chapter 55 part 2
"Damn it, did I arrive too late? But what was that commotion from the battle just now? Who exactly was fighting whom here? And what's with these guys on the ground? They seem to have lost their Consciousness, with only instincts remaining. I can't tell which Village's Ninja they are for now."
Jiraiya was very uneasy. He didn't want any unexpected factors to emerge, because it would affect his guidance of Nagato.
He especially didn't want anyone to discover that Nagato possessed the Rinnegan before Nagato had the ability to protect himself.
...
Land of Iron, Mountain Graveyard.
"Is this your Base? It's surprisingly rudimentary, completely devoid of experimental equipment, precious Ninja Tools, or anything of the sort." Tsukasa Kaede feigned surprise.
Madara said, "I do have an Uchiha Gunbai in my hand. If you don't mind getting into trouble with the Uchiha Clan, I can give it to you."
Tsukasa Kaede looked at Madara: "I heard that Madara possesses the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan. Why do you only have one Three-Tomoe Sharingan? You can't use a Dojutsu like Susanoo with a regular Three-Tomoe, can you?"
"My eyes went blind in that battle with Hashirama back then. Everything has its limits. Having this Three-Tomoe Sharingan is already enough for me."
Madara slowly sat down, leaning on his Scythe.
"Tell me about your affairs. I have a plan that will likely require your Life Force Transfer Forbidden Jutsu. When necessary, I will need you to use this Jutsu on me."
Madara began to recount, to himself, the ugliness and hopelessness of this world, and how he sought to raise a successor to form an organization specifically to collect the nine Tailed Beasts, resurrect the Ten-Tails, and initiate the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Throughout this process, he concealed much crucial Intel about the Rinnegan, such as the Rinnegan being his eyes, the necessity of having the Rinnegan to control the Ten-Tails, and the requirement of both the Rinnegan and the Ten-Tails to activate the Infinite Tsukuyomi. He mentioned none of these.
He planned to entrust these core secrets to his chosen successor.
"This Madara fellow is treating me as Nagato's backup player… My position is still below Nagato's." Tsukasa Kaede was perfectly aware of Madara's lies.
Because if he refused, Madara could still use Genjutsu on him—Tsukasa Kaede suspected that Madara had actually secretly used Genjutsu on him, but the moment he truly needed him hadn't arrived yet, so no compulsion was necessary for now.
Even Obito, to get revenge on Hidden Mist Village, was able to forcefully control the Fourth Mizukage for a long time to purge Kirigakure. There's no reason Madara couldn't control him for a long time.
However, it was fine. Tsukasa Kaede also had countermeasures for preventing Genjutsu. The Zombies scattered across the Land of Fire were his key to breaking free from Genjutsu.
It might not be able to counter Mangekyo Sharingan-exclusive Dojutsu like Kotoamatsukami, but for other types of Genjutsu, he at least had certain self-preservation methods.
Madara didn't show any additional emotional fluctuations. Or rather, he didn't care if Tsukasa Kaede believed him or not. As long as Tsukasa Kaede could be ensured to cast the Jutsu when he needed him to, nothing else was a problem.
"Your Space-Time Ninjutsu is called Spatial Rift Jutsu, correct? By relying on Spatial Rift Jutsu and Living Corpse Reincarnation Jutsu, if you are careful, keeping yourself alive in this terrible world won't be an issue. I need people like you who can survive to the greatest extent."
Madara said, "So, tell me your answer now. You, who possess the unique Corpse Release Secret Technique and are destined to wander in the shadows, unaccepted by the complacent people of this world—will you choose to join my plan and permanently change this despairing world, or stand against me, becoming an enemy to my successor at some point in the future?"
"A choice between two? I have a third choice, which is to kill you here. Don't think that just because you have a bunch of white things helping you, you can necessarily stop me."
Tsukasa Kaede was not polite and immediately used Zombification Jutsu to begin corroding Madara's body.
However, the progress was not smooth. Madara, as an excellent descendant of the Sage of Kaedex Paths, had an exceptionally strong body. Even though he was extremely old, Tsukasa Kaede still felt immense resistance.
More importantly, a pile of White Zetsu were assisting.
Madara slowly said, "So that's how it is. Not only can you cast Jutsu on Corpses, but you can also directly turn Living Humans into Living Corpses under your control… However, with your remaining Life Force, it seems insufficient to deal with me and so many of Hashirama's defective products at once."
Tsukasa Kaede frowned. Indeed, it was his first time confronting Indra's Reincarnation directly, and an Indra who had also transplanted Hashirama's Cells. To forcibly turn him into a Zombie, the difficulty coefficient was off the charts, and the Chakra consumed would be immeasurable.
The better the Physical Constitution, the more Cells, the stronger the Mental Energy, the more resolute the willpower, and the more Chakra, the more astounding the Chakra Tsukasa Kaede would need to expend.
Not to mention there was a pile of White Zetsu who could drill into Madara's body at any time, and Tobi was watching from the side.
"It seems turning you into my Minion is harder than simply killing you," Tsukasa Kaede said.
"Young man, there's no need for constant fighting. You can't do anything to me, and I can hardly stop you from escaping. This is the basis of our cooperation."
Madara gazed indifferently at Tsukasa Kaede, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan slowly rotating: "Kaedence that's the case, we might as well cooperate. I will give you many White Zetsu as subordinates to gather Intel on the Shinobi World, and you will assist me in advancing the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan."
"All in all, you still need me to transfer Life Force to you, nothing more. Seen this way, for a long time in the future, you will be dependent on me, because I can grant you Immortality in your current state."
Although Tsukasa Kaede believed he had the ability to counter Genjutsu that wasn't Mangekyo-exclusive Dojutsu, there was no need to take that risk. The moment he met White Zetsu and had to deal with Madara, he had already anticipated the current situation.