Just as the Nara family was having dinner, the Reiji they'd been talking about had already arrived in the Land of Iron.
To pull off his plan to deceive the Third Mizukage, Reiji needed a White Zetsu.
Problem was—he didn't have one.
So what could he do? He'd have to take a gamble and try borrowing one... from Lord Madara.
At the moment, Aunt Snake hadn't yet thrown herself into the glory of scientific research, and as for Danzō? That guy was a total loser. Even if you handed him Hashirama's cells, he'd just sit there staring blankly.
Honestly, when it came to scientific capability, the difference between people could be greater than the gap between man and beast.
The only place left where he might get his hands on the all-powerful Hashirama cells was the legendary Mountain Graveyard.
With that in mind, Reiji quietly slipped into someone's home, left behind five hundred ryo in Water Country banknotes, and made off with a water bowl.
Carrying the stolen pot, he activated Sage Mode, created a clone, and began a full-scale search.
He only had three days.
After that, he needed to hurry back to Konoha, and from there, head straight to Kirigakure.
After all, he was still the squad leader of Kirigakure's intelligence team—he couldn't vanish forever.
More importantly, he knew full well that going up against Madara Uchiha gave him almost zero chance of winning.
He understood his own strengths and weaknesses. Sure, Madara had looked ridiculously powerful during the Fourth Great Ninja War.
He'd start off with some flashy Taijutsu. If the Allied Forces didn't use ninjutsu, he wouldn't either. Once they did, though? Fire Style, everywhere.
When Naruto and Ōnoki teamed up to make that giant Rasengan? Madara summoned his full Susanoo.
The Five Kage arrived? He brought out Perfect Susanoo.
And when the Kage tried ganging up on him one by one? He responded in kind, using five Wood Clones—one per Kage.
Yeah... the man had flair.
But! This wasn't the Madara of the Fourth War.
Back then, he was fully confident he'd be revived and become the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki.
Now, everything was still in its early planning phase. Thinking Madara would play fair was just naïve.
And Reiji? He knew his limits.
Sure, he had immortality, Taijutsu, ninjutsu—he wasn't lacking in anything... except Genjutsu resistance.
That was his glaring weak spot.
And he absolutely couldn't bring Kitty along.
Even though he was Kitty's perfect Jinchūriki, bringing her would only put her in danger.
In his memories, Obito had used Genjutsu to control Yagura—the Fourth Mizukage—who was also a perfect Jinchūriki.
If Obito could do that, Madara would have no trouble at all.
So there was no way he'd drag his beloved Kitty into this.
Still, if Reiji dared to poke the Madara bear, he had to have a plan.
Most Genjutsu—aside from Infinite Tsukuyomi—relied on manipulating the five senses or touch.
Techniques like Tsukuyomi or Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes activated through vision.
Izanami required physical contact.
So Reiji's solution? A water bowl.
He'd place it squarely on his head, cover his face, then activate Sage Mode and rely entirely on sensory perception instead of his eyes.
At the same time, he'd open the Seventh Gate—Gate of Wonder—and prepare to launch a long-range Daytime Tiger.
Caution was key.
Call it... creatively paranoid.
Even so, Reiji wasn't taking any chances.
...
Time passed quickly. Before he knew it, morning had arrived.
What he didn't know was that behind him, the household missing their bowl was loudly cursing.
Using Water Country money to steal an Iron Country bowl? That was like using a blade from a fallen regime to slay an official of the current one!
Not that Reiji cared. He was fully focused on scouring the region for the Mountain Graveyard.
The further north he and his clones traveled, the fewer homes they saw.
Then, by dusk the next day, one of his clones popped.
Two unfamiliar chakra signatures streaked across the ground at insane speed, then pierced and obliterated the clone.
The moment Reiji sensed the detonation, he slammed the bowl onto his head.
"Lightning Release Chakra Mode—on!
Seventh Gate—open!
Sage Mode—activate!"
In that moment, Reiji felt like the Overlord himself, buffing up with every possible status effect before battle—otherwise he felt utterly unsafe.
Problem was, unlike the Overlord, he didn't have that many skills to work with.
His mind might have wandered, but his power was ramping up fast.
Chakra surged through him, sweat vaporized into blue steam.
His body was wrapped in Lightning Armor, crackling with brilliant arcs of electricity.
It was all going smoothly—until he entered Sage Mode.
At that moment, his pale green hair stubbornly poked out from the bowl over his head, curling up like an overturned houseplant.
Still, Reiji had no idea how ridiculous he looked.
And honestly? Even if he did, he wouldn't care.
As long as his face was covered... it was fine.
As long as no one recognizes me, it's not a social death.
Reiji's main body had a much wider sensory range than any clone. It didn't take long before he picked up on a powerful chakra signature streaking toward him—strong, but laced with the faint scent of decay.
"Damn... Madara Uchiha's already noticed me? Black Zetsu's perception range is insane!"
With a sharp mutter, Reiji frowned and decisively shifted his trajectory to intercept Madara.
At the same time, with a subtle flicker of thought, he adjusted his plan.
Originally, the idea had been to let the shadow clones scout and distract while the real body slipped in to steal a White Zetsu.
But now that Madara was heading straight for him, the plan flipped—he'd take on the distraction role himself, and let his clones do the stealing.
Fortunately, he still had plenty of clones left to work with.
Soon, a figure in armor appeared across the ridgeline, approaching rapidly—Uchiha fan in one hand, a sickle in the other.
Reiji pursed his lips, pushed all unnecessary thoughts from his mind, and sharpened his senses to the limit. He braced himself.
This guy...
This was no joke.
Even in his twilight years, this was still Madara Uchiha—enhanced with Hashirama's cells and wielding the Rinnegan.
He was getting close now.
Through Reiji's perception, Madara's body pulsed with dense, purple chakra.
No exaggeration—the sheer volume was monstrous.
As the distance closed, Reiji raised one hand and flung a shuriken, fingers already flying through hand seals.
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof! Poof! Poof!
With a series of light bursts, countless shuriken exploded out into the air.
At the same time, Reiji, well aware that striking first was everything, pulled out a kunai, slipped an explosive tag onto it, clapped his hands together, and shouted:
"Flying Thunder God Slash!"
Flying Thunder God Slash???
Madara, barreling forward with a cold expression, froze mid-step at the sound of those words. His eyebrows shot upward.
That name hit a nerve—hard.
His beloved younger brother, Izuna Uchiha, had been taken down by none other than Tobirama Senju with that very technique!
"You dare use that move?! I'll turn you into a stump!"
Madara, who'd initially planned to flash-step in and counter with a Fire Release, immediately halted. His grip tightened on both the sickle and fan.
In that split second, the swarm of shuriken whizzed past his side.
A faint glimmer of electricity sparked in Reiji's palm—but it was completely masked by the crackling blue lightning of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Heavenly Transfer Technique!
Mutual Explosive Tag!
Reiji muttered inwardly.
This guy... breaking the rules again. Reiji, you absolute menace!