"Ah, no way!!!" "How can this be happening?" "Madara is way too strong!" "So close, just a little more!"
Without a doubt, Might Guy's final move was incredibly powerful. Even though readers were just following through the panels, they could feel the intensity of that attack.
The force of Guy's attack went beyond the limits of taijutsu, warping space itself and even shattering Madara's ribcage, despite him being in his Six Paths form! But... that was it.
Madara didn't die; he only had his ribs broken.
But let's not forget, Madara isn't an ordinary person—he's the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki! Even though he was gravely injured, Madara quickly recovered thanks to the immense regenerative abilities granted by the Ten-Tails.
Meanwhile, Might Guy was on the brink of death due to the side effects of the Eighth Gate. Madara, now back on his feet, prepared to finish Guy off with one of his Truth-Seeking Balls.
"Maybe this is the best end for Guy," thought many fans. "To die in the heat of battle, recognized by his opponent—it's a fitting conclusion for a warrior." "Curse you, Porter!" came the frustrated thoughts of countless readers.
But just as Madara was about to strike, Naruto appeared in the nick of time, kicking Madara's Truth-Seeking Ball away, which not only shocked Madara but also surprised the readers.
Naruto had revived?!
This revelation made fans ecstatic. They watched as Naruto recalled how he had been revived—by meeting the Sage of Six Paths while unconscious!
Naruto's newfound power overwhelmed Madara, knocking him to the ground and even severing the Divine Tree.
At this moment, a voice from the Divine Tree tempted Madara to absorb it, and Madara quickly did so, realizing the source of that voice.
Naruto, now fully healed and practically immortal, squared off against Madara. Not long after, Sasuke, who had also been revived, joined the battlefield. Now, with Naruto and Sasuke having gained the power of the Sage of Six Paths, the final showdown with Madara began.
This was no longer a one-sided beatdown by Madara.
Naruto and Sasuke's powers had increased significantly, and with Sasuke's Rinnegan seeing through Madara's Limbo: Border Jail technique, the duo nearly managed to seal him.
However, Madara wasn't yet at his peak. He still had another Rinnegan eye, which was being held by Black Zetsu.
Even though Kakashi's team had been keeping Black Zetsu and Obito at bay, Madara managed to outmaneuver them.
Feigning an attack on Might Guy, Madara distracted Naruto and Sasuke. In a flash, he broke away from the fight, easily injuring Kakashi and the others before taking the other Rinnegan from Black Zetsu!
"Coward!" "Madara is so sneaky!" "They shouldn't have gone back to save Guy!" "What kind of hero wouldn't save someone?"
"Saving him only makes things harder! Guy already used the Eighth Gate of Death. Even if he doesn't die, he'll probably be paralyzed!"
As readers watched Madara take back his second eye, many cursed him for being underhanded. Some even thought Naruto and Sasuke should have left Guy to die.
Sacrificing one person to save the entire ninja world seemed like a fair trade, right?
And after all, Guy was already on the verge of death!
But most readers didn't think that way. After all, this was a classic shōnen manga, and in such stories, the hero is supposed to be pure-hearted and kind.
Even if these qualities brought trouble or even death, they were still the most precious traits in a complicated, corrupt world.
It's precisely this Naruto that readers loved.
Madara, now with both Rinnegan eyes, unleashed Limbo: Border Jail along with Chibaku Tensei, trapping Naruto and Sasuke.
While they struggled to counter these massive attacks, it turned out that this was all just a diversion. Madara had really been preparing to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
With Naruto and Sasuke held off, Madara flew to the moon. His forehead opened to reveal the Rinne Sharingan, and the Infinite Tsukuyomi was activated.
The moon's light bathed the entire world. It pierced through any objects that tried to block it, and almost everyone fell into the Genjutsu. Then, Madara activated the Divine: Deep Forest Emergence, trapping those under the Genjutsu in the branches of the Divine Tree.
In the original anime, this would have been the part where filler episodes started, showing everyone's dreams in the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
But Ren had no plans for that.
Instead of stalling with filler, he wanted to continue the real story.
After all, instead of dragging things out, why not release an Infinite Tsukuyomi side story as a spin-off? That way, they could sell individual volumes with fan-favorite ninja trapped in their dreams and make some extra cash. A win-win!
In the original world, there was even a Naruto movie called Road to Ninja, which told the story of Naruto and Sakura getting trapped in a Tsukuyomi world while chasing Tobi. It grossed 1.48 billion yen at the box office.
Clearly, fans were still interested in these dream-world stories!
This was a moneymaking opportunity Ren couldn't afford to miss.
Plus, Ren had a soft spot for some of the characters' dream versions in the Infinite Tsukuyomi. For example, delinquent Hinata. For some reason, Ren always liked that version of Hinata when he watched the movie back in the day.
Not just the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Ren also quickly glossed over Itachi's side story, Itachi Shinden, in the manga, only briefly teasing it to draw fans' attention. He'd release a stand-alone volume of that later, too.
The plot continued, with the Infinite Tsukuyomi successfully cast.
Thanks to Madara's Genjutsu, all the ninjas continued to dream.
Hinata, Shikamaru, Sai, Gaara, and the others remained trapped in their fantasies, unaware of the passing time.
But Team 7 was spared thanks to Sasuke's Rinnegan Susanoo, protecting Naruto and the others from the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Madara returned to the battlefield, ready to finish off Naruto and the others, eliminating any remaining threats.
However, at that very moment, something completely unexpected happened!
As Madara stood poised to deliver his final blow, thinking he had already won, the readers were stunned to see that Black Zetsu, controlling Obito, appeared behind Madara and suddenly thrust his hand through Madara's chest in a sneak attack!
"Huh?"
Daniel stared at the scene, completely dumbfounded.
What just happened? Why did Black Zetsu suddenly attack Madara?
Not only Daniel, but all the other readers were equally shocked, mouths agape at the sudden twist.
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