"Meow~ Black Zetsu sure runs fast, but this direction..."
Takeshi gave chase.
Black Zetsu was clearly wary of the Land of Fire, bypassing its territory entirely to skulk through the desolate wastelands surrounding Amegakure and Kusagakure. Judging by his bearing, he was heading east.
The Land of Lightning was definitely not a suitable place to lie low. That wretched terrain wasn't fit for habitation, even if Madara hid underground, lightning strikes could conduct through the earth at any moment due to composition of soil there. While the ground would dampen the damage, getting shocked every day would be unbearable.
Indeed.
Even though the Third Raikage had transformed Kumogakure into a mountain fortress, it couldn't solve the fundamental geographic problems. Many areas in the Land of Lightning were simply untamable, such as the Valley of Clouds and Lightning.
Takeshi shook his head, temporarily putting these thoughts aside.
Judging from Black Zetsu's trajectory, he was clearly aiming for the Land of Water. Takeshi further suppressed his presence while simultaneously utilizing Six Paths Mode's Levitation and the Earth Release: Lightened Boulder Jutsu to increase his altitude.
Soon, the Flying Thunder God mark he was tracking reached the sea.
It had to be the Land of Water.
Takeshi didn't delay any further, flying directly toward the archipelago. Remaining airborne right next to Black Zetsu wasn't feasible, he needed to move ahead, get into position, and recover his chakra. Otherwise, with twenty percent of his reserves depleted from the long journey, he might end up lacking sufficient firepower.
Of course, this was entirely his own harsh assessment.
If anyone else heard him worrying about "insufficient firepower," they would be left speechless. With his kind of output, he thought he was lacking? Even Madara likely couldn't withstand his current attacks. After all, Madara's eyes were still embedded in Nagato's skull, not yet returned to their owner. Both Black Zetsu and Madara were wary of Takeshi's power and had hesitated to attempt a direct seizure.
All their current actions were preparations for confronting Takeshi once they emerged from seclusion.
What Black Zetsu likely didn't anticipate was that Takeshi could evade his sensory perception and had followed him all this way to pinpoint his approximate location. When Black Zetsu landed in the Land of Water and made for his lair, Takeshi also sensed his approach.
The Land of Water. Madara's hidden lair.
Madara, now with a disciple and descendant, was no longer so solitary. Each day, besides discussing plans with Black Zetsu, he took time to train Shisui and instruct him in the various secret techniques of the Sharingan.
However, what he looked forward to most was Black Zetsu's return.
Once Black Zetsu arrived with Chiyo and used the Self-Life Reincarnation Jutsu to restore his vitality, Madara could finally emerge from seclusion to execute his grand plan, no longer confined to his cave.
Initially, Madara believed his ambitions would have to wait until Black Zetsu revived him completely, but now he had the chance to fulfill his grand plan far sooner than anticipated.
He took a deep breath, and a figure seemed to appear before his eyes, memories as vivid as if they were from yesterday.
"Hashirama, I will prove that I was right," Madara muttered .
Infinite Tsukuyomi, world peace...
His vision of peace was far more elaborate than Hashirama's naive ideals. Only through his method could humanity truly cease its endless conflicts. He seemed to be hypnotizing himself, though he quickly regained his composure.
At that moment, Black Zetsu emerged from the ground.
Beside him, an old woman stood out conspicuously, Chiyo, the elder of Sunagakure. Madara studied her in silence for a moment, then suddenly asked, "I recall you also made contact with her grandson?"
"Mm, that deranged child Sasori? Indeed, I supplied him with experimental materials, and he agreed to assist us. I'd initially planned to have him attack Yukigakure, but I reconsidered."
Black Zetsu sighed as he said this.
Akatsuki's trajectory had completely deviated from his plans, leaving him and Madara in a passive position, unable to proceed with many of their designs.
The crux of the problem was undoubtedly that damned cat.
'Why does the Neko Clan exist? In a thousand years, I've never even heard of them. It's like they popped right out from cracks in the rocks. This is absurd. Once I catch him, I must thoroughly dig through him and find all his memories and secrets,' Black Zetsu thought viciously.
Madara said expressionlessly, "Hurry up and cast the technique. Once I recover, I'll personally go and correct this mistake."
"Yes!"
Black Zetsu began to manipulate Chiyo, extracting the chakra from her body in preparation for the Self-Life Reincarnation Jutsu. He had already investigated how to perform it during the journey and was ready to cast it immediately.
In the stone chamber outside, Shisui was torn about whether to launch a sneak attack. His kind nature made it difficult for him to sit by and do nothing. Additionally, if Madara successfully acquired Chiyo's life force, his strength would recover to an even more formidable level.
At that point, killing him would be incredibly difficult.
But...
'I can't kill them right now either.'
'Neko Sage, what should I do?' Shisui thought, feeling terrible.
At that moment, a voice sounded from outside.
"Meow~ After spending so much time, I finally found your new home. How about it, surprised?"
That voice...
The Neko Sage? No, that's not right.
What was he doing here? Shisui grew anxious and rushed over. In his imagination, Takeshi might have already been ensnared by Madara's genjutsu, or perhaps controlled by Black Zetsu. But reality was completely the opposite, Black Zetsu had failed to corrupt his body, and Madara had failed to control him with genjutsu.
Because at this moment, the cat's entire body was radiant light silver, looking like a deity that couldn't be looked at directly.
"How!?"
Black Zetsu was the most shocked, even forgetting his persona as a creation of Madara's Yin-Yang Release, his tone full of surprise.
"This power... is the power of the Six Paths?!"
Madara found it hard to believe.
He once possessed the Rinnegan and had mastered the ability to summon the Gedo Statue, so he quickly discerned the nature of the power radiating from Takeshi.
This was the power of the Six Paths.
Not only that, but Takeshi's Six Paths power was actually more potent than the state Madara had previously mastered.
'How is this possible!?'
According to what the stone tablet said, only by fusing the power of Senju and Uchiha could one obtain the power of the Six Paths.
This cat had nothing to do with either Senju or Uchiha. How could he possess the power of the Six Paths... oh wait, that pendant seemed to belong to Hashirama Senju. But that still didn't make sense.
It was just a pendant.
That amount of chakra wasn't even as powerful as the chakra contained in Hashirama's cells. It was impossible for him to obtain Hashirama Senju's chakra that way, let alone the power of the Six Paths.
He took a deep breath and said in shock, "This is impossible. How did you do it?"
"Meow~ Want to know? Come dance with me!"
Takeshi tossed Chiyo aside and twisted his cat body where he stood.
'Dance?'
Madara had no leisure to dance. Right now, the only phrase looping in his mind was "Impossible, this is impossible."
As for Black Zetsu, he was even more dumbfounded.
As someone who had witnessed the entirety of ninja history, he understood the source and details of powers like the Six Paths very well. Under normal circumstances, this cat couldn't possibly possess such an ability, unless...
He's an alien! No, an alien cat? He was confused.
Although from some of Kaguya's memories he knew there were enemies beyond Earth that she had always feared and dreaded, if it were a cat, that would be too ridiculous. It definitely couldn't be.
But him being from beyond Earth was the only explanation.
Because in all of past history, there had never been any so-called "Neko Clan," let alone such a terrifying sage cat that mastered Six Paths Mode.
His heart was in chaos, and he didn't know what to do for a moment.
The opponent mastered the power of the Six Paths. They definitely couldn't win in a fight, so it would be best to slip away early.
After slipping away, who could he find to free his mother?
Black Zetsu's heart was in turmoil, and he was out of ideas for now, mainly because this move by the black cat had completely dumbfounded both him and Madara.
This makes no sense!
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