Chapter 262: Uchiha Madara Enters the Body
"Everyone... is equal in death..."
Uchiha Itachi covered his forehead. He knew perfectly well that Mercenary Tao was constantly trying to corrupt him, and that most of what he said was terrifying and extremist.
But when he combined it with his own experiences—his disappointment with his clan, his disappointment with Konoha's leadership—he found himself starting to believe Mercenary Tao's words.
Beyond good and evil, the man was, in fact, "fair."
Mercenary Tao's cruelty was an indiscriminate cruelty, applied to all. Good people were not spared, and evil people were equally terrified.
The not-yet-13-year-old Uchiha Itachi looked at Kaito Shirogane, his thoughts giving rise to all sorts of new ideas. If he had initially harbored any thoughts of assassinating Mercenary Tao, after witnessing his absolute power, he had slowly begun to learn from him instead—to use his words as a new basis for thinking about the world's reality.
Boom!
K-k-k-crack~
The air seemed to be fired from an invisible cannon. The over-compressed atmosphere distorted the space, making it ripple, and was accompanied by the howling, incandescent-white friction of the air. The terrifying fist-force, combined with the air cannon, boomed through Uchiha Obito's body and plowed a path through the forest behind him.
"Uchiha Obito, go back. Without retrieving Kakashi's eye, you are no match for me."
Kaito Shirogane's punch hit empty air. He waved his hand, signaling Obito could leave.
Beneath his mask, Uchiha Obito's mouth twitched. He turned his head slightly, noting the dozens of meters of toppled trees behind him. The sheer force from the missed punch and the resulting shockwave were that destructive.
He had clearly used his intangibility to dodge the attack, yet the other man acted as if he simply didn't want to fight.
Tsk... how helpless.
Obito sensed that in that single instant, the man, wrapped in that purple Hado, had crossed over ten meters to appear right in front of him. That speed... it almost reminded him of being defeated by his sensei, Minato, and the Flying Raijin.
Luckily, he had been mentally prepared. And since he wasn't in the middle of an attack, he hadn't exposed any openings. He had, at the last possible second, activated his intangibility, making the punch hit air.
Furthermore, he knew from prior intel that Mercenary Tao's defense was terrifyingly high. His only chance was to get close and use Kamui to pull him into the Kamui dimension, and... starve him to death.
But Kamui's activation wasn't fast. With Mercenary Tao's demonstrated reflexes and speed, he could easily escape. Rushing in to try and control him would most likely result in being instantly killed.
Uchiha Obito's mind raced. He knew Mercenary Tao was telling the truth. He had planned to take Kakashi's eye back in Konoha, but that damned woman had known everything in advance and had hidden Kakashi.
If I had both my eyes...
Uchiha Obito's eyes turned cold for a second. If he had both Kamui eyes, he'd have a good chance of insta-killing both Mercenary Tao and that woman.
Kaito Shirogane also felt it was a pity. Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan, [Kamui], was truly a god-tier skill. It had an extremely high priority, combining powerful utility with top-tier survivability.
Just with the single-eye ability to phase himself, he could render a purely physical attacker like Kaito completely helpless.
As long as Obito could react in time, he could phase and ignore all attacks based in real space.
To kill this kind of guy, Kaito would either need to fully assimilate Gojo Satoru's power, or let Gojo take over his body and use [Domain Expansion: Unlimited Void] to overwhelm Obito's mind, preventing him from activating his intangibility.
But neither was realistic right now. Although Kaito and Gojo had a certain "kindred spirit" understanding, he was still not going to hand over primary control of his body.
And Gojo wouldn't drop his own guard and let Kaito freely use all his abilities.
Kaito Shirogane turned his head and sat back down on the summoning beast. In the distance, he could see [Rampage] using some kind of optical device to scan the ground. The map marker must be around here.
He turned his completely unguarded back to Uchiha Obito, hopingObito would try to assassinate him. Only in the instant Obito attacked would he have a chance to kill him.
But Uchiha Obito thought for a moment, then floated backward, his form slowly dissolving into space.
"Mercenary Tao, wait until I get my eye back..."
Kaito Shirogane just waved him off, laughing loudly.
"You should thank me. I helped you get rid of a hidden danger."
Just then, Rampage shouted.
"Found it! There's a corpse here!"
Orochimaru flickered to Rampage's side. He looked at the old, withered corpse, and his own goals became even clearer.
A ninja like Uchiha Madara, who had dominated the Warring States period alongside Hashirama, had also just rotted away in this lonely tomb.
Humans... how insignificant.
This was the limit of a short-lived species. No matter how brilliant or stunning one was, they could not, in the end, beat the passage of time.
Swoosh.
Kaito Shirogane flashed over, appearing before Uchiha Madara's body. He curiously tested the corpse's weight.
"This much flesh... it should be enough to cast Edo Tensei, right?"
Orochimaru nodded. The body was well-preserved; it was more than enough.
The so-called [Edo Tensei] (Impure World Reincarnation) required a certain amount of the deceased's flesh to perform the jutsu, using it to anchor the soul. It would summon the soul back from the Underworld (Yomi), place it into a living sacrifice (the vessel), and then cover the vessel in dust, transforming its appearance into that of the deceased.
The Chakra power system... its upper and lower limits were worlds apart. An ordinary ninja could only throw shuriken, move fast, and use low-level ninjutsu. But a high-level ninja... could, to an extent, even resurrect the dead.
Kaito Shirogane immediately sat cross-legged to the side, his back to Orochimaru.
"Begin, Orochimaru. Put Uchiha Madara's soul... into my body."
Orochimaru looked at Mercenary Tao, a sinister smile on his face.
"Aren't you afraid I'll... do something to you while I'm at it?"
Kaito Shirogane just chuckled, not answering.
But Orochimaru clearly saw the purple Hado on the man's back flicker.
He decided not to provoke this beast any further. He began to perform the jutsu on Uchiha Madara's body.
Orochimaru's hand seals were a blur. As Chakra surged, Uchiha Itachi moved Hana Hiranaka and the half-dead Danzo to a safe distance.
Instantly, an extremely cold, deathly aura appeared.
What Orochimarucouldn't see was a dense, black aura rising from Uchiha Madara's corpse.
Kaito Shirogane was extremely familiar with that aura.
He closed his eyes. It was as if he could hear the surge of the Underworld. The calm surface of that river of death, which soaked countless Yin-Spirits, was now being stirred by Orochimaru's Chakra.
Using Uchiha Madara's flesh as a guide, a fully submerged soul floated up from within it...
Bit by bit, it rose...
And finally, it returned from the Underworld to the world of the living.
Orochimaru sensed the state of his jutsu. He couldn't directly observe the Underworld or the soul, but after countless experiments, he knew how to gauge the limits of a successful summoning.
He looked at Mercenary Tao's back, pointed his hands, and directed the summoned soul intoKaito Shirogane's body.
Normally, this step would instantly kill the vessel. The summoned soul, whether strong or weak, was not something the living could touch.
Pfft~
When the invisible thing entered his body, it actually made an audible sound.
Kaito Shirogane felt the cold soul enter him. He sat up straight.
[You have come into contact with the Spirit Body: Uchiha Madara]
[You have used the Trait: Yin-Spirit Infusion]
[Assimilating...]
Kaito Shirogane closed his eyes. In his mental space, a man in black combat attire and red, layered armor opened his eyes indifferently.
"...Edo Tensei..."
"You are truly an unlucky one. No matter, just give this body to m—"
VMM!
The mental space vibrated violently. The next moment, the white consciousness space appeared. Uchiha Madara instantly looked down. He saw a murky yellow river with no end, and from it... countless black Yin-Spirits looked up.
As if sensing a "newcomer," the countless Yin-Spirits began to shriek and fight over him.
The dense mass of black spirits stacked on top of each other, in moments forming dozens of black "spirit towers." They crashed into each other, merging into a terrifying, several-hundred-meter-high spire, with spirits on it constantly pulling others down, trying to climb to the top.
The spirit tower rapidly approached the Throne suspended in the center of the pure white consciousness space.
And on the Throne, a well-built, handsome man with a sinister, cruel smile looked at Uchiha Madara. He opened his arms.
"Welcome... to myUnderworld."
With a thought from Kaito Shirogane, Uchiha Madara fell from the sky. The towering spire of spirits instantly grabbed this new soul, the one closest to the Throne. Countless Yin-Spirits, Resentful Spirits, and Cursed Spirits shrieked, clawing at Uchiha Madara's spirit body.
Uchiha Madara snorted. A powerful repulsive force erupted.
BOOM!
The spirit tower exploded mid-air. Countless spirits were blasted apart, falling back into the Underworld to reform.
Standing below, Gojo Satoru removed his black blindfold. His eyes, swirling with the blue sky and white clouds, met Uchiha Madara's crimson ones.
"Tsk. This guy really dragged in another troublesome one..."
In another corner, the Reaper's form was swelling, devouring other spirits, even as the Underworld's water continuously leached other spirits out of its body.
Even with Uchiha Madara's arrogance, he frowned at this chaotic scene.
"The Edo Tensei... failed?"
"This guy's soul... what is it...?"
[You have assimilated the Spirit Body: Uchiha Madara]
[Energy +3. Current: ?]
"Uchiha Madara, if you want this body... first, you'll have to beat them..."
Kaito Shirogane smiled mockingly. He watched as the tens of thousands of Yin-Spirits began to riot, and the Underworld itself began to churn. He then withdrew from the [Throne of the Heart].
(End of Chapter)