Although it was not revived in its mightiest, most complete form…

the Ten‑Tails is still the Ten‑Tails—

the progenitor of chakra, the beginning and the source of all things!

And equally, it signifies the end and the apocalypse: utter annihilation.

At this moment the Ten‑Tails' body is immeasurably vast.

Its single blood‑red Rinne Sharingan glows atop its head, radiating a merciless, all‑subduing power.

Each slight sway of its ten colossal tails can trigger mountain‑shattering quakes, sundering the very land.

Here stands the ultimate life‑form, the being that possesses the strongest chakra—

the Ten‑Tails!

Even the members of Akatsuki can only gape, stunned beyond measure.

Orochimaru, however, has a feverish gleam in his eyes.

"So that is the origin of all chakra…

What a beautiful existence…"

Hiruko casts him a sidelong glance.

"Orochimaru, you really are twisted—

To find something this horrifying 'beautiful'…"

Kakuzu, Sasori of the Red Sand, Hoshigaki Kisame and the others blanch; it is hard to imagine such a nightmare truly exists.

Uchiha Obito's face shows no emotion, yet his heart, too, reels.

"So this… is a Ten‑Tails jinchūriki…

Should I strike first—?"

He knows he cannot.

Not only is he branded with the binding formula Madara placed upon him—Madara could seize control at any time—but even without it, challenging Madara now would be suicide.

Black Zetsu gazes at the howling Ten‑Tails, feelings complicated.

He knows this creature is a part of his "mother."

"Mother, the millennium of waiting is finally paying off…

The last moment draws near. Please endure a little longer."

Konan looks toward Pain.

"Pain… is that…"

Pain—rather, Nagato—feels equally conflicted.

Had the Tailed‑Beast Hunt succeeded, the ultimate bijū weapon he intended to forge would have been no different from the Ten‑Tails before him.

Yet now it is merely a wedding dress prepared for another.

Uchiha Madara will never move according to his plan.

Amid the blood‑red full moon, Madara suddenly vaults onto the roaring Ten‑Tails' head, flings up his arms and laughs madly at the heavens.

"Ha‑ha‑ha‑ha‑ha! Ha‑ha‑ha‑ha‑ha!

At last… at last this day has come!

The Ten‑Tails' power is finally mine!

The Eye of the Moon Plan is within reach!"

The rest of Akatsuki stare on, shaken and uneasy.

To them the Eye of the Moon Plan is nothing they truly embrace; after defecting from their villages they merely drift into Akatsuki, only to be swept along by Madara's will.

Still, should the plan succeed and they all enter an illusory dream world, few of them actually mind; anyone who could join Akatsuki is, in some measure, not normal.

Kisame, for instance, has long known of the plan and supports it wholeheartedly.

Others, like Kakuzu or Sasori, are indifferent to its success or failure.

The happiest, of course, is Black Zetsu.

He reins in his excitement and urges, "Lord Madara!

Now that the Ten‑Tails is reborn, you must become its jinchūriki at once—otherwise it will be difficult to control!"

Madara nods. "I know."

He looks toward Pain.

Pain's heart lurches; he understands what is coming.

Konan's face pales. "Uchiha Madara, what are you doing?!"

Madara smiles faintly.

"Nagato, you've used my Rinnegan long enough. It is time to pay the price…

I granted you the eyes for this very day—

Resurrect me.

Begin."

Elsewhere, in a hidden lair, Nagato's eyes snap open.

His emaciated body seems moments from death; his face is utterly bloodless.

Because the Six Paths of Pain cannot stray too far, the real Nagato must be close by—a detail Madara has long since confirmed; when it comes to intelligence gathering, Zetsu sits atop the shinobi world.

In that instant the binding seal on Nagato's heart flares: he can summon no chakra, no strength—he cannot even move.

Black Zetsu slips up from underground and clamps onto Nagato's immobilized body.

"Hey, Nagato, your role is finished…

Akatsuki will be dust on history's shelf!"

"No—!"

Nagato strains every nerve, briefly resisting both Madara's seal and Zetsu's mental control, yet only for a heartbeat.

Zetsu seizes the opening, forms the Outer‑Path hand seals with Nagato's fingers:

"Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life!"

Clap!

Hands sealed, Nagato's Rinnegan shines one last, dazzling time.

Vast ocular power erupts, summoning the King of Hell; its gaping maw fires a green beam of chakra that streaks toward Madara.

In a flash the light strikes him. Bathed in the moon‑red glow, his corpse of dust and ash transforms: fissures disappear, dead flesh regains color; steam jets as his tissue regenerates.

With a final burst of steam, Uchiha Madara's living body is restored.

He stands, eyes opening—

Uchiha Madara is fully resurrected!

"No!"

Konan screams, hysterical.

Back in the hidden base, Nagato collapses, life spent; his tragic existence ends.

Out in the moonlight the Six Paths of Pain lose their support and topple, lifeless once more.

Konan, seeing this, is overcome with grief; she recalls watching Yahiko die years ago, and now Nagato too. She falls to her knees, drowning in sorrow and despair.

No one spares her a glance.

Madara, freshly reborn, throws back his head in wild laughter. He even slashes his own arm, delighting in the warmth and pain of real blood.

"Ha‑ha‑ha‑ha‑ha! Ha‑ha‑ha‑ha‑ha!

This is my body—I truly live again!

At last, a form fit for battle!"

Yet in the next instant his eyes crumble away, sockets left empty; Edo Tensei could sustain the Rinnegan, but the living world cannot hold two pairs of his eyes simultaneously.

Fortunately, Black Zetsu has already taken Nagato's pair. Emerging from underground, he returns them to Madara.

Madara embeds them in his vacant orbits; with Hashirama's cells and half‑Sage power, such healing is trivial.

In a blink the Rinnegan are whole, burning with unprecedented might.

"Lord Madara, quickly become the Ten‑Tails' jinchūriki—it could rampage at any moment!" Zetsu urges.

"Hm."

Radiating unchallengeable dominance, Madara leaps back onto the Ten‑Tails, weaves the final hand seals:

"Six Paths Ten-Tails Coffin Seal!"

RUMBLE—BOOM!

Madara's power crushes the monstrosity's world‑ending aura. Though it thrashes and bellows, it cannot resist his supremacy.

The Ten‑Tails' hulking form is sucked into him, struggles futile, until at last the entire beast is sealed within.

Madara's body mutates: his long hair turns snow‑white; a Sage‑like garb of white robes and nine magatama manifests; Truth‑Seeking Balls coalesce behind him in perfect ninefold; the Six Paths staff forms in his grasp.

The true Ten‑Tails jinchūriki—Six Paths Uchiha Madara—descends upon the shinobi world!

Compared with the battle against Uchiha Chiyu, his strength has grown tenfold.

"Ha‑ha‑ha‑ha‑ha! Ha‑ha‑ha‑ha‑ha!

Uchiha Chiyu, let's see what you have to fight me with now!"

Black Zetsu quivers; he knows Madara still craves a rematch to erase the shame of his prior defeat. Yet for Zetsu, only the Infinite Tsukuyomi and Mother's resurrection matter.

"Lord Madara, Uchiha Chiyu is nothing to fear. We must begin the Eye of the Moon Plan immediately!"

Madara treats Zetsu as his own will and never doubts him, but still snorts, "Casting Infinite Tsukuyomi isn't so simple.

Though I am jinchūriki, the revived Ten‑Tails is incomplete; preparing the technique will take time."

"How long, my lord?"

"About ten days."

Zetsu blanches.

That gives Chiyu time to discover and stop them—this will be the final war.

Madara sneers, "Good! I'll settle things with Chiyu once and for all."

Zetsu presses: "We must be ready. Let us deploy the two plans: the one‑hundred‑thousand White Zetsu army, and the Edo‑Tensei corps!"

Madara reflects, then nods. "Very well. I leave them to you."

He parts a portion of the Ten‑Tails' shell, instantly sprouting a towering God‑Tree. White Zetsu spawn ceaselessly from its trunk, filling the land like a tide; even stronger Ten‑Tails shards emerge among them.

The Edo‑Tensei army is handed to Orochimaru and Zetsu to raise.

Madara, fused with the God‑Tree, senses his oceanic power, smiles with arrogant satisfaction.

"Uchiha Chiyu… I await our battle!"

…

Not long after, in Konohagakure.

"You… you are…?"

Dean Nonō Yakushi stares, stunned.

"Dean, I'm back," the young man says.

It is Yakushi Kabuto—still in his teens, yet his face is weathered as though he has endured endless trials.

To him, Nonō is a benefactor, teacher—mother.

Tears stream down Nonō's cheeks.

"Thank goodness… Ever since Danzō took you I've worried day and night. I'm so glad you're safe…"

Kabuto smiles faintly.

"Thanks to the Lord of the Shinobi World. He killed Shimura Danzō, destroyed Root, and lifted the curses on me.

When I learned he had saved you and the orphans I swore to devote everything to him.

The world needed a spy within Akatsuki, so I stayed. But now the final hour is here…"

Nonō's face tightens. "What's happened?"

"We must see the Lord of the Shinobi World at once."

At the Five Kage Summit Kabuto reveals all, and the assembly is aghast.

Ōnoki sighs: "As expected, Madara would not rest. He's revived the Ten‑Tails—its power must be unimaginable, and he's raised a White Zetsu army, Ten‑Tails fragments, and an Edo‑Tensei corps…

Lord of the Shinobi World, what do we do?"

Chiyu replies coolly, "If he wants war, we give him war.

This will be the final battle.

The Allied Shinobi Forces were formed today."

Across the ninja world, the five great villages steel themselves for the coming storm—the Fifth Great Ninja War.

…

While destiny gathers for the last clash, two figures slip through Konoha's barrier and alight on the high wall, gazing over the village.

"Lady Tsunade, have you truly decided?"

The woman ahead, her ample chest like a sea embracing all, stares at the Hokage Rock; her heart churns.

She is Tsunade of the Sannin, descendant of the God of Shinobi, famed as the finest medic, the Slug Princess.

Hearing Shizune's words, Tsunade falls silent.

At length her youthful lips part:

"I could keep running, but there's nowhere left to run…

Madara intends to destroy the entire shinobi world."

Shizune nods. "True, but Lady Tsunade—how do you feel about the Lord of the Shinobi World—Uchiha Chiyu?

He slew the Third Hokage, killed Jiraiya‑sama, and annihilated the three great summoning realms…

Yet he also saved the village and united the world, ending its hatred and wars.

If you meet him now, what stance will you take?"

Tsunade pauses again.

"Sarutobi was my teacher, but what he did to the Senju is unforgivable.

I could not strike him, but Chiyu did what I could not—that helped me in a way…

As for Jiraiya, he chose his own path. I knew that fool; even in death he'd never regret it.

And Slug Sage herself believes Chiyu's extreme methods may be the only chance for true peace. She thinks I should speak with him."

Shizune remains uneasy. "Yet how will he treat you? He's no saint—if he acts against you…"

Tsunade laughs brightly. "Then let him kill me."

Shizune freezes.

With her old boldness Tsunade leaps from the wall, landing with a boom upon Konoha's soil.

"Let's go!"

"…Yes, Lady Tsunade!"

~~~

Patreon(.)com/Bleam

— This Fanfic is Completed in Patreon!