For all these years, Isshiki had remained hidden inside Jigen's body, waiting for the right moment to act.
And now—
the time was nearly ripe.
Still, the moment he thought of the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, an ominous feeling stirred faintly in his heart.
Because Ren's strength had already far exceeded his expectations.
To put it bluntly, Uchiha Ren might have already surpassed the Kaguya Ōtsutsuki of the past.
It sounded unbelievable.
But that was reality.
"How exactly did Uchiha Ren train himself to this level?"
Isshiki's expression darkened with confusion.
"And why does he possess a Ten-Tails?"
"I own a Ten-Tails. That makes sense. But why does Uchiha Ren have one? He isn't even from the Ōtsutsuki main family."
He was baffled.
Utterly baffled.
Even Isshiki himself could not make sense of it.
Back then, when he and Kaguya came to Earth, he had planned not only to plant the Divine Tree, but also to control a second Ten-Tails.
But plans never kept pace with change.
Kaguya had ambushed him from behind.
Because of that, everything had nearly been ruined.
"Forget it. I'll take this slowly."
After a long silence, Isshiki's lips curved slightly.
"Once the Fourth Great Ninja War erupts, I can use the chaos to form Kara and make the final preparations for my resurrection."
There was nothing more to say.
The more chaotic the shinobi world became, the better.
Ideally, the war would turn the world upside down and plunge everything into darkness.
Only then would it serve his interests.
More importantly—
if he had sensed correctly, the deaths of two Ōtsutsuki main family members on Earth had thoroughly enraged the clan.
A new powerhouse from the main family would definitely arrive.
And when that happened—
it would be his chance to reveal his might.
The shinobi world.
Beneath Otogakure.
"Lord Madara, the forces of Iwagakure, Kumogakure, and Otogakure have already set out for Konoha."
Obito spoke with a serious expression.
"If nothing unexpected happens, they will arrive by tomorrow. The Fourth Great Ninja War will truly begin then."
"What should we do now?"
White Zetsu hesitated before asking in a low voice.
"Once the war begins, do we act as well?"
"We must."
Before anyone else could answer, Madara drew a deep breath and spoke without hesitation.
"This is our final chance."
"Uchiha Ren is indeed powerful, but I am not weak either."
After saying that, Madara smiled confidently.
A cold light flashed through his purple Rinnegan.
He was Uchiha Madara.
The legendary shinobi.
He would never bow easily.
Whether it was Hashirama Senju or the Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren—
neither could make him submit.
Nor would he allow himself to submit.
Besides, he had planned for so many years.
Now, it was time for the entire shinobi world to tremble and witness the power of a legendary shinobi.
"Good."
Obito seemed to think of something and nodded.
Everything was finally about to end.
Even now, he still dreamed of the fear he felt when Uchiha Ren once dominated him.
No matter who won or lost in this final battle, he would finally be freed.
"Fine."
White Zetsu's expression grew solemn.
"Then I'll prepare as well."
"We move too."
Madara's deep gaze turned toward Konoha.
Back then, because of countless complicated reasons, he had left that village behind.
Now—
it was time to return to Konoha and prove that his path had been right all along.
Everything would end there.
And as he thought of that, Madara felt a faint trace of anticipation and relief.
"Yes, Lord Madara."
"Yes, Lord Madara."
"As you command, Lord Madara."
Obito, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu all nodded.
Obito and White Zetsu were still relatively calm.
But Black Zetsu's heart was filled with helpless frustration.
According to the original plan, once the Fourth Great Ninja War began, he would use Madara to revive his mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
But now?
Eight of the nine tailed beasts were in Konoha.
They only had the Four-Tails.
How were they supposed to revive anything with that?
It was maddening.
Truly maddening.
A few hours later—
on the moon.
A spatial ripple spread.
Black Zetsu's body appeared there in an eerie flash.
"Sigh…"
Looking at the moon, which had already been occupied by Konoha, Black Zetsu could not help sighing.
Everyone knew the moon as the Ōtsutsuki clan's territory.
But who knew the truth?
The moon had been formed by the Six Paths: Chibaku Tensei.
And sealed within it was his mother—
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
For all these years, in order to save his mother, Black Zetsu had suffered endlessly.
He had thought success was finally within reach.
But then Uchiha Ren had risen out of nowhere and destroyed every arrangement he had made.
Now, he had no choice but to seek help from his mother herself.
Buzz!
Thinking of this, Black Zetsu stopped hesitating.
His hands formed seals rapidly, and a strange chakra fluctuation spread outward, covering the entire moon.
If anyone had been present, they would have discovered that the power created by Black Zetsu's seals seemed able to cross space itself.
It slipped directly into the moon's hidden dimension.
"What is it?"
After a long silence, an angry voice rang out inside Black Zetsu's mind.
The power behind that voice was so overwhelming that Black Zetsu's body trembled uncontrollably.
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