Chapter 302: Uchiha Madara: What a Remarkable Hagoromo Gengetsu!

Chapter 302: Uchiha Madara: What a Remarkable Hagoromo Gengetsu!

"Lord Madara!" In a distant cave away from Konoha, Black Zetsu respectfully addressed Uchiha Madara.

Uchiha Madara glanced coldly at Black Zetsu, arms crossed, and said, "Speak. What's going on? Why am I appearing in this world through Reanimation?"

Konoha's people couldn't possibly Reanimate him, and they didn't have his DNA sample. It could only be Black Zetsu, who had custody of his body.

Upon hearing this, Black Zetsu looked remorseful and said, "I'm sorry, Lord Madara. The plan you entrusted to us has failed. We could only bring you back through Reanimation."

"Failed?" Uchiha Madara frowned. "What about Obito? What was he doing?"

"Obito... is dead."

"Dead?"

Uchiha Madara sensed the gravity of the situation and said with a somber expression, "Who killed him?"

With Obito's Mangekyō Sharingan and Hashirama cells, there were almost no one in the ninja world who could kill him. For him to be killed meant the assailant had to be overwhelmingly powerful. Could it be...

"It was Hagoromo Gengetsu!!" Black Zetsu gritted his teeth.

Uchiha Madara's eyes narrowed, understanding. "So, Hagoromo Gengetsu has indeed been resurrected. How did he manage it?"

Uchiha Madara was very interested in Hagoromo Gengetsu's resurrection.

Black Zetsu shook his head. "All we know is that Hagoromo Gengetsu was Reanimated during the Chunin Exams, then broke free from the technique's control and left on his own. The second time he appeared, he obtained a soul-related secret technique from Tsunade. By his third appearance, he had successfully resurrected, defeated the AB combo from the Hidden Cloud Village at Valley of the Gods, and severed one of the Fourth Raikage's arms. The entire resurrection process took less than a month."

"Reanimation..."

Uchiha Madara looked at his own hands. He had been Reanimated, but had no clue how to resurrect himself from it. Hagoromo Gengetsu had managed to achieve what he could not, which stirred Uchiha Madara's competitive spirit unpleasantly.

As the topic seemed to veer off, Black Zetsu quickly redirected it, pouring out his grievances: "Lord Madara, not only did Hagoromo Gengetsu kill Obito, he also killed Nagato and took the Rinnegan! He has also captured the Gedo Statue and all the Tailed Beasts."

"I don't know how Hagoromo Gengetsu learned about the Eye of the Moon Plan. While Obito and I were proceeding smoothly, he suddenly appeared and took all our accomplishments. Now, the final step is within sight!"

The news from Black Zetsu was shocking.

After snapping back to reality, Uchiha Madara first was stunned, then grabbed Black Zetsu forcefully, pulling him closer to get a detailed account of everything that had happened since his death.

Black Zetsu had to painstakingly recount the entire tale, starting from how Uchiha Obito recruited Nagato and formed the Akatsuki, detailing all of Hagoromo Gengetsu's actions, and ending with the current situation where Hagoromo Gengetsu was about to face the Allied Shinobi Forces.

"Well done! What a remarkable Hagoromo Gengetsu!" Uchiha Madara let go of Black Zetsu, his expression cold and stern.

No wonder Hashirama had asked earlier why his eyes looked like Hagoromo Gengetsu's. It turned out Hagoromo Gengetsu had taken his Rinnegan and implanted them in himself. Not only that, but he also took all the progress of the Eye of the Moon Plan.

How had he not known that Hagoromo Gengetsu was such a thief before?

No wonder Black Zetsu had brought him back through Reanimation. The current situation couldn't be worse. Without the Rinnegan, his plan to resurrect himself was impossible. Without the Gedo Statue and the Tailed Beasts, he could only watch as Hagoromo Gengetsu executed the Eye of the Moon Plan.

As for the outcome being the same?

Uchiha Madara believed that the Eye of the Moon Plan could only be considered a success if he was the one to complete it. Anyone else doing it did not count. Thus, he could not tolerate Hagoromo Gengetsu carrying out the Eye of the Moon Plan.

However, Hagoromo Gengetsu pursuing the Eye of the Moon Plan was unexpected to Uchiha Madara.

Since when had Hagoromo Gengetsu become interested in this?

At this point, Black Zetsu, feeling guilty, said, "I am sorry for failing your trust, Lord Madara."

Uchiha Madara glanced at Black Zetsu, waved his hand, and said, "If the enemy is Hagoromo Gengetsu, your failure is understandable."

Uchiha Madara was not a forgiving person. Against other enemies, if Black Zetsu and Obito had failed despite having all the resources he provided, he would have unleashed his fury upon Black Zetsu.

But Hagoromo Gengetsu was different. Like Senju Hashirama, he was one of the few adversaries Uchiha Madara acknowledged, both in the past and now. Other individuals were just insignificant.

In Uchiha Madara's view, it was normal for Black Zetsu and Obito to lose to Hagoromo Gengetsu; not losing would be abnormal. However, recognizing this didn't alleviate his anger over losing everything to Hagoromo Gengetsu. Given the chance, he would gladly send Hagoromo Gengetsu back to the underworld.

"Lord Madara, what should we do now?" Seeing that Uchiha Madara was no longer blaming him, Black Zetsu asked.

Uchiha Madara remained silent.

Normally, he would directly confront Hagoromo Gengetsu, defeat him, and reclaim everything. But now, even without Black Zetsu saying it, from what he had seen, not only had Konoha gathered numerous ninjas, but Hashirama and various Kages from the Five Great Ninja Villages had all been Reanimated.

For Konoha, which upheld the Will of Fire and prided itself on righteousness, to be forced into such a state, it was clear how powerful Hagoromo Gengetsu had become.

As a mere Reanimated being, he stood no chance against Hagoromo Gengetsu.

Unless he truly resurrected.

But the Rinnegan was now with Hagoromo Gengetsu, making it far from easy to reclaim it.

Uchiha Madara glanced at Black Zetsu. Perhaps, he would need to rely on Black Zetsu's abilities.

In front of the Gedo Statue.

With the final wisp of Tailed Beast chakra being extracted, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki slowly descended.

On top of the Gedo Statue, the last eye had fully opened.

Despite lacking half of the Nine-Tails, the Gedo Statue, with eight and a half eyes fully opened, was no longer the silent entity it once was. Chains around it clanked continuously, and the Gedo Statue exuded an unprecedentedly imposing and terrifying presence.

Additionally, the immense, previously unattainable Tailed Beast chakra gathered within its body now even made Hagoromo Gengetsu feel a sense of oppression.

Hagoromo Gengetsu understood that the Gedo Statue, now containing eight and a half Tailed Beasts, was ready to become the Ten-Tails.

Whether it was an illusion or not, a voice seemed to whisper temptingly within him, urging him to become the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.

In an instant, Hagoromo Gengetsu suppressed the urge, looking at the enticing Gedo Statue, and calmly said, "It's not time yet."

The earlier he became the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, the sooner he would be closely tied to Otsutsuki Kaguya. To avoid being influenced by Kaguya and ensure the smooth progress of his plan to collect planetary chakra, the shorter the time spent as the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, the higher the success rate.

Suppressing his eagerness, Hagoromo Gengetsu withdrew his gaze from the Gedo Statue and turned his attention to the outside world.

"Now, just one last piece of the puzzle remains."