A Sage's Pursuit of Power

Black Zetsu's intangible body phased straight through Itachi Uchiha, but he made no attempt to strike back.

He understood Itachi's capabilities. In the briefest instant, Itachi had already used the Body Flicker Technique to leave, leaving only a clone behind.

If Black Zetsu were to exit intangibility and attack, he would undoubtedly fall into one of Itachi's traps.

Itachi Uchiha was, in Black Zetsu's experience, the strongest ninja aside from Madara. Despite his frail health and inability to sustain prolonged battles, Itachi's ninja skills were near-perfect across the board.

In that brief moment, Itachi had formed a one-handed seal within his sleeve, executing both the Body Flicker and clone techniques simultaneously.

For an ordinary ninja, facing him would mean instant defeat.

With a "poof," Itachi's clone dissolved into a swarm of crows. Then, a torrent of water surged around the area.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu."

However, Kisame's version of the Water Prison Jutsu was no ordinary technique. Its range exceeded the boundaries of Kamui's space.

If Black Zetsu exited his intangible state, he would immediately be trapped in the Water Prison, leaving no time to escape.

"Damn it," Black Zetsu cursed internally. Ever since his previous visit to Konoha, it seemed as if the once-secret abilities of Kamui were now known to all his opponents, and countermeasures had been prepared.

Fortunately, his prior battle had prepared him. With a thought, several White Zetsu clones within the Kamui dimension attached themselves to Black Zetsu. Then, he exited his intangible state.

While the Water Prison could immobilize opponents, Black Zetsu's body was entirely encased in White Zetsu, preventing the water from directly touching him.

"Wood Style: Hell's Chaos."

The violent Wood Style jutsu shattered the Water Prison in an instant.

But to Black Zetsu's surprise, the scattered water droplets transformed mid-air into countless explosive tags.

Tens of thousands of explosive tags detonated simultaneously around Black Zetsu. The White Zetsu armor shielding his body was blown apart in an instant.

Left with no choice, Black Zetsu re-entered his intangible state. The brief window he had spent outside of intangibility hadn't given him enough time to escape via spatial vortex.

However, after his previous maneuver, he had repositioned himself at the center of Kamui's dimension, allowing him a small area of movement.

At this point, Black Zetsu noticed that not only Itachi and Kisame but also Deidara, Sasori, Shin, Kakuzu, and even Konan had all joined the fray.

None of them were aiding Nagato in his battle against Madara Uchiha. Instead, they were targeting Black Zetsu.

Konan understood that, with Nagato temporarily restored to full strength and wielding the full power of the Rinnegan, conventional ninja could not interfere. Attempting to help might only disrupt his battle.

Thus, Akatsuki's target this time was Black Zetsu.

On the other battlefield, as soon as the Human Path grabbed Madara, he realized something was wrong.

As one of the top-tier ninjas in the ninja world, Madara's reactions were extraordinarily swift. With his left hand, he drew his blade and severed his own right arm.

As the true owner of the Rinnegan, Madara was well aware of its dangers. If the Human Path were to extract his soul, it would be over for him. Even Madara Uchiha had little combat ability in soul form.

In the ninja world, techniques that could target the soul were exceedingly rare. Apart from Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation and Dan Katō's Spirit Transformation Jutsu, few were notable. Most ninjas lacked resistance against soul-targeting jutsu.

After severing his arm, Madara quickly retreated. However, a towering figure emerged behind him—the Preta Path, which immediately grabbed Madara from behind.

But the Madara in its grasp exploded into fragments and disappeared. Even after being forced to sever his arm, Madara had used his newly recovered chakra to create a shadow clone, avoiding a fatal strike. If the Preta Path had successfully drained his remaining chakra, Madara would have been powerless against the Six Paths of Pain, no matter how skilled his taijutsu.

Madara's ninja talents were beyond extraordinary. Not only was he adept at utilizing powerful techniques like the Perfect Susano'o and Chibaku Tensei, but his mastery of conventional ninjutsu and his ability to seize opportunities in battle were unparalleled.

Despite the relentless assault, Madara still managed to exploit even the smallest openings to escape.

However, Nagato's attacks were far from over.

As Madara withdrew from the encirclement, Nagato focused his mind and launched another attack, pushing his body to its limits.

Under normal circumstances, after using Super Shinra Tensei, the Deva Path would be temporarily incapacitated.

However, with his body temporarily restored, Nagato was able to force himself to act again.

As the original owner of the Rinnegan's power, albeit not its creator, Nagato's mastery of the Rinnegan still surpassed that of Edo Madara, whose abilities were limited by his reanimated state.

"Universal Pull."

Madara, mid-retreat, was caught by an invisible gravitational force and pulled back. Despite recovering some chakra, it wasn't enough to resist Nagato's full-powered Universal Pull.

The Human Path coordinated with the Deva Path, intercepting Madara's trajectory. Its hands reached for Madara once more.

Yet, even as he was being dragged through the air, Madara didn't lose control of his body.

Twisting in mid-flight, he drew his blade and struck just as the Human Path reached him, decapitating it.

The Naraka Path quickly retrieved the Human Path's corpse, intending to resurrect it.

At that moment, however, Madara was already pulled directly in front of the Deva Path.

Just as the Deva Path's right hand gripped Madara Uchiha's throat, Madara's short blade pierced into the Deva Path's chest.

"Hmph. Overall, not bad, a fight that managed to excite me a little," Madara remarked.

At this point, he could already feel a significant portion of his chakra had recovered. Behind him, the Asura Path, Animal Path, and Preta Path were closing in.

However, Madara no longer considered them a threat. With the strongest Deva Path neutralized, the remaining ones were insignificant in his eyes.

With a swift motion, he drew his blade and slashed horizontally, aiming to sever the Deva Path's head. He knew these were puppets and wasn't about to let his guard down, intending to eliminate the threat completely.

But in the next instant, the Deva Path's body burst open.

It wasn't a conventional explosion; instead, countless black rods shot out from its body in all directions.

Madara reacted instantly, leaping back to avoid the attack. However, behind him, the three other Paths performed the exact same maneuver.

Countless black rods surged forth, completely enveloping Edo Madara.

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