"I killed Rin… I killed the person most precious to me…"
"Why didn't I move back then? Why…?!"
Obito did not seem to hear Madara at all.
He knelt on the ground, muttering to himself, his eyes hollow and unfocused, as if his mind had already broken.
Madara's frown deepened.
"Obito. What are you doing?"
His voice turned cold.
"Stand up. The war is not over yet."
"…What?"
Obito slowly raised his head, blankly staring at him as if he no longer understood what Madara was saying.
Madara's eyes narrowed.
"So your heart has already shattered? How useless."
After mocking him, Madara seemed to make his decision. He turned his gaze to the side.
"Zetsu."
A pitcher plant suddenly emerged from the ground beside him.
It was Zetsu, wearing the Akatsuki cloak.
Black Zetsu's voice was low and quiet.
"Madara-sama. Shall we begin?"
Madara kept his eyes forward.
"I'll hold off Namikaze Kirito. You deal with Obito."
"Hehe… understood, Madara-sama."
Zetsu's body split apart.
Black Zetsu slowly moved toward Obito, while Madara stepped in front of Namikaze Kirito, watching him with caution.
The plan had already reached its final stage.
But now Obito had fallen into this pathetic state. There was no longer any chance to use him to test the strength of the man standing opposite them.
Madara had no choice.
He would resurrect himself and handle this personally.
To use the Outer Path — Rinne Rebirth Technique, they could not allow any interference. Namikaze Kirito had to be stopped first.
But what happened next was beyond Madara's expectations.
Even after seeing Black Zetsu move, Namikaze Kirito showed no sign of interfering.
In fact, there was even a trace of expectation in his eyes.
That reaction made Madara's expression darken.
After a short silence, he finally spoke.
"Namikaze Kirito. What are you planning?"
"Hm? Planning?"
Kirito looked at him calmly.
"Aren't you going to use the Rinnegan to resurrect yourself? I'm waiting. Don't worry, I won't interrupt."
By all logic, Madara should have been pleased.
His opponent was willingly allowing him to complete the resurrection.
But Madara felt no joy at all.
With his pride, those words sounded like nothing but an insult.
"You're looking down on me?"
His voice turned sharp.
"You think I still won't be able to defeat you after I'm resurrected?"
"Although that is true, I'll still say this—I didn't mean it that way."
"I can't defeat you?"
Madara ignored everything else.
The only thing he heard was Kirito admitting it was true.
In other words, even after Madara came back to life and became the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, Namikaze Kirito still believed he would lose.
How could Madara tolerate that?
"Brat…"
Madara's voice dropped dangerously.
"Don't compare me to a failure like Obito. Once I truly return to life, that will be the moment you die."
Originally, Madara should have been focused on preventing Kirito from interfering with the resurrection.
But after seeing Kirito's attitude, rage rose from the bottom of his heart.
Madara had fought since the moment he was born.
Never once had he been humiliated like this.
Ever since reading the Uchiha stone tablet, he had believed himself to be the one who saw the truth of the world.
The one who stood above everyone else.
He would never allow someone to look down on him from an even higher place.
Kirito only smiled.
"Madara, weren't you trying to stop me because you were afraid I'd interfere with your resurrection? Why does it sound like you actually want me to interrupt?"
"Hmph."
Madara snorted coldly.
"I'm simply stating the truth. If you want to interrupt my resurrection, then try it. Even with this Edo Tensei body, I can still deal with you."
"Relax. I don't plan to."
As he spoke, dark mist suddenly gathered in Kirito's hand.
Madara immediately became alert.
But the next scene nearly made his expression crack.
After activating his ability, Namikaze Kirito did not attack.
Instead, he used it to create a chair.
A chair.
Then, under Madara's stunned gaze, he sat down calmly.
For Madara, this was worse than being attacked.
"Namikaze… Kirito…"
Madara gritted out each word.
"How far do you intend to insult me, you bastard?"
"I get it, I get it."
Kirito waved a hand lazily.
"I'm not looking down on you. Just hurry up and let me watch how you come back to life."
Madara's forehead practically filled with black lines.
Not looking down on him?
That impatient tone made it sound like Kirito could not even be bothered to hide his contempt.
On the other side, Black Zetsu had already merged completely into Obito's body.
Half of Obito's body now belonged to Black Zetsu.
Only then did Obito finally regain a trace of clarity.
"Zetsu… Madara… what are you doing?!"
"Hehehe…"
Black Zetsu's cold voice echoed from within him.
"Obito, stop resisting. Everything I've done has been for this moment… for Madara-sama's resurrection."
The moment Obito heard that, his expression changed.
As someone who understood the Rinnegan, he immediately thought of one technique.
The Outer Path — Rinne Rebirth Technique.
A ninjutsu capable of bringing the dead back to life.
The ultimate dōjutsu of the Rinnegan.
But the price was enormous.
The caster would lose a tremendous amount of life force, and could even die outright.
The Uchiha clan did not possess the Sage Body. Even after becoming the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, Obito's vitality had not fundamentally changed.
If he was forced to use Rinne Rebirth now, he might be left with only one breath.
In the original timeline, Nagato had been able to revive so many people in Konoha because the Uzumaki clan's Sage Body possessed immense vitality.
It was not because the Rinnegan itself erased the cost.
So the moment Obito understood Black Zetsu's intention, he began to struggle.
But it was already too late.
Because of the despair that had swallowed him earlier, Black Zetsu had taken control of his body almost without resistance.
"Damn it… let go of me!"
"Hehe… give up, Obito."
Black Zetsu's voice remained cold and mocking.
"You should feel honored. You are about to bring Madara-sama back to life."
Namikaze Kirito watched Black Zetsu with great interest.
Among everyone present, only he knew Black Zetsu's real goal.
But clearly, he had no intention of exposing it.
Soon, Black Zetsu controlled Obito's body and forced him to form the hand seals.
"Outer Path…"
"Rinne Rebirth Technique!"
Madara was the true beneficiary of the technique.
At that moment, a strange energy suddenly surged through his body.
The paper-like fragments of his Edo Tensei body began to peel away and fall.
The Rinnegan in his eye sockets also lost their false appearance, returning to lifeless dust before crumbling away.
Across the battlefield, many people noticed the change.
Even Sarutobi Asuma, who had been hiding in the shadows, momentarily forgot to continue controlling the reincarnated shinobi.
Everything was changing too quickly.
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