A secluded clearing surrounded by dense forest in the Land of Hot Water.
The clouds were thin, and moonlight filtered down from above the canopy. Black Zetsu stood at the edge of the clearing. He had waited so long that, as the moment finally drew near, it felt faintly unreal.
Uchiha Madara stood in the center of the clearing, his hands forming hand seals.
"Summoning Technique!"
Bang!
White smoke surged from cracks in the ground, carrying a powerful rush of air that swept outward, lifting fallen leaves and dust into a brief shock wave.
The smoke spread quickly, revealing a shape taking form behind it. A hundred-meter-tall Demonic Statue of the Outer Path towered in the center of the clearing.
Roar!
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path opened its mouth and let out a deep roar. The sound passed through the forest canopy, sending countless birds soaring into the sky.
Black Zetsu's eyes lit up the moment the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path fully appeared.
Tianyi approached from the side, holding a sealing scroll whose edge had already been unfastened.
"Release."
White light shone from the scroll. When it faded, a spherical machine several meters in diameter appeared, its design brimming with futuristic technology.
Its surface was covered with nine distinct sets of patterns, each corresponding to a tailed beast's totem markings, their lines sharp and clear.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's nine pairs of eyes turned at the same instant, all locking onto the hovering mechanical sphere.
It seemed to have sensed the tailed beast chakra inside.
Tianyi pressed his finger against a panel in the center of the sphere. A faint ring of light appeared the moment it registered his fingerprint, unlocking it.
The sphere's surface slid apart to either side, revealing an internal