"Luckily, we bypassed the formula that grants physical sensation just to enjoy food. Even if we die a hundred times over, we won't feel a sting," Hisuke said with a heavy sigh.
"Well said! This time, I'll force that bastard to witness what I, Iidaten Kyūsuke, can do!" Kyūsuke gritted his teeth.
Among the original Akatsuki background roster, Kyūsuke stood out.
He had launched a mutual-destruction ninjutsu against the masked man without a second thought to protect his comrades.
But facts were facts: background characters earned their status based on raw strength.
If your power ceiling scraped the floor, titles meant nothing.
He could call himself Taishakuten or Brahma, it would not change his fate.
How did Kyūsuke plan to take the masked man down?
First, he cast the Water Prison Technique to trap both himself and the masked man inside a sphere.
Then, he used a specialized Earth Release to fill the prison with liquid cement, letting it harden to entomb them both.
When Makoto reviewed Kyūsuke's tactical history, he praised the man's courage but wrote off his intelligence.
A different method would not have secured a victory or even scored a scratch against the masked man.
If killing him took a simple trick, Konan would not have needed to stockpile six hundred billion explosive tags.
The real issue lay in the logic of Kyūsuke's "mutual destruction."
Water Prison combined with cement formed a decent trap—essentially a low-budget replica of Konoha's microwave-oven combination ninjutsu.
But why did the Water Prison have to trap the caster alongside the enemy? It defied all reason.
Look at Zabuza trapping Kakashi.
In the entire shinobi world, aside from Kisame executing his own suicide, no sane shinobi cast the Water Prison to trap themselves.
The tactic acted as if adding the user to the bubble somehow multiplied the binding force.
Such baffling tactical blunders ran rampant across the shinobi world.
Deidara watched a heavily injured Sasuke close his Sharingan, yet still triggered his ultimate self-destruct.
Danzo spammed Izanagi like a cheap Substitution Technique just to poke Susanoo with a standard kunai.
Time and again, legendary figures gambled their lives on sheer absurdity!
If famous Kage-level shinobi fell into this trap, history could forgive a background grunt.
But the final result remained a joke.
Trying to trap an intangible ghost with wet cement was the punchline of the century.
His sacrifice mirrored Danzo deploying the Reverse Four Symbols Sealing just to seal half a bridge.
The reality of dying for no tactical gain fueled his simmering resentment.
Following Kyūsuke's lead, the group marched down the corridor, ready to fan out and hunt their target.
However...
The second they reached the main fork, they spotted a lone figure standing motionless in the gloom, his back turned to them.
Kyūsuke scratched his head.
Was this the target?
From behind, he lacked the silhouette of the masked man who butchered them.
Konan had withheld the specifics.
First, as minor foot soldiers, their strength and tactical comprehension lagged behind. Detailing the Kamui mechanics would only confuse them.
Second, maintaining operational security prevented accidental intelligence leaks.
"Who are you?" Kyūsuke stepped forward.
Operating with standard caution, the group held their weapons down.
Konan promised their target was in these caves, but variables existed.
What if this guy was just a stray maintenance worker?
"..."
Uchiha Madara turned around.
His cold eyes swept over the group.
'These intruders possessed Edo Tensei bodies, but their chakra signatures felt pathetically weak.'
No, calling them 'ordinary' was high praise.
If these grunts crossed his path during the Warring States Period, they would barely register as ants.
'Akatsuki and Amegakure dispatched this squad into a secure vault... Were they the janitorial staff?'
Madara ran the calculations but failed to grasp their tactical purpose.
Surely Amegakure did not assign these weaklings to guard Obito.
Yes, immortal Edo tensei required no food, sleep, or bathroom breaks.
They eliminated the need for supply drops, making them ideal sentries. But their combat output scraped the bottom of the barrel!
Madara decided to drop his legendary name to break their morale.
If he could coerce them into storming the cell to harvest Obito's Hashirama cells for him, he secured a massive advantage.
If the intimidation tactic failed, he would retreat.
"My name is Uchiha Madara." His expression remained stoic.
He folded his arms across his chest, tilted his chin up, and peered down his nose at the assembled grunts.
"Huh?"
The group froze.
They recognized that raspy, arrogant tone!
That was the voice of the masked bastard who murdered them!
"It's... you?"
"That is correct. It is I. Uchiha Madara! I have a small task I require you to wait—what are you doing?!"
Madara relished the shock rippling through the ants.
He prepared to deliver his demands, but the squad lunged forward in perfect unison and hoisted him into the air.
Two members grabbed an ankle each and yanked outward!
'Was this a bizarre display of reverence? Did they intend to carry me like a king on a palanquin?' Madara thought. 'Perhaps....'
"Uchiha Madara, where is your Sharingan? Why aren't you casting your precious illusions?" Kyūsuke stared at the legendary ghost—currently hoisted aloft and forced into a humiliating split—and stepped closer.
"..." Madara remained silent.
"An Edo Tensei vessel, yet your chakra sits in the gutter. Looks like someone sealed your network." Kyūsuke pressed a hand against Madara's chest, checking the pulse of his energy, and flashed a grin.
"Correct. So what? I will reclaim my strength in due time. Will you assist my ascension to godhood, or will you wait until I recover my power and crush you into dust? You are dead souls! You do not fear death. In that case, I suggest you consider the safety of your friends and family." Madara kept his tone glacial.
Naturally, the threat would have carried more weight if the Akatsuki grunts were not currently stretching his legs into a mid-air split.
Friends? Family?
The smirks vanished from their faces.
Uchiha Madara dared to leverage their loved ones?
Great nations like Konoha slaughtered their original families, including Nagato's parents, during the brutal border skirmishes.
Their true friends were the Akatsuki founders!
And the man currently dangling between them butchered those friends, leaving only Konan and Nagato to pick up the pieces.
Uchiha Madara. The legendary shinobi of the Uchiha clan. A founder of Konoha.
"Hahahahaha!" Kyūsuke burst into bright, joyous laughter.
Just as the squad assumed the threat pushed him into a rage, he cut the laughter short and turned to the men holding Madara's ankles.
"What are you standing around for? Sister Konan crippled him and wrapped him in a bow for us. Why do you think she gave us the key to this vault?"
"Oh! That makes sense! This is Sister Konan's gift to us!"
"Big Sister Konan, we respect and love you!"
The revelation energized the group.
They hoisted Uchiha Madara higher and marched him deeper into the cavern.
Inside the cell, Obito tracked the approaching commotion and the chorus of unfamiliar voices.
He knew Madara did not bring backup.
A squad of strangers had breached the perimeter.
To avoid an ambush, Obito rolled off the stone slab and dropped to the floor, using the block of stone as cover.
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