'How is this possible?!'
In the hearts of every shinobi in Konoha, the strongest in the world would always be Madara and the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. They were the two legends who fought at the Valley of the End and closed out an era. They had long since become myth, an indelible stroke in the chronicles of the village.
Even though Madara was a rogue, there wasn't a single person who didn't fear his legacy.
And yet, here he was. Captured alive. Everyone's first reaction at the sight was pure denial.
How could he still be breathing? And even if he had survived until now, there was absolutely no way Takeshi could have beaten him.
Everyone's understanding of the cat was still stuck back in the war, when he'd captured the Mizukage. Sure, they knew he was strong, but not strong enough to contend with a god of shinobi. Little did they know that even if Madara possessed his Rinnegan right now, he could only fight Takeshi to a standstill.
The villagers really didn't know enough.
Takeshi sighed mentally, but he had no intention of stepping out to show off. He simply poked his captive, then said, "Meow~ I'll catch my breath and go find Tsunade-sama. Don't worry about him, he's not getting away anytime soon."
"Y-yes!"
The Anbu swallowed hard in unison. As the Hokage's personal guards, they'd bled on battlefields and executed the toughest missions. They'd seen horrors. And yet, faced with Madara, their training completely failed them.
But look at Takeshi. He was perfectly calm, treating the situation as casually as drinking water. The gap in presence was overwhelming.
If this man really was Madara, it was a monumental shift. It didn't just mean Konoha had captured a phantom who'd been at large for decades. It also meant the village now harbored a powerhouse who surpassed Madara in his prime.
The shinobi world might actually know true peace again.
Peace was a simple concept. If someone hit hard enough that no one else dared to breathe wrong, the world stayed quiet. Like Hashirama back then, suppressing the entire continent by himself and securing decades of stability.
At first, the villagers had felt a bit resentful about a cat being stronger than them. But as Takeshi grew so powerful they could no longer even see his back, the conflict faded.
People get used to anything. And even if they didn't, it hardly mattered. They couldn't beat him, and they couldn't reason with him. He was a ninja cat, which only brought them back to the same immutable fact, he was stronger.
The Anbu didn't dare leave. They formed a defensive ring, terrified the prisoner might suddenly snap and trigger a massive incident. One ninja broke off to sprint toward the Hokage's office. Even though Takeshi promised to bring the captive down later, no one dared delay the report.
Not long after, Tsunade arrived.
The moment she heard the news, she'd shattered her office window, vaulted out, and sprinted up the Hokage Rock. When she saw the bound man, her pupils shrank.
It was real. "Madara Uchiha, you actually are still alive."
Madara wordlessly turned his head away.
He understood perfectly well what was happening. Takeshi had done this on purpose. With the Flying Thunder God, the cat could have transported him anywhere, yet he specifically chose the Hokage Rock. This place was a thorn in Madara's heart, the highest and most conspicuous point in Konoha.
A public execution.
Madara drew a deep breath. He was already prepared to be paraded before the entire village. He'd mentally sketched out the rest of the cat's script, shout something from the cliff, drag him through the streets, and "accidentally" let everyone recognize his face.
With the Anbu cooperating, the whole village would know within the hour.
"If you have more tricks, bring them on together," Madara said smoothly.
"Meow? There might be a misunderstanding. I'm just out of chakra, so I stopped here to rest. It's not like I'm trying to humiliate you. Don't get the wrong idea." Takeshi hurried to explain.
But with that smug, infuriating look on his face, Tsunade knew the little bastard was lying through his teeth. If he'd really been short on chakra, Orochimaru's lab outside the village would've been much closer. No one was going to buy that excuse.
Tsunade looked around, letting out a helpless sigh. "Let's find Kushina first. But Madara, I truly never thought you would still be breathing."
"For that, I have to thank Hashirama," Madara replied lightly.
Without Hashirama's cells, he never would have awakened the Rinnegan. Without the Rinnegan, he never could have summoned the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Without the statue...
"Meow~ What are you so proud of? You lived this long just to get played like an absolute fool, and you're actually proud of that." Takeshi mocked him with open contempt.
The ancient shinobi could only find a shred of confidence in his sheer longevity. But if Madara was this smug about living so long, Black Zetsu ought to be strutting across the sky. That parasitic will had survived since the Kaguya Era, nearly a thousand years, witnessing the rise and fall of the entire world.
To trick Madara so thoroughly, Black Zetsu had definitely played a masterful long game. Too bad he'd run into Takeshi.
Takeshi couldn't help feeling just a little proud. Sure, he'd benefited from his previous life's memories, but he'd personally steered the great upheaval of the shinobi world and stopped this brain-dead Uchiha from executing the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
'What a great guy.' Even he admired himself.
Tsunade opened her mouth, thought for a moment, then shut it again. She had no idea what to say. Takeshi had dragged this menace into the village, and now she was stuck figuring out how to handle him.
This was Madara. Something this dangerous obviously belonged with Orochimaru.
Orochimaru's laboratory was effectively Konoha's containment facility for lethal entities. Whatever he was given, he devised a way to restrain it.
Take Kakuzu, for example. The terrifying rogue who had once rampaged through the world was now stuck in a sealed jar, his Earth Grudge Fear hearts meticulously locked down one by one, with air pumped in from a tiny external tube. Escaping the heavily tagged jar was completely impossible.
A prisoner like Madara was exactly the sort of headache she wanted Orochimaru to solve.
With the decision settled, Tsunade felt immensely grateful they had kept the snake Sannin around. She could let Takeshi watch the prisoner, but the cat was far too eccentric. He was fully capable of doing something bizarre enough to terrify the whole village.
Before long, Kushina rushed over. Hearing the Madara's name had frightened her, but the Nine Tails sealed inside her was far more agitated. He immediately demanded she hurry up and take him to his old captor.
The blood feud between Kurama and Madara could not be explained in just a few words.
Back when the Sage of Six Paths created the tailed beasts, it was to protect the world. They were meant to wander freely. Kurama had been living a peaceful, easy life in the wild until that arrogant idiot with the Sharingan dragged him over by force just to use him in a brawl.
It was all Madara's fault!
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