"So what's our next move?" Madara asked casually.
Obito also turned to look at Izuna, clearly waiting for his input.
Izuna took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead.
These two were fine in a fight—but when it came to logic, deduction, and analyzing someone as complicated as Kazuki...
They were completely useless!
Uchiha Izuna spoke slowly: "The general idea remains unchanged. We need to wait until Kazuki—who doesn't possess the Gedo Statue or the Rinnegan—fails in his attempt to study the Eye of the Moon Plan using the partial tailed beast chakra he collected. Once that happens, we show up and have a frank conversation with him."
"But we still need to be cautious. Uchiha Kazuki's personality has undergone a drastic change compared to what you both told me. We can't rule out the possibility that he's dangerous. So, brother, I have a question—"
"If you were to regain your physical body from its prime, would you be confident in defeating Kazuki as he is now?"
Uchiha Madara chuckled proudly. "Izuna, you might not fully understand what the Rinnegan truly is…"
"If I were in my current physical condition, I can't say for sure whether I'd win against Kazuki. But I wouldn't need to be at my absolute peak—if I had just seventy or eighty percent of my full strength, I can guarantee that no one in this world could defeat me!"
"Not even Hashirama, if he came back!"
A faint purple gleam flickered in Madara's eyes. "To even challenge the Rinnegan, one must at least master Senjutsu. Otherwise, whether it's regular ninjutsu or kekkei tōta, it all just turns into chakra to be absorbed in front of the Rinnegan…"
"Mastering Senjutsu is only the first step. The overwhelming power of the Six Paths Technique can subdue a tailed beast's body. And the Rinnegan techniques, which are completely undetectable by any dōjutsu, place the user above all other shinobi."
Uchiha Obito shot Madara an irritated glance.
But even he had to admit—the Rinnegan was indeed extraordinary. Even with the dual Kamui left to him by Rin, it was a difficult thing to contend with.
"In that case, we'll need to come up with a plan…"
Uchiha Izuna spoke softly: "Brother, I've been reviewing the intel White Zetsu has gathered over the years. There's a shinobi in Konoha named Orochimaru—he has considerable expertise in Hashirama cells and ninjutsu related to vitality."
"With the Rinnegan, the Gedo Statue, and thousands of White Zetsu clones filled with life force at our disposal, we might be able to use that Orochimaru—if we can control him—to find a method to restore your body's vitality even further."
Madara waved his hand dismissively. "It's useless, Izuna… If absorbing White Zetsu's chakra alone could make me young again, I would've done it long ago."
But Izuna shook his head, not fully convinced. "Brother, that might have been true before you received the power of the Box of Ultimate Bliss. Back then, your body was in extreme decay—perhaps absorbing life force couldn't sustain you."
"But now, things are different, aren't they? Besides, it's said that Orochimaru currently serves as a department head under Kazuki in Konoha. At the very least, we could obtain some intelligence about Kazuki from him…"
Madara's eyes flickered. "White Zetsu's intel also shows that Orochimaru is quite interested in the forbidden jutsu left behind by that bastard Senju Tobirama. Maybe some of those techniques could be useful to us!"
"If he can develop even a single technique capable of converting one percent of life force, we have more than enough White Zetsu. And with the Gedo Statue, we can mass-produce as many of them as needed."
Madara nodded thoughtfully. Maybe this could work?
Under Kazuki's influence, Madara had taken the first step in overcoming his self-destructive tendencies. He chose to accept outside help—even if it meant moving through the shinobi world in an imperfect form. He even went so far as to resurrect Uchiha Izuna.
And now Izuna, following that same path, was keenly focused on restoring Madara to his prime.
The Rinnegan could absorb chakra, pull souls, and summon the King of Hell with healing powers.
So why shouldn't it be able to repair the user's body?
Perhaps there was no perfect method—yet—but Izuna believed one thing firmly: Senju Tobirama must have done research related to life force. If they could capture someone like Orochimaru, someone who understood Tobirama's forbidden jutsu, then even if all they gained were conceptual fragments, they could use the Rinnegan to test whether it was viable…
Bring it on, you bastard—Senju Tobirama! Let your despicable ideas serve the noble Uchiha for once!
Uchiha Obito watched all of this without much interest.
To him, as long as the Infinite Tsukuyomi was ultimately cast, that was all that mattered.
In Uchiha Obito's view, as long as Kazuki remained interested in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, then no matter how much Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna schemed, it would most likely still fall to Kazuki to carry it out.
And that, he could accept.
Besides, even if something went wrong by then, Obito could always betray them—leaving Kazuki as the true controller behind the Eye of the Moon Plan!
But Obito's passive attitude greatly infuriated Black Zetsu…
Wait a minute—what's with this laid-back attitude, kid?
This isn't okay!
Weren't you the one who said you'd let me witness the light of peace brought by the Infinite Tsukuyomi?
Slacking off like this… don't tell me you've stopped loving me, huh?
Although Black Zetsu was happy to see Uchiha Izuna helping Madara recover his strength—giving Kazuki another troublesome opponent...
Obito, you've got to step it up too!
The current ninja world is filled with rising powers. Every person aiming to control the Ten-Tails is finding ways to grow stronger…
Dual Kamui alone isn't enough!
Especially with Kazuki's strange behavior lately, Black Zetsu felt increasingly uneasy.
It couldn't understand—why was Kazuki only absorbing part of the chakra from each Jinchūriki, and still killing them?
Others might think Kazuki was simply eliminating enemies...
But Black Zetsu, who knew Kazuki's identity as an Ōtsutsuki, found it extremely suspicious!
Why did it feel like he was trying to prevent the Ten-Tails' resurrection?
By killing the Jinchūriki, the tailed beasts would take years to come back…
Black Zetsu had almost fallen into despair. If Kazuki had absorbed all eight tailed beasts in one go, then Mother Kaguya's revival would have been entirely in his hands!
And Kazuki wasn't the naive Madara—he wasn't about to become a sacrifice for Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's resurrection…
Black Zetsu couldn't see through Kazuki at all, which only made it more anxious.
And now, with Obito practically giving up, Black Zetsu's sense of urgency was reaching a boiling point.
This can't go on!
A crazy idea surged into Black Zetsu's mind—if Uchiha Obito cared enough about it...
Maybe it could invent a new story, and come clean to him?
That way, the two of them could communicate much more smoothly—and Black Zetsu could even try to grant Obito some kind of special power!
Once that thought took hold…
Black Zetsu plunged into endless fantasies: How could it finally reach an understanding with Uchiha Obito?
Just then—
The White Zetsu that had been sent to track Orochimaru burst out of the ground, grinning as it reported, "Kazuki's nowhere to be found… but locating Orochimaru and Shimura Danzō was actually pretty easy!"
"Seems like the two of them are fighting. Wanna go take a look?"
Uchiha Izuna and Uchiha Madara exchanged a glance, then turned toward Obito, who was staring off into the sky.
"…Alright, alright, I get it."
Obito shrugged. And with a whirl of Kamui, the three Mangekyō Uchiha warped to the scene to spectate.
A disciple of Senju Tobirama vs. Tobirama's disciple's disciple—
...
Land of Water, Offshore.
Kazuki and Senju Tobirama had arrived at this place—this predestined battleground long since set in motion…
Under the solemn gazes of all the Kirigakure shinobi,
Kazuki slowly stood atop the surface of the sea and asked softly, "Tobirama, is there anything else you want to say to me?"
...
Shimura Danzō and Orochimaru stood facing each other.
Even though the two had once cooperated, after just one exchange, their eyes were filled with nothing but pure malice—
Each of them wished the other would drop dead in the very next second.
After being slain by Tobirama with the Sword of Totsuka, Orochimaru—thanks to the resources he had once accessed through Root, and his inherently cautious nature—had already prepared a backup body for himself. He used Hashirama's cells combined with some of the theories found in Tobirama's notes.
That little white snake Kazuki had deliberately let escape had become the new Orochimaru.
Though his soul was severely damaged, he had, at the very least, returned to life.
After piecing together some basic intelligence on the state of the ninja world, Orochimaru learned that Kazuki was about to lead Konoha in a confrontation against the entire Shinobi World. Even though he had only just narrowly escaped death, he couldn't help but show up to witness Kazuki's ultimate battle.
He simply couldn't bear the thought of missing out on seeing the peak performance of a perfect physical body.
After witnessing Kazuki's power firsthand, the heart Orochimaru thought had been extinguished by the Sword of Totsuka began to stir once more.
There's no such thing as an impossible goal—only those who lack resolve.
Orochimaru still wanted Kazuki's body. Not just to achieve immortality, but also to defeat—and take revenge on—his former idol and now bitter enemy: Senju Tobirama.
But as he was retreating, Orochimaru happened to run into none other than Shimura Danzō, who had fled partway through the conflict.
Ironically…
The moment Danzō laid eyes on Orochimaru, he looked ecstatic—like a traveler stumbling upon an old friend in a faraway land.
But just one second later, he immediately formed hand seals and unleashed his strongest Wind Release technique, aiming to seize control of Orochimaru!
Danzō had quickly noticed that Orochimaru wasn't in good shape. Coupled with what Kazuki had said about the defection incident…
It was clear Orochimaru had clashed with Kazuki!
As much as Danzō loathed Kazuki to his very core, after witnessing that hellish battlefield, the 'Darkness of the Shinobi' had gained a clear understanding of Kazuki's power.
If Orochimaru had crossed paths with Kazuki and somehow survived… it was already a miracle he was still breathing—how much strength could he possibly have left?
Currently, though Danzō was missing an arm, he had been tended to by Hiruzen and was still capable of putting up a fight.
Capturing a skilled researcher like Orochimaru might just be the key to restoring his body—and reclaiming his former strength.
And so, Danzō struck first!
Orochimaru—still reeling from the wounds inflicted by 'Tobirama'—had initially hoped that encountering this terrible former 'partner' might at least allow for some civil conversation, maybe even a chance to reestablish a mutually beneficial collaboration…
But a fierce Wind Release attack came roaring his way!
That ticked Orochimaru off. In an instant, he remembered that Shimura Danzō was Tobirama's student…
Alright then. If I can't take down Tobirama, you'll do just fine, Shimura Danzō!
Useless old fool—let me kill you first to vent my rage!
And so, these two heavily wounded traitors of Konoha began their duel on an unnamed plain somewhere in the ninja world.
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