A dog always returns to its vomit, and Madara couldn't stop showing off.
Even with his head pinned beneath the Sage Art: Gate of the Great God, he still acted so smug it made people itch to hit him. Before today, no one could do it, and no one dared. But now there was Takeshi.
So Madara's skull took a solid paw strike.
The physical hit wasn't strong, but the damage to his fearsome image was beyond repair. After the wave of fresh Fuinjutsu, Madara was completely isolated from his chakra reserves. He might manage minor ocular tricks, but anything high-level was entirely out of the question. The Uzumaki clan's sealing arts were truly top-tier.
Takeshi glanced at his prisoner and finally dispelled the Sage Art: Gate of the Great God.
Suppressing Madara was fundamentally different from holding anyone else. He was too resourceful. No one knew if he harbored some obscure method to break free, so Takeshi couldn't just wander off. Besides, it would be a tragic waste not to squeeze this perfect points-farming machine dry.
Kushina finished painting the formulas, barely restraining Kurama's overwhelming urge to manifest and beat the man senseless. Madara sat upright on the cliff, gazing out over Konoha. He couldn't help but feel sentimental, his tone turning heavy as he spoke. "Back then, when Hashirama and I stood here together-"
*Smack.*
A paw came down, merciless. Enough posing.
Takeshi hit him, casually licked his own paw, and said lightly, "No need to drag out ancient history, meow. How about I take you on a tour of the village instead, let you see how much it's changed?"
"No need." Madara's face gave nothing away.
He didn't care about Konoha's development. Right now, he was solely focused on Black Zetsu's true identity. But the cat refused to speak straight, stringing him along to gnaw at his pride. At least with the heavy wooden gates gone, he could sit with some semblance of dignity.
If Takeshi wouldn't talk, Madara would piece it together himself.
Before today, Madara genuinely believed he had created the entity. But thinking back, glaring inconsistencies emerged. If he could manifest one sentient will, he should have been able to create a second. He could mass-produce the mindless White Zetsu, yet he had only ever "made" one Black Zetsu. That was the first red flag.
Then there were the creature's bizarre, parasitic abilities. That alone wasn't enough to definitively prove treason, but it was damning. Unfortunately, under heavy guard, Madara couldn't hunt the creature down for answers.
He never once considered that Black Zetsu might turn the tables in a fight. After decades of collaboration, Madara knew the entity's limits. Against ordinary shinobi, perhaps, but against Madara? Impossible.
"Let's head inside. It's not great to stay out here," Tsunade instructed.
Leaving the prisoner displayed here was incredibly awkward. She had never expected the man to be alive, and his public presence would inevitably cause mass panic. More embarrassingly, Konoha hadn't even needed to deploy its forces, the cat had handled him solo. How humiliating was that for the Hokage?
Takeshi shot her a look, then nodded. He needed to discuss the Otsutsuki anyway, and the Hokage Rock was too exposed. One slip and the secret might leak.
Black Zetsu was exceptionally good at digging up secrets. Even now, with Konoha heavily guarded, they honestly had no foolproof way to kill him. Without needing a host body, his stealth skills were virtually flawless. Even Six Paths Mode only offered a vague sensory read, let alone standard Byakugan.
Takeshi wanted to lay the truth out, and use Madara's residual power to trap the entity permanently.
Madara could draw on true Six Paths chakra. As long as he cooperated, they could manifest a Planetary Devastation strong enough to seal the creature forever. But until the man officially abandoned his Infinite Tsukuyomi delusions, Takeshi didn't dare let him roam free.
They arrived at the Hokage's Office.
The elders and the Third Hokage had wanted to crowd in, but Tsunade swiftly dismissed them. When it came to extracting secrets, they offered zero help. At best, they'd stare like they were watching a zoo animal and make snide remarks. The three of them were Tobirama Senju's students, and Tobirama's hatred for the Uchiha ran deep. They didn't have time nor energy to deal with their racist remarks.
Now, only Takeshi, Madara, and Tsunade remained in the room.
"Madara, I'll be blunt," Tsunade said, her tone heavy. "You fused my grandfather's chakra, didn't you? Otherwise you couldn't possibly be alive, or this young."
She could sense a distinct portion of Hashirama's vitality humming beneath his skin. Without those cells, an ordinary human body would have crumbled to dust decades ago. She was slightly off on one detail, though.
"He's this young because Black Zetsu manipulated a Kusagakure-nin into using a Life Transference Jutsu to extend his lifespan, meow. I even had my people search for you."
Tsunade felt a flash of awkwardness, but her overall judgment remained correct. Madara had definitely fused Hashirama's cells, granting him the terrifying power required to endure into the modern era.
"I did fuse Hashirama's cells, and through that fusion, I awakened the Rinnegan," Madara stated calmly.
There was no need to hide it. Rather than let these juniors fumble in the dark, he might as well trade the information directly. He looked at Takeshi. "You know something, don't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have meticulously set things up to kidnap Nagato away."
Nagato had been the crux of the plan. Madara needed the boy to resurrect him to his physical peak so he could reclaim his original eyes. But before the pieces even aligned, the boy vanished. It had all been a masterfully orchestrated setup.
For a moment, Takeshi couldn't quite refute the accusation. He'd built up his own mystique too high, claiming ignorance now would look pathetic.
He turned, seeing the sharp calculation in Tsunade's gaze, and nodded. "Meow. At first, I didn't know the true origin of the Rinnegan. But based on my inherited knowledge, unless Nagato spontaneously mutated, it's basically impossible for an Uzumaki to awaken those eyes independently."
"The Otsutsuki Clan also possesses the Rinnegan?" Madara asked sharply.
"Meow."
'Otsutsuki Clan? What the hell was that?' Tsunade fell into deep thought. Just how much critical information was this damn cat hiding from her?
Probably mountains of it.
Her gaze toward the feline grew significantly less friendly. This little black cat hoarded too many secrets. But he was practically invincible now, she sensibly abandoned the direct approach and resolved to work him emotionally instead. She would pry the truth out gently.
"Is Black Zetsu from the Otsutsuki Clan?" Madara demanded.
"Creating a sentient will requires an impossibly advanced level of Yin-Yang Release," Takeshi explained. "Even the Sage of Six Paths might fail. Only someone who has consumed the Shinju Fruit could reach that absolute pinnacle. So he's likely a living weapon created by an Otsutsuki."
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