บท 238: The Resurrection

Even though they belonged to the same clan, the atmosphere between them was tense, like a powder keg ready to explode.

Shintaro, as the Fifth Hokage of Konoha Village, would never sit idly by and watch Madara and Obito launch their so-called [Mugen Tsukuyomi] plan. In his eyes, [Mugen Tsukuyomi] was just an excuse for cowards to escape reality.

He had a grand career to pursue in this real world—to lead the Uchiha Clan and Konoha Village to rise together and reach the pinnacle of the ninja world!

Moreover, he was also concerned about the many important people in his heart. He and his wife had just married, and there was a long and beautiful future awaiting them to experience together.

How could Shintaro be willing to be trapped in such an illusory world? Besides, the authenticity of the so-called [Mugen Tsukuyomi] had yet to be confirmed.

As for Madara, although his plan seemed to have changed, he initially intended to have Nagato resurrect him using [Rinne Tensei], but he didn't expect Obito to learn [Edo Tensei] to revive him.

Among these three, Obito's inner world was undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult to understand.

From one perspective, he was eager to defeat Shintaro, his strongest enemy, capture the Kyuubi, and finally complete the [Mugen Tsukuyomi] plan—plunging the entire world into illusion.

Yet, on the other hand, Obito didn't want to see Madara easily defeat Shintaro.

The reason was simple. In his mind, only through the [Mugen Tsukuyomi] released under his own leadership could Rin's true existence be delineated.

In fact, using [Edo Tensei] to resurrect Madara was just a prudent action he took because of the situation.

Since the chaos on the night of the Kyuubi Rebellion, he had gained a deep understanding of Shintaro's incredible power.

If he fought alone, Obito might escape with Kamui's power, but in terms of victory or defeat, he knew he was no match for Shintaro.

Therefore, to capture the Kyuubi, Shintaro must first be defeated, but to defeat such a powerful enemy, Madara's strength had to be used to have any chance of victory.

The three of them stared at each other, and Shintaro made the first move.

He knew well that practicing Cursed Techniques was an effort to achieve the highest reduction.

A great Jujutsu Sorcerer needs to reduce the composition or activation steps of a Cursed Technique, hand seals, and chants as much as possible, but when facing the powerful enemies before him, Shintaro knew he couldn't relax at all.

So, he unleashed his full power without hesitation.

Chants, hand seals, dance, and music—nothing was spared.

He wanted to enhance their strength by turning the [Limitless Technique] into a solemn ritual and unleashing 120%!

At this moment, something unexpected happened. Shintaro actually started dancing in the midst of the intense battlefield.

His movements were sharp and fierce, and he hummed a unique shamisen tune. This sudden behavior left Madara and Obito both puzzled and surprised.

However, Madara didn't stop him; he was confident that whatever tricks the other side played, they would be useless, so both just stood and watched.

But when Shintaro finished all the preparations, he took a few steps back, seemingly adjusting his state and readying himself to deliver his strongest attack.

At this moment, the two people standing on either side of the battlefield represented different eras of the Uchiha Clan.

The strongest man in the Uchiha Clan's history and the strongest Uchiha of the modern age were about to engage in a thrilling battle.

Who would be the challenger would be determined by the result of this strike.

Shintaro crossed his hands, bent his right leg, took a step back with his left, and at the same time, placed his hands on his abdomen and began to gather strength silently.

He slightly parted his thin lips and chanted a mysterious incantation in a low voice.

"Nine Ropes. Polarized Light. Crow and Declaration. Between Front and Back."

Then Shintaro stood up, his left hand tightly gripping his right arm, and his right hand made a snapping motion, extending it forward. At this moment, his Six Eyes shone with a pale blue light.

This was the secret technique he displayed—[Hollow Technique: Purple]. And its power had increased to 120%!

"What!"

Seeing this scene, Obito was shocked and immediately hid in the Kamui dimension without hesitation.

Shintaro's series of actions just now didn't show any chakra fluctuations at all. This was completely unexpected and caught him off guard.

At the same time, Madara laughed loudly, "Hahahahaha, an interesting junior!"

He opened his hands, and his original red Sharingan instantly transformed into Rinnegan.

Immediately after, he used the Rinnegan's pupil technique—[Fūjutsu Kyūin]!

A mass of thick black ink-like substance, accompanied by the cracking sound of purple arcs, flowed directly toward Madara.

Facing such a fierce attack, he had no intention of confronting it head-on but instead tried to use the power of the Rinnegan to directly absorb the energy through [Fūjutsu Kyūin].

However, what he didn't expect was that [Purple] directly broke through [Fūjutsu Kyūin] with astonishing speed, and its path was unimpeded as if there were no restraints or obstacles at all.

Madara was startled, realizing that [Purple] was not an ordinary ninjutsu. The immense power it contained wasn't actually composed of chakra.

Facing such a terrifying attack, he immediately changed his tactics and unleashed [Shinra Tensei].

In the world of Jujutsu, [Purple] is a unique skill known by only a few in the Gojo Clan.

By combining [Blue] and [Red], a virtual mass capable of destroying everything is created, forming an energy wave that can tear through space. The damage caused by this attack appears as a circular gap with smooth edges, and its destructive power is truly astonishing.

*BOOOM*

With a loud noise, Madara was sent flying. Dust scattered everywhere he passed.

When the dust settled, those on the battlefield were horrified to find a vast, bottomless canyon had appeared along this path!

At this moment, the battlefield had completely become a battleground for these three Uchiha.

The Konoha and Amegakure ninjas dared not approach, fearing being caught in the terrifying power of the battle here.

After the residual power of [Purple] dissipated, Obito walked out of the Kamui dimension. Seeing the canyon blasted by [Purple], he felt a pang of fear.

If such powerful energy had hit him, survival would be difficult.

Obito looked carefully into the distance, and wherever he looked, he saw Shintaro teleporting to Madara's side after using the technique.

He carefully observed the changing situation on the battlefield, focusing entirely on the scene, and also ran off to the side.

"It seems you're the challenger."

Shintaro slightly raised the corners of his mouth, pride evident in his eyes, and slowly extended his finger to point at Madara.

"Little brat…" Madara laughed angrily, the corners of his mouth twitching.

Madara's [Edo Tensei] body was already in a damaged state, his arm completely destroyed, and his body suffered significant wounds.

However, thanks to the immortality granted by [Edo Tensei], these injuries weren't a serious problem for him.

The damaged body, like a pile of dust, continued to cover the exposed layers of fractures, and the incomplete limbs gradually recovered as before.

"Challenger? Does a sneak attack that worked make you so conceited?" Madara replied with a sneer.

"The immortal body created by [Edo Tensei] and the endless supply of chakra make this body quite interesting, but it's still too weak."

He opened his hands, his eyes showing extreme disgust and dissatisfaction with this body.

He raised his head, looked at Shintaro, and asked with a bit of provocation, "Have you ever seen me in my prime?"

Shintaro slightly raised the corners of his mouth and answered without any weakness, "I'd like to hear the details."

At the same time, he made a gesture of invitation, his eyes shining with excitement and anticipation, clearly curious about what would happen next.

Seeing this, Madara nodded slightly to express his approval. He took a deep breath and quickly formed a seal with his hands.

"[Rinne Tensei]!"

As soon as the seal was completed, a strong chakra suddenly exploded.

At this moment, an unexpected scene occurred. In the giant tree where Nagato was in the distance, a strange object of unknown shape suddenly appeared, dark as ink, quickly attaching itself to his body.

At this moment, Nagato was already exhausted and severely damaged from the previous intense battle. Facing this sudden attack, he was utterly helpless to resist. In the blink of an eye, he was entirely controlled and lost control of his body.

Immediately after, he clasped his hands together, and the chakra and life force in his body instantly leaked out.

"[Rinne Tensei]!"

Chakra burst out from his body, shooting into the sky as if his soul were ascending to heaven.

However, this chakra didn't vanish into the sky but instead flew directly toward Madara and finally disappeared into his body.

Suddenly, thick smoke billowed around Madara, as if a smoke bomb had exploded.

When the smoke cleared, the cracks that had spread across his body miraculously healed and disappeared, and his face became full of vitality once again.

"Hahahahaha..." Madara laughed loudly, his voice deafening. "Of course, I still need to use this body to show my true power! Only a body of flesh and blood like this is worthy of a fierce battle!"

He had been fully resurrected.

However, after his resurrection, the Rinnegan in his eyes shattered and disappeared.

Previously, Madara's Rinnegan was merely a fake Rinnegan forged by the [Edo Tensei] body. Now that he was no longer [Edo Tensei], the fake Rinnegan would naturally disappear.

But Madara remained calm. At this moment, the ground beside him suddenly trembled slightly, and then, a strange creature slowly emerged from the ground.

The body of this creature exhibited a unique half-black, half-white color. It stood up and looked at everything around it calmly.

"Zetsu, have you obtained it?" Madara asked calmly, his eyes still tightly closed.

This was the first time Shintaro had seen the strange creature—Zetsu. With his unique Six Eyes, he immediately realized that this being was not a complete individual.

The white part seemed to be related to Hashirama's cells, but the black part was full of mystery and was clearly an independent spiritual entity.

After Zetsu emerged from the ground, he carefully held a pair of Rinnegan in his hands.

Madara slowly opened his pair of empty eye sockets, reached out to take the Rinnegan, and then inserted them into his own eyes without hesitation.

As the Rinnegan fused, his body trembled slightly, and then when he opened his eyes again, the original empty gaze in his eyes had been replaced by an immensely powerful force.

At this moment, Madara not only regained his vision but also obtained the true Rinnegan, and his power increased significantly.

"So, these eyes aren't Nagato's but yours?" Shintaro asked in surprise.

"That's right, these eyes are mine, and they've just been returned to their rightful owner." Madara slightly raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a proud smile.

"What about Nagato?" Shintaro continued to ask.

"He resurrected me to use the [Rinne Tensei no Jutsu]. Of course, he couldn't survive in this world." Madara's tone was cold and ruthless, indifferent to Nagato's life or death.

"Did you use this black thing to control Nagato?" Shintaro looked at Zetsu and speculated in his mind.

"Hahahahaha! It was my will. Controlling Nagato to perform [Rinne Tensei no Jutsu] was easy." Madara laughed arrogantly, admitting his actions.

On the other side, Black Zetsu lowered his head silently and quietly retreated behind Madara. His humble appearance was in stark contrast to Madara, but it did not escape Shintaro's sharp gaze.

Shintaro stared at Black Zetsu while thinking to himself: 'This person may not be as innocent and harmless as he appears.'

However, he knew that the top priority was to focus on facing Madara, who had been fully resurrected in front of him. So, he quickly brought his thoughts back to reality and locked onto the opponent's every move.

It was at this moment that Obito finally appeared. Although he arrived somewhat late, he had already heard everything about their conversation.

His face was full of uncertainty, his lips trembled slightly, and he struggled to utter a sentence:

"Could it be… that you were secretly manipulating me all along?"

Madara was very clever. After hearing this, he immediately understood the meaning behind Obito's words. He showed disgust and replied with a sneer, "Huh, that's right! You were a pawn I carefully selected, so it's only natural that you had to follow my orders step by step into endless darkness."

"Too bad you're useless now."

After saying that, Madara ignored Obito and turned to use [Kuchiyose no Jutsu]—summoning Gedo Mazo.

The situation suddenly changed, and the world was shocked!

The massive body of the Jubu erupted from the ground, standing proudly at the pinnacle of the ninja world alongside Madara, exuding a suffocating pressure.