Demonic Statue of the Outer Path

editDemonic Statue of the Outer Path
外道魔像 Gedō Mazō Sealing Statue (封印像, Fūinzō)
Debut
Manga	Naruto Chapter #254
Anime	Naruto Shippūden Episode #10
Novel	The Last: Naruto the Movie
Movie	The Last: Naruto the Movie
Game	Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja 5
Appears in	Anime, Manga, Novel, Game, Movie
Personal
Status	Incapacitated
Classification	Summon
Affiliation	Akatsuki
Family Ten-Tails (Original Form)
Jutsu Black Receiver Demonic Statue Chains Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path (外道魔像, Gedō Mazō, English TV: Gedo Statue) is the empty vessel of the Ten-Tails. It was sealed within the moon by Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki — the Sage of the Six Paths — where it remained until Madara Uchiha awakened the Rinnegan. This allowed him to break the seal and summon the body, where it would be later used by Obito Uchiha and Nagato as the container for the tailed beasts that were captured by the members of Akatsuki.

Background

When the Sage of the Six Paths separated the Ten-Tails' chakra from its body to create the nine tailed beasts, he used Chibaku Tensei to seal the beast's husk within the newly-created moon. Many centuries later, Madara Uchiha awakened the Rinnegan and used it to break the seal and summon the husk, which he christened the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Madara used the Demonic Statue as a catalyst to cultivate Hashirama Senju's DNA, producing a giant flowering tree containing a non-sentient clone of Hashirama. To extend his lifespan in his old age, Madara was able to cling to life by attaching himself to the Demonic Statue via the tree, which served as a means of life support by constantly supplying him with chakra. Madara believed that the Demonic Statue and Hashirama's DNA produced artificial humans, when in actuality Black Zetsu was removing them from within the Demonic Statue, where they were stored. It was only after convincing Obito Uchiha to carry on his preparations for the Eye of the Moon Plan that Madara disconnected himself from the Demonic Statue and with his dying breath, told the young man that until the time he was revived, he was to act using his name. As Madara explained to Obito, the rebirth of the Ten-Tails by sealing the tailed beasts within the Demonic Statue was vital to the Eye of the Moon Plan.

The Demonic Statue summoned by Nagato.

During the Third Shinobi World War, an enraged and grief-fueled Nagato summoned the Demonic Statue, which pierced his back with a number of chakra receivers and emaciated him, while giving him the power to kill all of Hanzō's men, with only Hanzō himself escaping the altercation alive. As Pain, Nagato would summon the Demonic Statue whenever a jinchūriki or tailed beast was captured by Akatsuki so that the members could extract and seal the beast within it.

Appearance

The Demonic Statue is a giant, earthen-coloured humanoid entity with a decayed appearance and a number of spike-like protrusions on its back. When fully summoned it towers over even atiled beasts in size, with Gyūki only able to come up to its chin when it tried attacking it, same with members of the Akimichi clan who had enlarged themselves to their maximum height. It has nine eyes, one of which gains a light blue iris and pupil each time a tailed beast is sealed within it, though the eyes remain closed when it is summoned into battle. The statue originally wore a blindfold which completely covered its eyes; after it was summoned by Nagato to defeat Hanzō's men, holes for each of its eyes were present in subsequent appearances. The statue's arms are usually bound by shackles and it bites down on a scroll, which is held in place by two ropes extending from beneath its blindfold on either side of its head. It seemingly wears some form of robe, and when seen in the Mountains' Graveyard, its ankles also appeared to be bound in shackles. At times, a black rod extends from its midsection similar to an umbilical cord. When summoned into battle, the statue breaks its restraints, causing the scroll in its mouth to hang from the left rope like an earring. During its transformation into the Ten-Tails, the statue's mouth area changes and the protrusions on its back extend and warp in shape.

Abilities

Only those who possess the Rinnegan are able to summon the Demonic Statue. It cannot be summoned using an artificial Rinnegan, though the Six Paths of Pain are capable of summoning it. Even without the Rinnegan, those who possess both Uchiha and Senju DNA are capable of controlling the statue. When summoned, the Demonic Statue bursts from the ground, emerging either partially or entirely, depending on the situation.

The dragon-like entity from the statue removing chakra.

Rather than requiring an offering of blood as other summons do, the Demonic Statue instead drains the summoner's life force by piercing them with black rods upon being summoned. Nagato was able to survive this due to the powerful life force granted by his Uzumaki lineage, at which point the statue's mouth emitted a dragon capable of instantly extracting the chakra of anyone it came in contact with. The members of Akatsuki utilised a fūinjutsu in which nine of these dragons, formed from absorption chakra within the statue, would surround a jinchūriki or tailed beast until the tailed beast's chakra was sealed into the statue's mouth and stored inside for future use. Nagato wanted to use these beasts to create a kinjutsu weapon that could destroy an entire country, whereas Madara and Obito intended to reassemble them into the Ten-Tails. Both Madara and Obito were able to summon the statue without having their life force drained, instead utilising a blood offering for the summoning.

The statue using its chains against the tailed beasts.

The Demonic Statue is also capable of emitting chakra chains from its mouth. The chains have a cursed seal which binds the power of tailed beasts, and can be used to both extract them from their jinchūriki and quickly seal them inside the statue. Using chakra receivers, Obito was able to direct the chakra of the tailed beasts sealed within the statue into their reincarnated former jinchūriki, then quickly withdraw said chakra into the statue using its chains. The statue can also create shockwaves capable of devastating an entire battlefield and launch blasts of chakra from the protrusions on its back.

Physical Abilities

As evident from its enormous size, the statue possesses great enough strength to clash with the likes of Chōza and Chōji Akimichi in their colossal forms. It is durable enough to both take one of Chōji's Butterfly Bullet Bombing punches without even being pushed back, and stop Kitsuchi's Earth Release: Sandwich Technique by simply outstretching its arms. In the anime, it also displayed a high level of agility despite its massive size, as it could leap tremendous distances.

Chakra and Life Force

According to the Yin half of Kurama, the statue emanates a tremendous life force. Obito was able to survive the extraction of all nine tailed beasts due to the statue's life force, although he was rendered paralysed. Madara was able to use the statue as a catalyst to cultivate Hashirama Senju's DNA into a non-sentient clone. The elderly Madara was then able to use the statue as a life support of sorts by connecting himself to the clone via three long chords stretching from it and continuously taking in the statue's chakra. Furthermore, stored within the statue were the White Zetsu created by the Infinite Tsukuyomi, which could be taken out by Black Zetsu. The White Zetsu were able to access the statue's power by connecting themselves to Hashirama's clone, which one did to augment his strength, enabling him to break a massive boulder.

Part II

Kazekage Rescue Mission

File:Nine Dragons.jpg

The statue being used to extract Shukaku from Gaara.

Years later, Nagato made it the means behind Akatsuki's tailed beast extraction. When Sasori and Deidara arrive in an Akatsuki hideout with Gaara, Nagato summons it to extract the One-Tailed Shukaku over a period of three days, sealing it into the statue. When the sealing begins, the bit falls from the Statue's mouth and nine dragon-like entities burst forth from the statue's mouth. As the sealing nears completion, one of the eyes corresponding to the beast that is being sealed opens. After the sealing finishes, the statue disappears.

Akatsuki Suppression Mission

The statue was again summoned to seal two tailed beasts, the Two-Tails and the Three-Tails, during which process Nagato explains Akatsuki's goals. As a result, Yugito Nii dies.

Itachi Pursuit Mission

After Kisame captures Rōshi, the Four-Tails' jinchūriki, he and Itachi discuss the sealing of the tailed-beasts. Itachi says that they don't need to rush to capture the Nine-Tails, since that beast is supposed to be the last one sealed, or else the statue would break apart.

Six-Tails Unleashed

Main article: Six-Tails Unleashed After the Six Paths of Pain capture Utakata, the Six-Tails is extracted and sealed into the statue, resulting in his death.

Pain's Assault

After Sasuke Uchiha captured "Killer B", the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Akatsuki tried to seal the beast in the statue, only to see that it's actually a fake.

Five Kage Summit

After Nagato's death, Tobi indicates that Nagato was just a pawn that the Demonic Statue had been synchronised with. He states he would like Sasuke Uchiha to be Nagato's replacement, but decided to wait until Sasuke was easier to manipulate.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown

After accepting the terms of Kabuto Yakushi's alliance, Tobi reveals the statue located within the depths of his headquarters, seated atop of a giant lotus flower, whose stem harbours a copy of Hashirama Senju. Directing Kabuto's vision downwards to the flower's roots, housed in a deeper underground cave, Tobi presents the army of enhanced White Zetsu that he had released using the chakra of the tailed beasts imprisoned within the statue.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation

The statue is summoned to the battlefield.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, the statue was summoned to the battlefield in order to assist Tobi in obtaining a substitute for the Nine-Tails' chakra, rampaging amongst the First Division as Chōza and Chōji Akimichi use their Super Multi-Size Technique to fight the statue. However, the statue withstood their combined assault and with the shock-wave following a bellowing roar, sent the two of them reeling. In the wake of its destruction and in retaliation to Kitsuchi's Earth Release: Sandwich Technique, it releases another powerful blast of chakra, devastating the battlefield further. The statue later attempted to crush Darui and Shikamaru Nara underfoot, when they tried to prevent Tobi from taking the Benihisago and Kohaku no Jōhei.

Retreating to a forested area, Tobi stands atop of the statue's palms alongside his Six Paths of Pain, as dawn breaks on the second day. After Son Gokū is freed from Tobi's control during his confrontation with Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B, he immediately summons the statue to his present location, where it proceeds to draw the bound beast into its awaiting maw and reseals the Four-Tails inside itself. As Tobi continues to observe the ensuing battle from atop the statue, he is ultimately forced to reseal the remaining tailed beasts in the same manner as Son, when they too are freed by Naruto. The statue remained on the battlefield aiding Tobi in his fight against Naruto, B, Kakashi and Guy.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax

The statue transforming.

As a combined assault from Naruto, B, Kakashi and Guy knocks the statue down, goading from Naruto forces Obito to summon the Kohaku no Jōhei and the Benihisago to give the statue Kurama's chakra sealed in the relics. Having sealed the portion of the Eight-Tails they had received during Taka's battle earlier, the Demonic Statue now had all nine tailed beasts' chakra within it and undergoes a painful regeneration to its original form. Refusing to let anyone interfere, Obito protects the statue with the Uchiha Flame Formation long before Madara's arrival. Realising that Gyūki and Kurama have not been sealed into the statue like the other tailed beasts, Madara moves to correct this while there is still time.

The Ten-Tails reborn.

As a final attempt to eradicate the statue with one attack, a transformed Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B create a giant Tailed Beast Ball, and fired it at the statue. As the two noted that the statue's chakra had vanished, they began to celebrate before the smoke clears and the resurrected Ten-Tails is revealed.

Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki

The statue summoned after losing an arm.

After the Allied Shinobi Forces managed to extract the tailed beasts from Obito, the statue remained sealed inside him. Its life force kept Obito alive, despite the severe debilitation caused by the extraction. After regaining one of his original Rinnegan, Madara was able to completely summon the statue out of Obito's body, though Kakashi's quick use of Kamui did sever its right arm. The statue then sucked in all the tailed beasts, with its eyes all gaining pupils.

Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes

File:Statue being sealed.png

The statue being sealed.

When Kaguya Ōtsutsuki is subdued by Naruto and Sasuke's collaborative fūinjutsu, the tailed beasts and Madara's unconscious form escaped from her body, which then reverts back to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The statue is then sealed in the core of the new moon, along with Black Zetsu, left isolated in Kaguya's core dimension.

Influences

• The decayed appearance of the statue, and its posture when not in use, is similar to a Sokushinbutsu (即身仏), a practice by Buddhist monks to commit ritualistic suicide by self-mummification.
• As with the Sage of Six Paths, the statue is influenced by Buddhist terminology. Gedō (外道, literally meaning: Outer Path), derived from the Sanskrit Tīrthika, refers to any doctrine which "treads the outer path" to enlightenment. This is opposed to the teachings of orthodox Buddhism, the Naidō (内道, literally meaning: Inner Path), and is thus considered misguided and heretical, which led to a translation of this statue being the Demonic Statue of Heretical Doctrine.

Trivia

• When the Demonic Statue reappeared during Kaguya's sealing, the statue had both arms despite losing its right arm to Kakashi's Kamui earlier.