Just as Jörmungandr feeling conflicted and troubled, a familiar voice sounded behind him.
I've arrived!
Turning his head, he was surprised to see that standing behind him was none other than his true form, Kōki.
Seemingly noticing the doubt in Jörmungandr's eyes, Kōki smiled and explained, "To ensure the plan goes smoothly, when you sent the message to Aizen and the others, Aizen passed it on to me. Since this place isn't far from the Land of Bears, I used my Wood Clone to come over."
"Of course, in order to distance myself from our relationship as much as possible, I will avoid taking action if I can."
If it really comes to a last resort, I'll pretend to have stumbled upon your trail by chance, appear before you, and happen to witness you fighting Madara Uchiha. Then, to ensure peace in the Shinobi World, I'll have no choice but to cooperate with you to take down Madara. After that, we'll put on a show, pretend to fight, and then let you go.
Although this might arouse suspicion, it's better than letting Ban live.
Furthermore, if this still raises suspicions, we'll find an opportunity to fight again, making it as brutal as possible, perhaps resulting in serious injuries.
This way, we can avoid suspicion as much as possible, thus clearing ourselves of any connection with them while achieving our goal. It's killing two birds with one stone. Of course, this is a last resort; the best-case scenario is that I don't get involved and you resolve the matter smoothly."
"Don't worry, we understand. We'll do our best to prevent you from taking action!"
Kōki's clones understood his concerns and worries, since the original body's identity was different.
So, after discussing their plan, Kōki got to work.
Meanwhile, Madara Uchiha, who was Kōki's target, didn't sense anything amiss and was still trying to Obito Obito agreeing with his views.
"Let's face reality. There are many unsatisfactory things in this world. The longer I live, the more I feel that all that permeates reality is bitterness, pain, and loneliness."
Listen carefully: everything in this world is the same; where there is light, there is darkness. As long as there is the concept of a winner, there will inevitably be a loser as well. The selfish will to protect peace will lead to war.
In order to protect love, hatred will inevitably arise. This is a cause-and-effect relationship that cannot be separated.
Therefore, this real world is hell, and people in the real world are constantly struggling in this hell between love and hate, war and peace.
Ban's words are full of profound insights into life, and they would be the absolute truth to someone who has suffered greatly and experienced despair.
But for Obito, a single-celled organism who had never experienced true despair, it was like casting pearls before swine.
So Obito said impatiently, "Hey, grandpa, what are you trying to say? I don't care about love or hate. I just want to get back to Kakashi and Rin. And what do you want to do?"
Faced with Obito's question, Madara Uchiha, staring intently at Obito, and spoke seriously.
"I want you to sever the cause and effect of this world and create a world where only the victor exists, only peace exists, only love exists, and only these things exist."
Although you don't understand what I mean now, one day, when you realize you're in hell, you'll truly understand what I'm saying.
After saying that, he closed his eyes and stopped looking at Obito.
Obito, however, was completely bewildered by Madara's words and, ignoring what Madara Uchiha said, continued to wriggle away from the cave.
Sudden!
"Clap clap clap"
An unusually loud clapping sound rang out in the quiet cave, immediately attracting the attention of Obito and Madara Uchiha, who was sitting on a chair. They quickly looked in the direction from which the sound came.
"As expected of Madara Uchiha, the fact that he survived to this day after being defeated by Hashirama Senju shows he has a unique understanding of the world."
Suddenly, four white figures appeared in the dimly lit cave.
This surprised Madara Uchiha.
You know, this place is surrounded by his spies, but now they've managed to infiltrate his territory without any response. When did White Zetsu become so useless?
But Madara quickly dismissed his guess. He knew the White Zetsu's abilities well. Although they weren't strong, only at the level of ordinary Chunin, their ability to conceal themselves was top-notch. They would never be easily exposed, and their ability as informants was also very strong.
Therefore, the only possibility is that the person who appeared in front of him is not a simple person.
"Who are you? And how did you find us?"
Upon hearing Madara's question, Aizen calmly replied, "We're just a small organization in the Shinobi World; we probably wouldn't even be able to catch the eye of the Asura of the Ninja World. As for how we got here, it's simple—we just used Earth Release Technique."
"Hehe, you should know what I want to ask?"
Aizen didn't care what kind of Release Technique Aizen and his group used to get in.
What he really wanted to know was why Aizen had found this place, and why they knew he was Madara Uchiha.
He also wanted to know how long Aizen others had been inside, and whether they had overheard anything they shouldn't have.
Given Aizen's intelligence, he naturally understood the hidden meaning behind the white spots from the very beginning.
His previous words were just a test, to see if Lord Madara would suddenly attack them without warning.
After all, Lord Madara's temper wasn't very good in the original work; he would start dancing at the drop of a hat and so on.
Now, seeing that Lord Madara doesn't seem to care about his teasing at all, and instead talks to him calmly.
Aizen was somewhat moved, realizing that time was indeed the greatest enemy, capable of changing even the most peculiar personality.
"So that's how it is. Actually, it was quite a coincidence. We happened to be nearby when that kid next to you got into trouble, and since I'm very good at Sensory Ninjutsu, I discovered a strange creature that saved that Konoha Ninja."
Out of curiosity, we followed, and then we discovered that this place was a hidden paradise, concealing a huge secret.
Then we saw a figure who once struck fear into the entire Shinobi World, a figure whose mere stomp could shake the Shinobi World.
This argument sounds reasonable, but in Madara's eyes it's utter nonsense. What does it mean to just happen to be passing by? What does it mean to just happen to have a sensory talent? What does it mean to be driven by curiosity? And the key point is that he even discovered him.
Such a series of coincidences coming together clearly shows they think he's a fool.
This was something that the ever-arrogant Madara Uchiha couldn't stand.
"Really? That's quite a coincidence. So many coincidences happening at the same time led you to discover this place. I don't know whether to call you lucky or unlucky?"
At this moment, Madara Uchiha's eyes radiated a chilling aura.
The next moment, a powerful and invisible killing intent emanated from Madara Uchiha's body.
Clearly, Aizen's repeated teasing remarks finally broke Madara's composure, and he decided to teach Aizen a lesson.
However, if it were an ordinary ninja, facing such an imposing figure as Madara Uchiha, their legs would probably go weak and they would kneel down at Madara Uchiha's feet.
But for Aizen and his group, it was far from enough.
" Lord Madara truly lives up to his reputation as someone who can rival Hashirama Senju face, his aura remains powerful and awe-inspiring."
However, despite saying this, Aizen's face beneath the mask showed no sign of reverence.
They were all well-prepared today, so how could they be intimidated by Madara Uchiha presence?
Lord Madara could tell from Aizen and the others' indifferent gazes that his aura had no effect whatsoever, and his previously indifferent eyes became slightly more serious.
Although he was old, his eyesight had not declined in the slightest. He could sense from the faint aura emanating from the four people that they were not ordinary.
Combined with their sudden appearance and their sarcastic manner towards him, it became clear that the four people in front of him definitely had ill intentions.
Then Aizen continued, "It's a bit of a pity that I never witnessed the full power of the Asura of the Ninja World. But it's alright. Although I never saw the full power of the Shinobi Asura of the Ninja World's Asura of the Ninja World, it's still a great honor to have met him during the last period of his life. So let me see if this old man, clinging to life, still has the glory he once had as the Asura of the Ninja World."
In fact, Aizen's initial plan was to ambush Lord Madara and quickly eliminate Lord Madara, thus ending the mission.
But then he realized that with their strength, they didn't need to resort to any tricks against the elderly; they could defeat them head-on.
Moreover, if even age spots require cunning and trickery to overcome, that's a sign of weakness.
It is utterly impossible for a coward to complete the path of the Six Paths, because only those with extremely strong faith and determination can succeed on Six Paths path; any psychological deviation could lead to evolutionary failure.
So he decided to give Lord Madara a final moment of dignity.
Furthermore, setting aside Lord Madara's actions of secretly stirring up trouble in the end, his achievement of setting aside his hatred and allying with Hashirama Senju to establish Konoha in his youth alone deserves their respect.
Moreover, from the perspective of his past life, Madara Uchiha's initial domineering ideology was not wrong; on the contrary, Hashirama Senju's idea of achieving peace through checks and balances between major powers was too naive.
Of course, this is all based on the fact that Aizen and his group are currently in a dominant position. If they were facing Madara Uchiha, Aizen would not have acted this way.
As for whether such behavior will backfire?
Aizen can confidently say, no!
Aside from the fact that Kōki was there to back him up, Aizen simply didn't believe that Old Man Madara possessed the strength to defeat the four of them combined.
If Madara Uchiha truly possessed the power to defeat all four of them simultaneously, why didn't he simply sweep through the entire Shinobi World instead of hiding in the shadows to carry out his schemes?
This is completely out of character for Lord Madara!
At this moment, after listening to Aizen's words, Lord Madara spoke expressionlessly.
"Young people, do you really want to die?"
He really didn't expect anyone would want to challenge him.
Did they think he was weak and easily bullied because he was old and frail? If that's what they thought, then he would definitely show them what the power of Asura of the Ninja World really was.
Despite Lord Madara's threat, Aizen's expression remained unchanged. He calmly said, "Heh, Madara-senpai, we just want to give you some Madara-senpai. As a peerless ninja who once dominated the ninja Shinobi World and earned the title of 'Asura of the Ninja World,' it's better for you to die in obscurity at our hands than to die here in obscurity. That way, your life's reputation won't be in vain."
It must be said that Aizen's words were quite insightful, hitting Madara Uchiha right where it hurts, and even making Madara's previously calm face show a hint of interest.
As someone who once possessed unparalleled fighting power and had a warlike personality, how could he possibly want to die in such a dark corner? It was all because his only friend and rival, Hashirama Senju, had passed away, leaving him without an opponent of equal caliber.
On the other hand, although the Shinobi World is full of geniuses, in his eyes they are all just mediocre people, and he has no interest in them whatsoever.
That finally dispelled the idea of fighting.
But today, someone actually said they wanted to give him some face, which made him scoff.
"Hahaha, what arrogant brats! Since you're so eager to die by my hand, then I'll show you the power of Madara Uchiha!"
After a burst of laughter, a sudden bulge appeared in the tube inserted into Madara Uchiha's back, as if something was being injected into Madara Uchiha's body.
Immediately afterwards, the old Madara Uchiha suddenly surged in aura, and then an astonishing scene unfolded.
Madara Uchiha's body trembled slightly, his pale hair turned black again as if it had been soaked in ink, and his hunched back straightened instantly. His wrinkled face suddenly became fair and firm, and his old and thin hands became plump again, looking full of strength.
He has completely reversed his aging process and regained his youth.
At this point, the young Madara Uchiha officially appeared before Aizen and the others.
Seeing this, Aizen somewhat alarmed.
However, he wasn't nervous. He knew this was probably Madara's backup plan, and he was prepared for it.
However, besides them, there was someone else present who had been overlooked and remained oblivious, who was utterly shocked by Ban's transformation.
"Grandpa, you can actually turn back into a young person? Then why do you need me to take care of you?"
This person who couldn't see the situation clearly was none other than Obito Uchiha, whose personality was comparable to that of Naruto Uzumaki, the future savior.
He hasn't yet been corrupted by Madara's scheme, nor does he possess superior intelligence. Therefore, he truly lives up to his reputation as a fool, completely oblivious to Madara's ulterior motives towards him.
All he could think about was the shock of Ban's rejuvenation and his curiosity about the suddenly appearing Light Organization.
"And those chattering people over there, they must be members of the Light Organization, right? Minato-sensei told me before that they're very difficult to deal with. Grandpa, you must be careful."
Obito, also known as Kenji Uchiha to none in his inability to distinguish between good and bad.
In his eyes, Madara Uchiha, who saved his life, was more trustworthy than the Light Organization, which had harmed Konoha.
However, Aizen didn't seem to care about Obito's performance.
He knew that Obito before he turned evil was a brainless idiot.
What he needed to pay more attention to was Madara Uchiha, who had regained his youth. He just wanted to know how much of Madara's strength he had recovered.
This information will be very helpful for his next operation.