"Excellent! Fourth Hokage, you've got some serious potential!"
Madara generously patted Minato's shoulder, his eyes brimming with praise.
'This Minato kid, aside from that Hiraishin no Jutsu he learned from that scoundrel Tobirama, everything about him is deeply satisfying.'
'Such a pity he married so early; otherwise, he'd be a perfect match for an Uchiha!'
'But no matter, his son still has a chance.'
'After all, he won't escape the charm of Uchiha beauty!'
Meanwhile, Obito stood there, dumbfounded.
'Something's off. Is this still the cunning, strategic Madara I know? Why is he so easygoing?'
'Just a Hokage statue?'
'Something as trivial as fame could move Madara? That's absurd, isn't it?'
'Or is Minato-sensei's charm really that overwhelming?'
'I don't get it, I really don't.'
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
"Hmm? Minato kid, what's with your eyes?"
"This…?"
Amid his excitement, Madara noticed the black eyes Minato had transplanted, instantly recognizing them as Otsutsuki Isshiki's.
He vividly remembered that freak who nearly killed him and Hashirama last time!
"It's a gift from the Lord, specially transplanted to defeat Otsutsuki Isshiki."
"Unfortunately, I lack the bloodline, so I can't close these black eyes. My apologies."
Like the Sharingan, forcibly transplanted eyes without a matching bloodline couldn't be deactivated, and Minato was no exception.
Fortunately, Minato's body had the 'Kyuubi nuclear battery,' so he wasn't afraid of chakra exhaustion or weakening like Kakashi did after his transplant.
Otherwise, Kushina would never have allowed Minato to recklessly transplant those eyes.
"That bastard's eyes? So, you can now shrink and expand things?"
"Yes, I've basically mastered the black eye's techniques."
In terms of compatibility, the Black Eye was undoubtedly more suited to Minato.
The combination of Hiraishin no Jutsu and Sukunahikona was beyond question.
In comparison, even if Madara transplanted the Black Eye, it wouldn't match his own Rinnegan.
This was also why Lux gave the Black Eye to Minato.
"Hahaha! Good! Good! Good!"
"Then you must be much stronger now. Come, fight me, let me see how well you can dance now!"
Madara was instantly fired up.
Aside from Hashirama, he could barely find a worthy opponent to truly enjoy a fight with.
The old Minato, while strong, was still far from a Kage's peak. But now, with the Black Eye transplant, he was fully capable of bridging that gap.
Simply put, he now had the strength to be a true opponent.
Madara, craving a fierce battle, naturally set his sights on Minato.
"This…"
"Hmm? You're not interested?"
"To spar with Madara-sama is, of course, my honor. But we should first deal with the White Zetsu issue, so the Rinnegan over there isn't gone for too long."
Minato didn't refuse the fight, nor was he afraid to test his skills against Madara.
But as Hokage, he had to prioritize critical matters.
Sparring could wait; there was no rush.
"Hmph! You think I'd go back on my word? Fine, let's handle this trivial matter first."
"Hey! Kid over there, release your genjutsu."
Madara snorted softly but complied, ordering Obito.
Obito froze for a moment, instinctively releasing the genjutsu on Spiral White Zetsu and the main White Zetsu body.
The latter woke up immediately.
"Obito, you can't possibly win…"
"Huh?"
"Madara-sama?"
"Madara-sama, how are you alive?!?"
The newly awakened main White Zetsu body immediately noticed Uchiha Madara beside Minato, shocked beyond belief.
Wasn't Madara-sama dead?
Why was he here?
And in such a formidable state?
Could the plan have succeeded? Had Obito already revived Madara-sama?
Then why was Namikaze Minato still alive?
This made no sense?!!
"No—this is all genjutsu! It can't be real! It must be your genjutsu…"
The main White Zetsu's face twisted in horror, shouting fiercely.
It clearly couldn't believe that after Madara's revival, he'd ally with Konoha.
This completely upended all its beliefs and goals, nearly shattering White Zetsu's worldview…
"Fool! You dare question my existence? Then open your pathetic eyes and see if this power is an illusion!"
Madara roared, furious and displeased, clenching his fist.
A massive, surging chakra erupted, quickly forming a towering, complete Susano'o.
The colossal Susano'o pierced through the entire secret chamber, destroying the hidden underground temporary base in an instant…
But it didn't end there.
With Madara's Susano'o revealed, bloodshed was inevitable.
*SWOOSH!*
The Susano'o's sword sliced through the air, cleaving rock layers, and struck in an instant!
"No… Madara-sama—"
The main White Zetsu body pleaded in terror.
Unfortunately, this Madara wasn't the Parallel World 4 Madara who created this White Zetsu; even that Madara wouldn't show mercy to a disposable tool like White Zetsu.
One slash obliterated the main White Zetsu body, its flesh torn apart by the fierce, sharp chakra sword aura!
Dead on the spot.
Madara turned, locking onto Spiral White Zetsu, his terrifying killing intent unmasked.
"This chakra, this power… It's really Madara-sama?!"
Spiral White Zetsu was also terrified.
Being naturally sharper, it could distinguish reality from illusion, especially with this unmatched power.
No doubt, the man before it was the living Madara!
"Not entirely brainless…"
Madara withdrew his Susano'o, too lazy to bother with Spiral White Zetsu anymore.
But in the information-starved eyes of Spiral White Zetsu, everything was different.
Spiral White Zetsu wept with joy, instantly imagining countless scenarios.
Since Madara was revived and standing with Konoha's people, there was only one possibility.
Obito had revived Madara, and Madara had already taken control of the entire Konoha Village!
Though it didn't know how Madara did it, this was undoubtedly the most logical truth…
There was no way Konoha could have turned the tables and controlled Uchiha Madara.
No matter how brilliant Minato was, he was no match for Madara!
With this in mind, Spiral White Zetsu grew even more ecstatic, reverting to its talkative, comical self.
It even joyfully hugged Obito nearby.
"Obito, you sneaky bastard, pulling one over on everyone!"
"Madara-sama's revived and has long taken control of Konoha Village, and you didn't say a word?"
"I really thought you'd betrayed us! By the way, when did you get so good at acting? I almost believed you were actually going to kill me!"
Obito, with Spiral White Zetsu's arm around his shoulder, forced an awkward, ugly smile.
He wanted to correct Spiral White Zetsu's wild misunderstanding but didn't know where to start; he couldn't exactly explain that this Madara was from another spacetime.
And this outrageous misunderstanding was, for now, somewhat advantageous.
"Quiet! Stop blabbering."
Obito deliberately warned.
If possible, he didn't want to kill Spiral White Zetsu. After all, among the batch of White Zetsus, this one had been the kindest to him.
If it could be persuaded to switch sides and spared, it would be highly useful.
'I heard Minato-sensei is still preparing to face Otsutsuki Isshiki?'
Then, with his dual Kamui and Spiral White Zetsu's enhancements, he could definitely help.
"Why so tense? You're a big hero now. Madara-sama won't eat you, will he?"
Spiral White Zetsu joked with a grin, as if winking at the gates of hell.
"Get going! Retrieve my Rinnegan now, I'll only say it once!"
Madara lost his patience, roaring angrily, not wanting to waste words with the annoying White Zetsu.
"Got it! I'll go right away!"
Spiral White Zetsu received the order, and since it was from Madara, it didn't hesitate, immediately acting.
"Obito, wait for me to return! I'll 'wait for you' again…"
With that, Spiral White Zetsu dove underground to chase the Pitcher Plant White Zetsu carrying the Rinnegan.
This left only Obito, pale-faced, and Madara's gaze on him grew more disdainful.
As if to say: As an Uchiha ninja, why not learn something worthwhile instead of indulging in such weird nonsense?
Disgusting! Disgusting…