From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

Yin Seal - Immortal Release!

In an instant, droplets of water rose from beneath Sakura's feet, each droplet vibrant and lively, rapidly compressing and spinning around the katana in Sakura's right hand.

At this moment, Sakura suddenly opened her eyes, and her body stopped retreating. Her emerald green eyes turned golden, like the sun, with a faint, blazing light.

"Immortal Technique: Water Severing Waves!"

Chapter 339 Sasuke's well-intentioned retreat, Madara's desperate pursuit.

"Black Zetsu, what are you doing!?"

Zetsu walked to Nagato's side and placed his hand on his shoulder, but it wasn't the extremely large amount of life force he had sensed last time.

Instead, it was an extremely dark and powerful constraint that seemed to penetrate deep into the very root of the soul.

Shocked, Nagato barely managed to turn his head to look at Zetsu, only to discover that the one that had merged into his body this time was not White Zetsu, but Black Zetsu.

As Black Zetsu merged with Nagato, black, tentacle-like stripes rapidly spread across Nagato's skin, causing him to feel his body become incredibly stiff and uncontrollable.

"Black Zetsu, you attacked me, the leader, are you trying to betray the organization!?"

Nagato's eyes flashed with murderous intent as he attempted to mobilize his chakra and Rinnegan to break free from control.

But at this moment, his chakra and his Rinnegan seemed to have abandoned him as their master, and were not obeying his commands at all.

How could this be!?

How is that possible?!

Nagato roared inwardly as the darkness on his skin rapidly spread to half of his body. At this moment, he had no control over his body, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not move an inch.

"Betrayal? Don't get me wrong, Nagato. I haven't betrayed the organization, hehehehe..."

Nagato's mouth moved, and Black Zetsu's sinister words rang out, saying things that Nagato found hard to believe.

"The true leader of the organization has always been my master—Uchiha Madara. As a derivative of Madara-sama's will, and having always carried out Madara-sama's will, how can I be accused of betrayal?"

"Nonsense...absurdity..."

Nagato spoke with difficulty, saying that the Akatsuki was founded by Yahiko, himself, and Konan.

They advocate first changing the Land of Rain, a country filled with tears and suffering, and then spreading it throughout the entire ninja world, building a bridge of hope to world peace through communication between people.

On this point, Nagato was absolutely certain and could not possibly be wrong.

"Heh, Nagato, do you remember anything from before you were five years old? Do you still have any memories from before you 'awakened' the Rinnegan?"

"Your organization is also part of Madara's plan; if it's not Akatsuki, it will be under some other name."

“Nagato, you should have noticed the abnormal fluctuations in the Rinnegan just now, right? That’s because its true master has appeared.”

"The Rinnegan never belonged to you, but to Lord Madara. You were never a savior, but merely a consumable chosen by Lord Madara."

Of course, Madara Uchiha was also one of the consumables I selected.

Black Zetsu spoke with a cold laugh, adding a sentence in his mind.

At this point, he stopped pretending and revealed his true identity as the mastermind behind everything: Uchiha Madara.

Upon hearing this, Nagato was stunned, his heart filled with turbulent waves. He wanted to refute, but at this moment, darkness had already spread throughout his entire body. Not to mention speaking, it seemed that he couldn't even control his thoughts and will.

He could only watch helplessly as his body formed a hand seal under Black Zetsu's control.

Upon seeing this, the chakra within the Sage clone, which had remained undisturbed since Black Zetsu's appearance, surged and the surrounding lightning flickered even more intensely.

He wanted to test the waters with a large-scale ninjutsu attack to see if he could...

However, Black Zetsu seemed to have sensed his thoughts, and Nagato, who was completely covered in black, gave him a sinister look.

The next moment, the demonic statue beneath its feet let out a roar, and after a spatial fluctuation, the demonic statue and all the people on it disappeared from the spot.

Spiritual communication!

Summoning and reverse summoning are not limited to just teleporting the summoned object; they can also include items around the summoned object, such as clothing and weapons.

There are also living beings, such as Naruto who returned from Mount Myōboku in the original timeline.

The true control of the Gedo Mazo was originally in the hands of Madara Uchiha.

...........

The howling wind transformed into a murderous aura that soared to the heavens!

The enormous swords flashed countless blades of light in the void, cleaving the sky and splitting the earth, constantly engaging in the most intense and resounding collisions.

In an instant, hundreds of swords clashed wildly, the air transformed into a hurricane, and the earth crumbled inch by inch wherever it passed.

The mountain, unfortunately caught in the battle between the two giants, was like a small boat adrift in a raging sea, battered and tossed about until it was utterly shattered.

After using Wood Release to block a strike from Madara Uchiha's Susanoo, Sasuke switched to his preferred Susanoo to fight back.

It is no exaggeration to say that Sasuke's mastery of Wood Release is now the third best in the ninja world in the last hundred years, and the best living one.

He could easily overwhelm the fourth person with just his Wood Release technique.

However, before he could fuse with the Thousand-Pulse Stone, an earth-attribute artifact, his mastery of Wood Release was still slightly inferior to that of the second-best and first-best person in the past century.

Using Wood Release once is enough; using it again will only lead to being proven wrong.

boom!

Once again, a deafening clang resounded as the two fully-formed Susanoo crossed paths and, for some unknown reason, stopped simultaneously.

In an instant, the two colossal giants, each blotting out the sky, faced each other from afar, neither launching another attack.

At this moment, Sasuke, who was located between the eyebrows of the complete Susanoo, frowned and felt uneasy.

He received some unexpected information from the Otsutsuki clone.

He looks exactly like Kakuzu, but calls himself Kashin Koji. Kakuzu is suspected of dying at Kakuzu's hands in the Land of Demons, but mysteriously resurrected.

And his two equally mysterious, powerful, and unpredictable companions.

Sasuke repeatedly recalled his memories from his past life, but he couldn't find any information about these two mysterious people.

This made Sasuke, who had always had an informational advantage, feel somewhat uneasy.

Meanwhile, the message sent simultaneously by the Sage's clone made Sasuke, who was already somewhat uneasy, frown even more.

'Thankfully, the ceremony will soon be successfully completed.'

'Once this ritual is completed, I will have fully finished constructing the ladder to godhood.'

'At that time, no matter who it is, no matter what conspiracy I don't know about, I can...'

Sasuke's eyes were deep and bloodshot, but there was still good news for him.

After completing this ceremony, Sasuke embarked on his envisioned path to the ultimate trinity, possessing the power of the God Tree, the Otsutsuki clan, and Sage Mode, along with the three Bloodline Limits.

More than feeling uneasy, he was filled with excitement and anticipation.

He has a bright future.

Just as Sasuke was envisioning a bright future, Madara Uchiha seemed to have sensed something, and suddenly burst into laughter, forming a hand seal.

"Spirit Summoning - Heretic Statue!"

Madara Uchiha laughed loudly, and a rune technique appeared out of thin air. He slapped the ground with one hand, and the shell of the Ten-Tails—the Gedo Mazo—appeared in the arena.

"Well done, Nagato."

Madara Uchiha looked at Nagato, who was covered in Black Zetsu and whose hands were forming hand seals, and said with praise.

"To be honest, your performance has exceeded my expectations. You even used Limbo: Border Jail. You are truly an excellent child."

"This... is impossible!"

Nagato stared at Madara Uchiha, or rather, at the Rinnegan in his eyes, in disbelief. In his shock, he found a surge of willpower and strength from who knows where, and broke through Black Zetsu's slight restraint, opening his mouth.

Madara Uchiha has the Rinnegan!

He really does have the Rinnegan!

Nagato stared intently into Madara Uchiha's eyes, a storm raging within him.

From childhood to adulthood, everyone who has seen his Rinnegan is amazed, and some even believe that he is the reincarnation of the Sage of Six Paths.

His teacher, Jiraiya, also told him that he was the child of prophecy and would surely change the ninja world in the future.

When his close friend Yahiko died, he entrusted him with his dying wish to change the ninja world.

The one who is changing the chaotic ninja world and leading people towards peace is himself.

Nagato firmly believed this, even after suffering two defeats at the hands of Sasuke Uchiha, he remained steadfast in his conviction.

Just consider it a test that the savior must undergo.

Black Zetsu had just rambled on and on, and although Nagato's resolve wavered, he still firmly believed that he was the master of the Rinnegan.

However, when he saw the Rinnegan in Madara Uchiha's eye sockets appear before him, he almost instantly shook the things he had believed in since childhood.

I am clearly the master of the Rinnegan!

I am the savior of the ninja world!

but why.....

"Don't be surprised, you are still the savior. Although you are the savior I chose, you are indispensable on my path to true peace, so you are still the savior."

Seemingly sensing Nagato's shock, Madara Uchiha calmly explained, "When you were very young, I transplanted my Rinnegan into your eye socket. You are not the true owner of the Rinnegan; I am."

“I chose you, Nagato. Your existence is to help me nurture myself, and one day in the future, I will use the power of the Rinnegan to revive myself from the Pure Land and personally complete the redemption of this cursed world.”

"Don't feel sorry for yourself. Just like I said, you are indispensable on the road to true peace. You are still the savior, good boy."

After saying that, Madara Uchiha ignored Nagato and said:

"Let's begin, Black Zetsu!"

"Yes, Lord Madara!"

"Heretical Path - Reincarnation and Heavenly Life Techniques".

"Aaaaaaaaaaa!"

In an instant, amidst Nagato's painful and unwilling roars, a dazzling chakra, as bright as the sun, burst forth from his body, forming a stream that flowed into Madara Uchiha's body.