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Outside, Shanks opened his eyes, rubbed his rear end where the old man Rokudo had kicked him, and gasped in pain—it was a pain that pierced his very soul...

Turning his head, he discovered that the two chosen ones had already started fighting Madara, and that Green-skinned Guy was barely alive, protected by Naruto's Yang Release chakra to prevent his life force from draining further. He was in an even worse state than Madara before.

"Uncle, what's going on? You guys had your eyes closed the whole time, so why are Naruto and Sasuke so much stronger now that they've opened their eyes?"

After Shanks checked on Gai's condition, Kushina looked at Naruto, who was fighting Madara in the air, with a bright smile and asked Shanks a question.

Everyone looked at Shanks with a question mark. The two, who had been brutally beaten by Madara before, were now acting incredibly arrogant, even showing signs of beating Madara up.

"Well... it's like this: an old guy who had nothing better to do and his brothers sealed their mother away. Then his two sons came out and caused trouble, making a mess of the ninja world. As the saying goes, if the sons are not taught, it is the father's fault. So this old guy took Naruto, Sasuke, and me into his dimension and gave them some things. That's how Naruto and Sasuke ended up like this. In short, it's a palace drama about the Otsutsuki family."

Shanks pouted, clearly annoyed. He suspected he'd been tricked by the Six Paths Elder. Three beams of light shot towards them, one of the second male lead's eyes became the Rinnegan, and Naruto also gained a new mode. But when he checked, it seemed like nothing had changed; things were exactly the same as before.

“⊙▽⊙?”

Everyone was completely bewildered, unable to understand what this guy was saying at all. What was this about a son beating his mother and two sons causing trouble? It was all a jumble of nonsense.

"Captain, is that old guy you're talking about the Sage of Six Paths?"

Of course, not everyone was confused. There were also some smart people, such as Orochimaru, a great scientist with a vivid imagination, who made deductions based on the changes in Naruto and the second male lead.

Tobirama Senju looked at Shanks with a questioning expression. His guess was the same as Orochimaru's, but he didn't say it aloud. He wasn't one to speak carelessly; he only spoke when his guesses were confirmed. The Sage of Six Paths was just a legendary figure; there was no historical record to confirm whether he actually existed. Besides, Shanks' words contained too much information, including the Sage of Six Paths' mother...

"No need for me to explain, look, didn't he come out and tell you a story...?"

Shanks pointed to a burst of golden light above everyone's heads, and knew that the old man of the Six Paths was about to steal the spotlight again.

...........

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Naruto and the second male lead were going at it like they were on steroids, going head-to-head with Madara. Madara was indeed awesome, worthy of being the chosen one of the previous era. Even with Naruto and the second male lead using all their power-ups, they could only go toe-to-toe with him. The main reason was that Madara had superb experience in taking on multiple opponents at once. In his entire life, apart from his one-on-one fight with his best friend Hashirama Senju, Madara had always taken on five or more opponents at once! So he was extremely experienced in group battles. After realizing that Naruto's combat experience wasn't as high as the second male lead's, he just kept attacking Naruto, while the second male lead had to clean up Naruto's messes from time to time.

835. A verbal attack that ignores defense.

"boom!"

"boom!"

The tedious battle continued. Naruto was like a max-level character who hadn't maxed out his skill points yet, passively defending against Madara's various skills. Even if the second male lead were to fight Madara one-on-one, he couldn't beat Madara either. However, with Naruto's restraint, he could still manage to land a couple of hits on Madara every now and then.

"You little brat! Hurry up and go help!"

Halfway through telling the story, the old man of the Six Paths, after realizing that even two brats couldn't defeat Madara, urged the commentator Shanks to hurry up.

"What's the rush? The way we fight now is different from the ancient times you lived in. Do you still think it's the era where one or two ninjutsu were enough to make people scared? Strength alone isn't enough, you need experience too. Naruto looks like a complete idiot when it comes to fighting. If he has my idol, such a top-tier player, as his sparring partner to grind experience, how will he deal with the final boss when his mother comes out?"

Shanks stretched and rolled his eyes at the old man, feeling a surge of annoyance. In the spatial dimension, he'd been calling him "father" and "ancestor," only to get nothing in return. Now he wanted Shanks to work himself to death taking all the damage? He was dreaming...

In the era of the Six Paths, how many people knew ninjutsu? According to him, if it weren't for his eldest son, Asura, creating hand seals, there might not have been many people in the entire ninja world who knew ninjutsu. And the Six Paths was so strong, so of course he could boast about overwhelming strength with sheer force. But Naruto is different. He and Madara are both at max level, and he's even weaker than Madara in terms of strength. With such poor combat experience, how could he fight Madara? The fact that he's managed to hold out until now without being beaten down is only because of the second male lead and his own protagonist aura helping him escape.

"Hmm! Shanks's words are crude and hard to understand. Naruto's combat experience is indeed a bit weak. Fourth Hokage, what's wrong with you?"

Hashirama Senju watched the battle, stroking his chin as he sided with Shanks. Although he founded Konoha hoping all children would have a childhood, they were all ninjas now, so they should at least have some fighting experience, right? Naruto, on the other hand, only used those two moves over and over again: Rasengan and summoning clones... a bit weak.

"Hahaha, it seems like Naruto hasn't encountered any powerful enemies."

Minato scratched the back of his head awkwardly and laughed, recalling that Naruto hadn't really encountered any formidable enemies since graduating. Moreover, whenever he did encounter a powerful enemy, his grandfather Kurama would take care of it for him. He was the type who would wake up after a nap and the battle would be over, so he had no experience in fighting enemies.

"Hmm... Naruto is definitely a dog who wins by lying down. He doesn't have much experience in fighting, but he's quite experienced in getting beaten. Don't worry, the current Naruto Madara can't kill him."

Shanks, seeing the worried look in Kushina's eyes, comforted her. "If the main characters are all killed, what's the point of Kishimoto even continuing the story?"

"...That's enough, give them some face."

Senju Tobirama noticed that Rokudo's face was turning dark. Then, he quietly said to Shanks, "They are all descendants of his youngest son, so they are his grandchildren. Don't keep slapping him in the face."

"That's right! Sage Mode activated!"

"Holy shit..."

When Shanks activated Sage Mode and Armament Haki covered his entire body, his jaw dislocated slightly. This wasn't due to the changes in Sage Mode, but because after Armament Haki covered his body, he noticed that it had turned black with a red glow, and its hardness was countless times greater than before!

"This is destined to make me take the tough guy route."

Shanks, feeling the hardness of the material, complained bitterly. His lingering idol-like fantasies were shattered. He had originally planned to have Orochimaru develop a plastic surgery device for him, but now it seemed unnecessary...

"Idol, watch this punch!"

Feeling the explosive power and hardness within my body, an urge surged within me to fly to the moon and pierce it through...

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

The Truth-Seeking Ball struck Shanks with several dull thuds. Shanks, undeterred, punched Madara, denting the Truth-Seeking Ball and sending Madara flying, creating a crater hundreds of meters deep.

"So powerful!"

Shanks stared at his fist in disbelief. He wouldn't be surprised if it was sword energy that was so powerful, but the Armed Might Fist was incredibly strong. In the past, his Armed Might Fist looked impressive, but he only used it to hammer tailed beasts. It was very effective, mainly because it hurt a lot, and even tailed beasts couldn't withstand it. He had never really used it to hammer people. He couldn't even break through Madara's Truth-Seeking Ball defense when he was in close combat with him. But now he had actually deformed the Truth-Seeking Ball. It was too damn powerful.

"Sage Art: Super Spiral Rasengan!"

"Sage Art: Flame Release: Kagutsuchi!"

Naruto and the second male lead had no concept of fair competition. After seeing Madara get blasted away with a single punch, Naruto unleashed a barrage of Rasengans of various attributes at Madara. The second male lead, not to be outdone, combined Sage Mode with his Amaterasu to create arrows that shot towards Madara.

"Boom!"

"Roar!"

"roar!...."

Madara was still reeling from the destruction of his Truth-Seeking Ball when Naruto and the second male lead launched their attacks, bombarding him. The nine tailed beasts inside his body roared as if they had found an opening, trying to escape.

At the crucial moment, Black Zetsu, who had been hiding somewhere, reappeared and tricked Madara into swallowing the God Tree that was absorbing chakra to grow.

"The Divine Tree is the origin of all chakra in the world. If you swallow the Divine Tree and become one with it, you will not only be invincible but also become the king of the world..."

Madara was thrilled and excited. He had never been truly invincible since birth. With his best friend Hashirama Senju blocking his way and these three little rascals blocking his way, and looking at the God Tree that was frantically absorbing chakra from the ninja world and growing continuously, Madara finally believed that Black Zetsu was his loyal teammate. Without hesitation, he flew to the top of the God Tree and activated the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

The whole process left Shanks dumbfounded. Why was this happening? No one with a brain would believe Black Zetsu's words, yet the most powerful and arrogant person in the Uchiha clan actually believed such rubbish from Black Zetsu.

I knew Hashirama Senju was a master of rhetoric, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to convince so many families to support him in building Konoha during the Warring States period. But before, Hashirama Senju talked Madara for so long without any effect, while Black Zetsu's terrible rhetoric actually managed to persuade Madara. It's unbelievable.

Does Black Zetsu's verbal attack have the ability to ignore defenses? It doesn't matter if it's bad, as long as it hits...

836. Karp: Why didn't I bring my camera?!

"Grand Uncle, what should we do? It seems like Madara is going to become very powerful..."

The brainless Naruto watched Madara slowly swallow the God Tree, swallowed hard, and asked. The second male lead, dressed in short pants, also looked over, gripping his broken sword tightly, trying to calm himself.

"Who knows what to do? We've done our best and are leaving the rest to fate. We've fought to this point, and if God doesn't cooperate, there's nothing we can do."

To be honest, Madara's actions were quite impressive. The Divine Tree gradually merged with him, and his aura grew stronger and stronger. In particular, because of absorbing the Divine Tree, his chakra reserves grew to an off-the-charts level. If this chakra were to explode, they could be wiped out.

However, Shanks managed to stay calm. Madara's IQ suddenly went offline, and he listened to Black Zetsu's talk about devouring the God Tree. So, if we follow the usual plot development, the ultimate boss, the old man of the Six Paths, will appear soon. Perhaps Madara can still be smug for a while.

"What... what's going on?"

"It's all over, Madara Uchiha is devouring the God Tree, this is terrifying..."

"What do we do? We almost couldn't beat him just now. If he really swallows the divine tree, who will fight us?"

Those unknown extras were about to explode with rage as they watched the imposing figure of the old man Ban grow stronger. Before he even swallowed the divine tree, it took three people to do it; now that he had, it was unthinkable.

"Grandpa, look at him, he's about to defy the heavens... You'd better watch out!"

Garp looked up at Madara floating in the sky and said to Hashirama Senju, his expression seemingly saying, "Look at your good buddy, he's become invincible! You beat him so badly when you were alive..."

"........."

Hashirama Senju's serious expression instantly turned into beady eyes. He had already been beaten so badly just now, and now he's getting another beating?

I was secretly pleased when I heard the old man of the Six Paths tell the story that he was the reincarnation of Asura, but I can't feel that pleasure anymore. It's all a karmic entanglement!

"Oh no! Stop him quickly!"

The old man of the Six Paths also looked up at Madara, who was devouring the God Tree, and suddenly shouted at Shanks. Before, he was full of questions about how his nominal third brother was going to unseal his mother. Theoretically, it should be impossible for him and his second brother to be unsealed using the Yin-Yang Ultimate Technique and the Chibaku Tensei seal. But after seeing Madara absorb the God Tree and the high-density chakra that erupted from the ground, he finally understood the intentions of his nominal third brother's mother.

"........."

Shanks was completely exasperated by the old man's outburst. How the hell was he supposed to fight? Madara's aura was so strong; even if he could beat him, he wouldn't dare. If he destroyed Madara, they'd be finished. Of course, a dead man like him wouldn't be afraid of death...

"Ah... Black Zetsu!"

Just as everyone was trembling with fear, Old Man Ban in the sky let out a sharp scream. A pair of large, black hands, seemingly out of nowhere, passed through Old Man Ban's chest, possessed him, and held him in place. Then, Old Man Ban could be seen spitting out saliva incessantly, presumably trying to speak. However, because it was too far away, it was impossible to hear what he was saying. But from his expression, it was clear that Old Man Ban was furious. "I treated you as a teammate, but you betrayed me!" Old Man Ban's heart was filled with despair.

"Huh? My idol's using hair growth tonic!"

Madara kept rambling on, his hair growing wildly, and he looked at Shanks with great excitement. Suddenly, a business idea struck him. Onoki had gone completely bald, and many people in the ninja world suffered from male pattern baldness. If Orochimaru could create hair-growth tonic…

Shanks could almost see piles of cash waving at him...

"Hey! Great-uncle, forget about making money now, he's about to explode!"

Naruto saw Shanks drooling with a dazed look on his face, pointing at Madara, who was starting to swell up, and shouting in his ear.

"Seal the demon! Quickly set up a barrier! It's about to explode!"

Hiruzen Sarutobi excitedly shouted to the Uzumaki clan members, "If this massive chakra explosion were to occur, even a tough guy like Shanks wouldn't be able to withstand it, let alone ordinary people like us who bleed."

"There's no need to waste our energy. If such a powerful chakra explodes, the entire world will be destroyed. The Uzumaki clan's sealing barrier will be useless. Besides, it won't explode. My mother has come out."

When Rokudo saw Madara's white hair growing wildly, he knew there was no chance left. Damn it, he finally came out.

"We're doomed! The Sage of Six Paths' mother is coming out!"

"This is terrifying! The Sage of Six Paths' mother is about to come out!"

"The Sage of Six Paths' mother is coming out!"

"........."

The old man of the Six Paths listened to one voice after another saying that his mother was about to be released, and the more he listened, the more uncomfortable he felt. It all sounded like they were cursing him. However, he didn't have the energy to be angry at this moment. Only he knew best how powerful his mother was. Back then, he and his younger brother had to work together, and with her holding back, they were able to seal her away. Now, he and his brother were both dead, and all they could do was rely on these mortals...

Everyone stared intently at the ever-expanding spherical figure in the sky. Hearing what the old man Rokudo had said, they were also quite curious about what his mother looked like. However, they were somewhat prepared; given how ugly the old man Rokudo was, his mother probably wasn't much better looking either...

"Lord Shanks, what do we do now?"

The second male lead, dressed in trousers, approached Shanks, his eyes fixed intently on Madara in the sky, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He nervously asked, "What the hell?! The Six Paths old man's mother!" He had heard the complete story in the Six Paths old man's space. She was the progenitor of chakra; she existed before chakra. Just thinking about it was terrifying. They were like grandsons in front of her.