"Finally, the day has come!"
"That little kid Nagato has finally grown up?"
Edo Madara from Parallel World 5 stepped out of the coffin, speaking with deep excitement and relief.
There was a sense of satisfaction and disdain, as if his plan had succeeded and the world was in his grasp.
The joy stemmed from the fact that, even after his death, he could still control everything, executing his plan step by step, ultimately reviving himself and achieving his desires.
It was almost as thrilling as his spirited dance with Hashirama!
Just a bit more to reach the climax!
But before Madara could savor the moment, his battle-honed instincts and super-sensitive chakra senses detected sudden danger!
From a distance ahead, an ordinary Bijuudama shot toward his position at high speed.
"Hm?"
"A Bijuudama?"
Madara instantly activated his Susano'o. The third-stage half-body Susano'o, clad in crow Tengu armor, formed in an instant. Controlling it, he swung its hand and slapped.
He deflected the ordinary Bijuudama with ease.
The Bijuudama hit the Hokage Rock wall, flew a few kilometers further, and finally exploded violently, leveling a large part of a distant cliff.
It shone dazzlingly in the dark night.
Madara didn't care in the slightest.
"Is that all?"
"Wait... that?"
But the next moment, Madara noticed the colossal Juubi outside Konoha Village, sensing its terrifying chakra that surpassed the Tailed Beasts, and his eyes gleamed unconsciously.
"The Juubi?"
"It's already been revived?"
"Excellent, truly excellent. It seems Obito and the others haven't disappointed me!"
Edo Madara didn't grasp the current situation. In his view, his revival combined with the Juubi's appearance was proof his plan had fully succeeded—Black Zetsu and Obito had revived the Juubi!
All that remained was for him to complete the final step: casting Mugen Tsukuyomi.
But Madara quickly sensed something off. If everything was going according to plan, why did the Juubi fire a Bijuudama at him?
Was it an accidental miss?
Or was someone doing it on purpose?
Wait...
'I've been revived, so why don't I feel the rush of blood?'
Something's strange!
And why were Obito and Black Zetsu nowhere around? Instead, there was a weird, gloomy guy beside him.
"It actually worked? Edo Tensei is incredible!" Kabuto looked at Edo Madara, his eyes full of excitement.
"Edo Tensei? Shouldn't it be Rinnegan Tensei?"
Madara hesitated, looking at his hands, and immediately realized the issue.
"My apologies, Uchiha Madara-sama. You were revived by my Edo Tensei. As for Rinnegan Tensei? I've never heard of it..."
Kabuto quickly explained. Hearing this, Madara was slightly surprised but only doubted for a moment.
With his strong mentality, he swiftly accepted the reality of being revived via Edo Tensei.
He guessed there might have been issues with the original plan.
Though this deviated far from his initial plan, for Madara, it was just a minor inconvenience.
Now that he had the chance to be revived and return to the real world, whether through Edo Tensei or Rinnegan Tensei, it was enough for him to accomplish many things.
"It seems the plan did have problems."
"What plan?"
"You don't need to know. Also, this is Konoha Village, right? Fighting again?"
Madara remained arrogant, observing Konoha Village below. Though it was very different from his time, he could never mistake it.
Especially Hashirama's statue on the right—even if it turned to ash, he'd recognize it.
"Yes."
"Why does Konoha have so few people? And it's been invaded this far into the village? Who's the Hokage now? What are they doing?"
Madara had no attachment to Konoha, but seeing it in such a pitiful state, he still felt displeased, finding it unworthy of Hashirama's sacrifice.
"Tsunade is currently the Fifth Hokage."
"Tsunade? Hashirama's granddaughter? That fool became Hokage? Has Konoha really run out of people?"
"..."
Kabuto couldn't respond.
"What about the Juubi? Who's attacking Konoha?"
"An organization called Akatsuki. The true leader is unknown, but the one leading this attack is named Nagato."
Kabuto answered promptly, pointing to the Juubi and Pain's Tendo in the distance.
Edo Madara looked far off.
Nagato's real body, standing atop the Juubi ten thousand meters away, was too far and small to see clearly.
But Pain's Tendo, standing on a clay bird a thousand meters away with its projected Rinnegan eyes, was clearly visible.
Seeing the Juubi's Bijuudama deflected and a familiar yet strange figure appear beside Kabuto, Nagato instantly grew wary.
Unconsciously, he controlled several Pain Tendo puppets to move further away.
No mistake—he recognized it. It was Uchiha Madara Edo!
It should be noted that Nagato from Parallel World 5 had previously been thoroughly beaten by Madara from Parallel World 1, who founded the village. Back then, he was pummeled relentlessly, nearly driven to despair.
He knew exactly how terrifying this Uchiha ancestor was.
He never expected Kabuto to hide such a trump card, even reviving Uchiha Madara here with Edo Tensei!
That sneaky, disgusting little snake, even after transforming into a dragon, was still as cunning and infuriating as Orochimaru!
"Uchiha Madara! You?!"
"Oh? You recognized me instantly? Nagato, what's with you all? Since you've obtained the Juubi, why haven't you revived me? Where's Obito?"
"I killed Obito!"
Madara raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised by Obito's death but not overly shocked:
"Interesting... so, you know everything?"
"Correct! All your plans—I know them..." Pain's Tendo replied coldly.
"Then what do you plan to do now?" Madara's interest surged, growing curious about Nagato's goals.
Nagato and Obito were pawns in his plan; their conflict, even one's death, was within Madara's tolerance.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have prepared two pawns.
But since Nagato knew the truth, how dare he oppose him?
Where did this dog's courage come from?
Didn't he know the Rinnegan he prided himself on belonged to him?
"Destroy Konoha, unite the ninja world!"
Nagato answered firmly, his resolve unshakable.
No matter the enemy, it wouldn't change!
"Unite the ninja world?"
"You? Hahaha! How interesting!"
"Little kid Nagato, your ambitions seem to have swelled over the years!"
Madara laughed heartily. Suddenly, Nagato seemed more intriguing than Obito.
His experiences over the years must have been fascinating to foster such a foolish ambition.
Seeing Nagato and Edo Madara growing chummy, Kabuto grew anxious and boldly interjected:
"Madara-sama, no need to waste words with him. Securing the Juubi is the priority!"
"Hm? You're teaching me?"
Madara crossed his arms, glancing at Kabuto with narrowed eyes.
Kabuto instantly felt a terrifying pressure, comparable to the Juubi, crashing into him!
Even with his Sage Mode activated, he couldn't suppress the chill in his heart, feeling a deadly fear urging him to flee the source of danger.
"No, no, no, how dare I?"
Kabuto quickly suppressed all intrusive thoughts, not daring to press further.
He could sense that this Uchiha Madara could truly break free from his Edo Tensei bindings!
In truth, unless forced, Kabuto didn't want to revive this man with Edo Tensei.
He was too uncontrollable!
Or rather, no one could control him...
"Then stay quiet and obedient! Don't think that learning Tobirama's lowly technique lets you act as you please."
Madara withdrew his gaze, no longer paying attention to Dragon Kabuto.
He was always clear about gratitude and grudges. Regardless of who Kabuto was, reviving him with Edo Tensei and allowing him to move was a favor.
As long as Kabuto obeyed, Madara wouldn't trouble the jutsu's caster.
But if he dared to disrupt his fun without knowing his place, Madara wouldn't mind killing the caster first for amusement.