Chapter 403: Installing the Technique
What set Uchiha Madara apart from other shinobi was this: most people either chose to "kneel" or refused to kneel and gave up on "making money."
Madara, on the other hand, wanted to stand tall and still get what he wanted.
Back when he manipulated Obito, it had been exactly like this.
He maintained an air of superiority while acting like a guiding senior who cared about his junior.
At that time, Madara had already given the Rinnegan to Nagato. He was old, frail, and barely clinging to life through the Gedo Statue. One could say he was extremely weak.
His only safety net had been a single Sharingan, taken from some unfortunate soul, kept as a backup for vision and, if necessary, to activate Izanagi.
And now, just like then.
At this moment, he was once again incredibly weak. However, as an Impure World Reincarnation body, he was effectively immortal.
In fact, it was even more reliable than a one-time use of Izanagi.
Which meant… he could treat Granny Chiyo the same way he once treated Obito.
Of course, he couldn't make it too obvious. He needed a proper excuse.
Otherwise, Senju Tobirama would definitely notice something off.
Earlier, Madara had already drawn some information out of Senju Hashirama and learned that Tobirama and Orochimaru were currently absorbed in researching new jutsu. Unless necessary, they wouldn't interfere in trivial matters.
That meant as long as he could come up with a suitable reason to get past Tobirama's initial scrutiny, he would have a chance to carry out his plan unnoticed, and achieve true resurrection.
"Hashirama, we've seen enough of Amegakure. Take me to see Konoha next. After that, I want to visit all Five Great Ninja Villages and see for myself what the current shinobi world is like."
After Hashirama returned from shopping, Madara spoke in a calm, distant tone.
This was the simplest and most direct plan he could come up with, suggest visiting all five great villages to conceal his real target: Sunagakure.
As for Hashirama, who would accompany him?
Without Tobirama watching, dealing with Hashirama would be easy. A simple excuse would be enough to brush him off.
"Alright, but that technique… I still want to…"
Hashirama was delighted and relieved that Madara had taken the initiative to explore the Five Great Nations.
It meant Madara was willing to understand and accept the current shinobi world.
However, he still had his mind on the technique that could restore sensation to an Impure World Reincarnation body.
After all, he had bought so much food just to enjoy it once he regained his senses.
Besides, traveling across the five nations with Madara would basically be a trip, right?
What kind of trip would it be without the ability to taste, feel, or enjoy anything?
"Mm."
Madara replied casually, as if uninterested.
Restoring sensation was part of his goal anyway.
Especially given how frail his current body was, even his perception abilities were nearly nonexistent.
Only by regaining sensation could he properly confirm certain things.
For example, he would need to verify whether Granny Chiyo's resurrection technique was reliable.
Without perception, he would have to rely on direct physical experience.
"Alright then, let's go!"
Seeing Madara agree, Hashirama was overjoyed. He pushed the wheelchair and sprinted toward the laboratory.
As a VIP "test subject" in Amegakure's research facility, Hashirama naturally had access to a special channel.
On top of that, the Second Hokage had just given instructions earlier.
So neither Hashirama nor Madara needed to queue or spend contribution points, they were immediately arranged for treatment.
"Madara, look! This is the dignity and privilege of the God of Shinobi."
Hashirama lifted his chin proudly, like a child showing off a toy to a friend.
"Idiot."
Madara replied flatly, though inwardly he felt something was off.
Everything was going a little too smoothly.
It gave him the strange feeling of cutting in line… straight into a crematorium furnace.
Fortunately, he didn't see Tobirama afterward. The one performing the procedure was Orochimaru.
And nothing seemed out of place during the process…
"Wait. What are you putting inside my body?"
Halfway through, Madara suddenly stopped him, his expression full of suspicion.
He hadn't forgotten that earlier, this body of his had already been tampered with by that "evil and justified" Tobirama, who had planted a chakra-targeting drug inside him!
Now Orochimaru's actions looked highly suspicious.
"You mean this?"
Orochimaru gestured to the scroll in his hand. "It's just a standard sealing scroll. Surely Madara-sama can recognize that? Ah, right… you currently lack sensory perception. My oversight."
"…A sealing scroll?"
Though Orochimaru was speaking plainly, it sounded strangely mocking to Madara.
"This technique only restores sensation. It doesn't restore organ function. If anything, it works more like a genjutsu applied to the Impure World Reincarnation body."
"So if you want to enjoy food using this technique, you'll need to place a scroll inside your body. Otherwise, the food won't be digested. It will simply accumulate inside you after you swallow it."
Orochimaru explained.
This idea had originally come from the technique's creator, Sasori.
When Sasori used his sense of taste to test certain poisons, some of them were corrosive. So he installed a container in the throat of his human puppet body to store and control the poison.
That gave Orochimaru the idea to install a sealing scroll inside an Impure World Reincarnation body.
After hearing the explanation, Madara said nothing more and allowed the scroll to be installed.
What he didn't realize, however, was that sealing scrolls had storage limits.
It wasn't that he didn't know, he simply overlooked this detail.
For Pakura and the others earlier, Orochimaru had given them multiple scrolls, knowing they planned to eat.
After all, installing them into an Impure World Reincarnation body was extremely easy, just punch through the chest and place the scroll inside.
But for Madara and Hashirama, Orochimaru didn't mention this detail.
Hashirama's scroll was completely empty.
Madara's, however, already contained something.
Moreover, due to modifications in the technique and the scroll being constantly active, once it reached capacity, the earliest stored item would be expelled.
And the very first item stored inside… was the chakra-targeting drug previously created by Tobirama.
According to Tobirama's tests, when this drug interacted with Sasori's technique, it produced an effect greater than the sum of its parts.
As for what that effect actually was, Tobirama had not conducted human trials, and had refused to do so.
He decided he would simply observe Madara's reaction when the time came.
What? Didn't Tobirama swear not to act against Madara after being revived?
Yes, he didn't act.
Wasn't it Orochimaru who did?
And just like that, a ticking time bomb was planted inside Madara.
At the same time, this technique also posed a major problem for him.
Although the technique could be turned on and off freely, doing so required a certain level of chakra and precise control.
The requirement wasn't high, just the basic level of a Chūnin.
But in Madara's current state, that was clearly impossible.
In other words, he had no way to turn the technique off.
(End of this chapter)