[When working as a hired hand, Black Zetsu usually clung to White Zetsu.]
[On the surface, it was Akatsuki's scout, but in reality, it was monitoring Obito's every move, keeping track of the main storyline, and occasionally acting as a live commentator.]
[During the Fourth Great Ninja War, "Director Black Zetsu" even pulled in the "Dream Weaver" Kabuto for a supporting role.]
[Kabuto used Edo Tensei to revive the deceased Madara and helped Obito orchestrate the war.]
[This move by "Director Black" was truly a masterstroke—it perfectly gathered the scattered human chakra into one place.]
[After Obito's defeat, Black Zetsu manipulated him into reviving the protagonist, Uchiha Madara, until Madara had reabsorbed all the Tailed Beasts.]
[The God Tree took root, draining countless ninjas of their chakra.]
[As the Ten-Tails' Jinchūriki, Madara, after casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi, gazed at his soon-to-be-realized vision of world peace with satisfaction.]
[However, in Black Zetsu's eyes, Madara was nothing more than the perfect resurrection vessel.]
[Madara, unable to relieve himself when someone was watching, didn't notice Black Zetsu silently creeping up behind him.]
[Gazing at Madara's smooth, defenseless back, Black Zetsu unleashed a millennium's worth of accumulated skill—backstabbing him with a "Black Tiger Heart Piercer," running straight through his body, leaving the so-called mastermind completely dumbfounded.]
[Only then did "Director Madara" realize that the background character he had used as a mere extra was actually the true mastermind all along.]
[Madara: Damn, I ended up as the extra.]
"Edo Tensei?"
Watching himself being resurrected through Kabuto's Edo Tensei on the light screen, Madara glanced at Tobirama with a smirk and said, "Don't you have anything to say?"
Tobirama, expressionless, replied, "What do you expect me to say?"
"Don't you think the technique you created has brought great disaster to the ninja world in later generations?"
On the light screen, alongside Madara, many others had been revived by Edo Tensei.
Madara didn't know their exact strength.
But if they had been resurrected alongside him, they couldn't be too weak.
And even if they were, didn't he have himself?
He alone was worth an entire army.
"Jutsu are dead, but people are alive. Just like how I used Resurrection Jutsu to bring Izuna back—can you really say my method is evil?"
Tobirama lifted his chin and questioned Madara.
If Madara dared to call his jutsu evil, then Tobirama would have the perfect chance to drive a wedge between the Uchiha brothers.
It might not work, but at the very least, it would annoy them.
Clearly, Madara saw through Tobirama's intentions. He just scoffed and didn't bother replying.
"But Tobirama, this jutsu of yours is indeed very dangerous."
Since Madara wasn't speaking, Hashirama stepped in.
Seeing his older brother about to lecture him, Tobirama shut him down immediately.
"Mm, I know I was wrong, big brother."
"Good, as long as you're willing to correct your mistakes."
Tobirama: I know I was wrong, but I'm not changing a thing!
"Just as I thought—Madara is the vessel for Kaguya's resurrection."
In the Third Hokage's era, Orochimaru licked his lips with great interest. Then, as if suddenly realizing something, he frowned in surprise.
"Wait, there was too much information just now, and I didn't process it properly. But looking again—why does Madara look so young?"
Thanks to Orochimaru's reminder, everyone else started to notice it too.
Madara was supposed to be an old man when he died.
By the nature of Edo Tensei, the reanimated body should reflect the state of the person at their time of death.
If someone died at thirty, their Edo Tensei body would be that of a thirty-year-old.
The same applied at fifty.
Madara was at least seventy or eighty when he died.
So why did the Madara in the light screen look like he was only in his thirties?
Does that even make sense?
No, it doesn't.
"Looks like Kabuto made quite a few modifications and preparations for Edo Tensei Madara."
Based on the information revealed in other videos from the light screen, Orochimaru knew that by that time, he had already been "dead" for a long time.
The only one capable of performing Edo Tensei was Kabuto.
So, whether it was improving the technique or modifying Madara's Edo Tensei body, Kabuto had done it all by himself.
"I have no idea how he pulled it off."
Orochimaru had always been working on improving Edo Tensei.
Back when he casually resurrected Danzo, he had tried to integrate Hashirama's cells into the process.
There were some effects, but not to the extent of Madara's Edo Tensei body regaining its youth.
"Orochimaru, what are you thinking about?"
Orochimaru glanced at Jiraiya and chuckled. "I'm thinking… if we had that kind of technology, we could skip the cloning process entirely. We could directly summon a younger version of the deceased through Edo Tensei, then use Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth to bring them back to life."
"Would that even work?"
"Why wouldn't it?"
Jiraiya pondered for a moment. Orochimaru's words actually made sense.
Konoha had the means to bring people back to life. They had the Rinnegan.
If they could summon younger versions of the dead like Kabuto did in the light screen, Konoha could save a huge amount of resources.
"Wait a minute, Jiraiya, Orochimaru—how do you know that modifying Edo Tensei bodies would cost less than using clones?"
In response to Tsunade's question, Orochimaru explained, "That doesn't matter. Even if modifying Edo Tensei bodies costs a bit more, as long as it's not ridiculously expensive, it's worth it. After all, the Rinnegan can revive multiple people at once, saving a lot of time and effort."
"Fine, I'll admit you have a point."
Maturing a clone quickly while ensuring there were no major complications would take at least a month.
With Edo Tensei and the Rinnegan working together, there was no need for such a long process. Summon, revive—efficiency was the key.
Obito had too many people he needed to bring back. If they used clones for all of them, it wouldn't just waste a lot of time—it would also take up too much space in the lab.
"Orochimaru, your idea isn't bad, but using Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth like this is kind of cruel to the ones casting it… It makes me feel a little guilty."
"Cruel? Guilty?"
Orochimaru chuckled as he looked at Jiraiya and said, "If we bring back those who used Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth for free afterward and even compensate them financially, wouldn't that ease some of your so-called guilt? Besides, I don't think the caster would find it cruel either. Right, Obito?"
"Huh?"
Obito looked completely confused.
He had been watching the screen, fully focused, and had no idea why Orochimaru suddenly mentioned him.
"Obito, you need money—a lot of money."
With Rin's reminder, Obito finally caught on. His eyes immediately lit up as he said, "That's right! As long as the money is enough, calling it cruel is a stretch. Honestly, I'd rather say—Orochimaru, go ahead and use me as much as you want!"
"See?"
Orochimaru spread his hands toward Jiraiya, as if saying, You're overthinking it.
Jiraiya could only smile awkwardly and turn his head away.
Just when everyone thought the conversation was over, this timeline's Izuna spoke up, looking rather exasperated.
"Wait a minute, the Rinnegan belongs to my brother, right? Shouldn't you at least ask the original owner's opinion?"
"I doubt Lord Madara would mind."
Orochimaru smiled warmly, but Izuna felt a chill run down his spine.
"You wouldn't want Lord Madara to stay dead, would you?"
Orochimaru's meaning was obvious.
If Izuna refused, then Madara wouldn't be revived.
With Nagato's Rinnegan already in Konoha, they had everything they needed.
"You—"
Izuna was completely stuck. His mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
********
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