.

Of course, Naruto didn't know Kurama's thoughts.

After hearing Kurama's warning, Naruto nodded solemnly and then shouted, "Sasuke, let's go!"

With that, Naruto controlled the massive golden Nine-Tails and charged toward the rampaging Ten-Tails once again.

Behind him, Sasuke didn't speak, but the katana in his Complete Body Susanoo's hand disappeared, replaced by a massive purple bow.

At the same time, wings sprouted from the Susanoo's back, and the towering purple warrior soared into the sky.

These two destined rivals, who had clashed for a millennium, often bickered and couldn't stand each other in daily life. But when it came to tacit understanding, they were born with it—a bond that even reincarnation couldn't erase.

"Just a mere beast. It's time to return to your cage."

Watching the golden Nine-Tails charging toward him with earth-shaking force, Madara sneered disdainfully. He then stabbed his scythe into the Ten-Tails' body and formed hand seals. "I just learned a new technique. Let's test it on you."

"Wood Release: Multiple Wood Dragon Technique!"

Rumble——

As soon as Madara finished speaking, the ground trembled violently, and large cracks appeared. Thick branches surged from the earth, rapidly transforming into green wooden dragons that surrounded the golden Nine-Tails from all directions.

"I can't move! My chakra's being drained… Isn't he from the Uchiha clan? Why does he have Yagyu's Wood Release?!"

The Wood Dragon Technique caught Naruto completely off guard. After all, Yagyu was an ally, and before the Fourth Great Ninja War began, no one in this era had forced Yagyu to use the Wood Dragon or Wood Human Techniques. Naruto had never faced such a technique before.

Moreover, the golden Nine-Tails' massive size made it impossible to dodge the sudden assault of the wooden dragons, unlike the Complete Body Susanoo, which could fly.

Just as Madara's Complete Body Susanoo had always been unable to avoid the Wood Dragon Technique and was easily subdued, the golden Nine-Tails was instantly defeated.

Both were at the Super Kage level, but just as there were differences among jōnin and the Five Kage, Naruto was no match for Madara.

After all, both the Mangekyō Sharingan and Wood Release were tailed beast-specific techniques, much like the Uzumaki clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains.

Even without Wood Release, Madara could have easily defeated Naruto.

Wood Release just made it more convenient.

"Naruto, release the full tailed beast transformation!"

Feeling his chakra being rapidly drained, Kurama quickly warned.

"Got it!"

Naruto, who was desperately trying to control the golden Nine-Tails, realized he couldn't break free from the wooden dragons' restraints. Instead, the grip was tightening. Reluctantly, he released the full tailed beast transformation, and the golden Nine-Tails disappeared.

Seeing this, Obito, who had been about to form hand seals to make the Ten-Tails spit out chains, slowly lowered his hand.

Whoosh——

At that moment, a sharp whistling sound reached the ears of Madara and Obito.

Looking up, they saw a massive purple arrow wrapped in black flames hurtling toward them.

From a distance, it looked like a purple meteor about to collide with the rampaging Ten-Tails.

"Strong, but too naive."

Unlike his disdainful attitude toward Naruto and Kurama, Madara looked at the descending purple arrow and the floating Complete Body Susanoo with a sense of appreciation.

Madara Uchiha was just that hypocritical.

At the same time, Madara raised his hand and created a massive hemispherical shield.

The purple arrow struck the shield, and the purple Yin Release chakra and the black flames were instantly absorbed.

"How is that possible?!"

Seeing this, both Sasuke in the sky and Naruto on the ground exclaimed in disbelief.

Their faces were filled with shock, not because Madara had blocked the black flame arrow of the Complete Body Susanoo in such a way, but because Madara's eyes had transformed from the Mangekyō Sharingan to the ripple-patterned purple eyes of the Rinnegan.

"The Rinnegan… Why does Madara Uchiha also have the Rinnegan?" Naruto murmured.

"It's not that he also has it—the Rinnegan is his."

Kurama instantly grasped the key point and said gravely, "He's just a reanimated corpse, a dead man with abilities similar to his living self, or perhaps only close to his former strength. His eyes just transformed from the Mangekyō Sharingan to the Rinnegan, which means he had the Rinnegan in life."

"There's only one explanation: the current Rinnegan is actually the one Madara left behind before his death."

"So Nagato's Rinnegan was his, not something he was born with."

Naruto nodded slightly in realization.

At that moment, realizing that long-range ninjutsu was ineffective against Madara, Sasuke also released his Complete Body Susanoo to avoid wasting unnecessary chakra and ocular power. He landed beside Naruto.

Hearing Naruto's words, Sasuke's expression turned serious. "So Madara Uchiha is the true mastermind behind all this? The Akatsuki leader, and that masked guy beside him, are just his pawns?!"

"You're right. Madara Uchiha is the true mastermind."

A voice reached their ears, and both Naruto and Sasuke's faces lit up with joy.

"Yagyu, you're here!"

Turning to see Yagyu suddenly appearing between him and Sasuke, Naruto felt as if he had found his pillar of support and shouted excitedly.

Sasuke also smirked, feeling a surge of confidence.

Having been classmates for ten years and never once defeating Yagyu since childhood, Naruto and Sasuke had unconsciously been completely subdued by him.

No matter how much their strength increased, they never felt they could defeat Yagyu.

So Yagyu's arrival made both Naruto, who had nearly been defeated by Madara, and Sasuke, who was struggling, feel that they no longer needed to worry about how to deal with Madara. They just needed to follow Yagyu's lead.

"It's Lord Yagyu!"

"Great, Lord Yagyu is here!"

"That's… the Uchiha clan's Gunbai, the weapon of the Akatsuki's Hundred Faces. So it was Lord Yagyu who undid the Reanimation Jutsu."

"I knew it! Lord Yagyu, who possesses the same Wood Release as the First Hokage, couldn't possibly lose to Madara Uchiha. He was just handling more important matters."

"..."

Not only Naruto and Sasuke, but the entire ninja alliance sensed Yagyu's chakra, and their morale skyrocketed.

Just like Minato Namikaze, who had shined in the Third Great Ninja War, becoming the nightmare of the five great villages and even being allowed by Iwagakure to abandon missions if they encountered him, Yagyu had already subdued the five great villages and the Land of Iron in this Fourth Great Ninja War.

The five great villages, which had initially been at odds and fought separately, now chose to set aside their hatred and work together, thinking it was better to be ruled by Konoha and Yagyu than by the Akatsuki.

With the reanimated elite squad ascending to the afterlife, the ninja alliance, which had already turned the tide and gained the upper hand, now felt that victory was within reach.

They were certain to win!

And Yagyu didn't disappoint them.

Yagyu patted Naruto and Sasuke on the shoulders, then stepped forward in front of them.

Looking up at Madara and Obito, who were standing atop the Ten-Tails and gazing down at them, Yagyu then glanced toward the ninja alliance's position. Suddenly, he raised his hand and clapped.

Boom——

A terrifying blue aura erupted.

Then, Yagyu murmured, "Wood Release… Silent Binding Technique!"

Almost as soon as Yagyu spoke, the ninja alliance in the distance felt the ground beneath them tremble slightly.

Tiny cracks appeared in the ground, barely noticeable in the darkness.

However, those with strong sensory abilities could already sense an astonishing amount of chakra surging toward them from afar, like an underground river.

Of course, only some of the White Zetsu clones and the ninja alliance sensed this.

With the reanimated elite squad ascending to the afterlife, the remaining reanimated army consisted only of the elite reanimated summoned by Orochimaru.

Most of them were weak, and the strong ones were the elites from the five great villages who had been killed by the reanimated elite squad in recent days.

To avoid revealing their identities and to shift the blame onto Hundred Faces, Orochimaru hadn't granted these reanimated elites autonomous consciousness. Instead, they fought based on instinct.

Thus, before most of the White Zetsu clones and the reanimated army could react, countless vines suddenly erupted from the ground, binding them all.

These vines rapidly transformed into branches, wrapping them into cocoons.

The White Zetsu clones that did react quickly used the Floating Technique to escape underground.

With just one move, Yagyu had annihilated the White Zetsu army and the reanimated army.

Just like when Madara Uchiha had used the Tengai Shinsei in the original story, Yagyu's single move made the ninja alliance feel the vast gap between dimensions, a true dimensional strike.

"Ino…"

After wiping out the White Zetsu and reanimated armies with one move, Yagyu called out softly.

"Yes!"

Ino, who had already activated the Yin Seal and connected her Yin Release chakra to Yagyu through a secret technique, immediately understood his intention.

She closed her eyes and formed hand seals, seemingly preparing something.

A few seconds later, Hinata, Sakura, and Karin, who had also activated the Yin Seal, nodded in understanding.

Then, the four of them vanished in a blur, reappearing on the battlefield near Yagyu's location, several kilometers away from the Ten-Tails, positioned at the four cardinal directions around it.

Together, they formed hand seals and shouted, "Ninja Art… Four Red Yang Formation!"

Four red, transparent barriers shot into the sky, forming a massive red box that enclosed the Ten-Tails and Yagyu's group.

Looking at the barrier that could connect over such a vast distance, Madara raised an eyebrow in surprise. "The Four Red Yang Formation? Such young girls can perform a barrier technique of this level?"

"They're all Yagyu's close female companions," Obito said flatly.

Hearing this, Madara couldn't help but smirk, giving Obito a meaningful look.

Although Obito's tone was calm, Madara could sense the envy and bitterness in his words.

And indeed, that was the case.

Obito envied Yagyu, but not because he was surrounded by beautiful women.

He envied Yagyu's incredible talent, his immense power at such a young age, and his position as the future Sixth Hokage of Konoha—a position Obito had once dreamed of. Yagyu had the strength to protect those he cared about, something Obito had failed to do.

If he had possessed Yagyu's strength back then, Rin wouldn't have been captured, he wouldn't have been crushed by the boulder, and Rin wouldn't have been killed by Kakashi.

If Naruto was like Obito as a child, then Yagyu was the embodiment of Obito's dream in the new world he wanted to create.

The perfect person he could only dream of had appeared in reality.

How could Obito not feel bitter and envious?

Looking down at the Ten-Tails, which was growling lowly, Obito, who knew its current state through the connecting tube, felt even more determined.

Soon, it will reach its third form.

The new world is within reach!