Madara's Legacy

"Shisui Uchiha, this is the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and Madara's body."

In one of Uchiha Madara's secret bases, Black and White Zetsu brought Shisui to take possession of everything Madara had left behind.

"You're supposed to be Uchiha Madara's incarnation, but you don't seem to respect him very much," Shisui said, watching Black and White Zetsu with an amused look.

Uchiha Madara had been dead for three days, yet his body still remained on the stone chair. Black Zetsu had not even bothered to lay him to rest.

"Old man Madara is finally dead. No one can control us anymore. Shouldn't we be happy?" White Zetsu's half said. With little sense, White Zetsu often blurted out his truest thoughts.

Shisui paid no attention to that, keeping his gaze on Black Zetsu.

Unexpectedly, Shisui's left eye detected no bloodline in Black Zetsu that he could plunder.

It seemed that Black Zetsu, who believed himself to be Kaguya Otsutsuki's third son, really was nothing more than a manifestation of Kaguya's will.

Black Zetsu: "..."

Black Zetsu knew that Shisui's lingering gaze was asking for an answer.

In Black Zetsu's eyes, Shisui Uchiha was merely a pawn for advancing the Eye of the Moon Plan, and he had never taken him too seriously. As a result, he had let his guard slip and been seen through.

"I..." Black Zetsu racked his brains for an excuse and was just about to explain when Shisui cut him off.

"I don't care what you intend to do. I'm only following the plan and moving things forward." Shisui spoke calmly, turning his gaze away from Black Zetsu and toward Madara's body.

It wasn't time to confront Black Zetsu yet.

"Damn you, Shisui Uchiha. Just wait until Mother is revived..." Aside from sharing Kaguya Otsutsuki's lifespan, Black Zetsu had no particular advantages. His feeble offensive abilities posed no threat to Shisui, and if he kept acting tough, he would only make a fool of himself. So Black Zetsu could only bury all his resentment deep inside.

[Potential plunder target detected: Uchiha Madara (deceased), Indra Bloodline development: 90%, Asura Bloodline development: 50%]

[Target is deceased. The bloodline plundered by Yamata will be greatly diminished]

The system's notification told Shisui that if he "ate" Uchiha Madara's body, his Indra Bloodline would advance further. He might even acquire the Asura Bloodline at the same time, meeting the conditions to comprehend the power of Samsara of Heavenly Life and awaken the Rinnegan.

Yet an inexplicable feeling told Shisui not to plunder the bloodline within Uchiha Madara's body.

Even his left eye showed no strong desire for Madara's remains. It was highly unusual.

At Shisui's level of power, he trusted the instincts rising from deep within him even more.

When dealing with everything Uchiha Madara had left behind, Shisui wouldn't dare be careless.

"Earth Release." At Shisui's command, the soil rose on its own, surrounding Uchiha Madara's body and forming a stone coffin. It was a way of preserving some dignity for the once-great warlord.

After taking care of Uchiha Madara's remains, Shisui turned his gaze to the largest figure in the entire base.

"So this is the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path..." Though he had lived two lives, this was the first time Shisui had come face-to-face with the colossal statue.

The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was essentially the Ten-Tails' husk, stripped of its chakra. It had the appearance of a giant humanoid with nine eyes.

Since the statue had not yet absorbed the chakra of any Tailed Beasts, all nine of its eyes remained closed.

The statue's body was the color of dried wood, and ten column-like protrusions rose from its back. They were the Ten-Tails' severed tails. Once the statue had gathered the chakra of the Nine Tailed Beasts, ten tails would grow from those protrusions.

Though the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was only a husk and carried no chakra of its own, its body contained the Ten-Tails' immense vitality.

An evil, violent aura weighed on everyone present. Even Shisui, the strongest among them, felt extremely uncomfortable.

"My Indra Bloodline is already this developed, and it can still exert such overwhelming pressure on me. It truly is the Ten-Tails' husk." In that moment, Shisui cast aside the arrogance that had come with his recent surge in power. He realized that his current strength was still far from the pinnacle of this world.

[Potential plunder target detected: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, all the vitality of the Ten-Tails]

[Warning, host: using Eye Technique: Yamata on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path will consume an uncountable amount of chakra and ocular power. Please choose carefully]

Shisui understood the system's warning.

When he had used Yamata to devour those Mangekyō Sharingan, he had been forced to exhaust the ocular power of his left eye. In the end, he had only managed to complete the plunder with the help of the serum developed by Orochimaru.

Now he was facing all the vitality of the entire Ten-Tails. Shisui couldn't even imagine how much chakra and ocular power it would take to devour it.

But those difficulties did nothing to quell his desire for that power.

"If I could control this power..." Shisui stared intently at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, his Mangekyō Sharingan glowing with an eerie light. No one knew what he was thinking.

"Shisui, the first step in our plan is to capture the Nine Tailed Beasts, then seal their chakra inside the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to revive the Ten-Tails."

Having been put in his place by Shisui, Black Zetsu spoke with much more respect.

"During this process, you'll need a powerful ally. Before Madara died, he had already found one for you."

Shisui showed no change in expression as he listened to Black Zetsu, leaving his thoughts impossible to read.

"And then?" Shisui asked calmly.

"H-he's called Nagato Uzumaki. He inherited Madara's Rinnegan. But Nagato doesn't know the truth. He still thinks he's the god of this world, dreaming of becoming its savior. Heh heh heh."

Black Zetsu, who had orchestrated the tragedy of the Akatsuki, didn't take Nagato seriously at all.

In his eyes, Nagato was nowhere near as clever as Shisui.

"Got it. I'll have Shimura Danzō handle recruiting Nagato."

As always, the right person should handle the right job. Of everyone Shisui knew, no one was better than Danzō at manipulating people and plotting schemes.

Danzō: "???"

"Danzō—the one who's been plotting against the Kaguya Clan lately?" Black Zetsu was well-informed about everything happening in Kirigakure.

"Uh..."

When Black Zetsu mentioned the Kaguya Clan, Shisui's gaze snapped toward him. The cold, despairing chakra radiating from his Mangekyō Sharingan pinned Black Zetsu in place, making him feel extremely uneasy.

"The more secrets a person knows, the sooner they tend to die. And you aren't an indispensable part of the Eye of the Moon Plan."

Shisui didn't spell out the threat, but the murderous intent between his words was impossible to miss.

"I—I understand, Shisui." Black Zetsu was genuinely afraid that Shisui might kill him without warning. If that happened, his mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, would have no hope of being revived.