"Cowardly rat hiding in the shadows!"
Faced with the suddenly appearing voice, the Third Raikage's body stiffened. He then spun around violently.
Only then did he realize that, at some unknown point, a figure had appeared behind him, its face covered by a spiral-patterned mask.
"Black blade?
Are you referring to the branch that nailed me to this stone statue?
So that's it… No wonder Garp pinned me here and then left without even sparing a glance, completely unafraid that Father might rescue me."
Although A was curious about the masked man's identity, what truly concerned him was the "black blade" the man had just mentioned.
"Rat? Hahaha, in all my years, this is the first time anyone has ever addressed me like that.
I really don't know whether to praise you for your courage… or mock you for your ignorance."
The masked man slowly opened his eyes.
Even with the spiral mask in the way, a pair of red Sharingan eyes was fully exposed to the air.
"Sharingan?
So you're an Uchiha rat.
No wonder you only dare show yourself while hiding behind a mask."
The Third Raikage was startled inwardly, but having already fallen out completely with Garp and Konoha, he had nothing left to fear.
"Don't lump me together with those Uchiha in Konoha who have already lost their pride and dignity, who can only tremble in fear before Garp."
The masked man spoke with disdain.
"If that's the case, then why bother wearing a mask at all?"
The Third Raikage's heart stirred.
Could this be an Uchiha missing-nin?
"I wear this mask purely for convenience. After all, if this face of mine were seen, it would probably frighten quite a few people.
Of course, it would also rob me of a lot of fun, because I'm planning to give him a surprise."
The masked man looked at the Third Raikage with a half-smile.
"Ridiculous!
I'm not afraid of Garp, why would I be afraid of your face?
Stop coming up with pretty excuses for your cowardly, skulking behavior."
The Third Raikage said coldly.
He had already gone all in before Garp just now.
Perhaps in a few days' time, there would no longer be such a thing as a Raikage in the ninja world, nor a Cloud Village.
"You really want to see it?"
The masked man's tone grew increasingly playful.
"..."
The Third Raikage said nothing, only fixing the masked man with an icy stare.
"Then you'd better open your eyes wide, and don't blink."
The masked man chuckled softly.
Then, under the gazes of the Third Raikage and A, eyes shifting from curiosity, to suspicion, to disbelief, and finally to shock, he removed the mask from his face.
"Y-you… weren't you dead?"
The Third Raikage looked at the man who had removed his mask, then glanced again at the stone statue behind A.
"Uchiha Madara!"
A raised his head to look at the mask on the stone statue above him, then looked back at the black-haired man below. He couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath.
At this moment, both father and son were completely stunned.
Was this a class reunion of the three great legends of the Warring States Era?
Garp reemerging was one thing, but how had the supposedly dead Madara also returned?
What made it even more unbelievable was that Madara's appearance looked to be that of a man barely in his early twenties, without the slightest trace of aging.
Was the ninja world's era reversing?
Or had the era of the ninja world never truly changed at all?
"Madara's death was simply the outcome that the vast majority of the ninja world wished to see.
Just like how you initially believed that Garp had already grown old."
As Madara spoke, he put the spiral mask back on.
At first, when Black Zetsu had suggested that he wear a mask temporarily to make things easier, he had been full of resistance.
But now, after appreciating the wonderful expressions on the faces of the Third Raikage and his son, he suddenly felt that wearing a mask wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Whether it made things easier or not, he didn't know, but it certainly made it easier to show off.
"Then are you back this time to rule the ninja world?"
The Third Raikage suppressed the shock in his heart.
One of the three great figures, and one who had no intention of destroying the Five Great Ninja Villages, nor any desire to overturn the existing order of the shinobi era, Garp, had only been active for a single month, yet the entire ninja world had already been turned upside down.
Now add another of the three great legends, perhaps the weakest in raw power, but absolutely the one who loved stirring up trouble the most, Uchiha Madara.
With two of these three figures appearing simultaneously in the ninja world, what kind of terrifying storm would that unleash?
Even if he himself would become the Raikage of a destroyed village in just a few days, merely thinking about it made the Third Raikage's scalp go numb.
"That sort of thing lost its appeal to me long ago.
If I truly wanted to do it, during the years when Garp vanished without a trace, I could have unified the ninja world countless times over.
Why would I need to wait until Garp reemerged before appearing again?"
Madara's tone was filled with disdain.
As if, to him, unifying the ninja world was nothing more than a casual act.
And yet, whether it was the Third Raikage or A, both found this completely natural.
Because they both knew that at his peak, Madara really had been just one step away from unifying the ninja world.
It was only because Hashirama yearned for peace and refused to keep fighting that, in the face of the First Hokage's bonds and overwhelming strength, Madara finally let go of a unification that had been within arm's reach.
"Then why did you come back at all?"
A couldn't help asking.
He truly couldn't imagine what could be more enticing in the current ninja world than unification.
"It's because of Garp, isn't it."
The Third Raikage's eyes flashed with sharp light.
As far as he was concerned, the only thing that could be more appealing to Madara than ruling the ninja world was Garp himself.
...
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