— — — — — —
In the sky, Madara was completely wiped out. Renzo could even sense his soul drifting off to the Pure Land.
And then, without warning, a woman with long, snow-white hair and a white robe adorned with magatama patterns appeared.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, the Progenitor of Chakra, had officially arrived.
"Mother! You're finally back!"
Black Zetsu shot forward, landing beside her, visibly excited—or at least, as much as a walking shadow could look excited.
"Black Zetsu, you've done well," Kaguya said with a gentle smile, then waved her hand. "Come back to me."
"Yes, Mother!"
Without hesitation, Black Zetsu melted into one of her sleeves, disappearing within it.
Only then did Kaguya begin observing the world around her. Her gaze swept across the battlefield—landing squarely on Hashirama, Minato, and the others rushing over with Kakashi.
Her expression tightened slightly. "So many survivors? And their chakra... It's so strong. All of them?"
Black Zetsu's voice echoed from her sleeve, "Mother, it's all because of a man named Uchiha Renzo. Ever since he showed up, my plan's been falling apart. I barely managed to revive you!"
"Every one of them is connected to him in some way. Honestly, you could even say he raised them. Thanks to his interference, Infinite Tsukuyomi didn't work on them!"
"You have to be careful around him, Mother. He's dangerous—I can feel it!"
Clearly, Black Zetsu had a serious psychological grudge against Renzo.
He didn't stop there—he told Kaguya everything he knew about Renzo, laying it all out.
"Oh?" Kaguya raised an eyebrow, a bit surprised. "The Uchiha? Descendants of Hagoromo? And someone that powerful appeared among them?"
"But now that you mention it... I think I remember this one. A few years ago, he came to the moon. He even erased Hagoromo's soul, didn't he?"
Even sealed away, she could still sense certain things.
"What?!" Black Zetsu shouted, stunned. "He wiped out that traitor Hagoromo's soul? Good! That bastard deserved it!"
Honestly, Black Zetsu wanted to applaud Renzo for that one.
If there was anyone he hated most, it was definitely Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.
If not for that ungrateful brat, would Mother have been sealed away in the first place?
No way he'd acknowledge that guy as his "brother."
"Oh? Talking about me already? I'm flattered."
Just then, Renzo appeared right in front of Kaguya, bringing Tsunade along with him.
Black Zetsu nearly jumped out of her sleeve.
"It's him! Mother, it's him! That brat is Uchiha Renzo! Kill him! Now!"
"Silence."
Kaguya frowned at the shrill voice, giving her sleeve a light pat. Black Zetsu immediately quieted down.
"So it really is you. But why can't I sense any chakra from you?"
Kaguya narrowed her eyes, studying Renzo more carefully.
There was something... strange about him. On the surface, he seemed like an ordinary human—but deep inside, there was a terrifying force.
And it wasn't chakra. It was something entirely different. Something even more fundamental and powerful.
She could hardly believe it.
"That's because I don't use chakra anymore," Renzo replied with a calm smile.
"Since you're finally awake... this little war is over."
He casually waved his hand—and just like that, Kaguya was instantly absorbed into his domain, unable to resist at all.
As for Black Zetsu? Renzo yanked him out and flung him aside, locking him in place within a one-kilometer radius. Completely immobilized.
"Let me go! Let me go, you bastard!"
Black Zetsu screamed in panic—but it was completely useless.
"What the hell just happened?! This isn't how it's supposed to go! How did Mother get captured without even putting up a fight?!"
He was stunned. Broken. This wasn't the script.
He'd just brought her back to life! She hadn't even had time to unleash her power!
And now... she was gone?
No. No, this had to be an illusion. It had to be.
But unfortunately...
Black Zetsu had no choice but to face reality: his mother had been one-shot.
All his efforts—everything he'd done for thousands of years—completely wasted.
Worse still, Renzo had sealed him inside a one-kilometer radius like it was nothing. And then put him in a damn glass jar.
"Hahaha! Renzo, there you are!" Hashirama came walking over with Tobirama, grinning ear to ear. "By the way, where'd that woman from earlier go?"
"She's been suppressed," Renzo said flatly.
"You're really just gonna leave Black Zetsu out here?" Tobirama asked, a little skeptical.
Renzo nodded. "That thing's been stirring up chaos in the Shinobi World for nearly a thousand years. Just killing it would be too easy. I'd rather let the public judge it themselves."
...Yeah, that was total nonsense. Truth was, Renzo just wanted to see the guy get publicly wrecked. The image of Black Zetsu getting jumped by an angry mob? Hilarious.
"Uhh… hey! Grandson-in-law!" Hashirama suddenly called out, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. "Mind helping me revive Madara too? Please?"
Before Renzo could say anything, Tobirama jumped in with a deadpan look. "Big bro, you really want that lunatic back?"
He wanted to stop this nonsense, but after seeing the puppy-dog eyes Hashirama was giving him, he sighed, gave up, and just walked a few steps away to avoid being part of it.
His big brother really was hopeless sometimes.
"Please," Hashirama said again, giving Renzo a deep, sincere bow.
Renzo quickly waved it off, pulling Tsunade aside. "Come on now, you're gonna make us feel guilty."
"But fine. I'll revive him—but you better keep him in check. If he steps out of line again, I'll erase him. Not just his body, but his soul too. Got it?"
With that, Renzo raised a hand and cast his improved resurrection technique. A moment later, Uchiha Madara was brought back to life, blinking in confusion as he returned to the world of the living.
Renzo, not wanting to deal with the drama, left immediately with Tsunade in tow.
Tobirama also wanted to dip. The last thing he wanted was to look Madara in the face again.
But… knowing how easy it was for his idiot brother to get talked into things, he decided to stay and keep watch—just in case.
Madara, meanwhile, looked... complicated.
He really hadn't expected this. Revived again? And by Hashirama's request, no less?
"Madara, listen," Hashirama suddenly said, serious for once. "Promise me—no more schemes. Whatever you were planning before? It's over. I already gave Renzo my word."
Madara paused a moment, then slowly nodded. "Fine. This time, I'll follow your lead. By the way… that woman?"
He glanced around but saw no sign of the one who had possessed him and ultimately killed him—Kaguya.
Weirdly enough, there weren't even any signs of the epic battle he expected to have taken place.
Wait… did she just vanish?
"She's gone," Hashirama said casually. "Renzo took care of her. Nothing we need to worry about. He's handling it."
"But! Black Zetsu's still here—Renzo left him behind. Don't you want to get a little payback?" Hashirama added with a laugh. "Come on, man, you got played like a fiddle for decades!"
Yeah, that was a black mark Madara was never living down.
"…."
Madara didn't even bother replying. He just turned and glared at Black Zetsu, who was still trapped like a bug in a glass jar.
All of it… all of it was because of that damn thing.
Every plan ruined. His name turned into a joke.
The guy who always thought he was the mastermind, pulling everyone else's strings… had been a pawn all along.
Now, Madara finally understood how Nagato and the others had felt.
Kch… Kch…
Madara clenched his fists and slowly started walking toward Black Zetsu, his eyes cold and full of malice.
"You—what are you doing? Hey! Don't come any closer!" Black Zetsu stammered, panicking. "I-I'm warning you! My mother is super powerful! If you lay a finger on me, she'll—"
"Madara-sama, I'm sorry! Please spare me!"
"Wait—M-Madara! Not there... not like this, please Nooo—!"
.
.
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