Chapter 249: Unappreciative
Before Jigen appeared a shimmering screen of light, displaying a scene from the special space he had created — essentially a surveillance view.
On the screen, Uchiha Dali was, just like Jigen at that moment, sitting cross-legged on the ground, frowning deeply as if pondering something.
Seeing this, Jigen couldn't help but sneer. "Fortunately, I still have that move. As long as I seal this dangerous fellow in there, my burden will be much lighter."
"As long as I make sure Uchiha Dali won't come out to cause trouble again, the rest of my plan will be easy to carry out. Konoha… hehe…"
A cold glint flashed through Jigen's eyes.
He clearly remembered Uchiha Madara saying that all ten tailed beasts in the shinobi world had already been captured by Uchiha Dali and were now in Konoha Village in the Land of Fire.
Jigen had investigated that village thoroughly over the years — its strength, systems, and culture — all understood down to the smallest detail.
He had even gathered intelligence on the abilities and strength levels of its high-end combatants.
Now was the perfect opportunity.
"I hadn't planned to use that move… but now, I have no choice but to take the risk," Jigen thought to himself.
The "move" he referred to was seizing all nine tailed beasts in Konoha to revive the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
The risk of this plan was enormous.
He, more than anyone, understood the matter of Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's sealing.
If the Ten-Tails that belonged to Kaguya were revived, it would essentially undo her seal.
That insane woman would once again descend upon this world.
And Jigen's true master, Ōtsutsuki Isshiki, was Kaguya's mortal enemy.
Back then, Kaguya had ambushed and gravely injured him to monopolize the chakra fruit, nearly killing him in the process.
That hatred was impossible to resolve.
If Kaguya were resurrected and saw him in his current weakened state, she would surely attack again, taking advantage of the situation.
That was the greatest danger — the main reason Isshiki had, for so many years, refrained from reviving the Ten-Tails, even knowing that collecting all nine tailed beasts could summon it to grow another Divine Tree and harvest a chakra fruit. Instead, he had only been cultivating his small Ten-Tails.
But now, he could wait no longer.
External threats made him feel a sharp sense of crisis. He probably no longer had the time to slowly nurture his own Ten-Tails.
He needed to obtain a new vessel as quickly as possible, and revive the Ten-Tails so it could produce a chakra fruit to help him evolve further.
Thus, Jigen had decided to gamble.
After halting his activities, his body began slowly recovering.
The chakra he had spent was replenished, nourishing him in turn, restoring the body's strength bit by bit.
It would never return to its peak, but it was still enough for Ōtsutsuki Isshiki to use this vessel to act.
"Damn it…"
While resting, Jigen suddenly clenched his teeth and fists, a look of deep unwillingness on his face.
"If it hadn't been for that damned woman Kaguya's ambush back then, after obtaining the chakra fruit here, I would have evolved into an existence equal to that man."
"If not for those unexpected incidents, I might already have freed myself from the shackles of the flesh, becoming a being beyond time itself! Damn it!"
As he spoke, he slammed a fist heavily into the ground.
Then his gaze returned to the light screen before him.
Uchiha Dali was still trapped in the other space, unable to escape.
Confirming this, Jigen's dark expression eased slightly — that was at least good news. Next, he just needed to wait until his strength was fully restored, then he could go straight to Konoha and seize all nine tailed beasts.
…
Although Namikaze Minato was a genius with extraordinary strength, compared to a ruthless monster like Uchiha Madara, he was still too green.
Against overwhelming power, coupled with the huge advantage of an Edo Tensei body, Minato eventually lost after a fierce battle.
Not only did his attempt to seal his opponent fail after being seen through, ruining his plan, but he also ended up gravely wounded and on the verge of death.
Fortunately, at the last moment, Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Shisui, and Uchiha Obito arrived in time to rescue the dying Minato.
"So… you three want to dance as well?"
Madara glanced at the three approaching Uchiha with an expressionless face.
"Madara, turn back. You've been deceived by Black Zetsu all along. He's using you — there is no such thing as an Infinite Tsukuyomi that creates a world of eternal peace. His real plan is to revive Ōtsutsuki Kaguya and destroy this—"
Obito tried to persuade him, but Madara only shot him a cold glance before sneering.
"Obito, you've grown clever."
Obito froze slightly at the interruption, and Madara continued, "I am perfectly aware of Black Zetsu's schemes. But now, I no longer care about world peace."
"What I want… is eternity."
"As long as I consume the chakra fruit, I can evolve into a new Ōtsutsuki. By devouring the chakra fruits of other planets, I can keep evolving — step by step becoming an eternal, indestructible ultimate god-like existence."
"This goal — are you not interested? As survivors of the Uchiha clan, why not join me? We can all grow stronger together, advancing toward the final destination. Wouldn't that be a fine thing?"
Madara's tone became almost persuasive as he tried to recruit Fugaku, Shisui, and Obito — three Uchiha of considerable power.
However, none of them were swayed.
Obito was the first to answer. "The only reason I agreed to help you in the past was to bring Rin back, to create a world where she existed. But I no longer need to do that — Rin has already returned to my side."
"The world as it is now — the shinobi world as it is — is just fine. There's no need to chase after some so-called eternity!"
"Foolish."
Madara snorted, cutting him off. He then fixed his gaze on Shisui.
"Within you lies power greater than the other two. For your age, you're quite the sharp one. So? What is your answer?"
"My answer is that I will stop your ambitions right here!" Shisui replied firmly.
In an instant, his eyes shifted into the Mangekyō form.
"Those eyes are truly impressive… a pity they can't be mine."
"No matter — you won't be living much longer anyway."
Madara's gaze finally fell on Fugaku.
Since the first two had already refused, he no longer had any expectations for him either — instead, he prepared to strike down all three of these unappreciative fools.