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JST Chapter 256: Kaguya’s Collapse, Kazuki’s Rise
🕑 Added 2025-04-23 21:42:38 +0000 UTCKaguya and Isshiki had once planted a God Tree together—their chakra had a natural resonance.
With Kazuki’s amplified perception, she had just sensed Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, now arriving at the surface of the ocean near the Land of Water.
For a moment—
Kaguya looked like she was about to burst into tears.
Not only were her two rebellious sons dead set on sealing her again—why was Ōtsutsuki Isshiki still alive too?!
“I was wrong… I was really wrong. I’ve been wrong from the very beginning… I shouldn’t have rebelled against Isshiki back then. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have split off those two ungrateful sons…”
“If I hadn’t birthed those two, I wouldn’t have ended up stuck in this miserable place, sealed for a thousand years… If I hadn’t been sealed, I wouldn’t be facing this kind of crisis today…”
Ōtsutsuki Kaguya muttered in a state of collapse. She had so many enemies at this point, she didn’t even feel like resisting anymore.
Kazuki nearly burst out laughing as he watched her in this state.
Compared to Kaguya’s panic and despair, Kazuki was quietly pleased by how everything was unfolding.
The most dangerous place is often the safest.
Sometimes, that saying holds true.
While Kaguya remained sealed, someone like the Sage of Six Paths—who only ever acted at the very last moment—would never move recklessly.
Kazuki’s assessment of him was simple: Ōtsutsuki Hiruzen.
He handled things just like the Third Hokage—hesitant, indecisive. Even when sealing Kaguya, he’d waited until the Infinite Tsukuyomi was already underway.
What was he even doing beforehand?
Sure, the Sage had claimed he could only contact Naruto and Sasuke at moments of life or death—
But then he literally appeared in the Shinobi World just to stand around chatting with Senju Hashirama…
Completely spineless.
As for Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, who had once witnessed the battle between the Sage and Kaguya—there’s no way he didn’t know about the Pure Land and its significance.
Isshiki, sensing the lingering aura of Kaguya still emanating from Kazuki, narrowed his eyes murderously.
Should I gamble on this?
He knew the Sage of Six Paths had surely noticed the disturbance.
But Isshiki had already locked onto Kazuki’s coordinates through the aura.
Even so, breaking through the sea to reach him would take some effort. And if he went all out and failed… that would mark the countdown to Isshiki’s permanent death.
In this moment of hesitation—
Kazuki raised both hands in a non-threatening gesture and said hesitantly to Kaguya, “I don’t know who you are… but are you being hunted?”
Kaguya weakly nodded, her eyes shimmering with tears.
“If… if you’re willing to trust me, you could try lending me your power for now. I know some cloaking techniques...”
Worry filled Kazuki’s clear eyes.
“You’re leaking your aura like this—it’s a sign that your power is out of control.”
Kaguya flinched.
Power out of control...
It had always been her weakness. No matter how talented she was, she never could properly control her own strength. That’s why, despite her gifts, she had always remained a member of the Branch Family.
“…Let’s try it. I don’t have any better options anyway.”
Thinking of Kazuki’s astonishing sensory abilities, Kaguya gritted her teeth and handed over the little power she had left.
At that moment—
Kazuki instantly withdrew the aura of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya that had been flaring around him. He wielded her chakra as if it were his own and deployed a barrier inside the coffin—powerful enough to block the detection of both the Sage of Six Paths and Isshiki.
Across the Pure Land and ocean...
Sensing through that alone was already difficult—and neither of them were currently at full power. Meanwhile, Kazuki had just received a portion of Kaguya’s chakra!
Silently—
Kaguya suddenly sensed that Isshiki and her two sons had stopped probing her.
Even her aura had been completely suppressed!
“Be careful,” Kazuki said sternly. “Don’t use any chakra. These enemies… they’re far too strong.”
Kaguya nodded quickly in agreement.
But just then, deep inside her—
Black flames began to ignite within the Tailed Beast chakra she had just devoured.
Kaguya froze. Was Kazuki trying to betray her?
But then she remembered how he had constantly warned her—how he had been so serious and so handsome while trying to help her conceal her presence...
And suddenly… Kaguya felt a twinge of guilt.
How could I think that way?
They didn’t know each other well—hadn’t even properly met.
But up to this point, Kazuki had done nothing but help her.
So Kaguya said nothing, letting the Wakatsuki quietly absorb her chakra.
For someone with her level of physical resilience, it didn’t even hurt…
In fact, as the black flames of Wakatsuki burned within her, gently feeding on her chakra, Kaguya felt… warm inside.
Kazuki allowed himself a faint smile.
There it is…
Everything was going exactly according to plan.
The first pot of gold from Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—ranking in the top tier of the divine girls club—was officially secured!
Meanwhile—
Both the Sage of Six Paths and Ōtsutsuki Hamura were stunned.
Where the hell had Kaguya gone?
Did Kazuki really… just seal her again?
Come on, girl. You’re an Ōtsutsuki!
And while those Ōtsutsuki brothers stood there dumbfounded—
Black Zetsu—actually Ōtsutsuki Rin, the third child of Kaguya—stood trembling behind Uchiha Izuna, barely able to hold it together.
'Uchiha Kazuki, you absolute bastard!!' Black Zetsu screamed internally: 'How dare you—how DARE you summon Kaguya into your own body?!'
Just like the Sage of Six Paths, Ōtsutsuki Hamura, and Ōtsutsuki Isshiki…
Black Zetsu, as a lifeform created by Kaguya, shared a unique sensory connection with this progenitor of chakra.
The moment Kaguya descended into Kazuki’s body, Black Zetsu sensed the shocking, dreadful news—
His mother had returned to the Shinobi World!
And this, even though the seal on the moon—the cage meant to hold her—hadn’t been broken…
Black Zetsu knew Kaguya better than anyone. With her intellect and methods, the mere fact she’d left behind something like him to act in the Shinobi World had already been a monumental effort.
How could she possibly have left behind another backup plan strong enough to break the seal?
…Oh. Maybe she did have a backup plan.
Like his 'brother', Uchiha Kazuki.
But clearly, Kazuki wasn’t a backup anymore—he had become the mastermind.
A pure and utter backstab.
Especially considering that the Sage of Six Paths hadn’t even made a move yet, the Nine Tailed Beasts’ chakra hadn’t been reunited, and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path wasn’t even in play—
Returning to the Shinobi World now? Wasn’t that just asking for her two ungrateful sons to seal her away again?
Black Zetsu’s mind raced.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Izuna and Uchiha Madara were still casually chatting with Orochimaru, swapping stories about Shimura Danzō, Root, and Senju Tobirama—and laughing uproariously from time to time.
Old-school Uchiha had always loved hearing how Tobirama’s students had run Konoha into the ground.
That laughter grated on Black Zetsu’s nerves. He felt a strong urge to punch both Madara and Izuna in the face.
Laugh, laugh, laugh!
Is this the time to be laughing?
'Go ahead and laugh, keep laughing!' Black Zetsu screamed in his mind.
But he couldn’t do anything. He had no combat strength of his own. Even if he knew the truth, he couldn’t act on it.
He still had to rely on Uchiha Izuna, Uchiha Madara, and Obito.
There were only two things that gave him any comfort…
One: Izuna had suggested Madara use a forbidden technique to restore his power. That at least was a step forward in terms of combat strength.
Two: Obito wasn’t laughing—his expression was deadly serious.
'As expected of Obito… He still has a sense of urgency…' Black Zetsu thought to himself.
But Black Zetsu had misjudged Obito’s thoughts—
Obito wasn’t solemn because of how dire the situation seemed. It was because, as someone born in Konoha, he hadn’t lived through the Warring States period. He wasn’t particularly sensitive to jokes about Tobirama.
And Kazuki believed in the Will of Fire…
Although Obito personally thought the Will of Fire was nonsense, and that Kazuki had placed his trust in the wrong ideals—
He still didn’t like hearing others mock what Kazuki believed in. That’s why he kept a straight face.
Just as Black Zetsu was wondering how to reframe the information and tell Madara and Izuna without raising their suspicions—
From the direction of Kirigakure—
Kaguya’s previously faint chakra signature—now intertwined with Uchiha Kazuki’s—suddenly erupted like a pillar of light shooting into the sky!
This time—
You didn’t need a special connection to Kaguya to feel it.
Because this was Kazuki broadcasting his coordinates to the world!
Uchiha Izuna, Uchiha Madara, and Orochimaru instantly stopped laughing. The three of them turned toward Kirigakure in unison.
What terrifying chakra…
“That… That’s the direction of Kirigakure. According to intel, that village has already become Uchiha Kazuki’s base of operations, hasn’t it?”
Izuna’s face turned grave as he said, “He must be starting the synthesis of the Tailed Beasts’ chakra inside him. The question is—without the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, how is he going to do it…?”
Madara nodded, his eyes narrowing.
“With no Demonic Statue, and the Tailed Beast chakra so fragmented… there’s no way he can form the Ten Tails. No matter how talented Kazuki is that’s a hard requirement that can’t be bypassed.”
“…However—”
Madara’s voice carried a hint of awe. “Kazuki may not have crossed to the other shore, but he’s clearly obtained a new kind of power!”
The scale of Kazuki’s chakra was terrifying—and there was something else woven into it, an intangible pressure of rank and authority that defied explanation.
Just like how a three-tomoe Sharingan reacts to a Mangekyō… or a Mangekyō to the Rinnegan—
Uchiha Madara, whose body contained the power of All Creation, and who had awakened the Rinnegan, was especially sensitive to this sensation.
“A new power… Brother, are you saying…” Uchiha Izuna frowned.
Madara nodded solemnly. “Yes. Even at such a distance, I can feel the aura of All Creation in the chakra Kazuki just unleashed.”
“If I had to guess, he must have found a way to awaken the Rinnegan using the Tailed Beasts’ chakra as a foundation.”
Madara slowly exhaled.
That boy—what an exceptional young man!
It had taken Madara decades of effort to awaken the Rinnegan. He had waited in the Mountains' Graveyard until the brink of death, only to finally gain those eyes of the Sage… but by then, he was already withered by old age.
Madara had to admit it: in his twilight years, he had lost the heart to fight. He no longer wished to take risks in the Shinobi World…
If it weren’t for Kazuki’s unintentional provocation, Madara might’ve already retreated to the Pure Land for good.
And if that had happened, he wouldn’t be here now—bantering with his beloved brother, free of the burdens of age, preparing to rise again to his peak.
Madara’s eyes glowed with the shape of the Rinnegan, as he gazed toward Kirigakure—his expression a mix of satisfaction, unwillingness, and a bold warrior’s pride.
What a wild and arrogant sight it was—
Clad in glory, astride his prime, Kazuki had awakened the Rinnegan at just eighteen. On the battlefield, he had single-handedly crushed nine Kage-level opponents, found his path forward, and now stood proud at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World—declaring his strength to all.
Madara was filled with regret.
Why had he been so fixated on returning to the Shinobi World in his prime? Why had he even devised that clumsy 'spokesman' plan?
Because Madara believed that someone who possessed the Rinnegan had to return in a way that would leave the entire Shinobi World in awe—
He had to crush all opposition, utterly and completely!
Only then would he be worthy of these eyes of the Sage. Only then could he justify his title as the Ashura of the Shinobi World and prove once and for all that the legend of Uchiha Madara had surpassed that of Senju Hashirama—the so-called God of Shinobi. That he was truly one of a kind.
A surge of pride rose within Madara’s heart.
Kazuki might have advanced to a higher level, but in the end, he was still a newcomer. How could he, the first to awaken the Rinnegan in the Shinobi World, allow himself to fall behind?
'I must become stronger. I must reclaim my prime—even find a way to surpass it!' Madara clenched his fists as the thought burned in his chest.
In the past, Madara had always avoided thinking about how to use the Rinnegan to compensate for his aging body. But now, he actively began exploring every possible method.
Even if some of those methods were less than dignified—it no longer mattered.
