"Hmph... nothing but two moths flying straight into the flame..."
Seeing Naruto and Sasuke preparing to move, Black Zetsu—his pitch-black form completely merged with Madara—let out a low, cold laugh.
"Perfect... I'll just absorb both of your chakra as well..."
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The moment his voice fell, endless streams of long white hair surged forth like a tidal wave, spreading with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, Naruto and Sasuke were completely wrapped up, all their movements sealed off as the hair rapidly began draining their chakra.
And it didn't stop there. The white hair surged onward, almost as if it possessed its own life and intelligence, sweeping through the air straight toward Kaoru, who was hovering calmly high above.
Black Zetsu, fully focused on controlling Madara to absorb the massive ocean of chakra erupting from the earth, had become so overconfident that he clearly no longer viewed Kaoru as a real threat.
"Hah... You actually dare try to absorb even my chakra? You certainly are bold..."
Kaoru looked down at the surging wave of white hair rushing toward him, a look of disdainful amusement curling his lips. He remained floating leisurely in mid-air, his body completely relaxed and motionless, making no attempt to dodge or defend himself.
"Contamination!!!"
Swish—!
Kaoru activated Karthus's Defile. Instantly, a barrier filled with the spirits of tens of thousands of the dead formed around him. A powerful aura of decay erupted outward!
It was as if time and space in the surrounding area had suddenly been accelerated. All the strands of white hair rushing toward him rapidly began to wither and age.
In the blink of an eye, the smooth, silky white hair turned into something resembling dry, yellowed straw, before falling limply to the ground in tangled heaps.
In the vast ocean of chakra below, they lay there, shimmering with a light that seemed to mock Black Zetsu's futile attempt.
"It really doesn't work on Uchiha Kaoru at all, does it..."
Seeing his countless strands of hair wither away instantly, Black Zetsu cursed quietly under his breath and reluctantly recalled the rest.
He knew perfectly well that Kaoru wasn't nearly as easy to deal with as those two brats, Naruto and Sasuke.
"Whatever... forget about him for now. Mother Kaguya will be revived any moment now... and the second she is, that will be the end of Uchiha Kaoru."
Realizing his attack had absolutely no effect, Black Zetsu brushed it aside and focused all his attention once more on controlling Madara to absorb the seemingly limitless chakra flowing from the earth.
"Very soon... the moment Lady Mother descends upon this world once more..."
"Everyone will finally come to understand the true terror... of the Rabbit Goddess... the Demon Goddess..."
Black Zetsu continued to control Madara, drawing in the surging ocean of chakra. His dark form covered Madara like ink, whose body had now swollen into a massive sphere, stretched to its absolute limit and on the verge of bursting apart at any second.
"Damn it... if he absorbs any more, he's going to explode!"
Trapped tightly within the white hair, Naruto stared at Madara's ballooning form, his expression a mix of panic and desperation.
"He swelled up to this size just because he couldn't handle absorbing all that chakra at once..."
Sasuke also looked on anxiously, his Rinnegan fixed on Madara. "We have to think of something fast..."
But before Sasuke could finish speaking, right before Black Zetsu's bewildered eyes, Kaoru—who had been floating calmly in the sky—suddenly vanished from his spot.
"There's such a massive amount of energy gathered here... I certainly can't let that Kaguya Ōtsutsuki have it all to herself..."
Kaoru's slightly mocking voice echoed clearly in the ears of Naruto, Sasuke, and Black Zetsu. All three of them widened their eyes in utter shock.
What is he planning to do?!
"How about... I help you share the burden of all this chakra..."
Before anyone knew it, Kaoru had appeared right out of thin air, standing directly in front of Black Zetsu, positioned right between Naruto and Sasuke.
A playful, mysterious smile played upon his lips, his scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan glowing with an unfathomable light.
Seeing Kaoru suddenly appear before him, and the strange look in his eyes, Black Zetsu was suddenly overcome by a deep, inexplicable sense of unease rising from the very bottom of his heart.
"What are you doing?!" Black Zetsu's voice shook slightly with anxiety, his dark form clinging tightly to Madara's rapidly expanding body.
"Hahaha..." Kaoru let out a low, confident laugh. In this moment, given the terrifying aura radiating from him, one could almost mistake him for the final villain of this world, and Black Zetsu for nothing more than a pitiful victim.
"Didn't I just say...? How could I possibly let you take all this energy for yourself..."
As Kaoru spoke, right before the stunned eyes of Sasuke, Naruto, and Black Zetsu, a slender, pale arm suddenly reached out and firmly planted itself onto Madara's dark, spherical body.
Kaoru placed both hands against Madara's now gigantic form. His scarlet eyes blazed with a dazzling light too bright to look upon.
The immense power he had absorbed from the Dragon Veins surged through his entire being, bursting forth to an unprecedented level of intensity—he was even stronger than he had been during his fierce battle against Madara earlier!
"Is it just my imagination...?"
Black Zetsu's eyes were locked intensely on Kaoru's every movement, desperately trying to understand what was happening.
Feeling the terrifying, overwhelming pressure radiating from Kaoru at this moment, Black Zetsu's mind was thrown into total chaos and shock.
"Compared to when he was fighting Madara earlier... his power feels even stronger now. Could it be... that he wasn't even using his full strength back then?!"
Under the horrified gaze of everyone present, Kaoru slowly pulled back his hands. It looked as though he was physically reaching inside Madara's body and dragging something out.
Streams of brilliant light and energy followed his hands, trailing behind like ribbons of pure power.
"Might Makes Right!!!"
Kaoru unleashed Trundle's S-Rank Ultimate Ability—one that allowed him to directly steal the target's maximum vitality and chakra reserves.
Indeed... When Kaguya was revived, she would naturally draw upon this massive pool of energy gathered from the entire world, combined with the Ten-Tails' immense power.
It was a truly terrifying amount of energy—essentially, almost every bit of chakra existing outside of living human bodies had been gathered right here in this one place.
Under such circumstances, it simply wouldn't do for Kaoru to leave empty-handed. It was only natural for him to take his share...
Watching the streams of energy and distinct shapes being pulled out from Madara's body by Kaoru's hands, Black Zetsu's eyes widened in pure horror.
"Damn it! He's actually trying to extract the chakra inside Madara... even... even the Ten-Tails itself!!!"
Realizing Kaoru's true intention, Black Zetsu immediately understood the severity of the situation. Without hesitation, he used his Yin-Yang Release: Spiritual Possession, forcibly taking total control over Madara to stop him from absorbing any more chakra from the earth.
He desperately tried to resist Kaoru's attempt to siphon away the energy, fiercely pulling back against the power that was dragging the Ten-Tails out of Madara's body.
Shukaku... Matatabi... Son Gokū... Gyūki... Kurama...
One after another, all nine distinct Tailed Beasts began to materialize, floating in the air around them.
The massive flow of vitality and chakra being absorbed by Kaoru's technique "Might Makes Right" suddenly met resistance and slowed down noticeably. He could clearly feel Black Zetsu fighting back fiercely from within Madara's body, pulling hard in the opposite direction.
"Hmph... Trying to stop me from taking this chakra? Listen... Your mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, won't need all of this anyway. It's much better if I help her lighten the load..."
Kaoru looked calmly toward the other end, where Black Zetsu was furiously struggling and fighting him for control over the Tailed Beasts' chakra. A look of pure disdain spread across his face as he suddenly intensified the power of his ultimate technique!
"Dammit!!!"
Black Zetsu felt an immense, crushing force strike back against him. Watching helplessly as the Tailed Beasts' chakra was continuously being ripped away and drawn toward Kaoru, he panicked.
He channeled every last bit of power within Madara's body, desperately trying to hold onto the Tailed Beasts being pulled out.
"Look at that... It's the chakra of the Tailed Beasts! Even the Nine-Tails is among them!!!"
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