Reborn in Naruto As Madara's Grandson-Chapter 623: Enter Uchiha Izuna

Rumble… rumble…

Several massive wooden roots sprout from the ground in front of Izuna and the group.

BAM… BAM…

The roots crawl towards the barrier and fiercely lash on it.

Sizzle… sizzle…

However, upon contact with the barrier, the roots catch fire and turn into cinders.

"What are these roots? And why are they attacking us?" Lee retreats a step back.

"These are the roots of the Shinju tree, the progenitor of all chakra, the deity worshipped by humans several millennia ago, and also the root cause of every trouble in the shinobi world." Izuna gives a small introduction of the Shinju tree.

"I thought the Shinju tree disappeared several centuries ago during the era of the Sage of Six Paths." Itachi enquires.

"Indeed!" Izuna nods and continues.

"The divine tree Shinju is a part of the Ten-tail. It's the reason I call it the source of the calamity." Izuna reveals the truth of the Shinju tree.

"The Zetsu army the Allied Shinobi force fought against aren't clones of the First Hokage Hashirama as you all speculated. In fact, these Zetsu soldiers are former humans who were transformed into their current form with the divine tree's power. And the perpetrator of all this is Kaguya Otsutsuki."

"Kaguya Otsutsuki?!"

The group stares at Izuna in confusion.

Only Minato and Kushina have some idea but Itachi and Lee are completely clueless.

"Kaguya Otsutsuki is the mother of the Sage of Six Paths. If the power of the Sage of Six Paths is legendary, then the power of Kaguya Otsutsuki is God-like. She possessed enough power to create and obliterate dimensions. If Kaguya willed it, she could easily destroy the entire shinobi world back then. It was because of this the Sage of Six Paths and his brother fought against their mother. They sealed her body in the moon and divided her chakra into the current Nine-tailed beasts."

"So powerful!" Lee, Kushina, and Itachi are shocked to hear the truth.

Only Minato is unphased by it. Having felt several powerful auras in the Sanctuary has broadened his horizons.

"What is Madara up to now?" The group's expression turns serious as Madara's aura rises steadily. They can sense his overwhelming power from such a distance.

"Madara is absorbing the chakra of the entire shinobi world."

"That means… all those shinobis…" Minato's expression turns ugly.

"Yes, he is absorbing the chakra of all living beings, including shinobis and civilians from all nations as we speak," Izuna adds.

"Then Tsunade Nee-san and the rest…" Worry appears on Kushina's face.

"Don't worry about them. They are safe!" Izuna assures them. He recalls the backup plan he created during his vacation trip to Redaku with his kids.

------ Flashback-no-Jutsu -------

"Izuna-sama, what instructions do you have for us?" Akari and Viktor of the Uzu clan bow to him.

"Take these!"

Izuna hands out six different white orbs to Akari.

"Within the next five days, the shinobi world will face an unprecedented danger. I want you and the Trinity Corporation to prepare several massive vessels large enough to carry a thousand people to rescue the shinobis. Install these orbs on the mast of those vessels."

"Yes, Izuna-sama!" Akari nods in acknowledgment and grips the six orbs the size of a tennis ball in her hands.

----- End of the Flashback------

In the South Redaku Sea,

A fleet of six ships steadily sails through the ocean. Bright white light shines on the ships, but a thin blue barrier protects the ships from the bright light.

The source of the blue barrier, a small transparent orb, shines brightly on the mast of the ship.

"That's…"

Onoki and other Kages, who are onboard, stare at the light blue barrier with curiosity.

"What are these orbs?" Gaara, unable to hold his curiosity, asks a Trinity corp guard.

The guard he asks happens to be Kazuko, a person Tsunade and the group met on their trip to Redaku.

"Kazekage-sama, these special orbs were handed by Izuna-sama to protect your group."

"I-I see!"

Most of the group stays silent, lamenting the loss of their close friend and family members. Since the six ships had limited space, only a selected few who were close to the coastline could board the ship. The rest of the shinobi were left back to fend for themselves.

This might seem cruel but with limited resources, this is the most the Redaku people could do.

WHAM…

Suddenly, a powerful pulse of chakra spreads throughout the entire world. It collides with the six massive ships, creating several giant waves in the sea.

"This sinister chakra!"

A terrified expression appears on the face of several sensor shinobis. Most of them even lose control of their body and fall flat on the deck.

"It's Madara's chakra. It's even stronger than the time when he became the Ten-tail Jinchuriki." Ao wipes the sweat from his forehead.

"Just what's happening to the shinobi world?" Chojuro gulps his saliva.

"Is the world coming to an end?" An Iwa captain shivers in fear.

"Cut the nonsense! Sooner or later… we will find a solution. This isn't the first time the shinobi world faced a crisis. Remember the incident a few thousand years ago, when Kusagakure almost destroyed the world? And yet here we are! I am sure we will pull through this crisis too!" Onoki chides the Iwa shinobi while also consoling others.

Onoki's words would be more convincing if not for several beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.

"We might have lost the battle, but we will definitely win the war." Only Tsunade and Mei have a confident expression on their face.

This confidence spans from their absolute trust in Izuna.

---------------

Back on the drifting continent,

"How long will this technique last?" Kushina raises her head and glances at the source of bright white light in the sky.

"A while more!" Izuna mumbles as his vision penetrates through the white light and observes Black Zetsu's movements.

While Madara's attention is directed towards absorbing the chakra through the ley lines, black Zetsu slowly crawls towards him.

'Black Zetsu, just what exactly is your motive?' Izuna mumbles to himself.

'Kaguya isn't the kind of person to shed unnecessary bloodshed and wage war, at least the Kaguya, I know. Just what happened to her after my departure? Was she really consumed by her own power and turned evil or is there another side of the story that I am unaware of?'

Izuna recalls the content of his conversation or interrogation to be more precise with Isshiki.

Back then, Izuna secretly lent a hand to Kaguya in her battle against Isshiki by assuming a secret identity. Otherwise, with Kaguya's status as the Flower princess of a bottom-rung family of the Otsutsuki clan, she had no chance against the young genius, Isshiki.

However, he didn't interfere much and left immediately after the battle without even revealing his identity.

'To be honest, I was afraid of the Grandfather Paradox and might end up erasing a few people with my excessive involvement in the timeline.

Still, I will know the answer to all these problems once Kaguya is resurrected. I will just ask her directly. Still, Grandpa's current power is even stronger than Isshiki's. How did he suddenly gain so much power?"

Swoosh…

The bright light of Infinite Tsukiyomi disappears. Izuna removes the barrier, exposing the group to their surroundings.

AH!

Suddenly, Kushina's expression changes.

"I can't sense it… Naruto and Sasuke's chakra!"

"Shit! I turned off my passive chakra-sensing ability to recover from my previous battle. I can't sense their presence."

Izuna immediately activates his left eye.

"Found them!"

Soon, he spots the duo stranded in the void. They are barely holding with the protection of Sasuke's Susanoo.

Slash…

Izuna waves his arm to slash the space in front of him. A spatial tear opens in front of Sasuke and Naruto.

"Grab my hand, you two!"

Izuna extends a chakra arm to pull the duo back to the shinobi world.

Huff… huff…

Sasuke and Naruto collapse on the ground as soon as they arrive in the shinobi world.

"I thought I was going to die!" Naruto wipes the sweat from his forehead.

"I was also almost reaching my limit!" Sasuke also pants.

"Don't worry, it's fine now!" Izuna attempts to assure them.

"Also, Sasuke, your left eye grants you the power to travel freely between dimensions and void. It's just that your body is too weak and you also need to master your left eye."

"Where is Madara? We have to stop him!"

Naruto suddenly stands up as he recalls Madara.

"Let's go and fight him! I will also join the battle."

Izuna cracks his neck. He takes out a transparent blue orb and swallows it after some hesitation.

'That was the last of the Origin energy I had in store. I will return to my peak condition within an hour. Looks like I had to raid a few more Otsutsuki clan's gardens to harvest more.'

"YOSHAA!"

Naruto pumps his fists in excitement at the prospect of Izuna joining the battle with them.