Boom, boom, boom...
As Uchiha Madara's voice fell, the entire ninja world began to tremble.
Not only the ninja continent, but even all the islands overseas, wherever the light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi reached, the ground shook with varying intensity.
Cracks appeared, and branches of all sizes surged out, rapidly inflating and expanding, eventually forming massive branches or towering vines as large as mountains.
As they expanded, these branches split into numerous smaller vines and twigs, binding everyone bathed in the white light, their expressions blank and motionless, into tight bundles.
These bundles were then connected to the massive branches and towering vines, floating upward and hanging below, like fruits growing from the branches and vines.
In no time, aside from Yagyu and possibly Naruto and Sasuke, who might have already received their power-ups from the Sage of Six Paths, every human in the ninja world, regardless of age or condition, was bound by the Divine Deep Forest Emergence that covered the entire world.
Wherever there were people, one could see enormous branches and towering vines, along with clusters of white "fruits."
"Lord Madara, you can begin reclaiming the chakra now," Black Zetsu said, barely containing his excitement.
"Mm," Madara nodded, sensing the situation across the ninja world through the Divine Deep Forest Emergence's god-like perspective. After confirming that no one except Yagyu had escaped, he closed his eyes, maintaining the hand seal, and began reclaiming the chakra that the Sage of Six Paths had distributed to the world a thousand years ago. Over the millennia, this chakra had spread across the entire world, and even ordinary people who couldn't extract chakra had a trace of it within them.
Swish, swish, swish...
In an instant, the white "fruits" hanging from the branches and vines began to glow with a blue light. This chakra then began to flow through the branches and vines, converging toward the Land of Rain.
Once all this chakra reached the Land of Rain, Madara would be able to reclaim it remotely through the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
As Madara focused on reclaiming the chakra, he paid no attention to Black Zetsu, who had moved behind him.
To be precise, he had no wariness toward Black Zetsu.
After all, in his eyes, Black Zetsu was a manifestation of his own will, a special creation made through Yin-Yang Release, much like his Limbo shadows.
In a world filled with various cloning techniques, no one would be wary of their own clone—not even Yagyu.
Moreover, his back was one of Madara's few weaknesses, making it even harder for him to notice.
Thus, as Madara focused on reclaiming the chakra, Black Zetsu, who had moved behind him, glanced around and saw that Madara's other Wood Clones had descended to interfere with Yagyu, ensuring that Yagyu wouldn't disrupt the chakra reclamation. Seeing this, Black Zetsu decided the time was right.
Without hesitation, he struck.
Thud—
The sound of a sharp object piercing flesh echoed as a pitch-black hand, like an indestructible spear, pierced through Madara's heart from behind.
"Black... Black Zetsu, what are you doing?!"
Due to his Ten-Tails Jinchūriki physiology, Madara didn't feel much pain from having his heart pierced. In fact, it was nothing compared to the agony of Yagyu's nine Truth-Seeking Balls exploding.
However, this sudden attack interrupted Madara's chakra reclamation.
His eyes widened, filled with disbelief and shock.
Not only was he stunned by Black Zetsu's betrayal, but he was also shocked by his current state.
He realized that he had lost control of his body.
Even when his body had turned into a puddle of sludge, he hadn't lost control. The Ten-Tails' raging consciousness had been instantly suppressed by Madara.
But now, with just his heart pierced, he had lost control of his body.
And the one who had taken control was the manifestation of his own will, created through Yin-Yang Release. How could this not shatter Madara's defenses?
"You've worked hard, Madara," Black Zetsu said with a hoarse laugh. "You truly are the most outstanding reincarnation of Indra in a thousand years. You didn't disappoint me."
"W-what do you mean?" Madara sensed something was wrong but still held onto a sliver of hope. "Aren't you my will? Why are you doing this?!"
Hearing this, Black Zetsu, who had already achieved his goal, didn't let Madara die in confusion. Instead, he smugly explained, "I am indeed a manifestation of will, but not yours. From the very beginning, I have been the will of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki."
"W-what are you saying?!" Madara couldn't comprehend.
"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki is the mother of the Sage of Six Paths and the progenitor of chakra," Black Zetsu explained slowly. "But a thousand years ago, the Sage of Six Paths sealed her away and usurped her power. My purpose was to bring about the second Rinnegan in the ninja world and then find a pawn to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, allowing the progenitor of chakra to revive."
"Madara, you were the pawn I chose," Black Zetsu said with a playful smile. "The Infinite Tsukuyomi is real, but the text on the Uchiha Clan's stone tablet is fake. I altered it using Yin-Yang Release. The true purpose of the Infinite Tsukuyomi is to allow the progenitor of chakra's consciousness to descend. And now... farewell, Madara!"
"Ahhh—"
Black Zetsu activated Kaguya's consciousness within him, and the Rinne Sharingan in the sky once again emitted a blinding white light.
At this moment, Madara, who had endured the explosion of nine Truth-Seeking Balls without a single cry of pain, let out a heart-wrenching scream, as if he had suffered unimaginable agony.
If the original Uchiha Obito had been here, he would have found Madara's current state eerily familiar—his will was being torn apart and usurped.
But unlike Obito, who had overcome the Ten-Tails' will and reclaimed control of his body, Madara was utterly crushed in this battle of wills by an external force descending from above. He had no resistance.
His body rapidly expanded into a white, clay-like sludge, which then formed into a massive white sphere.
The Wood Clones that had been rushing toward Yagyu disintegrated into branches and fell to the ground, as if their creator had dispelled them.
Soon, the massive white sphere began to change shape.
A waterfall of white hair emerged, and the sphere shrank, sculpting itself into the outline of a woman. The sludge transformed into a white robe that covered her limbs, and her skin turned pale, her eyebrows disappeared, and two horns grew from her head. Her eyes were pure white, and she was a woman entirely white, save for the black hem of her robe and a few black tomoe.
But in the next moment, other colors appeared on her body.
A vertical line formed on her forehead, opening to reveal a crimson Rinne Sharingan.
This woman was Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who had come to Earth a thousand years ago with Isshiki Ōtsutsuki to plant the Divine Tree. She had betrayed her companion when she was to be sacrificed, seizing the Chakra Fruit and becoming the progenitor of chakra on Earth—the mother of the Sage of Six Paths.
"Mother, welcome back!" Black Zetsu said excitedly.
"You've worked hard, my child," Kaguya said with a look of satisfaction. "I've seen everything you've done. You've suffered for a thousand years."
"It was nothing. As long as you could return, I would endure another thousand years," Black Zetsu said earnestly.
Watching this touching reunion between mother and son, Yagyu, who was slowly ascending, didn't interrupt.
Although Black Zetsu was one of the masterminds behind the scenes, Yagyu held no ill will toward him.
After all, Black Zetsu was a pure soul—he simply wanted to save his mother.
Thus, in Yagyu's previous life, the Naruto world was not only known as "The Legend of the Eye in the Five Villages' Feud" but also jokingly referred to as "Black Zetsu's Search for His Mother."
As the will and third son of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, Black Zetsu had spent the past thousand years primarily watching over the Senju and Uchiha clans, waiting for the reincarnations of Asura and Indra to emerge, and then seizing opportunities to manipulate the Indra reincarnations, attempting to create the second Rinnegan in the ninja world. Beyond that, he had done almost nothing.
If it were Yagyu, he would have used Yin-Yang Release and mental possession to create a powerful force to serve him over the past thousand years.
But Black Zetsu had done none of that.
For a thousand years, he had endured countless lonely nights, either waiting or manipulating Indra's reincarnations, failing and trying again, failing and trying again.
Such patience and filial piety—if not for the fact that he was merely a creation of Yin-Yang Release—would have made Black Zetsu more deserving of the title "Strongest Will in the Ninja World" than Uchiha Obito.
Yagyu's ascent caught Black Zetsu's attention, breaking the warm reunion between mother and son.
"Mother, be careful. That brat might be a reincarnation of Hagoromo's chakra," Black Zetsu warned, his voice filled with apprehension.
Hearing the name "Hagoromo," Kaguya's expression shifted momentarily, her eyes complex as she looked at Yagyu.
But soon, her face returned to its serene indifference, and she shook her head. "He is not a reincarnation of Hagoromo's chakra. He is merely a thief."
Hyūga's Byakugan was of high purity, but only among the hybrid descendants of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
In terms of purity, she was on par with Hagoromo's descendants, Asura and Indra, but only in terms of her eyes.
To evolve, Hyūga would need to follow the path of Hagoromo's lineage, seizing the chakra of the Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon, who also possessed high bloodline purity, to activate the potential within her Byakugan.
Similarly, the Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon needed to obtain Byakugan of high purity to awaken the Tenseigan.
In the movie, Ōtsutsuki Toneri had awakened the Tenseigan by stealing Hanabi's Byakugan.
However, before awakening the Tenseigan, the Byakugan of the Hyūga Clan and the Ōtsutsuki Clan were merely assistance eyes capable of long-range vision and perspective.
Only pure-blooded Ōtsutsuki—those from beyond the stars—could further unlock the potential of the Byakugan.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was one of them.
Her Byakugan was so powerful that it could release pressure to kill and even read minds.
In "Boruto," Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki's Byakugan could even see through fate.
Unlike other Byakugan, which could only understanding the human body's meridians and chakras, Kaguya's Byakugan allowed her to see the very essence of Yagyu's chakra with a single glance.
His body contained no trace of Hagoromo or Hamura's chakra, nor did his chakra fluctuation resemble theirs in the slightest.
Thus, his pattern and eyes were merely stolen through some unknown means.
Compared to him, the two distant chakra signatures felt more like Hagoromo and Hamura, those two unfilial sons.
Kaguya glanced in a certain direction.
"I see," Black Zetsu said, nodding slightly. He never doubted his mother's words.
But he still advised, "Regardless, that brat is extremely dangerous. He is the biggest obstacle to your reclaiming chakra. We must eliminate him."
"Mm," Kaguya nodded.
Though she was naive and sweet, she could still distinguish friend from foe.
The fact that Yagyu had obtained eyes similar to Hagoromo's meant he was a threat to her.
After all, aside from Hagoromo, no one else possessed such purple Rinnegan.
Kaguya even suspected that he might also know sealing techniques similar to Hagoromo's.
Having been sealed for a thousand years, Kaguya had no desire to be sealed again.
Thus, Kaguya glanced at the battle-scarred Land of Rain below and frowned slightly. "We cannot fight in my garden."
With that, the Rinne Sharingan on her forehead emitted a dazzling crimson light.
In the next moment, Yagyu and Black Zetsu found their surroundings rapidly changing.
The cool night air was replaced by scorching heat as the darkness was torn apart by an orange-red light rising from below.
The space around them transformed into a volcanic cavern.
Without any physical contact, the entire space had been shifted to another dimension.
This was the advanced application of space-time, a Kekkei Mōra-level space-time ocular technique—Amenominaka.
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!"
After pulling Yagyu into the lava dimension, Kaguya immediately raised her hand and unleashed a tidal wave of chakra.
Seeing this, Black Zetsu quickly shouted, "Mother, no!"
But his warning came too late.
The tidal wave of chakra had already formed into a massive fist, distorted air flow with enough force to crushing mountains and earth. Even a fully formed Susano'o with absolute defense would be instantly shattered upon impact.
The fist roared toward Yagyu.
Receiving such a generous gift upon their first meeting, Yagyu couldn't help but grin.
Truly a naive and sweet treasure trove!