Chapter 389: 333. Chapter 328: Uchiha Madara Opens the Scroll

333. Chapter 328: Uchiha Madara Opens the Scroll

"Snap!"

After hearing the story of the Nine-Tails' castration, Uchiha Madara immediately frowned in disgust, tossed the Tailed Beast card in his hand to the side, performed hand seals to summon a mass of clear water, and scrubbed his hands vigorously, only stopping once his fingertips had turned white.

"Human! That was my 'mother-born-kun,' how dare you throw it on the ground!"

Still immersed in sorrow, the Nine-Tails saw the Tailed Beast card—which was eighty percent made from its own 'kun-kun'—being treated like trash by Uchiha Madara, and it was immediately displeased, its massive fox face filled with indignation.

"Tsk!"

With a dark face, Uchiha Madara wiped his hands dry. Ignoring the Nine-Tails' tantrum, his cold eyes stared fixedly at the Tailed Beast card stuck in the ground.

The card, shimmering with a silver light, held a fatal temptation for Uchiha Madara, who craved victory.

After a fierce internal struggle, Uchiha Madara pulled out a handkerchief, carefully wrapped up the Tailed Beast card, and then tucked it into his carry-on bag.

"Human, I even told you this secret that should have rotted in my stomach, where is my food!"

Having sulked for a while, the Nine-Tails patted its shriveled belly and shouted at Uchiha Madara, who was rummaging through his backpack.

"I know, I know!"

Uchiha Madara stuffed the layered-wrapped Tailed Beast card into the very bottom of his backpack. Upon hearing the Nine-Tails' demand, he cast his gaze toward the storage scroll that had also been gathering dust at the bottom of the bag for several years, and then took it out.

Looking at the high-quality storage scroll in his hand, a sense of warmth couldn't help but rise in Uchiha Madara's heart. The earnest instructions his eldest cousin gave him while seeing him off for ten miles when he left the Hidden Leaf Village still echoed in his mind to this day.

"Hey! Human, what are you grinning at? Hurry up, I want to eat chicken!"

"You'll get yours."

This Nine-Tails, with its foul mouth, was an important asset for him to defeat Hashirama. He would tolerate it for now; once he won, he would deal with it properly!

"Swish~"

Having already planned the Nine-Tails' future in his mind, Uchiha Madara casually pulled open the scroll gifted to him by Uchiha Gin. It was inscribed with dense, tadpole-like space-time formulas. He took a rough glance, found it no different from an ordinary storage scroll, and then pressed one hand onto it, slowly channeling his chakra into it.

"Release!"

"Poof~"

"Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter~~~"

As the release seal was formed, Uchiha Madara was instantly enveloped by a massive cloud of white smoke. Just as he was bewildered by why this storage scroll caused such a commotion, a sound like rain—clattering and banging—suddenly rang in his ears.

"Human, what kind of trick is this?"

The Nine-Tails' surprised roar followed. A confused Uchiha Madara was about to disperse the smoke, but the moment he raised his hand, he felt a hard wall appear in front of him. Alarmed and fearing a trap, he immediately retreated to put some distance between them.

"Thud!"

As it turned out, a wall had also appeared behind him when he wasn't looking. Caught off guard, Uchiha Madara slammed straight into it, and a large red bump instantly swelled up on the back of his head.

"Ugh, who's there?!"

Clutching his injury in pain, Uchiha Madara gritted his teeth and unleashed a Wind Style jutsu to disperse the surrounding smoke. His eyes shifted to scarlet; he vowed to make this sneaky attacker pay the price.

"What the hell? My eyes!"

However, the moment the smoke cleared completely, rays of dazzling golden light burst forth, instantly shooting into the eyes of Uchiha Madara, who had his dynamic vision pushed to the limit. The intense stimulation made him roll on the ground, clutching his eyes.

"Ahhh!!!"

The agonizing wail instantly pierced the sky. Nearby, the Nine-Tails was curiously examining the suddenly appeared pyramid. Hearing the familiar wail coming from inside the tower, it couldn't help but feel a sense of empathy.

It had screamed just as loudly when its 'kun-kun' was sliced off before~

"Hoo~ hoo~ hoo~"

After tossing and turning on the ground for a long time, Uchiha Madara gradually recovered. His eyes were still that scarlet color, but they lacked the bewitching patterns, proving they were now just ordinary eyes bloodshot from swelling.

"Human, are you alright?"

Hearing the Nine-Tails' voice, Uchiha Madara stood up shakily. His eyes, having adjusted to the golden light, could barely see. Only then did he realize he was inside a golden tower, with walls built entirely of solid gold bricks.

After a quick thought, Uchiha Madara reached out to touch the golden walls and discovered that this was no genjutsu; these gold bricks were real.

"Eldest cousin, you're dearer to me than my own brother!"

Recovering from his brief shock, Uchiha Madara looked at the familiar-sized gold bricks and instantly understood. This was all travel money his eldest cousin had specially given him out of concern that he would go hungry or cold on the road. It was likely Uchiha Gin's life savings, just given to him so readily—what level of love was this!

At the thought of this, Uchiha Madara's tears flowed uncontrollably—certainly not caused by the intense light.

"Huh? What's that?"

Just as Uchiha Madara was immersed in deep emotion, he suddenly noticed an exquisite briefcase placed at the top of the pyramid. In the dark, it felt as if an irresistible force was pushing him to go up and take it down.

It was a silver briefcase, with a fan pattern carved on the lid. One look and he knew it contained Uchiha-exclusive items.

"Creak~"

Since it wasn't locked, Uchiha Madara opened the briefcase without any obstruction. The familiar items that met his eyes caused the expression on his face to freeze instantly. He was too stunned to speak for a long time, and his restless heart remained unsettled for a long while.

"How could it be..."

Closing the briefcase with a strange look in his eyes, Uchiha Madara's expression became quite colorful. He had been thinking about how to get his hands on this item, but he never expected that it had been by his side for so many years.

In Uchiha Madara's mind, the value of the items in the box far exceeded the mountain of gold bricks before him. He gripped it tightly in his hands and muttered,

"Thank you, eldest cousin!"

"Achoo!!!"

Uchiha Gin, who had just hung the wet Veil of the Banshee on the drying rack, let out a massive sneeze. Knowing his constitution would never catch a cold easily, he rubbed his nose in confusion, guessing that someone must be thinking of him.

"Is it Otsutsuki Biluo? It really has been a long time since I went up there~"

"Oh? Are you thinking about those two Byakugan-afflicted women again?"

As soon as Uchiha Gin finished speaking, a ghostly voice came from behind him, scaring him so much that his kidneys immediately contracted and he broke into a cold sweat. He turned around tremblingly, his face filled with a hint of fear.

"Oh, it's you, Xiaoguang! That's not it at all, you must have misheard!"

"It seems you haven't been used enough. Wash up and wait for me tonight; I'll drill you some more."

"Yamero!"

"Human, you finally came out."

The Nine-Tails, which had been waiting obediently outside the pyramid, only saw Uchiha Madara emerge after a long time. Looking at the human who now had an extra briefcase in his hand, it patted its belly and grumbled,

"I'm starving to death, can you provide a full meal?"

Uchiha Madara looked up at the tall and fierce Nine-Tails, a hint of complexity in his eyes. He nodded slowly and took out the storage scroll from earlier, performing a jutsu to store the pyramid made of gold bricks inside.

He hadn't mastered the precision during the first summoning, but next time, he would be able to selectively summon just a few bricks for shopping.

"Besides chicken, what else do you want to eat?"

After tucking the storage scroll away, Uchiha Madara asked the Nine-Tails, which was acting obediently. He certainly wanted to make sure it had a good final meal.

"Huh? Roasted chicken is fine. You humans probably can't make the other things I like."

The Nine-Tails wasn't stupid. If it said it wanted to eat charcoal-grilled 'Hei Laoda,' Uchiha Madara would beat the crap out of it if he could.

"Fine, wait here, I'll be right back."

He hadn't spent much time with the Nine-Tails, but Uchiha Madara had a bit of a soft spot for this foul-mouthed big fox; its movements were so much like the little dog he and Izuna raised when they were children.

Although it loved to bare its teeth, the meat was delicious and the flavor lingered on the tongue~

Instructing the Nine-Tails to squat there and not move while he went to buy several carts of roasted chicken, Uchiha Madara flew toward the town in his memory, finding a fairly prosperous small town before long.

This time, Uchiha Madara had money in his pocket, so he wasn't nervous entering a restaurant. He stood tall and straight, didn't even look at the menu, and told the boss to arrange everything. Before the boss could say anything, he slammed a gold brick down, instantly making him shut up.

When the steaming hot dishes were served, Uchiha Madara, who had been starving for days, didn't care about his image and began to devour the food. Like a whirlwind, the entire table of delicacies was wiped clean in an instant.

Uchiha Madara, with a full belly, picked his teeth contentedly. The restaurant boss, with a flattering expression, walked over rubbing his hands, a look of difficulty on his face.

"Honored guest, we really can't provide change for the gold brick you gave us."

The restaurant boss was just an ordinary person; he didn't dare to cut the intact gold brick Uchiha Madara gave him, but he didn't have enough money to give change, so he had to come and discuss it.

"Oh? No rush. Go and pack up all the roasted chicken in the entire town for me; I'm taking it with me."

Easy come, easy go—at this moment, the wealthy Uchiha Madara waved his hand without blinking and gave instructions to the anxious restaurant boss.

"The roasted chicken from the entire town?"

The restaurant boss picked his ear in confusion, signaling that he hadn't heard clearly.

"I'm in a hurry, you'd better be quick."

Uchiha Madara expressed that he was in a rush and really needed the roasted chicken.

"So that's it~ I didn't expect the guest to have such sharp eyes, seeing through my side business."

Seeing Uchiha Madara's impatient expression and understanding what he meant, the restaurant boss immediately called his subordinates to go out and find high-quality roasted chicken. For a time, the whole town was in an uproar.

"Sir, I've found all the most famous roasted chicken in town for you. Which mansion should I have them delivered to?"

About an hour later, the restaurant boss, rubbing his hands, approached Uchiha Madara, who was resting with his eyes closed, his tone a bit awkward.

"Huh? That was fast. No need to deliver, I'll take them myself."

He hadn't expected the boss to be so efficient, preparing the roasted chicken he needed so quickly. Uchiha Madara stood up and shook his head at the boss.

"Oh~ such things should naturally be kept secret, I understand, I understand~"

The boss, who had prepared a full-service experience, understood instantly after hearing Uchiha Madara's words and immediately apologized with a smile.

"Let's go, take me to the roasted chicken."

Looking at the restaurant boss's strange expression, Uchiha Madara was a bit confused, but since the Nine-Tails was still out in the wild waiting to be fed, he didn't pursue it further and followed the boss, taking a few turns to reach the restaurant's backyard.

"Sir, the fine roasted chicken is all there. Do you need to inspect the goods?"

The restaurant boss pointed to several carriages parked in the backyard and asked Uchiha Madara.

"Just this much?"

Looking at the thin carriages, Uchiha Madara felt a bit stifled. With this little, let alone filling a stomach, it probably wouldn't even be enough to fill the gaps between the Nine-Tails' teeth.

"Uh, sir, this is a small place. It's already quite difficult to gather this many roasted chickens."

Feeling the pressure radiating from Uchiha Madara, the boss wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and explained hurriedly.

"What is that smell? Why is it so pungent?"

Uchiha Madara, frowning, saw that the shopkeeper's expression did not seem fake, so he decided to trust him once. However, with his keen sense of smell, he suddenly caught a strong, strange odor blended with several eerie aromas and immediately questioned him aloud,

"Oh my~ isn't this the smell of roast chicken!"

The shopkeeper thought Uchiha Madara was playing dumb, so he replied with a chuckle,

The roast chicken in this town has quite unique seasonings~

Uchiha Madara had never tasted roast chicken with this kind of flavor before. Driven by curiosity, he casually lifted the curtain of a carriage, wanting to see the roast chicken for himself. The sight inside the carriage, however, left him dumbfounded; his magnificent Sharingan almost fell to the ground.

"Oh my, the customer ordering the meal is such a handsome guy!"

"Ah! Sisters, we're in for a treat~"

"Hee hee, let me take a peek!"

"."

Hearing a burst of giggling and chirping sounds coming from the carriage one after another, Uchiha Madara, with a livid face, dropped the carriage curtain. He sealed the few heavily made-up and scantily clad women again, turned his head, and glared at the smiling shopkeeper with eyes spitting fire, nearly unable to hold back from summoning his Susanoo.

"Is this the roast chicken you prepared for me?"

Suppressing the urge to kill, Uchiha Madara pointed at the carriage behind him, from which the giggling never ceased, his expression dark and terrifying.

"Ah? Customer, are you not satisfied? They are all the top stars of our town's izakaya, the fighting chickens among roast chickens. Their looks might not compare to the famous beauties of the capital, but everyone who has tasted them says they are delicious!"

Seeing that Uchiha Madara's expression was not good, the shopkeeper thought he was dissatisfied, so he explained repeatedly that one shouldn't judge a chicken by its appearance, as the experience is what matters most.

"The roast chicken I want is not this kind, it's the kind you can eat into your stomach!"

Uchiha Madara, so angry he was about to vomit blood, radiated a cold aura that nearly scared the clueless shopkeeper into wetting himself.

"Ah? Isn't this the kind of roast chicken that can eat you until not even your bones are left?"

Even with death at his doorstep, the shopkeeper stuck to his roast chicken theory; his courage was truly commendable. I would call him the greatest pimp.

"Look directly into my eyes!"

Having no mood to continue explaining, Uchiha Madara cast a hypnotic genjutsu directly on the shopkeeper, ordering him to urgently procure roast chicken from the town.

"Is this all of it?"

After another long delay, the shopkeeper, controlled by the genjutsu, didn't cause any more trouble this time. Watching the several carriages filled with fragrant, oily roast chicken being pushed into the backyard, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Yes, customer, we didn't even spare the fertilized eggs; we roasted them all."

The shopkeeper nodded blankly.

"Hmm, better than nothing."

Since that was the case, Uchiha Madara stopped dwelling on it. He casually took out a storage scroll, sealed all the carriages of roast chicken inside, then glared at the shopkeeper standing blankly in place, and vanished in a flash.

"Ah?"

The shopkeeper, having had the genjutsu lifted, looked at the empty backyard and immediately shuddered. He quickly reached into his crotch and, finding the gold brick he had stuffed there earlier was still there, immediately wore a look of relief.

"Boss! We've come to settle the bill for the roast chicken!"

Just then, a crowd of people poured into the restaurant's entrance, clamoring to settle the chicken bill. The shopkeeper scratched his head in confusion.

When did I order roast chicken?

"Gurgle~"

The starving Nine-Tails had been waiting for a long time. During this period, it had several times considered running away, but upon remembering that blue Susanoo a head taller than itself, it withered back down. In the end, it could only lazily wag its nine tails, its expression as bored as could be.

"Whoosh~"

Just then, Uchiha Madara's figure flashed out from the woods. The moment the Nine-Tails saw him, its whole body stood at attention subconsciously, and the previous laziness was swept away.

"Where is my roast chicken?"

The Nine-Tails gulped wildly, its two massive beast eyes staring fixedly at Uchiha Madara, scanning up and down for traces of the roast chicken.

"Here, it's right here~"

Uchiha Madara didn't waste words; he took the scroll filled with roast chicken from his bosom and, with a clap of his hands, unsealed it.

"Poof~"

As the white smoke of the summoning dissipated, a small mountain of golden roast chicken appeared before the Nine-Tails.

"Wow!"

The Nine-Tails, having been hungry for a long time, couldn't help but tear up upon seeing food again. Without waiting for Uchiha Madara to say anything, it dove headfirst into the chicken pile and began devouring it in large mouthfuls.

"Crunch~ crunch~"

The several-pound roast chickens were like tiny golden sesame seeds in the Nine-Tails' mouth. Accompanied by ear-piercing chewing sounds, the Nine-Tails ate with complete abandon.

"Nine-Tails, eat slowly. This is your last meal, enjoy it well~"

Standing to the side, Uchiha Madara watched the Nine-Tails gorging itself with a sense of melancholy, feeling some inexplicable emotions in his heart.

"Huh?"

The Nine-Tails, in the middle of savoring the roast chicken, raised its head in confusion upon hearing this. It looked at the strangely-faced Uchiha Madara, blinked its eyes, and then lowered its head to continue eating.

What is wrong with this human, saying things this master doesn't understand? But eating is more important; once I'm full, I'll spar with him again.

Taking advantage of the Nine-Tails eating its last meal, Uchiha Madara took the Tailed Beast Card, wrapped in layers, from the bottom of his pack. Looking at the Nine-Tails depicted on it, he recalled the method for sealing tailed beasts described in his cousin's mission report.

Defeat or acknowledge.

Acknowledgment was impossible; Uchiha Madara didn't have the time to build a relationship with the Nine-Tails. His top priority now was to defeat Hashirama and prove his strength to the villagers so he could rightfully take the position of the Second Hokage.

"Phew~ so full, so full!"

The several carriages of roast chicken weighed at least a thousand pounds, and with the roast eggs the shopkeeper used to pad the count, it was probably around two thousand pounds. Even with the Nine-Tails chewing slowly, it cleared the battlefield in just over ten minutes.

Uchiha Madara looked up at the Nine-Tails, which was holding its belly and burping comfortably. He walked over slowly, pulling the Tailed Beast Card used for sealing tailed beasts from his handkerchief along the way.

"Human, if you want to travel, wait a while. The old man taught us that it's not good to exercise after eating; let's lie down for a bit~"

The Nine-Tails, not sensing the impending crisis at all, squinted its eyes, savoring the delicious roast chicken, not even sparing Uchiha Madara a glance.

"Sorry, Nine-Tails, can you go inside?"

Uchiha Madara flashed and jumped onto the tip of the Nine-Tails' nose, holding up the Tailed Beast Card in his hand, and asked with an inexplicable tone.

"Ah? What kind of weird talk is that?"

Only then did the Nine-Tails sense something was wrong. It flipped over, and after landing on all fours, its two eyes stared straight at Uchiha Madara, who stood firmly on its nose tip.

"I want to become a Tailed Beast Knight."

Holding the card, Uchiha Madara's eyes were filled with determination. Upon hearing the word "Knight," the Nine-Tails' pupils instantly shrank; these two words were its current nightmare.

Every time it closed its eyes, the Nine-Tails' mind was filled with the appearance of the Gold and Silver Brothers after their transformation. Those two culprits who turned it into a female fox were exactly what Uchiha Madara called Tailed Beast Knights.

"What if I say no?"

Regarding its freedom, the Nine-Tails decided to be tough.

"Then..."

As expected, the Nine-Tails would not easily compromise. Uchiha Madara, having anticipated this, suddenly manifested a tall blue giant behind him. He retreated into the control room between the brows of the Susanoo, looking down at the fully guarded Nine-Tails from a high position.

"How about this?"

"Tailed Beasts... will never be slaves!"

The Nine-Tails gritted its teeth. As the only tailed beast still relatively free, it didn't want to be shackled, even if it meant death, only to be mocked by the other beasts in the chat room.

"What a pity, I originally thought our relationship was quite good~"

Uchiha Madara shook his head, and the great sword in the Susanoo's hand descended accordingly.

"Roar!"

"Rumble!!!"

This battle started very suddenly and ended very quickly. The Nine-Tails was not even a match for the complete-body Susanoo. Uchiha Madara didn't even use his ocular jutsu before grabbing it in his hand.

"Sigh~"

After a regretful sigh, he used a Sharingan genjutsu and successfully captured the Nine-Tails once again.

"Go in~"

Looking at the Nine-Tails controlled by the Sharingan, Uchiha Madara held the Tailed Beast Card high. As a silver light suddenly lit up on the card, several thick chains surged out, rushing toward the Nine-Tails, which had given up resistance, with a very clear target.

"Rip~"

In the blink of an eye, these thick chains bound the Nine-Tails tightly. Its massive body slowly turned into a wisp of bright red tailed beast chakra, which was pulled into the card by the chains at high speed, and finally vanished from the spot.

The last tailed beast, successfully subdued. (End of chapter)