Sensing that the old man before him was truly, completely dead, River turned his gaze toward Konoha.
Even from far away, the enormous Nine-Tailed Fox was clearly visible. Its ominous, immense energy sent a powerful tremor of dread through anyone who felt it.
"The beasts of this world really are magnificent."
River murmured his admiration, but suddenly darted backward.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sharp wooden weapons shot through the spot where he had just stood and embedded themselves in a tree.
A mysterious masked figure wrapped in a black robe materialized beside Madara amid a distortion in space.
Upon seeing the dead Madara and River standing opposite him, the mysterious man's single exposed blood-red eye sharpened with wariness.
"Minato Namikaze having a younger brother as powerful as you was something no one expected!"
The mysterious man spoke in a low voice, bending down to seize Madara's corpse.
"His student is quite exceptional, too!"
River smiled faintly as he looked at the man before him.
The mysterious man shuddered, his gaze growing sharper, but he said nothing.
"Now Madara is truly dead, and you've completed your plan. Are you going to retreat?"
River asked again.
"You actually know who he is?"
The mysterious man stared at River and spoke coldly.
"Just a guess. There aren't many Uchiha in this world who could possess such strength at that age."
River said.
"Is that so?"
The mysterious man grew thoughtful.
"Want to make a move?"
"And that little rat hiding in the shadows, too."
River suddenly said with a faint smile.
The mysterious man shuddered. He had indeed considered ambushing River and killing him to silence him, but he had never expected River to detect even Zetsu hidden in the shadows.
That was something even he couldn't do!
What keen perception!
And he killed Madara!