Demonic Statue of the Outer Path

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path ( 外道魔像 , Gedō Mazō , English TV: Gedo Statue) is the husk of the Ten-Tails that remained after its chakra was separated from its body. It was sealed in the moon by Hagoromo and Hamura Ōtsutsuki , where it remained until Madara Uchiha awakened the Rinnegan . This allowed him to break the seal and summon the statue down to Earth , where it was used as a container for the tailed beasts captured by Akatsuki .

## Background [ ]

At the conclusion of their battle with the Ten-Tails, the brothers Hagoromo and Hamura Ōtsutsuki used Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei to transform the beast into the core of the newly-formed moon, while also extracting the beast's chakra and sealing it in Hagoromo. Hamura then took leadership of the Ōtsutsuki clan and migrated to the moon in order to guard the Ten-Tails' husk. A millenium later, Madara Uchiha awakened the Rinnegan, which allowed him to break the seal and summon the husk out of the moon.

Madara used the husk, which he named the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, as a catalyst to cultivate Hashirama Senju 's cells, producing a non-sentient clone of Hashirama housed within a gigantic flowering tree. He was then able to live beyond his natural lifespan by attaching himself to the tree, which served as a means of life support by continuously supplying him with the Demonic Statue's chakra. Madara believed that the combination of the Demonic Statue and Hashirama's cells caused artificial humans to grow on the tree's branches, but in actuality, Black Zetsu was secretly removing them from inside the statue, where they had been stored for centuries. At some point, Madara transplanted his Rinnegan into Nagato without the boy's knowledge, making him the only other person capable of summoning the statue. When Obito Uchiha later agreed to continue Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan following his death, the elderly Uchiha explained that he must revive the Ten-Tails by sealing the nine tailed beasts inside the statue. Madara then disconnected himself from the statue's chakra, and with his dying breath, told the young Uchiha that he was to act using his name until the time of his resurrection .

In the anime, during the Third Shinobi World War , Nagato unconsciously summoned the Demonic Statue in a fit of rage when his friends were injured in an enemy ambush, though he quickly regained his senses and fell unconscious, at which point the statue disappeared. An enraged and grief-fuelled Nagato later summoned the Demonic Statue after being forced to kill Yahiko by Hanzō . The statue pierced Nagato's back with black receivers and drained his life force, leaving him permanently emaciated while also granting him a means of killing 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 organisation's members could seal the beast inside it.

## Appearance [ ]

The Demonic Statue is a giant, earthen-coloured humanoid entity with a mummified appearance, a body shaped similar to a robe, and a number of spike-like protrusions on its back. It towers over even the tailed beasts, with Gyūki only reaching its chin, and Akimichi clan members at their maximum size ; it is nearly half the size of a tall mountain . The statue has nine eyes the size of an adult man, which usually remain closed. When opened, the eyes are featureless and white, but one gains a light blue iris each time a tailed beast is sealed inside the statue. After being summoned by Madara, the statue initially wore a blindfold that completely covered its eyes, but the blindfold gained holes for each of its eyes sometime after Nagato's encounter with Hanzō. The statue's wrists and ankles 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. When summoned into battle, the statue breaks free of 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 widens and the protrusions on its back extend and warp in shape.

## Abilities [ ]

The Demonic Statue can only be summoned through the use of the Rinnegan; artificial Rinnegan created by the Impure World Reincarnation will not suffice. Though incapable of summoning the statue, non-wielders who possess the powers of both Uchiha and Senju are still able to control it. The statue's summoning can also be performed through the Six Paths of Pain . Instead of requiring a blood offering like other summons , the Demonic Statue drains its summoner's life force when not fuelled by Tailed Beasts, a process which Nagato was able to survive due to his Uzumaki lineage, though he was left permanently emaciated. However, both Obito and Madara could summon the statue without any adverse effects, the latter even using a blood offering to do so.

### Life Force and Physical Prowess [ ]

The Demonic Statue emanates a tremendous life force, enabling a jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails to survive the extraction of all nine tailed beasts as long as the statue remains inside them, though they will still be greatly weakened and rendered paralysed for several months. Madara was able to use the statue as a catalyst to cultivate Hashirama's cells into a gigantic tree, as well as extend his lifespan by continuously absorbing the statue's chakra. The White Zetsu were also able to access its power by connecting themselves to the tree, which one did to augment his strength, enabling him to break a massive boulder.

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

### Ninjutsu [ ]

The Demonic Statue is able to emit phantom dragons formed out of absorption chakra from its mouth, which are capable of instantly extracting the chakra of anyone they touch. The members of Akatsuki utilised a fūinjutsu in which nine dragons would surround a jinchūriki or tailed beast for a period of several days until all of the tailed beast's chakra had been sealed inside the statue. The tailed beasts must be sealed in order to some degree, as the statue will crumble if the Nine-Tails is not sealed last. Nagato intended to use the sealed tailed beast chakra to create a kinjutsu weapon capable of destroying an entire country.

The Demonic Statue is also capable of emitting chakra chains from its mouth. The chains have a cursed seal that suppresses the power of tailed beasts, and can be used to both extract them from their jinchūriki and quickly seal them inside the statue. The statue also serves as a source of black receivers, which can emerge from its torso in a manner similar to an umbilical cord. Using black receivers, Obito was able to temporarily redirect the chakra of the tailed beasts inside the statue into his Six Paths of Pain, then quickly withdraw the beasts into the statue using its chains. The statue can also create shock waves capable of devastating an entire battlefield, as well as launch bolts of chakra from the protrusions on its back.

## Part II [ ]

### Kazekage Rescue Mission [ ]

Main article: Kazekage Rescue Mission

When Sasori and Deidara arrived in an Akatsuki hideout with Gaara , Pain summoned the Demonic Statue to extract and seal the One-Tailed Shukaku . When the sealing began, the bit fell from the statue's mouth and nine dragon-like entities burst forth, encompassing the jinchūriki's body. As the sealing neared completion, the statue's eyes opened and the eye corresponding to Shukaku gained its iris and pupil. After three days, the sealing concluded and the statue disappeared.

### Akatsuki Suppression Mission [ ]

Main article: Akatsuki Suppression Mission The statue was again summoned to seal two tailed beasts, the Two-Tails and the Three-Tails , during which time Pain explained Akatsuki's goals to Hidan . As a result of the extraction, Yugito Nii died.

### Itachi Pursuit Mission [ ]

Main article: Itachi Pursuit Mission After Kisame captured Rōshi , the Four-Tails ' jinchūriki, he and Itachi discussed the sealing of the tailed beasts. Itachi explained that they wouldn't need to rush the capture of the Nine-Tails , since that beast must be sealed last or else the statue would break.

### Six-Tails Unleashed [ ]

Main article: Six-Tails Unleashed In the anime, after the Six Paths of Pain captured Utakata , the Six-Tails was extracted and sealed into the statue, resulting in his death.

### Pain's Assault [ ]

Main article: Pain's Assault After Sasuke Uchiha captured Killer B , the Eight-Tails ' jinchūriki, Akatsuki tried to seal the beast in the statue, only to discover that it was actually a clone , though they were able to seal a small portion of the Eight-Tails' chakra.

### Five Kage Summit [ ]

Main article: Five Kage Summit After Nagato's death, Tobi indicated that Nagato was just a pawn that the Demonic Statue had been synchronised with. He stated 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 [ ]

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown After accepting the terms of Kabuto Yakushi 's alliance, Tobi revealed to him the statue located in the depths of his headquarters , seated atop the giant flowering tree that harbours Hashirama's clone . Directing Kabuto's vision downward to the tree's roots housed in a deeper underground cave, Tobi presented the army of White Zetsu clones that he had supposedly created using the chakra of the tailed beasts imprisoned within the statue.

### Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation [ ]

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Confrontation

During the Fourth Shinobi World War , Tobi summoned the Demonic Statue to the battlefield in order to obtain a substitute for the Nine-Tails, and it proceeded to rampage against the Allied Shinobi Forces ' First Division as Chōza and Chōji Akimichi used their Super Multi-Size Technique to combat it. However, the statue withstood their combined assault and unleashed a shock wave following a bellowing roar, sending the two of them reeling. In the wake of its destruction and in retaliation to Kitsuchi 's Earth Release: Sandwich Technique , it released powerful bolts of chakra, further devastating the battlefield. The statue then attempted to crush Darui and Shikamaru Nara underfoot when they tried to prevent Tobi from taking the Benihisago and Kohaku no Jōhei before disappearing. Retreating to a forested area, Tobi stood upon the statue's palms alongside his new Six Paths of Pain as dawn broke on the second day of the war.

Later, when Son Gokū was freed from Tobi's control during his confrontation with Naruto Uzumaki and Killer B , he immediately summoned the statue to his location, where it proceeded to draw the bound tailed beast back into its awaiting maw. As Tobi continued to observe the ensuing battle from atop the statue, he was ultimately forced to reseal the remaining tailed beasts in the same manner as Son when they too were freed by Naruto. The statue then remained on the battlefield, aiding Tobi in his fight against Naruto, B, Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy .

### Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax [ ]

Main article: Fourth Shinobi World War: Climax

After a combined assault from Naruto, B, Kakashi and Guy knocked the statue down, Naruto's goading prompted Tobi to summon the Kohaku no Jōhei and Benihisago and feed them to the statue, allowing it to consume the Nine-Tails' chakra sealed within the relics. Having previously sealed a portion of the Eight-Tails' chakra, the Demonic Statue contained all nine tailed beasts' chakra and began painfully regressing to its original form. Refusing to let anyone interfere, Obito protected the statue with the Uchiha Flame Formation long before Madara's arrival on the battlefield. Realising that Gyūki and Kurama had not been sealed into the statue like the other tailed beasts, Madara attempted to correct this before the statue could finish its transformation.

As a final attempt to eradicate the statue, a transformed Naruto and B produced a giant collaborative Tailed Beast Ball and launched it at the statue. Noting that the statue's evil chakra had vanished, they began celebrating before the smoke cleared and the resurrected Ten-Tails was revealed.

### Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki [ ]

Main article: Birth of the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki

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 summon the statue out of Obito's body, though Kakashi's quick use of Kamui did sever its right arm. Under Madara's control, the statue then sealed all of the tailed beasts using its chakra chains and opened its eyes as it began transforming once more. Madara subsequently cancelled the statue's summoning to await the Ten-Tails' revival.

### Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes [ ]

Main article: Kaguya Ōtsutsuki Strikes When Kaguya Ōtsutsuki was subdued by Naruto and Sasuke's Six Paths — Chibaku Tensei , the tailed beasts and Madara's unconscious form escaped from her body, which then reverted back to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. The statue was then sealed in the core of the new moon alongside Black Zetsu , left isolated in Kaguya's core dimension .

## Trivia [ ]

- 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, resulting in an alternate translation of the statue's name being the Demonic Statue of Heretical Doctrine .
- The decayed appearance of the statue and its posture when not in use resemble Sokushinbutsu ( 即身仏 ), a practice by Buddhist monks to commit ritualistic suicide by self-mummification.
- When Tobi first tells the story of the Sage of Six Paths and the Ten-Tails at the Five Kage Summit , he claims the Sage single-handedly sealed the beast inside himself, then later separated its chakra from its body and sealed its husk in the moon at the end of his life. However, it is later revealed that Hagoromo and Hamura sealed the beast inside the moon together while they were still young. Toneri Ōtsutsuki recounts a version of events similar to Tobi's in the novelisation of The Last: Naruto the Movie .
- Strangely, Kurama implies that Hagoromo was able to survive the creation and extraction of the nine tailed beasts because of the life force of the Demonic Statue inside him, even though the statue had been sealed in the moon decades earlier.
- In the manga, the shackles on the Demonic Statue's ankles are missing in all appearances following chapter 512 .
- In the anime, the Genjutsu World version of the statue was capable of using the Tailed Beast Ball .
- When the Demonic Statue reappeared during Kaguya's sealing , it appeared to have both its arms despite previously losing its right arm to Kakashi 's Kamui . It was also depicted with only one eye, despite having nine in previous appearances.
- When the Demonic Statue began the processing of transforming into the Ten-Tails, rocks appear to begin to levitate around the area. Whether or not this is an ability of it or the Ten-Tails is unknown.

## References [ ]