"There's no need to get worked up. I'm of the Uchiha clan too. If we're talking bloodline, I'm actually an ancestor of yours."
Madara was closer than anyone in history to awakening the Rinnegan.
Black Zetsu truly felt deeply frustrated—just as he was about to succeed, things went wrong. He couldn't even figure out how Madara had discovered him.
But thinking about it now was pointless—the key was calming Madara down.
"Oh?"
Madara let out a cold chuckle. Clearly, he didn't buy what Black Zetsu had said.
This didn't faze Black Zetsu at all.
Madara had always been cautious. For over a decade, he kept changing locations to avoid being found. Although Black Zetsu had only been caught once, that one time was enough for Madara to start doubting him.
He scrambled for words but didn't skip a beat. Stepping forward, he pressed on, "Have you seen the Stone Tablet?"
"Our clan? Hmph, you sure know how to latch yourself onto us," Madara scoffed. "Whether or not you're part of my Uchiha clan is beside the point—what do you want from me? Why have you been following me?"
Uchiha Madara's eyes burned with intense killing intent.
"To prove I'm right! That our Uchiha bloodline surpasses Asura's. I am the true rightful heir to the Sage of Six Paths' legacy!"
Black Zetsu shouted passionately, giving a stellar performance.
At this moment, Indra's spirit resided within him.
"Huh?"
Madara slightly frowned.
The rightful heir to the Sage of Six Paths' legacy?
Back then, only two people were eligible to inherit the Sage's position—one was himself, Asura, and the other was Indra.
Could this dark creature really be Indra?
Even if that were true, though, what connection would it have with him?
Madara chuckled coldly. The mark of the Eternal Kaleidoscope Sharingan spun furiously.
Black Zetsu inwardly groaned.
Just as expected—this guy trusted absolutely nothing, except himself.
Originally, his plan had been to wait until Madara awakened the Rinnegan and mastered the Yin-Yang Release, then find an opportunity to convince Madara he was a true fusion-born entity created through Madara's own Yin-Yang Release.
But now that Madara had discovered his stalking, his entire plan had gone to waste.
"It doesn't matter if you don't believe me, but are you interested in learning about the Rinnegan?"
"The Rinnegan?"
Madara's interest was piqued.
As for the Rinnegan, he knew practically nothing. Even the idea of a fusion upgrade came from what he saw on the Stone Tablet. If this guy was really Indra, perhaps he held some inside knowledge.
Of course, even if Black Zetsu spoke the truth, Madara wouldn't fully trust him.
"The Rinnegan originally belonged solely to the Sage of Six Paths. Back then, the Sage had two sons—one was me, and the other was my younger brother, Asura. One of us inherited the Sage's eyes while the other inherited the Sage's body."
Black Zetsu rambled on.
Madara didn't mind listening. Whether or not this Black Zetsu was truly Indra, the term 'Sage's body' likely referred to that monstrous physique akin to Hashirama Senju's.
If the Sharingan remained merely the Sharingan, combining the Sage's Eyes with the Sage's Body might allow evolution into the Rinnegan.
This idea perfectly aligned with the description on the Stone Tablet.
"I don't know what the old man left behind—probably something between Asura and me—but definitely nothing about my dying words."
Black Zetsu sneered.
"What dying words?"
Madara asked, somewhat curious.
"To fulfill my goal, my chakra has continued to reincarnate countless times. But things didn't go as planned. Instead of my soul reviving, I ended up in this current form. The same goes for Asura's chakra."
Black Zetsu sighed softly.
"I see. You're just a consciousness without chakra, meaning you can't use most ninjutsu."
"Though you have strong concealment abilities, you're ultimately just a shadow in darkness, never able to step into the light. That's why you long for a proxy—an agent—to carry out your will."
Madara sneered.
Chakra reincarnation?
So Indra Chakra's reincarnation refers to him, and Asura's reincarnation must refer to Hashirama.
An absurd claim.
Madara didn't believe any of it, but from observation, Black Zetsu really was only a consciousness, with not even the slightest chakra fluctuation within his body.
This sufficiently proved he lacked the ability to release ninjutsu himself, at best capable of using genjutsu or shadow-based techniques similar to those of the Nara clan.
Yet against Madara, what were such abilities worth?
Even though his new body hadn't fully synchronized yet, he certainly wasn't something a sneaky ghost like this could manipulate. Besides, he indeed needed an assistant to act in the mortal world now.
"Although I hate showing weakness in front of juniors, you're right—I don't have much power left. But as a consciousness, I do have other abilities. I can infiltrate and gather intelligence. I'm not completely useless."
Black Zetsu knew that appearing weak had lowered Madara's initial guard. Now all he needed to do was slowly guide him along.
It was more trouble than planned, but at least it was progress—better than being stuck.
"Fine then, you're not entirely useless. Looks like we have room for cooperation."
Maybe it was because of Devil Fruit powers, but Madara always suspected he was hiding something, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly what lie had been told.
Well enough, they were only ever going to be mutual users anyway.
As for whether the other was truly Indra's soul, Madara didn't care in the least. All he cared about was his own dream.
But should the old immortal actually turn out to be Indra's reincarnation, there was a real chance he might take over his body once he advanced to the Rinnegan stage. That was something he absolutely needed to guard against.
The two reached a temporary understanding.
Elsewhere, however, the battle continued raging fiercely.
Akaba hadn't intended to intervene, but Eno Uchiha treated the battlefield like a stage, fully immersed in his own written performance.
Akaba wasn't sure of the details, but through his sensory abilities, he sensed that amid the chaos, Eno Uchiha had intentionally drawn the Yashin Cult's attention toward them, then after encountering danger shouted defiantly before "opening" his Mangekyo Sharingan.
To Akaba's surprise, Eno Uchiha's ability was [Amaterasu].
The black flames incinerated all remaining Devil Fruits completely. Uchiha had actually awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan. The two younglings Akaba had brought were visibly shocked.
Later, when they saw Eno fight tooth and nail to carve a final escape route for the last "clan member", the two finally broke down in tears.
Akaba didn't get what was so emotional—he was just hard to move.
He paid no mind to the Uchiha's theatrical act, entirely focused on what happened after Madara left. Had the Devil Fruit power really awakened?
Cautiously, Akaba dared not chase after to check the situation. He could only guess in his heart or find another test subject.
So he had to leave Eno Uchiha and the others behind.
"You've awakened the Kaleidoscope Sharingan?"
"Yes, but our identities have been exposed. We must leave the Land of Water immediately."
Eno said anxiously.
"You go ahead first. I'll cover your retreat."
Akaba said without missing a beat.
"Retreat? Cover us?"
The group was momentarily taken aback.
"That's right. I have the Flying Thunder God technique to escape anytime. Now it's my turn to protect all of you."
Akaba felt extremely embarrassed saying these words.
Protecting one's comrades wasn't wrong per se, but such a line was overly dramatic. Plus, he didn't genuinely feel that way—he simply wanted to temporarily separate from the group to conveniently test the side effects of the Devil Fruit.
"Akaba, since that's the case, we'll go first. You absolutely must follow us later."
After speaking, Eno grabbed three other clan members and ran off.
Akaba fell silent.
Fine, go ahead! But why assign me this role right before you leave?
You really want me gone, huh?
Whatever. Time to capture someone first.
Devil Fruits belong to the One Piece series; their effects in the Fire Shadow World are currently unknown. He dared not target someone too powerful, lest things become troublesome to deal with later.
After wandering around for a bit, he hypnotized a Yashin Cult member.
He casually picked up a fruit from a nearby stall and brought the brainwashed cultist to the seaside.
[Ou Ou no Mi - Bison Form].
"What are you?"
"I am the one bestowing power upon you. Eat it."
Akaba canceled the genjutsu and threw the Devil Fruit toward him.
The Yashin cultist caught it, then hesitated for several seconds.
This Devil Fruit seemed different from the fake ones they'd forged before.
Could it actually be real?
After a moment's hesitation, the cultist decisively took a bite.
Tasted like crap!
However, at the moment he swallowed, he felt his body rapidly transforming as a strange power surged through his flesh.
"This... This is genuine Devil Fruit power!"
He bellowed as his body swelled up.
In a second, the Yashin cultist morphed into a muscular humanoid bison—nearly three times his original size.
"What incredible strength! Hmph, making you eat it was your greatest mistake. Die!"
His ego ballooned the moment he swallowed it.
Wielding his fists, he charged toward Akaba.
However,
[Chakra Scalpel].
With a light motion, Akaba severed the opponent's arm muscles and marked him with the Flying Thunder God seal. Then he kicked him straight into the sea.
Falling into the water, the man didn't move and sank downward immediately.
"It seems still vulnerable to seawater."
Akaba used the Flying Thunder God to retrieve him and brought him back to shore.
Unable to afford two Self-Destruction experiments due to insufficient Points, he placed the fruit beside the cultist, then channeled chakra and spiritual energy directly into him, killing him with another genjutsu.
On the list, there was still no appearance of "Ou Ou no Mi - Bison Form" as an option to exchange.
Several seconds passed, and the fruit beside him transformed into a fresh new Ou Ou no Mi.
"So it really regenerates."
Akaba picked up the Devil Fruit.
After thinking for a few seconds, it seemed pointless to remain in the Land of Water any longer.
Time to head back. Might as well take a rest along the way.
[He used the Flying Thunder God technique to teleport next to Eno Uchiha.] The four of them stole a boat and fled from the Land of Water to the Land of Fire.
He said goodbye to the group, then released the Yin Seal and unleashed some chakra (ninja energy).
With the Flying Thunder God technique, he instantly teleported back to the village and appeared directly inside the Hokage's office.
"Redfeather, why are you back already?"
The Third immediately sensed the intense chakra fluctuations. He rushed to the marked location and found Redfeather arriving through another portal, holding a Devil Fruit in his hand.
"This is a Devil Fruit I took from the Land of Water. I also took a counterfeit one."
Redfeather pulled out the scroll containing the counterfeit Devil Fruit as well.
"Devil Fruits?" The Third looked puzzled.
Didn't those come from a Japanese comic or manga? Wait, so these things actually exist in real life? And what do you mean there's a fake one too?
"Let's talk at Anbu headquarters. There are too many people around here."
Redfeather glanced around, then activated the Flying Thunder God technique to transport both himself and the Third to the entrance of Anbu.
Luckily, the Third didn't suffer from motion sickness.
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