Naruto: This Genius is Somewhat Ordinary-Chapter 369

Tōma stood there for a moment, staring at Obito’s body—split cleanly in two—lying motionless on the shattered ground.

For the first time since the battle began, his thoughts lagged behind reality.

He had known from the start that his abilities countered Obito’s almost perfectly. Still, he hadn’t expected the fight to end this... decisively.

Most of what the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki gained simply didn’t work against him.

Truth-Seeking Orbs were the only real threat, and even then, Tōma understood them better than Obito himself ever had. He couldn’t create them flawlessly before, but avoiding them had never been difficult.

As for Obito’s so-called "ninjutsu immunity"—

It meant nothing when every technique Tōma used carried Sage chakra.

At the end of the day, Obito’s growth was mostly raw stats. Speed. Reflexes. Chakra volume.

And Tōma had closed that gap with Naruto’s help, with Kurama’s chakra, and with his own techniques layered on top of that foundation.

Even Kamui wouldn’t have saved Obito for long. The Kamui dimension had been seeded with Flying Thunder God markers years ago through Kakashi’s Mangekyō. After Tōma’s space-time techniques evolved, entering that dimension without assistance was already possible.

He just never needed to reveal it.

And now, Obito couldn’t enter it either.

The Yin Kurama withdrew its chakra, and Tōma’s golden Sage Fox state faded away.

"...Tōma," the Yin Kurama said suddenly, "your body feels strange."

"Strange how?" Tōma asked lightly.

"It doesn’t feel... human."

Tōma smiled faintly.

"You’ll understand eventually."

"Tch. I don’t care to," the Yin Kurama snorted, then glanced back at Obito’s corpse. "Still... beating something that close to the Sage of Six Paths. I didn’t expect that."

There was a gap between Obito and the Sage, yes—but not a qualitative one. If Tōma could defeat Obito, then with Kurama’s help, he had already stepped onto that level.

"There’s nothing surprising about it," Tōma replied, walking toward the body.

Then—

A black tendril burst from the ground and wrapped around Obito’s remains.

"Don’t even think about it."

Tōma vanished.

But he was still a step too slow.

A Wind Sever slash cut through the tendril—yet only part of Obito’s body remained behind.

Half... of a half.

Tōma narrowed his eyes and looked up.

Uchiha Madara stood in the distance.

Beside him, a half-formed black figure emerged from the ground.

Black Zetsu.

"...So it was you," Tōma said quietly. "Figures."

His sensory field had been active the entire time. Almost nothing escaped it.

Almost.

Black Zetsu’s concealment surpassed normal perception entirely.

No wonder it had operated under the Sage of Six Paths’ nose for centuries.

"You speak as if you know me," Black Zetsu chuckled.

"Maybe I do," Tōma replied casually, then shifted his gaze to Madara. "Even if you take Obito’s body, it won’t help you—"

He froze.

Madara stood there calmly.

One Rinnegan glowed in his eye socket.

The other was no longer hollow.

"...When did you revive?" Tōma asked, stunned.

Madara laughed softly. "As expected of you. You noticed immediately."

It had happened during the battle.

While Tōma was fully engaged with Obito—and Naruto and Sasuke were being treated—Madara had revived himself.

The alliance never stood a chance of noticing.

White Zetsu had paid the price.

The most unique one—the being once called "Tobi"—had burned itself out along with the remaining White Zetsu army to fuel a single-target Rinne Rebirth.

No King of Hell. No spectacle.

Just enough.

And now—

Madara absorbed the remaining Ten-Tails from Obito’s body.

He retrieved his Rinnegan.

Tōma watched silently as Madara completed the process.

Too late to stop it.

The chakra surged.

"...So this is what a double-Rinnegan Six Paths Madara looks like," Tōma muttered, interest flickering in his eyes.

In the original timeline, Madara never truly showed his full power before being betrayed.

Back then, he faced Six Paths Naruto and Rinnegan Sasuke—losing ground to two walking cheats wasn’t shameful.

Against only one of them, Madara might not have lost at all.

Tōma drew the remaining fragment of Six Paths chakra from Obito’s corpse.

It contained chakra from all nine tailed beasts—without any will attached.

Perfect.

Seeds, not burdens.

Sand, magma, boil release, corrosive chakra, regeneration, perception—

He could grow them later.

What he needed now was the Six Paths core.

A black sphere formed in his palm.

Stable.

Perfect.

A true Truth-Seeking Orb.

Tōma smiled.

Years of research had finally crossed the last barrier.

He could now create them freely.

All chakra natures, fused.

A true Kekkei Mōra.

"...You really did it," the Yin Kurama muttered. "...You actually mastered that power."

"Is it that surprising?" Tōma replied.

The Yin Kurama went silent, then sighed and settled down to recover chakra.

It understood.

The real battle hadn’t even started yet.

A massive pressure rolled across the battlefield.

Madara stepped forward.

His hair had turned white. Horn-like protrusions crowned his forehead. His armor had become the Sage’s robe, nine Truth-Seeking Orbs floating behind him in a ring. A black staff rested in his hand.

Six Paths Madara.

"So this is the power of the Sage," Madara said thoughtfully. Then he looked at Tōma. "And you defeated someone wielding it."

"Flattery won’t help," Tōma replied, tightening his grip on the Inkshadow Blade.

Madara laughed.

"I acknowledge it," he said. "You are the strongest Hokage this era has ever seen. Stronger than Hashirama. Stronger than me."

"I don’t need your approval."

"Then let’s begin," Madara said, eyes blazing. "Round two."

He moved first.

Six Paths Madara—engaged.