"I do."
"During the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, half his body was crushed under a boulder, and you saved him."
"Later, he saw Rin die at Kakashi's hand with his own eyes and completely broke down."
"From that moment on, he became the sharpest blade in your plan."
Madara's chest rose and fell slightly.
He had seen too many powerful people and had been called a monster by too many others.
But at this moment, for the first time, he felt that the ordinary man before him was more of a monster.
Not a monster in terms of strength.
He simply knew too much.
An unreasonable amount.
As if he had dug up every secret in Madara's life and laid them all out on the table.
Madara stared at Zhang Yu and suddenly sneered.
"Since you know everything, you should also know that I don't like being threatened."
As his words fell, the Chakra inside him surged violently.
A terrifying force erupted from him.
The water cup on the table trembled.
The liquor in the jar rippled as well.
Zhang Yu remained still on the surface, but his back broke out in a sweat.
Even with the system's rules protecting him, his body still tensed up instinctively when faced with someone on Madara Uchiha's level.
The next second, Madara's eyes fully transformed into the Rinnegan.
He raised his hand, his five fingers slightly spread.
But just as hostility toward Zhang Yu arose in his heart, the surging Chakra inside him was forcibly suppressed, as if by a giant invisible hand.
Boom!
The flow of power that had been about to erupt was cut off on the spot.
Madara's hand froze in midair.
For the first time, clear astonishment appeared on his face.
"What's going on?"
Seeing this, Zhang Yu nearly laughed out loud.
The system really is that powerful!
Madara Uchiha's display just now had clearly been more than an empty threat.
Yet the moment he felt hostile, his Chakra was sealed.
How is anyone supposed to fight that?
Zhang Yu put down his water cup, sounding as calm as if he were reminding a guest not to mess with the tables and chairs.
"I told you, you can't attack me."
Madara did not respond.
He closed his eyes and began to examine his condition.
His Chakra was still there.
His Rinnegan was still there.
There was nothing wrong with his body, either.
But as soon as he formed the intent to attack Zhang Yu, all his Chakra instantly became stagnant and impossible to mobilize.
It was as though an absolute command had been written into the deepest level of his body.
Madara's eyes snapped open, filled with disbelief.
He lowered his hand and forcibly restrained his killing intent.
Almost the instant he let go of his hostility, the Chakra inside him began flowing again.
Vast, stable, and completely unimpeded.
Madara's breath caught.
He raised his hand again, and the thought of attacking Zhang Yu had only just surfaced in his mind.
His Chakra was sealed once more.
He let go of his hostility.
His Chakra recovered.
He became hostile again.
It was sealed again.
After repeating this several times, Madara fell silent.
His power was being held down by something on a higher level in this man's presence.
Madara slowly looked at Zhang Yu.
This time, the contempt he had shown before was finally gone from his eyes.
"Who exactly are you?"
Zhang Yu did not answer his question directly. He slowly leaned back in his chair and spoke in a composed tone.
"I can summon you here from the Pure Land and prevent you from harming me, but that isn't because I was born with dominion over the Pure Land."
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in Madara's eyes turned slightly as he waited quietly for him to continue.
"All of this comes from the Undead Tavern System attached to me."
Zhang Yu slowly spoke its name.
"It's thanks to this system that I can summon the souls of the dead from the Pure Land and recruit them as tavern employees."
"You're here because I used one of the system's summoning opportunities."
Madara repeated in a low voice, "System?"
The unfamiliar term lay entirely beyond the understanding of the Shinobi World's Six Paths.
"It's an independent set of rules from beyond this world," Zhang Yu explained calmly.
"The system has established an ironclad rule: none of the souls it summons can harm me. I also have the authority to send you back to the Pure Land at any time."
Madara pondered in silence.
His two failed attempts at genjutsu and the invisible barrier that had blocked his power all had an explanation now.
It was not that the mortal before him possessed strength to rival his own; rather, this strange set of rules blocked every attack.
Madara spoke in a deep voice. "So the source of the power restraining me is this system."
Zhang Yu put down his water cup.
"That's right. So you can call me the Undead Sage."
"The Undead Sage?"
Madara repeated it.
The title was absurd.
But at this moment, he could not laugh.
He could summon the dead from the Pure Land, give them complete bodies, let them retain their peak strength, and seal their Chakra when they became hostile.
Such restrictions could no longer be explained by ordinary ninjutsu.
Even the Sage of Six Paths might not have been able to accomplish something like this.
Madara stared at Zhang Yu and asked in a deep voice, "Did my plan succeed in the end?"
He had finally asked about the thing he cared about most.
The Infinite Tsukuyomi.
It was the obsession of his lifetime.
For that goal, he had betrayed, deceived, and waited, turning himself into an empty shell with nothing left but his plan.
He could accept his own death.
But he had to ask how it ended.
Zhang Yu looked at him.
To be honest, he did want to tell Madara the truth outright.
Black Zetsu stabbed you through the heart.
You thought you were the mastermind, but you were just a pawn too.
You wanted to save the Shinobi World, but you nearly unleashed Kaguya instead.
That would hit way too hard.
But Zhang Yu did not go into detail immediately.
A man like Madara could not be provoked too much all at once.
Otherwise, even if he could not attack Zhang Yu, he could still tear the tavern apart.
Zhang Yu picked up his cup, took a sip of water, and slowly spoke eight words.
"Full of twists and turns, strange and unpredictable."
Madara's face darkened at once.
"What kind of answer is that?"
Zhang Yu spread his hands.
"The most accurate summary."
Madara stared fixedly at him.
"Success or failure?"
Seeing him struggle to keep himself from erupting, Zhang Yu felt secretly pleased.
He said mildly, "You're standing here now. Doesn't that answer your question?"
Madara froze.
The next second, he finally realized what was wrong.
If the plan had succeeded.
If the Infinite Tsukuyomi had truly been completed.
If he had truly become the one to reshape the world.
Then why had he been in the Pure Land?
And why had Zhang Yu summoned him to this tavern?
Madara lowered his head and looked at his hands.
This body was complete.
His power was intact too.
But that did not mean he was alive.
He had merely been summoned.
Watching his reaction, Zhang Yu drove the knife in.
"Madara Uchiha, you've been dead for a long time."
Madara's fingers slowly curled.
After a long while, Madara raised his head.
"So what exactly did you summon me for?"
A smile finally appeared on Zhang Yu's face.
He had waited a long time for that question.
He raised his hand and gestured around the tavern.
"I told you, you're going to work for me."
Madara: "..."
At that moment, Madara Uchiha's expression froze.
He had considered that Zhang Yu might want to use his power.
He had considered that Zhang Yu might want him to kill someone.
He had also considered that Zhang Yu might have an even greater scheme.
But he had never imagined that the man would go to such lengths, revealing top secrets like the Infinite Tsukuyomi, the Rinnegan, Izanagi, and Obito, only for his ultimate goal to be-
Having him work at the tavern?
Madara looked at Zhang Yu, his voice dropping several degrees.
"Say that again."
Zhang Yu looked utterly serious.
"We're opening tomorrow, and I'm short on staff."
"From now on, you'll be this establishment's first employee."
"For now, your duties will be watching the place, serving drinks, wiping tables, and keeping order when necessary."
Madara remained silent for a full three seconds.
Then he slowly spoke.
"You want me, Madara Uchiha, to serve drinks and wipe tables?"
Zhang Yu nodded.
"Yes."
"And watch the place?"
"That's right."
"Keep order when necessary?"
"That's your specialty."
A vein seemed to twitch at Madara's temple.
He had seen arrogant people in his life.
But he had never seen anyone this arrogant.
Making the Asura of the Ninja World work as a tavern hand.
Even Hashirama Senju couldn't bring himself to say such a thing.
Madara said coldly, "You think I'd agree?"
Zhang Yu smiled.
"You don't have to agree."
Madara was just about to speak when Zhang Yu raised his hand.
"Perfect. I'll give you a demonstration of employee management privileges."
Madara's heart skipped a beat.
Before he could speak, Zhang Yu issued a command in his mind.