Two hours later, Kabuto lay defeated, his body and mind completely consumed by Black Zetsu. His eyes were shut, his form limp, as if lost in an eternal coma.
"Is it done?" White Zetsu asked with a grin as he emerged from the earth.
"Just finished," Black Zetsu replied, his voice hoarse and sinister. "Now, we begin the next stage of our plan."
Controlling Kabuto's body, Black Zetsu's hands weaved a familiar sequence of seals.
Impure World Reincarnation.
The ground rumbled. Coffins forced their way up through the soil with thunderous cracks. The lid of one coffin fell forward, revealing the figure inside.
The man who stepped out was none other than Uchiha Madara.
Madara's eyes opened, and he calmly walked from the coffin, surveying the cave with disdain. "You've been waiting long enough. Where is Obito…?"
But as he spoke, he felt the wrongness in his body. His gaze sharpened. "This… Impure World Reincarnation?" His voice dropped into a cold growl. "Black Zetsu. White Zetsu. Explain."
"Madara-sama," Black Zetsu began respectfully, "your Rinnegan, once entrusted to Nagato, has fallen into Senju hands. But do not worry—we have accounted for this. A new Rinnegan is being prepared even as we speak."
"That is why you have been revived in this way. This body has been strengthened, tailored to allow you to wield one hundred percent of your original might."
Madara's lips curled into a thin smile. "So, my Rinnegan was stolen. If someone dares to transplant it, the traps I left will trigger, and my will within it will not fail."
White Zetsu spoke cautiously, "That is the problem, Madara-sama. Senju Kaito destroyed it."
For a moment, Madara was silent. Then he threw back his head and laughed, the sound reverberating like thunder through the cavern. It was not the laughter of anger but of amusement, superiority.
"Hahaha… as expected of one worthy to stand against me. He moves beyond prediction itself. Good. Very good." His eyes gleamed dangerously as he looked to his followers. "So then, why bring me back now? Are you prepared?"
"Almost everything is ready," Black Zetsu assured him. "The Nine-Tails is already captured, though not yet absorbed into the Gedo Statue because of Sasuke. Only the Eight-Tails remains."
Madara's brow furrowed. "Sasuke? Explain."
And so, Black Zetsu revealed everything—the capture of Naruto, the transfer of Ashura's chakra into Sasuke, and the boy's path toward awakening the Rinnegan.
Madara folded his arms, his expression unreadable. "So, he is incubating the Rinnegan. Then we wait. Patience has always been my ally."
But his gaze sharpened suddenly. "Still, if you revived me now, something else must be pressing. Tell me."
Black Zetsu's tone turned grim. "Indeed. Senju Kaito has not yet acted, but our Edo Tensei forces and the hundred thousand White Zetsu cannot hold the Allied Shinobi Forces much longer. We need your strength to delay them until Sasuke's transformation is complete."
Madara's eyes gleamed with cold amusement. He raised his head, chakra surging within him. The ripple-pattern of the Rinnegan flickered faintly in his pupils.
"Very well. If Kaito has not moved, then I shall amuse myself. I will crush these little insects first."
In an instant, Madara's body blurred. His form vanished in a red afterimage, streaking toward the distant battlefield.
As the sound of his departure faded, Black Zetsu's face twisted into a sly smile.
Turning to his companion, he ordered, "White Zetsu. With Madara-sama's revival, we must secure the Eight-Tails. Take control of Konoha's Wood Release shinobi and head for the Land of Lightning. Capture the jinchūriki. Kisame has been silent for far too long—likely, he has failed."
White Zetsu grinned. "Understood." With that, he sank back into the earth.
When he was gone, Black Zetsu released Kabuto's limp body and slipped away, gliding through the shadows.
The Prisoners
In a hidden underground cavern not far away, two figures lay motionless.
Naruto, his entire body bound and sealed, remained unconscious. Beside him, Sasuke lay in deep slumber, his body absorbing Ashura's chakra.
For now, both lived. Naruto still retained Kurama's chakra within him, though untouched. Black Zetsu had refrained from extracting it. Not yet.
The Gedo Statue had already absorbed the chakra of seven Tailed Beasts. Adding the Nine-Tails now would complete its transformation into the Ten-Tails—but it would also enrage Sasuke before his Rinnegan had finished awakening.
That risk was unacceptable.
Though Sasuke slumbered too deeply to sense the world around him, Black Zetsu refused to gamble. After thousands of years of scheming, he would not stumble at the final step.
Patience. A little longer.
He loomed over Naruto and Sasuke, shadows flickering across his darkened features. His gaze pierced through their bodies, perceiving the swirling powers within.
In Naruto's body burned the will of Ashura. In Sasuke's, Indra's chakra was being reborn.
A twisted smile spread across Black Zetsu's face. He could almost see the two brothers themselves within those flows of energy.
"Indra… Ashura…" he whispered with venomous glee. "Hagoromo. I've spent centuries guiding your foolish sons. Every move, every struggle, every war… all leading here. Soon, everything ends."
The Third Battlefield
Meanwhile, far away, the clash of war raged on.
The Allied Shinobi Forces pressed forward against the resurrected Kage. The First Mizukage and Second Mizukage had finally been sealed. Now only the Second Tsuchikage remained.
The battlefield was littered with the shattered remains of White Zetsu clones, their endless numbers cut down like weeds.
At the forefront stood the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, his aged body still unyielding, and beside him, the Fifth Mizukage, Terumi Mei, flames and lava boiling around her.
The war was far from over.
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