Chapter 194: The Final Piece of the Puzzle, Six Paths Sage Mode

Yagyu had no idea about Obito Uchiha's envious thoughts.

After Hinata and the others activated the Four Red Yang Formation, Yagyu clapped his hands together once more. A blue aura surged around him, as if drawn by a magnet, and quickly flowed into his body.

In less than three seconds, red markings appeared around Yagyu's eyes, and his red pupils turned golden.

The terrifying natural energy and the instantaneous activation of Sage Mode left Naruto utterly stunned.

"So... so amazing!"

Watching Yagyu absorb natural energy while standing, without the need to sit and meditate, and with the natural energy being even more intense than the toad oil pool at Mount Myōboku, Naruto couldn't help but gape in awe.

"Sage Art: Sealing Gates!"

After instantly activating Sage Mode, Yagyu shouted again.

In an instant, massive red torii gates of varying sizes descended from the sky.

Some of these gates aimed directly at Madara Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, and the Ten-Tails' head.

Seeing this, Madara, for reasons unknown, didn't use a repulsive storm to deflect the torii gates. Instead, he vanished with a quick Body Flicker.

Obito, on the other hand, didn't use Shinra Tensei to repel the gates, perhaps because he couldn't in his current state. However, he also didn't dodge, instead looking up as the torii gates crashed down.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Each torii gate weighed as much as a small mountain, and their impact created deafening explosions, sending clouds of dust into the air.

When the dust settled, the Ten-Tails, now in its second form, lay motionless on the ground.

Just like in the original story when it was suppressed by Hashirama's Sage Art: Sealing Gates, the Ten-Tails' neck, tail, limbs, and waist were all pinned to the ground by the massive torii gates.

Even though it had reclaimed the chakra of eight complete tailed beasts and a tiny amount of the Nine-Tails' chakra, and had evolved back into its second form, capable of using Heaven and Earth Cataclysm and Tailed Beast Bombs, the Ten-Tails was utterly powerless against the Sage Art: Sealing Gates.

This showed that whether the tailed beasts were separate or combined, they were nothing more than "dangerous livestock" in the face of Hashirama's Wood Release.

Even if all nine tailed beasts were separate, it would only require a bit more effort to deal with them.

Unless the Ten-Tails reclaimed the complete chakra of all nine tailed beasts and evolved back to its original form, granting it ninjutsu immunity, it would still be no match for the Sage Art: Sealing Gates.

What was truly powerful wasn't the Ten-Tails, but the person who ate the Divine Tree's fruit or became the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, transcending their life essence and reaching a higher plane of existence.

"So... so amazing!!!"

Seeing Yagyu instantly defeat the Ten-Tails in this manner, Naruto was once again left dumbfounded.

"That brat's strength has already surpassed Hashirama Senju's," Kurama said gravely.

The Thousand-Armed Kannon that still stood in the Land of Rain, visible from both the Land of Rain and its neighboring countries, reminded Kurama of the moment decades ago when it had been subdued with a single hand.

Yagyu's instant activation of Sage Mode was something Hashirama had also done in the past.

But in Kurama's perception, Hashirama's life force and chakra paled in comparison to Yagyu's.

This was simply unbelievable.

Humans usually didn't reach their peak until adulthood, right?

If Kurama remembered correctly, this brat was the same age as Naruto, perhaps even born on the same day.

At this age, even if he had inherited the Sage's and Asura's physiques, it was impossible for him to develop to this extent!

He hadn't even reached his peak yet, and he had already developed the Sage's Body to this level. What would he be like when he reached his prime? Would even the Sage be inferior to him?

Such a freak of nature was something Kurama had never seen before.

Back to the Ten-Tails, Obito still stood on its head.

Using Kamui's intangibility, he completely ignored the torii gates' attacks and sealing effects.

However, despite still being connected to the Ten-Tails through the tube, no matter how he tried to control it, the Ten-Tails' body remained immobile.

Obito now had a deeper understanding of Yagyu's strength.

But he wasn't afraid.

After all, unlike in the original story, Obito's previous opponents hadn't included Kakashi Hatake. Up until now, he had no idea that Kakashi's Sharingan was the biggest weakness of his Kamui intangibility.

As long as he was careful and waited for the Ten-Tails to complete its final evolution, Obito believed that with Kamui's intangibility, he was already invincible.

As for Yagyu and the others, he would leave them to Madara to deal with. He could just hang back and watch.

Thus, Obito formed hand seals.

The Ten-Tails' body, like Yagyu's Wood Release, began to extend branches.

These branches detached from the Ten-Tails' body and transformed into grotesque monsters, resembling enhanced White Zetsu clones, charging toward Yagyu and the others.

"Naruto, Sasuke, I'll leave Madara and these monsters to you. Can you handle it?"

Looking at the charging monsters, Yagyu asked Naruto and Sasuke.

"Ah... don't worry, leave it to us."

Remembering the masked man's bizarre space-time ninjutsu and Yagyu's Flying Thunder God Technique, Naruto's expression turned serious as he accepted the task of dealing with the enemy's strongest fighter.

Sasuke also nodded.

Seeing them accept the most difficult task without hesitation, Yagyu smiled slightly, then reminded them, "Madara's strength is formidable. During the Valley of the End battle, he obtained Wood Release from the First Hokage. So, you might want to try combining the Susanoo's power with the Nine-Tails. This will significantly enhance your combat power and defense."

"There's actually such a technique?"

Hearing this, Naruto and Sasuke's eyes lit up.

"It's definitely possible," Kurama also recalled how Madara had used it in the past and said to Naruto in the tailed beast space, "You can also have that Uchiha brat enhance the Tailed Beast Bomb with the Susanoo's power. This will greatly increase the Tailed Beast Bomb's destructive force."

Back then, Madara had done the same, famously saying, "I can now reach the other side."

This move not only earned Hashirama's praise but also forced Hashirama to get serious, activating Sage Mode and the Sage Art: Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands.

Similarly, if it weren't for Madara's repeated use of this combination technique, even if Hashirama had held back, the bombardment of thousands of mountain-sized wooden hands would have left Madara with only a slim chance of survival, even with the Susanoo and the Nine-Tails as shields.

Whoosh——

After explaining the "Armored Susanoo" technique to Naruto and Sasuke, Yagyu vanished in a blur, transforming into an arrow-like streak as he charged toward Obito Uchiha.

Along the way, the monsters spawned by the Ten-Tails couldn't react in time.

"Am I the target?"

Obito, with the dynamic vision of his Mangekyō Sharingan and Rinnegan, clearly tracked Yagyu's movement.

Seeing that the enemy's strongest fighter was targeting him, Obito felt some pressure.

But the pressure wasn't from fear that Yagyu would discover the weakness of his Kamui intangibility. Instead, he was worried that the Ten-Tails would be destroyed before it could evolve into its third form.

After all, he had clearly seen through his clone how the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had been destroyed by Yagyu.

It was thanks to Yagyu destroying the Demonic Statue and forcing Nagato to retreat into its inner space, where he was still severely impacted, that Obito had the opportunity to sneak in and kill Nagato.

Otherwise, Obito wouldn't be here now, but would still be hiding in the shadows.

"Wood Release: Cutting Technique!"

Obito channeled his Wood Release chakra through the tube into the Ten-Tails, barely managing to lift its head slightly. The Ten-Tails then opened its mouth and unleashed a barrage of black projectiles.

The projectiles shot into the air, forming a rain of arrows that cascaded down toward Yagyu, who was charging forward.

At the same time, Obito leapt down from the Ten-Tails' head and ran toward Yagyu.

To avoid disrupting the Ten-Tails' evolution, Obito didn't want its body to become the battlefield between him and Yagyu.

As for whether disconnecting from the Ten-Tails would allow Madara to seize control, Obito wasn't worried.

Again, unless Madara was revived, his fake Rinnegan couldn't compare to the real thing.

The only concern was that without the Ten-Tails' chakra, Obito would have to rely on his acting skills, constantly shifting between the Kamui dimension and the real world.

Otherwise, if Madara activated the cursed seal, Obito might fall victim to it.

So Obito had to be prepared. If his heart showed any signs of trouble, he would immediately escape into the Kamui dimension.

But Obito also believed that, facing Yagyu, Naruto, and Sasuke, Madara wouldn't risk completely turning against him.

This was why he dared to disconnect from the Ten-Tails.

"Sage Art… Wind Release: Typhoon's Passage."

Looking at the rain of arrows descending upon him, Yagyu simply blew a breath of air upward. The breath transformed into a tangible, distorted airflow, quickly forming a terrifying storm. Not only did it blow away the rain of arrows, but it also swept up the Ten-Tails' spawned monsters, tossing them into the air like leaves. After spinning wildly, they crashed to the ground with a series of heavy thuds.

However, before the storm dissipated, Obito ignored the fierce winds and charged toward Yagyu.

In response, Yagyu also ran toward Obito, forming a blue energy sphere in his hand.

Seeing this, Obito's expression beneath his mask flickered with a hint of nostalgia.

For a moment, he felt as if he had returned to that night in the 48th year of Konoha.

But compared to the boy before him, his always-late teacher had been perfect yet flawed.

This time, however, he wouldn't lose again.

Extending a black rod from his hand, Obito didn't use the Rinnegan's abilities, nor did he use the Mangekyō Sharingan's genjutsu or the Wood Release that came with the Hashirama cells in his body.

He knew his limits. With his strength, he was no match for Yagyu.

He couldn't defeat Yagyu, but he could seal him.

If the Yin-Yang Release black rod could hit Yagyu, it would seal his chakra, temporarily preventing him from using any ninjutsu or escaping with Body Flicker.

At that point, Obito just needed to drag Yagyu into the Kamui dimension, and victory would be his.

The Kamui dimension was vast and entirely under his control. Once Yagyu entered, unless he could capture Obito's real body and transplant his Mangekyō Sharingan, even with the Flying Thunder God Technique, Yagyu wouldn't be able to escape the Kamui prison.

Yagyu didn't know Obito's thoughts, and even if he did, he would have just laughed.

Fully aware that without taking Kakashi's eye, there was no way to deal with Obito, Yagyu began to play along with him while waiting for the result.

Leaving the strongest, Madara, to Naruto and Sasuke wasn't to let them suffer a beating or push them to the brink of death to trigger the Sage of Six Paths' power-up.

Instead, the Ten-Tails still had something Yagyu wanted.

Only by obtaining this could Yagyu secure an absolute advantage in the final stage of his plan.

When he annihilated the White Zetsu army and the reanimated army, Yagyu had already made his move.

Thus, just like Minato Namikaze had done in the past, Yagyu thrust his Rasengan toward Obito, only to pass through him.

At the same time, Obito's black rod also passed through Yagyu's body.

However, when the two completely separated, Obito suddenly reversed his grip on the black rod and stabbed it toward Yagyu's back.

In the next second, Obito's pupils contracted.

Yagyu didn't dodge or move, as if he hadn't reacted, allowing the black rod to strike him.

Crack——

But the sharp black rod couldn't penetrate Yagyu's defense. Instead, it shattered from the recoil.

Seeing this, Obito quickly activated Kamui's intangibility.

Almost the moment he turned intangible, Obito saw Yagyu glance back at him, and then his vision was engulfed in darkness.

Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion: Darkness Technique!

Obito instantly realized what had happened and sighed in relief, though he felt a bit of lingering fear.

"So terrifying. Does he not even need hand seals? Or is his one-handed sealing just too fast?"

In the Kamui dimension, Obito dispelled the Darkness Technique.

When his vision returned, he found that Yagyu had disappeared from the real world and was now standing on the Ten-Tails' head.

Beside Yagyu was another Yagyu.

Seeing this, Obito's expression changed, and he quickly used Kamui to swiftly move through the dimension toward the Ten-Tails.

Meanwhile, Yagyu placed his hand on the Wood Clone's shoulder, receiving the results, and smiled.

"Six Paths Sage Mode... the final piece of the puzzle is finally complete."

After saying this, Yagyu's hand was covered in blue chakra.

Then, various colors of chakra flowed from the Wood Clone into Yagyu's body.

Upon closer inspection, there were nine distinct colors of chakra.

These were the partial chakra of the nine tailed beasts within the Ten-Tails.