The spiraling spatial passage above the valley resembled a vast demonic eye slowly opening, radiating a pressure that made their souls tremble. The valley, which had cleared somewhat after the false Tailed Beasts were destroyed, was once again shrouded in a deeper, purer darkness. The air seemed to congeal. Even sound was swallowed by the passage, leaving only the dull pounding of hearts hammering wildly in their chests.
"So... you finally came in person." Gaara endured the oppressive force that seemed to stem from a higher order of existence, directing his sand to shield the exhausted Ling behind him. His Sand Eye remained fixed on the ever-expanding passage.
Killer B underwent Complete Tailed Beast Transformation. Gyuki's enormous ox-octopus body stood at the forefront, letting out a low roar as his eight tails lashed restlessly against the ground. He clearly sensed the immense threat as well.
Naruto, also fully transformed into his Tailed Beast form in Kurama Mode, braced himself for a formidable enemy. He could sense that the being on the other side of the passage possessed chakra whose quality and quantity far surpassed those of any enemy he had faced before. It even... faintly approached the level of the Sage of Six Paths!
Zetsu prostrated himself on the ground, his face filled with fanatical reverence. "Welcome, Lord Madara!"
The passage stabilized. A figure wearing an Akatsuki cloak and a Spiral Mask hovered silently at its entrance, as though he had stepped out of an ink painting. It was Obito Uchiha! But unlike before, what surrounded him was no longer mere chakra. It was something deeper, something closer to the origin of all things... the power of all creation! His right eye was still a Mangekyō Sharingan, while his left... was unmistakably a Rinnegan!
"The Rinnegan..." Ling struggled to raise