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Chapter 176 - Chapter 176: My Eyes can see the Past!

With Izayoi's words dropping, Six Paths–Mode Uchiha Madara's field of vision suddenly raced in reverse, as though traveling through time, from the present into the past.

They were still in outer space, yet now there was no moon—only the sun, other planets, and one beautiful blue planet: Earth.

This time, however, "Ōtsutsuki Toneri" did not vanish from the illusionary world. Instead, he floated in outer space next to Madara.

Madara was just about to say something, but the words died in his throat.

Because he saw two figures flying over from somewhere else in the cosmos.

As these two figures drew near, Madara's eyes narrowed, his spirits instantly on alert.

He saw that the two were one man and one woman.

The woman's figure turned out to be the progenitor of chakra who ate the Chakra Fruit: mother of the Sage of Six Paths—Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.

But Madara's focus didn't settle on Kaguya; rather, he was staring at the man floating one step ahead of her. Even with the starry backdrop, his imposing aura was terrifyingly oppressive.

Like Kaguya, the man was dressed in a white robe, with equally pale-white skin, and ash-white hair. Crucially, he had horns on his head—even larger than Kaguya's—a kind of long curved crown.

Moreover, on his forehead was only a single white eyebrow. Unlike Kaguya, who had a pair of Byakugan, he had only a Byakugan in his left eye.

Meanwhile, his right eye, which had an eyebrow, was a golden, ring-shaped pattern. Eight triangular shapes were set around the pupil, containing a truly astonishing ocular power.

An unknown dōjutsu—and that one step of standing in the lead…

Madara's heart trembled, faintly sensing a fatal threat. He had a general idea now of what this lethal crisis was.

Next came the conversation between these two, causing Madara's expression to change further.

"Is this the planet?"

"Yes—Isshiki-sama."

It was the man speaking, and Kaguya responding reverently.

"This person…holds a higher status than the Rabbit Goddess?!" Madara thought, shocked.

Izayoi went on with the explanation:

"The Ōtsutsuki clan is an extraterrestrial race—born with powerful strength and longevity, practically gods. Not only do they physically traverse space, they harvest worlds' life energy to grow stronger."

The scene changed. Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and Ōtsutsuki Kaguya arrived on Earth. Floating above a grassland, Isshiki pointed with his hand, causing an enormous black teakettle—mountainous in scale—to appear out of nowhere.

It crashed onto the ground with a deafening boom, kicking up thick clouds of dust. Isshiki crooked a finger and the kettle's black lid shot skyward—then vanished in midair.

"Groooaarrr—!"

A deafening roar followed, unleashing colossal shockwaves and sonic booms. A beast of shriveled-wood complexion, having ten tails and a single red eye—like a juggernaut—burst out of the kettle.

Madara recognized it at once: "Ten-Tails," that infantile monster the size of a small mountain yet giving the sense of a mere pup.

Surprisingly, the Ten-Tails did not attack Isshiki and Kaguya; it lowered its head dog-like, sniffed Earth's flora, then tilted its head skyward, letting out another trembling howl. On its otherwise fierce face blossomed a vividly humanlike gleeful expression.

Immediately afterward, the Ten-Tails plunged its ten tails into the ground, lowered itself to rest, and began absorbing the planet's life force.

Little wisps of bluish flame, swirling out of nowhere, funneled from all directions into the Ten-Tails.

The sun rose east and set west; days passed one after another. Bit by bit, the Ten-Tails' body grew from an infant to mature form. Kaguya and Isshiki erected a small settlement on that grassland, living as they watched over the Ten-Tails so none would interfere with its evolution.

"Groooaarrr—!"

On a certain day, after many years of slumber, Ten-Tails suddenly roused and roared in a way that shook all living things. Its red eye glowed, jaws wide and savage, glaring at Isshiki and Kaguya in the distance.

The two approached from not far away, bringing along an unconscious human. "Only a century, and it's already gone from pup to a full-blown adult… And these grasslands haven't even withered. This is the first time I've encountered a planet with life energy so abundant." Isshiki remarked with a stoic face, gazing upon the Ten-Tails whose eyes shone with bloodthirst. Finally, a faint smile:

"Let's begin the offering, Kaguya."

"An offering?" Madara raised a brow.

Izayoi again provided commentary:

"Though the Ōtsutsuki clan has long lifespans, they do not truly live forever. To grow stronger, they typically travel in pairs, exploring the cosmos in search of star systems with abundant life energy. Then they plant the Divine Tree, harvesting Chakra Fruits.

"Yet for the Ten-Tails to become the Divine Tree, it can't just mature— it must devour a certain thing."

Sure enough, the scene explained everything. Isshiki told Kaguya to begin, but she responded by striking him from behind, blasting him toward the Ten-Tails' mouth.

Because he had trusted his subordinate fully, Isshiki was unprepared. By the time he realized, Ten-Tails had bitten off his lower half.

"Kaguya! You dare betray me? Aren't you afraid of upper management's punishment?" Isshiki hissed, forcibly keeping calm.

"Once I eat the Chakra Fruit, you think the clan will come avenge a dead man? Ha!" Kaguya retorted with a sneer.

"You're just a servant who can't fathom being on top!" Isshiki fixed Kaguya with a fierce look, likewise sneering: "You imagine this Ten-Tails is mine alone? I was ordered here to plant the Divine Tree. Just wait—if you don't deliver its Chakra Fruit, watch how they'll deal with you!"

Kaguya's face darkened. Ten-Tails devoured Isshiki's upper half as well. Yet at the final second, Isshiki shrank himself and conjured a space-time portal from within the beast's mouth. He escaped being fully consumed.

Kaguya's Byakugan perceived this, momentarily stunned. While only half a body, Isshiki fled via that dimension. The Ten-Tails, having consumed half the offering, roared skyward, then rooted in place to transform into a towering tree.

Once again, those wisps of bluish flame gathered, fueling the Ten-Tails until it formed a Divine Tree. Time passed—and at last the Divine Tree bore a Chakra Fruit.

The scene shifted to a barren place where that spacial rift reappeared. Half of Isshiki's mutilated body stumbled out, falling on the ground, nearly dead. A passing monk tried to rescue him, but Isshiki shrank his body even further and tunneled in through the monk's ear, taking him over.

Kaguya meanwhile searched fruitlessly for Isshiki for many years, never finding him. In that same period, the Divine Tree finished gestating its Chakra Fruit.

The subsequent images matched what Madara had seen before: Kaguya ate the Fruit, becoming the "Progenitor of Chakra," subduing Earth's conflicts with absolute might.

Humans revered her as the Rabbit Goddess. Yet now, Madara learned extra detail: Kaguya worried Isshiki might still live and eventually return, so she tried to annihilate generation after generation of humankind, leaving only the portion guaranteed free of Isshiki's infiltration.

She also created White Zetsu troops and birthed the Six Paths brothers in preparation for Isshiki or the clan. Yet her sons, disapproving of Infinite Tsukuyomi, finally sealed her away.

Madara quietly beheld these revelations. Once the illusionary scene ended, he faced Izayoi—who regarded him with an amused grin—and asked:

"So Isshiki Ōtsutsuki really isn't dead?"

"He's not dead."

"How can you be so certain?"

Izayoi lifted two fingers—first pointing at his own eyes, then at Madara—and calmly explained:

"Byakugan, Sharingan, Rinnegan, Tenseigan…all derive from the Ōtsutsuki clan and the Divine Tree's power. The Sharingan, which seems like a Byakugan's mutant branch, is actually just one potential route of evolution. Tenseigan is similar, so you can indeed awaken personal ocular powers without evolving from Mangekyō or the Rinnegan.

"That's why I, born in a later era, yet so intimately aware of such ancient secrets—does that ring a bell?"

Madara paused, vaguely guessing something. He stared at Izayoi wide-eyed:

"You mean, your Tenseigan's special power is…"

"Exactly!" Izayoi stated proudly. "My Tenseigan not only monitors the shinobi world; it also sees into the past."

Madara's heart churned like a raging sea. All doubts resolved.

He had been confused as to how "Ōtsutsuki Toneri" knew so much detail from bygone millennia, how he could recall the faces of ancient people and subtle specifics as though witnessing them first-hand.

Madara originally guessed it was a memory passed down from "Ōtsutsuki Hamura," or something akin. Also, earlier, the question: if the Sage of Six Paths and younger brother discovered Black Zetsu, why not destroy him? Now it made sense: the ones who discovered Black Zetsu were not the Sage and brother, but rather "Ōtsutsuki Toneri" himself, via Tenseigan's Past Gaze. And those black orbs were not "Toneri's exclusive dōjutsu," but only the Tenseigan–Sage Mode's orbs. Toneri's "unique ocular technique" was supplementary.

A thought occurred, so Madara inquired: "All dōjutsu have weaknesses. Your ocular power can't show you a perfect past, correct? There must be some condition?"

"Think I'd reveal that— …Ever have trouble peeing if someone stands behind you?" Izayoi teased.

Madara flushed red—nearly launching a Truth-Seeking Orb in anger.

Izayoi changed the subject: "Do you know why I let you and that brat gain Six Paths Sage Mode?"

"Why?" Madara asked.

"Though the Sage's eye is the 'eye of a loser,' his merging of Six Paths power with Earth's potent natural energy yields interesting abilities." Izayoi explained: "All who master Six Paths Sage Mode can sense every living being's flow. No barrier can block it; they can pinpoint any strong presence. Unless that presence also has Six Paths Sage Mode, or flees this planet entirely, we can easily track them. Tenseigan can do certain things Six Paths Mode can't, and vice versa."

Hearing this, Madara resumed his usual tactic: "If your target is Isshiki, shall we join forces? If we unite to slay him, you won't have to destroy the world."

"You think I told you all this in order to recruit you?" Izayoi propped his chin on one hand and said calmly. "I was merely repaying you for delivering the last puzzle piece. Once I absorb your chakra, I can open my own Six Paths Sage Mode. Then by stacking Tenseigan Chakra Mode on top of that, I can overshadow all of Earth, locate that leftover fish, and get the clan's interstellar coordinates from him."

"Even a 'god' harbors ambition, I see." Madara gave an emotional sigh, then smirked cunningly. "Now that you've unveiled your mystery, there's little you fear. Let's settle this in battle!"

With that, Madara commanded a Truth-Seeking Orb to shoot toward Izayoi. Izayoi likewise retaliated.

Bam—!

When two dazzling white lights met and merged, the artificial sun overhead unleashed a searing brilliance. Then, in an instant, the moon fell into darkness. That "artificial sun," even with advanced barriers once resistant to Perfect Susanoo and Silver Wheel Reincarnation Explosion, had been erased—like tearing tissue paper. Indeed, no barrier can endure the absolute-ruin might of Truth-Seeking Orbs.

Such is the might of the strongest ninjutsu—where seven nature transformations unify, forming "the power to obliterate all creation."

~~~

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