"How can you guarantee he'll listen to you? He can easily tell if you've lied," someone questioned.
"Both Orochimaru and Nagato know our secrets. He'd find out the truth with just a few questions," White Zetsu replied.
...
Listening in, Black Zetsu fell silent. Indeed, that was a valid point. How could he spin this favorably?
He really needed to figure this out.
After a long pause, he finally spoke. "White Zetsu, what I'm about to do is somewhat complex."
"I will prove my capabilities to Kaguya-sama."
"I don't want anyone stealing credit, nor do I want blame if I fail."
"Therefore, until it's completed, I hope you keep this to yourself."
"You're basically saying nothing at all," White Zetsu muttered speechlessly.
...
Inside the base.
"Orochimaru-sama, that person is nearly dead. I've placed him inside a nutrient chamber," Yakushi Kabuto reported.
Adjusting his glasses, Kabuto wondered how Orochimaru would deal with him once discovering his identity.
"Hmm," Orochimaru responded indifferently with a slight nod.
Based on previous experiments, when Ten-Tails' chakra entered a human body, it drained both chakra and life force, ultimately leading to death.
Whether ordinary people, ninjas, or those possessing natural energy—the result remained the same.
The only difference lay in duration; individuals containing natural energy lasted somewhat longer.
Thus, he allowed the Ten-Tails' chakra to circulate among various bodies.
Orochimaru now focused his attention on Madara Uchiha's corpse.
Black Zetsu had specifically instructed not to damage the body's integrity.
Scraping a layer of cellular tissue from Madara's skin surface, he sacrificed a life and performed the Impure World Reincarnation technique.
Tiny lights flickered in the darkness, slowly pushing back the gloom.
The illumination grew increasingly radiant.
Uchiha Madara opened his eyes, gazing upon Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto before him, filled with confusion.
Glancing sideways, he saw his own 'corpse.'
White-haired and with his eyes tightly shut—just as he had looked when he died.
Additionally, he realized his current body felt extremely sluggish—almost numb.
"This… this isn't my body..."
"Even I don't get why you were brought back…" Orochimaru chuckled slightly, "But let him explain instead."
Stepping outside, he brought in Zetsu.
Time to prove your worth. Thinking this, as soon as Black Zetsu saw Uchiha Madara, he immediately became excited, exclaiming loudly, "Madara-sama..."
Frowning, Uchiha Madara seemed slightly displeased, "Zetsu, what's going on? Why weren't Obito or Nagato the ones who resurrected me?"
Looking particularly dejected, Black Zetsu answered, "Madara-sama, Obito has already died."
White Zetsu remained silent.
Orochimaru and Yakushi Kabuto exchanged strange glances.
Did Kabuto just call him 'sama'?
What exactly was he playing at?
A faint smirk curved Orochimaru's lips.
"Died?" Uchiha Madara murmured thoughtfully.
"Yes," Black Zetsu nodded. "Madara-sama, someone from the Hyuga Clan named Hiroki Hyuga stole our hard-earned victory."
"You mentioned Hyuga?"
Madara Uchiha gave a smile that didn't reach his eyes.
What was the Hyuga Clan anyway?
A pack of tamed dogs. With such a system in place, how could they possibly cultivate anything powerful?
Utterly laughable.
Though he kept his thoughts to himself, Black Zetsu saw the disbelief in his eyes.
"The ultimate form of the Hyuga's Byakugan is the Tenseigan, possessing power on par with the Rinnegan. Also, that guy has already captured the One-Tail, Two-Tails, and Three-Tails. His aim is to obtain the Ten-Tails too."
Orochimaru sneered.
So he intentionally avoided mentioning Kaguya's existence… That Zetsu fellow…
But how long could that last?
Kabuto Yakushi couldn't help but adjust his glasses again, hiding the turmoil within.
He couldn't even begin to tell anymore who was aligned with whom.
As for White Zetsu, though filled with doubts, still remained silent.
"Oh? Go wait outside for me..."
Madara Uchiha's interest was piqued. He glanced at his current body with disgust—this pathetic, half-rotted shell—and even disliked his own clothing. He ordered Zetsu out.
Zetsu immediately vanished.
His gaze swept between Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi before finally settling on Orochimaru. Madara Uchiha spoke in an indifferent tone laced with coldness, "You're the one who reincarnated me?"
"Yes," Orochimaru replied with a slightly mocking smile. "By conventional standards, Lord Madara, you should be calling me master."
Kabuto couldn't help coughing dryly.
Lord Orochimaru, are you toying with him right now?
Madara Uchiha sneered, "Orochimaru, don't tell me you really think you're the only one who knows Tobirama's techniques."
Seeing the hand seal he was forming, Orochimaru's expression froze once more.
There went all the effort!
"Release."
Instantly, the connection between him and Madara Uchiha vanished. This meant he could no longer control the latter.
Carrying his original corpse on his back, Madara Uchiha walked outward.
Orochimaru's teasing voice reached his ears, "Lord Madara, if you can't win, even death can be a path to rebirth..."
"Hmph!"
Madara Uchiha snorted coldly, not taking the words to heart at all.
Nonsense! Would he actually lose?
Other than Hashirama, who else in this world could rival him?
...
When alone, White Zetsu expressed his confusion to Black Zetsu, "Hey, Black, aren't you sending Madara against Hiroki? Don't you remember Kaguya-sama said she liked him?"
Black Zetsu felt uneasy inside and coldly replied, "What do you mean 'liked'? Liking as a toy is liking. Enjoying mischief is also liking."
"Kaguya-sama was merely distracted by him temporarily."
"It's exactly this kind of distraction that slowed our progress collecting the Tailed Beasts."
"Plus, don't you think our enemies are too scattered? Only by uniting them under Madara can we deliver a single decisive blow."
"Fine." White Zetsu muttered unhappily, with a careless attitude. "As long as I'm not the scapegoat, whatever you say goes."
Black Zetsu: "..."
Just when the atmosphere fell silent, Madara Uchiha's voice rang out.
"What's the current state of the Akatsuki, and what about the Rinnegan?"
"The Akatsuki..." Black Zetsu hesitated.
"As for the members of the Akatsuki..."
"Kisame Hoshigaki was Obito's subordinate. When Obito died, he became lost."
"Itachi Uchiha had been a spy placed within Konoha during the Third Hokage's reign. Once power shifted hands, his deal with the Third Hokage no longer applied, so he, too, grew uncertain."
"Orochimaru was originally part of the Akatsuki too, but later defected."
"Hidan used to be a prisoner in Konoha. After escaping, he joined the Akatsuki. Currently, Konoha is ruled by the Hyuga Clan, where Hiroki Hyuga resides, along with Tsunade."
"As for Sasori of the Red Sands and Kakuzu, both were rogue ninjas—one from Sunagakure, the other from Takigakure—and they both actually had connections with Hiroki Hyuga."
"These people were either deliberately placed there or made contact later by him. Nagato didn't know anything about this."
"..."
Madara fell silent for a moment.
"Long ago, I knew you weren't much of a leader—but could things really get this bad? A rogue ninja organization filled entirely with spies—how did that even happen?"
"What about the others?" Madara asked in a low voice.
"Heh, just Nagato and Konan are left," White Zetsu chuckled.
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