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Two hours later, the wedding between Senju Kenji and the daughter of the feudal lord—an event Tobirama found mind-numbingly boring—finally ca to an end. The entire village buzzed with celebration and laughter.
"Tobirama, great job hosting!" Akio found Tobirama and gave him a look that said, "I'm so proud of you, kid."
Tobirama gave a bitter smile and shook his head. He had a feeling he'd officially landed on Second Grandpa's bad side for this one.
"Second Grandpa, uh... thank you for the complint," Tobirama replied after so hesitation.
Akio nodded, glancing around. Hashirama was still deep in conversation with the feudal lord. Akio had little interest in the daimyo and decided not to interrupt.
The newlyweds were still awkwardly "introducing themselves" to each other. Akio chuckled and shook his head—Arranged marriages in the world of shinobi, huh...
He thought about walking over to give them a gentle nudge: Hurry up and make Tsunade already… But the idea felt so weird that even his thick skin couldn't follow through.
Around them, villagers and shinobi were chatting amongst themselves, voices blending into the festive atmosphere.
"With this alliance, Konoha is sure to flourish even more…" said a middle-aged uncle type.
"With Lord Hashirama here, how could Konoha not do well?" said a starry-eyed fangirl.
"We can't rely on Lord Hashirama's protection forever!" added soone more pragmatic.
"Hashirama's reputation in the village really is sky-high…" Akio murmured to himself—then caught a more off-topic conversation nearby.
Two young girls were debating how many years Hashirama could continue serving as Hokage and protecting the village. One guessed thirty years, the other fifty… then soone threw out a hundred.
The conversation quickly veered into:
"Lord Hashirama is definitely going to outlive Elder Akio!"
Akio's face darkened as he overheard one of the girls whisper, "Do you know how old Elder Akio is? My grandpa said he looked like this even when he was a kid."
"Then Lord Hashirama is definitely going to outlive Elder Akio!"
Akio gave a helpless smile and shook his head. You're going to be disappointed... Even if the outco of the Valley of the End changed, there was no way Hashirama would outlive him.
"Wait a minute, am I already considered an undead relic by the village youth?"
Relics don't ddle in the affairs of the young. Ti to go back to training—The Valley of the End isn't far off now…
Inside Konoha, everything was peaceful and joyful, a village basking in the light of prosperity. But outside the village, sothing was quietly brewing.
Wind Gorge…
Or rather, hundreds of ters beneath Wind Gorge—a massive underground complex had been constructed.
At that mont, in one of the rooms, two beings—well, one person and one entity—were staring each other down.
The man was none other than Uchiha Madara, who had left Konoha to train in seclusion.
After a long silence, Madara finally spoke.
"You're saying… you're an embodint of my will?"
He'd woken up to find a pitch-black, humanoid-looking thing claiming to be a manifestation of his will. Naturally, Madara didn't buy it.
"That's right…" Black Zetsu replied slowly, though internally, he was full of frustration.
According to the original plan, Black Zetsu had intended to secretly harvest Hashirama's cells during Madara and Hashirama's final battle. With those, he could help Madara awaken the Rinnegan and master Yin-Yang Release. Then, in Madara's dying monts, he would use that very power to "create" Black Zetsu—gaining Madara's complete trust and paving the way to revive Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.
But… things didn't go as planned. The appearance of Uzumaki Akio had thrown a wrench into everything.
Black Zetsu had assud Akio would either die of old age or be too weakened to influence the final outco of the Valley of the End. But just two years ago, during one of his routine surveillance missions, Black Zetsu had discovered that Akio had already mastered Yin-Yang Release. That was when he realized sothing was very wrong.
With the battle between Madara and Hashirama fast approaching, and Akio still showing no signs of aging, Zetsu had no choice but to make his move. If he didn't intervene, Madara might actually die at the Valley of the End—and then it could be centuries before another opportunity to revive Kaguya arose.
"…Do you take for a fool?" Madara asked after a pause, narrowing his eyes. For so reason, Akio's wrinkled face popped into his mind, smiling and saying, "You think you're not a fool?" Maybe Akio's teasing over the years had finally ssed with his head.
Madara clenched his fist. It looked like he was about to strike.
"Madara-sama, please wait…" Black Zetsu quickly interrupted. Despite thinking he could manipulate the entire shinobi world, he was very aware of his own combat limits.
So, he began recounting in detail the major events of Madara's life—so thoroughly that it felt like he'd lived through them himself.
Madara's brow furrowed tighter and tighter. Was I being watched this whole ti?
But when Zetsu recounted the third battle between Madara and Akio in vivid detail, Madara hesitated.
No, it can't be surveillance… That last battle, only Hashirama was there. If none of us noticed a spy—not , not Hashirama, not that old man with his freakish sensory skills—then no such spy exists. And this thing appeared in my own hideout without noticing… Could it actually be so kind of will embodint?
What Madara didn't realize was that Black Zetsu had literally been inside his body for quite so ti…
After a long silence, Madara looked up at Zetsu, whose expression said, Believe it or don't—it's up to you. Finally, Madara nodded slowly.
"…Fine. I'll tentatively believe you."
Black Zetsu exhaled in relief. Tentatively believe, huh? That's going to be trouble… Good thing he doesn't know I tampered with the Uchiha Stone Tablet. Even if he suspects sothing, the plan can still move forward.
After calming himself, Zetsu asked, "So your plan is to face Senju Hashirama in battle next year, correct?"
"You even know that?" Madara raised an eyebrow, then nodded. "That's right."
"You're not worried about interference from Uzumaki Akio?"
Madara scoffed, "That old man? He's pushing eighty now. I doubt he could even withstand a single strike from . Even if he could before, it just ant I had to hit him a few more tis."
Black Zetsu was speechless.
Forget it… He considered warning Madara about Akio's current power but held back, worried Madara might start doubting again. I'll need to find a way to draw Akio away. Maybe use White Zetsu? Madara might get suspicious… but there's no ti to be picky.
And that Uzumaki Akio… there's definitely sothing strange about him.
"Madara-sama, I wish you success."
Black Zetsu offered a solemn farewell as the deep underground chamber once again returned to silence.
Back in Konoha, Akio had just arrived at the village's jutsu training grounds when a sudden chill ran down his spine.
"Ugh, was Tobirama badmouthing again? Or maybe that damned daimyo…"
"Whatever. Ti to focus on training. The Valley of the End is approaching, and I—an old man in my seventies—am actually getting nervous? Let's hope nothing goes wrong…"
He furrowed his brows.
Black Zetsu… he'll definitely stir up trouble. But honestly, there's not much I can do about him right now.
Whatever. I'll deal with it when it cos!
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