"Have you revived me already?"
"This long-lost sensation… Where is this? Such a dark aura, and this environment—it feels like a cave."
A cold voice slowly rose. The next moment, a man clad in crimson armor stepped out, stretching his body as he walked.
But his tone carried uncertainty, and like Muren Uchiha, his eyes were still tightly closed.
"You're revived, Madara. These are your eyes."
"Oh? Black Zetsu? So the plan succeeded? No… if Nagato performed the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique, why were these eyes retrieved so quickly?"
Feeling the eyes Black Zetsu handed him, Madara Uchiha grew more puzzled.
Something didn't align with his original scheme.
Even so, he restored his eyes. Two trails of blood tears slid down his cheeks as his vision returned.
What he saw first was an extremely old woman, along with Muren Uchiha—eyes wrapped in bandages—and Black Zetsu.
"Madara, the plan ran into trouble. No—more accurately, it failed by more than half."
"Hm? Failed by half? What happened?"
No wonder something felt wrong—half the plan had collapsed.
Madara Uchiha's mood soured. The plan was simple: gather all nine Tailed Beasts, let Nagato revive him, then absorb the Ten-Tails and become its Jinchūriki, rising once more to the realm of the Sage.
"Three Tailed Beasts have been secured: the Three-Tails, Six-Tails, and Eight-Tails."
"Only three Akatsuki members remain."
"And every disruption stems from the one you intended to eliminate—Kazuyama Gekkō."
Kazuyama Gekkō?
Madara Uchiha thought for a moment, then remembered.
The brat who'd stirred his killing intent? If memory served, he had used the Sharingan to control the Third Mizukage to assassinate him.
Oh, right—the Third Mizukage failed.
Damn it. A brat—ruining all his plans? Impossible.
"That guy hid too deeply."
"He mastered Ryūchi Cave Senjutsu, has dual Kekkei Genkai, and is even the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki."
"He's been suppressing us this entire time."
"Nagato died by his hand."
As Black Zetsu spoke, anger flared. Everything had once been smooth—until they crossed paths with Kazuyama Gekkō. From that moment on, it felt like Akatsuki was cursed.
Now they were reduced to hiding in the Land of Fire.
"That brat's grown this strong?"
"The Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, huh? He goes on the kill list."
"Muren, what about you? Your eyes?"
Madara crossed his arms. In his view, now that he had revived, that brat would die—just required slightly more effort.
As Madara Uchiha, he feared no one. In his eyes, only Hashirama Senju qualified as a rival. Everyone else? Hmph—they weren't even worthy of dancing.
That was Madara—arrogant, towering, justified.
But Muren Uchiha puzzled him. Why were his eyes bandaged?
"He transplanted another person's Sharingan to awaken the Eternal Mangekyō."
"It'll be complete in one more day."
"Meanwhile, the ninja world has changed drastically. The Five Great Nations, plus Amegakure, Takigakure, and others, have formed the Allied Shinobi Forces."
"Their objective is to eliminate us."
"I've already deployed the White Zetsu army, and Kabuto has also mobilized."
Black Zetsu briefly summarized the current situation. Madara nodded, then casually remarked, "An alliance? What good is that? Just a flock of weaklings."
"But who is Kabuto?"
He had mentioned there were only three remaining members—this Kabuto must be one of them.
"Kabuto is exceptional. A puppeteer who has perfected the craft."
"With Human Puppet Technique, he can turn ninja with secret arts or Kekkei Genkai into puppets while preserving their abilities."
"He's also produced a substantial military force through puppetry."
Madara nodded once more. Puppet techniques? Child's toys. But if such toys could provide useful manpower—and earn Black Zetsu's praise—they had merit.
"And the remaining Tailed Beasts?"
"Why haven't they been captured?"
Black Zetsu became visibly uncomfortable again.
"Couldn't find them… Didn't capture them…"
"What?!?!"
Madara felt a headache forming. Probably from the cave atmosphere. Or the revival strain. Definitely not anger.
"The One-Tails and Nine-Tails Jinchūriki are heavily guarded."
"Kazuyama Gekkō, the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki, has a Kekkei Genkai that hides his presence and blocks sensory detection. He's also learned a new Senjutsu—not from the Three Great Sage Regions, but similar to Hashirama Senju's."
"As for the other Tailed Beasts, I've searched endlessly and found nothing."
The more Black Zetsu spoke, the more wronged he felt.
He was the child of Kaguya! Everything should have gone smoothly. But ever since running into Kazuyama Gekkō, it felt like he'd been cursed—nothing worked.
Hearing all this, Madara's headache worsened.
"So… not a single Tailed Beast has been sealed into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path?"
"Well… without the One-Tails, the ritual can't even begin."
Madara Uchiha: …I swear—!
"Fine. Where are the One-Tails and Nine-Tails?"
"They're being protected."
"..."
Madara wondered why he was even revived.
Was he resurrected just to do labor?
What happened to basking in victory without effort?!
Forget it. He was alive now—so be it.
"Fine. If that's how it is, then let's fight. I'd like to see whether today's ninja have even a trace of what we once had."
"And as for that Kazuyama Gekkō—I'll kill him myself and rip the Seven-Tails out of his body!"
Madara's irritation vanished, replaced by a sky-splitting surge of battle intent.
All his frustration condensed into raw fury.
"One thing has been bothering me… Could it be that all the remaining Jinchūriki and Tailed Beasts have already been found and hidden by Kazuyama Gekkō? That would explain why I couldn't locate any of them."
"If that's true, then seizing the Tailed Beasts is going to be troublesome."
Black Zetsu had sensed something wrong for a long time—but it had only been suspicion.
Now that Madara had revived, he needed to confirm it.
After all, if they couldn't capture the Tailed Beasts, continuing the war would be meaningless.