Chapter 134: I'll Give You a Susanoo—Open Your Eyes
At the entrance to Konoha's cemetery.
"Kakashi, I've been thinking about some really interesting character designs lately."
"What kind?"
"A beautiful spider."
"A human upper body, a spider's lower body, and eight legs. Perfect for people with a thing for legs."
"No. No."
"Kakashi, I've also thought of a handsome centaur."
"Human upper body, horse lower body?"
"Not quite that. You probably can't imagine it. I'll polish the finished version later and show you."
"…"
Tap. Tap. Tap.
As their footsteps gradually faded into the distance, a half-black, half-white humanoid creature slowly poked its head out from a large tree beside the cemetery entrance.
Watching the two birds flying away side by side, Zetsu turned his head toward the cemetery, where a black-robed man was currently venting his anger on a flower.
"Obito has been coming to Konoha quite frequently lately. Do you think he'll discover traces of Madara?"
As far as he was concerned, Madara was already dead.
Hearing White Zetsu's voice beside him, Black Zetsu pondered for a moment before nodding.
"It's possible."
"Then shouldn't we kill Madara?"
???
Black Zetsu's right eye twitched.
He stared disdainfully at White Zetsu, whose train of thought had somehow become even stranger.
"Did the Hashirama cells assimilate your brain too?"
White Zetsu looked at Obito in confusion, his voice filled with sympathy.
"If Obito discovers that Madara spends his days teaching children how to read, eats sweets with every meal, drinks a little wine while gazing at the Hokage Monument every evening, and occasionally gets dragged to the lake to go fishing…"
"Wouldn't that be a little too cruel for Obito?"
"Of course, I'm not questioning Madara's determination to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"It's just that Obito has already become completely disillusioned with this world, only to suddenly discover that the Uchiha Madara who guided him toward changing the shinobi world is leisurely enjoying his retirement in the clan compound."
At that moment, Black Zetsu also poked his head out from the tree trunk.
He glanced at Obito, who was crouching before Rin's gravestone and repeatedly stroking the photograph attached to it. Then he looked down at Black and White Zetsu and grinned.
"If we simply don't let him go to the Uchiha compound, wouldn't that solve the problem?"
Black Zetsu immediately felt the space inside the tree trunk become even more cramped.
He looked up at the suddenly appearing Spiral Zetsu, his already gloomy expression darkening further.
"Idiot. Why aren't you protecting Uchiha Madara? Why are you here?"
White Zetsu also looked at Spiral Zetsu.
"Move forward a little. You're blocking me."
"Hm?"
Spiral Zetsu scratched his head before climbing higher along the tree trunk. He stepped directly onto the backs of the other two Zetsu and grinned.
"I sensed your presence, so I came over to take a look."
"Idiot!"
Feeling a large foot planted on his shoulder, White Zetsu cursed angrily before quietly looking toward Obito.
"I just think Obito is actually a very kind person…"
"That isn't right!"
Spiral Zetsu looked down at White Zetsu and corrected him.
"Madara-sama is the kindest person."
"Even though he lost the person he loved most, he doesn't want everyone in the world to lose their loved ones."
"In Madara's heart, the Eye of the Moon Plan is simply the Eye of the Moon Plan. The caster of Infinite Tsukuyomi can never experience the joy of the beautiful dream. All that awaits them is eternal, endless loneliness."
"He has practically lost everything himself, yet he wants everyone else in the world to live the life they desire."
"Doesn't that prove what a kind person he is?"
"The world gives me pain, and I repay it with song."
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu stared at Spiral Zetsu in stunned silence as he suddenly seemed to achieve enlightenment and proceeded to spout an endless stream of twisted logic.
Didn't Madara kill the person Obito loved before he died?
Did you completely forget to mention that?
As time passed, an awkward atmosphere spread through a five-meter radius around the tree.
Spiral Zetsu seemed completely oblivious.
He continued counting on his fingers inside the cramped tree trunk.
"Obito, Kakashi, Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki, and…"
Seeing that Spiral Zetsu was still rambling, White Zetsu suddenly spoke.
"Zetsu, I want to kill him."
Black Zetsu was silent for a moment.
Then his expression darkened.
"Me too."
Meanwhile, at the Uchiha compound.
Asuka handed dango to the two old men, then picked up another skewer of grilled meat and continued eating as he spoke.
"Old man, while researching the Mangekyō Sharingan recently, I thought of a great way to brainwash people."
"Hah!"
Ryoichi blew twice on his dango before cautiously taking a bite.
"Who are you planning to brainwash?"
Asuka crossed his right leg over his left and leaned back in his chair.
"The children, of course. We can't just sit here and watch the village brainwash us without brainwashing the village in return, right?"
"Can't you… can't you just stop dragging the clan into these dangerous schemes?"
Ryoichi rolled the hot dango around in his mouth twice before speaking irritably.
"We're not the Hokage. What exactly can we brainwash the village into doing? Can't you stop worrying about these things like you're the clan head and trying to do something that could destroy people?"
"No. How is this destroying the clan?"
"We're merely adding something to the otherwise boring entertainment culture of the shinobi world."
Hearing this, Ryoichi chewed his dango while eyeing Asuka suspiciously.
"Tell me more."
Asuka rested his right arm on the armrest before turning toward Madara, who was sitting beside him.
"Old man, how many people in the shinobi world know about Susanoo?"
Madara took a bite of dango.
Rather than answering directly, he recited a proverb that had been widely circulated during his era.
"Susanoo is known as divine power and symbolizes destruction. There is a saying: 'Whoever witnesses Susanoo is destined to die.'"
"Got it!"
Asuka slapped his thigh and turned excitedly toward Uchiha Ryoichi.
"Old man, I'm going to create a manga centered around the Uchiha clan and Susanoo, and then turn it into a movie."
"Manga?"
"Movie?"
Ryoichi stared blankly at the dango in his hand.
Before he could say anything, Asuka continued.
"I've already thought through the story."
"It will be about an Uchiha giant taller than a mountain, appearing in the form of a God of War. Its combat power will rival that of a tailed beast, and it will be able to fly, run, and leap through the air while fighting evil tailed beasts."
"You know how the tailed beasts have been portrayed as symbols of evil for years in the shinobi world?"
"And our Uchiha eyes just happen to be capable of suppressing tailed beasts."
"Isn't that the perfect embodiment of justice?"
"By having the tailed beasts repeatedly lose, we can establish the image of the Uchiha clan as powerful and righteous. At the same time, it'll make excellent material for educating children."
"…"
Madara and Ryoichi stopped eating.
The two exchanged a look, their faces filled with confusion.
What is he talking about?
How does this old man not understand?
"Gulp!"
Asuka swallowed the dango in his mouth before continuing.
"I've thought everything through."
"We can't make the Uchiha clan too godlike. We still need to impose artificial limitations."
"For example, Susanoo can only remain in the shinobi world for three minutes."
"It's only three minutes, but every appearance will be enough to change the course of a battle."
"We'll save it for the climax. After all, I was a child once too. Children will definitely want to see those three minutes of spectacular fighting."
"Hmm…"
Ryoichi nodded.
He finally seemed to understand what Asuka was getting at.
"Asuka, have you considered that if the village changes the story around, it might become the Senju instead?"
"The Senju?"
Asuka clicked his tongue and looked at Uchiha Ryoichi as though he were an idiot.
"Old man, are you stupid?"
Ryoichi's expression darkened.
He slowly clenched his right hand into a fist and carefully examined the boy in front of him, searching for a weak point.
He was going to teach this arrogant brat a lesson.
But before Ryoichi could even stand up—
A violent gust of wind suddenly swept through the courtyard.
His mind went blank for an instant, and he nearly fell out of his chair.
Madara seemed to sense something as well.
He abruptly turned toward Asuka.
The next moment, Asuka's black pupils turned crimson.
The chair beneath him instantly disintegrated into dust.
Then a pair of sky-blue ribs slowly rose from beneath his feet, completely enveloping his body.
The enormous blue ribs radiated a powerful aura.
The small animals nearby were terrified and scattered in every direction, seemingly losing their sense of direction in their panic.
Even Shukaku, who had been sleeping on the ground, opened his eyes and warily stared at the azure skeleton.
"Susanoo!!"
The two old men stared at Asuka standing inside the skeletal frame, their mouths hanging open in stunned disbelief.
Asuka crossed his arms and looked up toward the Hokage Monument.
"If the village wants to change the story, let them change it."
"After all, we really do have Susanoo."
"But we can't find the giant Buddha."
"If that old woman Tsunade can summon a giant Buddha, I'll bow down to her on the spot."
"You…"
Ryoichi finally recovered from his shock.
He hurriedly stood up and pointed at Asuka with a trembling finger, his voice filled with fury.
"Are there any other idiots who waste the power of the Sharingan like you do?!"