Chapter 390: Extra: Prelude


    It seems...


    Something''s not quite right.


    ck Zetsu felt a bit of panic rising within him.


    This creature, who had hidden for a thousand years, was still hoping that Kabuto could control the reincarnated Uchiha Madara and prevent Madara from suddenly turning against them.


    There shouldn''t be any problems, right?


    After all, Kabuto wouldn''t let his own reincarnated pawn go out of control. Otherwise, a furious Uchiha Madara would surely tear him to pieces...


    "ck Zetsu..."


    Uchiha Madara''s expression was intriguing as his fingers slowly curled into a fist, and his gaze grew increasingly dark.


    "It seems there''s a lot I don''t know...""There''s a lot I don''t know either..."


    ck Zetsu''s voice was somewhat grim as he rasped out the truth, directly questioning Madara: "When you awakened the Rinnegan, you also awakened Indra''s residual will. Yet you chose to hide that memory. Even though you knew my identity and that I had encountered Indra a thousand years ago, you still pretended to be unaware and wanted to use me to achieve your goal..."


    "!!!"


    Madara''s eyes flickered.


    A thousand years ago...


    ck Zetsu has lived for over a thousand years?


    "Madara, let''s justy it all out..."


    ck Zetsu looked at Uchiha Madara, a hint of disdain in his voice as he said, "My identity is far above that of you descendants of the Sage of Six Paths. You''re nothing more than my tool. Do you think that just because you''ve inherited a sliver of Indra''s memory, you can control the entire ninja world?"


    "What Indra knew..."


    "Isn''t even one ten-thousandth of the truth of this world..."


    "You descendants of the Sage of Six Paths have only inherited the chakra passed down to you. No, your chakra is nothing but stolen..."


    "Hmph..."


    "Using me as a tool, huh?"


    Madara took a deep breath.


    Although he still didn''t know the full truth, he was now certain that ck Zetsu had deceived him, even treating him as a mere tool!


    Madara was still unclear whether the Eye of the Moon n was real or what Infinite Tsukuyomi actually was, but he was very certain that ck Zetsu''s identity was anything but ordinary!


    But...


    Why did this guy suddenly decide to reveal everything?


    Madara couldn''t figure it out and didn''t bother thinking further, as he knew that as long as he captured ck Zetsu, he could force the truth out of him!


    In the next moment!


    Madara''s hand suddenly shot out!


    ck Zetsu quickly nced toward Kabuto!


    However, Kabuto merely smiled slightly, as if he hadn''t seen anything, quietly watching as ck Zetsu was captured by Madara''s hand!


    "Kabuto!"


    ck Zetsu''s heart filled with shock and anger.


    "Speak..."


    "Tell me everything..."


    Madara tightened his grip around ck Zetsu''s neck, coldlymanding, "Tell me, who is Indra? What is his will? What is his connection to the Rinnegan?"


    "ck Zetsu..."


    "Who... are you?"


    "Wait... you don''t know?"


    ck Zetsu looked at Madara in disbelief.


    What''s going on...


    Wasn''t it said that Madara had also awakened Indra''s will?


    Wasn''t it said that Madara knew his identity but pretended to be unaware? Why is he now asking these foolish questions about my identity?


    Uchiha Madara...


    How could he be unaware of this!


    Could it be...


    Uchiha Sasuke lied to him!


    No...


    What on earth is happening!


    ck Zetsu''s heart filled with endless regret. In his attempt to deceive and manipte Sasuke, he wanted to extract more information from Madara, but it seemed that he had been tricked by that kid. Madara appeared to know nothing about any of this!


    That liar!


    That kid is a liar!


    The descendants of the Sage of Six Paths really are all rotten!


    To think they would deceive him, this poor creature that has lived for a thousand years, even causing him to throw away Uchiha Madara as a pawn and end up in Madara''s grasp!


    No...


    No...


    There''s still a chance to salvage this!


    A n quickly formed in ck Zetsu''s mind!


    He didn''t need to care how much Sasuke or Madara knew. Even if Sasuke knew more, it was all based on Indra''s will from a thousand years ago. All he had to do was deceive them the same way he deceived Indra. After all, Indra didn''t know the truth of this world either!


    "I am..."


    "Allow me to answer that."


    Before ck Zetsu could speak, a youthful voice suddenly rang out from a nearby tree, echoing in everyone''s ears.


    "!!!"


    Who could it be!


    Someone had been hiding nearby all along!


    Madara''s eyes instantly transformed into the Rinnegan, and his hand shot out toward the tree, activating the gravitational force of the Banshō Ten''in!


    However...


    An opposing force shed with his gravity!


    The two forces neutralized each other, causing Madara''s heart to skip a beat!


    A ck-haired boy slowly jumped down from the tree, a mocking smile on his face. "I should probably apologize to you, ck Zetsu. I''m the one who told you that Madara had also awakened Indra''s will. Actually, I tricked you..."


    "Uchiha Sasuke, you sneaky little kid..."


    ck Zetsu gritted his teeth as he looked at the ck-haired boy before him.


    As soon as ck Zetsu saw Sasuke, something clicked in his mind, and he suddenly turned to Kabuto. "Wait, Kabuto, this was your n all along. You two conspired to resurrect Madara..."


    "I didn''t expect you to fall for it so easily..."


    Sasuke sighed, seemingly disappointed in ck Zetsu''s intelligence. "But it''s not surprising. Once you lose the initiative with information, you be nothing more than someone else''s ything..."


    This fact...


    Had already been proven.


    In the real world, Akihara Kagura had tricked ck Zetsu repeatedly, one deception after another, until ck Zetsu''s mother, Kaguya ōtsutsuki, was finally tricked into appearing...


    "You!"


    Anger shed across ck Zetsu''s face.


    "I''m not interested in talking to a loser..."


    Sasuke shrugged, his gaze lingering more on Madara, as if a younger generation paying respect to an elder, lowering his eyes slightly.


    "Madara..."


    "Thank you for everything."


    "..."


    Madara''s eyes showed a subtle change. He could tell that Sasuke was not ordinary, as Sasuke also possessed a Rinnegan.


    Of course.


    Madara also noticed Sasuke''s appearance.


    This little guy looked a lot like his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna!


    "Who are you?"


    Uchiha Madara narrowed his eyes, raising his guard.


    "Uchiha Sasuke."


    Uchiha Sasuke didn''t want tomunicate this way. His other Sharingan shed with a hint of red light. "Let''s use a quicker method ofmunication..."


    "A memory transfer seal?"


    Uchiha Madara chuckled lightly, surprisingly unconcerned as he epted the memory transfer seal from Uchiha Sasuke. "Then let me see... What story have I not heard before?"


    "For you, it might be exactly what you want."


    Uchiha Sasuke''s expression grew slightlyplicated.


    Having spent some time with Uchiha Madara, Sasuke understood his personality well—this man relished the challenge of facing the strong!


    To be honest...


    It''s quite possible that once Uchiha Madara learns of the information from the real world, his first thought will be to challenge Akihara Kagura...


    There was a lot in this memory transfer seal.


    Uchiha Sasuke silently observed Madara''s expression.


    If Madara showed ambition rather than the desire for battle, Sasuke would immediately take action to eliminate him!


    "Where is that man named Akihara Kagura!"


    After receiving the information from the real world, a sh of arrogant battle intent appeared on Madara''s face, and there was even a hint of madness in his eyes. "It''s unbelievable that even when I joined forces with Hashirama, we were no match for him..."


    This is...


    A bit too terrifying!


    The Susanoo-armored True Several Thousand Hands...


    Was so easily dealt with by that man!


    Even after bing the legendary Sage of Six Paths, I was still no match for him!


    Too strong!


    Only such a man is worth challenging!


    Uchiha Madara wasn''t even interested in questioning ck Zetsu about the modified stone tablet left by the Sage of Six Paths, nor was he interested in exploring the secrets of the ōtsutsuki n. The only thing he cared about was that god-like man!


    The man who toyed with the ninja world, the man who single-handedly crushed all the ninjas in the ninja world, the man so terrifying that ordinary people would feel despair at the sight of him!


    Akihara Kagura!


    "If I could go back..."


    "Perhaps I would have a chance to meet him..."


    Uchiha Sasuke shook his head. Ever since Akihara Kagura left the ninja world with his people, Sasuke hadn''t seen him for a long time.


    "Interesting..."


    Uchiha Madara looked at the ck-haired youth before him, feeling a touch of affection. In that real world, this young man had also interacted with him like a brother and received his teachings. "What''s the point of telling me all this?"


    "Only you..."


    "No..."


    "I should say..."


    "We share the same thoughts."


    Uchiha Sasuke extended his hand and calmly stated his thoughts. "In this world, everyone else believes in the so-called understanding andmunication brought by chakra, but only we believe that power and threats are what can deter the ninja world, maintaining peace under the pressure of force, and bncing it under the watchful eye of a god..."


    "Infinite Tsukuyomi is a lie..."


    "Then the only thing left to rely on is power..."


    Uchiha Madara nodded slightly, narrowing his eyes. "You can aplish this yourself, can''t you? With the Rinnegan and the Six Paths chakra, no one in this ninja world is your match, not even me as I am now..."


    "Just repaying a favor."


    Uchiha Sasuke casually raised an eyebrow, indifferent. "Consider it my repayment for the knowledge I received from you..."


    People from the Root...


    Do not leave debts unpaid.


    The second leader of the Root, Akihara Kagura, owed a favor to a little girl, and he returned to repay that debt even after the final battle was over.


    Uchiha Sasuke also disliked owing anything to anyone, whether it was to Uchiha Madara or Uzumaki Naruto; he did not like being in debt to them.


    "And also..."


    "The Uchiha n..."


    "I''ll entrust it to you..."


    Uchiha Sasuke looked at Uchiha Madara, a trace of regret in his eyes. "What I once wanted to achieve, I''ll leave it to you..."


    "You..."


    Madara''s lips curved into a helpless smile, a smile that even carried a hint of affection. "You''re just like Izuna..."


    "But..."


    Madara furrowed his brow and said in a deep voice, "From your memories, I see that the Uchiha n seems to have already perished... Besides, that group of people, born with a love for ease, are you really going to save them?"


    "Just repaying a debt."


    Uchiha Sasuke shook his head, gently stroking his eye sockets. "Even if the Uchiha n has perished, I can bring them back to life. I''m merely returning their fate to them. Their future has nothing to do with me..."


    "Is it necessary to go to such lengths?"


    Like Kabuto, Madara didn''t quite understand Sasuke''s thoughts and questioned him in a deep voice, "Sasuke, with your current power, you can silence everyone''s doubts. There''s no need to go to such lengths for those who are alive..."


    "Madara."


    Sasuke interrupted Madara, his voice sinking into mncholy. "The death of everyone was just so you could survive..."


    "Having never borne such a heavy fate, even if I could tell you all the feelings, you would never truly understand."


    "Tsk..."


    Madara''s face showed a hint of regret.


    "I''m going back to Konoha."


    Sasuke looked at Madara and continued, "Please stay calm for now, at least until our n members are revived through Edo Tensei..."


    "Don''t worry."


    Madara chuckled and nodded, his gaze falling on ck Zetsu, a faint smirk forming on his lips. "For the peace that the so-called Infinite Tsukuyomi would bring, I''ve endured long enough. Now that this n has failed, I don''t mind waiting even longer..."


    "....."


    ck Zetsu''s heart suddenly tightened.


    That look...


    Made ck Zetsu feel that it might be in serious trouble!


    "Madara, what are you nning!"


    ck Zetsu didn''t know what Uchiha Madara had discovered and nervously tried to argue, "Madara, let me exin, this kid Sasuke..."


    "Kaguya Otsutsuki..."


    Madara''s eyebrow twitched, and seeing ck Zetsu''s body tremble, he asked with a cold smile, "The progenitor of chakra, is she the one behind you?"


    "!!!"


    ck Zetsu''s heart sank into despair.


    "Hope you have fun."


    Uchiha Sasuke waved his hand and left with Kabuto.


    Kabuto was still busy with his work—they had many Uchiha n members to revive, especially those who were brought back on the day of their death.


    Thousands of Uchiha...


    The scale of the work was overwhelming for both Kabuto and Orochimaru. Not to mention, there were some ordinary people with no chakra, and this busy work wouldst at least several years.


    "It seems like fate..."


    Uchiha Sasuke looked at the underground base and listened to Kabuto''s report on the timeline for the final phase of the n. His voice was unexpectedly calm. "It seems that in the remaining years, I need to quickly arrange everything…"