What exactly is the Gedo Statue?
The Gedo Statue is the husk left behind after all the tailed beasts' chakra is extracted from the Ten Tails.
Then what is the Ten Tails?
Although it's categorized as a tailed beast, the Ten Tails is actually a God Tree that gained sentience—essentially, a spiritualized tree.
So, what kind of reward did he get?
It was a Gedo Statue with its soul already stripped away, a mere hollow shell. And to make it worse, it was still in its juvenile stage.
Just when he'd finally managed to "feed" Wood Release a few years ago, now a young Ten Tails with an even more outrageous appetite showed up. Fortunately, he had abundant chakra reserves. Otherwise, these two bottomless pits would have sucked him dry, and he wouldn't have even had enough left to pay taxes.
During this period, Yami had done nothing but refine chakra and constantly pour nutrients into the Gedo Statue. The Gedo Statue grew at a shocking rate and reached full saturation within ten days.
But that only resulted in a fully grown empty shell.
All that was left to do was to pour—or rather, infuse—a soul into it.
Only by possessing the chakra of all nine tailed beasts and gathering their different traits and attributes could the God Tree be considered complete.
At this point, Yami had already collected chakra from all nine tailed beasts. (He'd obtained Eight Tails' chakra during the raid on Kumo.) While the quantities varied, it didn't matter—as long as they were present, it was enough.
Didn't Obito use the Nine Tails chakra from Kinkaku and Ginkaku to trigger the Ten Tails' transformation?
It was just a bit slower, no big deal.
After all, there were only a few people in the entire shinobi world who could bear the power of the Ten Tails.
When Nagato first summoned the Gedo Statue, he was drained to a skeletal state. It wasn't until he infused several tailed beasts into it that he dared to wield it as a weapon.
Obito relied on Rin's presence to forcibly suppress the Ten Tails' will, barely becoming an incomplete Ten Tails Jinchūriki, and his resulting Six Paths form looked like a grotesque monster.
Madara, on the other hand, had a much easier time. After gathering all the tailed beasts, he absorbed the enormous Gedo Statue into his body in a matter of seconds and controlled it with ease.
After all, he was the true holder of the Rinnegan, with Indra's bloodline and Asura's body.
What about Yami?
He didn't need to suppress the Ten Tails at all. This was when the superiority of the Ōtsutsuki physique finally showed its worth.
The Ten Tails, a calamity to the shinobi world, was like a docile lamb inside his body. Not only was the Ten Tails fusing with the chakra of the nine tailed beasts, but Yami himself was also fusing with the Ten Tails. This monster that shouldn't exist in the world was about to be completely digested and absorbed.
This was different from the Ōtsutsuki clan tradition. As interstellar fruit farmers, they preferred to preserve the God Tree's consciousness—using it as both a farming tool and a pet. At crucial moments, it could absorb energy and transform into a Ten Tails Jinchūriki.
But Yami didn't like sharing his body with anyone. If he wanted to plant trees in the future, he could just produce spores. There was no need to keep any part of it's consciousness.
Full integration was better anyway—it would improve physical strength and enhance the efficiency of absorbing natural energy.
A pure, snow-white mark bloomed between Yami's brows, quickly spreading across his entire body.
His black hair turned white strand by strand, growing longer and longer until it reached his waist, shedding a crystalline shimmer.
A white haori adorned with black magatama appeared on his body. The magatama symbols circled his sleeves, collar, and back.
An overwhelming pressure that transcended human limits radiated from Yami. Even the space around him trembled with each breath he took.
Pop—!
With a crisp sound like a bubble bursting, nine black orbs floated behind him.
Yami slowly closed his eyes, sensing a ticklish feeling between his brows. A faint crack appeared, but as he frowned slightly, it quickly vanished and his skin returned to its flawless state.
A mysterious purple light flashed across the room as Yami opened his eyes.
He raised his hand, and a pitch-black staff appeared from thin air. He grasped it, and the black rings on the top clinked together with a crisp metallic sound.
In the center of his Rinnegan ripples, nine magatama spun slowly, gradually accelerating. Eventually, the purple ripples faded, revealing Yami's Eternal Mangekyō once again.
"Shinra Tensei."
He swung the staff, unleashing a massive repulsive force. A three-meter-deep crater instantly formed on the steel floor.
"Now that's more like it…"
A satisfied smile appeared on the boy's handsome face.
He wasn't pleased by the Shinra Tensei's power—he had barely exerted himself.
What truly made him happy was that the Rinnegan's and Sharingan's pupil powers had fully fused. They were no longer separate entities.
Power aside, he'd always disliked the Rinnegan's circular pattern.
That was also why he rarely used the Rinnegan—it was just too ugly.
Looking down at the staff in his hand, Yami thought for a moment. The Spear transformed into a basketball-sized saury, morphing freely according to his will.
It changed shape at will—sometimes long, sometimes short, sometimes hard, sometimes soft.
Yin-Yang Release and the Five Nature Transformations merged. Six Paths Sage Art bloomed.
As a Jinchūriki carrying the chakra of all nine tailed beasts, one could master the Six Paths Sage Art and condense ultra-high-density chakra to form the Truth-Seeking Balls.
This was the same as when Naruto fought against Six Paths Madara and Kaguya—he was able to wield the Truth-Seeking Balls not because Hagoromo gave him special treatment, but because he had temporarily gathered chakra from all nine tailed beasts, filling in the missing nature attributes and gaining access to the Truth-Seeking pressure.
After the final battle, the chakra from the other tailed beasts left Naruto's body, and naturally, his Truth-Seeking Balls disappeared as well.
In essence, the Truth-Seeking Ball was a type of ninjutsu. Condensing even one consumed an immense amount of chakra. While it was ineffective against those with Sage Arts or natural energy, it was still deadly to weaker enemies.
Especially those revived by Impure World Reincarnation—once their bodies were destroyed, they couldn't regenerate.
After playing with the Truth-Seeking Balls for a while, Yami finally opened the system panel, something he hadn't done in a long time.
[Name: Shimura Yami]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 21]
[Date of Birth: April 1, Year 46 (Konoha Calendar)]
[Chakra Attributes: Fire, Wind, Earth, Water, Lightning, Yang, Yin (Limit Break)]
[Total Chakra: 1.4 Chakra Fruits (1 fruit ≈ 10 Hashiramas, 1 Hashirama ≈ 11 Narutos, 1 Naruto ≈ 100 Kakashis, 1 Kakashi ≈ 5 Standard Jōnin)]
[Bond Points: 23,280]
[Special Talents: Ōtsutsuki Bloodline (Advanced), Senju Bloodline (Limit Break), Uzumaki Bloodline (Ultimate), Uchiha Bloodline (Limit Break, Eternal Mangekyō), Byakugan (Limit Break, Evolved), Sage Art Affinity (Limit Break), Scientific Research Talent (Ultimate), Swordsmanship Genius, Darkness of the Ninja World, Mother-in-Law's Expectation, Space Talent (Limit Break), etc.]
[Ninja World Bond: Fire (20%), Lightning (8%), Earth (15%), Wind (10%), Water (15%)]
Yami let out a light sigh. Though his panel looked dazzling, he still wasn't satisfied with his current strength.
In the past, his chakra reserves far outstripped others'. But at the Six Paths level, things were different.
Forget about Naruto and Sasuke, who had temporarily broken the rules.
The other Six Paths-level powerhouses all relied on their own chakra combined with the God Tree's chakra.
Only he had relied solely on his own chakra to nurture and bear the God Tree's fruit. The Ten Tails' chakra only served as a catalyst.
Compared to Madara, his chakra reserves were superior.
But compared to Kaguya, he was still lacking.
Still not strong enough…
Yami sighed softly and looked at the only remaining mission on his system panel.
Once he completed the bonds with all five great nations, not only would all talents improve, but his chakra would double. Only then could he be considered complete. At that point, not to mention Kaguya…
"I feel like I forgot something…"
Bang!
Yami dismissed the Truth-Seeking Balls, frowned, then clapped his hands.
"Didn't the system say it would update once I reached the Six Paths level?"
[System: Ding! Detected that the Host has reached the world's limit level through effort. Initiating system update…]
Update Duration: 1 year (During this period, all functions remain active. Please continue establishing bonds in the ninja world.)
Yami was left speechless.
A whole year?
The daylilies would be cold by then!
After fully adapting to the Six Paths power, Yami finally ended his training.
Upon returning home, he enjoyed a relaxing bath with Yugao's gentle service. Shortly after, Izumi and Kurenai returned from work.
When they saw Yami, who had disappeared for almost a month, they didn't react with any emotional reunion—instead, they focused on something odd.
Kurenai reached out and touched him, then pinched him, face full of envy.
"So white and smooth…"
"Did you secretly get some beauty treatment? Why is your skin looking better and better? Don't keep it to yourself—spill the secret!"
Izumi hugged his other arm and tugged with a pitiful look in her eyes.
Lately, she'd been working overtime constantly, and she felt like she was aging prematurely.
Women never miss a chance to get more beautiful.
Yami felt a bit overwhelmed under their intense stares. "This is a side effect of my strength increasing. Even if I wanted to teach you, I couldn't. I'll think of another way later, alright?"
"Side effect?"
Kurenai nearly broke her teeth from gritting them. She pinched him hard without hesitation.
If becoming the Sage of Six Paths meant whiter and smoother skin, she'd sign up in a heartbeat.
"I'll give you all beauty treatments tonight."
After patting Kurenai and giving her a look that they all understood, Yami turned his attention to more serious matters.
Over in Ame, under Konan's efforts, the country had fully surrendered to Konoha, causing an uproar throughout the ninja world. For decades, ever since Uzushiogakure was destroyed, no nation had been annexed.
The major countries had always tacitly agreed to let the small nations exist as buffer zones. And the small nations understood that expansion meant retaliation.
But this time, Konoha broke the rules. The other nations became even more nervous, and the Four Kage Conference that had been in preparation was finally scheduled in the Land of Iron—and was promptly discovered by Root.
"Land of Iron?"
Yami raised an eyebrow. "Aren't they supposed to be neutral? If Konoha participated too, that'd make it the Five Kage Conference. What's their deal? Are they just taking sides now?"
"There's no such thing as neutrality in times like this," Hikari curled her lips. "They've already started banding together. The Land of Iron isn't stupid—they know it's better to huddle for warmth."
"You're wrong." Yami corrected her. "They're huddling together to die. Whatever, they're just trash. The more, the better."
He liked making friends. The four nations were all good people.
They even knew how to help him recruit.
When the time came, he'd go easy and keep the bodies intact.
In a secret base of the Akatsuki, Kabuto was dissecting a White Zetsu. Suddenly, his hand paused.
Walking over to a table, he activated the anti-sensing barrier. Stroking the ring on his chest, his spirit separated and entered a remote, deserted cave.
Inside.
Yami was already waiting.
"Yami-sama." Kabuto greeted respectfully.
"No need for pleasantries. Where's Obito hiding? Why hasn't he shown up to cause trouble?" Yami asked directly.
"Obito let Orochimaru revive Uchiha Madara. After that, Madara took the reins."
"So he was resurrected this early?" Yami rubbed his chin, showing no self-awareness.
If he hadn't intercepted multiple tailed beasts and crippled Nagato, the Akatsuki wouldn't have collapsed, and Obito wouldn't have gone so far as to seek a boss for himself.
"Madara is targeting the Four Kage Conference," Kabuto said with a strange tone. "He wants to ally with the four nations to take on Konoha…"
Yami felt his scalp tingle.
This plotline had taken a wild turn. You're Uchiha Madara, the final boss, right? Why are you leaving your role to me!?
Inside Obito's secret base, Orochimaru and Madara could sense something at any time. Kabuto spoke quickly.
"Orochimaru and Madara made a deal. He taught Madara the Impure World Reincarnation technique and plans to summon Senju Hashirama at full power."
Yami was even more dumbfounded.
"Is Orochimaru crazy, or is he under Mangekyō Genjutsu?"
Kabuto habitually pushed up his glasses, only to poke through his spiritual head. "At first, I also thought Orochimaru wouldn't agree. But Madara offered the Rinnegan that was in Zetsu's possession as a bargaining chip."
"Faced with the temptation of the Sage of Six Paths' power, Orochimaru finally gave in…"
(To be continued.)
***
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