Chapter 320 – If the Sage of Six Paths Won't Come Out… I'll Send Naruto and the Others to See Him!
The Otsutsuki era had truly arrived.
As horns sprouted from Obito and Kimimaro, their bodies underwent violent transformation.
Nagato meanwhile collapsed after being forced by Black Zetsu, his vitality draining, heartbeat fading.
Yet strangely—
a deeper, more terrifying power was awakening inside him, life-force and death intertwining in chaotic resonance.
Obito slowly raised his head.
His expression twisted with pain—and then resolve.
He removed his mask.
With a grunt, he dug his finger into his remaining eye socket and ripped out the eye within.
Moments later, shaped by Yin–Yang Release, a new eye regenerated in its place.
"A mutated eye born from the God Tree's energy…
but nothing matches the eye I truly need."
Beside him, Kimimaro—now controlled by Urashiki—lifted his head, face contorted with overlapping consciousnesses fighting for dominance.
He glared first at Kitagawa Gen's clone… then at the distant Otsutsuki Genshiki battling the colossal armored Buddha.
"That bastard… even now he keeps forcing the situation!"
Obito—now Isshiki—took deep breaths, trying to calm the furious souls inside him.
"He's a lunatic. You know that.
But it doesn't matter.
With this planet's will empowering him, killing us only speeds up our rebirth."
Kimimaro—Urashiki's vessel—nodded stiffly.
"We just need to hold out until Momoshiki recovers.
Revival costs energy, yes…
but this is the perfect time for our own ascent."
The two exchanged a silent, dangerous understanding.
They were both waiting—
both hungry for the "Path to Godhood."
And now the opportunity had arrived.
"Didn't you want to see whether power devours will… or will devours power?"
Urashiki-in-Kimimaro turned toward Gen's clone, eyes filled with cruelty.
"Your tone really is just like Genshiki's.
Then let's show you the answer."
Fwoom—!
Urashiki launched himself forward.
Isshiki controlled Obito and followed instantly.
But instead of tension, Gen's clone—
smiled.
Calm, casual. Almost bored.
The Truth-Seeking Blade flashed.
"You still overestimate yourselves."
Something in that tone—so familiar, so contemptuous—made both Isshiki and Urashiki flinch.
Then the clash came.
One strike.
One moment.
And they both realized it:
This clone is even harder to deal with than we expected!
At the same time, Black Zetsu peeled away from Nagato's now-lifeless body—
and his Rinnegan vanished.
While the clone suppressed two proto-Otsutsuki, Kitagawa Gen's true form faced the towering hybrid:
Susa-Buddha Armor — True Tailed-Hands Thousand-Armed Buddha.
He stared up at it, unable to stop a bemused exhale.
"This era really changed fast…"
Hashirama felt vitality return to his limbs.
Madara felt his body repairing itself, becoming alive again.
Madara's eyes narrowed.
"So… he did it.
And he wasn't targeting only me."
Hashirama touched his chest in disbelief.
"This feeling… am I really coming back to life?"
Madara nodded.
"The Rinnegan governs life and death.
With it, we can revive completely.
But—"
Hashirama frowned.
"But?"
"The caster pays the price.
Possibly with their life."
Hashirama froze.
Madara continued coldly:
"Meaning… Gen must have eliminated Nagato.
Or Nagato cooperated with my will.
Either way, it benefits us."
The moment they regained full life, their combat power skyrocketed compared to Edo Tensei.
---
"Enjoying yourselves?"
The mocking voice descended from the air.
Otsutsuki Genshiki floated before the colossal Buddha, radiating calm, crushing pressure.
"Reviving yourselves is admirable…
but is living truly better for you?"
He held a Truth-Seeking Orb—
which transformed into a golden sword of pure chakra.
He smiled gently.
"Life or death… isn't as different as you think.
Not when you're standing in front of me."
Madara and Hashirama felt their throats tighten.
"GO!"
Hashirama took control of the Susa-Buddha.
Madara poured all his chakra into it.
A thousand blue-armored fists erupted.
The air itself shattered.
Gen raised his hand.
One motion.
Time seemed to twist around him.
Then—
He punched.
The Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack detonated.
Silver and blue chakra collided in a deafening chain of explosions that tore the land apart.
Mountains collapsed.
Cliffs vaporized.
Even the Ten-Tails wailed and tumbled like a ragdoll.
The world shook.
Naruto and Sasuke, sprinting through the storm of chakra, froze.
"W-What kind of fight is this…?"
Naruto whispered.
Even Kurama trembled.
"Hashirama and Madara…
and that Otsutsuki…
brat, this is far worse than you think."
Sasuke gritted his teeth.
"We have to move.
Even if we can't beat him…
we must buy Gen-senpai time."
---
The final punch shattered the thousand-armed titan.
Hashirama and Madara were blown from the sky—
caught just in time by Naruto and Sasuke.
Black Zetsu emerged, holding Madara's original eyes.
"Madara-sama… I've retrieved your Rinnegan."
Naruto scowled.
Sasuke tensed.
Madara calmly reinserted them.
His aura surged.
Then—
"Only I can become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki.
Only with Six Paths power can we fight him."
Sasuke grimaced.
Tobirama scowled.
Hashirama sighed.
But none of them could deny it.
Madara was the only one with the prerequisites.
"You must stall Genshiki for me.
If he moves before the sealing is complete…
all of us die."
Reluctantly, the group nodded.
Genshiki's voice drifted from the sky:
"Finished discussing?
Good.
Then we continue."
He glanced toward a point in empty space—the hidden dimensional pocket where Hagoromo and Hamura watched.
"The Sage of Six Paths still won't come out?
Fine."
He cracked his knuckles.
"Then I'll send Naruto and Sasuke to see you myself."
Kaguya's chakra stirred irritably inside him.
"Stop playing around.
Those two are Indra and Ashura's successors.
They're one trigger away from meeting Hagoromo."
Gen grinned.
"Exactly.
If they need a near-death experience—
I'll provide it."
In an instant, he flashed toward Naruto and Sasuke.
Madara bolted toward the Ten-Tails.
Naruto and Sasuke charged, cloaked in Nine Tails Mode and Susanoo.
Hashirama, Tobirama, and Minato followed.
Genshiki merely sighed.
"How quaint."
Naruto was the first to reach Kitagawa Gen.
The golden Nine-Tails avatar roared behind him and swung a colossal fist.
"God or not — I'm still taking you down!"
At the same moment, Sasuke's attack came in silently from the flank.
His purple Susano'o erupted with violent power, blade leveled straight at Gen.
A wooden dragon burst from behind him, howling as it lunged forward.
"We can't let a monster like you rampage in this world!"
Even Tobirama and Minato dashed in, striking from both sides.
But—
"You still haven't understood anything, have you?"
Gen simply shook his head.
His calm voice chilled them more than the battlefield itself.
"This fight will not end the way you wish.
Your defeat is already predetermined."
Boom—!
A blinding radiance exploded across the death-scarred plain.
Gen's golden chakra sword flashed, reaching every corner of the battlefield.
Fwoom.
It sliced cleanly through the Nine-Tails avatar — Kurama shrieked in pain.
The massive chakra fist was severed in a single stroke.
A second arc of golden light swept toward Naruto.
"Damn—!"
Naruto could only watch as the Nine-Tails cloak was bisected.
The remaining blade of golden chakra streaked toward him—
—and Sasuke's strike finally arrived.
But Sasuke's face twisted.
"What—? Even this attack? He distorted it?!"
The blade of Susano'o twisted midair, as if caught by Kamui itself—
—and redirected straight toward Tobirama and Minato!
Before anyone could process it, another golden flash tore through the sky.
Sasuke didn't even see where the strike came from.
His Susano'o shattered instantly.
He was blown out of the air like a rag doll.
---
"Naruto!"
"Tch—dammit!"
Tobirama and Minato narrowly avoided Susano'o's misdirected slash, only to see both boys plummeting.
They rushed to catch them—
But the entire space felt like Genshiki's domain.
His strikes came from everywhere, leaving no room to react.
Another golden flash—
Tobirama and Minato were cut cleanly in half.
---
"Enough!"
Hashirama roared and charged Genshiki head-on.
Shock, disbelief, fury — all twisted on his face.
He had never imagined the battle could flip so suddenly.
If no one stopped this monster, everything would end.
"We're doomed..."
Black Zetsu felt his scalp go numb.
His entire plan was collapsing.
He revived Madara, nudged him toward becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki — all to stop Otsutsuki Genshiki.
At the very least, he couldn't let that monster claim the Ten-Tails.
Tha would destroy every future plan… including resurrecting Kaguya.
But this display of power—
"This isn't a fight!
This is extermination!"
He had no idea what to do anymore.
---
BOOM—!
Another golden strike split the sky.
Hashirama was blasted upward, then slammed into the ground with devastating force.
"HASHIRAMA!"
Madara, already beside the Ten-Tails, froze.
He turned slowly.
And felt pure, animal fear.
He took him down… even faster than the Buddha armor?!
Was Genshiki… playing with them this entire time?
---
Genshiki's voice drifted lazily through the air.
"Hurry up, Madara.
I'd like at least some entertainment before my 'predecessors' resurrect."
"You—!"
Humiliation burned in Madara's chest.
But Gen wasn't even looking at him.
His eyes were focused only on the trembling, battered Ten-Tails.
Madara gritted his teeth, pressed his hand onto the beast—
and began the sealing ritual.
Hamura sighed.
"Brother… he can see us.
And those three children are all in a near-death state.
If you don't intervene now—"
Hagoromo rubbed his forehead in exasperation.
"Youth these days…"
He did understand what Gen was doing.
He could feel the Yang-Release seeds Gen had planted inside Naruto, Sasuke, and the others.
They wouldn't die from this.
But Hamura pressed him:
"So? What will you do?"
The Sage groaned.
"Sigh… I suppose it's time.
If I don't show myself, Gen will truly get angry."
He hesitated—but only a moment.
"And… if I appear, it shouldn't be just for these children.
Every fallen soul deserves a chance."
Hamura froze.
"Brother—
that sounds like trouble."
Hagoromo simply stepped forward.
"Let's go."