"Not bad. It seems the era of peace hasn't made him complacent..."
Staring coldly at Nagato as he flew backward, Madara smiled darkly to himself.
That kick had contained nearly thirty percent of his strength.
It was enough to kill a Kage-level taijutsu specialist outright.
Yet Nagato appeared to have suffered only superficial injuries and coughed up some blood.
After all, he was a child who had lived through war.
People who had experienced tragedy firsthand often trained even harder during times of peace, fearful that disaster might strike again.
Still...
No matter what, the Rinnegan wasn't truly Nagato's.
He lacked Uchiha blood.
While the Rinnegan granted him mastery over countless ninjutsu and access to the Six Paths abilities...
It was also an immense burden on his body.
As a result, his mobility and physical performance lagged far behind his other capabilities.
Whoosh!
Madara vanished once more and charged directly toward Nagato.
At the same time, the sea of flames finally surged forward after Madara's departure.
"Ahhh!"
As the inferno broke through their defenses, countless Rain ninjas scattered in panic.
Boom!
Before Nagato could organize the troops, another heavy punch came crashing toward him.
Cough!
This time, Nagato crossed his arms in time to block.
But Madara's strength was simply overwhelming.
The impact drove Nagato's body deep into the cliff behind him.
"Still too weak."
Madara sighed softly.
Then a strange crimson gleam flashed through his eyes.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had activated.
After all, those eyes belonged to him.
And he had left behind certain preparations.
"What are you trying to do?"
Nagato finally recovered from the blow.
Seeing Madara standing before him, he immediately thrust forward a hand crackling with lightning.
Without saying a word, he attacked.
"Why remain so ignorant..."
Madara gazed at Nagato's face.
Without even looking at the incoming lightning strike, he simply tilted his body and avoided it.
Then he grabbed Nagato's wrist.
His grip was ironclad.
Nagato couldn't move forward even an inch.
"You—!"
Nagato's expression changed.
Immediately, he tried to use his other hand.
"Just stay still."
Madara sighed again and seized his second wrist as well.
"Damn it..."
Nagato was about to spit in Madara's face and use Shinra Tensei to blast him away.
Yet to his shock—
He couldn't activate it.
"Black Zetsu."
Madara suddenly stopped staring at Nagato and shouted toward the empty ground behind him.
"Are you still waiting?"
"Yes."
Under Nagato's astonished gaze, a black humanoid figure emerged from the earth.
It looked like a darkened version of White Zetsu.
Without hesitation, it leapt forward and merged directly into Nagato's body.
"Urgh—!"
Nagato immediately felt his body become unresponsive.
He struggled to resist.
But with both arms restrained by Madara, resistance was impossible.
Even the immense chakra within him became as docile as a lamb under Madara's suppression.
"What is this thing?!"
Nagato glared at Madara.
His Rinnegan burned with fury.
He could feel that something had attached itself to half his body.
That side was no longer under his control.
If he could turn his head, he would see that Black Zetsu had merged into him.
Half of his body was now covered in Black Zetsu's dark substance.
"Let's begin."
Madara's pressure kept Nagato firmly subdued.
There was even a hint of impatience in his voice.
"Yes..."
Suddenly, Nagato heard himself respond.
His heart lurched.
He had never intended to answer.
Yet his body had moved on its own.
"Madara-sama, I require some chakra."
His lips moved again without permission.
"Very well."
Madara slightly relaxed his suppression.
Nagato immediately sensed that he could once again access a portion of his chakra.
Enough for simple techniques.
"Is this some kind of terrifying sealing technique?"
Though he could use chakra again, Nagato had no illusions about escaping.
The man before him felt unfathomable.
The only person who had ever given him a similar feeling was Ning Feng.
That meant this man was likely on the same level.
Whatever they were planning, they probably didn't intend to kill him immediately.
"Heh heh..."
A strange laugh escaped Nagato's mouth.
The moment he remembered Black Zetsu entering his body, realization struck him.
Ignoring Madara's pressure, he forced his head downward and glanced at himself.
Half his body had turned black.
Dark, shifting matter crawled across his skin.
The sight was horrifying.
"What is this—"
"Mmgh!"
Before he could finish, his hands suddenly began forming seals on their own.
"This technique..."
Nagato felt the flow of chakra within his body.
His face instantly paled.
He recognized it.
The seventh ability of the Rinnegan.
Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.
A forbidden technique capable of returning the dead to life.
Though its requirements were harsh, it was one of the most powerful abilities in existence.
Using chakra alone to resurrect the dead was already terrifying.
But now...
As the familiar chakra pathways activated, something else began draining alongside them.
His life force.
Large amounts of it.
The red hair atop his head began losing color from the roots upward.
"Damn it..."
Nagato's body rapidly weakened.
Members of the Uzumaki clan possessed immense vitality and extraordinarily long lifespans.
Their chakra reserves far exceeded those of ordinary people.
But this technique was extracting his life energy almost completely.
His crimson hair continued fading.
The vibrant color disappeared strand by strand.
"What exactly is happening...?"
Nagato coughed weakly.
His voice trembled.
At the same time, the glow of youth faded from his face.
His skin wrinkled.
Time seemed to be passing over him at incredible speed.
"Heh..."
Nearby, the cracks covering Madara's Edo Tensei body began crumbling away.
The dusty fragments of his reanimated form scattered into the air.
The fissures on his face disappeared.
The fractures across his body healed one after another.
An overwhelming wave of chakra erupted from within him.
"What... is this...?"
Now aged and frail, Nagato stared at Madara.
His eyes had lost much of their light.
Before him, the man was undergoing a shocking transformation.
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