What Black Zetsu was thinking had nothing to do with Hikari.
Right now, she had only one objective.
Eliminate the two men before her.
She had already memorized everything Ren told her about them. That was precisely why she chose to strike Itachi first.
"Obito is troublesome to catch… but Uchiha Itachi…"
Her gaze sharpened.
That night, she had watched from the shadows. She had left before the very end—but she believed Ren's words without question.
If that was the case, then she wanted to see for herself—
How strong was this man who possessed the same ocular power as she did?
"Susanoo? Too weak."
She looked at Itachi's skeletal avatar with mild disdain.
"At this level… your eyes are nothing special."
Buzz—
Without hesitation, her short blade cut forward.
It slipped along the edge of Itachi's Susanoo, aiming straight for his head—
And then she stopped.
"Oh? Quick reaction."
She turned.
The Itachi before her dissolved into mud. The real one had already appeared to her flank.
"But since you possess these eyes too, you should understand…"
Her hand rose.
Violent chakra roared outward.
"Fire Release: Great Flame Wall!"
A towering inferno erupted, surging forward like a blazing barrier toward Itachi.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon!"
Itachi responded instantly.
But when the two fire techniques collided—
The difference was obvious.
His flames were devoured.
His mind buzzed in disbelief.
Why was she so strong?
Why did she have these eyes?
Why had he never known she existed?
No answers came.
And in the instant the flames collided, Itachi sensed something wrong—
He turned.
She was already at his side.
"Not bad."
Her blade flashed again.
But this time—
She felt it.
His pupil spun.
Buzz—
Pitch-black flames erupted before her.
Amaterasu.
Her brow lifted faintly.
So it really was the same.
"Unfortunately…"
Her eyes shifted.
Crimson chakra engulfed her body instantly.
The black flames spread across her Susanoo chakra—
But instead of burning her—
They were absorbed.
Controlled.
Itachi's expression changed.
He felt it.
His control over Amaterasu—
Was being taken.
"You—!"
He knew she could use Amaterasu.
But he was the one who cast it.
How was she stealing control?
She gave no explanation.
Her blade descended again—
And at that moment—
The space beside her distorted.
"Kamui."
She clicked her tongue.
Ren had told her enough.
Obito's ability.
She disengaged instantly.
Better not to let that spatial power touch her.
But her retreat emboldened Obito.
The air twisted.
Chains lashed out from the distortion—
Obito lunged in.
"Taijutsu?"
Hikari's eyes sharpened.
This time—
She did not retreat.
They crossed in a blur.
Her strike passed through him—
Intangible.
At the same time, Itachi attacked from behind.
Clang!
Steel met steel.
She blocked with one hand.
And her peripheral vision caught something—
The faint metallic rattle of chain.
Subtle.
But real.
"Sound transmission… tangible."
Her battlefield instincts were bone-deep.
She pivoted.
In one fluid motion she dodged Obito—
Redirected Itachi—
And forced the two to collide paths.
"Damn it!"
Neither had coordinated.
Obito barely phased in time to avoid crashing into Itachi.
They landed separately.
Faces dark.
"Who are you?" Obito demanded through clenched teeth. "What are those eyes?!"
He could not believe he had overlooked another Mangekyō.
Worse—
Her ocular power felt heavier than his.
Colder.
Deadlier.
Her combat instincts were suffocating.
Who was she?
"You ask such a foolish question."
Her voice was calm.
No emotion.
"No wonder Ren looks down on you."
She adjusted her blade slightly.
"I don't care who you are."
She vanished again.
Blade flashing.
"What I want—"
Her speed increased.
Her pressure intensified.
"—is your eyes."
The deeper she fought—
The more something awakened inside her.
This era's shinobi fought with tactics, formations, systems.
But she—
She was born of the Warring States.
Where survival meant slaughter.
Where personal strength meant everything.
No village protection.
No politics.
Just blood.
Her movements grew sharper.
More ruthless.
Obito and Itachi felt it clearly—
She was getting stronger mid-fight.
"What is this…?"
Even Shisui, battling nearby, glanced over in disbelief.
One versus two Mangekyō.
And she was suppressing them.
Izumi stared, stunned.
"She's… terrifying."
Black Zetsu watched silently underground.
He understood something the others did not.
Information advantage.
Obito's Kamui had been exposed.
Itachi's flames were neutralized.
No coordination.
Same eye abilities.
But beyond that—
Her taijutsu.
Her killing aura.
That wasn't modern.
That was—
Warring States combat style.
His mind trembled.
Indra's reincarnation?
But Madara wasn't even dead yet.
How—
His thoughts fractured.
Asura's chakra radiated from Ren.
Now this woman—
With eye power rivaling Madara.
And they stood on the same side.
Even worse—
More united than Hashirama and Madara ever were.
What kind of era was this?
"You're weaker than I expected."
Hikari pulled back slightly.
Itachi's breathing had grown uneven.
He had no Kamui to rely on.
He bore the brunt of her pressure.
Obito's frustration burned visibly.
"You think you've already won?!"
"I wonder who I am too," she murmured faintly.
But then—
Her chakra exploded.
The crimson Susanoo expanded.
Bones formed.
Muscle.
Armor.
It grew—
And grew—
And grew—
Boom.
A hundred-meter-tall crimson giant towered above the forest.
Armor encased it.
Wings extended from its back—
And from those wings—
Two additional hands formed.
Its right hand gripped a massive blade blazing with Amaterasu.
Its face resembled a demonic war god.
Within the diamond-shaped core at its head—
Hikari stood calmly.
"Now…"
The flaming blade descended.
The earth split.
A canyon tore across the land.
Two distant mountains were severed cleanly.
Stone and debris thundered down.
She looked at them.
"Still think I'm boasting?"
Elsewhere—
Konan and Pakura raced through the forest.
The shockwaves grew stronger with each step.
Then they saw it.
A crimson demon towering above the canopy.
Cold chakra suffocated the air.
"What is that…"
Pakura's breath tightened.
Konan narrowed her eyes.
"…That's not Ren."
Then—
Golden light erupted elsewhere.
"That's him."
But if Ren was there—
What was that red giant?
Before they could process further—
The earth began trembling violently.
Another chakra—
Vaster.
Heavier.
Rising like an ocean.
Their minds blanked.
Is this… truly human power?
On another front—
Ren stood atop a tree, watching.
"Going all out, are we?"
In the forest below—
His Wood Release had already transformed the land into a dense flowering jungle.
Wood clones attacked relentlessly.
Ōnoki's Earth Golem had been shattered.
Wood Release suppressed the Eight-Tails brutally.
And no one was unified.
This was not the Fourth Great Ninja War.
This was chaos.
And Ren thrived in chaos.
"Let's escalate."
He formed a seal.
"Do you know what true Konoha is?"
Flowers bloomed across the battlefield.
Toxic pollen spread instantly.
"Wood Release combined with Fire Release."
Scorch Release: Great Fire Annihilation.
Orange flames cascaded across the forest.
The Flowering Forest ignited.
Poison gas mixed with inferno.
"Poison!" Chiyo shouted immediately.
Raikage dropped to one knee.
Killer Bee staggered.
Ōnoki cursed.
"Blow it away!"
"I'll clear it!"
Ōnoki formed seals desperately.
"Dust Release: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
Blinding white light carved through the burning forest.
Wood was severed.
Air cleared.
And the beam continued toward Ren—
Only to be blocked by the towering Wood Golem.
"Now!" Killer Bee roared.
The Eight-Tails manifested fully.
Pain summoned massive creatures.
Chiyo released a swarm of puppets.
Ōnoki hovered, breath heavy.
"This time—you lose!"
Ren floated upward.
Golden chakra intensified.
"You misunderstand something."
He smiled faintly.
"I'm not Hashirama."
Pause.
"But that doesn't mean I can't use his power."
Sage Art—
Wood Release—
True Several Thousand Hands.
The earth ruptured.
A colossal Buddha statue rose from beneath the battlefield—
Thousands of arms layered behind it.
Towering kilometers high.
Everything before it seemed microscopic.
Even the Eight-Tails.
Even Pain's summons.
Ōnoki's face drained of color.
"This… impossible…"
Eight-Tails trembled.
Raikage stared blankly.
"Why didn't Hashirama conquer the world if he had this power?"
Nagato's heart pounded.
This was worthy of the Sage Body.
Chiyo and Ebizō felt cold to the bone.
Ren's voice echoed from atop the Buddha's head.
"So."
"Are you ready?"
"Sage Art—Wood Release—Shinsu Senju!"
Top Transformed Buddha.
The thousand arms—
Descended.
And the world—
Shook.
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