Watching Kanon vanish into thin air, Kakashi finally spoke with clear surprise flashing in his eyes.
"I was under the impression that Black Zetsu had already been captured."
"Just like Obito, you all vastly underestimated Madara's grand design, and you underestimated me in exactly the same way."
Back then, Madara had handed down his directives to Black Zetsu. After Chojuro used the Hiramekarei to sever him, Black Zetsu was ordered to go into hiding near Obito, lying in wait for the perfect moment to strike.
Madara had chosen to toy with his opponents a bit longer before making his way over, primarily because he harbored a deep interest in Kanon, one that bordered on absolute doting. Just as he had noted, fighting alongside Kanon made him feel as though he had reclaimed the long-lost days of standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Hashirama.
In fact, it was even better. Kanon understood him perfectly, seamlessly providing support at a moment's notice and anticipating his every move. When it came to combat, she was nothing short of an absolute prodigy.
Furthermore, he had been eager to test the resolve of the current generation of Kage to see if they truly possessed what it took to overcome the Uchiha.
Returning to the present, Black Zetsu remained tightly bound to Obito's physical frame, his wicked smirk stretching nearly from ear to ear.
"This worthless piece of trash failed to follow Madara's plan to the letter, which earned him nothing but pure disdain from Kanon as well."
"Before Obito draws his final breath, I shall utilize his body to finish you all off."
"Since he's already on the verge of death, it's only fitting that he's made to serve some final purpose."
…
On the other side of the battlefield, Madara erupted from beneath the earth, instantly executing a nearby shinobi. He planted his foot firmly onto the fresh corpse, looking down upon the gathered Allied Shinobi Forces with cold detachment.
"Now then, next I shall reclaim all of you..."
"You brutes!!!"
Even though his eye sockets were completely hollow at this moment, Madara's sensory capabilities were far beyond what those worthless fools could ever hope to comprehend.
"Get away from here immediately!" Gaara, the Kazekage and the only leader still left standing among the main front, roared his command.
Behind him, the One-Tail through the Seven-Tails loomed like massive mountains, standing united against a single man: Madara Uchiha.
Madara leaned forward slightly, then launched himself into the air in a single bound, charging directly toward the Tailed Beasts.
"Shukaku! Now!" Gaara bellowed as he saw Madara closing the distance.
"Leave it to me!" Shukaku roared at the top of his lungs, causing a massive torrent of sand to surge forward from the earth.
"Wind Release: Sand Buckshot!"
The dense barrage of pressurized sand slammed directly into Madara mid-air, blasting him backward and tearing countless bloody punctures across his flesh.
"A commendable jutsu, but it takes more than a single trick to decide a battle."
Yet, in the next fraction of a second, Gaara let out a sharp cry. To Madara's slight surprise, the residual grains of sand that had penetrated into his circulatory system began to expand, locking down his physical movements.
"Is that all you've got?" The words had barely left Madara's lips when the Two-Tails, Matatabi, delivered a crushing paw strike that sent him hurtling through the air, only for the Three-Tails to slam into him with full force.
What followed was a brutal, successive onslaught from the Four, Five, Six, and Seven-Tails. Madara was tossed around like a ragdoll until Gaara swooped in to finish the sequence with a high-level sealing jutsu. Yet, right at the exact instant the sealing formulas were about to bind him completely, a colossal blue Susanoo blade flashed through the air, ripping the barrier entirely to shreds.
Gaara's Desert Layered Imperial Funeral Sealing proved utterly useless. Having cleanly shattered the seal, Madara stood firmly within the armored confines of his Susanoo's fourth form.
With a swift mid-air flip, the Susanoo opened up a massive distance between itself and the opposition. The agility of this particular form was astonishingly swift.
"It's time to put a leash on every last one of you. Don't think a single one of you is escaping."
Standing within the core of the phantom armor, Madara spoke with flat indifference. It was a terrifying reality, even without a single eye in his head, Madara was still fully capable of manifesting the Susanoo.
Watching this unfold from a distance, Kanon showed no signs of surprise. From the opposite flank, Naruto, fully clad in his Tailed Beast Mode, delivered a devastating tail strike that sent Madara and his Susanoo crashing backward through the dirt.
"Dream on!" Naruto bellowed.
Simultaneously, the Eight-Tails charged forward alongside them, coordinating a massive, unified offensive.
"Everyone, stack your tails together!"
Following the Nine-Tails' frantic direction, all of the beasts whipped their massive appendages downward in a devastating, coordinated strike aimed squarely at Madara.
But at that exact microsecond, Naruto's eyes widened as he caught sight of a familiar distortion rippling around Madara's form.
"How is that possible..." Naruto cried out in shock.
"What's wrong?" the Nine-Tails questioned, sensing his sudden alarm.
Right as the dust settled, a figure materialized beside Madara to steady him, leaping clear of the impact zone in a single bound. Deep within the billowing smoke, a highly compressed Rasengan Fire Dance detonated with terrifying violence.
BOOM!
The massive explosion sent a towering mushroom cloud of fire and smoke billowing into the sky. Infused with nature energy, the concussive shockwave violently blasted the nine Tailed Beasts back by several hundred meters.
At that absolute precipice of danger, Kanon had blinked directly to Madara's side, placing a hand onto his shoulder.
The two had instantly phased into Kamui's intangible state, allowing Kanon to pull Madara safely out of harm's way and establish a safe distance from the nine beasts.
"Damn it, Kanon Uchiha!" the Nine-Tails snarled.
"These two Uchiha are far too troublesome!" the Four-Tails roared in sheer frustration.
"Damn it, Kanon has officially joined the fray?!" Naruto stared at Kanon as she supported Madara in the distance, a deeply complicated, indescribable feeling twisting within his chest.
"Naruto, we need to push ourselves even harder." Gaara directed his gaze toward Naruto, who stood encapsulated within the Nine-Tails' chakra avatar.
"I know! Let's go!"
Back at their original position, Kanon swept her hand across Madara's back. Her mastery of the Mystical Palm Technique had progressed to such an advanced degree that superficial trauma of this level could be mended almost instantly.
In a mere breath, the residual sand embedded within Madara's veins was forcibly ejected by a pulse of senjutsu chakra, and his open wounds rapidly knit themselves back together.
"How many times must I tell you not to stand behind me..."
"Actually, forget it. I shall grant you special permission to stand at my back," Madara murmured softly. He was well aware that while anyone else in the world might turn their back on him, Kanon would never betray him.
"Does it hurt?" Kanon inquired flatly.
"With your medical ninjutsu keeping me whole, I feel no pain," Madara replied smoothly.
Within a matter of seconds, Madara's injuries were completely healed. Kanon reached deep into her spatial inventory, extracting a glass container and presenting it to him.
"Hm, exquisite work, Kanon. I find myself growing fonder of you by the day." Madara retrieved the Rinnegan from the container, immediately embedding it into his right socket without a trace of hesitation.
"Now then, things should start getting a bit more entertaining."
With his sight restored, Madara stared down at the closing wounds on his hands, lightly licking away the fresh blood tracking across his skin.
"This metallic tang of blood, this exquisite sensation of pain! This is my true body!!!" Madara bellowed in sheer ecstasy.
"Hahahahahaha!!!"
Madara's heart throbbed with raw exhilaration, a fierce battle lust roaring within his chest. He could finally experience the visceral reality of a true clash of flesh and bone! His frame shook with uncontrollable laughter as he stood before Kanon, giving in to his mania.
The corners of Kanon's mouth twitched upward slightly. She could deeply resonate with this raw thrill and innate love for conflict; such a pure, unadulterated release of power was bound to feel immensely gratifying.
Madara lowered his head, staring at his blood-stained fingers.
"It's time for our counterattack, Kanon."
"Understood, old man Madara."
Kanon took a deliberate step forward, standing squarely alongside him.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Madara roared.
At that exact instant, the Gedo Mazo encasing Obito violently ruptured its constraints, erupting from his form and standing tall across the battlefield.
Obito and Kakashi were struck with sheer terror, the massive disturbance caused by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path sending shockwaves across the entire sector.
"Kakashi, can you manage it?!"
"Yeah, I'll do my best!"
"Kamui!"
Right as Kakashi prepared to unleash his spatial distortion, a swirl of spectral roses manifested directly in front of him, entirely absorbing the trajectory of his Kamui.
Before he could react, Kanon had materialized directly beside Obito, utilizing the Flying Raijin formula she had carved into him during their previous clash.
"I told you before, my visual prowess is far beyond yours."
Kanon placed a single hand onto the frame of the Gedo Mazo. A flash of pink light erupted, and the massive Demonic Statue instantly vanished from the clearing.
By the time Kanon materialized again, she was standing directly behind Madara.
"It's that technique again!" Naruto yelled.
Madara glanced back at the massive silhouette of the Gedo Mazo and Kanon.
"Kanon! You truly manage to exceed my expectations time and time again! Honestly, how I wish you had existed back in my era!"
"Save the nostalgia for later, old man Madara. Let's drag those Tailed Beasts inside first," Kanon noted calmly.
"Children are always so impatient. Rest easy, their little cages have already been prepared."
"If it weren't for your constant lack of urgency, our plans wouldn't have been delayed up to this point."
Kanon's blunt retort left Madara momentarily speechless, his expression twisting into a slightly exasperated look, though he couldn't deny the objective truth of her words.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest, Obito was desperately using his remaining willpower to suppress Black Zetsu, fighting tooth and nail to destroy his remaining eye.
"Obito is fighting back; he has no intention of surrendering his other Rinnegan to Madara and Kanon," Minato noted grimly.
Black Zetsu merely hissed in response:
"How incredibly stubborn, especially for someone who is already hovering on the brink of death."
"This left eye passed through Nagato before finally landing in your hands, but now, it's time for it to return to its rightful owner."
"In the history of this world, the only ones to have ever naturally awakened the Rinnegan are the Sage of Six Paths and Madara Uchiha."
"A person of your caliber is utterly unworthy of possessing it."
Obito's frame shook violently as he forced out a ragged, weak whisper: "I've already hidden the right eye away... and as for this left eye, I will have Kakashi destroy it right now!"
"Hahahahaha! I discovered the location of the right eye ages ago, and I've already had Kanon retrieve it and deliver it to Madara-sama."
"A dying piece of trash should stop trying to resist. If I weren't currently possessing your body to sustain your vitals, you would have dropped dead long ago."
Obito collapsed onto his knees, his entire body trembling with agonizing spasms.
"Then leave my body! Wouldn't it be far easier to just extract the Rinnegan once I'm dead?"
"Don't think I'm blind to the little scheme you're running. The exact moment I detach myself from your form, those two over there will execute me without a second thought."
"Before I harvest this Rinnegan, have you forgotten? I was once tasked with gathering intelligence for the Akatsuki. I analyzed the full extent of both of their capabilities a long time ago."
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NOTE: This fic has been completely translated. If you want to read the whole story head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]