"Death?" Madara chuckled. "No... they won't die. They will live forever in the ideal world I've created for them!"
"Everyone will live their most perfect, ideal lives!"
"Isn't such a world wonderful?"
From a certain perspective, Madara's idea did seem appealing.
If everyone could truly live their ideal lives, then it would indeed be a good thing.
After all, the genjutsu effect of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, in Sasuke's eyes, was like a virtual online game.
If consciousness could enter such a world, it would indeed be astonishing.
However!
Such a life didn't mean it was something everyone wanted.
And more importantly, it was impossible to keep everyone trapped in an illusory world forever.
Sasuke smiled.
"It seems you have no idea what the true purpose of the Infinite Tsukuyomi is."
At this, Madara's expression darkened.
"It's you who don't understand!"
"You're the ones trying to stop me!"
"Even now, you deny my plan!"
"My plan is so..."
As he spoke, a shadow suddenly appeared behind Madara.
In an instant, Madara's heart was pierced.
A black hand shot through his chest, blood dripping from the wound.
Everyone froze at the sight of the hand.
Madara's eyes widened in shock. He looked down at the hand, then turned to see...
Black Zetsu standing behind him.
"You..."
Black Zetsu smiled.
"Sorry, Lord Madara, but your role ends here."
"This is no longer your time!"
"Why?"
A drop of cold sweat slid down Madara's forehead.
He glared at Black Zetsu. "Didn't I create you? Why betray me?"
Black Zetsu shook his head. "No, no, no. Why do you think you created me?"
"Perhaps the one who truly created me... wasn't you."
Black Zetsu chuckled coldly.
"Do you really think you created me?"
"Didn't I?"
"This guy is Kaguya's will!"
Sasuke suddenly spoke up.
Everyone was stunned. Kaguya?
The mother of the Sage of Six Paths?
The Sage's mother was... this thing?
This was beyond imagination. Suddenly, Hashirama and the others understood why Kaguya had been sealed away.
With an appearance like that, sealing her seemed like the only option.
Madara frowned. "What are you talking about?"
He looked at Sasuke.
But Black Zetsu's gaze toward Sasuke was filled with wariness.
"How could you know? Even Hagoromo and Hamura didn't know this!"
Sasuke smirked.
"I know a lot of things."
He looked at Black Zetsu. "I know everything about you, and even Kaguya..."
"Impossible! There's no way you could know!"
As Black Zetsu spoke, he began to consume Madara.
"Whether you know or not, it's too late now."
"I've been planning this for so long to revive my mother."
"This is the moment!"
Madara stared at Black Zetsu. "You've been using me all along?"
"Exactly!"
Black Zetsu sneered. "Did you really think the Infinite Tsukuyomi could create a perfect world?"
"Its true purpose is to revive my mother!"
"Now, you've gathered all the conditions needed for her revival!"
"Madara, you were just a vessel I created to bring her back!"
He glanced at Hashirama and the others.
"Just like these Edo Tensei revived individuals, you were the sacrifice!"
Hearing this, Madara's expression finally faltered.
All his years of effort and planning had been in vain.
He, the great Madara Uchiha, had been a puppet, manipulated all along.
He had been kept in the dark.
Madara looked at Sasuke one last time.
"Sasuke..."
He wanted to say something, but it was too late.
As Black Zetsu fully took control of Madara's body, it began to expand.
It looked like it was about to explode.
Sasuke and Naruto stepped back.
After all, Madara was the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki. If his body exploded, it would be disastrous.
The power of the Ten-Tails exploding was something even Sasuke couldn't guarantee he'd survive unscathed.
Watching Madara's body swell and distort, Hashirama couldn't help but ask,
"Sasuke, what's happening to Madara?"
Logically, as the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, Madara shouldn't die so easily.
Sasuke explained calmly,
"Black Zetsu is Kaguya's will. To revive Kaguya, three conditions are needed: a Ten-Tails jinchūriki, the activation of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and Black Zetsu's possession."
"Only then can Kaguya be revived."
Hearing this, it seemed all three conditions had been met.
Did that mean Kaguya was about to... revive?
Hashirama let out a sigh.
He never thought they'd have the chance to witness such a being.
"The mother of the Sage of Six Paths... wouldn't her power be even more terrifying?"
Sasuke nodded. "Indeed."
"But she's only at the level of the Sage of Six Paths, right?"
Hearing this, Sasuke glanced at Tobirama.
"The Sage of Six Paths? He only obtained a portion of Kaguya's power, combined with senjutsu and his brother's help, to barely seal her away."
"Kaguya Ōtsutsuki is the progenitor of chakra."
"The chakra ancestor. Someone like her is far beyond the Sage of Six Paths."
Naruto: "If she's really that strong, can we even defeat her?"
Sasuke smiled. "If it were the real Kaguya, our chances would be less than 10%."
"But the Kaguya being revived now is just a version of Madara, controlled by Kaguya's will."
"Her power is only at Madara's level, though her control over chakra is far superior. But her taijutsu... not so much."
"Controlled by her will?"
This was hard to comprehend.
Sasuke sighed.
He pointed to the moon in the sky.
"The real Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's body is sealed within the moon. The seal hasn't been broken."
"Her true body can't emerge. What's descending now is just her will."
Hearing this, everyone understood.
"Just her will?"
"Then she shouldn't be that strong, right?"
Naruto seemed relieved.
"Not that strong?"
Sasuke smiled. It was only relatively not that strong.
Buzz!
In the distance, Madara's expanding body suddenly stopped and began to shrink.
It took on a human form.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "She's here!"
The progenitor of chakra, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki!
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