Uchiha Madara's figure charged towards Black Zetsu!
This time, Akihara Kagura intercepted him, blocking Madara's attack with unwavering determination to protect Black Zetsu.
"Brat! Move aside!"
Madara raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "Out of appreciation for your clan, I can forgive your scheme using the bark of the Senju clan against me. I can even overlook your ambitions of world destruction..."
"But..."
"Hand over Black Zetsu first!"
Madara's chakra was overwhelming, and his crimson eyes locked fiercely on Black Zetsu beside Kagura. He shouted sternly, "I must kill Black Zetsu first!"
"That's not happening."
Kagura's eyes were also crimson.
Uchiha Madara and Akihara Kagura, both wielders of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, finally clashed. Their gazes fixed intently on each other's movements.
However...
Madara did not only possess the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!
"Brat!"
Madara's eyes flashed, slowly transforming into the Rinnegan: "Don't think that just because you have the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, you can stand against the Rinnegan..."
"Although you surely know the secret of how the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan evolves into the Rinnegan and have successfully transplanted Hashirama's cells to gain his chakra..."
"It takes an extremely long time for the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to evolve into the Rinnegan. A brat is still just a brat..."
Madara knew this well.
Kagura surely knew how to awaken the Rinnegan.
However, even after transplanting Hashirama's cells, Madara himself didn't awaken the Rinnegan until he was old and frail, to the point where he could no longer walk without using his old weapon as a cane.
Awakening the Rinnegan...
Is a long and solitary process.
Kagura was still too young; it was far too early for him to awaken the Rinnegan!
Madara kicked Kagura's arm and used the momentum to land on the ground. His Rinnegan glared at Kagura!
"Limbo: Border Jail!"
Madara retracted his Rinnegan, regaining his power. With both eyes back, his Limbo: Border Jail became significantly stronger!
Limbo: Border Jail could originally release only one invisible clone. With both eyes, he could now release four clones!
In the next moment, four Limbo clones charged at Kagura!
In the real world, however, these clones were invisible, as if they existed in another dimension, yet they could still attack people in the real world!
"Theoretically, it does take a long time to evolve the Rinnegan..."
Kagura nodded nonchalantly, his expression becoming serious. He said softly, "But there's a big difference between us..."
In the next moment, Kagura's eyes changed dramatically, revealing a pair of Rinnegan, each with six black tomoe!
"That's... the Rinnegan!"
Madara's expression changed, momentarily stunned, and even his Limbo clones paused!
How is this possible?
How could this brat have awakened the Rinnegan?
Not only Madara but even Black Zetsu was shocked!
Everyone present looked in disbelief at Kagura's Rinnegan. They had been surprised enough to learn he possessed the Sharingan...
But...
Kagura actually had the Rinnegan!
What other secrets was this man hiding?
The moment Kagura awakened the Rinnegan, he saw through Madara's Limbo clones. His expression remained serious and calm.
"This is only natural."
Kagura's Rinnegan gazed at Madara as he spoke softly: "To awaken the Rinnegan requires the chakra of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and the First Hokage's cells. Madara, you merely transplanted part of the First Hokage's cells to gain his chakra..."
"But I..."
"Used his cells to awaken the Sage Body."
"The Sage Body?"
Madara's eyes narrowed.
"..."
Black Zetsu, however, had anticipated this.
Because it also believed that Akihara Kagura had activated the Sage Body.
At one time, Black Zetsu thought Akihara Kagura's Sage Body was merely an adaptation to the Sage Mode. However, after witnessing the True Several Thousand Hands, Black Zetsu was convinced that Akihara Kagura possessed the Sage Body!
But unexpectedly...
The Sage Body could actually promote the evolution of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!
No...
Indeed, it is so.
The chakra of the Sage Body does push the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to evolve into the Rinnegan. If one could also obtain the chakra of the Ten-Tails' resurrection or the Ōtsutsuki's chakra, it could even instantly evolve the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan into the Rinnegan...
"This must be the reward for the brave..."
"The mortality rate for the First Hokage's cell transplantation experiments is nearly one hundred percent. I was prepared for death before undergoing the transplant..."
"On one hand, I needed Wood Release to unlock the secrets of the Senju clan..."
"On the other hand, the power of those Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan could malfunction at any time, and I can't predict when its power might reach its limit..."
Akihara Kagura's expression gradually became heavier, as if recalling the hardships he endured under the burden: "What I bear is the expectation of generations, the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan has never been the end, but rather the starting point I need to explore..."
"The predecessors once speculated..."
"The First Hokage is the inheritor of that chakra within the Senju clan, the reincarnation of Asura's chakra as Black Zetsu said..."
"So..."
"I chose to gamble everything."
"After making all my judgments, I risked exposure at a young age to be adopted by the Konoha Orphanage, hoping to find an opportunity to obtain the cells of the First Hokage..."
Akihara Kagura spread his palm, speaking softly about his judgment: "Because of the information I knew, Konoha was unlikely to abandon the power of the God of Ninja. There were always reports of missing children from the villages around Konoha. They were definitely conducting unknown human experiments..."
"But..."
"The number of children in the villages around Konoha is limited."
"Even with new births, it would not be enough to meet the consumption of human experiments. Konoha would likely extend its reach into the Konoha Orphanage..."
"…"
Hatake Kakashi's heart throbbed violently.
Because...
Akihara Kagura entering the Konoha Orphanage…
Was it all part of his premeditated scheme?
Hatake Kakashi took a deep breath, finally unable to contain himself, and softly questioned: "What did you take Yakushi Kabuto and Yakushi Nono for?"
"They..."
Akihara Kagura seemed to frown with some disdain, showing a hint of contempt on his face: "They were just tools I needed to use... After all, I also needed to use the feelings toward them to gain the trust of the Third Hokage."
"Kakashi-senpai..."
An ANBU ninja quickly reported to Hatake Kakashi: "Yakushi Kabuto... Yakushi Kabuto wanted to report Akihara Kagura's defection to Lady Tsunade, and even handed over a piece of evidence, but it became a part of Akihara Kagura's scheme..."
The Senju clan's tree bark incident.
All the ANBU ninjas who knew the details realized how pitiful Yakushi Kabuto was. Everything he did was in vain, all part of Akihara Kagura's scheme.
This was the most terrifying part.
Because Yakushi Kabuto wanted to protect the Konoha Orphanage and Director Yakushi Nono, he mistakenly believed the Senju clan's tree bark was the secret to stopping Akihara Kagura's plan and handed it over to Tsunade, which turned out to be part of Akihara Kagura's scheme...
"Unfortunately..."
"The Konoha Orphanage did not fulfill my plan."
Akihara Kagura shook his head and sighed: "Lord Orochimaru, who was secretly conducting the First Hokage's cell transplantation experiments, defected and was expelled from Konoha by the Third Hokage..."
"In order to transplant the First Hokage's cells, I had to risk leaving Konoha and voluntarily became Lord Orochimaru's test subject..."
"It was at that time..."
"I got a chance to transplant the First Hokage's cells..."
"..."
Everyone present could not help but feel immense fear when they heard that Akihara Kagura, who was still a child at that time, had taken such a great risk for a goal.
Just a child…
Who would take such a huge risk for a goal!
A child entered the Konoha Orphanage, intending to become an experimental subject. After learning of Orochimaru's defection due to illegal experiments, he left Konoha to find Orochimaru...
"At that time..."
The cigarette in Sarutobi Asuma's mouth had burned out. He thought of something: "Akihara Kagura... is still of school age, isn't he?"
While other Konoha ninjas were still in school...
This guy named Akihara Kagura was already thinking about sacrificing his life, risking his life to fulfill the legacy left by their predecessors!
Moreover...
With such meticulous and terrifying thought processes!
To be honest...
With Akihara Kagura, such a schemer, taking the position of Hokage's assistant and holding Konoha's power, it's no wonder Konoha lost!
Just the strategies Akihara Kagura laid out for himself, who could keep up with his mind? Even Nara Shikamaru was somewhat shocked!
Obviously...
Nara Shikamaru couldn't believe anyone could achieve this level.
This guy...
Maybe he did have the help of the Uchiha clan, but how much effort and hard work did he put in to finally get to where he is today!
"I bet my life, betting on the hopes of several generations..."
Akihara Kagura closed his eyes, a trace of relief appearing on his face: "When I transplanted the First Hokage's cells, I was rewarded with bravery..."
As Akihara Kagura said this, a hint of triumphant pleasure appeared on his face: "The Sage's body is astonishingly nurturing for the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. Just before I intended to seize Nagato's Rinnegan, I successfully awakened the Rinnegan..."
"In other words..."
"It was at that moment..."
A smile finally appeared at the corner of Akihara Kagura's mouth, a smile showing he had everything under control: "When I confirmed that no one in this Ninja world could be my opponent, I finally decided to start my plan."
"..."
Everyone's hearts beat violently like war drums.
"Our former Hokage's assistant..."
Nara Shikamaru showed a bitter smile on his face, feeling somewhat powerless in his own mind: "He truly is beyond anyone's expectations... flawless in his planning."
This guy...
Must be the greatest disaster in the Ninja world!
Must be the most terrifying enemy in the history of Konoha and the Ninja world!
His strategies and his power are unimaginably terrifying!
To be honest...
Nara Shikamaru couldn't see any hope for victory...
Because Nara Shikamaru had personally witnessed the power of the True Several Thousand Hands, and now he had also seen Akihara Kagura's scheming. How could such an enemy be defeated?
However...
No one present wanted to admit defeat!
A smile of pure joy appeared on Uchiha Madara's face, laughing heartily as if he had met a worthy opponent: "Hahahahahahaha..."
"Kid!"
A glint of battle intent appeared in Uchiha Madara's eyes, and his smile was somewhat crazed: "Aside from Hashirama, I haven't encountered such a strong opponent in a long time!"
"Just at this moment, when I was resurrected at my peak, when I thought Hashirama's challenge value was declining..."
"You, this kid, appeared!"
Uchiha Madara raised his hand, slowly clenching it into a fist. This belligerent man showed no fear of Akihara Kagura!
"You have a higher challenge value than Hashirama!"
"You are a more suitable opponent than Hashirama is now!"
Substantial chakra suddenly surged from Uchiha Madara, and he swiftly rushed towards Akihara Kagura, a trace of madness flashing in his eyes!
"Then with your life..."
Uchiha Madara swiftly charged at Akihara Kagura. As he passed a Konoha Anbu, he snatched his ninja sword and swung it at Akihara Kagura: "Let me dance to my heart's content and experience my peak power again!"
"Hopefully..."
"Your performance will live up to your reputation in the Ninja world..."
Akihara Kagura calmly extended his hand, taking a ninja sword handed to him by a Root ninja, as if the victory of this battle was destined to be his.
~~~
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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!