UK:GSW Chapter 426 – Uchiha Madara Can Finally Live a True Retirement Life
Black Zetsu struggled, roared, and howled.
However, it was all completely useless. The restraints and control measures had been prepared for a long time, and with No. 2 Black Zetsu as a living research specimen, an even deeper understanding of Black Zetsu had already been achieved.
Although the two Black Zetsus had some differences, in essence, they were still creations of Yin–Yang Release — and that alone was enough.
Enough for the things Orochimaru and the others had created to completely control it.
Thus, just like No. 2 Black Zetsu, the main world's Black Zetsu was also forced to squeeze out all the information it knew.
After all, when it came to memory reading, it could even drag out the things Black Zetsu had "forgotten" over time.
Most of this information was similar to No. 2 Black Zetsu's, but there were also differences. For example, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was indeed very different from the one in World No. 2 — she was the Ōtsutsuki Kaguya from Kishimoto's original setting.
A "god" from beyond the heavens, a princess of the Ōtsutsuki clan, who descended upon the shinobi world due to conflicts with her own clan — her original background fit perfectly with the island-nation legend of "Princess Kaguya." She was a true princess.
Even if her relationship with her clansmen was poor, even if she had many enemies and grudges, she was still a princess.
Furthermore, when she arrived in the shinobi world, there was no Ōtsutsuki Isshiki coming with her — it was just Ōtsutsuki Kaguya alone.
You could say her status and "imposing presence" were much higher.
At the same time, this completely put Uchiha Kei's mind at ease.
After all, if the main world also had those monstrous Ōtsutsuki beings show up directly, it would have been a truly distressing matter. Although all prior evidence pointed to the main world's timeline being just "The Legend of Naruto," without decisive proof, all the known intel could only lead to good guesses, not confirmation of the actual result.
Now, he could finally be certain.
As for Uchiha Madara, he didn't know what Uchiha Kei had been worried about, but he could confirm that Black Zetsu had indeed deceived him.
Although Madara had already believed about ninety percent of the information Kei had told him, just like Kei, without definitive proof, he had always kept a shred of doubt in his heart.
Now, that shred of doubt was finally broken.
Of course, that didn't make Madara happy.
After all, being deceived for so many years would be unbearable for anyone — let alone the proud Uchiha Madara.
His hatred toward Black Zetsu instantly rose to the point where he wished he could eat it alive.
Unfortunately, Black Zetsu didn't even have meat. Even if Madara wanted to eat it, he could only tug and tear at it like it was gummy candy.
Of course, Madara was not actually going to eat Black Zetsu — he was still human enough in that regard and had no real intention of eating a "living being"… though Black Zetsu didn't really count as one.
After the anger and pain passed, Madara showed a sense of relief, as though he no longer had to dwell on certain matters or carry certain heavy burdens in his heart.
Uchiha Kei understood — it was all because of "Muzi."
Over this past year, "Muzi" had left a deep mark in Madara's heart, one that could not be erased — the intense feeling of an old father raising a daughter.
With Muzi's constant company, Madara also worked hard to raise her.
Watching Muzi grow day by day, Madara felt gratified, emotional, and happy.
However, behind this happiness was the constant pressure of the Eye of the Moon Plan eating away at him.
Madara could never give up the Eye of the Moon Plan, not even after gaining this irreplaceable happiness from Muzi. After all, this was his lifelong pursuit, his ultimate ideal, something he could never abandon.
But once the plan was carried out, everything he had now would vanish like bubbles — and that made him miserable.
For an old man on the verge of death who had been lonely for decades, this joy of raising the reincarnation of his best friend was an ultimate medicine — a bliss that could not be resisted.
Thus, Madara had been constantly troubled and pained, unable to let go of his current happiness yet unwilling to abandon the joy promised by the Eye of the Moon Plan — his greatest dilemma.
What? Muzi could live happily in the illusion world after the plan?
Indeed, Madara firmly believed that after the plan was enacted, Muzi would certainly be happy — and even if the illusion world wasn't perfect, he would craft one perfect enough for her.
But!
The key point was this "but"!
Madara's feelings for Muzi were not simply about making her happy — for an empty-nest elder, the joy of "companionship" was irreplaceable!
Especially the joy of raising a daughter in old age — that was even more potent.
He knew that after the Eye of the Moon Plan, he would be alone outside, existing as the second Sage of Six Paths, living in eternal solitude. He could not enter the illusion world himself.
It was precisely because of this that Madara was conflicted and in pain.
Before experiencing his current happiness, Madara had always lived in darkness, and thus felt no particular pain. But now that he had witnessed the light, how could he return to the darkness?
Back to the present — after confirming that the Eye of the Moon Plan was the biggest scam in shinobi history, Madara felt both pain and anger, but he could also breathe a sigh of relief, for he realized he no longer had to be conflicted. He could maintain his current life, continue living as "Senior Radama," staying with Muzi, listening to her constantly call him "senpai," and completely losing himself in it.
Hmm… just thinking about it made Madara feel happy.
He even began daydreaming, thinking about going straight back to play games with Muzi once things here were over.
What about Black Zetsu?
Tch — though he wanted to blast it into pieces, Kei had said that it had great research value.
So he could only suppress his hatred.
Still, judging from Orochimaru's attitude, Black Zetsu was certainly in for a miserable time — "wishing for death" might be putting it lightly.
Thinking of this, Madara smirked coldly, very satisfied with the outcome.
After this, Madara returned the Rinnegan to Kei, with no intention of keeping them.
In his words, these eyes belonged to another world, and were Kei's group's spoils of war and research material — he naturally couldn't just keep them forever.
Besides, as he put it, he was just an old man now — even if his current physical condition was stable, constantly using the Rinnegan was still a burden. It would be better to switch back to his previous eyes.
After all, those were still a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, and their unique techniques were useful — Madara was quite comfortable using them and had no plans to replace them for now.
If Kei needed him to use the Rinnegan in the future, they could switch them back, or find a way to restore his youth and peak power — then he could safely use the Rinnegan.
Kei naturally had no objections, and was even pleased. Just as Madara said, Orochimaru and the others were researching the Rinnegan — leaving them in the hands of researchers was the best way to maximize their value.
Incidentally, for Black Zetsu, things were truly bad now. Being restrained, imprisoned, and experimented on by Orochimaru and the others was already a nightmare, but the most horrifying shock for it was seeing No. 2 Black Zetsu — who was enduring the same inhuman research and suffering.
For Black Zetsu's "fragile" mind, such a sight was terrifying — leaving it in a dazed, startled state.
In fact, No. 2 Black Zetsu was the same, shocked after seeing the main world's Black Zetsu.
After all, Orochimaru had never explained time-space travel or the existence of two shinobi worlds to them — so seeing each other was an unprecedented blow.
Then, the two began speculating about each other's identity, wondering what the other really was, and developed deep hostility.
Because in speculating, they both arrived at a terrifying thought — that before sealing, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya had created not just one "Black Zetsu," but a second one!
Although both Black Zetsus would do anything to save their mother, this meant their ecological niche as "Black Zetsu" could be replaced — they now had a direct competitor!
This was unacceptable — they both believed they were unique, and must remain unique.
Only then could they enjoy all of their mother's love.
After all, Black Zetsu was the ultimate "mama's boy."
With their ecological niche threatened, the two naturally developed extreme hostility toward each other.
Fortunately, Orochimaru had them imprisoned separately and prevented any possibility of communication — so lacking any contact, they simply wanted to kill each other in their hearts.
Unfortunately for them, that would only remain a thought — Orochimaru had no intention of giving them the chance, and would instead wring out every last drop of value from them as research specimens.
After all, Black Zetsu wasn't even human.
Since it wasn't human, even with the teachings of great mentors, Orochimaru and his group would never waste useless compassion on it.
Incidentally, the research on Black Zetsu had already produced some preliminary results: as a pure Yin–Yang Release lifeform created by Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's divine technique, its structure and characteristics could allow a shinobi to make up for genetic defects and awaken dormant ancestral genes.
In other words, by studying Black Zetsu, Orochimaru's team had found the conditions and possibilities for making a shinobi "revert to an ancestor form."
Although these studies were still at an early stage, and this "reversion" was only a slight awakening of Ōtsutsuki bloodline power, the direction was correct, and the proof of concept was feasible — meaning that as long as they followed this path, Kei's group could eventually master the technology to awaken the Ōtsutsuki genes within.
Without a doubt, this was groundbreaking and forward-looking research — something that made Kei want to pile even more work on Orochimaru's team.
Unfortunately, that was only a thought — they were already maxed out in manpower and resources. Adding more to their plate would only slow them down.
So for now, Kei could only wait, or work on recruiting and training more talent — and that would take time.
Later, Kei and Madara returned to the Hidden Leaf, while Senju Tobirama reappeared at this time — perfectly avoiding any encounter with Madara.
Orochimaru smiled at the white-haired, red-eyed beauty Tobirama had transformed into and said, "Lord Tobirama, Lord Madara has already learned the truth thanks to Kei-kun's efforts and joined our side. Although he's not yet part of our genjutsu-world group, you'll definitely meet more often in the future. Avoiding him like this isn't a good idea."
"Besides, you look completely different now. Even if you met Lord Madara, he wouldn't recognize you — so why hide?"
Tobirama gave a cold snort, the picture-perfect example of tsundere.
Then the Second Hokage said, "I just can't stand looking at that face. The inherently evil Uchiha are the ones I hate most. If Kei-kun didn't need it, I wouldn't work with him. So in the future, I won't meet him. Anyway, the chance of running into him is small — so that's that!"
Orochimaru only shrugged, offering no comment, and quickly shifted the topic back to research. For him now, it was enough to occasionally watch and comment on amusing matters — he didn't want to waste more time on anything unrelated to research or study.
Elsewhere, back in the Leaf, the sentimental Madara was ready to say goodbye to Kei and return to his underground home.
But Kei said he had arranged a residence for Madara in New Leaf City — if Madara didn't mind, he could move in immediately, with a monthly stipend for expenses, as befitting one of the Leaf's founders.
After all, although Madara had once defected, thanks to Hashirama Senju, his identity and merits had never been erased, and his name still remained on the Leaf's shinobi registry — even Tobirama hadn't removed it despite his dislike.
This meant that if Madara wished, he could receive a large pension and retirement fund — enough for him to live extravagantly for a long time.
Given that the Leaf was flush with funds now, this was barely a drop in the bucket.
Thus, as long as Madara agreed, he could truly live a proper retirement life.
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