"Seems like you're not so unbeatable after all."
That pale face with a strange, creepy smile and hoarse voice — it was Orochimaru, as always.
In front of him, only Madara's upper body remained. His face was a bit pale, but his eyes were still sharp.
"Even I can't last long like this. So, aren't you going to save me, little rat?"
He said it calmly, as if he didn't care whether he lived or died.
And maybe he didn't. This revival wasn't part of the original plan. Obito had already run out of options, so he bet everything on Orochimaru in the end.
"Your life is in my hands now. So could you stop calling me 'rat'?" Orochimaru's expression turned a bit cold.
Even though it was Madara in front of him, being called a rat still didn't sit well with him.
"You used Hashirama's cells to boost your curse power, then used my Rinnegan to create a link. After that, you used the power of the Rinnegan to summon me and cut off Sasuke's control over the Gedo Statue in a surprise attack… I think 'rat' fits you perfectly."
Madara chuckled coldly and closed his eyes, lying there like he was ready to be chopped up.
"The Tomoe Rinnegan's curse power isn't that easy to cut off…"
Orochimaru stuck out his tongue without thinking, only to realize Madara wasn't even listening.
Looking at Madara like this, Orochimaru clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Still, he had no choice but to save this guy — and that was frustrating.
With that, he took out a syringe and injected the contents into Madara. Then he stood up and looked at him.
"I've studied White Zetsu's traits, so from here on out, you're on your own."
"Heh~"
Madara opened his eyes, showing a bit of interest.
"Hashirama cells. Even for a rat like you, you've got some good stuff."
The powerful life force in those cells wouldn't pull him back from death right away, but they would keep him alive for a little while.
That short time was enough to transplant parts from White Zetsu and patch himself back together.
But there was one more problem.
Madara looked at Orochimaru.
"My Rinnegan. Where is it?"
"I'm not giving it back." Orochimaru licked his lips with his tongue, and his smile turned cold.
"Of course, once you've recovered, you're free to try and take it back from me — the so-called rat.
That is… if you can find it."
There's no anti-theft system for the Rinnegan.
Even the original owner couldn't sense where it was.
"Hmm heh heh…" Orochimaru's laugh was far from pleasant.
"If you want to kill me, you can do it anytime. But killing me won't get you anything — only one less helper.
Because the place I stored the Rinnegan, even I don't remember.
So don't bother trying to pull it out of me with genjutsu."
"Rat." Madara's gaze turned cold.
"Call me whatever you want."
Orochimaru was clearly pleased with Madara's current expression.
He turned and started walking away.
"I'm off to start the next step of the plan. So recover quickly. I'll be waiting for you outside the Land of Iron."
He stopped, turned his face halfway toward Madara, and gave a mocking smile.
"The Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki… only you could be that."
After saying that, Orochimaru gave Madara one last look and walked off into the darkness.
Madara coldly watched him leave.
His remaining Mangekyou spun slightly.
No doubt — if this eye had any long-range jutsu left in it, he would've killed Orochimaru without a second thought.
The Rinnegan? It didn't matter.
As he thought that, a black shadow slowly rose from the ground. Along with it came Black Zetsu's familiar voice: "Madara-sama, you seem quite angry."
"Don't think I don't know what Obito's actions mean, Black Zetsu." Madara turned his head to look at him, his eyes full of killing intent. "Did I ever tell you to do this?"
Even facing such obvious hostility, Black Zetsu's expression didn't change much. "These were choices made based on the will you left behind, Madara-sama. Right now, I believe we can't carry out the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan anymore. We'll never be able to surpass Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, so the only thing I could do was make sure you were revived first."
As he spoke, Black Zetsu pulled out a White Zetsu clone, cut it in half, and placed the lower half under himself.
White smoke began to rise, and Madara's blood and organs slowly returned to his body.
"Hmph." Madara let out a cold snort. Some strength had returned to his body.
Lying flat on the ground, he looked up at the ceiling above. "Where's the real White Zetsu?"
Only Black Zetsu had come this time. The real White Zetsu, who was usually stuck to him, wasn't around.
"He's in the Land of Iron, keeping watch on Naruto and the Nine-Tails," Black Zetsu said as he took a step back, watching Madara slowly recover. "At this rate, you'll be able to move freely in about half an hour. But to fight, you'll need a lot more time."
"I don't have that kind of time." Madara stared coldly at the ceiling. His tone suddenly shifted, sounding a bit odd. "Black Zetsu, how likely is your plan to succeed?"
"One hundred percent," Black Zetsu replied. "Given Naruto and the Nine-Tails' personalities, it's almost guaranteed they'll fall for it. The hard part is… whether you, after becoming the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, can beat those three."
"You think even as the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki, I still can't beat them?" Madara turned to look at him, clearly asking a real question.
Black Zetsu was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "Uchiha Sasuke has already gained power from the Otsutsuki. Not just the Tomoe Rinnegan, but also that thing they call a 'Karma mark.' And Naruto has power just as strong. The two of them together are already stronger than a Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki."
"And the Nine-Tails… to be honest, Madara-sama, even now, neither Naruto nor Sasuke fully understands the Nine-Tails' power. The only thing we know is that it received all of the Sage of Six Paths' power. As for how strong it really is… probably only it knows."
Black Zetsu knew exactly where Naruto's power came from. As the younger brother of Hagoromo and Hamura, Kaguya's third son, he was very familiar with his older brothers' abilities.
But Madara didn't know that. Since Black Zetsu was acting as Madara's "will," he couldn't know, and definitely couldn't say.
"Troublesome." Even Madara had to admit it now.
He looked at the White Zetsu lower half attached to him. His eyes flickered slightly. And where Black Zetsu couldn't see, Madara smiled.
It was the same kind of smile he had when the Infinite Tsukuyomi was about to succeed.
...
"Otsutsuki Urashiki!" Sasuke stared in shock at the man in front of him, blurting out, "Weren't you sealed by the Totsuka Blade?"
"Is that what you think?" Urashiki sat on a rock, smiling just like he used to. "If I really was sealed, then why is it that when you use my Karma mark, you get the Otsutsuki's strange powers, but you can't use my eye?"
Sasuke frowned.
PS: In the original story, Madara believed Black Zetsu was a part of his own will—that he had injected his consciousness into White Zetsu before dying, which later became Black Zetsu. Black Zetsu played this role all along. Before Black Zetsu stabbed him in the heart, Madara trusted no one more.
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