Takuya chose Shinra Tensei to resolve the crisis.
He didn't need to shatter the meteorites.
He didn't need to send them flying back.
All he had to do was push them away from the battlefield.
As long as the Allied Shinobi Forces remained unharmed, he didn't care what happened to the area outside the Hidden Cloud Village.
The piercing screech of friction echoed through the battlefield as powerful repelling force met the plummeting meteorites.
With Takuya increasing his output, the straight descent of the meteorites began to shift.
Instead of crashing directly down, they veered off course, rolling along an invisible arc away from the village.
Wait… you can do that?!
What an insane level of repelling force… Is this the power of the Rinnegan?
Senju Hashirama looked at his own hands, realizing he had underestimated Madara's strength.
Takuya had used Shinra Tensei to first halt the meteors' momentum and then shaped his repelling force into an invisible slope, redirecting them away from the village.
Shattering them head-on?
An unnecessary waste of effort.
Takuya wasn't here to make things difficult for himself.
Unlike Madara, who was in Edo Tensei form with infinite chakra and stamina, he had limits.
"They're veering off course!!"
A wave of tension was replaced with collective cheers as the meteors visibly altered their trajectory.
It was as if an invisible ramp had guided them away from the Hidden Cloud Village, diverting them toward an empty area.
BOOM—!
The impact outside the village sent a violent tremor through the entire area.
Even within the village, the ground shook violently, a testament to the sheer power of the meteorites.
Had they landed as originally intended, few—if any—would have survived.
What the hell was Madara thinking?
In the original timeline, his meteorites weren't this absurd.
Did he amplify them because Hashirama was here?
A deafening roar of celebration erupted across the battlefield.
Survivors rejoiced at their miraculous escape from certain death.
"You did well, Takuya!"
Hashirama beamed, grinning as if he hadn't just exhausted himself trying to counter the attack.
Tch. As if I needed to get involved in the first place, Takuya thought.
He was still waiting for something.
If Madara was running rampant in the ninja world, what would the Sage of Six Paths do?
The whole "I'm dead, so I can't interfere" excuse was nonsense.
If he really couldn't meddle, why had his soul and chakra persisted for so long?
The moment Kaguya appeared, he suddenly decided to intervene and grant power to Naruto and Sasuke.
As if that hadn't been his plan all along.
"Wait… where's Madara?"
Still fuming from Takuya's earlier sarcasm, Tobirama was too annoyed to celebrate—until he suddenly noticed something.
The crater where Madara had been was empty.
When did he disappear?!
"Madara?"
Hashirama's smile froze as he turned back toward the crater.
It was completely empty.
"Not good!! The Jinchūriki!!"
The location where they had secured the Tailed Beasts and their hosts was far enough from the battlefield to avoid collateral damage.
Which meant…
If Madara had vanished, he had likely gone straight for them.
"Get moving!!"
"We have to stop him!"
Hashirama was already panicking.
Tobirama grabbed his brother and vanished in a flash.
Minato looked at Takuya, silently asking if they should go as well.
But deep down, Takuya already knew the answer.
It's probably too late.
He nodded at Minato.
"The rest of you stay here. Minato, we're going. Kushina, stay with me."
There was no way he was leaving Kushina behind.
Madara would absolutely come after her if given the chance.
Now was not the time to be careless.
Minato activated Flying Thunder God, teleporting the three of them.
"Hahahaha…."
Before they even landed, Madara's triumphant laughter filled the air.
"…Looks like we're late."
The battlefield was in chaos.
Bodies littered the ground.
Atop the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Uchiha Madara stood tall, grinning in victory.
And in his grasp…
A corpse.
Yagura.
No one had expected this.
While everyone had been focused on the meteorites, Madara had silently disappeared.
Using Kamui, he had traveled to the Jinchūriki's location.
Summoning the Gedo Mazo, he had struck before anyone could react.
Even Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, hadn't been able to escape.
Fate had not been kind to the boy.
As a Jinchūriki, he was always going to be a target.
No matter how much he struggled, his death had always been a possibility.
Unlike Yagura, however—Rasa had managed to survive.
The Two-Tails and the Six-Tails, which had been transported from the Hidden Mist Village, were gone.
Yagura was dead.
They didn't even need to check—his Three-Tails had already been sealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
That meant only one thing.
With the chakra of the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails, the Ten-Tails could be revived.
"Hashirama, did you really think I would only fight you?"
Madara's voice dripped with amusement.
"Did you believe I exhausted myself just summoning two meteorites?"
He had played them all.
No one had noticed Black Zetsu.
Even Takuya had momentarily overlooked him.
Madara alone wouldn't have been able to escape unnoticed.
But with Black Zetsu?
That was a different story.
While everyone was focused on the falling meteors, Black Zetsu had used Kamui to spirit Madara away.
A perfect misdirection.
By the time anyone realized what had happened, it was already over.
"Hashirama, we'll meet again soon."
"And you—"
Madara's piercing gaze locked onto Takuya.
His message was clear.
"YOU'RE NOT ESCAPING!!"
Tobirama charged forward, desperate to stop them.
But it was too late.
Black Zetsu activated Kamui, warping both himself and Madara away.
Under the right circumstances, Kamui was virtually a cheat ability.
Even if Takuya wanted to intercept them, he would have needed to prepare in advance.
So, Madara had taken an interest in him.
Despite all their precautions, they had still failed to stop him.
And all because of one variable—Black Zetsu.
Kamui had played a crucial role, but the real mastermind was Black Zetsu.
Madara was terrifying, no doubt.
But the real enemy?
It was him.
As long as Black Zetsu existed, even if they killed Madara and destroyed the Rinnegan, it wouldn't matter.
He would simply wait.
He would scheme.
He would manipulate.
And he would continue his mission to free his "mother."
It was an endless cycle.
Even if they wiped out the Uchiha, it wouldn't be enough.
Because as long as the world advanced, as long as science evolved, all Black Zetsu needed was a fragment—
A single scrap of Uchiha DNA.
Then it would all begin again.
No matter how long it took.
No matter how deep he had to hide.
As long as Black Zetsu lived—
This nightmare would never end.
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(P)(S): If you're interested, you can read the rest of the Chapter at Patreon com/ Emik01.
DO NOT FORGET POWER STONE AND CHATTING