Chapter 221: The Man Behind the Scenes

(T/N: There is now a p.atreon for this work, and any new work I add will be dropped there first. check it out for an early release of up to 30 chapters edited smoothly. https://www.p.atreon.com/INeedRest)

****************

"Did it work??"

Naruto's Shadow Clone looked expectantly in the direction of Uchiha Madara.

Gaara, too, was ready, with the sand around him constantly surging, poised to seal Uchiha Madara.

The spiral shuriken caused a huge explosion.

Dust clouded the battlefield, obscuring their vision.

But the next moment, everyone's expressions changed.

"You really brought me so many surprises, Colt."

Uchiha Madara's low voice emerged from the smoke as the wind blew it away, revealing his body intact.

"It's... the Rinnegan!"

Jiraiya stared in disbelief, staring at Uchiha Madara's purple Rinnegan.

"Are you surprised? These were originally my eyes."

Brushing the dust off his armor nonchalantly, Uchiha Madara replied coldly.

"Impossible!" Jiraiya denied.

"In the history of the ninja world, aside from Sage of Six Paths, only Nagato ever awakened the Rinnegan!"

"Nagato? That was just a pawn of mine..." Madara's voice was dismissive.

"His Rinnegan, I implanted it on him before my death."

Jiraiya's pupils shrank.

'If that is true…'

Then, everything he believed about Nagato being chosen by fate, blessed with divine eyes, was a lie.

It had all been part of Madara's plan.

At that moment, Colt's gaze shifted toward the direction of the Land of Hot Water.

Uchiha Madara mirrored his action, both feeling a powerful summons.

"Uchiha Madara, it's time to finish this."

The Third Hokage's body emerged from hiding, but Orochimaru's voice was unmistakable.

"Hmph, so even you, a snake hiding in the shadows, desire the power of the Ten-Tails."

Madara scoffed.

He attempted to resist Orochimaru's control but was surprised by the overwhelming force preventing him from breaking free.

This Orochimaru was significantly stronger, being considered as a pseudo-ten-tails jinchuuriki.

"It seems you are not entirely useless."

Madara, realizing the futility of resistance for now, accepted Orochimaru's orders, though his Rinnegan locked onto Colt with a look of regret.

"I had hoped to enjoy our battle longer, but it appears that won't be possible."

With that, the Susanoo enveloped Madara once again, this time with two heads and four arms.

Moments later, two coffins appeared, taking in Madara and the Third Hokage before sinking into the ground.

As the sky darkened, everyone turned their attention upwards.

The air grew dense, and above them loomed an enormous shadow—a meteorite.

"Th-this...!"

A collective gulp echoed across the battlefield. Even Onoki and Gaara trembled in the face of such overwhelming power.

"Quick! Colt, use the Flying Thunder God to get us out of here!" Jiraiya shouted, trying to remain calm.

He knew Colt had the Flying Thunder God Technique and felt reassured despite the immense threat.

But Colt only smiled, seemingly amused.

"No need. I've got another way to handle this."

His eyes gleamed with excitement.

The meteorite had piqued his interest as the perfect "toy."

Activating his right eye, the hidden power of Sukunahikona finally came into play.

The colossal meteorite with smaller ones around it began to shrink rapidly.

One, two, three.

Before it touched the ground, the meteorites had shrunk to the size of marbles.

With a flick of his hand, Colt caught the three marbles and toyed with them.

"Not bad. I'll give them to Madara as a parting gift," he said, nodding in satisfaction as he weighed the marbles in his hand.

The others, however, were dumbstruck.

Was this still the world of ninjas? One person can summon a meteorite, and another shrinks it to the size of a toy?

Colt turned to the group, snapping them out of their daze.

"Come on. I can already sense a massive Chakra approaching."

Meanwhile, Naruto and Sasuke were still engaged in battle.

Naruto in Sage Fox Mode had been overpowering Sasuke's full-body Susanoo from the start.

Sasuke, despite his Uchiha lineage, couldn't match Naruto's stamina and relentless power.

"Sasuke!"

But just as Naruto was about to land the last blow needed to incapacitate Sasuke, a masked man appeared and whisked Sasuke away using a strange ability.

"Where did they go?"

Naruto started looking.

Following the masked man's trail, Naruto, with his enhanced perception thanks to the Nine-Tails, tracked him to Kakashi's battlefield.

With Naruto's help, they managed to wipe out the reanimated army and the Six Paths of Jinchūrikis summoned by the masked man.

However, the masked man wasn't done.

He summoned the incomplete Ten Tails.

Though lacking some parts of its body and chakra, the beast was still overwhelmingly powerful.

Thankfully, reinforcements arrived as Tsunade, the Raikage, and Terumi Mei, transported by the Flying Thunder God, joined the battlefield.

Together, the three Kages led their forces to distract the Ten-Tails while Naruto and Kakashi focused on the masked man and Sasuke.

During a grueling fight, Kakashi discovered that his Kamui was linked to the masked man's abilities.

Using this knowledge, they sent Naruto's Shadow Clone into the Kamui dimension.

With perfect timing, the clone landed a Rasengan on the masked man, shattering his mask.

The mastermind behind the chaos, the one who had incited the Fourth Great Ninja War, was finally unmasked.

"Obito... it's really you!"