"Wh... Why... How do you have Nagato's Rinnegan?" Naruto struggled to ask as Madara held him by the throat.
Indeed, after Naruto, Gaara, and Ōnoki joined forces and launched their attack, their combined effort managed to break through Susanoo's defense. However, the attack was absorbed by none other than Madara Uchiha himself.
The reason? Madara's eyes—those all too familiar eyes—were Rinnegan.
This left the readers in shock. The legendary eyes of the Sage of Six Paths were now present on two people: Nagato and Madara. Was the Rinnegan being handed out wholesale?
But the readers were about to be even more shocked. Kabuto, speaking through the reanimated Second Tsuchikage Mu, explained his theory that the Sharingan could evolve into the Rinnegan.
The revelation about the Rinnegan wasn't the only jaw-dropping moment. What followed next raised the stakes even higher.
In the manga, as Madara completed a hand seal, the sky darkened—not because of clouds, but because something massive was descending.
It was a gigantic meteor!
The question on everyone's mind: How can they possibly defeat an enemy like this?
But that wasn't the worst of it. Just as Ōnoki and Gaara managed to stop the first meteor, Madara casually summoned a second one. His calm demeanor made it clear that he hadn't even used much of his strength.
This god-like power left everyone feeling utterly hopeless.
As the readers reached this part, many couldn't help but shout in frustration, "How can they possibly win against this?!"
Thankfully, just as things seemed completely lost, Tsunade, the Raikage, and the Mizukage made a dramatic entrance. The Five Kage had finally assembled to help Naruto and his team destroy the meteors.
In Ren's version, the Kage arrive just in time, instead of the aftermath seen in the original. The change added more tension and excitement to the battle. However, even though they managed to destroy the meteors, the resulting shockwaves and debris caused massive casualties among the Allied Shinobi Forces.
With the arrival of the Fourth Raikage Ay, the Fifth Hokage Tsunade, and the Fifth Mizukage Mei Terumi—thanks to the Flying Thunder God Technique—the Five Kage finally faced off against Madara.
At first, the Kage managed to hold their own against Madara, but once Madara confirmed that the masked man hadn't succeeded in capturing the Nine-Tails, he unleashed the full power of his Wood Style, turning the tide of battle. The combined strength of Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara overwhelmed even the Five Kage.
In a desperate moment, Ōnoki rallied the Kage, and with Tsunade's chakra boost, they unleashed a massive Dust Release, wiping out Madara's Wood Style clones and seemingly pushing Madara to the brink.
"This is amazing!"
Readers left comments full of excitement after finishing the latest chapter.
The battle between the Five Kage and Madara was incredibly intense and thrilling.
But after the excitement settled, many readers began to question the identity of the masked man. If the real Madara had appeared, who was the masked man claiming to be him?
"I bet it's Shisui. The masked man has to be an Uchiha, and Shisui is the only Uchiha ninja who fits the profile. He could have survived that fall and turned against the world after being betrayed."
"Come on, that's nonsense. Shisui lost one eye to Danzo, and the other to Itachi. How could he have the Sharingan?"
"Maybe the masked man can switch out eyes? He used Izanagi and then kept using the Sharingan powers. Sounds like he could replace them whenever he needed to."
"That's true! In this world, eyes are basically plug-and-play equipment. I also think it's Shisui."
"I think it's Obito. Kakashi's Sharingan came from Obito, and the masked man's other eye matches perfectly... Plus, doesn't his hairstyle look familiar?"
"Obito? Seriously? What reason would he have to become evil? You might as well say it's the ramen guy from Ichiraku!"
"Or maybe it's a clone of Madara, with some of his consciousness, created to bring about his resurrection!"
After this chapter, fans were not only gripped by the intense battle but also began speculating about the true identity of the masked man. Just like in Ren's previous life, many believed it was Shisui, while others thought it could be some sort of Madara clone.
Those who suggested it might be Obito were met with skepticism.
Aside from the masked man's identity, fans also started theorizing about the connection between Nagato and Madara. After all, the first thing Madara said when he was resurrected was, "It seems Nagato has grown."
At first, readers didn't think much of this. But now, after seeing Madara use the Rinnegan to absorb Naruto's attack and hearing Kabuto's explanation through the reanimated Mu that the Sharingan could evolve into the Rinnegan, they began to put the pieces together.
It wasn't just the idea of the Sharingan evolving into the Rinnegan that shocked readers. Madara's mention that he survived the battle at the Valley of the End hinted that he had indeed lived beyond that fight. He didn't deny Kabuto's theory, which only confirmed it in the minds of the fans.
Considering that in this world, eyes could be swapped around like equipment, a terrifying thought began to form in the readers' minds.
Could it be that Nagato's Rinnegan actually belonged to Madara?
If that's the case, then how powerful must Madara be with his Rinnegan, unrestricted by the limits Nagato faced?
----------
For 10 advance chapters: patreon.com/angelictranslating