Chapter 185: The Curtain Falls on Nagato

Black Zetsu launched a surprise attack from the shadows of the wheelchair; before Nagato could clasp his hands together, his body was already covered by the black substance.

His consciousness remained, but his body was completely out of his control.

Nagato could only watch helplessly as his own hands formed seals, and his massive chakra circulated in the way he was familiar with, converging into the technique he had been researching for months.

"Gedo Art of Rinne Rebirth!!"

A low, deep shout rang out, and a blinding light suddenly erupted from Nagato's body.

A moment later, an overbearing wave of chakra erupted from Madara Uchiha, along with the aura of a supreme Asura and a scent of blood so pungent it would make even a ninja recoil.

The deathly aura of the Impure World Reincarnation dissipated completely, the cracks on his skin healed, and his long black hair took on a lustrous sheen, though his cold face remained devoid of eyes.

Madara Uchiha had been resurrected.

Having just been resurrected, Madara's soul and body were not yet fully stabilized, and the chakra around him surged violently; his gaze swept over the three people present, cold and indifferent, carrying the arrogance and majesty of one who rules the world.

"Obito, Zetsu, you have awakened me; are you prepared for the Eye of the Moon Plan?"

His voice was low and heavy, carrying the vicissitudes and dominance of a century, causing the air in the entire forbidden area to stagnate.

Obito suppressed the complex emotions in his heart and bowed in the manner of a subordinate: "Lord Madara, the Eye of the Moon Plan has not yet begun."

Madara Uchiha raised an eyebrow slightly: "Not yet begun... what does that mean?"

Obito gritted his teeth and said: "The current landscape of the Ninja World has undergone drastic changes. Konohagakure has risen strongly and is pushing a policy of unification, forcing the entire Ninja World to bow; it looks as if they are about to completely control the Ninja World."

"According to White Zetsu's reconnaissance intelligence, Konohagakure not only possesses the Nine-Tails, but the Fifth Hokage, Orochimaru, has even managed to get his hands on the Two-Tails, Three-Tails, and Seven-Tails, hiding them in a secret laboratory for research."

"We had no choice but to awaken you, Lord Madara, and rely on your power to restart the Eye of the Moon Plan."

Madara Uchiha opened his empty eye sockets, his face showing unconcealable surprise: "The juniors of Konohagakure have done quite an excellent job."

"Come, tell me in detail about the changes in Konohagakure."

Obito dared not delay, and together with Black Zetsu, they began to recount the events, one after the other.

As Madara Uchiha listened, he sighed with emotion while simultaneously making a move on Nagato, forcibly gouging out the eyes that had originally belonged to him.

Madara gripped the bloody eyes in his hands and, without even washing them, shoved them into his own eye sockets.

Rinnegan hot-swapping, plug and play!

Madara Uchiha blinked repeatedly, and the once lifeless Rinnegan regained their vitality; it took only a few minutes for them to go from barely moving to rotating flexibly.

At this moment, Obito had just finished speaking about the changes in Konohagakure, letting Madara Uchiha understand the reality of Konohagakure's unprecedented national strength, the order that was rapidly stabilizing, and the hearts of the people that had coalesced into one.

A look of surprise and wariness flashed in Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan, but there was also a hint of yearning.

"Konoha... to think they have reached this point?"

He had traversed the Ninja World his entire life and fought Senju Hashirama until the end; he knew Konoha's foundation well, yet he had never imagined that one day, Konoha would be able to shed internal strife, unify the four directions, and form such terrifying ruling power.

These were the dreams he had wanted in the past but did not know how to realize.

"Yamanaka Chujiu, and the Fifth Hokage Orochimaru... two unfamiliar names, truly interesting."

A cold arc curled at the corner of Madara's mouth, and a long-lost fighting spirit and desire for conquest ignited in his eyes:

"I thought that after I died, the Ninja World would only continue to sink into infighting; I never expected that someone would actually integrate Konohagakure and launch a campaign to unify the Ninja World."

"Very well."

"The chaotic world of uninteresting ninja villages was too dull; now, having such a powerful Konohagakure as an opponent is worthy of me, Madara Uchiha, realizing the goal of eternal peace."

Seeing this, Black Zetsu was overjoyed and hurriedly said: "Lord Madara, Konohagakure is growing stronger every moment; the longer we delay, the more trouble we will encounter."

"Should we immediately begin collecting the Tailed Beasts and awaken the Ten-Tails?"

Madara Uchiha nodded slightly: "You are right; begin the Tailed Beast capture plan immediately."

By the time Konan noticed something unusual and rushed to Nagato's room, Madara Uchiha, Obito, and the others had already vanished.

Only the dying Nagato remained in the room.

Nagato had been deceived too cruelly; his research had not changed the fatal flaw of the Samsara Heavenly Life Technique, because the price for resurrecting the dead was not just the excessive physical burden that led to death, but also an exchange and decay of the soul.

Konan held Nagato and asked in despair: "Who was it?"

Nagato shook his head: "Do not seek revenge for me; live on well."

"Konan, you must lead Amegakure and the Akatsuki, and live on well..."

"In my place, in Yahiko's place... live on, and see the Ninja World after peace has descended for us..."

Konan was overcome with grief and nodded repeatedly at Nagato: "I will, I definitely will..."

But this was only to comfort the dying Nagato; in her heart, Konan had already decided to find the murderer who killed Nagato and then kill them.

Even if it meant paying with her own life!

In a massive cavern beneath the mountains of Kawa no Kuni, Madara Uchiha, Obito, and Black Zetsu inspected the prepared White Zetsu.

Madara was satisfied with their preparations, but he had one question: "White Zetsu have no brains; they cannot undertake battlefield command tasks, nor can they serve as high-end combat power to hold the situation on the battlefield."

"How will we deal with large-scale Jonin?"

"Regarding this, Lord Madara, you can rest assured; I have already made preparations in advance."

Black Zetsu signaled to Obito, and Obito immediately formed seals with his hands and pressed his palms to the ground: "Summoning Technique!"

Amidst a rumbling sound, circular arrays appeared on the ground, and a coffin emerged from each circle, then the lids opened automatically, revealing the ninjas who had been resurrected via Impure World Reincarnation.

Black Zetsu laughed with a "hehehe": "These are the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages from past generations, as well as powerful ninjas renowned throughout the Ninja World; I found their graves and collected their flesh and blood to perform the Impure World Reincarnation..."

"Using the Kage of the Five Great Ninja Villages to attack their own villages and snatch their Tailed Beasts will surely be interesting."

Madara was very satisfied with Black Zetsu's proposal: "It is indeed an interesting plan; then let us begin immediately."

"This place is not far from Sunagakure; we shall take the One-Tail as the beginning of the plan."

Black Zetsu and Obito exchanged a glance: "Yes, Lord Madara."

"It is just that Sunagakure is so weak that it is not worth us using our full strength..."

Madara Uchiha asked in surprise: "Has Sunagakure become this fragile?"

Obito said: "Yes, I can deal with Sunagakure by myself."

Madara Uchiha did not dwell on it: "Then you go capture the One-Tail, and I will go capture the two Tailed Beasts of Iwagakure."

"Let's move!"