Chapter 315: Preparation for the Final Battle
Uchiha Madara felt a bit more relaxed.
Although he lost this battle, he discovered a way to defeat Akihara Kagura, even though the method seemed somewhat uncertain.
However…
As long as there is a glimmer of hope…
Uchiha Madara would never give up!
Just as Uchiha Madara was about to leave, a spatial vortex suddenly appeared before him, and a blade slashed towards his throat!
"Obito…"
Uchiha Madara's eyes narrowed sharply. He reached out to grab the wrist of Uchiha Obito, who was attacking him, but his hand passed through the air as Obito's body became intangible using Kamui during the counterattack!
However…
This kind of attack was ultimately ineffective.
Uchiha Madara raised his fingers and directly controlled the seal within Uchiha Obito's body, making the vengeful man clutch his heart and fall to the ground!
"I don't have time for these pointless battles with you..."
Uchiha Madara kicked Obito away and said coldly, "Obito, you should know that all this happened not because of me, but because of this war-torn world. You and I are just ninjas who can't escape from the cycle of war..."
"…"
Obito's body stiffened.
Because he knew Uchiha Madara was right…
But…
What could he do now?
What could he do now!
With the Eye of the Moon Plan revealed as a lie, besides assassinating Uchiha Madara to avenge Rin, who died being manipulated by fate, what else could he do to change all this?
"Obito!"
Hatake Kakashi finally rushed over and placed a hand on Obito's shoulder, looking complicatedly at Uchiha Madara in front of him.
"Kakashi!"
A figure appeared beside Hatake Kakashi!
Uchiha Sasuke looked at the remaining Uchiha Madara and frowned: "Kagura... Akihara Kagura... has left?"
"Indeed."
Uchiha Madara glanced at Uchiha Sasuke, and seeing his arrival, a plan formed in his mind: "While there's still time, go and awaken your Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan! Perhaps in the battle where that guy wants to destroy the ninja world, the Flying Thunder God and a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan might come in handy..."
Space-time techniques are a problem.
Akihara Kagura is also skilled in the Flying Thunder God space-time technique.
Uchiha Madara was acutely aware of how short the time was for him to defeat Akihara Kagura in the future, especially since Kagura could escape using the Flying Thunder God if the battle turned against him...
Thus...
Uchiha Sasuke, who could use the Flying Thunder God technique, would be very useful...
At least when Akihara Kagura tries to escape during the three-hour cooldown of the Limitless Yomi Eye technique, Sasuke can help in the pursuit...
"Does he really want to destroy the ninja world?"
Hatake Kakashi was still reluctant to believe it.
"No..."
Uchiha Madara slowly shook his head, disagreeing with Kakashi's view. He leaned towards another perspective: "That guy... wants to create a new world... like the Sage of the Six Paths, killing everyone to create a new ninja world!"
"…"
Kakashi's eyelids twitched.
Isn't that still world destruction? What difference does it make?
"But..."
"The Sage of the Six Paths was wrong..."
Uchiha Madara did not believe Akihara Kagura's approach was correct and said coldly, "The Sage of the Six Paths, who once created the world, could not foresee that a thousand years later, the ninja world would still be plagued by war and conflict. So, that kid's method is wrong..."
In fact...
After hearing about the plan from Akihara Kagura, Uchiha Madara had thought about it briefly.
However, having seen the results of the creation plan a thousand years later, he believed Kagura's idea was somewhat outdated...
"…"
Hatake Kakashi also knew that Akihara Kagura was wrong. He just helped Obito up and said softly, "We must return to Konoha first and report this to Lord Hokage."
"Sasuke."
Uchiha Madara called out to Uchiha Sasuke, actively inviting him: "If you're interested, I know you have Uchiha Itachi's eyes. I can teach you how to develop the abilities of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan during this time. Your strength will be crucial in stopping that guy from destroying the ninja world in the future..."
"…”
Uchiha Sasuke fell silent.
Now...
It seemed he had no better choice.
Akihara Kagura had expelled him from the Root Division and didn't seem to consider taking him to defect...
Even if he returned to Konoha, what could he do? The Root Division no longer existed, his clan members had left, and the former higher-ups officials of Konoha were still among the culprits who destroyed the Uchiha clan...
"Alright."
Hatake Kakashi agreed on behalf of Uchiha Sasuke without hesitation, giving Sasuke a look: "Sasuke, follow Uchiha Madara and train with him. This will be your first mission upon rejoining Team 7."
"Understood."
Uchiha Sasuke nodded instinctively.
Hatake Kakashi's arrangement for Sasuke to stay by Madara's side was not just for training; the primary purpose was to monitor this dangerous man, as he was also a conspirator...
"Let's head back to Konoha first..."
Kakashi was about to take Uchiha Obito back with him.
"Leave Obito here as well..."
Madara, looking coldly at Obito, said in a chilling tone, "Though I manipulated your fate from the shadows, the things you've done with the power you gained... make it impossible for you to remain in Konoha, right?"
"What do you intend to do?"
Obito raised his head coldly, still filled with resentment.
If not for Madara and the Eye of the Moon Plan, Nohara Rin would not have died, nor would Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato have died by his hands...
He wouldn't have caused the Nine-Tails' rampage...
Nor would all those tragedies have occurred in Konoha...
And...
The original Akatsuki members who sought peace...
Obito's mind was in turmoil, recalling everything he had done in the past...
Those...
Were all mistakes!
"I only want to control you for one last task..."
Madara, staring at Obito, his gaze turning somber: "I will lend you a Rinnegan, and you will use the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu to fully resurrect those reanimated by Akihara Kagura's Edo Tensei..."
This wasn't out of Madara's goodwill.
It was because Madara knew that those reanimated ninja were under Akihara Kagura's control, including Namikaze Minato, the Flying Thunder God Technique user, and Hashirama, who would undoubtedly cause many problems in future battles...
And also...
That insidious Tobirama...
All these individuals could influence the battle...
Madara wanted to maximize his chances of defeating Akihara Kagura by eliminating any factors that might assist him...
Once these people were fully resurrected, they certainly wouldn't side with Akihara Kagura. They might even create problems for him and help Madara seize the opportunity to become the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki!
Moreover...
After defeating Akihara Kagura...
Madara could finally kill the insidious Tobirama, something he had longed to do, and now had the opportunity upon his resurrection...
"!!!"
Hatake Kakashi was startled!
He didn't know Madara's expansive thoughts; he only realized the implications of reviving those Hokage!
"!!!"
Uchiha Obito's heart trembled, not due to the curse mark in his heart, but because he knew among those reanimated by Akihara Kagura...
There was someone extremely important...
Someone extremely important to his life!
The Fourth Hokage... Namikaze Minato!
If he did this now, could it be considered a small redemption for his past?
Using the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu would undoubtedly lead to his death...
Yet this life had become expendable. If he could use it to resurrect his teacher Namikaze Minato, he surprisingly didn't resist Madara's proposal...
"Kakashi..."
Suddenly, Obito reached out his hand, forcefully gouging out his own eye, with blood instantly flowing from his socket!
In Obito's eye socket were two eyes, one his Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan, and the other a transplanted ordinary Sharingan.
He handed his Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan to Kakashi: "Take this eye back..."
"Once I use the Rinne Rebirth Jutsu, my life will end. This Sharingan will be useless to me, so I entrust everything to you..."
At this point, Obito suddenly smiled: "Don't worry, this time won't be like last time. I won't cause you any more trouble..."
"...”
A drop of cold sweat unexpectedly trickled down Hatake Kakashi’s forehead.
Fate...
It’s like a cycle of reincarnation.
Hatake Kakashi recalled the Battle of Kannabi Bridge...
That boy, who once saved him at the cost of being crushed by rocks and gravely injured, entrusted his eye to him, hoping he could protect Rin...
Now...
How familiar is this scene?
A trace of pain emerged in Hatake Kakashi’s heart. This dear friend was leaving once again, perhaps this time they would never meet again...
“Protect this world.”
Uchiha Obito, with his transplanted three-tomoe Sharingan, looked at Hatake Kakashi, ignoring the blood flowing from his other eye socket, and whispered: “The Eye of the Moon Plan is a lie, it’s all a lie, this world is about to face an imminent catastrophe…”
“To me, my life has long lost its meaning. I should have died that day at Kannabi Bridge, but by a twist of fate, I made many mistakes…”
“Now, I want to entrust everything to you once again, to entrust my eye to you, take my eye… and protect this world…”
“Protect this…”
As Uchiha Obito spoke his final words, he took a deep breath and mentioned the person he once liked the most.
“The world where Rin once existed…”
“I understand.”
Hatake Kakashi extended his hand and received the eye from Uchiha Obito: “I will use your eye… to watch over this world…”
“You can also try transplanting Hashirama’s cells.”
Uchiha Madara looked at Hatake Kakashi and spoke coldly: “If successful, it might make using his eye easier for you. Normal people have to bear a greater burden to use Uchiha’s eyes…”
To Uchiha Madara, any space-time jutsu user was helpful. In the future, after defeating Akihara Kagura, these space-time jutsu users could help capture and encircle people.
The final battle of the Ninja World...
Perhaps it will also be the last battle of this Ninja World!
Uchiha Madara was very clear that once he revealed his plan to become the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails, Akihara Kagura would never give him a second chance!
That battle…
Will be his last chance!
“Where are we going now?”
Uchiha Sasuke looked at Uchiha Madara.
These Uchihas, who had abandoned their clan, seemed like fate, oddly converging at this moment, despite the enmity between them.
“……”
Uchiha Madara pondered for a moment, recalling the Gedo Statue he had sealed outside Konoha Village, intending to go back and check first: “We’ll return to Konoha first, to help you transplant Uchiha Itachi’s eyes. It’s only useful to awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan…”
“Speaking of…”
Uchiha Madara seemed to think of something and took the initiative to ask: “Sasuke, what abilities did your Mangekyo Sharingan awaken? If there are two good abilities…”
“Just space-time techniques…”
Uchiha Sasuke seemed unwilling to answer this question.
If possible, Uchiha Sasuke didn’t even want to awaken these Mangekyo Sharingan, because their abilities seemed to tell him…
What is lost…
Will never return.
The home that left...
Will never be gone back to.
“Space-time?”
Uchiha Madara immediately became interested.
However, seeing Uchiha Sasuke’s lack of enthusiasm, Uchiha Madara didn’t want to mention this topic anymore, not wanting to make this young man, who was like his brother, uncomfortable.
Konoha Village.
Everything was as Uchiha Madara expected.
When Uchiha Madara returned and opened the seal of the Chibaku Tensei, the Gedo Statue that was originally sealed inside had long disappeared, seemingly summoned away by Akihara Kagura.
“Summoning Technique.”
Uchiha Madara tried to use the Rinnegan to summon the Gedo Statue again, but it had no effect, probably due to some unknown method Akihara Kagura used to block the Summoning Technique.
“What’s wrong?”
Uchiha Sasuke was somewhat surprised.
“It seems the Gedo Statue is under that guy’s control…”
Uchiha Madara shook his head, not too disappointed, still secretly plotting his plan: “If I can’t become the Jinchuriki of the Ten-Tails before the war starts… I must protect the remaining Tailed Beasts… to face the imminent final battle initiated by that guy…”