"Lord Madara, this is all the intel we've gathered since the Iron Fist re-emerged."
In a dim underground base, Black Zetsu finished reporting the newest information about the Iron Fist, then glanced toward Madara, who sat beneath the Gedo Statue.
"..."
Madara didn't speak. He didn't even keep his hollow, pupil-less eyes open, he slowly closed them.
There wasn't much to Black Zetsu's report, barely a handful of concise points.
The shifts in the ninja world… three of the Five Kage bowing their heads… all these things, Madara dismissed with a faint, amused curl of his lips.
The Five Kage? Just a bunch of children.
The Five Great Shinobi Villages? Toys he and Hashirama tinkered into existence back then.
Whatever Garp could accomplish, he could do himself.
Only when Black Zetsu mentioned one particular matter did Madara's expression turn heavy, and within his chest, waves of shock surged so violently that his old heart couldn't calm for a long time.
Garp had used one of his strongest attacks.
"Lord Madara, based on the current situation, it seems the Iron Fist's power, untouched by age, hasn't reached its limit at all.
He is still him.
He is still the hero of the shinobi world."
Seeing Madara remain silent, Black Zetsu continued.
"No… he's no longer the Garp of the old days. The Garp of today… is even stronger than he was back then."
Madara's eyes snapped open.
"Lord Madara, isn't that impossible? Even if he isn't affected by age, his years are still there.
He's more than ninety now. Just maintaining his strength is already a miracle, how could he be stronger than at his peak?
Don't tell me he's a monster?"
Before Black Zetsu could answer, White Zetsu shouted in disbelief.
"Whether he's a monster, I don't know.
What I do know… is that the power of his Fist is definitely beyond what it once was. Even if Hashirama were resurrected, he couldn't take that punch."
Madara's tone began with awe and incredulity, but soon surged with rising excitement.
"Garp, the only person who can take your Iron Fist… is me.
Good… good. You truly are extraordinary.
I thought you'd grown old, that with Hashirama dead, the future of the ninja world would be my solo performance. I didn't expect you to keep pace with me.
Even Hashirama, a descendant of the Sage, couldn't achieve this, but you did. Garp… you really are something."
As he spoke, the battle-lust he'd kept suppressed for so long leaked out from his frail body, bit by bit.
"Lord Madara, are you not going to wait any longer?
We've already found the key person for the plan. Among the Five Great Villages, only Kirigakure hasn't handed in their surrender yet.
Garp has already reached the Land of Water. With his strength, it's only a matter of days. When that happens, with his personality, he will definitely…"
Black Zetsu felt the entire base being flooded by Madara's overwhelming fighting spirit. A faint, nearly invisible shadow flashed in the depths of Black Zetsu's eyes.
"Even if the person I chose grows strong, as long as Garp lives, he won't have the slightest chance.
Instead of placing the future in Obito's hands, waiting for him to outlive Garp, I'd rather grasp my fate myself.
Besides… I don't want to wait another moment."
Madara cut Black Zetsu off:
"Go. Execute the Second Plan."
With that, he closed his eyes again, continuing to survive by leeching chakra from the Gedo Statue.
"Yes."
Black Zetsu nodded and turned to leave the base.
But the moment he stepped outside, his emotionless face twisted with fury.
"Damn it… he clearly had a far safer plan to choose from, so why insist on the backup?
Couldn't he just endure for another ten or twenty years, become the Ten Tails' Jinchuriki, and then go challenge the Iron Fist?"
Black Zetsu's eyes were ice-cold.
"Forget it. The Uchiha clan's twisted personality, you've seen it for a thousand years already.
Back in the Warring States Period, Madara was suppressed by the Iron Fist for decades… then lost to Hashirama twice. With his pride, how could he swallow that humiliation?
'One of the Three Legends' sounds impressive, but for Madara, the one ranked third among the trio, it's nothing worth bragging about.
Rather than outliving Garp, of course he wants to settle his disgrace while he's still alive… even if he only beats Garp once."
White Zetsu lowered his voice.
"Once he's revived and becomes the Ten Tails' Jinchuriki, won't he have his chance then?"
Black Zetsu took a deep breath, but the anger refused to dissipate.
These damn Uchiha… always trouble.
He'd thought the rest of the Uchiha were useless traitors. He hadn't expected Madara himself to deviate from the plan.
"How long would that take?
Ten years? Twenty? Thirty? By then, Garp would probably be dead of old age. What chance would he have left?
And don't forget, all these years before he awakened the Rinnegan, he was avoiding Garp, evading him, hiding from him."
White Zetsu countered.
"Sigh…."
Black Zetsu's irritation eased a little.
Thinking about it made him speechless too.
A completely ordinary man with no inherited bloodline from his parents… had spent an entire era beating both Madara, who possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and Hashirama, who had Wood Release and the Sage Body.
"Just treat Madara's actions as removing a dangerous variable to the plan."
White Zetsu patted Black Zetsu's shoulder.
"I'm just afraid he'll lose again, that's all."
Black Zetsu muttered darkly, then vanished.
"No way… Madara has the Rinnegan now."
White Zetsu gaped, eyes filled with disbelief.
But then he recalled that scene from the Warring States Period, at the feet of a man whose arms were hardened with Haki.
The mangled remains of Wood Golems and shattered Susanoo fragments scattered across the ground…
The long-forgotten memory resurfaced, and his confidence in the Rinnegan faltered by half.
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