A Sage's Pursuit of Power

Why would someone as cunning as Madara Uchiha be deceived by a tablet?

There were many reasons. The content of the tablet wasn't entirely false, only the final part was altered. Everything leading up to that point was true.

The tablet was located in the Uchiha clan's shrine, and its text could only be read with the Mangekyō Sharingan. These factors alone gave it considerable credibility.

Furthermore, the tablet contained information about the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and the Rinnegan, all of which Madara had personally verified and found to be true. This only deepened his trust in the tablet's contents.

Adding to this was the fact that Madara had failed to unify the ninja world on his own, having been defeated by Hashirama Senju. He felt betrayed by his own clan, who did not stand by him.

To Madara, it wasn't he who betrayed the Uchiha clan, it was the Uchiha who betrayed him.

Then there was Black Zetsu. Black Zetsu's sudden appearance should have been suspicious, yet Madara easily believed the claim that Black Zetsu was a manifestation of his own will.

This suggests one possibility: Madara had indeed attempted to manifest his darker self and may have even succeeded. However, during the time he lost consciousness, Black Zetsu took over, earning Madara's trust.

This entire scenario indicates that Black Zetsu had been scheming against Madara for a long time, thoroughly understanding his personality and capabilities. This allowed him to manipulate someone as powerful as Madara Uchiha from the very beginning.

Ultimately, both Madara and Nagato, who were seen as the major villains of the ninja world, were nothing more than pawns.

And as pawns, they inherently held value.

Madara's value is self-evident, but Nagato's genius was often overlooked.

Consider Madara's judgment, someone who only acknowledged Hashirama as his equal. Yet when selecting a host for the Rinnegan, he chose Nagato. This alone speaks volumes about Nagato's potential.

In some ways, Nagato is akin to Kakashi. Without the burden of the Rinnegan, he might have achieved even greater heights.

Aoba vaguely understood that, in the eyes of some even more mysterious forces, he himself was likely a pawn as well.

What he was doing now was attempting to transition from being a pawn to becoming a player.

On the sea near the Land of Rain, Madara Uchiha and the Six Paths of Pain had already engaged in battle.

In the original storyline, the Six Paths of Pain were strong but not invincible. While they managed to kill Jiraiya and destroy Konoha, they were later defeated by Naruto, who had just mastered Sage Mode, causing their reputation to falter.

Of course, this was partly due to Nagato's deteriorating health and the strain of using the Shinra Tensei on such a massive scale.

Still, on paper, the Six Paths of Pain didn't demonstrate the overwhelming strength of Edo Madara.

To add some suspense to this battle, Aoba had provided Nagato with a bit of help beforehand.

In a secret lab in the Land of Rain, Konan watched in shock as Nagato stepped away from his life-support machine and stood on the ground.

"Nagato, your body?"

"It's fine. That medicine worked well. It temporarily replenished the life force my body had lost. For a short time, I can fight at full strength."

As the battle commenced, Madara quickly noticed something was off. According to Black Zetsu's intel, Nagato should have been in an extremely weakened state, unable to fully utilize the abilities of the Six Paths of Pain.

But upon engaging them, Madara immediately felt the pressure. The combat power of these six puppets was far greater than he had anticipated.

"Interesting. It seems I'll get to enjoy a proper fight today."

Both sides had access to some Rinnegan abilities and could absorb ninjutsu, rendering conventional techniques ineffective.

Madara's taijutsu was unmatched in the ninja world, but dealing with the shared vision of the Six Paths of Pain was no simple task.

With his body temporarily restored to its prime, Nagato exhibited unparalleled control over the Six Paths and pushed the Rinnegan's abilities to their limit.

Even Madara struggled to gain the upper hand for a time.

"How amusing. The warm-up is over. Now I'll get serious," Madara declared.

As soon as he finished speaking, a deep blue Susanoo erupted from the ground. Without holding back, Madara immediately activated its final form.

The colossal Susanoo, towering hundreds of meters high, suppressed the Six Paths of Pain with its sheer presence. The Animal Path summoned dozens of giant creatures, but most were obliterated by a single slash of Susanoo's twin swords.

In its perfect form, Susanoo's every move was akin to an S-rank jutsu. Even the Asura Path couldn't withstand it.

"Let's try this."

Susanoo formed hand seals, and Chibaku Tensei reappeared. A massive meteor descended from the sky, hurtling toward the Land of Rain.

If this attack landed, half the Land of Rain would likely be annihilated.

Far away, Nagato's face remained expressionless as he controlled the Six Paths. The Deva Path ascended into the sky.

"Shinra Tensei."

This time, unlike in the original storyline where the Shinra Tensei was omnidirectional, Nagato focused its force. Using both hands as guides, he directed the Super Shinra Tensei toward the meteor and Madara's Susanoo.

In the original storyline, even a severely weakened Nagato was able to level Konoha with a single Shinra Tensei. Now, with his body temporarily restored to full strength, what level of power could a fully unleashed Super Shinra Tensei achieve?

Even Madara was taken aback.

"This brat... he's mastered the Rinnegan to this extent?"

The massive Susanoo formed additional seals, summoning a five-layer Rashomon barrier. Not stopping there, Madara also created over a dozen Wood Clones, each activating their own Susanoo to shield him.

The next moment, the invisible shockwave arrived. The resulting explosion of energy was so immense that even Black Zetsu, observing from afar, had to phase into an intangible state.

There was no other choice. The clash between the Super Shinra Tensei and the Perfect Susanoo had exceeded the destructive limits of conventional ninja techniques. Even Black Zetsu didn't dare risk being caught in the aftermath.

Although Madara Uchiha was arrogant, he never made the low-level mistake of underestimating his opponent in a real battle. The moment Nagato began gathering chakra for his attack, Madara knew it was extraordinary.

After all, he was the true owner of the Rinnegan and fully understood just how dangerous those eyes could be.

Thus, while within his Perfect Susanoo, Madara deployed multiple layers of defense, including the Fivefold Rashomon and over a dozen Susanoo-clad Wood Clones, to ensure his safety.

However, whether it was the Rashomon gates or the Wood Clones' Susanoo, they were no more than paper toys under the impact of the Super Shinra Tensei. They disintegrated instantly.

In the end, only the Perfect Susanoo remained, bearing the brunt of the residual explosion head-on.

Relying on the immortality of his Edo Tensei body, Madara poured all his ocular power into fortifying his Susanoo to its absolute limit.

An ultimate attack clashing with ultimate defense.

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Currently on Chapter 256 - Hyūga Clan Upheaval