Long black hair fell to his shoulders, and his bangs cast a dark shadow in the torchlight. The young, sharply defined face had a grayish-white sheen.
He looked down at his hands, spreading his fingers and closing them again. Fine cracks ran from his knuckles to his wrists, like porcelain shattered and pieced back together.
He turned his head toward Black Zetsu and spoke coldly, his displeasure plain:
"Why Impure World Reincarnation? Wasn't it supposed to be Rinne Rebirth? Black Zetsu, what are you doing?"
Black Zetsu answered at once, urgent but respectful:
"Lord Madara, the situation has changed. I need your overwhelming strength and brilliant mind!"
Madara Uchiha rose from the coffin, his bare feet touching the hard, grayish-white earth.
He closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings. An invisible ripple seemed to spread from him, sweeping across the cave walls and over the stalactites.
A moment later, he opened his eyes and gave a slight nod.
"Not bad. This Impure World Reincarnation is highly precise. I can use eighty to ninety percent of my strength."
"What happened? Is my Rinnegan all right?"
The fissure across Black Zetsu's face shifted again, as if he had sighed without a sound.
"Lord Madara, a once-in-a-generation genius has emerged from the Uchiha: Uchiha Yongye. He's absurdly powerful. He can kick Nagato around like a ball even when Nagato is healthy and has the Rinnegan!"
Madara Uchiha's brow furrowed sharply. A rare flash of surprise broke through his grayish-white face.
"Someone like that exists?"
Black Zetsu nodded emphatically, his voice grave with wariness he could hear himself:
"He does! The Five Great Shinobi Villages have joined forces. They plan to summon Hashirama Senju with Impure World Reincarnation to kill him! Nagato and his Rinnegan will be involved too."
Hashirama Senju.
The moment Madara