Danzo slowly opened his eyes, glancing around in confusion. When he saw Madara Uchiha standing before him and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind him, shock filled his face.
"Lord Madara, wasn't I already dead? How could this be... Did you save me?"
Once he regained his senses, Danzo cautiously asked.
"You indeed died. However, I brought you back through [Impure World Reincarnation]."
Madara cast a nonchalant glance at Danzo and spoke indifferently, "I remember you were a student of Senju Tobirama. You should be familiar with this signature technique of his, shouldn't you?"
When Madara emphasized the words "signature technique," there was an intentionally sarcastic tone.
Upon hearing that, Danzo quickly understood. He looked down and indeed saw many cracks on his skin, just like a piece of broken porcelain.
This was a unique physical characteristic of those resurrected via [Impure World Reincarnation].
As a disciple of the Second Hokage, Danzo had not only heard about [Impure World Reincarnation], but had also personally witnessed Senju Tobirama performing it.
Although this jutsu had gained a dreadful reputation across the world of shinobi and was widely denounced by every ninja village, to someone like Danzo—driven by an unrelenting desire for dominance and always seeking to control others—it was practically the ultimate ninja technique in existence.
Therefore, after becoming the leader of Root, he had eagerly tried to obtain and research [Impure World Reincarnation].
Unfortunately, the difficulty of mastering this technique was extremely high, much like many other Kinjutsu invented by Senju Tobirama. No one else could truly comprehend them, except Tobirama himself.
Eventually, Danzo had no choice but to give up reluctantly.
He never expected that one day this very technique would be used on himself.
"Now tell me, how did you die?"
At this moment, Madara spoke again. His Rinnegan stared directly at Danzo, bringing enormous psychological pressure onto the latter.
Danzo's heart trembled. Not daring to conceal anything, he immediately recounted from beginning to end what had happened that day inside the Daimyo's Mansion.
"You're telling me a person who claimed to be a friend of Uzumaki Heiyan slaughtered everyone in the Daimyo's Mansion?"
After listening, Madara frowned.
Who could this mysterious ally of Uzumaki Heiyan be? Could it be Fugaku Uchiha, Hiashi Hyuga, Tsunade, or someone else entirely?
Names of several capable ninja appeared in Madara's mind—each was once a companion of Heiyan during his time in Konoha, and had the strength to carry out such an act.
He never considered the possibility that this so-called "friend of Heiyan" might in fact be Heiyan himself, for he firmly believed Heiyan was dead.
Through his Rinnegan, Madara had witnessed Uzumaki Heiyan's self-destruction. That was an undeniable truth.
Although he couldn't figure out the identity of that unknown assassin, Madara didn't dwell on it for long, quickly pushing the matter aside.
Without warning, Madara leaned forward and locked eyes with Danzo. "I have a new mission for you—go undercover in Konoha."
"What?"
Hearing that, Danzo's expression changed dramatically.
"Scared?"
"Uzumaki Heiyan has already been eliminated by me. What are you worried about?" Madara sneered, watching Danzo's expression shift. "You and Hokage Hiruzen have a good relationship, right? Why don't you just go back now? That man should be willing to forgive you."
"If it were just a matter of persuading Hiruzen to take me back, there wouldn't really be a big problem. However..."
Danzo paused briefly before continuing cautiously, "Many of Uzumaki Heiyan's supporters occupy high-ranking positions in the village. They strongly oppose me and won't let me come back. Moreover, they might have already discovered that I've been serving you. Also, with my current appearance, I can't even explain myself to others."
He stretched out his arms, revealing his cracked, faceless form—an Impure World Reincarnation construct.
"The issues you mentioned are not actually problems at all."
Madara smirked before forming a hand seal. A ray of light engulfed Danzo completely. When the glow faded, the cracks on Danzo's skin had miraculously disappeared.
"I've already used the power of Rinnegan to eliminate the defects of Impure World Reincarnation. You now appear perfectly normal, while possessing infinite chakra. Even without eating, drinking, or sleeping, you will never die."
Madara proudly declared as Danzo stared in astonishment.
Really?
This news delighted Danzo beyond measure. According to Madara's explanation, Impure World Reincarnation violates the law of energy conservation entirely. Once again, he understood just how unbeatable this jutsu truly was.
"Additionally, this is for you."
Madara then retrieved a massive scroll from behind the stone chair where he sat, tossing it in front of Danzo.
"This scroll belonged to Uzumaki Heiyan. It contains the Six Paths stone tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths specifically for the Uchiha Clan."
Leaning back in his chair, Madara tapped his fingers on the armrest. "As long as you take this stone tablet back to Konoha and claim that you betrayed me and escaped from Mist, no suspicions will be raised easily. I want you to re-enter Konoha's high-ranking circle and regularly report their movements back to me. Understood?"
"...Understood!"
Danzo picked up the scroll, deeply shaken by Madara's ruthless brilliance. Never had he imagined that Madara would willingly hand over such an invaluable treasure to Konoha.
Unbeknownst to him, the true value of the stone tablet lay in the Sage of Six Paths' final words inscribed upon it. Now that Madara had deciphered every inscription on the tablet, the stone itself had lost its importance. Besides, there would never again be another Uzumaki Heiyan capable of performing techniques like the Six Paths Meteor Hammer.
That's why Madara was willing to let the stone tablet go.
"Oh, one more thing."
Just as Danzo was preparing to leave with excitement, Madara suddenly called him back, adding another task.
"After arriving at Konoha, you must find a way to obtain Uzumaki Heiyan's cellular tissue for me. Do you understand?"
At these words, Danzo was momentarily taken aback but quickly recovered, fully grasping Madara's intentions.
"Hai, Madara-sama. I understand completely. I promise I won't disappoint your expectations."
He bowed deeply toward Madara before striding out of the basement without hesitation, heading straight toward the Land of Fire.
Madara watched silently as Danzo departed.
"The Impure World Reincarnation was successful. Next, I must find a way to revive my old comrades."
He muttered to himself as he stood up.
Thud thud thud.
At that moment, footsteps echoed from the darkness. It was White Zetsu, holding Nagato's hand, entering through the side door of the basement.
"You, come here."
Madara's eyes gleamed as he commanded White Zetsu. This White Zetsu had been created by him using Yin and Yang Release with self-awareness and was loyal to him.
But for Madara, this level of loyalty was far from sufficient.
"Yes, Lord Madara."
White Zetsu released Nagato's hand, bowed slightly to Madara, then moved to his side.
Without hesitation, Madara placed one hand on White Zetsu's right shoulder. At the same time, his Rinnegan emitted a powerful surge of ocular energy as he activated a certain technique.
[Yin and Yang Release: Spiritual Possession!]
The area where Madara's hand touched White Zetsu instantly turned pitch-black, quickly spreading to cover half of his body.
"Grandfather Madara, what did you do to Uncle White Zetsu?"
Nagato stared at the scene in shock, asking anxiously.
During this period, whenever Madara was unavailable, White Zetsu had acted as Nagato's tutor and caregiver, forming a strong bond with him.
"Don't worry, Nagato," Madara explained, withdrawing his hand. "I simply attached my consciousness to half of White Zetsu's body."
"Lord Madara speaks the truth. I'm perfectly fine," White Zetsu smiled gently, ruffling Nagato's hair in a cheerful tone.
But the next second, his voice suddenly became hoarse and deep, muttering, "Sharing a body with this guy really is awkward."
It was now Black Zetsu speaking.
As Nagato remained stunned, Madara had already returned to his seat, issuing orders to both the Black and White Zetsus.
His assigned mission could be summed up in just two words: corpse retrieval.
To reincarnate many historical powerful warriors of the shinobi world using the Impure World Reincarnation, Madara needed their cellular tissue. Achieving this meant only one thing—stealing the remains of those individuals.
That's precisely why the Impure World Reincarnation is considered a morally abhorrent technique.
Currently, Madara already possessed a major asset—Senju Hashirama's cells—but having only Hashirama would not satisfy his ambitions.
In fact, what Madara desired most were Heiyan's cells.
He couldn't help but imagine—if he revived Uzumaki Heiyan and turned him into a Puppet, then sent him to attack Konoha. The sight of Heiyan alone would surely bring about the most amusing expressions on the faces of the Konoha shinobi.
"Hahaha... Ahahaha..."
Thinking of this, Madara once again held his forehead, releasing his signature maniacal laughter that reverberated endlessly inside the basement.
Zetsu stepped out of the basement.
Hearing Madara's insane laughter echoing behind him, the eye in the right half of his face flickered momentarily with sharp light, and a faint curve formed at the corner of his mouth.
Black Zetsu was back.
Ever since feigning death at Madara's hands a year ago, he had been hiding within White Zetsu, secretly observing every move Madara made from close proximity all along.
Just as he had guided Madara in creating White Zetsu, making Madara believe it was his own creation, moments ago Black Zetsu seized the opportunity to possess White Zetsu and successfully pretended to be a new entity formed by Madara's spirit fusing with White Zetsu.
In this way, Black Zetsu gained a completely unsuspecting new identity in Madara's eyes.
Madara overly trusted the power of the Rinnegan. Driven by extreme arrogance, he firmly believed that Black Zetsu was his consciousness embodiment created through Yin and Yang Release.
However,
both Madara and Black Zetsu remained completely unaware that behind them, high above, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path observed everything from a superior bird's-eye view.
Its nine deep-set eyes and wooden-like upright ears transmitted everything seen and heard to Penglai Ninja Village thousands of miles away.
Penglai, mountain-top villa.
"Didn't expect Danzo to actually come back—what a persistent fellow."
Heiyan slowly opened his eyes and muttered to himself. Fortunately, during his killing spree at the Daimyo's Mansion, he had been extremely cautious throughout and never revealed his identity in front of Danzo.
Otherwise, his meticulously planned fake death plan would have been discovered by Madara, rendering all his efforts futile.
Nevertheless, Danzo's revival was merely a small inconvenience.
The true threat came from the [Impure World Reincarnation] technique now possessed by Madara.
In the original timeline, this jutsu eventually fell into Orochimaru's hands and was later inherited by Kabuto Yakushi. It wasn't until Kabuto summoned an army of reincarnated warriors that the Fourth Great Ninja War erupted.
Yet now, due to unexpected circumstances, Madara had obtained the [Impure World Reincarnation].
Heiyan sensed that in Madara's hands, this technique might unleash even more terrifying power—perhaps even cause the Fourth Great Ninja War to erupt far earlier than it was meant to occur.
Considering this, he needed to pay a visit to Konoha soon and find a way to warn Tsunade and others.
As Heiyan contemplated this matter, Pakura returned.
He smiled and let her stay here for now—he hardly ever came back home anyway.
Then, Heiyan quietly returned to Konoha using Enshinsui.
In the woods outside Konoha village.
Poof!
After a puff of white smoke vanished, Heiyan activated his Transformation Jutsu, disguising himself as an ordinary man before heading toward the village gate.
Before long, he stepped onto the familiar Ichiraku Street.
After experiencing a massive local war, Konoha was striving to recover its strength, launching enthusiastic reconstruction efforts within the village.
In the midst of all this bustling energy, Heiyan passed by busy villagers, catching bits of the latest news from their conversations.
"I heard all the Daimyos of the Five Great Countries were assassinated within a single day—it's terrifying. The entire world is in chaos now."
"Luckily, Immortal Sages from Mount Myoboku arrived at Konoha, helping us get through these tough times. Just came from frontline news: the frog forces from Mount Myoboku helped the Third Hokage quell the rebellion and take control of the Daimyo's Mansion. From now on, Fire Country will be ruled by Konoha!"
"Today's newspaper says the Great Toad Sage will assume the role of Honorary Elder of Konoha!"
"They say he's over a thousand years old — the legendary brother of the Sage of Six Paths, who once helped save the world alongside him."
"…"
Gamamaru had finally had enough and chose to step in himself.
Heiyan frowned, deep in thought.
Without realizing it, he had already arrived at the entrance of the Hokage Tower.
Heiyan stood still, extending his sensor abilities. Sure enough, he sensed a tremendous surge of Sage Chakra within the building, as radiant as a blazing sun — impossible to look at directly.
It's Gamamaru.
After standing there for a while, Heiyan turned and left.
That actually works out rather well.
Since Gamamaru has gone out of his way to leave Mount Myoboku and come to Konoha seeking attention, I may as well push him forward to face off against Madara Uchiha and divert his focus.
After all, this old one has been staying in the shadows for years now — it's high time he pulled his weight.
When two fight, a third profits.
This time, Heiyan decided to let Gamamaru and Madara Uchiha tear each other apart while he sat back and played the fisherman.
After leaving the Hokage Tower, Heiyan wandered around the village for a bit.
Where could Tsunade have gone?
Heiyan didn't sense Tsunade's chakra and felt puzzled. However, he soon thought of the place she most likely would be.
<><><><><><><><>
Thank you for reading! Your support will keep me updating!
~ Every 50 Powerstones = **4 Bonus Chapters** this weekend!
<><><><><><><><>
~ 100+ Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon!
~ More *Free* Chapters and Books Available on Patreon!
patreon.com/Tansnovel
<><><><><><><><>