Chapter 197: Black Zetsu's Misunderstanding, the Gap in Narrative Layers

At this moment, Obito Uchiha's appearance had undergone a dramatic transformation.

First, the mask that had been covering his face—or more accurately, his entire head—had shattered during the absorption of the Ten-Tails. Alternatively, it could be said that the mask had been completely erased by the otherworldly power, disintegrating into atoms and vanishing from this world.

The face beneath the mask was finally revealed: one side was intact, while the other was scarred. The intact right side bore a crimson Mangekyō Sharingan, while the scarred left side now possessed a Rinnegan with purple ripples.

Additionally, Obito's skin had turned white, but not a pure white. Instead, it resembled the color of Deidara's explosive clay. His Akatsuki cloak, embroidered with red clouds, had also transformed, much like Yagyu's Six Paths Sage Mode, into a white robe with black magatama patterns adorning the collar.

In Obito's right hand, he now held a pure black staff.

His body floated in the air, defying gravity. Even the fierce winds stirred by the battle between Madara Uchiha and Naruto and Sasuke in the distance couldn't budge Obito an inch. This wasn't due to a technique like the Earth Release: Ultra-Lightweight Rock Technique, which reduced the user's weight to that of a falling leaf. Instead, it was a true flight ability, a privilege reserved for higher-dimensional beings.

And indeed, Obito now resembled a higher-dimensional being—something beyond human comprehension, transcending ordinary understanding, and deserving of the title of a god.

At this moment, Obito's expression was cold and detached, his aura ethereal. He possessed an innate immunity to all ninjutsu, and even the most powerful sensory abilities couldn't penetrate his essence. Only someone on his level could truly grasp the extent of his power.

Suddenly, a black substance began to seep out of Obito's body.

This black substance split into nine parts, forming nine pure black spheres.

These spheres then rapidly expanded, like balloons being inflated, until they reached the size of billiard balls.

These were the Truth-Seeking Balls—SSS-level constructs created through Yin-Yang Release, infused with the seven chakra nature transformations, and perfectly fused without any instability. They contained the power to annihilate all creation, capable of erasing even souls upon contact. These were the signature weapons of Six Paths-level beings.

Boom—

Almost the moment the Truth-Seeking Balls formed, a deafening thunderclap erupted.

A brilliant blue-white light tore through the night, forming a massive beam of energy—far surpassing the Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique—and shot toward Obito like a super laser from a sci-fi weapon.

The sheer terror of this laser was such that even the ninja on the distant battlefield could see it.

The weaker ninja were left in awe, unable to comprehend that such a level of Lightning Release could exist in the world.

Even Madara Uchiha, who was currently overpowering Naruto and Sasuke, and the duo themselves, who were painfully realizing the gap between themselves and the legendary shinobi, couldn't help but glance in the direction of the beam.

Seeing the divine punishment-like super laser, Sasuke, who had already activated the third stage of his Susanoo, couldn't help but narrow his eyes in disbelief. "Is that... Kirin?!"

Yagyu had used Lightning Release: Kirin before, but always through his Wood Dragon.

This time, however, Yagyu had unleashed Kirin directly from his own hand, shattering Sasuke's worldview.

What level of mastery over nature transformation and shape transformation was required to release chakra from one's palm, instantly convert it into such a terrifying lightning bolt, and compress it into a laser of this magnitude?!

Sasuke had thought he understood the extent of Yagyu's power, but he had vastly underestimated him.

The super laser's descent didn't faze Obito in the slightest.

At this moment, his expression was cold, but his eyes were vacant.

No, it wasn't that his eyes were vacant—they were simply devoid of emotion.

If Yagyu were to activate his Rinnegan now, he would see that Obito's brain was being ravaged by a surge of Yin Release chakra, attempting to destroy his will and seize control of his body.

Thus, the current Obito was nothing more than a puppet—a puppet with godlike power.

Obito didn't even glance at the incoming super laser. The Truth-Seeking Balls floating around him merged back into a black liquid, forming a massive black sphere that enveloped him.

This black sphere possessed unparalleled defensive capabilities. Without natural energy, anyone who touched it would not only have their body disintegrated like under the Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique but also lose that part of their soul.

Even the strongest ninjutsu would vanish upon contact with this black sphere.

Boom—

However, when the super laser collided with the black sphere, the sphere was sent flying like a billiard ball struck by a cue, disappearing into the sky along with the enormous blue-white beam. Both crashed into the ground, creating a deafening explosion and a cloud of dust.

At the same time, Yagyu's figure vanished from the sky.

Whoosh—

A fierce wind blew, dispersing the dust cloud.

A massive crater was revealed.

Though not as large as the super crater created by the Sage Art Dust Release: Rasenshuriken, this one bore the hallmarks of a natural disaster.

The walls of the crater were scorched by extreme heat, and some areas had even melted into lava, showcasing the unimaginable temperature of the super laser.

Moreover, the air around the crater crackled with blue arcs of electricity, emitting faint or sharp crackling sounds.

This was the power of the Sage Art Lightning Release: Kirin, infused with natural energy.

Back when Yagyu was at the Kage level, he could already use the seal-less Lightning Release: Kirin without the need for storm clouds, capable of obliterating a mountain with a single strike.

Now, having reached the Six Paths level and unlocked a unique Six Paths Sage Mode, Yagyu had attained the realm of the Ōtsutsuki clan, enabling him to perform ninjutsu without hand seals.

In fact, even without the Six Paths Sage Mode, given enough time, Yagyu's mastery over the seven chakra nature transformations would have allowed him to perform any ninjutsu without hand seals.

The reason his Wood Dragon and Wood Human could use ninjutsu was precisely because Yagyu's mastery of the five elemental releases had reached the pinnacle below the Six Paths level, allowing him to use any medium to perform ninjutsu.

After all, the five elemental releases were merely the result of nature and shape transformations of chakra.

When someone's mastery of a chakra nature transformation reached its peak, they could learn all ninjutsu of that element and even develop new techniques.

If someone mastered two chakra nature transformations to their peak, they could develop various composite ninjutsu. With a flash of inspiration, they might even synthesize a Kekkei Genkai that could alter genes and be passed down to future generations.

Yagyu was such a being.

And he hadn't just mastered one or two nature transformations—he had mastered all seven.

Ninjutsu had become nothing more than tools for Yagyu.

With Yin-Yang Release at his disposal, Yagyu could create not only Sage Art Lightning Release: Kirin but even stronger Sage Arts and Six Paths Sage Arts.

Just as Madara Uchiha, after absorbing Hashirama's Sage chakra, could casually use various Sage Art elemental techniques, Yagyu had reached a level where ninjutsu was outdated, and Sage Arts were mere playthings.

What truly mattered were the god-level techniques beyond SSS-rank—Kekkei Mōra and divine techniques.

"Is this the Truth-Seeking Ball?"

Yagyu's figure appeared at the edge of the crater, holding a black sphere in his hand.

As he examined the Truth-Seeking Ball, his eyes seemed to pierce through its essence. He couldn't help but marvel, "No wonder it possesses the power to annihilate all creation. It's essentially an upgraded version of the Ten-Tails' Truth-Seeking Ball."

Indeed, Yagyu had already grasped the method to create Truth-Seeking Balls.

At the bottom of the crater, a black sphere floated.

However, this sphere had cracked like an egg, revealing Obito Uchiha inside.

The crack wasn't caused by the super laser. Instead, Yagyu had appeared at the crater's bottom at an unimaginable speed, activated his Rinnegan, and used his unique ocular technique—Outer Path Maru—to absorb a portion of the Truth-Seeking Ball.

Yagyu's speed was so fast that the unconscious Obito didn't even react, and his body didn't instinctively counterattack.

Thus, to Black Zetsu, who was hiding in the shadows, it seemed as though the black sphere had been damaged by the super laser.

"Sage of Six Paths techniques... So, this brat is indeed the reincarnation of Asura in this era. That bastard Hagoromo really did leave a backup plan in every reincarnation of Asura and Indra."

Black Zetsu, hiding in the shadows and secretly observing the battle, was both horrified and furious.

Yagyu's current state was all too familiar to him.

After all, during the battle between Asura and Indra Ōtsutsuki, Asura had used similar power.

That power had been bestowed upon him by Hagoromo.

However, Yagyu's Six Paths Sage Mode was different from Asura's. It more closely resembled the secret technique Hagoromo had created after extracting the Ten-Tails from his body, splitting its chakra into the nine tailed beasts, and using portions of their chakra along with Sage chakra.

Seeing Yagyu's Six Paths Sage Mode, which was identical to Hagoromo's, Black Zetsu finally understood why this reincarnation of Asura was stronger than all previous Asura reincarnations—even stronger than Asura Ōtsutsuki and Hashirama Senju.

Hagoromo, that bastard, had indeed foreseen that the descendants of the Senju and Uchiha clans might, through a twist of fate, fuse to create a second pair of Rinnegan. He had also anticipated that, through various coincidences, his mother might be revived and reclaim the chakra of the world. Thus, he had left a backup plan.

Because the Gedo Statue had been summoned from the moon by Madara Uchiha, and Black Zetsu's thousand-year plan was nearing its end, the backup plan had been triggered in this reincarnation of Asura.

"Indra, you didn't lose unjustly. Hagoromo was far too biased."

As Black Zetsu gazed at the overwhelmingly powerful Yagyu, who exuded an aura of death even from a distance—enough to seal or kill him despite his ability to merge with the earth and plants using the Mayfly Technique—he couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for Indra Ōtsutsuki, Hagoromo's eldest son.

No wonder Indra's reincarnations, even the most exceptional ones like Madara Uchiha, and Indra himself, the inventor of ninjutsu and hand seals, had never been a match for Hashirama or his younger brother.

Hagoromo hadn't just passed his power to Asura or entrusted him with the Shinobi Sect. He had also shown favoritism to Asura's reincarnations.

Under this favoritism, no matter how powerful Indra's reincarnations became—whether they awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan or obtained eternal ocular power—the backup plan hidden within Asura's reincarnations would always ensure that Asura's reincarnation was one step ahead.

The so-called thousand-year destiny was nothing but a joke.

The purpose of Asura's reincarnations was to serve as a lock, preventing Indra's reincarnations from becoming too powerful and destroying the world's order, as well as preventing their mother's revival.

Now, that lock was fulfilling its purpose.

"No, Obito can't be relied on. If Yagyu destroys him and forces him to spit out the Gedo Statue, I might not be able to attach myself to him and perform the Rinne Rebirth Technique," Black Zetsu thought to himself. "With Yagyu's current strength, he could easily destroy Obito's corpse or Rinnegan before I could perform the technique."

"It seems I'll have to change plans."

Black Zetsu took one last deep look at Yagyu, who had now created nine Truth-Seeking Balls and resembled Hagoromo after he had ceased to be the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki. Then, he quickly retreated, initiating Plan B for Madara Uchiha's resurrection.

Of course, Yagyu had no idea that his overwhelming display of power had led Black Zetsu to a series of misunderstandings.

If he had known, he would have found it amusing.

This was the result of a gap in narrative layers!

Just as Nagato's low narrative layer made him a pawn of Obito Uchiha, and Madara Uchiha's low narrative layer made him a pawn of Black Zetsu, Black Zetsu's narrative layer was too low in the face of Yagyu, a transmigrator.