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The one who emerged from the earth behind Madara was none other than Black Zetsu, who had been conspicuously absent since the battle for Konoha began.
Madara didn't turn. "Black Zetsu. You've returned."
"That I have, Lord Madara." Zetsu's eyes darted around. "But… where is Lord Izuna?"
Madara pointed a finger downward, at the very ground sealing his brother away. "My dear brother learned of my plans from somewhere. It seems he did not wish to stand by my side. I could only… let him rest here for now. Don't you agree, Black Zetsu?"
Zetsu's mind raced. "Ah… that is… most unfortunate. I had hoped you two could stand united! It would have been a great boon for your cause! Alas, Lord Izuna was… perhaps too young to understand your profound vision!"
Madara's gaze was a physical weight, pressing down on the squirming figure. His eyes narrowed slowly. "Forget that. You have an explanation to give, Black Zetsu. Where did you go?"
The reaction was instant. "I-I went to scout the enemy! Konoha has many troublesome shinobi, after all!"
"Without my permission?"
"When you are immersed in battle, Lord Madara, such trivial matters would only distract you! I thought it better to act quietly, to serve without interrupting your focus."
A smirk touched Madara's lips. "Hmph. You know my personality, my habits, my nature… as if you were a worm in my very gut."
"Of course! I am the manifestation of your will!"
"So you say…" Madara's expression softened slightly. A casual, deadly shift in topic. "Tell me, Black Zetsu… a thousand years ago, on a day like today, where were you? What were you doing?"
"Hahaha, why, I was with Indr—" The words slipped out before the millennia-old schemer could catch them. The realization hit. His whole face looked like charcoal struck by lightning.
Madara's eyes were pure aggression. "You were going to say 'with Indra,' weren't you? Well? ANSWER ME!!!"
Zetsu scrambled. "Wh-what are you talking about, Lord Madara?! I don't understand! From my birth to now, it's only been a mere decade or so! How could I have any connection to a figure like Indra from a thousand years ago?!"
Crack!!
Madara stepped forward. His hand clamped around Zetsu's throat!!
"Start talking. Who are you? What is your goal? And why did you tamper with the Uchiha Stone Tablet!!!"
Damn it! Zetsu's thoughts churned. Even if he suspects me, he shouldn't know these details! Unless… Sasuke told him everything?! Wait—!!! If that were the case, he wouldn't need my explanation at all! Hah… Madara, you're good. You pieced it together from the fragments, didn't you? All I need to do is survive this test, and I'll have his trust again!
"Lord Madara…!! I am your will! Your most loyal pawn! I would never do anything to harm you! My loyalty is beyond question!!!"
Madara's free hand touched the back of his own neck. "The Black Cursed Seal… impressive. A degraded being like you, perfecting a technique even I, the original, find remarkable."
"The Cursed Seal was Orochimaru's research!! I merely adapted it, adding some of my own ideas! If this is what makes you doubt me, then I am both wronged and honored!! Because I am your will, Lord Madara! My glory is yours!!!"
Madara's voice dropped to an eerie whisper. "You are flawlessly deceptive. But you must die today, Black Zetsu. I have no need for an uncontrollable variable whose abilities and actions exceed my grasp. So, if I kill you and I'm right, you deserved it. If I kill you and I'm wrong… you won't hate me, will you? After all, you are my consciousness. You'll understand. Right?"
BOOM—!!
Dark, malevolent light erupted from Madara's palm. It burned into Zetsu's form, charring it, releasing plumes of black smoke…
…
Tsunade and Shikaku, having received word of the attack on Konoha, were racing back through the night.
But as they entered the deep mountains on the only road home, their path was blocked.
Not by rocks or trees.
By thousands upon thousands of blank, white figures.
…
In the dark cavern, a man sat alone atop the Gedo Statue's head.
Memories surfaced. Of Tobi. The only partner with whom he never had to hide, never had to mask his true self. The clown meant more than just a companion.
Lost in the darkness for so long, Obito had forgotten his own face. Tobi was both his mask and the mirror that reflected the shattered pieces of his heart.
But when the moment came to choose between his dream and that bond… he chose the dream. Even if Tobi had offered himself up willingly.
The guilt lingered. It gnawed at him.
Just a little.
He had just said goodbye. Again.
"I've abandoned it all. I stand alone now. No more attachments."
"I will see the Infinite Tsukuyomi through to the end! The last Nine-Tails—Naruto, Madara, Orochimaru, Sasuke—I don't need to fight them head-on!"
"Let them tear each other apart. I… will seize the blind spot they all ignore."
In his hand, he clutched the ragged page taken from Kakashi—a fragment of the Scroll of Seals. On it, the forbidden technique: Impure World Reincarnation (Edo Tensei).
"Yes. This is the key. The Edo Tensei… Kin and Gin. In the hundred-year history of Kumogakure, their names are synonymous with infamy. Swallowed whole by the Nine-Tails, they survived by feasting on its flesh from within! When they emerged, they wore its chakra like a cloak of terror!"
"Kin and Gin. All I need is the living matter to resurrect them. Bring them back with Edo Tensei, feed them to the statue… and the Ten-Tails will be truly reborn!"
"Even an incomplete Nine-Tails is still overwhelmingly powerful. As long as the Infinite Tsukuyomi can be cast, nothing else matters."
"The Gold and Silver Brothers… they died with the Second Hokage. The one who recovered the bodies, who performed the autopsies… was the captain of Konoha's medical corps back then: Sarutobi Biwako. Wife of the Third Hokage. And… Tsunade's first teacher in the medical arts."
A swirling vortex distorted the night. Obito materialized within the ring of White Zetsu clones surrounding the mountain pass.
"—But Sarutobi Biwako is dead. So, Fifth Hokage Tsunade… through you, I will find the resting place of Kin and Gin's remains!!"
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