Nagato's hands continued forming seals at a slow pace. No matter how desperately he tried to stop himself, his body had already slipped out of his control.
Why…?!
Is this where the justice I've held onto ends?!
As the hand seals continued, Nagato finally understood what this jutsu was.
Yahiko… I'm sorry. Looks like I won't be able to fulfill our wish…
Nagato completed the final seal. His eyes suddenly widened, and he couldn't help blurting out in a sharp cry:
"Gedō—Rinne Tensei no Jutsu (Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique)!"
Boom!
A colossal phantom of the King of Hell slowly rose behind Nagato, appearing before everyone.
It was as if all the strength had been drained from Nagato in an instant—his body collapsed and he dropped to his knees.
And then, the gigantic King of Hell behind him slowly opened its mouth.
Whooo—
A terrifying aura spilled out from the King of Hell's mouth.
The moment that dreadful presence emerged, even the air itself seemed to fall silent.
Not far away, Obito and Konan both shuddered.
"Th-this… this is…"
Feeling that familiar aura, Obito's eyes widened uncontrollably, his voice even stammering.
Step… step…
Footsteps echoed from inside the King of Hell's mouth—each one like it was stomping on everyone's heart.
A pair of hands appeared first. Then, a figure in Warring States-era armor, with an aged face, slowly walked out from the King of Hell's mouth.
"Such fresh air."
After taking a slow breath, the old figure spoke blandly.
The instant Obito saw him, he took an involuntary step back.
Madara.
A name that had once made the entire shinobi world tremble!
As Madara's resurrection completed, the massive King of Hell phantom vanished completely. And Nagato—who had cast the technique—collapsed face-first to the ground, his presence growing weaker and weaker.
Drip.
A surge of blood suddenly flowed from Madara's eye sockets. Only then did everyone notice—Madara's eyes were blank, with no eyeballs at all.
Madara immediately closed his eyes. It stopped the worst of the bleeding, but thin streaks of blood still seeped from the corners.
"So it's the aged state. As expected."
Madara didn't care about his bleeding eye sockets at all. Instead, he reached up and touched his skin, feeling the sensation, and spoke evenly.
At that moment, a White Zetsu emerged from the ground beside Madara.
"Madara-sama. The eyes we prepared in advance."
White Zetsu respectfully raised a hand in front of Madara.
With a casual flick, Madara sliced off White Zetsu's arm, took that severed arm, and pressed it into one of his empty eye sockets.
Then he tossed the arm aside like trash.
Madara opened one eye.
A three-tomoe Sharingan slowly rotated inside his socket.
A faint smile appeared on the aged Madara's face. He brought his hands together and said calmly:
"Izanagi."
As that Uchiha clan forbidden technique activated, the aged Madara—right before Obito's stunned eyes—restored himself at a visible speed, returning rapidly to a youthful state.
"This…!"
Obito's eyes went wide as a possibility exploded in his mind.
Izanagi could erase any harm inflicted upon the caster—even death itself—but it didn't have the function of "rejuvenation."
In other words, Izanagi simply recorded the caster's own state in advance. And when it was activated, it restored the caster to the state that had been recorded.
So the reason Madara could return to a youthful condition—
Was because back when Madara was still young, he had already used his Sharingan to record his body's condition at that time.
And now, he was merely using Izanagi to restore that recorded state.
A deep wariness flashed through Obito's eyes.
Even back then—when Madara was still at his peak—he had already begun leaving contingencies for himself…?
As Izanagi ended, the three-tomoe Sharingan in Madara's eye socket instantly turned white—clearly, it was completely burned out and unusable.
"This is how a body is supposed to feel!"
Madara clenched his fist hard, satisfaction blooming across his face.
Then he reached up, dug out the now-ruined Sharingan, and tossed it aside.
Closing his eyes again, Madara walked over to Nagato. He hooked his toe under Nagato's body and lightly flipped him over.
"Worthy of the Uzumaki Clan constitution. After using a reincarnation ninjutsu, you still didn't die immediately."
Madara shook his head slightly, his tone carrying a trace of admiration. Then his hands pressed down.
Splurt! Splurt!
Two sprays of blood burst out as Madara dug out Nagato's Rinnegan and pressed them into his own eyes.
Boom!
A tyrannical aura erupted from Madara's body.
Centered on him, an invisible shockwave seemed to form, expanding outward in every direction.
"This… is real power!"
Madara snapped his eyes open. The Rinnegan shimmered with a brilliance it had never shown before.
Nearby, Black Zetsu detached from Konan and rejoined White Zetsu, possessing it once more.
"Madara-sama!" Zetsu appeared beside Madara, giggling as he spoke.
On the other side, feeling the terrifying pressure rolling off Madara, Obito's body trembled. He quickly stepped forward as well, moving to Madara's side like Zetsu.
Black Zetsu glanced at Obito, a cold sneer flashing in his eyes.
Now, no matter how many schemes Obito had in his heart, it didn't matter.
As long as Madara stood here, even if Obito learned that Rin had been killed by Madara… so what?
Madara gave Obito a flat look, then turned his gaze to Zetsu beside him and asked in an even tone:
"How goes the tailed beast collection?"
Clearly, compared to Obito as a mere chess piece, Madara trusted Zetsu more.
"Apologies, Madara-sama. The plan hasn't even begun yet," Black Zetsu said, his voice carrying a trace of regret.
"So you forced my revival early?" Madara's eyebrow lifted slightly, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.
If Zetsu had made him revive ahead of schedule, then there was only one possibility.
Thinking that, Madara's face suddenly showed excitement.
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