This guy...
Is he just watching the commotion without caring?
Letting Uchiha Madara see the younger generation of the clan killing each other?
"Madara wouldn't care about that..."
Black Zetsu shook his head, because it knew Uchiha Madara very well.
As a ninja born in the Warring States period, Uchiha Madara had experienced countless wars and pain, making his character more resilient and ruthless than anyone else.
The current Uchiha Madara was determined to realize the Eye of the Moon Plan, to bring the ninja world into an eternal dream of peace, and would never be disturbed by such trivial matters.
"Let's just watch for now..."
Akihara Kagura clasped his hands together to form a hand seal, then lightly slapped the ground, causing a black spell to appear on the surface.
In the next moment.
Uchiha Madara's body slowly turned into flying ash and paper scraps.
Black Zetsu's body gradually detached from White Zetsu, and the flying ash and paper scraps instantly attached to White Zetsu's body. A man clad in crimson armor slowly emerged from the ash and paper scraps, appearing before them!
"Madara in his prime..."
Black Zetsu immediately relaxed.
It had willingly handed Uchiha Madara's body to Akihara Kagura, hoping that Akihara Kagura could revive Uchiha Madara at his peak!
Now...
Everything had gone as planned!
All the subsequent plans would proceed smoothly!
As long as Uchiha Madara could be revived at his peak, he would undoubtedly be the strongest person in the ninja world, with no one able to oppose him!
Black Zetsu had already devised the next plan: letting Uchiha Madara control Nagato, using the Rinnegan to fully resurrect him through the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, then having Uchiha Madara re-implant those Rinnegan to directly attack Kumogakure and Konoha, instantly completing the Eye of the Moon Plan!
"Is this Uchiha Madara?"
Akihara Kagura lightly tapped his arm with his fingers.
[System Prompt]: [You have a new superior (Uchiha Madara), receiving a newcomer welcome package, and unlocking new traits!]
[Ninja World's Asura (The pupil power of the Mangekyō Sharingan within the host has been enhanced, the pupil power of the Rinnegan within the host has been elevated, originating from the legendary power of the strongest Uchiha!)]
[System Prompt]: Detecting enhancement in Mangekyō Sharingan's pupil power, the [Mangekyō Sharingan] trait has advanced to [Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan]!
[Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan (The highest evolution of the Uchiha clan's Sharingan, possessing eternal pupil power, the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan will never suffer from curses, vision loss, or blindness, and its power is greatly enhanced, enabling the fourth and final form of the ultimate dojutsu, Susanoo!)]
[System Prompt]: Detecting enhancement in Rinnegan's pupil power, the [Rinnegan (Temporary)] trait has advanced to [Rinnegan]!
[System Prompt]: Detecting Asura Chakra within the host, [Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan] trait advanced, detecting host already possesses [Rinnegan] trait, pupil power enhanced to [Six Tomoe Rinnegan]!
[Six Tomoe Rinnegan (Possessing power surpassing the legendary Sage of Six Paths' eyes, it grants control over yin and yang, the ability to reverse life and death, and inherent godlike power! Inbuilt Rinnegan techniques not yet activated...)]
Akihara Kagura hadn't expected that after Uchiha Madara's resurrection, he would become his superior directly, perhaps because Uchiha Obito was his superior?
Uchiha Obito...
He seemed to be Uchiha Madara's pawn?
None of that mattered.
Now that Uchiha Madara had been resurrected, his Rinnegan and Mangekyō Sharingan had advanced to their fullest forms, the only thing left was to find a time to activate the Rinnegan...
"As expected of a ninja from the Warring States period, truly powerful..."
Akihara Kagura had gained immense benefits, and the enormous advantages brought by Uchiha Madara's resurrection made him deeply respect Uchiha Madara.
Just as Akihara Kagura was praising Uchiha Madara, Madara's eyes suddenly opened, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes!
This man, renowned since the Warring States period, looked at his own body upon awakening, his brows furrowing instinctively.
"This is... the Edo Tensei technique?"
Uchiha Madara's face darkened slightly, seemingly displeased with his resurrection method: "Did the plan go wrong? Did something happen to that brat Nagato?"
"Hmm."
Akihara Kagura nodded, directly explaining: "Nagato was persuaded by his Jiraiya-sensei to betray the Eye of the Moon Plan and join Konoha..."
"Hmm?"
Uchiha Madara's frown deepened.
"Hmm?"
Black Zetsu looked at Akihara Kagura in shock.
No way...
It was still here!
Why was Akihara Kagura throwing dirt on Nagato here!
Although Black Zetsu knew that Akihara Kagura was indeed very interested in the Rinnegan, why mention this now?
And...
What was going on?
Nothing like this had happened in between, right?
Nagato is still diligently preparing to attack the Cloud Village at the Akatsuki base, so why is he being accused of betraying the Eye of the Moon Plan by Akihara Kagura?
"Uh..."
Black Zetsu quickly stopped Akihara Kagura from spouting nonsense and explained, "Nagato should still be at the Akatsuki base. He is about to prepare for the attack on the Cloud Village to capture the Eight-Tails. Once he has collected the Eight-Tails, he will cooperate with Kagura to capture the Nine-Tails..."
"The plan encountered a slight change."
Akihara Kagura interrupted Black Zetsu and explained proactively, "Before I came here, while you and Obito were not at the Akatsuki base, I tried to steal Nagato's Rinnegan to see if I could control the Gedo Statue with it. However, I ended up destroying the Akatsuki base and failed to obtain the Rinnegan..."
Akihara Kagura knew this matter couldn't be hidden, so he bluntly revealed the truth, "Originally, I planned to have jiraiya-sensei and Lord Orochimaru help me attack Nagato, but when they learned I intended to steal the Rinnegan, they directly protected Nagato and helped him escape. Now, Nagato is afraid that I will use the Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue to destroy the ninja world, so he has definitely betrayed the Eye of the Moon Plan and probably defected to the Konoha..."
"What?"
Black Zetsu's small eyes widened!
Is Akihara Kagura joking?
Why mention such shocking things at this moment!
Does he know what he's talking about? Why try to steal Nagato's Rinnegan? Why use the Gedo Statue to destroy the ninja world?
Akihara Kagura...
Is definitely joking, right?
"Why so surprised?"
Akihara Kagura glanced at Black Zetsu in confusion, not understanding why Black Zetsu was shocked by this, "If I hadn't failed to obtain Nagato's Rinnegan, why would I come here to watch the duel between Itachi and Sasuke?"
"What... Do you mean?"
Black Zetsu was a bit confused about Akihara Kagura's meaning.
Akihara Kagura looked at Black Zetsu and continued to ask, "Didn't you tell me that there might be an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and a Rinnegan born between Itachi and Sasuke? So, I came here to keep an eye on it, to prevent the second Rinnegan from disappearing..."
After speaking, Akihara Kagura added, "By the way, the Konoha probably already knows about my collusion with the Akatsuki, and they will likely consider me a rogue ninja and hunt me down. Our original plan to secretly capture Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, using my identity might also face issues..."
"..."
Black Zetsu's small eyes started to show fear.
An overwhelming amount of information bombarded Black Zetsu's brain, making it momentarily unresponsive. It had never faced such a massive shock...
If it had a heart, Akihara Kagura's words would have made it explode. Black Zetsu even felt its brain was now overloaded with information...
What has Akihara Kagura done!
Why, when the Eye of the Moon Plan was proceeding smoothly and about to succeed, did he try to steal Nagato's Rinnegan?
Black Zetsu always thought its job was hard enough, never having a day off for a thousand years, and finally saw hope of success recently...
But at the final moment of success, Akihara Kagura acted recklessly, giving it a heavy blow, and now everything was back to square one!
Nagato had escaped...
The Konoha still had four former Hokage in command...
Nagato and the Rinnegan were missing, and the Nine-Tails still needed to be captured by force. If the Rinnegan was destroyed by those people, would Black Zetsu cry for decades? Should it be grateful the Uchiha clan wasn't extinct?
"..."
Uchiha Madara frowned.
Because Uchiha Madara had not been resurrected, he didn't know the situation in the ninja world. He just looked at Akihara Kagura in front of him and asked his first question.
"Who are you?"
This was Uchiha Madara's biggest doubt about Akihara Kagura.
Why did this person, who tried to steal Nagato's Rinnegan and disrupt the Eye of the Moon Plan, seem like a part of the plan?
Speaking of which...
Was this person part of the Eye of the Moon Plan?
Why did he seem to mess things up more than he achieved?
"Wait a moment..."
Black Zetsu's body felt weak.
This creature, created by Yin-Yang Release, had been active in the ninja world for thousands of years without feeling fatigue, but now, it finally understood what fatigue felt like...
If a plan never succeeded, Black Zetsu might not care and could keep fighting; but when the plan was about to succeed, and it suddenly failed, Black Zetsu truly felt weary...
Akihara Kagura warmly invited Black Zetsu and Uchiha Madara to get back to business: "Let's go watch this duel first. Without Nagato's Rinnegan, we can't let the other Rinnegan be lost..."
"I might need a rest..."
Black Zetsu's body slumped.
"Cheer up, Black Zetsu, you are my will."
Uchiha Madara coldly rebuked Black Zetsu, his gaze fixed on Akihara Kagura as he asked again, "Who is this person?"
"I am an advisor to the Hokage of Konoha..."
The first sentence from Akihara Kagura rendered Uchiha Madara silent.
"A Konoha ninja?"
Uchiha Madara felt something was off. He frowned in thought and raised a crucial question: "An advisor to the Hokage of Konoha, how did you end up mingling with Black Zetsu?"
"Probably because... I'm a spy!"
Akihara Kagura raised his eyebrows, leaning nonchalantly against a tree.
"An advisor to the Hokage, acting as a spy?"
Uchiha Madara's frown deepened, struggling to understand Akihara Kagura's reasoning. "An advisor to the Hokage should be in line to become the next Hokage, right?"
This guy...
What does he take the advisor to the Hokage for?
Although the advisors to the Hokage from the first, Tobirama, to the second, Shimura Danzo, were never good people, each one worse than the last, but this generation's advisor conspiring with the enemy as a spy—isn't Konoha's decline a bit too rapid?
"I can no longer become the next Hokage."
Akihara Kagura shook his head indifferently and continued, "Jiraiya-sensei will surely expose my collusion with the Akatsuki to steal the Rinnegan. Konoha will soon list me as an S-class rogue ninja, maybe even higher..."
"Forget it, consider it as atonement..."
"I once forced the previous advisor to defect, so it's not surprising that I, the current advisor, become a rogue ninja..."
"..."
Uchiha Madara felt his mind was overwhelmed.
Isn't it...
Indeed, the advisors to the Hokage of Konoha have always been no good...
How could this generation's advisor be so power-hungry, even to the extent of colluding with Konoha's enemies and forcing the previous advisor to defect...
Has the era changed too quickly?
How many years have passed since Hashirama and I founded Konoha, and it has already fallen to this state? I wonder what Tobirama, the first advisor, would think if he knew what kind of person the current advisor is...
"Wait..."
Black Zetsu finally came to its senses, remembering what it should ask, "Kagura, why are you trying to steal the Rinnegan now..."
Akihara Kagura spoke very honestly, "Because if Nagato completes the collection of all the tailed beasts, I might not be able to defeat him. Just in case, I must steal Nagato's Rinnegan before he completes the collection. I need those eyes..."
"..."
Black Zetsu felt that Akihara Kagura made sense.
What sense is there!
Everyone is working towards the Eye of the Moon Plan, so why are you ruining the plan at this critical juncture!
The most troublesome thing...
Nagato, who has the Rinnegan, betrayed the Eye of the Moon Plan and defected to Konoha!
"Right, one more thing."
Akihara Kagura looked at Black Zetsu and proactively asked, "Nagato controlled the Gedo Statue to attack me, and its limbs were torn off. Will this hinder the collection of tailed beasts?"
"..."
Black Zetsu fell silent.
This mastermind who hadn't sighed in a millennium finally felt a hint of relief: "Compared to other issues, this is a minor one. The Gedo Statue cannot be killed..."
"Let's go watch the duel between Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke first..."
Black Zetsu decided to prevent problems with its backup plan. Having a spare Rinnegan was indeed very important.
If Nagato really destroys the Rinnegan, I can abandon Uchiha Madara and use the victor between Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha Itachi as a pawn…
~~~
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— Ending + Extra Chapters!
Read upto Chapter 348: End! + Extra Chapters of Sasuke's Rebirth where the world Akihara Kagura is not around.
Thank you!