Obito turned toward Madara with a puzzled expression, suspicion flickering within his single Sharingan.
Madara himself frowned slightly.
Wood Release…
That was Hashirama Senju's unique kekkei genkai-like ability. Contrary to what many people believed, it was never an inherited bloodline limit of the Senju Clan. Even among Hashirama's own relatives, no one else had ever awakened Wood Release naturally.
Therefore, even if an Uchiha descendant married into the Senju Clan, it was virtually impossible for their descendants to inherit Wood Release.
Madara himself was the best example.
During his final battle against Hashirama at the Valley of the End, he had secretly bitten off a piece of Hashirama's flesh before his apparent death. Years later, by relying on his own power and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, he successfully fused Hashirama's cells into his body, eventually awakening both the Rinnegan and the ability to use Wood Release.
After pondering for a moment, Madara narrowed his eyes.
"Could that girl…"
"…also have transplanted Hashirama's cells into her body?"
Madara quickly reached the most reasonable conclusion.
Although he had lived decades earlier, he knew very well that later generations would inevitably covet Hashirama Senju's power. Someone researching Hashirama's cells was hardly surprising.
Hearing Madara mention Hashirama's cells, Orochimaru, who had devoted years of research to them, quietly looked away.
He refused to take responsibility for this misunderstanding.
Initially, Orochimaru had arrived at exactly the same conclusion.
He had even suspected that Chinatsu was another successful experiment similar to Tenzō—better known within Konoha as Yamato—who had survived Hashirama cell transplantation.
However…
After personally exchanging blows with Chinatsu 's Wood Release…
Orochimaru immediately realized something was different.
Her Wood Release possessed an overwhelming vitality and oppressive force far beyond Yamato's.
It felt…
Closer to Hashirama Senju's own Wood Release than any artificial version created through transplanted Hashirama cells.
Even Orochimaru could not explain why.
Of course…
He had absolutely no intention of sharing that information.
The less Madara and Obito understood about Chinatsu …
The greater their chances of suffering heavy losses.
Only if both sides exhausted each other would Orochimaru have an opportunity to seize Chinatsu 's perfect body.
Madara contemplated the matter for only a few moments before shaking his head.
Speculating based on incomplete intelligence was meaningless.
Rather than wasting time guessing…
He would simply meet the girl in person.
Whether her Wood Release originated from Hashirama's cells or some other secret…
One battle would reveal everything.
More importantly…
There was something he absolutely had to retrieve.
"The Rinnegan…"
"…belongs to me."
"I don't know whether that girl has already taken possession of it or hidden it somewhere else…"
"But those eyes…"
"…must return to their rightful owner."
Madara slowly clenched his fists.
The battle-hungry blood within him began to boil.
Stretching his shoulders slightly, a smile gradually appeared on his face.
Although he had fought Hashirama countless times during the Warring States Era…
Battling another Wood Release user would undoubtedly be an entirely new experience.
Watching Madara prepare to depart immediately, Obito instinctively wanted to stop him.
However…
After thinking about it carefully…
He changed his mind.
Madara was currently an Edo Tensei body.
As long as he wasn't sealed, he was effectively immortal.
Moreover, Obito himself still possessed Kamui.
Even if something unexpected happened, Kamui could allow them to retreat instantly.
With Madara's strength and Kamui serving as insurance…
Retrieving the Rinnegan from Konoha shouldn't prove too difficult.
Obito then turned toward Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru."
"Why don't you come with us?"
Orochimaru immediately shook his head without hesitation.
"I'll pass."
"I was severely injured by Chinatsu not long ago."
"My current vessel has only barely stabilized."
"I haven't recovered enough to participate in another battle."
Naturally…
That wasn't the entire truth.
Orochimaru had indeed recovered enough to move freely.
However, if he really fought Chinatsu again in his current condition…
It would probably look something like this.
[You launched a melee attack.]
[Because your vessel has not fully recovered, you suffered 5 points of recoil damage.]
[You landed after jumping.]
[Your unstable body received another 5 points of damage.]
[You performed a high-level ninjutsu.]
[Your chakra pathways were overloaded, causing another 5 points of damage.]
[You were struck by an enemy ninjutsu.]
[Because your current vessel is weakened, you suffered an additional 5 points of damage.]
…
…
…
Simply imagining such a battle made Orochimaru lose all desire to participate.
More importantly…
He absolutely did not want to step foot inside Konoha at this moment.
If Madara and Obito pushed Chinatsu into a corner…
And she decided to unleash another one of those terrifying "World Nuke Techniques" inside the village…
Orochimaru doubted he would die permanently.
But losing yet another vessel would be inevitable.
By then…
He would probably spend the next several months lying in one of his laboratories, changing bodies again while recovering from severe injuries.
That outcome was something Orochimaru had no interest in experiencing for a second time.
Chinatsu : "Do I look like the kind of person who would do something like that?"
Orochimaru: "Even if there's only a one percent chance that you'll use that 'World Nuke Technique,' I have no intention of gambling with my life!"
Orochimaru understood Chinatsu 's personality quite well after their previous encounters.
She didn't possess the same unwavering loyalty to Konoha as someone like Sarutobi Hiruzen or Jiraiya. Instead, she cared far more about the people around her and the Uchiha residence she had painstakingly rebuilt.
If someone truly cornered her…
There was no guarantee she wouldn't simply level the battlefield first and worry about the consequences later.
With that thought in mind, Orochimaru decisively abandoned the idea of accompanying Madara and Obito.
The next morning.
At dawn.
Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Obito stood atop a mountain overlooking Konohagakure.
Madara folded his arms behind his back as he gazed toward the village hidden beneath the morning mist.
"So many years have passed…"
"…yet Konoha still stands."
His gaze eventually settled upon the Hokage Rock.
The enormous stone face of Hashirama Senju overlooked the village exactly as it had decades ago.
Madara let out a cold sneer.
"Hashirama…"
Although he could not yet sense Chinatsu 's chakra, largely because she deliberately concealed her presence, there was something else that immediately drew his attention.
The Rinnegan.
Those eyes had originally belonged to him.
Even after being transplanted into Nagato Uzumaki, Madara still retained a faint connection with them.
Naturally, it wasn't some absurd situation where the eyes would fly back into his sockets with a wave of his hand.
However…
He could still vaguely determine their location.
"They're inside the village."
Madara's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan slowly rotated.
Without another word, he and Obito disappeared from the mountaintop.
The two infiltrated Konoha from an area with relatively light patrols, avoiding the main gate entirely.
At almost the same time…
Nagato and Konan walked out from the Uchiha residence.
Unlike the other members of the Akatsuki, who were still sleeping after last night's barbecue, the two of them had gotten up unusually early.
Sasori had already left as usual.
Ever since Granny Chiyo had come to Konoha, he habitually visited her every morning for breakfast.
Nagato, meanwhile, simply wanted to move around.
After spending years confined to the mechanical life-support apparatus hidden within the mountains of Amegakure, finally regaining a healthy body made even an ordinary morning walk feel refreshing.
Konan naturally accompanied him.
Among all the former Akatsuki members, Konan's loyalty to Chinatsu wasn't particularly high.
However…
Her trust in Nagato had never wavered.
Since Nagato had accepted Chinatsu 's invitation and chosen to remain in Konoha, Konan had naturally followed his decision without hesitation.
The two weren't yet familiar with Konoha's streets.
Even taking the wrong turn simply became part of their morning stroll.
Chinatsu had secretly complained before that something definitely felt strange between the two of them.
Just as Nagato and Konan were about to turn a corner on their way toward Ichiraku Ramen…
An unexpected encounter occurred.
It resembled the clichéd "meeting around the corner" often seen in romance novels.
Only…
Instead of love…
Death was waiting.
Madara Uchiha appeared without any warning.
He didn't waste time with unnecessary conversation.
The instant he saw Nagato…
He immediately reached forward with one hand.
His target was obvious.
The Rinnegan.
Those eyes had originally belonged to him, and he intended to reclaim them immediately.
Nagato's pupils contracted.
Years of combat instinct allowed him to react at the very last moment.
"Shinra Tensei!"
An overwhelming repulsive force erupted in every direction.
Boom!
Madara's body was blasted backward dozens of meters, his feet carving two long trenches across the ground before he finally stabilized himself.
The surrounding stone pavement shattered under the tremendous impact.
Without hesitation, Konan launched several paper-wrapped explosive kunai toward Madara.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions echoed throughout Konoha.
The deafening blasts immediately attracted the attention of countless nearby civilians.
An elderly woman carrying groceries heard the explosions and instinctively abandoned her shopping basket before sprinting away from the battlefield.
The thick smoke gradually dispersed.
Madara slowly walked out from within it.
His Edo Tensei body had been damaged by the explosions, but the cracks and missing flesh regenerated almost instantly as dust continuously restored his body.
Unlike Hidan's pseudo-immortality…
The body created by the Impure World Reincarnation Technique possessed true regenerative immortality.
As long as the summoning remained active and he wasn't sealed away, ordinary injuries meant nothing.
Coupled with the effectively limitless chakra supplied by Edo Tensei…
His combat endurance far surpassed that of any living shinobi.
Madara calmly dusted off his armor.
Using his own Rinnegan through Nagato's body certainly felt familiar.
However…
He knew those abilities better than anyone.
"The Deva Path's Shinra Tensei…"
"…requires a brief interval before it can be activated again."
Madara spoke indifferently.
"You think I wouldn't know the weaknesses of my own eyes?"
Almost simultaneously…
A spiraling space-time vortex silently appeared behind Nagato.
Kamui.
Obito had already launched his attack.
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