Kamui warped the surrounding space as Uchiha Obito led Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna from one Hidden Village to another as if strolling through their own backyard.
In just a matter of days—
The Third Raikage, Ōnoki, Rasa, Hanzo… all had their minds subjected to genjutsu manipulation.
Within each of these foreign leaders' spirits now nested layered ocular power, like Russian nesting dolls—one scheme nested inside another.
At the core was Kazuki, followed by Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, with Uchiha Madara and the others forming the outer shell.
"These Kage... they have more spine than I expected," Uchiha Madara said with a cold smirk, glancing sideways at the rigid Ōnoki standing at attention.
"I still remember this little brat from Iwagakure. Seems Ōnoki has grown stronger since back then."
"Despite the Allied Shinobi Forces being torn apart by Kazuki alone, they still have the will to resist. That surprised me."
Uchiha Izuna nodded. "Their strength may be lacking, but as leaders, their determination and spirit are at least worthy of recognition."
"But I always knew… that bastard's jutsu would backfire sooner or later. That kind of immoral forbidden technique is bound to plunge this world into war and suffering!"
"This time, we're hidden while they're exposed… Brother, I must kill that man!"
A flicker of vengeance blazed in Uchiha Izuna's eyes.
"Don't worry, Izuna… Even if Hashirama were in his prime, not just in this Edo Tensei form, he'd still be helpless before my eyes."
Madara reassured his younger brother, then joined him in cursing Senju Tobirama.
"The Impure World Reincarnation technique… What the hell was that bastard thinking, inventing something like this and not even setting up proper safeguards? Now even the other villages have figured out how to use it!"
"And he called himself a Hokage? That's how he led his village?!"
After taking control of the various Hidden Villages, Madara and his allies were shocked to discover that those villages had not been completely subdued by Kazuki. In fact, they had been secretly gathering forces to strike back!
But with their living manpower decimated by Kazuki, the major villages had turned their eyes toward the dead.
According to the memories within the Kage's minds, they had used Edo Tensei to resurrect every major Kage-level combatant who had died in battle. Some had even brought back their predecessors!
The Third Kazekage killed by Kazuki, Killer B, Chiyo, the Two-Tails jinchūriki, the Seven-Tails jinchūriki…
Even Roshi and Han, who perished midway through the war…
And Mu, the Second Tsuchikage…
Not to mention Hōzuki Gengetsu, the Second Mizukage of Kirigakure, who, despite the village being under Konohagakure's occupation, had still somehow been retrieved and reincarnated—further proof of Tobirama's incompetence.
This lineup represented the strongest force the other Hidden Villages could possibly muster through Edo Tensei.
As for how they managed it?
Madara and Izuna concluded it was due to Tobirama's failings. After all, the Impure World Reincarnation had existed in the shinobi world since the Warring States period and had become known far and wide.
That others had eventually mastered it was no great shock…
After all, Iwagakure had managed to develop the unique Kekkei Tōta technique. Wasn't that something even Tobirama couldn't achieve?
What they didn't realize, however—
Was that even if the other villages could eventually recreate Edo Tensei, it wouldn't have happened this quickly. They'd have needed two or three more years at least…
All of this was a dimensionality reduction strike by Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, operating from behind the scenes!
To him, reproducing Edo Tensei and locating appropriate corpses was an utterly trivial task—beneath him, really. But to devour Kazuki and eventually Kaguya, Isshiki had gone to great lengths to assemble this terrifying undead army.
Ironically, Madara and the others had simply stumbled across it.
"Izuna, it's time we started preparing for war… Kazuki is still sealed beneath the sea. Tobirama must have a grand scheme in play—he even brought back Hashirama and Mito, who were always against him."
Madara rubbed his temples, speaking with rare seriousness. "As revolting as that man is, I have to admit—he always manages to pull off something huge."
Izuna nodded. "Understood, Brother! Give me three days. I'll reorganize our forces, and we'll strike the Land of Water in one blow and rescue Kazuki!"
"Once we're there, we'll finally have our hands free to deal with Tobirama and the others as we please!"
Uchiha Madara nodded with satisfaction, signaling that Izuna had full authority to take command.
As always, all Madara needed to do was fight—because his younger brother was by his side.
Uchiha Izuna entered a state of rapid contemplation. Based on the intelligence extracted from the minds of the various Kage, even though he had never officially served as a village leader, his experience leading the Uchiha clan allowed him to quickly construct precise and effective battle formations.
Madara gazed at Izuna with a rare tenderness as he entered work mode…
Compared to Senju Tobirama, who did nothing but invent forbidden techniques and bring chaos to the shinobi world, wouldn't Izuna have made a far better Second Hokage?
If that had happened, Konoha might have become a village even Madara would've been willing to protect.
Meanwhile—
Leaning casually against the wall, Uchiha Obito swept a disinterested glance over the various Kage and shook his head with a bored expression before closing his eyes in feigned rest.
"So dull… just clowns fooled by lies. Do they really think they're the masterminds pulling the strings?"
Obito sneered internally.
"Especially Uchiha Madara. He even dragged me, his own clansman, into his schemes—shattering the happiness I had with Rin. Honestly, the fact that Tobirama didn't let you become Hokage… might've been the best decision ever made!"
"Why didn't Senju Hashirama just kill you back then?"
After grumbling to himself for a bit, Obito turned his focus to the forbidden jutsu that manipulated vitality.
Just as Izuna was making arrangements for Madara—
Black Zetsu had already laid out a clear path for Obito's future actions. To him, neither Tobirama nor Madara were any better than the other. Not a single one of them could be considered 'good'.
For Kazuki's sake, the safest option would be to betray them mid-operation—suddenly use Kamui to teleport both the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and Kazuki's Black Coffin away…
If he and Kazuki teamed up?
Then who could possibly stand against them?
"I've already deciphered most of this forbidden technique. It should be enough to prevent Rin's death… Once I rescue Kazuki, I'll ask him to help perfect it. Maybe then I'll be able to bring Rin back to life for good!"
That was the thought racing through Obito's mind.
After all, while he could accept someone like Black Zetsu, who looked like living tar, the truth was that what he loved most was Uchiha Rin's heart…
Still, if he could restore Rin to her beautiful girlhood form, Obito would be willing to pay almost any price!
People are always honest with themselves—and even the most extreme Uchiha can still be a sucker for a pretty face.
And in this room, which originally belonged to Isshiki and had once been the Raikage's office—
Isshiki himself was actually still here. He had shrunk himself to an extreme degree using his dōjutsu, Sukunahikona, and preemptively masked his chakra signature, allowing him to eavesdrop on the Uchiha's entire conversation with impunity.
Isshiki hadn't instructed his puppet agents to resist Madara and the others' control—
In fact, much like Kazuki, he had gone along with it willingly, handing over control without the slightest resistance.
Isshiki didn't care about troops or territory. All he wanted was for these disposable pawns to help dig Kazuki's seal out from the depths of the sea—giving him one crucial moment to act, before the Sage of Six Paths could react, and refine both Kazuki and Kaguya into pure chakra elixirs.
Compared to acting personally, having Madara, Izuna, and the others fight in his stead was far more convenient.
Ideally, they'd all exhaust themselves fighting tooth and nail, depleting their chakra reserves—then Isshiki could swoop in and claim the prize while everyone else was too busy tearing each other apart.
He observed them with growing interest…
Three Uchiha—and none of them wielded an ordinary Mangekyō. In his current state, without activating his Kāma form, Isshiki wasn't confident he could defeat even one of them in a direct confrontation.
"This one… Uchiha Madara. Awakening the Rinnegan as a mere mortal—this filthy little world might be more interesting than I thought. Probably the handiwork of that woman's son, no doubt…"
His gaze slid toward Izuna, but he quickly lost interest—this one was clearly the brains, but not worth paying attention to.
But when Isshiki focused on Obito, his eyes lit up!
That boy… was different!
From Obito's body, Isshiki could sense a presence similar to Kaguya's—and not just similar, but incredibly pure!
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