Starting with Naruto, I'll become stronger through my own efforts.

Chapter 358 Uchiha Madara, gone.

Black Zetsu addressed Madara Uchiha with honorifics, but his expression and actions were full of disdain, contempt, and other signs of looking down on Madara Uchiha.

Completely ignoring Madara Uchiha's angry glare, it flowed onto Madara's shoulder and grew a jet-black head, looking down at the quiet ninja world as if it were its master.

Black Zetsu, with a sinister smile on his face, let out another chilling laugh, filled with an inexplicable eeriness and anticipation.

Upon hearing that grating laughter, Madara Uchiha instinctively felt a sense of danger and was involuntarily jolted back to reality from his smugness at having accomplished his great mission of saving the world.

However, he did not suspect Black Zetsu at this moment. Instead, he stood up and looked around, trying to find the source of the danger.

In Madara Uchiha's mind, Black Zetsu was a separate manifestation of his will and could not possibly threaten him.

Hearing that unpleasant laughter, he couldn't help but frown, secretly deciding that he would restore Black Zetsu's appearance and voice once the danger was eliminated.

This dark, ugly, and abstract creature, with such an unpleasant laugh, is really unsuitable to continue as the second incarnation of the Sage of Six Paths.

He's become a god, and his clone is a divine messenger, so how can he be so ugly?

Madara Uchiha looked around warily, but he couldn't find the source of the danger in his heart.

Frustrated, Madara blurted out, "Absolutely not! Stop laughing!"

"Also, you should thank me. Why should you thank me?"

Black Zetsu's laughter did not stop; instead, it revealed his full malice without any attempt to conceal it.

"Hehehehe, Lord Madara, you are truly laughable!" Black Zetsu laughed loudly.

Madara Uchiha's anger flared, and he coldly said, "What's so laughable—"

"His plan succeeded. It was a scheme that took a thousand years to devise, and he managed to fool you, you idiot, to death. Of course he would find you ridiculous."

Xia Zuo appeared before Uchiha Madara, accompanied by Uchiha Izumi.

Madara Uchiha was stunned, and Black Zetsu, who was about to make a move, was also stunned. They never expected that someone could withstand the continuous attacks of [Infinite Tsukuyomi] and [Adventure of the Divine Tree World].

Xia Zuo pointed to his azure Tenseigan: "I am also a powerful being at the Six Paths level. How could I possibly be defeated by a ninjutsu that affects the entire ninja world?"

Madara Uchiha and Black Zetsu suddenly changed their expressions. They realized that this was information that should never have been ignored. Why had they ignored it?

"I can't understand why I overlooked it?"

Xia Zuo said almost nonchalantly, "Because I not only have the Tenseigan, I also have the Rinnegan, and it's a nine-tomoe Rinnegan."

"It's exactly the same as the Moon Eye that was hanging in the sky just now, and the Rinne Sharingan between your eyebrows."

As he spoke, Xia Zuo drew a line between his eyebrows with his right index finger, releasing the seal that concealed the existence of his eyes and revealing his mature Nine-Tomoe Wheel Eye.

The surging eye power spread out and almost instantly shattered Madara Uchiha's eye power defense, reminding him of the time he was hypnotized.

Madara Uchiha was utterly shocked, speechless: "You, you, you!"

"You were able to stop me from casting [Infinite Tsukuyomi] from the very beginning?"

"You're right." Xia Zuo explained seriously, "I need to see Kaguya Otsutsuki, so from the beginning I've been indulging you and controlling the pace of your plan, helping you complete the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan while causing minimal damage to Konoha."

""

Black Zetsu asked with a look of terror on his face, "You...you want to see Mother?"

Xia Zuo turned his gaze to Black Zetsu: "Yes, I have completed all the preliminary preparations for the 'Bloodline Limit,' but I lack chakra—a great deal of chakra, at least ten times more than Madara Uchiha currently possesses—to take that final step."

"There's no other way. In the entire ninja world, only Kaguya Otsutsuki has such a large amount of chakra. I can only find a way to revive her so that I can extract chakra from her."

Black Zetsu was filled with shock and rage, his face contorted in anger, but he immediately put those emotions aside.

A Six Paths level ninja actually dared to try to devour his mother's chakra; that's just wishful thinking!

This is beyond mere overestimation of one's abilities; it's not even as small as an ant trying to shake a tree. This is a toad trying to swallow the sky!

Hei Jue smiled sinisterly: "Good, good, good, that's wonderful."

"No matter what, before Mother is rescued, your goal and mine are the same, right?"

Xia Zuo nodded: "Absolutely right."

Listening to their conversation, Madara Uchiha's face had turned almost as black as Black Zetsu's. His anger made his veins bulge, but what terrified him was that his body had somehow lost its ability to obey him.

His Rinnegan practically popped out of his head: "Black Zetsu! Who exactly are you?"

"Fifth Hokage, Natsume, you actually—"

Xia Zuo sighed, "The Great Derivation Number is fifty, of which forty-nine are used. One is left to escape and be fought over by people, which is why we have this prosperous world."

"Therefore, I never push people to their deaths from the very beginning. I always leave them a way out, so as not to defy the will of Heaven and incur divine retribution."

"Uchiha Madara, it's not like I didn't give you chances, but you didn't seize them."

Black Zetsu has taken control of Madara Uchiha's body. He has painstakingly and meticulously planned for thousands of years to finally obtain this opportunity to save his mother.

If he were to fight Madara Uchiha one-on-one, he would absolutely not hold back and would sacrifice Madara Uchiha to his mother to prevent any unforeseen complications from arising.

But things are different now. Black Zetsu has gained a temporary ally stronger than Madara Uchiha, and he can no longer suppress his desire to show off.

Black Zetsu: "Lord Madara, you have never been a savior, and I am not your clone! You think you control Obito Uchiha, control Nagato, control everything, but you don't know that I control your life."

Madara Uchiha gritted his teeth until his gums bled, and he asked in a trembling voice, "Who...who are you?"

Black Zetsu gritted his teeth and laughed, revealing his identity for the first time in a thousand years: "Me? I am the Son of God!"

"My mother is Kaguya Otsutsuki, the goddess who created the great and peaceful era, wielded the divine tree, and is revered by the world as the Goddess of the Rabbit!"

"My mother was besieged by her two rebellious sons, Hagoromo and Hamura. In the last moment before she was sealed away, she created me with her supreme divine power. I am an extension of my mother's will."

Black Zetsu looked at Madara Uchiha and said decisively, "I'm not a clone of your soul."

scoff!

Black Zetsu's jet-black arm pierced through Madara Uchiha's heart from behind and emerged from his chest.

Madara Uchiha lowered his head in disbelief, staring blankly at his blood-stained black palm.

Worse than the agony of having his heart torn apart was the fact that his Six Paths-level self-healing ability had no effect whatsoever, leaving Madara Uchiha to feel his life force rapidly draining away in agony.

Madara Uchiha's vision began to blur and shrink. He heard Black Zetsu uttering names one by one, and his scalp tingled with shock. He finally believed that he had encountered a conspiracy that had lasted for more than a thousand years.

Before he could even feel despair, a vast amount of chakra, as boundless as the ocean, surged into his body from the divine tree behind him.

That was chakra drawn from all life forms in the ninja world, which gathered into the trunk of the divine tree through the roots of the divine tree that spread throughout the ninja world.

In just a few minutes, an unimaginable number of people had gathered.

This immense chakra, far exceeding that of the Ten-Tails, surged wildly from the tree trunk through Black Zetsu's Yin-Yang Release, pouring into Madara Uchiha's body.

Madara Uchiha's soul could not withstand such a huge impact and was instantly suppressed to the deepest part of his body by the massive chakra.

Before he completely lost consciousness, he vaguely felt a great and invisible will descend into his body along with his chakra.

That will was so magnificent, its depth like an endless abyss, and its arrival seemed to draw the entire ninja world in.

Madara Uchiha's consciousness disappeared into the abyss, but his body was still receiving chakra, and his speed was getting faster and faster.

After a few breaths, the surging chakra concentration reached a level sufficient to emit light, forming streams of light that entered Madara Uchiha's body.

After his chakra accumulated beyond its limit, Madara Uchiha's body could no longer maintain its human form. It swelled and twisted like a balloon, turning into a giant white ball of flesh.

"Mother, you are finally coming back to life—"

Looking at the writhing ball of flesh and feeling the great will gradually awakening within it, the sinister look in Black Zetsu's eyes completely disappeared, replaced by deep nostalgia and longing.

Seeing this, Xia Zuo turned to Uchiha Izumi and said, "Izumi, go and meet up with Tsunade, then immediately return to Konoha to find Tenten. After the great earthquake in the ninja world stops, bring her with you to find me."

Uchiha Izumi didn't throw a tantrum. Sensing the chakra fluctuations of the soon-to-awaken Kaguya Otsutsuki, she knew very well what a terrifying monster she was.

No, this is a goddess, the goddess of the Rabbit.

Next, Xia Zuo will be fighting against this goddess who can easily crush Uchiha Madara, and Uchiha Izumi knows that she absolutely cannot hold him back.

So he whispered his blessing to Xia Zuo: "Brother Xia Zuo, I wish you victory."

After saying that, she followed the wooden clone created by Xia Zuo and took a step to the edge of the previous battlefield, where she met up with Tsunade, who was waiting anxiously.

Then, the two of them each took one of the wooden clones' hands and stepped forward again, arriving at a secret room in Konoha Village, where they saw Tenten, who was restless and jumping around like a monkey named Ethan.

Upon seeing her two older sisters and the wooden clone, the girl rushed over and hugged them tightly, almost bursting into tears.

Because the wood clone dissipates itself after delivering the person, transmitting the information back to the main body, Tsunade and Uchiha Izumi were tightly huddled together after being hugged by Tenten.

This greatly embarrassed the two women who harbored resentment towards each other, and their faces turned red.

Once Tenten calmed down, she, Izumi Uchiha, and Tsunade exchanged the information they had gathered and, after combining it, came to a complete picture of the Xia Zuo Plan.

Tsunade gasped, "That kid Xia Zuo is really—really wicked."

"If he tries to scheme against me, I can't handle it. I might even be sold out and end up counting the money for him."

Uchiha Izumi laughed and said, "This is the kind of Hokage that Xia Sa is. Without such a plan, the war might have spread to Konoha Village, and countless ninjas would have been sacrificed."

"Furthermore, both Nagato and Madara Uchiha are far beyond the comprehension of ninjas. I can't even imagine what would happen if they attacked Konoha."

Because Tenten is key to Natsu's success, she is well protected and has never witnessed the destruction caused by power surpassing Kage level.

But Tsunade saw it with her own eyes. Neither the 18 Susanoo nor the Rinnegan techniques like Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei could compare to Kurama.

If such a technique were to strike Konoha, it would absolutely destroy the village, and none of the 40 villagers would survive.

Thinking of this, Tsunade couldn't help but shudder and murmured, "Izumi-chan, you're right. As Hokage, Natsume is indeed very capable."

"But I'm still scared, afraid he'll secretly plot against me—"

Tenten jumped up and said, "Don't be afraid, Tsunade-neechan! With the three of us sisters working together, how could we possibly not be able to deal with Natsume-san alone?"

Uchiha Izumi nodded heavily: "Tenten is right. None of us are a match for Natsume, but as long as we communicate like we did today, we can figure everything out."

Tsunade covered her face with her hands, hiding her flushed cheeks. She had just misunderstood the idea that "the three sisters would join forces to deal with Xia Zuo alone."

Yes, in the direction of Se Se.

She said sullenly, "You two little girls are really carefree. We managed to figure it out today, but who knows if he deliberately told each of us only a part, just to make us gather together and discuss it?"

The two girls were dumbfounded: "Huh? Is Brother Xia Zuo really that bad?"

Tsunade nodded emphatically and said, "Yes, that brat Xia Zuo is really bad!"

Tsunade suffered a great loss in a certain aspect.

Although her close relationship with Xia Zuo started when she drugged the Hokage, Xia Zuo quickly took control of the situation.

Over the years, Tsunade has never been able to turn the tables; each time, she has passively learned more knowledge.

I'm so embarrassed just thinking about it.

When Tsunade thought of all sorts of shameful knowledge, she was so angry that her teeth itched, and she wished she could grab Natsume and bite off a piece of his flesh right away.

She said bitterly, "Tian Tian's suggestion is right. The three of us must join forces to avoid being bullied to death by Xia Zuo."

Uchiha Izumi was shocked: "Brother Xia Zuo... he bullied Sister Tsunade?"

Tsunade gritted her teeth: "Yes, he's such a bully!"

"I'm telling you, he did this to me last time, and then he did that—"

After making up her mind, Tsunade opened up and said a lot, leaving the two girls dumbfounded, their cheeks flushed red.

They even gradually became like Hinata, with white steam rising from their heads.