In the face of that instant burst of tremendous repulsive force!
Yuto and Uchiha Madara's movements faltered simultaneously, temporarily blocked from getting in!
"Watch carefully."
The Sage of Six Paths spoke in a tone devoid of emotion, the Rinnegan in his eyes flickering with a faint purple glow.
An invisible spatial force radiated from the Sage's Rinnegan, as if connecting to some special alternate dimension!
A deathly, silent aura began to spread!
"This aura — the Underworld?!"
Uchiha Madara was the first to sense it, his eyes going wide as an expression of disbelief crossed his face.
As someone who had once been among the dead, he had spent a period in the Underworld and could naturally detect its presence first.
"The Underworld? Isn't that where the dead go! So what exactly is the Sage of Six Paths doing?!"
Yuto's expression darkened. He could already faintly sense a whiff of death in the air.
Swish!
In what seemed like an instant, a spectral figure materialized beside the Sage of Six Paths, and then this apparition began to grow increasingly solid!
"This is… the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!"
An expression of shock appeared on Yuto's face.
A flowing white robe, grey-white hair, two chicken-leg horns jutting upward, and a face like a vengeful demon.
This was precisely the Death God from the forbidden technique — the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
The Death God's phantom grew ever more solid, finally taking the form of a soul-like humanoid figure, floating before the Sage of Six Paths.
"It's been a long time, Hamura!"
The Sage of Six Paths looked at the Death God's phantom and suddenly spoke softly.
At the sound of the name "Hamura," the seemingly mindless Death God phantom jolted as if roused from deep sleep, its hollow gaze slowly sharpening!
A pair of eyes even colder and more merciless than the Sage's appeared in the Death God phantom's sockets, staring silently at the Sage of Six Paths.
"Has the second millennium already arrived, brother?"
"Then I suppose it's my turn to oversee this planet. I wonder — how does the fruit taste?"
The Death God phantom's voice was stiff, as if unaccustomed to speaking after so long.
"I'm sorry — it's still within the first millennium. I had to wake you early because of an unexpected situation."
The Sage of Six Paths shook his head and raised a hand, pointing toward Yuto and Uchiha Madara, who were temporarily held back by the tremendous repulsive force.
The Death God phantom turned to look in the direction the Sage indicated. When his gaze fell on Uchiha Madara and Yuto, he clearly paused.
Especially at the massive golden Tenseigan chakra radiating from Yuto — despite Yuto not belonging to the clan he had left on the Moon.
"A thousand years, and it seems many interesting things have happened."
The Death God phantom let out a low laugh, though the sound was filled with hollow, heartless coldness.
Seeing this bizarre scene, and especially hearing the conversation between the two, Yuto and Uchiha Madara felt a chill run down their spines. They forcibly broke free of the repulsive force's restraint and rapidly retreated!
Only after putting roughly a hundred meters of distance between themselves and the Sage of Six Paths did the two of them stop!
"What the hell is going on? And what's that ghostly thing?!"
Uchiha Madara looked at Yuto's grim expression, his own face bearing a rare look of gravity.
"That Death God phantom is the Sage of Six Paths' younger brother — Hamura Ōtsutsuki."
"As I thought, these two never actually died. They've been existing in the ninja world in some other form all along!"
Yuto's entire body was taut with tension, his voice grave as he spoke.
Although he had long suspected that Hamura Ōtsutsuki, like the Sage of Six Paths, had never truly died, actually seeing it still sent an involuntary chill through Yuto's heart!
Judging by the conversation he'd just overheard, no wonder Hamura Ōtsutsuki had never appeared after Yuto seized the Tenseigan on the Moon — he had been in a state of slumber.
But what Yuto never expected was that Hamura Ōtsutsuki was actually the Death God phantom of the Dead Demon Consuming Seal!
And their conversation had mentioned things like "the second millennium," "the fruit," and "overseeing this planet."
"None of this was in the original story…"
Yuto grimaced, a bitter smile on his face as he muttered to himself.
Things were developing beyond his expectations!
"Fine, waking up early is waking up early. The thousand years are up anyway — the next millennium is mine to manage. You've let this herd of livestock run wild for too long, brother."
The Death God phantom glanced at the Sage of Six Paths, then continued:
"However, my current state means I can't help you."
The Sage of Six Paths smiled faintly. "I've already found a suitable body for you to inhabit. I trust your descendant can fully bear your chakra."
As he spoke!
A flash of purple light blazed in the Sage of Six Paths' Rinnegan, and then he punched the empty air before him.
Crack!
A sound like shattering glass, and cracks appeared in the space in front of the Sage's fist.
Where there had been nothing but empty air, the Sage of Six Paths had punched open a black spatial rift.
The Sage of Six Paths reached his hand into the rift and grabbed. The next moment, before Yuto's astonished eyes!
Ōtsutsuki Toneri was dragged straight out of the spatial rift by the Sage of Six Paths!!
"This body should work."
The Sage of Six Paths tossed Ōtsutsuki Toneri directly at the Death God phantom.
"What's going on?!"
Ōtsutsuki Toneri was clearly weakened. He had been imprisoned in the research division of Hidden Mist Second Village —
how had he ended up here in the blink of an eye?
And…
Ōtsutsuki Toneri's face was filled with disbelief as he stared at the Death God phantom hovering in midair.
The Death God phantom surged directly into Ōtsutsuki Toneri's body!
"Aaahh!!"
Ōtsutsuki Toneri let out a piercing scream. He felt as if his entire body was being torn apart, an indescribable agony flooding through every fiber of his being.
The next moment!
Ōtsutsuki Toneri's body began to transform. Two chicken-leg horns rapidly sprouted from his forehead, his clothes turned into a white robe, and magatama patterns similar to the Sage of Six Paths' appeared on the fabric.
Terrifying chakra and an overwhelming aura erupted from Ōtsutsuki Toneri's body!
He could no longer be called Ōtsutsuki Toneri — he was now Hamura Ōtsutsuki!
"Oh? It seems it's finished. You've kept me waiting."
The look of gravity on Yuto's face had completely vanished, replaced by a lazy, casual demeanor.
Uchiha Madara's grin stretched from ear to ear. "At least the wait wasn't for nothing. I was just thinking — if there was only one of them, who would I leave for?"
"Now it's perfect!"
Clearly, the grave and shocked expressions Yuto and Uchiha Madara had been wearing were all an act!
When the Sage of Six Paths had appeared, Yuto had already told Uchiha Madara everything — about the Sage, about Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, all of it.
He had even told Uchiha Madara about Black Zetsu's true identity.
The shock and disbelief Uchiha Madara had shown earlier wasn't because of Hamura Ōtsutsuki's appearance — it was because of Yuto's revelations.
Yuto had been wondering whether Uchiha Madara would have trouble accepting it all.
But it turned out Uchiha Madara didn't care nearly as much as he'd expected.
"Isn't this even more fun, Yuto?!"
"The Sage of Six Paths, the schemes, the conspiracies — none of it matters!"
"Just kill them all! That's what you think too, right, Yuto?!"
Uchiha Madara raised his head proudly, his voice filled with peerless arrogance.
Black Zetsu had been using him?
It certainly angered him — but that was all it was!
From beginning to end, Uchiha Madara trusted only his own fists and his own strength!
"Strength isn't about willpower. If this world hadn't thrown up a few interesting situations, it wouldn't even be worth the trouble for the two of us!"
"It's a shame Hashirama isn't here. It would be even more fun!"
Uchiha Madara stomped the ground, the earth cracking beneath his foot and blasting into a deep crater as a wild aura erupted from him!
"That's right — it's gotten much more interesting. Hiding in the shadows all this time, and now they finally show themselves. In some ways, that's a good thing!"
"Whatever the trouble — just kill them and it's perfectly resolved!"
Yuto laughed loudly as well.
"How arrogant!" The Sage of Six Paths' gaze was ice-cold, faint purple light flickering in his eyes.
Hamura Ōtsutsuki erupted with white chakra that surged around him like a shockwave.
"Those eyes are called the Tenseigan, aren't they? I never expected my descendants could create such eyes. I'll take them back."
The moment Hamura Ōtsutsuki fully took over Ōtsutsuki Toneri's body, he gained access to his memories — and naturally learned the origin of Yuto's eyes.
"One each!"
Yuto stomped the ground and charged straight at Hamura Ōtsutsuki.
Uchiha Madara charged after him with a roar of laughter, heading straight for the Sage of Six Paths.
"Killing the legendary Sage of Six Paths will be far more exciting than killing you, Yuto!"
Uchiha Madara instantly entered his Perfect Susanoo form, his colossal mountain-like body crashing straight toward the Sage of Six Paths.
"Don't get cocky, brat!"
The Sage of Six Paths' eyes flared, and his own Perfect Susanoo appeared instantly — even half a head taller than Uchiha Madara's!
Two colossal, mountain-like figures clashed immediately!
Yuto and Hamura Ōtsutsuki collided as well!
Unlike the Sage of Six Paths, who relied on a flashy array of techniques, Hamura Ōtsutsuki displayed terrifyingly formidable taijutsu!
Their duel lacked the grand spectacle of Uchiha Madara versus the Sage of Six Paths.
But every single exchange was heart-stopping!
Everywhere Yuto and Hamura Ōtsutsuki fought, everything around them was instantly obliterated. Countless landforms were reshaped, the entire plain pockmarked with craters of every size as if meteorites were relentlessly pounding the earth!
[
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