In the Pure Land, the Sage of Six Paths was locked in internal conflict.

But back in the shinobi world, Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Izuna had already begun their battle!

Senju Tobirama roared, "Everyone—find an opponent you're confident you can beat! Knock them out of the Blackwater Nine-Dragon Coffin's perimeter! Do not let them interfere with Kazuki's seal!"

Tobirama's instructions were clear enough to be understood by both the Konoha and Kirigakure sides.

Undoing Kazuki's seal was a complicated process…

It required Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Mito's sealing arts, the ocular powers of Shisui and Tobirama, and the combined chakra of other Kage-level shinobi—it wasn't as simple as just popping open a coffin lid.

Acting rashly could be dangerous. If the Sage of Six Paths had already taken control of Kazuki's body, then disturbing the seal would only give the demon lord a chance to counterattack…

But to Uchiha Madara and the others, Tobirama's words carried a very different implication.

Don't destroy Kazuki's seal?

As expected, this damn inherently evil Senju, wants to keep Kazuki sealed!

Bastard!

"You think you can stop me?!"

Hearing Tobirama's words, Uchiha Madara's chakra surged like an erupting volcano.

"Brother, I'll deal with Senju Tobirama. For now, let's hold off on rescuing Kazuki…"

Uchiha Izuna pressed down on Uchiha Madara's shoulder and leaned in to whisper, "Kazuki's current condition while sealed… we still don't really know what's going on. If the battle spreads that way, he could end up injured…"

"Either way, we'll have to deal with these people who threaten the peace of the shinobi world… So why don't we take them out one by one? Once we've eliminated all interference, we can properly help Kazuki escape."

In Uchiha Izuna's eyes, Kazuki's situation was a massive mystery…

What was really going on couldn't be fully deduced through logic alone—he'd have to gather more intelligence.

But one thing was certain—

Kazuki was an extraordinarily capable, all-around shinobi, ranked alongside Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara as one of the legendary figures of the shinobi world. His combat strength alone was enough to reshape the entire battlefield.

And what made things even more dangerous—

Kazuki had an extremely close relationship with Senju Tobirama…

This was a Uchiha who had been deceived by the Will of Fire and that wicked Tobirama. Otherwise, there was no way someone with that level of power would've listened to that bastard's nonsense and sealed himself away…

A classic case of a powerful fighter with a broken brain.

Izuna couldn't help but recall some of Senju Hashirama's tricks…

These were stories Madara had told him after being resurrected.

In their final battle, after Madara lost to Hashirama, he had initially refused any alliance—but Hashirama managed to talk him into it…

Madara, wary of the deep-seated blood feud between the two clans, demanded that Hashirama prove his sincerity.

He gave him two options:

Kill Senju Tobirama…

Or kill himself.

Hashirama chose himself—he picked up a tiny kunai, no bigger than a palm, and attempted to stab his own heart…

Madara was so moved by this display that he stopped him and agreed to the alliance.

After hearing that story…

Izuna nearly lost it.

His brother was good at many things—

But whenever anything involved Senju Hashirama, his usually decent intelligence would evaporate into thin air, replaced by absurd logic and bizarre decisions.

Could that little kunai even kill Hashirama?

Did his brother forget that this bastard had a secret technique called 'Regeneration Ability'?

With a kunai that size going back and forth, Izuna doubted it could even pierce Hashirama's skin—and even if it did, by the time he pulled it out, the wound would probably already be healed…

Based on how absurd Hashirama's regeneration was, even if he were sliced in half by Susanoo, Izuna suspected the guy could just reattach himself and be fine.

There was no helping it—Senju Hashirama was just that kind of freak!

All Izuna could do was sigh…

Madara understood all of this perfectly—

And yet he was still willing to fall for Hashirama's nonsense. What else could you do?

To Izuna, the relationship between Kazuki and Senju Tobirama had started to look a lot like that between Madara and Hashirama…

It was always the same story:

The Senju would say something, and the Uchiha would go do it…

Izuna worried that even though they were here to rescue Kazuki, if they managed to break the seal mid-battle, Tobirama might only need a few words to brainwash him again—turning Kazuki into a powerful enemy standing in their way…

And that was a risk they didn't need to take.

In terms of combat, Uchiha Izuna had absolute confidence that they could overpower Hashirama's side!

So there was no need to rush the rescue. Better to first take out Tobirama and the rest—then they could turn their full attention to figuring out exactly what was going on with Kazuki.

"…Alright, Izuna. We'll do it your way."

Uchiha Madara didn't fully grasp all the convoluted thoughts going through Izuna's head—but in the end, he always listened to his little brother.

"Hashirama—come! I've been waiting for this battle for a long time!"

Madara raised his Gunbai war fan, pointed it directly at Senju Hashirama, and shouted with wild arrogance: "Don't disappoint me!"

Before Senju Hashirama could even respond, Uchiha Madara leapt into the air and summoned his Complete Body Susanoo. With its massive wings stirring up a violent gale, he charged straight toward the heart of the Land of Water!

"Go, Brother."

Senju Tobirama watched the chaos stirred up by Uchiha Madara with a solemn expression and said gravely, "Only you can face him… With the Rinnegan, he'll be even stronger than before. And you, in your Edo Tensei form, can't unleash your full power…"

"Hold him off as best you can. I'll finish off Uchiha Izuna quickly and come to support you."

Hashirama nodded. "Got it, Tobirama!"

With the two great titans gone—

Senju Tobirama and Uchiha Izuna naturally became locked in combat.

Shisui and Might Duy, meanwhile, confronted their former comrade: Uchiha Obito.

They used to eat together often at Kazuki's home and were quite familiar with one another—far more than mere acquaintances.

Shisui, eyes burning with rage, glared at Obito and shouted harshly, "Obito, have you no conscience?!"

"My brother was always good to you! Whether it was ninjutsu or basic supplies—he always thought of your share! I don't know what you went through, but you should never be standing against him!"

Might Duy, though calm on the surface, had fury boiling beneath: "Betrayal… this is a betrayal of youth!"

Uchiha Obito remained silent, but there was a hint of exasperated disappointment in his expression.

After spending so much time around Kazuki, how could they be so easily deceived by Tobirama?

But it didn't matter.

He, Uchiha Obito, would be the final savior!

He would seal away Kazuki and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path into Kamui, away from danger—and from Tobirama, Izuna, Madara, and the rest.

Might Duy, Shisui… though loyal to Kazuki, simply lacked the ability and the intellect.

Only he—Uchiha Obito—possessed both brains and power. He was the wildcard who could lead them to victory!

"You've been deceived far too deeply…"

Obito shook his head. "I don't want to fight you…"

And before his voice had even faded—

Shisui's Muramasa and Might Duy's nunchaku had already pierced through his body!

"It's no use. As long as I don't want to fight, you won't be able to land a hit on me…"

In a low voice, Obito spoke as he remained in his intangible state: "Don't waste your strength. Believe me—I'm doing this for Kazuki's sake. This battle runs far deeper than you know… Just stay here quietly with me. I don't want to see you get hurt."

"I'll act when the time comes. Stay silent…"

This last line, Obito mouthed wordlessly, without speaking aloud.

Shisui and Might Duy were ready to go all out—

But their attacks had hit nothing but air…

Might Duy fixed his gaze on Obito and said in a low voice, "Obito… don't let your youth down!"

Shisui looked at Might Duy in surprise.

He knew that old Duy, the household guard, had always possessed the instincts of a wild beast. If he said something like that, then maybe—just maybe—Obito really did mean Kazuki no harm?

What Obito didn't know was…

Thanks to his unexpectedly friendly behavior toward Shisui and Duy—due to Kazuki—he had narrowly avoided disaster. As the battle broke out, Might Duy had already been prepared to open the Eighth Gate of Death, planning to burn his life away to sweep through all enemies!

But due to Kamui's extreme resistance to physical attacks—and Obito's strange demeanor and words—Duy had paused right at the Sixth Gate, holding back from triggering that final taboo.

Elsewhere, the shinobi of both sides were matching up against opponents of equal strength, based on old grudges and individual specialties.

...

"What a grand event this is for the shinobi world…"

Kazuki murmured softly, "Take a good look, Kaguya. The true essence of ninjutsu… is all right here."

At that moment—

In a distant corner of the shinobi world, Urashiki and Momoshiki, who had arrived from an alternate space-time, were making their way forward, followed closely by Kinshiki.

"Urashiki, you really are something else…"

Momoshiki rebuked his companion coldly: "Just because your sacred tool detected a temporal fluctuation, you insisted we come to this boring planet's parallel world? Do you even know why we're here?"

"Don't forget the mission given to us by the clan—we're to punish that traitor Kaguya and recover the chakra. This is not some sightseeing trip!"

Urashiki chuckled, "Don't be so uptight, senpai… This timeline doesn't have those two troublesome pests, Naruto and Sasuke. We can investigate what caused the space-time anomaly and easily harvest a complete God Tree's chakra. Isn't that a win-win?"

But just as Urashiki finished speaking, his expression froze.

He had suddenly sensed an enormous surge of chakra—an impact wave from an intense clash!

It was every bit as powerful as Naruto's and Sasuke's…

It was the shockwave from the battle between True Several Thousand Hands and Complete-Body Susanoo!

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. patreon.com/TitoVillar

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