At this moment, deep within a dark underground base...
A tall figure with an abyss-like aura sat atop a coffin, unmoving—eyes closed, simply waiting.
There was no doubt about it—this was Madara Uchiha, brought back through Nagato using the Six Paths: Resurrection of the Dead Technique.
Yet at this time, the eyeless Madara made no rash moves.
Even though he had already been revived for over a day.
He still hadn't acted recklessly.
The mere fact that he awakened here, beside the coffin sealing his corpse, proved:
Whether it was Nagato or Obito...
One of his fallback strategies had succeeded!
Since they had begun successfully reviving him,
Then surely the plan had reached its final stage and the Tailed Beasts had already been gathered...
The Ten-Tails was about to be resurrected.
And he would finally bring permanent peace to this world!
Therefore, at such a crucial moment,
Lord Madara naturally had no intention of acting rashly again,
Lest unnecessary complications arose.
Moreover, Black Zetsu should be on his way already.
Once he arrived, he could personally explain the current situation before initiating the final step of the plan.
Wouldn't that be safer?
After all, this was originally part of his own plan...
Another half-day passed.
Finally, a glob of black liquid dripped down from the cavern wall above.
Black Zetsu had finally returned before Lord Madara.
"Lord Madara!"
Black Zetsu bowed respectfully, his voice dripping with flattery.
"You've done well. Who brought me back?"
"Nagato..."
"It seems the plan went smoothly. Where are my eyes?"
Black Zetsu immediately presented the left [Rinnegan].
Madara took his left eye and quickly placed it into his socket, regaining his sight once more.
His abyss-like aura surged dramatically.
After all, this was truly his very own eye!
"And the other one?"
"Eh... there was a slight problem. The other one was taken by a kunoichi named Konan..."
"Hmph! Incompetent! My right eye was stolen by just a woman?"
Lord Madara scoffed coldly, somewhat displeased.
"Please don't worry, Lord Madara. White Zetsu is currently chasing her in waves. She's heavily injured and unable to fight. There's no way she can escape..."
"We'll retrieve your other eye very soon!"
Black Zetsu hurried to explain,
He put on a look of nervousness and humility.
Clearly, this fellow was extremely cunning and had no shame whatsoever.
"Hmph!"
"What year is it now?"
"Year 59 of Konoha is coming soon..."
Lord Madara's left eye gleamed as he murmured with mild surprise:
"So less than nine years have passed since my death?"
"And the Akatsuki have already gathered all the Tailed Beasts? Quite efficient indeed!"
"I originally thought it would take *much* longer..."
"It seems you haven't slacked off over these years."
"Enough. Just tell me where the Ten-Tails is now? I'm eager to absorb the true Ten-Tails!"
Faced with Madara's urgency,
Black Zetsu appeared somewhat uneasy.
After all, he didn't know how to break the news.
There's no helping it; the plan is still ages away from completion!
Never mind gathering all nine Tailed Beasts.
Akatsuki hasn't even captured a single one yet!
Wouldn't this enrage Lord Madara?
Although it was hard to admit,
Black Zetsu still forced himself to speak.
Well, technically, he didn't even have a scalp…
"Lord Madara, there's… just a slight unexpected situation…"
"You haven't captured all of them yet? Report which are still missing!"
"One-Tail…"
"One-Tail? Even such a weak one hasn't been captured yet?"
"Two-Tails…"
"What?! You haven't gotten Two-Tails either?!"
"Three-Tails…"
"Hold on, something seems off…"
"Four-Tails…"
Lord Madara: "…."
"Nine-Tails…"
—
Boom!—
Black Zetsu was sent flying dozens of meters by a punch from Madara and smashed hard into a distant rock wall.
Clearly, upon learning that not even a single Tailed Beast had been captured yet,
how furious he had become.
This wasn't his triumphant return or rule over the world at all!
It was simply being revived prematurely just to do manual labor?
How could he not be angry?
Of course, after a brief outburst, he quickly suppressed his anger and accepted reality.
As one of the Warring States' two greatest warriors, he still had this level of self-control.
Besides,
as long as he successfully resurrected fully and regained his peak strength,
in this era, who else could stand against him without Hashirama around?
Capturing the nine Tailed Beasts again would just take a bit more time.
"Lord Madara…"
Black Zetsu crawled back with an awkward smile, showing 'no' resentment whatsoever.
"Tell me, why did you revive me early?"
"You better give me a reasonable explanation."
Black Zetsu: "Lord Madara, Hashirama Senju has returned to life!"
Madara immediately felt shocked, then greatly delighted.
"Hahaha!"
"Hashirama, that guy also came back to life?!"
"Fascinating! So fascinating!"
"Just when I thought this era was getting boring... I didn't expect he's back as well!"
"Haha, excellent!"
"I'd love to go at it with him for an entire three days straight!"
"By the way, how did he come back to life?"
Madara laughed loudly, thoroughly cheerful.
He showed absolutely no displeasure that his powerful enemy's return could interfere with his plans.
Instead, he was filled with anticipation, wishing to fight Hashirama right away.
"From what we can tell, he probably returned through [Impure World Reincarnation Technique] performed by Third Hokage Sarutobi…"
Upon hearing this, Madara frowned deeply:
"Impure World Reincarnation?"
"That technique invented by Tobirama?"
"Shouldn't that technique have major flaws…"
"That cannot even be considered true resurrection."
"How much of his original power does Hashirama retain if he was revived using that method? Can he still use [Thousand Hands Manipulation Force: Thrust]?"
In short, he wouldn't want to fight a weakened, lifeless version of Hashirama.
That would be far too boring…
What he wanted—what he truly enjoyed—
was a fierce, heart-pounding battle where they both gave their all!
"No! It seems Hashirama recovered most of his power through some unknown means."
"Perfectly capable of using Sage Art and [Thousand Hands Manipulation Force: Thrust] normally..."
"This is also why I chose to resurrect you ahead of schedule, Lord Madara."
Lord Madara's face lit up again.
"Has Hashirama regained his former strength from back then?"
"Excellent! Excellent! Now this will be fun!"
"Black Zetsu, your decision wasn't a mistake after all."
"If Hashirama really has recovered his previous power, Nagato and Obito — those two upstarts — certainly won't stand a chance against him..."
"It would risk exposing our entire plan if they were defeated by Hashirama..."
"I'd rather take care of it myself!"
"Now that I've obtained the [Rinnegan], there's absolutely no way I'll lose to Hashirama again!"
Clutching his fist tightly, Lord Madara unleashed a tyrannical aura that surged in all directions, shaking everything around him.
Clearly, he had become even stronger than before since acquiring both 'Hashirama's cells' and the [Rinnegan].
He would never lose to Hashirama's Daibutsu again!
"Ahem, Lord Madara, there's one more thing..."
"The Uchiha Clan has seceded from [Konoha], and now established their own ninja village."
Black Zetsu added nervously.
"Oh? Those foolish clansmen have finally realized their mistakes?"
"Not everyone can be as foolishly idealistic as Hashirama!"
"How could the subsequent Hokage successors ever tolerate our clan..."
"Hmph, so it seems this generation's Uchiha leader does possess some courage and determination. He's got real potential..."
"Tell me, who is leading the Uchiha Clan now?"
"It couldn't possibly still be that good-for-nothing Fugaku?"
Lord Madara sneered contemptuously.
Even though his mind had long expanded to encompass the whole Ninja World,
he still carried some attachment for his own people.
Hearing now that the Uchiha had chosen to break away from Konoha, taking exactly the same path he once did, naturally brought him a small sense of satisfaction.
"It isn't Fugaku — it's someone else entirely."
"This one is young but already exceptionally skilled and powerful..."
"How old?"
"About 11 years old..."
"How exceptional is he?"
"He has already awakened the [Mangekyo Sharingan]..."
"Hmm... A Mangekyō at such a young age? Indeed commendable."
"A promising junior like this deserves serious cultivation and guidance."
"By the way, just how strong is this brat?"
Black Zetsu: "He actually defeated Senju Hashirama in direct combat..."
Lord Madara: "..."
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