Chapter 430: Madara: I've Been Revived!
Uchiha Madara reached his conclusion, but it was completely useless. He had no strength. Forget snatching Elder Chiyo back, even running a few steps might break his legs.
All he could do was maintain a cold expression, his gaze sweeping across the crowd.
Right now, he could only place his hopes on these people and pray they would bring Chiyo back.
If Chiyo ended up in their hands, at least they wouldn't waste her one and only chance to revive someone, regardless of whether they'd give him that opportunity.
However, the first to make a move wasn't any of Chiyo's "suitors", but Pakura.
The moment Pakura saw "Danzō" abduct Elder Chiyo, she immediately stopped hiding, leapt out, and waved her hands midair.
Scorch Release fireballs spun around her, and using their centrifugal force, she hurled several of them toward "Danzō."
But…
Just before hitting him, the fireballs stopped.
"Danzō" continued running into the distance with Elder Chiyo in his arms.
Pakura had no choice but to continue the pursuit.
At the same time, she confirmed that her opponent was highly experienced in combat.
He clearly understood she wouldn't actually attack, so he made no attempt to dodge or counter with ninjutsu.
Pakura's Scorch Release was often called a low-grade version of Truth-Seeking Balls.
The fireballs usually floated around her like Truth-Seeking Balls, and when used, could freely change shape, size, and position.
Once Scorch Release touched a person, it would completely evaporate all moisture in their body, turning them into a dried corpse.
For a ninja's body, being hit by a Scorch Release fireball was essentially no different from being struck by a Truth-Seeking Ball.
The only difference was that Scorch Release could be blocked with ninjutsu.
Her earlier attack had been meant to force "Danzō" into revealing an opening, but she hadn't expected him to see through it completely.
"Danzō" knew she wouldn't risk hitting Elder Chiyo along with him, so the fireballs were bound to stop.
"You guys, stop standing around like idiots! If you want Elder Chiyo to marry you, then hurry up and help rescue her!"
Pakura knew her abilities were better suited for wiping people out rather than handling a high-difficulty rescue mission. So before continuing her chase, she threw those words over her shoulder.
The others finally snapped out of it and began pursuing "Danzō."
Jiraiya, who had spoken first earlier, had deliberately shifted the topic to make everyone suspect Uchiha Madara, intending to stall for time so Sarutobi Hiruzen could take Chiyo away.
Now he had no choice but to grit his teeth and join the chase as well, otherwise it would look too suspicious.
"Tch, what do you mean 'marry down'?"
While chasing, Hōzuki Gengetsu expressed dissatisfaction with Pakura's earlier words.
Whether marriage happened or not didn't matter, he wasn't actually trying to court Chiyo anyway.
The key issue was the phrase "marry down", which made it sound like they were of low status.
He was a Mizukage!
"'Taken off the shelves' means it's no longer for sale."
Jiraiya answered instinctively.
"?"
"…"
Smack!
"You dare slander Elder Chiyo's honor, you Konoha ninja?!"
Pakura, who had been in the lead, suddenly turned around, slapped Jiraiya, and then continued the pursuit without stopping.
"…"
Jiraiya covered his face, feeling wronged.
Had he said anything wrong?
As a novelist, he was very familiar with the term "taken off the shelves."
Didn't it just mean something wasn't for sale anymore?
…Wait.
Jiraiya suddenly realized.
Elder Chiyo being "taken off the shelves"… not for sale anymore…
Wasn't that implying that she was…?
Yeah… he probably deserved that slap.
Jiraiya rubbed his face, unable to complain.
All he could do was hope the old man would run faster, shake them off, and explain things clearly to Chiyo.
Otherwise, that slap would've been for nothing.
"Wait—if we leave Uchiha Madara there alone without anyone watching him, what if he has some kind of scheme?"
Jiraiya suddenly spoke up again.
Part of this concern was genuine, but another part was to interfere with the pursuit, giving Sarutobi Hiruzen a chance to escape.
Watching the figure ahead, nearly caught by the flying Ōnoki, Jiraiya inwardly groaned.
If only he had been working with Namikaze Minato. They could've just used Flying Thunder God midway and disappeared instantly.
—
Uchiha Madara sat there, waiting.
Before long, Elder Chiyo was brought back.
She dismissed the others and gave him her answer.
Although his plan to court her had failed, his argument, reviving one person to enable the revival of others, had persuaded her.
So, Elder Chiyo summoned the Kazekage, Gaara, who was also the One-Tail Shukaku's jinchūriki, to assist.
The Rinne-Rebirth technique required not only the sacrifice of one's life but also a massive amount of chakra as support.
In the original case of reviving Gaara, it had only been possible with Uzumaki Naruto's chakra.
On her own, Elder Chiyo actually couldn't accomplish anything.
And so, amid wild laughter, Uchiha Madara was revived.
Even though he had no eyes after revival, it didn't matter, this was already enough.
Activating Susanoo, he immediately captured the One-Tail's jinchūriki.
After that, he headed to Amegakure. Under the overwhelming might of Susanoo, even Nagato, who possessed the Rinnegan, was no match for him. In the end, Madara defeated him, reclaimed his eyes, and activated Limbo.
With his Rinnegan restored, Uchiha Madara summoned the Gedo Statue and sealed the One-Tail Shukaku into it first.
Next, It was time to sweep across the ninja world and collect the remaining Tailed Beasts!
He would ultimately become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki!
…
Outside Amegakure.
At the little "NaruSasu Cabin", the masked man appeared.
He had already scoped out the surroundings. Today was the day he would take Sasuke's Rinnegan.
Silently, the masked man entered Sasuke's room and reached toward the eyes of the sleeping Sasuke.
Pop.
Squish.
A triumphant smile appeared beneath his mask.
But the next second, his expression froze.
Something felt off.
The masked man suddenly punched "Uchiha Sasuke."
With a bang, Sasuke transformed into an upside-down Uzumaki Naruto.
Sasuke wasn't here at all!
Before leaving, Sasuke had used genjutsu on Naruto, transforming him into Sasuke's appearance, and even flipped him upside down.
The masked man had thought he was grabbing eyeballs, but in reality…
His face turned livid. He wanted to retreat immediately, but after thinking it over, he went to wash his hands first.
So where was Sasuke?
Of course, in the Sunagakure Village.
To better master the use of the Rinnegan, Sasuke initially planned to consult Nagato. But then he reconsidered, Nagato wasn't of the Uchiha clan. There was someone else more suitable.
So Sasuke found his older brother, Uchiha Itachi, and together they went to Sunagakure to seek out Uchiha Madara.
Itachi also possessed a pair of future Sasuke's Rinnegan. Although he had no intention of transplanting them yet, he would still need to use them if necessary.
So, like Sasuke, Itachi needed to become familiar with the Rinnegan's abilities.
Then, the two brothers used genjutsu on the powerless Madara, extracting the techniques for using the Rinnegan from within the illusion.
(End of this chapter)