The battle ended cleanly and decisively.
Blue B was not a perfect jinchūriki like Roshi, and could not perfectly use tailed-beast transformation.
He did not even get the chance to use the tailed beast's power.
The battle was already over.
"All done."
Renya removed his mask and casually wiped away a line of bloody tears from the corner of his eye.
For him, the ability of his left eye was more than sufficient; there was no need to use the ability of his right eye at all.
Was it because he did not want to use it?
In truth, it was simply because he did not dare to.
The right-eye dōjutsu [Hakuri] was extremely domineering, capable of forcibly "stripping away" a certain attribute from its target.
Such an ability consumed an enormous amount of ocular power.
From the moment his eyes awakened until now, he had never dared to use the right-eye dōjutsu.
If he used it a few times recklessly, he might end up completely blinding himself.
Although he had discovered that the ocular power consumed by the Mangekyō could slowly recover, he still did not dare to use it.
If recovery could not keep up with consumption, he would go blind all the same.
He was still young and had not yet inherited Madara's legacy; he could not afford to play his eyes into blindness like this.
Another day of envying Sasuke.
Having a good big brother willing to actively offer up his legacy really was something else.
Even if his eyes were ruined, he could immediately transplant new ones.
Unlike him, who could only silently wait for the right opportunity in order to inherit Madara-sama's legacy.
"Comparing people really does drive you to death…"
Renya sighed helplessly and hoisted Blue B onto his shoulder.
...
Dozens of meters underground.
"So that kid is impersonating my name?"
Madara Uchiha wore a strange expression. That kid was actually using his banner to swindle people.
But he did not really mind.
As long as Renya could collect the nine tailed beasts for him, what did it matter if he used his name in the shinobi world?
The "Eye of the Moon" had originally been Madara Uchiha's plan to bring peace to the shinobi world.
What Renya was doing was, in essence, not really a problem.
"Madara-sama, I'm back."
Soon, Renya brought the unconscious Blue B into the underground space and casually threw him onto the ground like a piece of trash.
Madara Uchiha looked at Blue B on the ground, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He knew it. That kid Renya was not honest.
Capturing the Eight-Tails was not difficult for him, yet it had dragged on for an entire month.
If he had not issued the order himself, who knew how long this kid would have delayed it.
It seemed that next time he would need to change the way he sent Renya to capture the tailed beasts.
If he directly issued time-limited missions, there would be no need to worry about him slacking off.
Renya noticed Madara-sama's undisguised look of suspicion and could not help feeling helpless.
Ever since Madara-sama grew old, he had become suspicious of everything.
He was actually questioning his loyalty.
Who did not know that he was Madara-sama's most loyal follower?
Madara Uchiha had left the village for so many years, and only he had loyally stayed by his side.
And now he was questioning his loyalty—truly chilling.
Just like before, Madara Uchiha formed seals and controlled the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to extend chains and absorb the Eight-Tails' chakra.
The Eight-Tails was dragged out of the sealing space by the chains, and upon seeing the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, felt as though the sky itself had collapsed.
Why was this thing here?!
"No, no!"
No matter how its enormous body struggled, it was useless. It was soon absorbed by the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
As the Eight-Tails was absorbed, Blue B on the ground likewise lost all signs of life. At the same time, one of the Demonic Statue's eight tightly shut eyes slowly opened.
Renya knew that once all nine tailed beasts were collected, the Ten-Tails could be revived.
There were still seven tailed beasts left, so there was still room to continue dragging things out.
In a few more years, he would really give Madara-sama something to see.
It was normal for Madara Uchiha not to trust Renya; after all, he had never planned to truly implement the "Eye of the Moon" plan from the very beginning.
Everything he was doing now was merely to placate Madara.
If the two of them truly fell out completely,
Renya would not mind calling in his companions to gang up on the aged Madara-sama.
Fists fear the young and strong.
He did not believe that Madara Uchiha could be so powerful as to defeat a whole group of young people at once.
If he really were that strong, he would have gone to capture the tailed beasts himself long ago—why would he need to rely on him?
The reason Renya had not acted directly was simply because he wanted to give Madara some dignity.
Being defeated by Renya alone and being defeated by a group—the meanings of those two outcomes were different.
If Renya defeated Madara Uchiha by himself, he could use the truth to persuade him to return to the village and retire.
And conveniently inherit the legacy and all that.
But if it were a group, it would become a situation of no death, no end.
He had been with Madara for so many years and did not want things to come to that.
From the moment Madara Uchiha awakened the Rinnegan, their relationship could never return to what it once was.
Madara did indeed admire Renya, but he valued the "Eye of the Moon" plan even more.
Before the ideal of peace in the shinobi world, nothing else really mattered.
Including the so-called Konoha friendship—it was no longer important.
"You did well. Next, continue capturing the other tailed beasts."
Madara Uchiha looked at the silent Renya and said in a deep voice.
"I'll give you one month. I want to see a new tailed beast."
"Madara-sama, I'm still fighting a war. Where would I find the time to capture other tailed beasts?"
Renya began describing the hardships of the battlefield, hoping this would buy him more time.
What a joke.
One tailed beast per month—wouldn't that mean the Ten-Tails could be revived in less than a year?
He absolutely could not let Madara-sama get his wish!
Madara Uchiha showed no expression, merely watching Renya perform in silence.
This kid was definitely trying to delay things by selling misery…
After Renya finished speaking, Madara still did not say a word.
After an unknown amount of time, Madara Uchiha finally spoke slowly.
"You have the Flying Thunder God Technique. Capturing tailed beasts is not difficult for you."
Renya: "…"
So after all that explaining, Madara-sama had not listened at all.
"White Zetsu."
As Madara's words fell, two White Zetsu emerged from the ground, each holding a weapon.
When Renya saw the weapons in White Zetsu's hands, he froze on the spot.
Weren't those Madara-sama's Gunbai and scythe?
Could it be that he was already starting to inherit the legacy now?!
Just as Renya thought, the two White Zetsu respectfully handed the weapons to him.
"These are the weapons I used back then. I'm handing them over to you now."
Madara Uchiha's eyes, calm as an ancient well, stared at Renya as he spoke in a low voice.
"I hope you don't disappoint me."
This was the first time Madara had said such words to Renya face to face…
He did not know why Renya was deliberately delaying the capture of the tailed beasts, but he wanted Renya to turn back from the wrong path and wholeheartedly implement the "Eye of the Moon" plan.
The two of them would together realize true peace in the shinobi world!
"I understand, Madara-sama."
Renya took the Gunbai and the scythe and spoke with a solemn expression.
Since he had inherited Madara-sama's legacy, he could only go and capture one more tailed beast.
After all, it was hard to refuse when you had taken someone's things.
As for the remaining tailed beasts, he would think about them later.
In any case, he absolutely could not let Madara-sama gather all the tailed beasts within a single year…