"Ah—"
A heart-wrenching scream pierced through the blinding white light that had engulfed the world after the explosion.
As the light dissipated, a black sphere appeared in the air.
Beside it stood a handsome nobleman with silver hair flowing in the wind, dressed in a white robe and holding a black longsword.
Looking at the black sphere before him, Yagyu couldn't help but sneer mockingly, "You sure are quick to retreat into your shell. Truly worthy of being a turtle hiding in its shell for decades."
The black sphere wasn't provoked by Yagyu's words. Instead, it flew backward, quickly putting distance between itself and Yagyu.
Inside the sphere, Obito Uchiha clutched his severed right arm, his face filled with disbelief. "The Sharingan? Why does he have the Sharingan?!"
When he transformed the Truth-Seeking Balls into a black sphere to protect himself, Obito had clearly seen that Yagyu's eyes were no longer ordinary red. Instead, they were crimson with a black lotus pattern in the pupils.
These eyes were all too familiar to Obito—they were unmistakably the Mangekyō Sharingan of the Uchiha clan.
How could a member of the Senju clan possess the Uchiha clan's Mangekyō Sharingan?
Obito initially suspected that Yagyu had transplanted the Sharingan, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
As the former top clan of the ninja world, the Uchiha clan's Sharingan was even more sought after on the black market than the Hyūga clan's Byakugan. However, the value of the Sharingan was soon overshadowed by the Byakugan of the Hyūga clan's main family.
This was because the entire ninja world had learned that transplanting the Uchiha clan's Sharingan would result in the eyes remaining permanently active, constantly draining the user's chakra.
Kakashi Hatake, the Copy Ninja of Konoha, was the perfect example.
In contrast, the Hyūga clan's Byakugan was different. Even if transplanted by an outsider, it could be deactivated and reactivated at will. Ao of Kirigakure was the best example.
Yagyu's eyes had previously been normal, with only a natural red hue. But now, they had transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan, indicating that he possessed the Uchiha clan's Sharingan within him.
"Is he a hybrid of the Uchiha and Senju clans? Or did his ancestors have mixed blood from both clans, allowing the kekkei genkai of both clans to awaken in him?"
Obito couldn't help but think this way, then added with malicious speculation, "Or perhaps he practiced the Spirit Transformation Technique, secretly devouring members of the Uchiha clan? Or maybe he devoured Hundred Faces after defeating him, directly obtaining the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
After saying this, Obito seemed to sense something and finally shifted his attention back to his severed arm, his eyes widening in shock. "How is this possible? Why can't my arm regenerate?!"
Obito's severed right arm was twitching at the wound, much like Deidara's explosive clay.
Despite possessing an immortal body, Obito's severed arm didn't bleed at all.
In the past, the twitching flesh would have quickly regrown, forming a new arm.
But now, the severed arm showed no signs of regeneration.
Even when Obito used the advanced Yin-Yang Release inherent to the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, he couldn't create a new arm.
This discovery filled Obito with fear.
At the same time, it reminded him of a crucial detail.
No wonder he had felt such excruciating pain earlier. Yagyu's sword strike wasn't an ordinary attack.
"Is it his Mangekyō ability? What kind of power is this, and why can it counter my immortality?" Obito muttered in disbelief. "Or is this the power of the Truth-Seeking Balls?"
Obito couldn't figure it out. After all, his narrative level was far too low, and the abilities of the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki paled in comparison to the true power of the Rinnegan.
If he could see through his own body, he would have noticed that a small part of his soul was missing.
That missing part was his right arm.
What had severed his arm wasn't just the Truth-Seeking Balls, which could annihilate everything, including souls, but also Yagyu's Mangekyō Sharingan's unique ability: Yomi no Kuni.
The Truth-Seeking Balls were indeed powerful, but like the Sage Art Wood Release: True Several Thousand Hands — Top Transformation, they were only suitable for overwhelming weaker opponents.
Against opponents of the same level, unless it was the unstoppable Expansive Truth-Seeking Ball, ordinary Truth-Seeking Balls could hardly harm a Six Paths-level being, let alone annihilate their soul.
But the combination of the Truth-Seeking Balls and Yomi no Kuni was different.
The Truth-Seeking Balls, with their power to annihilate all creation, could transform into the sharpest divine weapons in the world.
Even a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki would be wounded by such a weapon.
Although their annihilating properties were less effective against opponents of the same level, Yomi no Kuni's enchantment drastically increased the soul-annihilating power of the Truth-Seeking Ball sword.
Unlike the Truth-Seeking Balls, which were powerful but only incidentally capable of annihilating souls, Yomi no Kuni was a soul-specific ability, akin to the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, excelling in countering souls.
A severed soul would instantly dissipate into the world, making it nearly impossible to recover.
If a living person were struck by this attack, they would either die or suffer wounds that could never heal.
The fact that Obito could heal at all was only due to the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's immortality.
But full recovery was impossible.
After all, the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's immortality had its limits and several weaknesses.
Losing a part of the soul and being unable to regenerate it was just one aspect.
If injuries continued to pile up, healing would consume chakra.
While the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki's chakra reserves were vast, they weren't truly infinite.
Once chakra dropped below a certain level, the Ten-Tails' will would break free, vying for control of the body.
If the damage exceeded a certain threshold, the nine tailed beasts within the Ten-Tails, each with their own consciousness, would also break free, causing the Ten-Tails to revert to the Gedo Statue and exit the Jinchūriki's body, just as the tailed beasts had escaped after Kaguya's sealing.
Of course, Obito had no idea about any of this.
Seeing his immortality fail, he was instantly filled with fear, and his wariness of Yagyu surpassed even his fear of Madara.
In the past, with Kamui's intangibility, Obito had feared nothing. Even opponents like Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha, masters of genjutsu, had only made him slightly wary.
As long as he hid in the Kamui dimension, even Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami would have no effect on him.
After all, they existed in different dimensions, and even the most powerful genjutsu required Yin Release chakra to invade the target's body.
But now, with his Kamui intangibility gone and his immortality countered, the situation was terrifying.
Even Madara's bizarre ocular technique couldn't counter Obito's immortality.
Thinking this, Obito decided to stay inside the Truth-Seeking Ball, assessing the abilities he had gained from the Ten-Tails and whether any of them could counter Yagyu.
However, Obito didn't realize that his reliance on the Truth-Seeking Balls was still a weakness.
If the enemy couldn't break through the Truth-Seeking Balls' defense, it would be fine. But if they could, he would simply become a stationary target.
"How is this possible? Isn't he Hashirama's descendant? Why does he have the Mangekyō Sharingan?!"
Meanwhile, Madara was also shocked by Yagyu's Mangekyō Sharingan.
Like Obito, he initially thought Yagyu had transplanted the Sharingan from some Uchiha clan member.
After all, he had been dead for decades, and no one knew if any Uchiha geniuses had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan during that time.
But soon, Madara realized something was off.
Yagyu's eyes hadn't shown the Mangekyō Sharingan earlier.
This meant he had just awakened it.
The ability to freely activate and deactivate the Sharingan was unique to those with Uchiha blood.
"Is he a hybrid of the Senju and Uchiha clans?"
Madara first thought this, then came up with an even more outrageous idea. "Or is he an experiment created by Tobirama using Hashirama's genes and Uchiha genes?"
It was no wonder Madara thought this way. After all, Yagyu looked so much like Tobirama.
Silver hair, red eyes, Wood Release, and the Mangekyō Sharingan—wasn't this a combination of Tobirama, Hashirama, and himself?
However, Madara's narrative level was also too low, and this was as far as his thoughts could go.
Only Black Zetsu, watching from afar, gritted his teeth and said, "This brat is indeed Hagoromo's contingency plan! Not only is he the reincarnation of Asura, but he also has Indra's chakra. No wonder his growth has been so astonishing."
"Wait..."
Suddenly, Black Zetsu seemed to realize something, his expression freezing before turning to one of shock. "Even if he's the reincarnation of Asura and has Indra's chakra, it's impossible for him to achieve the unity of opposites at this age. Unless... the chakra within him isn't Asura's or Indra's, but... Hagoromo's chakra?!"
At this thought, Black Zetsu's mind trembled.
The more he thought about it, the more it made sense. In fact, this was the only explanation for why Yagyu, at the age of sixteen, had entered the Six Paths Sage Mode, just like Hagoromo, and could use the Truth-Seeking Balls and possess the Mangekyō Sharingan.
After all, over the millennia, Black Zetsu had orchestrated countless battles between the reincarnations of Asura and Indra.
Even Indra himself had been manipulated by Black Zetsu into fighting Asura in their final battle.
And Madara was his masterpiece, the only successful creation in a thousand years.
When Madara began to rise as the most outstanding member of the Uchiha clan, Black Zetsu had already set his sights on him.
Every generation's most outstanding male Uchiha was undoubtedly Indra's reincarnation—this was the conclusion Black Zetsu had drawn.
The same applied to the Senju clan.
As the one who had guided Madara to discover the secrets of the stone tablet and orchestrated the battle at the Valley of the End, Black Zetsu had thought Madara had failed and was preparing for the next cycle of reincarnations.
But to his surprise, Madara had proven himself, awakening the Rinnegan just before his death.
No one understood better than Black Zetsu and Madara how difficult it was for the second Rinnegan to appear in the ninja world.
This was why Black Zetsu began to suspect Yagyu's true identity.
If Yagyu had already developed the Sage Body to its peak, even if he obtained Indra's chakra, he would at most be a copy of Madara, never reaching this level at such a young age.
Even if he had obtained a large amount of Indra's chakra, it would still be impossible.
After all, when Madara awakened the Rinnegan, he only gained Hashirama's Wood Release. He couldn't enter the Six Paths Sage Mode, and his mastery of Yin-Yang Release was rudimentary. He had no knowledge of how to create the Truth-Seeking Balls.
Yet Yagyu had achieved all of this, as if it were second nature to him, requiring no training.
It was as if he had possessed these abilities all along.
This made Black Zetsu suspect that the chakra within Yagyu wasn't Asura's or Indra's, but... Hagoromo's chakra.
This was the true contingency plan of the Sage of Six Paths!
Hagoromo, distrustful of his mother's potential resurrection, had secretly allowed his chakra to reincarnate. When the Gedo Statue disappeared from the moon or the second Rinnegan appeared, his contingency plan would activate, and Yagyu would be born!
Kaguya's strength was deeply ingrained in Hagoromo's mind. That unfilial son trusted himself more than his own two sons!
The more Black Zetsu thought about it, the more he believed this to be the truth. At the same time, a bold idea formed in his mind.
He looked at Yagyu, who was floating in the air with a playful smile as he observed the black sphere, and muttered, "If he really is the reincarnation of Hagoromo's chakra, then his eyes aren't just the Mangekyō Sharingan. They might also be..."
As if hearing Black Zetsu's words, Yagyu's next action confirmed his speculation.
Yagyu examined the black sphere floating before him, which hadn't retreated to create distance, and smiled playfully. The black lotus pattern in his Mangekyō Sharingan eyes suddenly rippled with purple rings.
These purple rings spread across his pupils and even reached the whites of his eyes.
"Is that... the Rinnegan?!"
Madara, standing below, widened his eyes in shock.
The Asura of the Ninja World, for the first time, felt his worldview shatter.
"Outer Path Maru!"
With his Rinnegan activated, Yagyu raised his hand, forming a small black hole in his palm that released a gravitational pull similar to the Universal Pull.
But this gravitational force was on a completely different level.
Even the black sphere formed by nine Truth-Seeking Balls was instantly pulled toward Yagyu, transforming into black liquid and being absorbed into the black hole in his palm.