Out of Reach

The invisible Complete Body Susanoo armor beneath the four Rinbo fit the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's lotus-seated form, merging into a close-fitting inner suit of armor that encased it!

Madara's own Complete Body Susanoo transformed into sky-blue magma and poured down over the inner armor.

"Set!" Madara clenched his hand.

"Crack!" The azure magma solidified, and countless fish-scale armor plates spread outward in every direction, wrapping the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path tightly in armor!

Only the helmet remained independent. One bright and four dark battle-god heads of the Five-Wheeled Susanoo Complete Body surrounded the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's head like the dharma crown of a Wisdom King.

The five Forehead Chambers corresponding to the battle-god heads were like jeweled crystals embedded in the dharma crown!

Madara's true body occupied the center, with the Rinbo forms standing guard in pairs!

—Susanoo: Five-Wheeled Tribulation!

"Boom!"

At the very instant this unparalleled defensive formation, unmatched in all ages, took shape!

The tens of millions of explosive flames unleashed by Kōtakamusubi: Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tag surged like rolling waves upon a raging sea, instantly swallowing the Uchiha Flame Formation and engulfing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path within the Five-Wheeled Tribulation!

In such an environment of high explosions, high pressure, and extreme heat energy currents—

Neither Momoshiki on the outside nor Madara within could influence anything any longer!

"Hm?" Amid the sea of fire, Madara, synchronized with the Demonic Statue, sensed the wound on the Hashirama Clone's chest beginning to heal miraculously.

"Good kid, did you make it through?"

"The entanglement of reincarnators ends with Naruto and Sasuke's generation."

Before Chen, after the short-haired man finished speaking, the long-haired man whom he called "big brother" said in a low voice—

"They may have brought it to an end, but will the thousand-year entanglement of fate between you and me really end like this? Where are we supposed to go from here? Like that useless old man of the Six Paths, wandering as souls for a thousand years after death just to find reincarnators and seal his Mother once again?"

"Big Brother, I won't allow you to speak of Father like that behind his back!"

"Heh! Father? Does he deserve that title? If that old fool hadn't chosen you as his heir back then, would there be all this mess today?"

"Sigh, you can't blame Father for this! The core principle of the Six Paths Sage Art is to cultivate one's heart and nature! Big Brother, you worship combat too much! That was fundamentally at odds with the Sage Art's principles!"

"Cultivating the heart? Isn't that just some Zen Meditation skill? You have [Samadhi], and I have [Dharani]! In the realm of spiritual cultivation, I'm no worse than you!"

"Besides, unlike your Samadhi, which overly emphasizes the 'freedom' of inner tranquility, my Dharani cultivation places greater importance on the 'self' that people ought to possess. Joy, anger, sorrow, and resentment can all become sources of strength! It's far superior to yours!"

"Whether freedom or self is superior, let's not discuss that for now. At the very least, my Samadhi was passed down, while your Dharani was lost to history..."

"Heh. My previous reincarnator, Uchiha Madara, was actually the person best suited to cultivate Dharani. I had intended to pass it on to him, but Black Zetsu, that bastard, ruined everything. Otherwise, his achievements might have been even greater."

The short-haired younger brother sighed. "That was all a long time ago, Big Brother."

The long-haired older brother spoke wistfully. "Yes, a thousand years. We've fought enough, but playing at being close brothers is truly nauseating. How about we have a contest?"

"A contest? How?"

"We'll compete to see who can earn the approval of this young man named Chen."

"Approval? Wow... I never thought I'd hear a word like that from you, Big Brother! Did the sun rise in the west?"

"Hmph. You can't deny one thing, can you? Sooner or later, his strength and accomplishments will surpass yours and mine from back then! The only things we might have over him are the countless things we've seen over the past thousand years, along with our abundant experience, right?"

"Mm, that's certainly true. And Big Brother, your suggestion is surprisingly fair-minded."

The short-haired younger brother smiled as he stroked his chin.

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"This Chen's inner nature may carry traces of you from back then, Big Brother, but he is unexpectedly far more adaptable than you! He understands that no matter how strong an individual may be, one person alone can hardly accomplish great things. That's why he found some very capable helpers!"

"Hmph, you're as infuriating as ever when you speak!"

The short-haired younger brother lowered his hand and said seriously, "Big Brother, I accept this contest. But if it's a contest, we need rules."

"Fine. What rules?"

"We need three agreements."

"First, each of us does things our own way, and neither may interfere with the other. When one of us appears to impart our teachings, even if the other can't stand it, he has to endure it!"

"Exactly what I wanted. Appearing alongside you makes me feel utterly sick. I feel like vomiting right now."

"Second, when it comes to major matters, we must remain united. At critical moments, we cannot fight among ourselves!"

"I don't know how you define these so-called major matters, but go on."

"Third, um, third..."

The younger brother hemmed and hawed, and the older brother grew impatient. "You've already said all the good parts. Let me state the third one!"

"Fine, you say it!"

The older brother stressed every word. "Third! Whether it is the two reincarnators in the present world or that lingering old man of the Six Paths, from this moment onward, we must draw a clear line between ourselves and them. Can you do that?"

"Th-this..."

"Through your resonance with Chen, haven't you seen clearly enough? The old man's ideals were wrong! The world of the future needs people like Chen—people unbound by righteousness and duty, who place the world above all else, dare to fight and strive, and have the courage to act!"

"Fine... putting the world first. Big Brother, just because you can say those words, I agree to your third condition!"

This unusual conversation came to an end.

The two of them turned their gazes toward Chen together.

"However, this contest probably can't begin right away."

"Yes. The timing and conditions still seem to be slightly lacking."

"You heard all that, didn't you, Uchiha Chen?"

Chen nodded thoughtfully.

"Then we look forward to the moment we 'for-mally meet' you!"

After speaking in unison, both figures dissolved into bubbles and vanished.

Timing and conditions... I suppose so.

Still, that truly gave me a scare.

Indra. Ashura.

Both sons of the Six Paths, these brothers bound by grudges and conflict had actually appeared in my spiritual world at the same time!

Within the image of his heart, Chen closed his eyes.

In the Kamui dimension, Chen stood up under Obito's watchful gaze.

The blackness on his skin began to recede, and the Hashirama traits in his torso also vanished. The scar on his chest returned!

This was his own body!

The Twin-Born Flowers had already been undone, yet... Chen's power had not weakened in the slightest!

"Th-this..." Obito stared at Chen's eyes in astonishment.

Chen smiled faintly. "Let's go outside. We shouldn't keep Uncle Madara waiting too long..."

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