Naruto: Paws and Whiskers-Chapter 336
"Your body doesn’t have Hashirama Cells, and it also lacks the power of the Uchiha..."
No Hashirama Cells, no Uchiha eyes.
Why? This didn’t make sense.
"Meow~ Who told you that you need these two things to obtain the power of the Six Paths? Is what you see necessarily real?" Takeshi replied casually.
Indeed.
Obtaining this power didn’t necessarily require those two specific methods, but they were undoubtedly the fastest. Without the system’s help, Takeshi wouldn’t have been able to reach that level even if he lived as long as the Great Toad Sage.
But how would Madara and Black Zetsu know that?
At this moment, Madara wasn’t just confused, he was reflecting on and doubting his entire life’s pursuit. If one could obtain Six Paths power without fusing the two, then what did the so-called power to bring world peace that he’d chased after even amount to? It was like reading a manual that says "To master this technique, you must first castrate yourself," only to discover after mastering it that the final line reads "Actually, you can succeed without castrating yourself." No matter how you looked at it, it felt like a cruel joke played by fate. And what made it even more piercing was Takeshi’s final question.
"Is what you see real?"
If this had been before, he would have nodded without hesitation, asserting that what he saw was real. All the clues were mysteries he had discovered step by step through his own exploration, including the birth of the Rinnegan and the creation of Black Zetsu.
But Takeshi’s Six Paths mode was simply too shocking, leaving him far less confident than before.
Was what was written on the tablet necessarily true? Madara was at a loss.
At this moment, Black Zetsu was burning with anxiety. Although he already entertained the idea of selling out his teammate, he hadn’t fully committed to it yet. If this thoroughly wicked black cat kept spouting nonsense, it might cause Madara’s brain to suddenly click and stab him in the back instead.
Most of the time, he wasn’t afraid of Madara betraying him, but this was an exception. Madara’s vitality had recovered considerably and he no longer completely relied on him. Another factor was that Takeshi had also mastered the power of the Six Paths.
Two ninjas wielding the power of the Six Paths could use a terrifying sealing technique capable of forming a moon: Six Paths Planetary Devastation.
This was a sealing technique that even his mother couldn’t escape from, so naturally, he would be no exception. But jumping out now to attack the black cat would only make Madara even more suspicious, leaving him caught in a dilemma.
After thinking it over, he decided to make a move secretly and stir up a fight.
As long as a fight broke out, both sides would have no time for idle chatter.
However,
"This dark, shadowy creature should know something about this, right?" Takeshi turned his gaze toward Black Zetsu.
"..."
Black Zetsu was dumbfounded. You’re shifting the battlefield a bit quickly, aren’t you? Straight to me?!
Black Zetsu fell silent for a moment, then decided to act directly.
Facing an alien creature wielding such power, he didn’t want to waste words and give Madara more information. So, the moment Takeshi’s spearhead turned toward him, Black Zetsu immediately had White Zetsu make his move.
A mass of wooden spikes grew out and stabbed toward Takeshi.
Madara was no longer conflicted. Falling into confusion and distress wasn’t his nature.
So what if the cat had the power of the Six Paths? He had it too.
Even without the Rinnegan, he still had the Gedo Mazo, which gave him comparable strength to contend with Takeshi.
There was nothing to fear.
Madara took a deep breath, clapped his hands together, and rapidly formed seals.
The next second, flames filled the entire underground space. As they fought, Madara also quietly had White Zetsu take Shisui away from there, leaving only himself, White Zetsu, and Black Zetsu to fight Takeshi.
Perhaps in Madara’s eyes, Shisui was the inheritor of his will and aspirations.
Takeshi secretly sighed . Without interfering, he took the opportunity to use Flying Thunder God to teleport Chiyo to Orochimaru.
Madara and Black Zetsu were powerless to stop him.
Their current crisis was Takeshi. If they could defeat Takeshi, then the others wouldn’t be a problem at all, not even Chiyo and Tsunade, who could be dealt with later. But if they couldn’t defeat him, what was the point of capturing those people?
Defeat the powerful enemy before them! This was their only thought. Madara’s flames filled the entire area. Using Fire Release as cover, he unsealed and retrieved an eye from his precious sealing scroll.
Over the years, Madara naturally hadn’t been idle. He had quietly obtained Sharingan from some Uchiha clan members. Though they were only basic three-tomoe, they were still better than nothing.
At least techniques like Izanagi could be used.
He was just thinking this when, in the next second, he sensed a crisis incoming.
From behind? This speed was far greater than even Tobirama’s.
He sighed in admiration.
Even setting aside the power of the Six Paths, this cat was still one of the strongest enemies he had encountered in his life. Its oppressive force was even stronger than Hashirama Senju’s, when facing Hashirama, he could occasionally feel that he ’had a chance,’ but against Takeshi in this state, Madara’s first thought was ’I don’t think I can win this one.’
Takeshi arrived behind Madara and swung his claw to strike at him.
Madara quickly formed hand seals.
In the blink of an eye, the hand of the Gedo Mazo extended out.
The cat’s claw collided with the Gedo Mazo. Violent chakra clashed, combined with the battle of ice and fire, creating a heaven-shaking explosion that spread from the cave to the surroundings.
*Bang!* Earthquakes and tsunamis erupted.
Ordinary people in the Land of Water who had been fishing or hunting were instantly caught in the disaster. Panic spread as everyone fled for their lives in terror. This wave of earthquakes and tsunamis was enough to affect more than half of the Land of Water.
After all, this island nation wasn’t very big to begin with.
’So strong. Madara definitely won’t win easily against this guy here. I need to take this chance to escape. But I also have to retrieve those eyes from Nagato.’
Black Zetsu had instigated this battle, but didn’t dare to stay any longer.
He needed to leave this place and go seize Nagato’s eyes. As long as he obtained the Rinnegan, he could wait some years until the Uchiha produced another Indra reincarnation. He could still support them to rescue his mother.
He had already waited a thousand years. A little while longer didn’t matter.
Black Zetsu quietly fled.
Naturally, he didn’t completely burn his bridges. He only took the White Zetsu main body with him, leaving all the other clones behind to assist Madara. Although these clones probably couldn’t help much, if Madara ended up winning later, he could claim that he had gone to retrieve the Rinnegan for Madara-sama.
"Meow~ Your accomplice has abandoned you."
"Abandoned? Hahahahaha! Even wielding such high-level power, you’re still unaware. Come, let’s have a satisfying battle. Show me your strength, don’t disappoint me now."
Madara didn’t think there was anything wrong with Black Zetsu at all.
In his mind, Black Zetsu was a creation he had made using Yin-Yang Release, his other half. If he suspected there was something wrong with him, wouldn’t that mean suspecting something was wrong with his own mind? When Black Zetsu fled, his first reaction was ’Great.’
This way, he could fight without any reservations. Anyway, Black Zetsu would eventually resurrect him according to plan, and the Gedo Mazo was indestructible, there was no possibility of it being destroyed. All that would be lost was just a life.
A half-spent life that would die sooner or later, might as well have a good fight.
"Meow? Where does your confidence come from?"
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