Dense beads of sweat streamed down Orochimaru's pale face as he panted heavily.
Casting Impure World Reincarnation over and over had taken no small toll on him.
Yet a sinister smile appeared on his face.
That night, when the mysterious man in black delivered Madara Uchiha's corpse to his laboratory, Orochimaru immediately sensed a glimpse of an enormous conspiracy within the shinobi world!
Everyone knew that Madara Uchiha had died in the great battle at the Valley of the End. Even the First Hokage had announced it publicly, and Orochimaru had always believed it without question.
But when he obtained Madara Uchiha's corpse, he learned that Madara had not died at all—at least, not in his battle against the First Hokage!
Madara's corpse was exceedingly aged. Judging from his appearance, he had lived to at least ninety!
As for Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage and victor of that battle, news of his death had already spread when Orochimaru was still attending the Ninja Academy.
In other words, Madara Uchiha had lived long enough to personally witness the end of the Third Shinobi World War before dying!
Yet in the decades between the battle at the Valley of the End and the Third Shinobi World War, not a single rumor of Madara Uchiha had ever circulated through the shinobi world.
One could only imagine what earth-shattering scheme Madara Uchiha had been plotting in secret!
One of the two strongest men of the Warring States era had willingly grown old and died in some unknown corner.
At that thought, even Orochimaru could not help but shudder at the patience of this Asura of the shinobi world.
Because of Madara's corpse's special nature, Orochimaru had spent a great deal of time painstakingly crafting a vessel specifically for him.
He would revive Madara Uchiha