For the first time ever, Madara showed a dramatic change of expression—even though he had remained largely unfazed after seeing Seiki Shimaseki's ambitions, and even after hearing that he wanted to seek immortality.
"Is what he said really true?" Madara stared intensely at Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu deliberately showed an expression of confusion and bewilderment in his eyes. "I don't know anything about this! Could it be that a future version of me, or a version from a parallel world, came here seeking revenge?"
"Bold talk, huh!" Seiki Shimaseki shook his head in admiration. "However, back then I took part of your body, and after studying it over the years, I discovered that part of you has already existed for over a thousand years! Don't tell me future-you time-traveled too much and ended up a thousand years ago, then struggled your way to this time?"
Black Zetsu fell silent. Although he could keep defending himself, he knew it was meaningless now.
He could fool Madara at most, but Seiki Shimaseki was already certain he was guilty. Under these circumstances, hoping the other side wouldn't take him seriously enough and allow him to fake his death to escape was no longer possible.
Seeing Black Zetsu's reaction, Madara instantly realized that Seiki Shimaseki had spoken the truth.
Combined with what Seiki Shimaseki had said about his life being manipulated, Madara couldn't help but ask, "When did your influence over me begin?"
Black Zetsu instinctively glanced at Shimaseki, thinking, "Now I can only try my best to get closer to him. Tell him what he wants to know, then slightly twist the parts about the mother and Hagoromo!"
Thinking thus, Black Zetsu looked at Madara with a gaze that mixed sympathy and mockery. "Since the day you were born, your entire life has been under my control! Including your encounter with Hashirama Senju, Izuna's death, deciphering the shrine stone tablet, awakening the Rinnegan, and even your resurrection after death—everything has been false. It's all merely what I wanted you to see!"
Madara's eyes bulged with rage. "Impossible! This absolutely cannot be true!"
Black Zetsu laughed loudly. "You find it reasonable when it happened to Nagato and Obito, yet why can't you accept it happening to yourself? Did you really think you were the only special one?"
"Think about it. Why did you happen to meet Hashirama so coincidentally? Why have you been the only one in a thousand years to awaken the Rinnegan? Why did you discover those White Zetsus? Of course, it's all because of me! You should really thank me properly!"
Madara closed his eyes tightly, took a few deep breaths, and steadied himself. "Perhaps what you said is indeed true, but my time fighting alongside Hashirama, and my time spent with Izuna—that was real! My life definitely isn't as meaningless and false as you describe!"
"Indeed worthy of being Madara, managing to calm yourself so quickly!" Black Zetsu remarked. "But this is all there is to it. The meaning you spent your life seeking was nothing but illusion. Truly pitiful!"
"Then you—why did you go through so much trouble to get me to awaken the Rinnegan and use Infinite Tsukuyomi? What exactly do you hope for?" Madara coldly demanded.
"The real drama starts now!" Black Zetsu composed himself, speaking with an air of compassion. "It all started from—oh wait a moment…"
Before he could finish speaking, Seiki Shimaseki sealed him away directly!
A twitch appeared at the corner of Madara's mouth. What a pain in the ass, cutting someone off like that!
Madara pushed all thoughts of Black Zetsu aside and coldly asked, "Logically speaking, someone like me—who knows your secret—should never be allowed to return to the Pure Land. At best, I'd be sealed away! So why tell me all this? Just to crush my pride?"
"Secret? What secret? Stop slandering me!" Seiki Shimaseki sighed in frustration first, then said, "Though the world sees you as ruthless and cruel, deep down, you still want to bring peace to this world."
"Didn't you already learn that from Obito? Are you saying this now just to mock me?" Madara said, clearly annoyed.
"Don't be ridiculous! I'm not that bored!" Seiki laughed. "But your dream has ended. How about helping me achieve mine instead? As you just heard, Black Zetsu has existed for over a thousand years—it's clear that immortality isn't just a myth!"
Madara's heart jolted slightly. He had been so shaken by Black Zetsu's words earlier that he had overlooked the fact that Black Zetsu had lived for a thousand years.
If even Black Zetsu could pull it off, there was no reason someone stronger—like Seiki Shimaseki—couldn't do the same.
Even if true immortality wasn't possible, if Seiki could live a thousand years like Black Zetsu, the idea of peace could become an iron rule of the world!
Still, Madara couldn't understand, "With your strength and abilities, what is there you can't accomplish? Why would you need my power?"
He wasn't trying to downplay his own strength, but let's face it—Seiki was just too strong!
In a full-power fight, even five of him might not be enough to beat the guy.
It was like the difference between him and Hashirama versus a regular Kage—it was like they came from entirely different dimensions!
Under those circumstances, he really didn't think he had any role to play here.
"When facing an unknown and terrifying threat, every bit of strength must be gained if possible!" Seiki said solemnly.
Madara narrowed his eyes slightly, "Interesting. What kind of threat could even someone like you fear so much? Could it be the entity Black Zetsu was about to mention earlier?"
"Sort of, but not exactly."
Madara exhaled deeply, "I can help you, but don't get the wrong idea—I'm not submitting to your authority or becoming your follower. It's only because you exposed Black Zetsu, and I'm repaying a debt for Izuna's sake."
"I understand perfectly!" Seiki said with a cheerful smile.
Madara crossed his arms, "Then tell me—what do you want me to do?"
Seiki smiled and asked, "Ever heard of the paradise I built—the Dream World?"
"The Dream World?" Madara arched a brow. "I've heard a thing or two about it."
"Great!" Seiki clapped his hands. "Then I plan to seal you into the Dream World as a world boss for people to challenge!"
Battling was the fastest way to get stronger—unless you're cheating, of course. With Madara Uchiha's contribution, the overall strength of the shinobi world would surely skyrocket!
Though Madara didn't quite understand what a "world boss" meant, he got the gist.
His expression darkened instantly, "You want me to babysit a bunch of kids like it's some game?"
"How could it be like playing pretend?" Seiki tried to calm him down. "Only elite Jonin-level shinobi will be allowed to challenge you!"
"So it's still just a child's game then?"
"Madara snapped in anger.
'Regardless, this is also a promotion for you!' Seiki tempted, 'Wait until those threats I mentioned arrive. I might even recall the First Hokage by then. At that time, you'll have a chance to outshine the First Hokage!'
'I'm stronger than him already!' Madara emphasized first, then said, 'I'll only spar with them once a day!'
'Sure thing, just receive them once a day!'
'That's not so ba—,' Madara was saying when his expression suddenly changed. Damn it, what did you mean by 'receive'?
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