On the other side.
At the Akatsuki's secret base.
Hashirama stood in front of a full-length mirror, staring down at the black robe adorned with red clouds that he was wearing. The expression on his face could only be described as extraordinarily complicated.
'Hokage-sama, why have you rebelled?'
For some reason, that sentence suddenly popped into Hashirama's mind.
He raised his right hand and tugged at the red cloud embroidered across the chest of his black robe. Then he lowered his head and glanced at the identical red cloud pattern on his sleeve.
Much to Hashirama's surprise, the quality of the robe was actually quite good.
Even after putting it on, he did not feel stuffy or uncomfortable in the slightest.
Based on what Hashirama had observed during this period, it rained constantly outside, and the buildings around the area were filled with numerous water pipes.
By now, he had already figured out that he had come to the Land of Rain.
Thinking of this, Hashirama raised his head and looked toward Madara, who was leaning against the wall. His eyes were filled with confusion.
"Madara, take another look and make sure."
Hashirama turned around to face Madara directly. He spread his arms wide, displaying the entire robe for the Uchiha to see.
"Although the quality of this robe is pretty good, are you really sure there is nothing wrong with your sense of fashion?"
For some reason, Hashirama could not understand why the robe had been designed in red and black. The combination gave him an inexplicably ominous feeling.
Madara stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the stone wall. His Mangekyo Sharingan slowly rotated as he examined Hashirama.
He had already changed out of his red armor. In its place was the same black robe decorated with red clouds.
As someone whose body was an Impure World Reincarnation, his armor was completely useless.
If he had possessed a living body, then his armor could at least have blocked an attack at a critical moment.
But with an Edo Tensei body, the only thing he truly had to fear was being sealed. Otherwise, no matter how many times he died, his body would simply regenerate.
"Hashirama."
Madara slowly opened his mouth.
His build was tall and imposing, and his physique naturally filled out the black and red cloud robe perfectly.
The Uchiha war fan and chained sickle were still strapped to his back, while his long hair fell loosely over his shoulders. His entire body radiated an overwhelming aura, as if he looked down upon the entire world.
Hearing Hashirama's question, a hint of amusement flashed through Madara's eyes.
"I was thinking, is there a possibility..."
"What possibility?"
Hashirama asked in confusion.
"That you're simply too unfashionable."
Madara answered calmly.
"I'm unfashionable?!"
Hashirama's eyes widened. His face was filled with disbelief.
He pointed at the robe Madara was wearing, which was exactly the same as his own, and his expression almost collapsed.
"Look at this outfit. It's completely black, and there are several red clouds embroidered all over it. If the two of us walk outside dressed like this, people are going to think we're from a circus troupe, you know?"
"And another thing, why do we have to wear nail polish?"
"This is standard equipment for the Akatsuki. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Don't you understand even that? Besides, the nail polish is part of the required outfit that goes with the black robe and red clouds. Do you think I wanted to paint my nails?"
Madara raised his right hand, displaying the freshly painted dark purple nail polish.
All core members of the Akatsuki were required to wear nail polish and were also assigned a ring.
However, Madara's explanation was nothing more than an excuse. In reality, he simply wanted to see what kind of reaction Hashirama would have.
"Also, Hashirama, stop wasting time. After all, you don't want the people of Konoha to see the dignified First Hokage become a rogue shinobi, do you?"
Hashirama's expression froze.
He remained silent for several seconds before quietly straightening the red cloud on his collar that he had accidentally pulled out of shape. He then lowered his head and glanced at the red cloud pattern on his sleeve.
His expression looked almost exactly like that of an old man on the subway who had just seen something he could not comprehend.
"Madara, you bastard..."
Hashirama shook his head. He felt that several decades after his death, Madara had changed quite a lot.
"Your ability to threaten people has certainly become much better than before."
"I learned it from you."
Hashirama was rendered speechless by those words.
Madara was right.
Hashirama was indeed confident that he could break free from the control Orochimaru had placed on him.
Although that junior named Orochimaru was certainly a genius, the precision of his Impure World Reincarnation technique was full of flaws in Hashirama's eyes. Breaking through it would be effortless for him.
The problem was that after Hashirama broke through the first layer of control, Madara had immediately added another layer of restraints of his own.
Madara's ocular power placed a rigid restriction on him. In his current state, Hashirama simply could not break free.
Moreover, Madara had already warned him that if he dared to act recklessly, Madara would personally make a trip to Konoha.
Hashirama knew Madara's strength very well.
During their battle at the Valley of the End, Hashirama had exhausted every ounce of his strength and had only barely managed to win by half a move.
Now, however, he was merely an Edo Tensei body, and his strength was somewhat reduced. If Madara truly decided to destroy Konoha, Hashirama would not be able to stop him.
Although he had heard that the junior named Kiyohara was extremely powerful, Hashirama had never personally witnessed his strength. As such, he had no definite understanding of just how strong the man really was.
Therefore, all he could do for now was play along and take things one step at a time.
Hashirama sighed.
There was nothing else he could do. From now on, he would simply have to accept wearing this outfit.
The First Hokage of Konoha, the God of Shinobi, and the leader of the Senju Clan had now put on the uniform of a rogue-shinobi organization.
If his younger brother, Tobirama, saw this scene, he would probably be so furious that he would jump straight out of his coffin.
Thinking of his younger brother, Hashirama suddenly remembered something.
He turned his head and looked at Madara, his gaze falling toward Madara's chest.
He remembered the battle he had fought with Madara on the day they had first been resurrected.
The two of them had exchanged dozens of blows. At one point, Hashirama had punched Madara directly in the chest, cracking a large section of his armor.
And underneath those cracks, Hashirama had seen a face.
It was his own face.
Hashirama had been holding this question inside for several days, but he had never found a suitable opportunity to ask about it.
Now that both of them had changed clothes and were sitting around waiting for time to pass, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.
"By the way, Madara."
Hashirama walked over and sat down cross-legged in front of Madara. He placed both hands on his knees and leaned forward slightly, a look of curiosity appearing on his face.
"There is something I've been wanting to ask you. Why is there a face of me on your chest?"
Hearing this, Madara turned his head.
His Mangekyo Sharingan met Hashirama's pure black eyes.
Originally, Madara had intended to say, To obtain greater power.
That was the explanation he had prepared long ago, and it was also the truth.
But when the words reached his lips, he looked at Hashirama's face, which was practically right in front of him, and for some inexplicable reason, he changed his answer.
"Oh, that? I thought it looked good."
"Looked good?"
Hashirama's first reaction was disbelief.
He immediately remembered something Madara had said back when they were both alive.
According to legend, a certain deity divided the world into two opposing forces, Yin and Yang, in order to bring stability. When opposing elements interacted with one another, they would give rise to all things in existence.
However, Madara had also said that this concept could be interpreted in another way.
Could this be the way Madara had chosen to interpret it?
"After combining the Senju and Uchiha, could opposing powers actually work together instead?"
Hashirama furrowed his brows. Almost instinctively, he reached out and tried to pull down Madara's collar so that he could take another look.
"You're quite clever, Hashirama."
Madara nodded.
Although Hashirama's emotional intelligence in everyday life was extremely poor, his intuition regarding power was exceptionally sharp.
Otherwise, he would never have become the only person of that era who could stand on equal footing with Madara.
"But what exactly is the principle behind it?"
Hashirama asked curiously.
Madara raised his hand and slapped Hashirama's hand away.
"Who knows?"
Madara shook his head.
Hashirama once again sat cross-legged on the ground.
He frowned and thought about it for a long time, but in the end, he still could not figure out what inevitable connection there was between the cells in his chest and Madara's power.
Even if there really was a connection, why did the cells have to be transplanted into the chest?
Couldn't they be transplanted into his arm?
Couldn't they be transplanted into his leg?
Why did it have to be the chest?
No matter how he looked at it, there was something strange about that particular location.
But Hashirama also knew that if Madara did not want to explain something, there was no point in asking him repeatedly. No matter how many questions he asked, he would not get an answer.
With no other choice, Hashirama sighed inwardly and temporarily put the matter aside.
"So, what are you planning to do next?"
Hashirama put away his confused expression and replaced it with a serious one.
Madara leaned against the stone wall and remained silent for a while before speaking in a deep voice.
"Probe him first."
"Probe what?"
"First, we need to find out exactly how strong Kiyohara is in this era. We are currently using Edo Tensei bodies, so we have no guarantee of victory if we confront his main body directly. But sending someone else to test him will allow us to get a feel for his strength."
As Hashirama listened to Madara talk about sending someone to deal with the Hokage of Konoha, he could not help feeling that something about the situation was strange.
"Hey, hey, Madara. We've been dead for so long, and you still haven't given up on attacking Konoha? That was once the dream the two of us created."
Hashirama shouted.
Madara did not answer Hashirama.
Instead, he raised his hand and made a gesture toward the area outside the secret chamber.
A translucent figure slowly emerged from the shadows beyond the chamber.
The man's entire body was wrapped tightly in bandages, leaving only a pair of cold, gloomy eyes exposed. His body had a semi-transparent quality, resembling a reflection beneath the surface of water.
The Second Tsuchikage, Mū.
He was the Second Tsuchikage of Iwagakure, a shinobi who possessed the Kekkei Tōta known as Dust Release. Before Ōnoki, he had been the supreme powerhouse who ruled over Iwagakure
However, the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, had his body wrapped so tightly in bandages that only his mouth was exposed to the air.
Like the other bodies summoned through Impure World Reincarnation, his body was covered with cracks. However, the cracks on his body were much finer and denser than those of other Edo Tensei bodies, making them almost impossible to notice.
"So it's Mū."
Hashirama suddenly understood.
He knew Mū's strength very well. During the Shinobi War back then, he had fought against Mū several times.
The power of Mū's Dust Release could almost decompose anything in existence.
"First Hokage, Hashirama."
Mū stopped in front of Hashirama.
"I never expected that we would meet again under these circumstances."
"Neither did I."
Hashirama nodded.
His gaze once again fell upon Madara.
"Madara, you're planning to have Mū test Kiyohara?"
"That's right."
Madara walked over to Mū.
"Mū's Dust Release possesses the ability to decompose all matter into a molecular state. It is one of the most powerful offensive Kekkei Tōta in the entire shinobi world. On top of that, he possesses the ability to become invisible, allowing him to infiltrate places without making a sound."
"Having him test Kiyohara will allow us to force Kiyohara to reveal several of his trump cards even if Mū cannot gain the upper hand."
"We will follow behind them and use White Zetsu's sensory abilities to observe the entire battle."
Madara continued.
"The main body of White Zetsu has already been modified by Orochimaru, and his sensory range has doubled compared to when he was alive. We can watch from a high vantage point far away from the battlefield without exposing ourselves. If Mū is defeated, we will continue hiding in the shadows and wait for another opportunity."
"If Mū can force Kiyohara to reveal some of his trump cards, we can formulate our next plan accordingly."
Hashirama fell silent for a moment.
In his heart, he was already thinking about how he could secretly send a message to Kiyohara when the time came.
"All right, then."
Hashirama nodded as he looked at Madara.
"But I won't take action. I just want to see with my own eyes what this young man who even you are wary of is really like."
Madara glanced at him, the corners of his mouth curling upward slightly.
…
When Kiyohara returned to Konoha using the Flying Thunder God Technique, the sky had already darkened.
He pushed open the door to his house and found the lights in the living room still on.
Rin was sitting on the sofa, holding a theoretical book on medical ninjutsu in her hands.
Her long brown hair was pinned behind her ear with a hair clip, revealing her slender neck.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, she raised her head, and a faint smile appeared at the corners of her lips.
"Kiyohara-kun, you're back."
Rin put down the book and stood up from the sofa. She walked over to Kiyohara and raised her hand to straighten the collar of his clothes, which had been disheveled by the hot desert wind.
"Did you go out to train again today? Your collar is covered in sand."
"I went to the Land of Wind."
Kiyohara took hold of the hand she had placed near his collar.
"Why haven't you gone to bed yet?"
"I had some experimental data that needed to be organized, so I stayed up a little longer."
Rin shook her head.
Then, all of a sudden, she rose onto her tiptoes, intending to kiss Kiyohara on the forehead. However, because of the difference in their height, her lips only managed to reach his chin.
Kiyohara lowered his head and looked at her.
A faint blush spread across Rin's cheeks. Her eyelashes trembled lightly, and her raised heels slowly returned to the floor. There was a hint of embarrassment in her brown eyes.
"I'll go take a shower first."
Kiyohara released her hand and walked toward the bathroom.
Rin remained standing in the living room.
When she heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom, her heartbeat inexplicably quickened.
She walked over to the window and pulled the curtains shut before returning to the bedroom and sitting on the edge of the bed.
Not long afterward, the sound of water from the bathroom stopped.
The door opened, and Kiyohara walked out wearing a loose bathrobe. His long black hair was still damp, a few wet strands clinging to the side of his neck as droplets of water trickled down from the ends.
He walked into the bedroom and saw Rin sitting on the edge of the bed.
"I already took a shower."
Rin spoke softly.
"Did you?"
Kiyohara smiled faintly.
Since she had already showered, there was no need to waste any more time.
Now that things had reached this point, what happened next naturally needed no explanation.
Kiyohara leaned forward and gently pressed Rin down onto the bed.
The light from the bedside lamp cast their intertwined shadows across the wall.
Rin's hand slid upward from Kiyohara's neck and passed through his damp black hair.
When dawn arrived, Rin was resting her head on Kiyohara's arm, her long brown hair scattered messily across the pillow.
A faint trace of tears still lingered at the corners of her eyes. Her lips were slightly swollen, yet a satisfied smile curved across them.
Kiyohara looked at her sleeping face and reached out, gently tucking a loose strand of hair away from her cheek and behind her ear.
"Mmm..."
Rin frowned slightly before slowly opening her eyes.
Sunlight filtered through the gap between the curtains and fell across Kiyohara's face.
She froze for a moment.
Then the memories of the previous night came rushing back like a tide, and her cheeks immediately became burning hot. Instinctively, she buried her face against Kiyohara's chest, not daring to raise her head.
"Awake?"
Kiyohara's voice came from above her.
"Mmm."
Rin's voice was muffled, her face still buried against his chest.
Kiyohara lowered his head and looked at her shy appearance.
He raised his hand and slowly moved it down along her back before gently pressing at the small of her waist.
Rin's body suddenly trembled.
She lifted her head and glared at him. Her brown eyes were filled with a mixture of reproach and embarrassment, glistening with moisture, while the tips of her ears had turned so red that they looked as though they might drip blood.
Kiyohara chuckled and withdrew his hand.
Then his expression became serious.
"Rin, you've already mastered the Youthfulness Technique, but you still don't understand the Yin Seal very well, right?"
Rin was stunned for a moment before nodding.
The Yin Seal required an extremely precise level of chakra control.
If it was not controlled properly, not only would it fail to achieve the desired effect of maintaining one's youthful appearance, it could also cause irreversible damage to the chakra pathway system.
"I can teach you a method similar to the Yin Seal."
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
"You won't need to store a huge amount of chakra all at once like you would with the Yin Seal. Instead, you can store it gradually. Every time you train, you can save a small amount of chakra, allowing it to accumulate little by little. That way, the burden on your chakra pathways will be much smaller."
"Although it will take longer to reach the peak, the advantage is that it will be much safer. It also won't violate the agreement you made with Lady Tsunade."
Rin's eyes widened slightly.
"Can you really do that?"
"Of course."
Rin pursed her lips, her brown eyes shining brightly.
"I want to learn."
Kiyohara nodded.
He sat up from the bed, put on his bathrobe, and then extended his hand toward Rin.
"Then let's start now."
…
Black Zetsu was attached to half of a White Zetsu's body, his form half-submerged in the shadow at the corner of the wall. Only his yellow eyes were visible.
He stared at the scene before him.
Madara and Hashirama were standing side by side, both wearing black robes adorned with red clouds.
Black Zetsu's gaze moved back and forth between the two of them.
He could sense that their chakra was different now.
The chakra of Indra and Asura had once resided within Madara and Hashirama respectively, accompanying them throughout their entire lives.
It was the reincarnation power of the two sons of the Sage of Six Paths.
For a thousand years, their chakra had continuously appeared among the descendants of the Uchiha and Senju clans, reincarnating from one generation to another at regular intervals without ever stopping.
But now, that chakra was gone.
The cold, sinister aura of Indra was no longer present within Uchiha Madara, while the immense vitality belonging to Asura no longer surged through Senju Hashirama's body.
They were still Madara and Hashirama.
They still possessed the strength, memories, and personalities they had during their lifetimes.
But it was true that they no longer possessed that special chakra.
Black Zetsu naturally knew where those two chakra signatures had gone.
Konoha.
That young man named Kiyohara possessed Asura's chakra.
Thinking of this, Black Zetsu's brows furrowed slightly within the shadows.
Something was wrong.
For a thousand years, the reincarnation of Indra and Asura's chakra had always followed a fixed pattern.
They would inhabit different hosts, driving those hosts to fight against each other until one side eventually died.
This was the lingering obsession between the two brothers, and it had never gone wrong before.
But this time, something had gone wrong.
Kiyohara should have been nothing more than an ordinary Uchiha.
Black Zetsu remembered this very clearly.
Kiyohara had been born into an obscure minor clan in Konoha. His ancestors had probably possessed some Uchiha blood.
With such a background, there was absolutely no reason for him to become the reincarnation of Asura.
Yet Kiyohara had somehow obtained this chakra anyway.
And after his birth, Uzumaki Naruto, who should have been born as Asura's next reincarnation, was also born exactly as expected.
Two sources of Asura's chakra existed in the world at the same time.
Black Zetsu had lived for more than a thousand years, but he had never witnessed such an anomaly.
Kiyohara...
Black Zetsu silently repeated the name in his mind.
There were far too many things about that young man that he could not see through.
His rate of growth was far beyond what common sense allowed. He had mastered multiple bloodline limits and forbidden techniques at the same time. He had acquired the chakra of some of the Tailed Beasts. He could even confront the Ōtsutsuki on the moon head-on without falling at a disadvantage.
All of this pointed toward a conclusion that made Black Zetsu increasingly uneasy.
Kiyohara's very existence was a variable.
That was why Black Zetsu had even considered allowing Kaguya to revive within Kiyohara's body.
After all, an existence as special as him would be the perfect vessel.
After thinking for a while, Black Zetsu withdrew his gaze from Madara and Hashirama. His body slowly sank into the shadows.
Several days later.
Konoha.
Black Zetsu's body merged with the ground, moving like a silent underground current.
The Mayfly Technique was the stealth ninjutsu he was most proud of. It allowed him to merge his body with the earth and freely travel through soil, rock, and plants.
For a thousand years, he had relied on this technique to hide in every corner of the shinobi world, witnessing countless generations of shinobi rise and fall without ever being discovered.
Whether it was the God of Shinobi, Hashirama, or the master of ocular powers, Madara, neither of them had ever been able to sense his presence.
Black Zetsu slowly moved underground, approaching the central area of Konoha.
His target was Kiyohara's residence.
However, just as he passed beneath Konoha's central square, a chakra fluctuation suddenly entered his range of perception.
The fluctuation was familiar.
It was Kiyohara.
Black Zetsu stopped moving.
He sank his body even deeper into the soil, leaving behind only the faintest sensory tendrils to observe the situation above.
Kiyohara was currently standing in the courtyard of Tsunade's residence in Konoha.
The moment Black Zetsu had infiltrated the area, Kiyohara had already noticed him.
'It's about time I captured Black Zetsu.'
Kiyohara thought for a moment.
If he wanted to revive Kaguya, Black Zetsu was a crucial part of the process.
Black Zetsu had no idea what Kiyohara was planning. He instinctively concealed his presence even more carefully.
For a thousand years, his stealth had never failed.
He believed that this time would be no different.
All he needed to do was wait patiently until Kiyohara left, after which he could continue carrying out his observation plan.
However, at that very moment, Kiyohara suddenly turned around.
His gaze seemed to pierce through the earth itself, reaching all the way to Black Zetsu deep beneath the ground.
"Since you're already here, why bother hiding?"
Kiyohara spoke calmly.
Black Zetsu's heart contracted violently.
Impossible.
His Mayfly Technique could not possibly be detected.
Even with the Byakugan, unless someone deliberately searched for him, discovering him would be extremely difficult.
He was hidden deep beneath the ground. Not the slightest trace of chakra was leaking out, and not a hint of his presence had escaped.
His existence was completely indistinguishable from the surrounding soil.
Even a sensory-type shinobi should never have been able to detect him.
'What is going on?'
Black Zetsu did not move.
He was still gambling.
He was betting that Kiyohara was merely bluffing and that he was actually speaking to someone else.
However, in the next instant, he heard a series of footsteps.
Kiyohara walked to the exact spot directly above where Black Zetsu was hiding and stopped.
He lowered his head and looked at the seemingly ordinary stone pavement beneath his feet. The smile at the corners of his mouth deepened slightly.
"There's no need to pretend anymore. I know you're here."
Kiyohara's voice came from directly above.
It passed through the thick layers of earth and entered Black Zetsu's perception.
"I'll give you a chance to experience the Will of Fire. Come out."
(End of Chapter)