"The Akatsuki is indeed displeased about your departure," Uchiha Obito said evenly. "But this time, we didn't come here because of that."
"Then what is it you want?" Orochimaru asked, narrowing his eyes.
"Edo Tensei," Obito replied. "Not the original version, but an improved one. Quite the achievement for someone your age. You've already revived the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, haven't you?"
Uchiha Madara, his gaze fixed on the reanimated Third Raikage, spoke with mild interest.
Orochimaru sneered faintly. "I never saw you back when I was with the Akatsuki. A new recruit, then? Quite the tone you have—but I wonder if your strength matches your mouth."
Being called junior at his age irritated him deeply.
Obito chuckled. "If you want to test him, I won't stop you."
"Then I'll give this new Akatsuki member a little lesson." Orochimaru smirked coldly.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Armor!"
The reanimated Third Raikage's body erupted in crackling lightning, his figure enveloped in a glowing armor of thunder.
Whoosh—!
Like a living thunderbolt, he lunged forward, his spear-like finger aimed straight for Madara's chest.
But just before he reached his target, an immense repulsive force slammed into him, halting his advance completely.
Boom—!
The reanimated Raikage was blown backward, skidding dozens of meters across the ground.
Eyes wide in disbelief, Orochimaru gasped."Rinnegan—just like Nagato! You have the Rinnegan too!"
"No, junior," Madara corrected coldly. "You're mistaken. There has only ever been one pair of Rinnegan. Nagato is dead—and those eyes have merely returned to their rightful owner."
Orochimaru's reanimation turned wary, its glowing eyes locked on Madara."Returned…? Who exactly are you?"
Madara's expression didn't waver."I am Uchiha Madara."
"Uchiha Madara?!"
Even Orochimaru's calm shattered. If this man truly was that Madara—the legend who once fought the First Hokage—then calling him "junior" was no exaggeration.
But how could he still be alive?
Madara crossed his arms, his tone like a commandment from on high."You still haven't answered me. Did you reanimate the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze?"
"Yes."
Even controlling a corpse, Orochimaru felt his scalp tingle under Madara's gaze.
"Then hand him over."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed. "And what exactly do you want with him?"
His instincts screamed that their intentions were far from simple.
"That isn't something you need to know," Madara replied icily. "Just hand him over."
The reanimated Raikage glanced between the two—Madara, whose presence radiated overwhelming danger, and the masked man beside him who wielded Wood Release.
"Summoning!"
A coffin rose from the ground, and the reanimated Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze—appeared.
Orochimaru chose not to resist. Minato was strong, yes, but not worth risking a confrontation with two Akatsuki members—especially one with the Rinnegan.
"Seal."
Madara stepped forward, performing a sealing jutsu.
White cloths wrapped around Minato's body, black markings spreading across the fabric until a single kanji—"Seal" (封)—formed at the center.
Minato's body then floated upward under the pull of gravitational force.
A hum of chakra echoed—Madara and Obito vanished with Minato's body, fading into nothingness.
In the Uchiha Compound
Kunai were embedded across the training yard, each etched with black sealing symbols—clearly not ordinary weapons.
In the middle of the yard stood a handsome, black-haired boy.
Whoosh—!
In an instant, his figure disappeared—reappearing dozens of meters away without any visible motion.
It wasn't Body Flicker; he hadn't simply moved too fast to see.He had teleported.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!He appeared again and again, flickering across the courtyard—each time vanishing and reappearing beside a marked kunai.
Watching from the side were two figures:a beautiful black-haired girl, a few years older than him, her beauty cold and pristine like snow;and a middle-aged man whose features resembled the boy's.
"Lord Fugaku," the girl—Yuki no Natsu—said with delight, "Sasuke has mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique!"
"Hmm. He's still not at the Fourth Hokage's level," Fugaku replied with a faint smile, "but he's done well."
The black-haired boy—Sasuke Uchiha—stopped his training and walked over.
"Father. Sister Yuki."
"Excellent work," Fugaku said approvingly. "Since you've mastered it, it's time I give you this."
He produced a sealed scroll and handed it to Sasuke.
"Inside are a hundred kunai forged from bone—ten times harder than chakra metal. They'll serve as ideal carriers for your Flying Thunder God markings."
He explained patiently.If the kunai were weak, enemies could destroy them easily, nullifying the technique's advantage.
"Thank you, Father!" Sasuke said, eyes bright with joy.
These kunai were perfect—precisely what the Flying Thunder God required.
Leaving the compound, Fugaku descended into the secret underground chamber beneath Naka Shrine.
"Less than a hundred White Zetsu corpses remain… I wonder if I can complete the fusion before they're all gone."
He began his daily routine—refining the White Zetsu remains.
After refining thirty bodies, his ocular power was nearly spent, and he prepared to leave.
Then—something changed.
Whoosh—!
A cool, soothing energy surged from every part of his body, converging toward his eyes.
His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan patterns glowed and began to spin rapidly.
The spinning accelerated—then the familiar pattern vanished, replaced by a new, circular design of layered rings.
The flow of energy stopped. The transformation seemed complete.
But suddenly—
His eyes shifted again.
This time, the change came from within.
The circular design deepened into a bright azure hue, until both eyes shone a vivid blue—the rings now etched over a sapphire base.
Fugaku took a mirror from the chamber wall, gazing into his reflection.
"My Eternal Mangekyō… has evolved into the Rinnegan."
The concentric rings confirmed it—the evolution was real.
And the blue color revealed something new.
"It's different from the usual Rinnegan…" he murmured.
Madara's Rinnegan had been pale and gray-white, while his was luminous blue.
"It's as if the Rinnegan has merged with the Tenseigan…"
The pattern indeed looked like a hybrid between the two.
He focused inward, sensing the chakra within.
"The powers of the Tenseigan and the Rinnegan have merged completely."
Previously, his Eternal Mangekyō and Tenseigan powers had been distinct and incompatible.Now, they flowed together seamlessly.
"Tenseigan Chakra Mode."
At his command, green chakra enveloped him, nine black Truth-Seeking Orbs materializing behind.
"The Tenseigan itself has vanished… but its power remains."
He nodded slowly. The abilities of the Tenseigan were intact, now fused into this new form.
"There's no doubt—the Rinnegan and Tenseigan have become one."
The fusion pleased him.Not only did it unify his ocular powers, but it vastly increased his visual energy.
If his calculations were correct, once this blue Rinnegan stabilized, its power would be roughly twice that of a normal Rinnegan.
Fugaku's gaze deepened, the blue glow swirling."Just like the Mangekyō, the Rinnegan should possess unique individual abilities… I wonder what powers my Blue Rinnegan will awaken?"