In the Land of Lightning, on a certain hidden mountain, Madara and Obito met.
Madara said nothing, but the pressure radiating from him made Obito not dare to step any closer.
This was the part Obito could never learn.
He had impersonated Madara for years. He could only mimic Madara's voice, but he could never mimic Madara's dominating presence. That aura—calmly imposing without anger, and once enraged, able to make blood run like rivers—was something he would never master.
Because, deep down, he and Madara were fundamentally different.
Madara carried the shinobi world in his heart, and he was a peerless warlord who had slaughtered his way through countless battlefields. Obito, on the other hand, was just a foolish kid with romance on the brain. How could it be the same?
"Obito, what you did this time is honestly beyond words," Madara said in a low, heavy tone that only made him more terrifying.
"Didn't expect it? Hahahaha!"
Madara laughed. "What didn't you expect? Forget Tenten—Natsuki, who was fighting me, could've teleported over the next second if he wanted. You didn't know that those two can use Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God)? Even if Tenten hadn't brought the Kohaku no Jōhei (Amber Purifying Pot), she still had the red gourd. And the fact that she can use the Six Paths tools—you didn't know that either?"
At that, Obito had nothing to say.
Because all of that was intelligence they had already known. It was only because he had been careless and underestimated the enemy that today's crushing defeat happened.
"And fine, you copied Nagato's Six Paths of Pain. Fine, you used Edo Tensei jinchūriki too. But you pulled the tailed beasts back out of the Gedō Mazō after it had already absorbed them, stuffed them back into the jinchūriki again, and then openly took them into battle. Isn't that just telling them the tailed beasts are with you, so they can come take them back? What, did you think our plan was going too smoothly, so you decided to add difficulty on purpose?"
"…"
Obito stayed silent.
He had honestly thought his Edo Six Paths were excellent. Reusing the jinchūriki as combat assets was, in his mind, nothing short of brilliant.
And in the original history, his Edo Six Paths really were strong.
It was just that here, he had run into opponents.
Two people who could use Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God): one who was no weaker than Madara, and one who could use the Six Paths tools and provide support anywhere at any time. Against those two, there was no way not to take losses.
In fact, Tenten sealing the Edo Tensei army all over the battlefield had already been a clear example.
But Obito was arrogant. He still charged ahead stubbornly, thinking he was incredible—only to end up suffering a total collapse.
In Madara's eyes, there were only two words for it: ridiculous.
But Madara had no choice. Back then, he had only chosen this loser because the naïve dead-last was easy to manipulate, so he plotted to have Obito take over his position and wait for his own revival.
Then they ran into monsters like Natsuki, Tenten, Neji, and Shihei, and this disastrous defeat was simply inevitable.
"Still, what's done is done. There's no point blaming you now," Madara said, as though his anger had faded, his tone turning light and casual. "You also know you're impatient. A grand plan like this must be steady. Rest well tonight. Starting tomorrow, we launch a full assault. Since the tailed beasts are all with them, we just eliminate them and seize the tailed beasts completely. In the end, it's not that complicated."
Madara spoke as if, with him present, every plan would proceed smoothly—and he truly had the arrogance to match.
But Obito was still worried. "But can you really defeat Natsuki? That guy is absurd! And his girlfriend Tenten has the Six Paths tools. And there are two other peers who are also very strong—Hyūga Neji and Aburame Shihei. They…"
"Obito, don't forget who I am!"
Madara declared domineeringly. "I am Madara Uchiha! In this world, the only one who can truly act against me is Luci… mm…"
Madara shook his head. "I've been hit by the curse of the Six Paths tools. There are some words I can't say."
What?! Isn't that terrible?!
And yet you still haven't been sealed. You're insane!
Obito suddenly felt that maybe he really had underestimated Madara.
A person cursed by the Six Paths tools, and it barely affects him—only that some words can't be spoken. That was unbelievably outrageous, yet Madara said it like it was nothing.
Truly worthy of the legend.
"Well, aside from not being able to say certain words, I also can't stay silent for too long," Madara added, explaining in advance so Obito wouldn't look at him strangely later tonight. "So tonight I can only talk to myself. Don't take it too seriously. It's all minor."
Then he asked Black Zetsu, "...Black Zetsu. I told you to investigate. Has it… shifted?"
Black Zetsu responded immediately. "Madara-sama, I have a hypothesis. With the Allied Shinobi Forces deploying defenses like this, the jinchūriki's location is clearly somewhere behind their main headquarters. I infiltrated to probe it. On the coastline behind their headquarters, they've stationed many shinobi, as if guarding something out at sea."
"It's said that in the seas of the Land of Lightning, there is a creature called an 'island turtle'—a sea turtle as large as an island, roaming year-round. If someone were hidden on it, it might be hard to find."
Madara's eyes lit up at once. "An island turtle? Can you confirm where it is?"
Black Zetsu shook his head. "Not exactly, but I can narrow the rough area. Tomorrow I'll go again. I will definitely be able to find it!"
"Good. Do it that way."
Madara began assigning tasks. "Tomorrow, Obito and I will launch a direct assault toward the Allied main headquarters. We'll capture the One-Tail's host, Gaara, first. Black Zetsu, you find where the other jinchūriki are as quickly as possible. Once you do, the two of us will go kill our way over there. Presumably we can also locate the Kohaku no Jōhei (Amber Purifying Pot). Everything will proceed according to plan, so there's no need to worry!"
Obito and Black Zetsu truly did relax.
Because Madara's strength was their trump card—because he was Madara, the legend of the shinobi world.
"Oh, right. Where did Kabuto go?" Madara seemed to suddenly remember that person.
That man was still holding a Rinnegan. They had to get it back as soon as possible—or have Black Zetsu control him and use Rinne Tensei (Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique) to revive Madara.
But Obito shook his head. "I don't know."
What?! What have you been doing?!
Obito immediately argued back. "Don't look at me like that. You should ask Black Zetsu. Black Zetsu collaborated with Kabuto on his own. In fact, there are many things I don't know. Asking me is useless."
(End of Chapter)
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