Why was Madara here?
Shouldn't he be somewhere on the battlefield, observing the white-haired boy's every move?
"Ahahaha… I was just feeling lonely, you know?" Tobi laughed it off casually.
"Oh? You experience such human emotions as well?" Madara stepped out from the shadows. He now appeared as a middle-aged man in his fifties—completely different from the frail, elderly figure he had shown before. The contrast was so stark it was like looking at an entirely different person.
"I was human before I died, so why wouldn't I? Don't go slandering me."
A faint, unreadable smile curled at Madara's lips. "Then you must have been feeling lonely quite often lately."
"Well, then find me some company," Tobi said immediately, suddenly energized. "How about making a few more White Zetsu? Or better yet, bring in some cuter ones?"
"Am I not already doing that? I believe it won't be long before Shimizu Uzuki joins us."
Tobi's tone turned cold. "I've heard that promise for years now, and you've never once delivered."
"And besides, the white-haired guy isn't cute at all…" he added, sounding almost aggrieved. "He's always scheming to deal with me…"
"I'll take care of that problem," Madara said with absolute confidence.
"By the way... did the brat really take down the Third Raikage? The man who fought nearly twenty thousand shinobi from Iwagakure for three days and nights straight?" Even Tobi found that figure troublesome. Leaving aside his overwhelming offensive power, just the near-perfect defense of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode was enough to give anyone a headache.
"When Shimizu Uzuki struck the first blow, the Third Raikage didn't react in time. You could call it a perfect ambush," Madara recalled what he had witnessed. "That single strike was enough to leave him severely wounded. So even when he later activated his nearly invincible Lightning Release Chakra Mode… it was already too late."
Tobi let out a quiet murmur, as if struck by a strange sense of shared fate. "Third Raikage… what a miserable way to die."
Madara paid no attention to his sudden emotional outburst and continued, "And his Lightning Release has improved even further. Naturally, its power has risen to another level."
"Tsk, tsk. I've been ambushed by the white-haired guy before, so I know how ruthless he is." Tobi paused, then suddenly suggested, "How about we go take a look at the Third Raikage's corpse? See just how humiliating his death was?"
"The situation over there is already in chaos. Staying any longer would risk exposing ourselves. That's why I withdrew as soon as I saw Shimizu Uzuki's ambush succeed."
"Ohh, I see. And here I thought you rushed back just to keep an eye on me."
"…"
"What? Something wrong?"
"…Did you see the technique Shimizu Uzuki used when he attacked the Nine-Tails earlier?" Madara shifted the topic.
"You mean that lightning that could change direction?"
"You don't have any thoughts about it?"
"Hmm… it was pretty unusual," Tobi said seriously, then added, "I've never seen lightning that can bend like that…"
"That technique managed to paralyze the Nine-Tails for an entire breath. That alone shows how powerful Lightning Release can be."
"So what? My Wood Release can seal the Nine-Tails," Tobi scoffed, unimpressed by what he considered a trivial technique.
"He's just an ordinary shinobi."
"I'm just an ordinary White Zetsu too."
"That technique is a newly created ninjutsu, born from the perfect fusion of Lightning Release chakra and Water Release chakra…" Madara couldn't hide the excitement in his voice. "I've never seen chakra like that before."
"Oh, so he's pretty good at developing techniques," Tobi said, feeling like this was the moment to mock him while picking his nose…
But as he raised his hand, he froze in awkward realization.
Huh? Where's my nose?!
How stingy—Madara didn't even bother giving him a nose when he created him!
"You still don't understand what that means," Madara explained patiently. "As an ordinary shinobi, he has achieved something that should only be possible through a Kekkei Genkai."
"Wow, impressive, impressive." Tobi sounded utterly unconcerned. "But Kekkei Genkai don't just appear out of nowhere. They're things that can be developed."
"Otherwise, where do you think things like Ice Release, Wood Release, Scorch Release, or Magnet Release came from?"
"Ha… then why don't you try developing one yourself?"
Tobi deftly sidestepped Madara's point, immediately steering the conversation elsewhere. "Speaking of which, the Uchiha clan's Sharingan—was that also something the first clan head developed on his own?"
He sighed with genuine admiration. "Now that would be a true genius."
Even Tobi couldn't help but marvel at the intricacy and power of the Sharingan.
"What do you think, Madara?"
"…Huh? Where'd you go?"
Madara's voice came low and steady as he turned away. "Let's head back and prepare to welcome our new companion."
"Oh…" Tobi quickly followed after him.
That is… if he's still alive.
…
Violent lightning coiled tightly around "Tobi," locking his body in place and leaving him unable to move.
The moment Shimizu Uzuki's first strike landed, he didn't hesitate. Before anyone could fully react, he launched a second wave of relentless attacks.
Clearly, that earlier burst of lightning hadn't been enough to kill his target.
Then he would strike again.
Konoha Style Kenjutsu — Crescent Moon Dance!
In an instant, three Shimizu figures emerged, attacking "Tobi" from above, the left, and the right simultaneously.
Having been caught completely off guard before, "Tobi" finally regained his composure. A blue glow flared across his body—
So this White Zetsu "Tobi" could use Lightning Release as well?
The blades of the three shadow clones came crashing down at once.
But Tobi's counterattack was even faster. With a simple extension of four fingers, he struck in rapid succession, piercing through all three Shimizu figures and dispersing them one by one.
That movement…
A flash of a blue figure streaked through Shimizu's mind.
From the start, he hadn't expected Crescent Moon Dance to defeat Tobi outright. The only technique he could truly rely on was the most lethal Water Release he had mastered so far—
Water Severing Wave!
The three solid shadow clones created by Crescent Moon Dance had only been meant to buy him time.
At the same moment, "Tobi" launched his counterattack. Black lightning erupted from his body, rapidly gathering into the shape of a ferocious leopard that lunged straight at Shimizu.
Could he retreat?
If he missed this chance…
When would another opportunity come?
No—he had to kill Tobi here.
The Water Severing Wave finally took shape. A dense, high-pressure stream of water burst forth in an instant.
"Shimizu!!" Jiraiya roared. "Sto—"
At that exact moment, the black lightning wrapped around Shimizu, torrents of crackling current swallowing him whole.
The searing pain forced his vision into sharp clarity—
And in that clarity, he saw everything.
The razor edge of the Water Severing Wave sliced through its target as easily as cutting tofu, cleanly severing the head of the Third Raikage.
In those eyes that refused to close, disbelief was etched to the very end.