Chapter 352: It's All In Your Head
"Come on, we are the saviors of this world. Together, we'll create a dream world where everyone can find happiness," Madara continued to tempt Obito while secretly preparing to forcefully extract Ten-Tails and Rinnegan from Obito's body.
If Obito had been in his normal state, it would have been impossible for Madara to forcibly extract the Tailed Beasts from him. This was why Madara had taken Hashirama's Senjutsu Chakra!
But Obito was now in a severely weakened state, and Madara had also acquired one Rinnegan, which gave him more options.
However, the best case scenario for Madara was clearly for Obito to hand over Ten-Tails and Rinnegan out of his own volition. That way, he could also heal Obito in exchange for his assistance to deal with the small fries that would get in his way.
But Obito didn't pay attention to Madara's offer. Instead, he turned to Minato and said, "Although I may not be able to completely atone for the mistakes I've made in the past, this is all I can do now. Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique!"
As he lied on the ground, Obito quickly made a series of hand seals and used Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique to resurrect everyone who had died in this war, including Naruto.
"Hey, where am I?"
"I thought I was dead..."
"Look at that massive tree..."
"So many craters..."
The Shinobi who had died due to various attacks, were bewildered as they found themselves suddenly resurrected.
At the moment Obito used Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, Black Zetsu attempted to take out Obito by submerging into the ground, but Nagasawa noticed it and quickly used his golden flames to create a shield around Obito. If Black Zetsu wanted to get close to Obito, he would have to deal with this flame first. It seemed that Black Zetsu decided to step back this time, and Obito successfully used Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.
Upon seeing Naruto came back to life, Minato quickly rushed to his side and transferred the Nine-Tails Chakra inside him into Naruto. When Black Zetsu controlled Naruto earlier, he had also taken away Nine-Tails' Chakra from him. Normally, Naruto's life force would have been strong enough to survive even after he used Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, but the Ten-Tails' influence was a complicated factor.
"Six Paths Ten-Tails Coffin Seal!" Madara quickly made hand seals.
After using Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, Obito was at death's door, and even though he was Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, he was powerless at the moment.
Roar!
A thunderous roar echoed as Ten-Tails broke free from Obito's body, forcibly released by Madara.
Madara was well-prepared for this moment and absorbed Ten-Tails almost instantly!
Unlike Obito, Madara almost instantly completed the absorption, and he didn't undergo any resistance reaction from Ten-Tails. He immediately attained the perfect Six Paths Sage Mode from the get-go.
"Haha, the battle has just begun!" Madara, now in Six Paths Sage Mode, regained his arrogance as he held the Six Paths Staff with Truth-Seeking Balls circling behind him, giving him the invincible vibe.
However, Madara's laughter was short-lived, as a massive golden flame compressed air blade was thrown at him.
The moment the Ten-Tails was released, Nagasawa had already burst with Chakra and dished out a flaming compressed air blade in an attempt to harm Madara, but he didn't expect Madara to be this fast.
"This won't go like last time!" Madara was full of confidence in his Six Paths Sage Mode. He used the Truth-Seeking Balls to create a black sphere around himself that left no gap whatsoever.
The enormous flaming compressed air blade struck the black sphere, but it failed to break through Madara's defense. The black sphere stood firm amidst the golden flames until Madara reverted the Truth-Seeking Balls into their normal form.
Nagasawa raised his eyebrow, realizing that, although he was stronger than Obito, he and Madara were evenly matched. He couldn't pierce through the Truth-Seeking Balls, and he would be at a disadvantage if the battle drew out for too long, as he couldn't maintain Sage Mode for that long while Madara's Six Paths Sage Mode was permanent. However, Nagasawa neither panicked, nor did he plan to bring down his enemies with him like last time.
Unlike Madara, he wasn't alone. He had reliable comrades. According to the manga, the Allied Shinobi Forces would ultimately prevail even without him. Naruto had already been resurrected even though he hadn't regained consciousness. Sasuke was in a similar situation, receiving a casual cheat-like power from Sage of the Six Paths. Nagasawa didn't have to burn himself out defeating Madara by himself. He could just wait until Naruto and Sasuke attained their Six Path power and contribute slightly more than them to defeat Madara. Nagasawa was confident that he could do that at the very least.
When it came to pure damage, his Blazing Sky would be the highest for sure, so Nagasawa was confident he would be the person that would deal the most damage to Madara.
Swoosh!
Madara Uchiha showcased his terrifying speed as instantly arrived beside Nagasawa in a blink of an eye.
Although Nagasawa might not be able to defeat Madara alone, he wasn't at a disadvantage. With a swift counterattack, Nagasawa dished out a compressed air blade toward Madara.
Madara blocked the attack, knocking it away with the Six Paths Staff. Then, he spat a thin stream line of light from his mouth!
"Sage Art: Storm Release Light Fang!"
Although Nagasawa didn't possess Truth-Seeking Balls, his Color of Arms Haki that was powered by Senjutsu Chakra allowed him to cover his left hand with Color of Arms Haki and deflected Madara's laser-like attack.
Clang! Clang!
To the average Shinobi, it seemed like Madara and Nagasawa's clash was concluded in an instant. However, in reality, they had already exchanged hundreds of blows.
There were dents on Madara's Six Paths Staff because of Nagasawa's attack, while Nagasawa had a few minor cuts on his arm.
Yet, those things had little effect on both of them. Madara quickly repaired the dent on his staff, while Nagasawa's small wounds healed in the blink of an eye.
"You possess incredible power. You are the strongest opponent I've ever encountered, capable of matching my Six Paths Sage Mode," Madara praised Nagasawa with a wide grin.
"But how long can you hold out? Your Senjutsu Chakra is not limitless; you can't keep this up forever I believed," Madara confidently pointed out.
With his Rinnegan, Madara saw through everything. Given the amount of Nagasawa's current Senjutsu Chakra, he believed that Nagasawa could only keep up his Sage Mode for at most another ten minutes, and even shorter if the battle was this fierce.
"Why don't you join me? After all, you are not a Shinobi of this world, so why go to such lengths for this world?" Madara offered Nagasawa to join him.
While it was possible to defeat Nagasawa by wearing him down over time, Madara thought there was a more efficient way; recruiting Nagasawa to join him. This would ensure that his Infinite Tsukuyomi plan go smoothly.
Nagasawa had indeed rejected his offer before, but now the situation had changed. Madara believed that Nagasawa might consider joining him, given the shift in power and the fact that he didn't actually have any ties with this world.
"Indeed, my Sage Mode won't last long, but it's enough to deal with you. But as I said before, I don't need that many reasons to fight for Konoha. It seems you've forgotten the pain you just tasted earlier," Nagasawa replied, taunting Madara.
Madara had thought it through, and considering human nature and self-interest, he believed that Nagasawa would join him.
However, his judgment ultimately proved to be wildly off the mark from Nagasawa's perspective. From Nagasawa's perspective, only someone incredibly foolish would consider joining Madara's side at a moment like this. His mission was to defeat Madara, and he had to deal the highest damage.
Hearing Nagasawa's words, Madara Uchiha's face went grim as he recalled the beating he had taken from Nagasawa earlier.
"Hmph, since you want to die so badly, I shall grant your wish!" Madara Uchiha snorted and rushed toward Nagasawa once more. At the same time, he secretly sent his Limbo: Border Jail at Obito, who lied on the ground.
At first, Madara had planned to reclaim his other Rinnegan after absorbing the Ten-Tails. However, Nagasawa attacked him right off the bat that he had no choice but to set it aside for later.
Now that he could use Limbo: Border Jail again, Madara sent his Shadow as he rushed toward Nagasawa, in an attempt to utilize his Rinnegan's power to its fullest.
Madara planned to drag out the battle until Nagasawa's Sage Mode wore out, while Nagasawa wanted to buy some time until Naruto and Sasuke finished their power-ups.
As a result, while both appeared to be engaged in a fierce battle, the fight was much quieter than the previous clash between Obito and Nagasawa.
"Nagasawa!" Kakashi, who was not far from Obito, suddenly noticed that the previously unscathed flame shield had a massive hole on it. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly, attempting to see the enemy more clearly.
However, no matter how hard Kakashi tried, he still couldn't see the enemy. It was as if there was no one there to begin with.
But Kakashi knew there was bound to be enemies there because the flame shield that had been protecting Obito was broken. The enemy simply had a certain technique to conceal themselves, so he couldn't see them.
Kakashi's Sharingan spun rapidly, and the space above Obito distorted.
Since he couldn't see the enemy, he decided to attack directly!
But Kakashi's Mangekyō Sharingan was too slow. By the time he activated his Kamui, Madara's Shadow had already gouged out Obito's Rinnegan and escaped.
Meanwhile, as he fought with Nagasawa, Madara smiled and pushed Nagasawa back a few meters. He then took the Rinnegan that the Shadow and embedded it.
"Hahaha, I can finally fight properly! Now, this is my true strength!" Now that Madara had both of his Rinnegan, he was excited and burst into maniacal laughter, feeling that victory was within his grasp.
"Limbo: Border Jail, huh? It's quite troublesome," Nagasawa said with a frown.
While Nagasawa's Sage Mode combined with his Six Paths powers made him incredibly strong, his sensory abilities weren't as sharp as those of Madara in his Six Paths Sage Mode.
He could only sense Madara's clone if it was within a five-meter range from him, and he couldn't sense it once it was beyond that range.
In his Supernova Mode, he had no such limitations on sensory perception. After all, that mode burned his life force, making him ridiculously powerful in every sense.
"Limbo: Border Jail!" Madara summoned four Shadows this time.
With one Rinnegan, he could only summon one Shadow, but he could summon four Shadows now that he had both Rinnegan.
As the pinnacle form of Sharingan, Rinnegan shared a similar property with the Sharingan: its true power could only be drawn with both eyes. In this case, one plus one was greater than two.
However, Nagasawa's strength surprised Madara once again. Even with four Shadows on Madara's disposal, Nagasawa still managed to hold his ground.
After observing, Madara realized that Nagasawa wasn't incapable of detecting his Shadows; it was a matter of distance. He indeed could detect them, but only within a certain range.
"Quite troublesome. Fortunately, I've already absorbed all of Hashirama's Senjutsu Chakra in advance. Otherwise, things might go south." Madara frowned. At this point, he only needed to slowly deplete Nagasawa's Sage Chakra.
Noticing that he couldn't overpower Nagasawa after regaining his other Rinnegan, Madara chose a safer approach.
Sensing that Madara's attack had slowed down, Nagasawa didn't rush to counterattack. Instead, he focused on defense.
The two continued their back-and-forth exchange for five minutes, each trying to buy time.
In the midst of the battle, Minato and Tobirama tried to help Nagasawa, but both of them had already lost an arm, while Madara remained unscathed.
"This is getting tricky. Big Brother can no longer give Nagasawa Senjutsu Chakra now," Tobirama frowned, thinking about how to break the deadlock.
"Ah, it's my fault for failing to protect Naruto, which allows Madara to steal Nine-Tails," Minato felt guilty.
"Otherwise, I could transfer the Nine-Tails inside me to Nagasawa, and it would have been a lot easier, with the Nine-Tails helping gather Senjutsu Chakra," Minato added.
"At this point, it's too late. There's no use discussing this now. How is Naruto doing?" Tobirama asked.
Naruto was a crucial asset in this fight, and he was more skilled compared to Minato and Tobirama.
"Although his Chakra has recovered, there's no sign of him waking up. I don't know why," Minato's expression grew solemn as he expressed his concern for Naruto's condition.
As time passed, Madara's attacks became increasingly fierce. He planned to quickly deplete Nagasawa's Senjutsu Chakra.
"Your naivety will be your downfall. Your world's Konoha has lost such a powerful Hokage. It might even decline because of it," Madara said, thinking that victory was within his grasp.
Of course, Madara wasn't the type to suddenly stop just to talk. He spoke while attacking!
"Wrong! I have many excellent disciples with great potential. Even if I don't return, Minato will inherit my position. There's no need to worry," Nagasawa retorted as he countered Madara's attacks.
Down below, Minato found it quite peculiar. It seemed as if Nagasawa and the other-world version of himself were quite close even though he didn't know of any Shinobi named Nagasawa in this world.
"Moreover, do you really think you have already won? The moment that crosses your mind, you've already lost. Right now, you're like an old general on a stage," Nagasawa smiled as he sensed two powerful presences.
"Surely you jest..." Just as Madara was preparing to seize the opportunity and force Nagasawa out of Sage Mode, two figures, one golden and one purple, appeared.