Naruto: The Tale of an Otsutsuki

After Kirito left, Madara, who had been pinned to the ground, suddenly glowed with white light.

"Failed? As expected, it's only at this level."

Although he had anticipated it, he still felt a bit of regret as the Edo Tensei technique on his body was lifted.

If there were no black rods suppressing his actions, he would have severed the bond with Kabuto after learning about the reanimation technique, and his soul would not ascend to the afterlife simply because Kabuto's technique was released.

"Is Obito the only one left? As far as I know, Obito is not his opponent. Even his Kamui has been sealed by the other party," said White Zetsu, whose upper body emerged.

After Kirito left, a white spore originally attached to Kabuto landed beside Madara. After confirming that Kirito was completely gone, it appeared in front of Madara and asked if he had any further plans.

Feeling the disintegration of his body and the shift of his soul, Madara said, "We'll see how he performs. If he can successfully summon the Ten Tails and become its Jinchuriki, he may still have a chance.

"Watch from the sidelines. If he fails, have Black Zetsu control the situation and use the 'Rinne Rebirth' to resurrect me."

"You don't seem very confident in him," White Zetsu said. "Now that he has transplanted your Rinnegan and possesses the Gedo Mazo, no one should be his opponent."

Boom! White light burst from Madara's body, transforming into a beam of light that soared into the sky.

Madara, who was supposed to leave his body, used the power of the Rinnegan to forcibly anchor his soul to the reanimated body and continued, "If all else fails, let Black Zetsu completely lurk in the shadows, and you follow his command. Wait for someone who can inherit my will to appear..."

But Madara's state didn't last long. Due to the black rods' interference and suppression, Madara's soul couldn't remain even after returning to his reanimated body. As the reanimated body disintegrated, Madara, lacking a soul container, could only ascend uncontrollably, following the beam of light into the boundless sky.

Staring blankly at Madara disappearing completely, White Zetsu said regretfully, "It was so hard to resurrect him, only for him to die again. What a tragedy."

Then, it slowly sank into the ground, heading toward Black Zetsu's location to report on Madara's disappearance and the latest plan.

On the other side, at the frontline battlefield along the coastline of the Land of Fire, White Zetsu's forces emerged.

This was once a bustling port on the eastern side of the Land of Fire, facing the Land of Waves across the sea. The newly built Naruto Bridge in the Land of Waves was visible from the tallest lighthouse at the port.

Now, tens of thousands of White Zetsu continued to surface from the sea's depths, turning it into a chaotic battlefield.

Whoosh! A terrifying blaze swept forward, rushing toward the Allied Ninja Army on the coastline who were locked in combat with White Zetsu.

Splash! Torrents of water crashed down from the coast, colliding head-on with the approaching fire, producing a thick mist that enveloped the shoreline.

TenTen quickly sealed her open scroll, drew the Thunder Blade Kiba from her back, and charged toward the source of the fire—Kinkaku.

"To use such powerful Water Release... There are truly many talented ninjas in Konoha," Kinkaku said, surprised to see a female ninja from Konoha neutralize his flames. He had assumed it was a group effort from the Kirigakure ninjas.

"My flames will never lose to them!" shouted Atsui, who was standing in front of Darui. He charged forward with his massive blade.

"Wait, Atsui! It's too dangerous to rush in like that!" Samui called out, following with concern.

With her experience, she understood the danger posed by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, known as the "Two Lights of the Cloud Village." They were powerful and wielded the legendary Six Treasures. Carelessness could lead to defeat by the strange abilities of these weapons.

The sea of fire earlier had come from Kinkaku's Bashosen—a fan that could ignore chakra natures and unleash ninjutsu of any element.

In addition, they possessed:

The Golden Rope, which could bind enemies and extract their "word of truth." The Seven Star Sword, which could cut the extracted word and curse its victim. The Benihisago, a crimson gourd that could seal victims by their spoken word.

"Don't these juniors know how to respect their seniors?" Kinkaku laughed as he watched Atsui charge toward him recklessly.

"Kinkaku, show them why we're feared!" shouted Ginkaku, holding the massive Benihisago.

The two brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, looked almost identical—both with long hair and beards reminiscent of Naruto. One had blond hair, the other gray; one bore the character "Gold" on his arm, the other "Silver."

Once elite members of the Cloud Village, they had infamously killed the Second Raikage and Second Hokage during peace negotiations, earning the title of the most dangerous criminals in Cloud history.

Seeing their opponents were from Cloud Village, the rebellious Kinkaku felt eager for the fight and lunged toward Atsui without hesitation.

"I'll deal with the one in the back!" said Ginkaku, disappearing into the mist in search of Darui.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Flames licked the air as Atsui slashed through the White Zetsu blocking his path, charging straight toward Kinkaku.

Clang! The Bashosen collided violently with Atsui's blade.

"Even if you're a legend, you can't extinguish my fiery spirit!" Atsui roared, forcing Kinkaku's fan aside.

He seized the opportunity to attack Kinkaku, who had lost his balance, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen and was sent flying backward.

Boom! Samui caught Atsui mid-air, the two of them skidding across the water's surface.

"So fast!" Atsui muttered, clutching his stomach as Kinkaku closed the distance again.

"Change!" shouted Kinkaku.

"Understood," replied Ginkaku, switching places effortlessly with his brother.

"Force out their words and bind them!" Kinkaku activated the power of the Golden Rope.

"Ugh..." Samui and Atsui watched helplessly as spirit-like words spilled uncontrollably from their mouths.

(End of Chapter)