Chapter 453: Two Shocking Lines
Madara was in an extremely good mood right now.
It wasn't because he had been taking losses ever since being revived through the Reanimation Jutsu.
After all, he had felt pretty good while humiliating Tobirama earlier.
But Tobirama was the person he hated most. Enjoying humiliating him was perfectly normal.
Obito, however, was different.
Obito was supposed to be the tool he chose. A weakling.
Since when would Uchiha Madara feel happy bullying the weak?
Impossible. Absolutely impossible.
So why exactly was he enjoying this?
In the end, Madara could only conclude that while he hated people standing behind him, he really enjoyed standing behind others.
Especially after being backstabbed by that evil Hashirama at the Valley of the End. Now that he was the one stabbing someone in the back, he finally understood Hashirama's feelings.
Humans really were hypocrites.
While Madara happily drifted through his thoughts, his hands never stopped moving. He had already started pulling out a lump of White Zetsu flesh containing Hashirama cells.
"Obito, this doesn't really count as repaying me. I'm only taking back what I once gave you."
"The Reanimation body that evil Tobirama gave me is far too weak. I need Hashirama cells to recover my strength."
"You've already been captured anyway, so you might as well be useful waste and become the power I need to turn the situation around."
"..."
Madara's speech left Obito speechless.
If he wanted Hashirama cells, he should've come to him earlier!
If Madara had contacted him before he got captured, all Obito would've needed to do was contact White Zetsu. Madara could've gotten as many Hashirama cells as he wanted.
Why wait until he had been captured, then risk sneaking in here just to take them directly from his body?
What was the point of that?
But in truth, Obito had ignored one thing. Just as Madara was wary of him, he was also wary of Madara.
Until they truly had no other choice left, neither of them would willingly cooperate with the other.
Because a person with the same goal as you was more dangerous than an enemy.
Madara had feared that Obito might have used genjutsu on him and learned the details about becoming the Ten-Tails jinchūriki ahead of time.
And Obito never wanted to revive Madara either. He wanted to achieve the Infinite Tsukuyomi using his own power.
On this point, neither of them had any right to criticize the other.
While Obito was both speechless and anxious, he suddenly froze.
What had Madara just said?
It sounded like he had accidentally admitted that his body was weak.
"Gahhh—!"
Obito suddenly rolled over hard and forcefully tore his body free from Madara's hands.
The pain from that movement was so intense that even with the White Zetsu body reducing pain, Obito still cried out.
However…
"Hisss—"
Madara sucked in a cold breath after both his hands were torn apart. His body trembled slightly.
The sound was especially clear inside the quiet stone room.
Madara's Reanimation body could feel pain too?
"Madara, so you've fallen this far too. With a body like yours, how did you even dare come after me?"
Obito sneered and immediately took the chance to throw a punch.
Right now, he couldn't use chakra, but his body was still that of a healthy young man.
And Madara?
His body was so weak that if he kicked a door, his foot would break first.
The only reason he managed to stab into Obito's waist earlier was because he had first cut him open using a kunai he picked up.
Madara was punched flying backward while his Reanimation body slowly began repairing itself.
Even after his weak body was exposed, Madara didn't panic. While recovering, he coldly stared at Obito on the bed.
"You think I didn't consider that? No matter how weak a Reanimation body is, it's still immortal. But what about you?"
The moment Madara said that, Obito's expression changed.
It really was true.
No matter how weak Madara was, he couldn't be killed.
The only way to deal with a Reanimation body was sealing techniques.
But Obito couldn't use chakra right now, let alone sealing jutsu.
Besides, if he could use chakra, why would he bother sealing Madara? He would've just used Kamui and escaped.
So what now?
Madara could simply choose not to fight back at all and wait until Obito exhausted himself.
He could even wait for Obito to collapse from fatigue and fall asleep before making his move again.
Unless someone from the Amegakure Village arrived during that time and discovered Madara's scheme.
At that moment, Obito desperately hoped that vicious woman Konan would show up again.
"What's wrong? Not attacking anymore?"
After recovering, Madara stood back up and walked toward Obito again.
"..."
Obito still didn't attack.
Because attacking was meaningless.
A Reanimation body could recover endlessly. Any attack he made would only waste his own limited stamina against infinite regeneration.
Obito's only hope now was to stall for time.
As long as he delayed until someone arrived, he would win.
So, just like Naruto after activating Baryon Mode, Obito now carefully calculated the stamina cost of every punch and kick. No attack could be wasted.
And every strike had to hit vital spots, using the smallest amount of effort to cause the greatest damage and buy the most time.
After discovering that Madara's Reanimation body could feel pain, every attack Obito launched targeted below the waist.
Madara truly deserved his reputation as a ruthless fighter from the Warring States Era. Even while enduring the pain of shattered organs, he continued recovering again and again, standing back up again and again, and walking toward Obito.
He even kept mocking him the whole time.
"Why do you keep attacking there? Is it because you're jealous that others still have theirs?"
"Obito, when I saved you back then, you still had one little marble left down there. But to make sure you fully devoted yourself to the Infinite Tsukuyomi, I removed the rest for you."
"You should be thanking me. You'll never have to worry about the painful duty of leaving behind descendants."
Obito's expression instantly changed.
But he still forced himself to suppress his anger.
He knew Madara was trying to provoke him into wasting his stamina by going into a rage and attacking wildly.
He absolutely could not fall for it!
"Oh, right. When White Zetsu cleaned your wounds, they were worried throwing those things away might leave evidence behind, so they turned everything they removed into delicious curry rice. Those were the meals you ate afterward."
"Did you know? I saw Nohara Rin in the Amegakure Village. I don't know how, but she really has been revived."
"Pathetic Obito. If you still resist me now, does that mean you truly don't want the Infinite Tsukuyomi anymore? Have you accepted a ninja world where this revived Nohara Rin could be intimate with someone else at any time?"
Because he lacked power, Uchiha Madara, who had transplanted Asura cells, had actually started relying on Talk-no-Jutsu.
Provoking him while using words to shake him mentally.
And the worst part was that as Madara kept talking, he really did start shaking Obito's resolve.
But Obito activated the secret technique known as "stubborn denial."
"So what if I have?"
That was indeed his goal, to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi, but right now he couldn't let Madara know that. He couldn't let it become a weakness Madara could continue exploiting.
"Hm?"
Obito's response actually caught Madara off guard.
His smooth chain of taunts and psychological attacks suddenly stopped.
"Madara... do you really think you understand everything? Do you still not understand why I wanted to personally cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi? The person who casts it can't enjoy the beauty of the illusion himself."
"Because what I want is to create a world with Rin for everyone else! I want to watch Rin be together with other people! Foolish Madara!"
Obito directly reused the conversation he had overheard between Shiromo and Deidara outside his prison cell earlier.
(End of this chapter)