"Let's leave it at that."
Orochimaru smiled faintly, his expression carrying a deeper aning.
"No one knows who will win in the end. Madara believes he's standing above everyone, looking down from the highest level… but he doesn't realize…"
He did not finish the sentence.
But Kabuto understood instantly.
As expected.
Even against the legendary Uchiha Madara, Lord Orochimaru still had his own calculations.
In that instant, Kabuto's admiration for Orochimaru surged again.
"I must beco soone like Lord Orochimaru."
Kabuto carefully climbed back to his feet, excitent flickering in his eyes.
"Bring out White Zetsu's corpse," Orochimaru said, drawing a breath. "We continue the research."
"Madara's plan is about to begin. We need to make use of what little ti we have left."
"Yes!"
Kabuto nodded at once and quickly returned to work.
There was nothing more to say.
In life, he belonged to Orochimaru.
In death, he would still follow Orochimaru.
He was willing to follow Orochimaru into madness one more ti.
So what if the opponent was Uchiha Madara?
They would do what had to be done.
At the sa ti—
Iwagakure.
Inside the Tsuchikage's office at the center of the village.
"Sigh…"
Ōnoki floated above his desk and let out a heavy breath.
What else could he say?
The Fifth Hokage, Uchiha Ren, seed to have grown stronger again. Even the two terrifying presences that had invaded the shinobi world had been killed cleanly.
It was exhausting.
The shinobi world had beco exhausting.
Because of that, Ōnoki felt more and more like crying.
He admitted it.
He regretted it.
He had boarded Uchiha Madara's ship, and now he was trapped between advancing and retreating. Even Iwagakure had been dragged into an unstable, crumbling atmosphere.
"Lord Third Tsuchikage, what should we do now?"
"The Fifth Hokage is becoming more terrifying by the day. Where is Iwagakure supposed to go from here?"
"What exactly is Lord Madara's plan? Is he just going to let Uchiha Ren keep showing his strength without responding?"
Seeing Ōnoki's expression shift again and again, Kurotsuchi, Kitsuchi, Daine, and the other Iwagakure higher-ups exchanged looks before speaking in weary voices.
Their aning was simple.
What was Iwagakure supposed to do now?
What path remained for them?
Ōnoki opened his mouth, but no words ca out.
At this point, he was no fool. Of course he understood that Uchiha Ren's montum had already beco overwhelming.
At the very least, Ren's position in the shinobi world had far surpassed the forr God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, and even Uchiha Madara.
It was no exaggeration to say—
the current Fifth Hokage could already rival, or perhaps even surpass, the Sage of Six Paths.
Yes.
That was the truth.
Uchiha Ren had already reached a level comparable to the Sage of Six Paths.
And that thought made Ōnoki's heart sink even further.
"Forget it."
After a long silence, Ōnoki finally gathered himself and took a deep breath.
"Since we've already chosen Lord Madara, we follow this path to the end."
Then he added quietly,
"Iwagakure has no other choice."
"Understood…"
"Lord Third Tsuchikage, we'll follow your decision."
"This is the only way now…"
Kurotsuchi, Kitsuchi, Daine, and the others nodded one after another.
They accepted Ōnoki's words.
"Very good."
Suddenly, space rippled.
Under the stunned gazes of everyone in the office, Uchiha Madara, Obito, Black Zetsu, and White Zetsu appeared inside the room.
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The entire office froze.
Even Ōnoki was startled, staring blankly at Madara and the others for several seconds, unable to speak.
"What the…"
Only after a few monts did Ōnoki recover, forcing down the tremor in his chest.
He truly had not expected Madara to appear in his office with his subordinates.
Was this supposed to scare him to death?
And then, thinking back, cold sweat imdiately broke across Ōnoki's body.
If he had just said he wanted to abandon Madara and turn to Uchiha Ren instead…
then his fate—and Iwagakure's fate—would have been obvious.
"Good. A wise choice."
Madara's lips curved faintly.
"Ōnoki, at least you know what's good for you."
"Otherwise, after today, Iwagakure would have disappeared from the shinobi world."
"Ah…"
Ōnoki's expression stiffened. All he could do was force out an awkward smile.
As for Kurotsuchi, Kitsuchi, Daine, and the others, they did not even dare breathe loudly.
They lowered their heads, their hearts pounding violently.
They had just been talking about Madara—
and now the legendary Uchiha Madara himself had appeared.
It was enough to scare anyone senseless.
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