Chapter 295: The Moon Princess (1)
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After clearing the rain clouds and making sure that night had finally plunged into the world, Madara Uchiha didn't stop floating high in the sky. He rather lowered his flight while he slowly spread his arms in a diagonal fashion.
Madara took a deep breath and released it. At that moment, from his back, the Ten-Tails erupted outwards like a wave of tsunami breaking the flood barrier, plunging to the ground below. When the titanic Ten Tailed Beast that was as big as a Great Village fell to the ground, its ten tails dug into the earth just as it roared upwards.
Although Madara was its' Jinchuuriki, he could willingly let the beast go out of his body and yet be connected to it without any problem. That was how he immediately didn't die.
Madara watched as the beast's body started to once again compress within itself, and this time around a gigantic red flower erupted out of its back. Its body turned into a tree and started to rise in the sky, with the flower at its highest peak.
It was the God Tree.
A few minutes passed for Madara who watched the strange tree growing at a tremendous speed, rising towards the sky in the blink of an eye and reaching the clouds.
"Finally."
Madara smiled as he flew towards the tree. He placed a hand on its body and immediately started to absorb it within himself. A new signature of power invaded his body, making his bones shiver in joy, as he felt even his single Sharingan start to evolve into a Rinnegan.
Madara was blind when Obito revived him a few weeks ago, his eye sockets were empty. Obito gave him his one Rinnegan, and the other empty socket was filled with the eye of one of the countless Sharingans gathered by Obito from the deceased Uchihas who died in the massacre.
That was why, because Madara had previously unlocked the Rinnegan, his new Sharingan easily accepted this god-like chakra to evolve itself—into Rinnegan.
A few seconds later the tree was absorbed by Madara entirely, and only the tree's stump remained in the ground—it still had more uses left.
"Haah…" Madara took in a sharp breath and smiled.
For a moment, he looked down to find his right hand trembling at just how much power he was holding. However, Madara's uncertain eyes soon affirmed themselves. He controlled his urges—reminding him that he had a noble goal. This power wasn't to be used for personal gains.
'Unfortunately,' Madara looked up at the moon. 'The Infinite Tsukuyomi would need lots of chakra to keep going for decades. It will run on the chakra of the people stuck in the Jutsu at first, but later on I will have to feed it my own chakra.'
While everyone would experience a better life inside the Genjutsu, Madara Uchiha would sacrifice himself for them— even if they never learn of it, never be thankful for it.
'But if that Hyuga child's chakra gets absorbed…' Madara's eyes gleamed. 'At least a century's worth of time.'
Madara started to rise higher up in the sky again. He was about to initiate the Genjutsu immediately, that'd be sure to bring Neji out. The chances that he would be caught in the Jutsu were low because of his eyes, but if he somehow did get caught—then that would be a win for Madara nonetheless. So there was no point in wasting any time.
Madara was soon high enough in the sky. He looked directly at the moon, while his limbo clones were on all-time high guard to watch out for any sneak attack from Neji.
After a moment's consideration, Madara smiled at the moon as he grabbed the horn-like thing covering his forehead. He yanked it outwards, making it break apart and reveal the Rinne-Sharingan on his forehead.
Madara then cast the Jutsu on the moon's light.
"The Infinite Tsukuyomi!"
The yellowish surface of the moon turned deep red and patterns of Rinne-Sharingan reflected on it. The dim light of the moon suddenly brightened, as if the moon had become the sun, and the entire night sky became bright– blanketing the world with daylight. The entire world's population, Madara felt, trembled as they were all tangled into the light, their eyes gaining the patterns of Rinnegan.
From the spot Madara was standing on, to the opposite of the earth, every single human being and other intelligent creatures alike were all entangled in the light of this ultimate Genjutsu. Madara felt the stump of the God Tree, the root of it, expand to every corner of the world as each minute passed and tie everyone with its vine, in a cocoon.
In just a few minutes, the entire world beneath Madara was sent to their own version of heaven.
Madara released a deeply satisfied and relieved smile as he watched the perfection he had just created.
A few moments later, Madara dropped to the ground and called out his long-time partner by name.
"Black Zetsu, come out."
Madara said and watched the ground twist in and out of itself before a tree-like living creature crawled out of it.
Black Zetsu, Madara knew, was an extension of his will– and therefore wasn't affected by the Tsukuyomi. However, his White Zetsu half that was attached to his body indeed was affected by it and therefore had its one eye in the pattern of a rinnegan.
"There you are." Madara smiled. "Can you feel it? We did it."
Black Zetsu stayed silent, and Madara just continued.
"In any case, have you seen or sensed that Neji Hyuga? As expected, he wasn't caught in the Jutsu, however I still can't sense him."
"I…" Black Zetsu muttered. "I…"
"What are you saying? Be louder." Madara ordered.
However, rather than being louder, Black Zetsu walked closer to him. Madara supposed that worked too– in case he was having trouble speaking louder because one-half of his body was under a Genjutsu. So he allowed Zetsu to walk closer to him.
"Black Zetsu? Now spea–"
Madara couldn't finish his sentence as Black Zetsu shot his arm through Madara's chest, penetrating his heart in a heartbeat while wearing a contorted grin.
"Kihihihi-" Black Zetsu laughed. "You had your guard down~"
Madara was more than just confused and his reality seemed to shake. Even while he tried his best, Madara was unable to move a muscle, Black Zetsu's black fluid spreading across his body like a spider-net.
"Black Zetsu… but why?" Madara muttered in disbelief, his eyes wide. "You are… an extension of my will… I created you- so why?!"
"Kihihi, oh, Madara." Black Zetsu laughed. "Isn't it too delusional to think you are the only one who's different? That you are above the people of this world, that you are their hero? Look at you, even though you had been played from the start, manipulated to do what I wanted you to do."
"But-"
"I am not your will's extension, Madara. I belong to Kaguya, my mother and my creator." Black Zetsu affirmed.
It was at that moment that Madara realised what a big mess he had just made. He had been tricked all his life while thinking he was the hero this world needed– the hero this world didn't deserve– but in the end, he was just a nobody, a pawn in the plan of someone bigger.
"Ah, apologies. Am I interrupting you two?"
Suddenly, a newer voice boomed in the area and Madara found an untransformed Neji Hyuga standing right behind Black Zetsu.
"Apologies for being late. You Uchihas are a bunch of weird freaks. Naruto mixed his 'Body Reversal' Mangekyou Ability with his Izanagi or Izanami, whatever, and revived the other two. They started abusing my clone in the Kamui Dimension so I had to go teach them another lesson. Don't worry, they're really dead this time." Neji finished.
Madara seemed to hear him mutter something along the lines of– 'Unfortunately they didn't give me exp again…' –but he wasn't sure if he heard it right in this state.
In the meantime, Black Zetsu was sweating profusely as his eyes shifted from Madara to Neji. Zetsu couldn't defeat Neji either way, and even if he tried to, he would have to let Madara go– in which case Madara would kill him even before Neji did.
This was a very sticky situation for him.
"Oh, don't mind me. Continue. Summon Kaguya, I have been waiting to meet her as well." Neji said suddenly, shocking both Madara and Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu soon grinned. 'He is underestimating Kaguya, he most likely wants to steal her Kekkei Genkais. Greedy fool, this will be your end.'
Madara also reached the same conclusion, however he couldn't say anything as this time there were no more interruptions for Black Zetsu. Zetsu twisted Madara's heart, activating the mechanism needed to summon Kaguya– and immediately chakra started to rush out of the ground to enter his body.
Madara choked. Then he yelled.
A painful shriek filled the air as Madara yelled in unimaginable pain when foreign chakra started to invade his body. That chakra belonged to the countless people who were under the Infinite Tsukuyomi– and at this rate, they would all die.
"Stop."
Neji's deep, authoritative voice shook the world and Black Zetsu was forced to stop– unwilling to take any chances.
—-
Looking at Black Zetsu stop, Neji let his decision known.
"Take my chakra. I, and I am sure Kaguya herself, don't want this many people to die without any cause. I am providing enough chakra, you take it."
As Neji finished speaking, at the same time, all of his buffs from before returned.
First his Draconic Hybrid Form.
Then his Tenseigan Mana Mode.
Then, lightning fell from the heavens and Lightning Armour surrounded his body.
Lastly, he opened up his Eight Gates as well. One, two, three… and eight!
With these buffs stacking on top of each other, his Mana was boosted a whopping 500x in an instant— reaching 262,850,000 in number! More than all the tailed beasts compiled, and therefore easily more than enough to awaken the sleeping bunny.
Black Zetsu hesitated for a moment, before starting the process once again. This time Madara screamed louder as Neji's thick energy invaded his body.
Madara's body bubbled up like a puff fish, like a black balloon, as chakras too much for him to handle filled his body to the brink.
Then, all of a sudden, even while Madara glared at Neji and Black Zetsu– everything went wide and a huge, black ball of chakra replaced Madara. Immediately afterwards, the ball started to compress back into a human form, one into that of a very tall female.
Slowly, the figure of a strange woman started to form out of the ball of chakra that was once Madara.
First was her long white hair that reached the floor, even as she was floating a metre above the ground. Then her chocolate skin hat contrasted far too well with her white hair. Soon, with two horns spouted right beside two bunny ears, from the side of her head. Lastly, two wide, shocked, and confused eyes of purple-white and one Rinne-Sharingan popped up on her forehead.
The entire night world went dead silent and Neji's form seemed to pause in time. His eyes shook as the appearance of the woman finally registered to his senses.
For a long time, the moon princess and her dragon lover stared at each other, both their mouths slightly agape, while they both failed to find any word to speak.
Black Zetsu was about to open his mouth but Neji shot him through a portal, unwilling to have him interrupt this situation.
Neji willed to use ‹Transformation Jutsu› as smoke puffed out of him and he came out of with, wearing his previous world's clothes, while his hair was short and tidy.
"Rumi…"
Neji floated forward, gulping as he did. He reached her spot, her form taller than him now, as he slowly reached out his hand to her shoulders.
"Rumi, it's me. Neji. I have come to—"
The Moon Goddess, the enraged Rumi Usagiyama, interrupted Neji by throwing a stunningly fast and powerful punch right under Neji's chin.
– Boom!
Too shocked to react, Neji Hado was shot through the sound barrier, right outside Earth's atmosphere.
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