BOOM!
A massive explosion suddenly erupted in a certain area of Kusagakure, accompanied by a roaring, surging vortex of flames that swept through the surroundings.
The scorching heat wave swept in all directions, affecting many Ninja nearby.
"Enemy attack!"
"Damn it, who are you? Why did you suddenly attack us?!"
"What kind of monster is this?"
Many Ninja reacted quickly, instantly retreating.
They watched the person who had abruptly attacked them with vigilance and seriousness.
It was a strange individual wearing a plain black robe, with a face that was half-black and half-white. Their most striking feature was a pair of crimson, eerie pupils.
To call them human.
It would be more accurate to call them a humanoid monster.
Those crimson, eerie eyes seemed to contain some kind of magic. When one looked into them, it felt as if even their soul would be swallowed whole.
This caused many hearts to skip a beat.
"Just a ghost wandering the Ninja World."
Madara, controlling Zetsu's body, looked indifferently at everyone before him. His expression was calm, showing no emotional fluctuation.
Buzz!
An eerie and powerful surge of visual power was released from Madara's body.
The Mangekyō Sharingan in both eyes began to spin slightly.
A Genjutsu fell upon everyone who met his gaze.
A Mangekyō Sharingan Genjutsu, especially one cast by a top-tier powerhouse like Madara.
This kind of Genjutsu.
It could ensnare even a Tailed Beast.
The sudden turn of events caused all the Ninja present to fix their gazes on Madara.
Anyone who made eye contact with Madara.
Their pupils turned crimson in that moment, transforming into the three-pointed triangular Mangekyō Sharingan.
Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!
Then.
The sound of blades cutting through flesh rang out. Those controlled by Madara's Genjutsu used their own Ninja tools to pierce their vital points.
Without even letting out a scream, dozens of people there committed suicide.
"Still not enough."
He activated the right eye's Dōjutsu, Kaiten-shin, once more, pulling in the Chakra and souls of the deceased. Through a special connection, they were absorbed by the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
He whispered a single sentence.
Madara did not care. He just stood there quietly.
It was as if he were waiting for other prey to come looking for him.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Multiple sounds of air being pierced flew toward him.
It was the Kusagakure Ninja who had sensed the abnormal commotion and were approaching.
Fixing his crimson gaze on the arriving Kusagakure Ninja, Madara remained calm, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning. "All of you, become nourishment."
On the other side.
Seiryū's group, who were eating at a restaurant, also heard some noise and looked toward the direction it came from.
"Hmm?"
With his powerful perception, Seiryū immediately sensed something wrong. After perceiving a certain detail, a look of surprise appeared on his face. "This is, Setsuna's visual power!?"
This was Setsuna's visual power.
There was no way he could sense it wrong.
After all, he had been subjected to his Genjutsu twice.
Although it had not worked on Seiryū.
Seiryū had already memorized Setsuna's visual power.
That surge of visual power was undoubtedly the Sharingan power of Setsuna!
Except some changes had occurred.
It seemed to have become colder and more powerful.
This was the visual power of Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan!
Seiryū had been somewhat curious and attentive toward Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan.
If possible.
He had even thought about plucking them out for research.
But at that time, Seiryū had not mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique and could not pull it off secretly.
So he had to let it go.
'Was Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan gouged out by Madara?'
With his quick mind, Seiryū instantly formed a hypothesis.
The previous hidden observer.
And the sudden appearance of Setsuna's visual power.
The two were definitely connected.
There was a high probability.
That after Setsuna died, those eyes were gouged out by Madara or White Zetsu!
And now someone was using that pair of eyes right here!
'I thought Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan had been cremated and buried without anyone else knowing. I didn't expect this to happen.'
Seiryū's eyes narrowed slightly.
The fact that Setsuna had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
It was unknown to the Uchiha Clan.
He thought those eyes would have vanished along with Setsuna's cremated body.
He did not expect things to take a turn.
A pair of Mangekyō Sharingan might have been obtained by Madara.
And they were appearing here.
As expected, something was about to happen.
"Setsuna's visual power?"
Hearing Seiryū's murmur, Tsunade immediately looked over, her expression becoming serious. "What did you discover?"
Setsuna's visual power?
How could the visual power of a dead man appear?
What was this kid talking about?
"Setsuna?"
Kurenai and Shizune also instantly looked at Seiryū.
Setsuna?
Why were they hearing that name here?
Seiryū explained, "Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan was likely gouged out after he died and is now appearing here."
"Wait!"
Tsunade directly interrupted Seiryū, narrowing her beautiful eyes.
Her tone grew heavy. "Mangekyō Sharingan? Setsuna's Sharingan was the Mangekyō Sharingan!?"
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
As the princess of the Senju Clan and Konoha, she naturally knew of it.
The Asura of the Shinobi World, Madara, who once stood on equal footing with her Great-grandfather.
He possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan.
How could Setsuna have had the Mangekyō Sharingan?
If he had the Mangekyō Sharingan.
How could he have been killed by Seiryū?
"Hmm? I didn't tell you?"
Seiryū was stunned for a moment and thought about it.
He indeed had not told Tsunade.
He spoke up. "When Setsuna fought me, he had already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. It was because I sensed that, that I used Cero on him. He died before he even had the time or chance to use it."
Tsunade furrowed her brows. "Just how many things are you hiding from me? How do you even know about eyes like the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"I told you to read more, but you wouldn't."
Seiryū curled his lip. "Your family's collection doesn't just have medical books. There are also books left behind by your Second Grandfather. They contain records about the Mangekyō Sharingan."
In the collection of Tsunade's Second Grandfather, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, there were indeed records of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Tsunade: "..."
"What else do you know?"
"You want to ask me why Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan is appearing here? How should I know? I can't predict the future."
Seiryū was somewhat speechless. "Maybe Setsuna died so pathetically that he didn't even get to use the power of his Mangekyō Sharingan."
"And out of sheer spite, he awakened a Dōjutsu called the Revive-Revive Fruit, crawled out of the Pure Land, and came back to life to seek revenge on me?"
He certainly had his suspicions that it was related to Madara.
But that sort of thing was hard to say out loud. Once said, it would be impossible to explain.
Was he supposed to say he was a transmigrator?
Don't be ridiculous!
Ignoring Seiryū's nonsense, Tsunade's brow furrowed even deeper. "What exactly is going on? Is the Uchiha Clan trying to do something against you?"
Even though the Uchiha Clan had backed down.
But.
Grudges were not settled that easily.
There were still extremists who would target Seiryū.
Could this be some move by certain members of the Uchiha Clan against Seiryū?
"I don't know about that, but this is unusual. Let's go take a look. If something goes wrong, I'll use the Flying Thunder God Technique to get us out of here."
Seiryū said this.
It had only been a lunch break, about half an hour.
Seiryū's terrifying recovery rate had kicked in. His internal Chakra had returned to its peak. He was once again that humanoid battery capable of slaughtering two hundred people.
But since Madara might be involved.
He felt it was better to be cautious and run the moment something went wrong.
At the mention of things going wrong, Tsunade felt a phantom pain and her face darkened.
Was she cursed or something?
It was one thing for a member of the Uzumaki Clan to appear in Kusagakure, but now even the Mangekyō Sharingan of the deceased Setsuna had shown up.
Should she fulfill her promise?
To write her name backward.
Shaking off those thoughts, Tsunade gave orders to Kurenai and Shizune. "Kurenai, Shizune, you two head to a safe place and protect Hina!"
These two girls were too weak.
And with Hina, who did not know much about fighting, it was most important to get them to safety first.
She and Seiryū needed to go check out the situation.
After all.
With Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan appearing, they had to investigate thoroughly!
"Yes!"
Kurenai and Shizune also knew their strength was insufficient.
Following along would only make them a burden and distract the other two.
Hiding in a safe place was the correct move.
They did not need to worry too much about Tsunade and Seiryū's safety.
Seiryū could use the Flying Thunder God Space-Time Ninjutsu. Leaving would not be a problem.
"Kid, let's go see."
"You got it."
Tsunade and Seiryū rushed toward the source of the commotion.
The distance was not far.
They arrived quickly.
The first thing they saw was a tragic scene of bodies strewn everywhere.
"This is."
Tsunade's expression became serious as she scanned the area. There were bodies as far as the eye could see, at least a hundred at a glance!
And in the center.
There was a black cube several meters high, carved with various human faces showing different expressions.
Beside this black cube.
Stood a person in a black robe, half-black and half-white.
Tsunade immediately saw the crimson, complex Mangekyō Sharingan in that person's eye sockets and whispered solemnly, "It really is the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Zetsu!?"
Seiryū naturally saw the person as well. The moment he saw them, he recognized them and exclaimed in surprise.
It was actually Zetsu!?
Aside from the signature pitcher plant and the black-cloaked red-cloud uniform, was this not the third son of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya who masterminded everything in the original story?
He was actually here?
And he had even transplanted Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan.
What was going on?
Tsunade looked at Seiryū. "Zetsu?"
"Zetsu, that's just perfect!"
Seiryū's face showed a mix of emotion and surprise. "What a bizarre look, so eccentric. Half black and half white. If he were in the States, racial discrimination wouldn't even apply to him. He's got guaranteed safety!"
He talked nonsense casually.
Seiryū's gaze also landed on the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
He thought to himself that indeed.
His guess was right.
Madara really knew about the existence of the Box of Ultimate Bliss, and in this situation, he wanted to open the box and release Satori from within?
Tsunade: "..."
Ignoring Seiryū's babbling, Tsunade also looked at the Box of Ultimate Bliss, her tone becoming solemn. "That box, such an evil aura, and it has the power to bewitch people's hearts."
A special, eerie wave radiated from the Box of Ultimate Bliss.
It seemed capable of invading a person's heart.
It stirred up inner desires and evil thoughts, possessing the ability to bewitch the mind and make people want to approach it involuntarily.
Seiryū did not say anything.
He felt nothing at all, likely shielded by the system.
He remained staring at the Zetsu in front of him, many thoughts surfacing in his mind.
What was the deal with this Zetsu?
What role was Madara playing in this?
And what was his plan?
"Have you finally arrived?"
The arrival of Tsunade and Seiryū was naturally seen by Madara, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning slightly.
A person with the Mangekyō Sharingan appearing here.
Konoha's people would naturally care.
It was only normal for them to come here.
This was exactly what he had expected.
A voice that seemed filled with emotion came from Madara's mouth. "Hashirama's granddaughter, and a member of the Uzumaki Clan. Seeing you reminds me of some old friends."
"Who are you?"
Tsunade could not help but frown upon hearing this.
This person.
She did not know him!
Seiryū fell into silence.
That aged voice, those emotional yet unmistakably domineering words.
Damn it, could this be Madara himself!?
'No, he's just taken control of this body. Is it some kind of Dōjutsu from Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan?'
His perception swept over.
Seiryū discovered more about the situation.
There were three distinct Chakra signatures within this one body.
Two of them were relatively weak, while this stronger Chakra was the dominant one!
This should be a special Dōjutsu.
A Dōjutsu similar to the Spirit Transformation Technique.
"Who am I?"
Madara muttered to himself, a composed and calm smile appearing on his half-black, half-white face. "Just a ghost forgotten by the world, wandering through the Ninja World."
"A ghost? How cryptic!"
Tsunade spat.
However, she did not lower her guard.
Those eyes were the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Seiryū showed a look of wonder. "Has my lifespan run out? To think I'd see ghosts in broad daylight!"
He could see it.
Madara wanted to put on his cool act, so he had to interrupt him!
(To be continued.)