A Sage's Pursuit of Power

In his past life, Aoba regretted that he never got to see a showdown between Madara Uchiha and Nagato in Naruto.

In this life, he had personally orchestrated this confrontation.

The Perfect Susanoo was nearly unbreakable by conventional techniques in the ninja world. In the story, even the combined efforts of the Raikage and the Tsuchikage could only barely crack its outer shell. Tsunade, using her Strength of a Hundred Seal, could also only manage to damage the shell. However, there was no instance in the entire storyline of the Perfect Susano'o being completely destroyed.

Later in the story, Naruto and Sasuke, empowered by the Sage of Six Paths, might have been capable of such a feat. But by then, Madara was well aware of this and stopped using it altogether.

The outer Rashomon gates and the Susano'o created by the Wood Clones were obliterated in a single breath.

The Perfect Susanoo was on another level. Though its shell cracked under the immense pressure, Madara's constant replenishment of ocular power managed to hold it together, albeit barely.

While Edo Tensei chakra could regenerate infinitely, its total reserves were limited. Within a short time, Madara had nearly exhausted all his chakra and ocular power, managing to survive the devastating attack only by a hair.

As the Perfect Susanoo crumbled, Madara's chakra was nearly depleted. However, as an Edo Tensei, this was a minor issue, he only needed a brief moment to recover fully.

But then, amidst the billowing smoke, a shadow suddenly darted toward Madara.

In the next instant, Madara effortlessly grabbed the intruder by the throat.

"Even with my chakra depleted, did you really think such a low-level puppet could harm me?" Madara scoffed, unfazed. As an Edo Tensei, he didn't tire, and while he couldn't use ninjutsu without chakra, his taijutsu remained unmatched in the ninja world. Trying to engage him in close combat was sheer folly.

However, at that moment, the puppet in Madara's grip suddenly moved. Its hands clamped tightly onto Madara's arms.

Meanwhile, Black Zetsu, observing from afar, realized something was wrong. The Edo Tensei version of Madara was almost invincible. Immortality combined with infinite chakra regeneration meant there should have been no chance of defeat.

But this was no ordinary opponent, it was the Human Path.

Among the Six Paths of Pain, the Human Path wasn't particularly strong. However, it possessed a unique ability: the power to directly attack a person's soul.

This ability required physical contact, making it situational despite its strength. However, it was a direct counter to Edo Tensei.

While an Edo Tensei body could regenerate endlessly, its soul was not immune.

Black Zetsu rushed forward to intervene, but the next moment, a glint of light flickered in the air, a shuriken's reflection.

Black Zetsu paid it no mind, phasing into his intangible state to avoid the shuriken from all directions.

But in the very next instant, he realized he had made a critical error. Standing before him now was none other than Itachi Uchiha.

"Impossible! He's supposed to be in Kumogakure!" Black Zetsu was stunned and immediately shut his eyes.

Among all the Akatsuki members, the one Black Zetsu feared most was Itachi Uchiha. Despite his fragile health, Itachi's mastery of genjutsu was a direct counter to Black Zetsu's phasing ability.

After all, while phasing rendered him immune to physical attacks, it couldn't block genjutsu that directly targeted the mind.

As Black Zetsu came face-to-face with Itachi, the battle in Kumogakure had also concluded. The Raikage, leading Kumo's elite forces, had successfully repelled all the invading Akatsuki members.

However, the outcome was unsatisfactory. Every defeated Akatsuki member had turned into a piece of paper, which then disintegrated into ash.

"This is... some kind of advanced clone technique," the Kumo Anbu concluded after an inspection.

"So their real target wasn't us," the Raikage deduced. Though brash, he wasn't stupid. It became clear that Akatsuki's objective wasn't Kumogakure's tailed beasts.

The supposed attack on Kumogakure had been nothing more than a smokescreen. Their true target lay elsewhere.

Black Zetsu now also realized that both he and Madara had been played. The Akatsuki members hadn't truly left but were lying in wait somewhere in the Land of Rain.

Most importantly, at this critical moment, their target wasn't Madara—it was Black Zetsu himself.

In his intangible state, Black Zetsu suddenly found himself in an unfamiliar space. He was bound to a pillar, completely restrained.

Even though he had shut his eyes as quickly as possible, Itachi's genjutsu was faster. Before his eyes closed, the genjutsu had already taken effect.

"Tsukuyomi."

In Black Zetsu's vision, Itachi's figure appeared. Without a word, Itachi swung his blade, severing Black Zetsu's head.

Though the Tsukuyomi couldn't physically harm the body, its effects on the mind were just as devastating.

Even for someone like Black Zetsu, who had lived for over a thousand years, being killed hundreds of times in the Tsukuyomi realm inflicted significant mental damage.

At this rate, Itachi could have entirely obliterated Black Zetsu's spirit within the Tsukuyomi world.

But Black Zetsu was still Black Zetsu. As the ninja world's most cunning manipulator, he had prepared contingencies for such scenarios.

During his time infiltrating the Akatsuki, he had meticulously studied the abilities of each member and devised strategies to counter them.

Faced with Itachi Uchiha's Tsukuyomi, Black Zetsu alone was powerless. However, the White Zetsu hidden within his body was quickly awakened and broke the genjutsu from the outside.

That said, time within the Tsukuyomi world was controlled entirely by Itachi. So even though only about a second passed in reality, Black Zetsu had already been decapitated hundreds of times within the Tsukuyomi world.

Each death inflicted a blow to Black Zetsu's spirit. Upon escaping the Tsukuyomi, Black Zetsu's vision went black, and he almost collapsed into the sea below.

If it had been an ordinary human ninja, such an experience would have left them in a vegetative state. Only a non-human entity like Black Zetsu could remain functional after enduring Tsukuyomi.

In his intangible state, Black Zetsu's body swiftly moved forward.

The principle of Kamui Intangibility is that the user's physical body enters the Kamui dimension, leaving only a shadow in the real world.

This means that in an intangible state, Black Zetsu could still move, but his movement was limited to the size of the Kamui space.

If he reached the edge of the Kamui space while intangible, he would be forced to exit the intangible state, recalibrate his position, and relocate his body to the center of the Kamui space to resume free movement.

The size of the Kamui space and the mechanics of intangibility were secrets no one would ordinarily know.

But that didn't account for Aoba's "cheat-like" abilities.

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Currently on Chapter 258 - Unexpected Developments from Madara's Actions