บท 326: The Greatest Sword

Boom!

As Obito formed the seals, the God Tree underwent another drastic transformation. All the flower buds except the one at the top of the tree returned into the trunk, replaced by thick, massive branches.

The ground shook violently, and thick tree roots burst from the earth, attacking the Allied Shinobi Forces relentlessly.

"Heh heh, did you think I was just wasting time with you all this time?" Obito sneered.

Even though the God Tree appeared bare on the surface, with only a massive trunk and four remaining flower buds, its root beneath had been continuously absorbing power, growing like crazy.

As part of the God Tree, its branches and roots possessed incredible strength. They were not only exceptionally tough but also capable of absorbing all Chakra.

The roots suddenly sprouted from the ground, and Minato and Naruto couldn't dodge in time. They were tightly bound by the roots.

Minato and Naruto tried to release Chakra explosively to break the roots and escape, but they suddenly realized that they couldn't mould their Chakra.

Their Chakra was rapidly depleting, and they couldn't muster enough to break free. Both of them were quickly forced out of their Tailed Beast Mode.

Seeing this, Tobirama immediately used Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport next to Minato, attempting to rescue both Minato and Naruto. However, the roots were so tight, and Tobirama couldn't rescue Naruto.

On top of that, the other roots were going after them, so Tobirama had no choice but to return with only Minato.

"Water Release: Water Severing Wave," Tobirama said.

He unleashed a high-pressure water jet to cut off the approaching roots and then aimed it at Naruto.

However, there were too many roots binding Naruto, and Tobirama couldn't cut them all at once. Every time he severed a few roots, more came to replace them.

"Damn, there are too many roots. Minato, can you use Flying Thunder God Technique to get over there?" Tobirama had no choice but to ask Minato. After all, he hadn't marked Naruto; he had only marked Minato.

"My Chakra has been completely absorbed. I can't use any Ninjutsu now," Minato replied with a pale face. The God Tree had completely drained his Chakra.

Nagasawa noticed the situation and immediately dished out hundreds of compressed air blade in Naruto's direction.

Many roots were severed, and Naruto fell from the sky. Minato rushed and caught Naruto with his remaining left hand.

The Chakra cloak that Naruto had used to protect the Allied Shinobi Forces had become a ticking time bomb. The more Chakra he had, the more roots would pursue him. The example was Killer B, who was also a Jinchuriki like Naruto. He found himself in a similar predicament. He was chased by dozens of roots, creating a bizarre scene on the battlefield.

Killer B ran frantically, muttering, "Why are these roots only after me and not anyone else?"

Other roots pursued whomever they could catch, but the ones going after him seemed relentless, with new roots joining the chase now and then.

"It's because you have too much Chakra, and that's not good. Now, the Ten-Tails has evolved to its final form," Gyuki, the Eight-Tails, remarked.

The capable Shinobi could use ninjutsu to cut the roots, but those slightly weaker had no means to escape. They could neither cut the roots, nor outrun them, and once they get caught, they would die for sure.

Now, everyone was struggling for their own survival. They had no spare energy to help others. Minato and Naruto could hold on a little longer due to their substantial Chakra, but ordinary people would be completely drained of their Chakra and died instantly.

The battlefield resounded with cries of despair, and many Allied Shinobi Forces showed signs of despair. They had thought victory was within their grasp, but the outcome seemed to be going in the opposite direction.

They defeated so many Shinobi that was revived with Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation, withstood Obito and Ten-Tails' onslaught of Obito only to be sucked dry by the God Tree?

If they had known this would be the outcome, they would rather die at Obito's hands; at least that would have been more honourable than having their Chakra sucked dry, resulting in a pitiful and grotesque death, with their skin shriveling like withered plants.

Some Shinobi closed their eyes, resgining to their fate. But they waited for a long time and felt no pain as they had imagined, so they opened their eyes.

Then, they saw the most beautiful flame they had ever witnessed in their lives.

A golden arc of flame passed by, incinerating all the approaching roots.

In the midst of this dark night, the golden flame was so dazzling, so radiant, and so beautiful...

"It's a big taboo to daydream on the battlefield," Nagasawa said as he patted the shoulder of a Kumogakure Shinobi who had almost been bound by the roots.

"Thank you," the Cloud Village shinobi said, snapping out of his daze and quickly expressing gratitude to Nagasawa.

"Haha, no need to thank me. Your sword is quite handy; it must be quite valuable. I'll return it to you after the war," Nagasawa laughed and then dashed at high speed, slashing through the roots that were pursuing the Allied Shinobi Forces.

The Kumogakure Shinobi watched Nagasawa disappear into the distance, and his mind wandered. He recalled the war with Konoha...

Could they have been wrong all along?

The Allied Shinobi Forces continued to retreat as the roots chased them. However, with a team led by Nagasawa, the casualties was kept to a minimum, and the Allied Shinobi Forces began to hold their ground.

Once they had retreated to a certain distance, the roots stopped pursuing the Allied Shinobi Forces and returned underground.

This wasn't because the God Tree had reached its limit, but rather because Obito believed it had absorbed enough Chakra, so he controlled the God Tree to stop.

Meanwhile, Hashirama, who had been fighting against Madara asked, "Madara, what's happening?"

Madara explained while still attacking Hashirama and explained, "This is the Infinite Tsukuyomi. See that giant bud at the top of the God Tree? When that bud blooms, the Infinite Tsukuyomi will be cast, and a whole new world will appear, one that I will lead."

"Led by you?"

"That's right. We have about fifteen minutes until the God Tree blooms. At the last moment, I will replace Obito and complete the Infinite Tsukuyomi."

"To achieve this, I need your Sage Power," Obito said as he prepared Black Receivers for what lay ahead.

Hashirama was taken aback. Only fifteen minutes until the Infinite Tsukuyomi was cast. Although he didn't know what Technique it truly was, but since Madara valued it so highly, he had no doubt that it was a dangerous one.

Hashirama used his Wood Clone to ask the Allied Shinobi Forces if there was any member of the Yamanaka Clan among them.

Inoichi Yamanaka stepped forward.

"Can you perform the Mind Body Transmission Technique?" Hashirama's Wood Clone asked

Ino nodded.

"Connect me to everyone; I have something very important to say."

Hashirama then relayed the information he had obtained from Madara to the entire Allied Shinobi Forces and earnestly encouraged them.

Initially, upon hearing that the world would change in fifteen minutes, many of the Allied Shinobi Forces couldn't help but feel despair. However, as Hashirama encouraged them with his speech, their spirits were reignited.

When the God of Shinobi himself encouraged them and offered to pave the path for the future with them, how could they just sit back and listen?

At that moment, Orochimaru descended from the sky and arrived on the battlefield.

The Third Hokage glanced at Orochimaru and asked, "Where are the Five Kage?"

Initially, they had split up—the Hokages went to the front lines to stop Madara and Obito, while Orochimaru and his group went to rescue the Five Kage.

"They've finished their treatment. If they're not cowards, they should be here soon," Orochimaru said with a sly smile.

The Third Hokage sighed and said, "Your tongue is still as venomous as ever."

Anyone who became a Kage was an exceptional Shinobi, and there were no cowards among them.

Orochimaru smiled, not paying much attention to the Third's words. Instead, he showed a hint of nostalgia and said, "Shall we fight together, sensei? It brings back memories."

Obito, on the other hand, floated slowly toward the Allied Shinobi Forces. The Truth-Seeking Balls on his back began to transform once again, eventually turning into a large black double-helix shaped sword.

"Give up the struggle. This false world isn't worth protecting. Let me take you to the real world," Obito attempted to convince the Allied Shinobi Forces to give up their last resistance.

"Obito, stop your delusion. The Allied Shinobi Forces will fight you to the very end," Nagasawa said as he confronted Obito while holding his sword that was covered in flames.

"Why are you doing this? Do you know what kind of sword I hold? This is the creator of this world's sword, the Sage of the Six Path's sword! Everything you do is meaningless!" Obito boasted, introducing his weapon.

"Is that so? I don't think your so-called Sage of the Six Paths's sword is that powerful. At least, it's not as strong as my sword," Nagasawa said confidently, smirking and brandishing his black sword.

"Heh, your sword is nothing more than an ordinary sword. Without that layer of black substance protecting it, it would have been shattered crushed long ago, yet you dare to call it the number one sword?" Obito sneered.

Did he really think that his Rinnegan and Sharingan were just for show?

"This is the greatest sword, and it will defeat your so-called divine weapon," Nagasawa remained confident.

"Heh, then come and try," Obito said as he swung his Sword of Nunoboko toward Nagasawa.

The moment Sword of Nunoboko was swung, it created a tremendous storm, as if the air itself was being torn apart, and space seemed to be on the verge of breaking apart.

Nagasawa spared no Chakra, activating his Sage Mode and Breathing Style to the best of his ability. With each second, his Chakra rapidly drained, but his power skyrocketed.

Huff, huff, huff!

The flames on the black sword burned even more intensely, shifting from red to golden. In addition to his sword, Nagasawa's body was also glowing. From the distance, he looked like a small sun!

Boom!

Nagasawa rushed toward Obito, creating cracks on the ground due to his overwhelming momentum!

Although Nagasawa's sword was smaller than Obito's Sword of Nunoboko, Obito was a little shaken as Nagasawa charged at him.

Boom, boom, boom!

Sword of Nunoboko and the black sword covered in golden flames collided, creating a massive explosion. A powerful shockwave burst with Obito and Nagasawa as the center, causing the ground beneath them to crack. The Allied Shinobi Forces quickly used their Chakra to prevent themselves from being blown away.

Crack!

Obito widened his eyes in disbelief as he stared at Nagasawa charging toward him.

The Sword of Nunoboko that created everything in this world had broken.

'How is this possible? How could my conviction be shattered by an ordinary sword?' Obito began to doubt himself.

Swoosh!

Nagasawa didn't waste this opportunity. He slashed open Obito's abdomen with one swift strike and then kicked him from the sky.

"I told you, this is the world's greatest sword!" Nagasawa said while gently swinging his black sword.

At this moment, Obito couldn't fully control the Tailed Beasts' Chakra within him. The Tailed Beasts were trying to break free from Obito's control.

Naruto noticed this and immediately entered his Six Paths Sage Mode. He rushed toward Obito and using the Chakra of the other Tailed Beasts within him, he attempted to pull out the Tailed Beasts out of Obito's body.

With a single pull, Naruto managed to extract all of the Tailed Beasts' Chakra.

Obito was already a Sage of the Six Paths, and even though he was wavering, Naruto wouldn't be able to easily snatch that power from him.

Obito floated in mid-air, attempting to retrieve all of the Tailed Beasts back into his body.

Nagasawa thought for a moment. Killing Obito now would mean that the seven Tailed Beasts within him would reunite, and Six Paths Madara and Kaguya would never appear.

So Nagasawa joined the tug-of-war.

Others reacted quickly too. Minato, Killer B, and even Gaara, who had just arrived, joined this odd tug-of-war.

Except for Nagasawa, everyone else was a Jinchuriki, making it relatively easier to pull out the Tailed Beasts' Chakra.

Realizing the situation, Sasuke summoned Susanoo to assist in the tug-of-war.

At this point, Minato, whose Chakra had partly recovered due to the nature of Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation and Nine-Tails inside him, shared his Chakra with the other Allied Shinobi Forces. Although he didn't say anything, everyone understood what to do.

"Obito, you've lost," Nagasawa said.

While the battle wasn't over yet, the tide had turned decisively in their favor.

Obito didn't respond. He became even more shaken inside.

Because he was at a disadvantage, his conviction wavered even more. Eventually, the Tailed Beasts were completely extracted from him.

Without the Tailed Beasts, Obito's Six Paths characteristics like his clothes, the Truth-Seeking Balls, and everything that represented the Sage of the Six Paths disappeared, turned into white light.

"I've lost..." Obito fell to the ground with an empty expression. He gazed at the red moon in the sky due to the Infinite Tsukuyomi's preparation and questioned himself, "Have I really been wrong all along? I just wanted to resurrect Rin, and I merely wanted everyone to live in a world without war or death. Why did I fail? Why did no one support me? Did I truly go wrong?"