It had to be said, size really did make a difference.
Susanoo's forty-meter-long sword released far larger sword energy than the Kusanagi Sword in Jie's own hand.
Scarlet-gold sword energy stretched from the massive blade and sank into the core of Chibaku Tensei like a beam of divine light.
In that instant, Chibaku Tensei's powerful pull faded into nothing. The rocks, earth, trees, and even corpses that had been dragged into the air all began falling back to the ground like rain.
The mighty Chibaku Tensei had been cut apart by Jie's single slash. Nagato had never expected that.
Looking at the collapsing Chibaku Tensei, his eyes filled with shock.
'We have to retreat. Jie Uchiha is no longer someone human strength can deal with. Without the Ten-Tails, there's no way to fight him. Peace will never bear fruit like this.'
Nagato immediately made his decision.
However, the problem was no longer whether Nagato wanted to leave. It was whether Jie would let them leave.
Standing on Susanoo's head, Jie looked at the Gedo Statue, which was several times larger than even his third-stage Susanoo. A cold smile appeared in his eyes.
It had been having plenty of fun swinging its fists at him just now. Now it was his turn.
But Jie was not stupid enough to control Susanoo and fight the Gedo Statue hand-to-hand. After testing it earlier, he was certain the Gedo Statue's attacks could seriously threaten Susanoo.
Even without much chakra inside it, its raw physical strength was enough to shatter Susanoo, much like Kaguya's Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack.
So Jie simply controlled Susanoo and slashed at the Gedo Statue again.
The Gedo Statue only had the simplest awareness. Even under Nagato's control, only its arms could move freely. It could not even walk properly.
Faced with Susanoo's forty-meter-long sword, it could only take the blow head-on.
Scarlet-gold sword energy flashed again. This time, what appeared on the Gedo Statue was not just a cut, but a deep wound.
Large chunks of flesh around the wound seemed to have been erased, leaving only drops of milky-white fluid slowly dripping down.
The Ten-Tails' true body was the God Tree, and the Gedo Statue was the husk left behind by that same tree.
So this milky-white fluid was similar to Hashirama Senju's cells. It contained powerful vitality and could even extend one's lifespan.
Madara had relied on the Gedo Statue's chakra to survive after his battle with Hashirama at the Valley of the End, stubbornly lasting until that little traitor Obito appeared.
Of course, Madara was still the one who got tricked in the end, but that did not change how useful the Gedo Statue's power was.
However, Jie had no interest in it.
To use the Gedo Statue to extend his life, he would have to connect himself to it through a tube. That kind of prison-like survival was something Jie would rather avoid.
Besides, Jie was only sixteen. He was still at the best age of his life, and his strength was growing rapidly. With his talent and the system's help, he refused to believe he could not reach the Six Paths level through his own power.
Once he reached that level, his soul would become immortal like the Sage of Six Paths. Or, like Kaguya, he could gain true immortality through the God Tree's fruit.
Jie even felt that once his strength reached a certain point, the system's settlement rewards might give him an even better method. At that time, not only him, but Izumi and a few others could stay by his side forever.
But to reach that point, Jie still had to keep working hard.
While his thoughts wandered, Jie controlled Susanoo and swung the second slash. Both slashes landed on the same spot.
The Gedo Statue immediately let out a faint wail. Cracking sounds came from the wound, and its massive right arm slowly broke away from its body before falling heavily toward the ground.
'Damn you, Jie Uchiha. You actually dared to damage Mother's body…'
Black Zetsu, who was moving underground, sensed the change in the Gedo Statue and instantly felt a surge of killing intent.
'Nagato is no longer capable of carrying the responsibility of reviving Mother. We have to revive Uchiha Madara. But the Rinnegan is still with Nagato. Then let them make one last contribution to Mother's revival.'
Black Zetsu calmly made his plan.
Uchiha Madara's revival had to be moved forward. Without Madara, the Moon's Eye Plan could not continue.
With only Nagato and Obito, those two useless fools were not enough to fight Jie. If they could not deal with Jie, capturing the tailed beasts would become a huge problem.
Especially the Nine-Tails.
According to Black Zetsu's investigation, the Nine-Tails had clearly been sealed into Naruto by Minato Namikaze. But the golden chakra flames around Jie right now also looked like the Nine-Tails' power.
So even Black Zetsu could no longer tell whether the Nine-Tails was inside Naruto or Jie. Either way, neither of them would be easy to deal with.
There was no need to even mention Jie. He had already become the biggest obstacle to the Moon's Eye Plan.
As for Naruto, he spent every day with Jie's younger brother, Sasuke. Now, he had even become Jie's student.
In other words, if they wanted to capture Naruto, they would have to face Jie sooner or later. Even trying to ambush Naruto while he was out on a mission alone was risky.
If Naruto could freely leave and enter Konoha, was he really the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Would Konoha really let its strongest strategic weapon move around outside the village alone?
No matter what Konoha was thinking, in Black Zetsu's view, Naruto's freedom made his identity as the Jinchuriki less certain.
And with that, everything returned to the same dead end. Jie was a hurdle they could not avoid.
But there was no point thinking about it now.
First, Black Zetsu had to find Obito and have him control Nagato. Once they retreated from Kumogakure, Nagato would perform his final duty.
He would revive Uchiha Madara.
And once Madara, this powerful and easy-to-control tool, was revived, the Moon's Eye Plan could truly begin.
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