Zombie Sage in Naruto

Chapter 83 Twilight Showdown of the Old Era: Madara VS Mito Uzumaki
Danzo did not conceal his purpose, which was also a blatant warning.

“You say you have no interest in the Rinnegan and are unable to bear its power, but if you were to secretly return to the Land of Rain, who could stop you? I must make sure you don’t do such a thing.”

Danzo walked ahead, his voice icy.

Kaede Tsukasa followed closely behind, occasionally drawing attention from villagers and ninjas. Upon recognizing the two, they immediately showed respect.

In their view, the two men looked solemn and were talking in hushed tones. It was clear that the village's leaders and the village's genius were having a serious discussion, perhaps because they had encountered a difficult task.
Kaede Tsukasa laughed and said, "I see. But choosing to do this might not be a good idea. You might lose the chance to get your hands on the Rinnegan forever?"

Mito Uzumaki—although her name is rarely mentioned in the village's various propaganda and public opinion, it seems that the deeds of this wife of the First Hokage are intentionally downplayed.

This is understandable, after all, Mito Uzumaki is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and the village tries to minimize her presence in order to protect her—but those who know the inside story are well aware that although Mito Uzumaki is old, she is still a terrifyingly strong person and does not need to be protected at all.

Mito Uzumaki may not be interested in the Rinnegan, but she will definitely be interested in Nagato, simply because Nagato is a descendant of the Uzumaki clan.

"Speaking of which, the village must have gone to great lengths to obtain Kushina Uzumaki. The descendants of the Uzumaki clan are extremely precious, and those with superior vitality that surpasses that of the Uzumaki clan are even rarer."

Nagato is the top-tier member of the Uzumaki clan, and his vitality should be even stronger than Kushina's. Mito Uzumaki will definitely not let him go.

Danzo snorted coldly: "You know that's good. With her taking action, you will have no chance to steal the Rinnegan behind my back. You might as well give up any such petty thoughts."

Danzo left on his own, completely ignoring Kaedeji.

Kaede Tsukasa stroked his chin, pondered for a long time, and felt that things were about to get complicated.

Madara Uchiha wasn't blind; he couldn't possibly stand idly by while Mito Uzumaki interfered in Nagato's affairs.

"The Land of Rain is truly plagued by disasters, but there's nothing more I can do at this point. Let these people of the old era decide."

Kaedeji shook his head, turned around and returned to his residence, sorting out his current strength, especially his newly acquired Terai group, and getting to know them in detail.

Terai and Sandstorm Araki are both valuable allies to him, one excelling in solo combat and the other in area-of-effect attacks, making them a perfect match.

"When the next Shinobi World War breaks out, I can lead an entire zombie army into battle, hunting down the strong from other villages and further strengthening my own power." The more Kaede Tsukasa thought about it, the more satisfied he became.

Life is getting better and better, and there will be more and more good news in the ninja world... right?

……

Training ground No. 34.

Mito Uzumaki has been teaching Kushina for some time now.

Over the years, she has continuously trained and watched Kushina grow stronger step by step, mastering most of the sealing techniques of the Uzumaki clan, and she has already gained the qualifications to stand on her own in this world.

Now all that's left is to seal the corpse demon. This technique is too mysterious and abstract. Even if one manages to understand it, one wouldn't dare to actually use it to verify the results of their practice.

As a result, Kushina was never sure what stage her training had reached, or whether she could successfully perform the spell. She could only push forward with difficulty according to Mito Uzumaki's request.

Until one person slowly walked to the edge of the training ground and looked at the two people in the middle of a group of wooden stakes.

"Lord Mito, Danzo Shimura has important business to discuss with me," Danzo said in a deep voice.

"I'm busy and don't participate in Konoha's politics. Leave." Mito Uzumaki didn't even bother to give a glance; her powerful sensory abilities meant she didn't need to use her eyes and ears to gather information about the outside world.

"Lord Mito, I won't bother you for no reason. I'm sure you'll be interested in what I'm about to say... Speaking of which, that little girl is practicing the Reaper Death Seal, isn't she? I happen to recognize the sequence of her hand seals."

Danzo stared at Kushina. He had always valued this next Jinchuriki, but according to the Third Hokage's wishes, Danzo's faction was not allowed to have contact with Kushina.

Now they are paying even more attention. Who knows why the Rinnegan would appear in a descendant of the Uzumaki clan? There must be something wrong here.

Mito Uzumaki finally looked at Danzo properly.

"Your chakra was severely depleted. Although you tried to recover it and conceal the traces of the battle, you couldn't hide it from me. And your Sharingan appeared in front of me without even changing into a normal eye."

Mito Uzumaki's tone wasn't exactly angry; in reality, she wouldn't be long before she died and couldn't be bothered with these petty squabbles among the Konoha village's higher-ups.

Even in Hashirama Senju's era, Konoha Village had a small population and few ninja clans, and political struggles weren't as severe as they are now. The Uchiha Madara incident still happened then, let alone now. She simply can't control it and doesn't want to get involved.

Kushina was the culmination of all her efforts.

Kushina looked at Danzo with curiosity. She instinctively felt that the person in front of her was not a good person, otherwise Grandma Mito would not have had this attitude.

Also, what does Sharingan mean? Does this person in front of me possess Sharingan? Is he a member of the Uchiha clan?
"As expected of Lady Mito, your sensory abilities are as terrifying as ever. Even if I changed my eyes, you would still be able to detect it, and the Sharingan issue is a minor matter."

"Did you just see the Corpse Containment Technique in the Book of Sealing?"

"No, I just saw someone use the Reaper Death Seal Technique in the Land of Rain. It was a truly spectacular performance. After it was done, he even personally escorted me back to my village," Danzo said in as calm a tone as possible.

This finally piqued Mito's interest to some extent.

The Land of Rain? The Corpse Demon Seal...

"Kaede Tsukasa? He learned the Uzumaki clan's strongest secret technique in such a short time?" Uzumaki Mito was astonished.

"This is impossible!"

Kushina cried out in alarm, completely disregarding etiquette, and shouted, "I've been taught by Grandma Mito for so long and I've only just begun to learn. Grandma Mito said I'm very talented. How could he have learned it all by himself? Besides, this technique is a suicidal technique. Since he used it, he's doomed!"

Mito Uzumaki patted Kushina's head, looked at the sulking clanswoman, and said gently, "There will always be geniuses in this world, and what they call learning may not be like you, studying step by step. Maybe they used other methods... right, Danzo?"

Mito Uzumaki also didn't believe that Tsukasa Kaede had truly mastered the Reaper Death Seal through normal means; it was too illogical.

Danzo said in a deep voice, "I don't know the specifics, but he did successfully cast the spell... twice! He even forced Hanzo of the Salamander to retreat."

Mito Uzumaki listened quietly, her hand unconsciously stroking Kushina's head, as if soothing a grumpy little kitten—Kushina indeed enjoyed this stroking. She had come to Konoha Village alone, and only Grandma Mito made her feel the warmth of family.

Danzo's words made her want to jump up, but Mito pressed her down—no matter how old her body was, it was still the whirlpool bloodline, which was known for its vitality, and its strength far exceeded that of ordinary people.

As Danzo narrated, Kushina's eyes widened as she looked up at Mito Uzumaki, her gaze filled with confusion—using a corpse to activate the Reaper Death Seal? Is that even reasonable?
Why do corpses have souls? Why does Death respond to the calls of corpses?
"I see. What an interesting idea. Using the Corpse Escape Technique to perform the Corpse Demon Sealing Technique, I never thought that it could avoid the risk of certain death in this way."

Mito smiled and nodded. She was indeed very surprised, even a little happy. She never expected that in the last days of her life, she would see someone perform the Reaper Death Seal Technique in such an interesting way.

From then on, no enemy dared to underestimate Kaede Tsukasa. If you were even slightly slow in front of this space-time ninja, you would suffer a terrible fate if you were touched.

Although Mito Uzumaki understood that this kind of Reaper Death Seal would definitely have greatly reduced destructive power, becoming a crippling sealing technique, the use and effect still amazed her.

She knew that this wasn't what Danzo really wanted to say.

"I almost came to blows with Kaede Tsukasa, all because of the Rinnegan's owner—Nagato Uzumaki," Danzo recounted in a calm tone.

Mito Uzumaki abruptly stopped, her kind face changed abruptly, and her hunched figure straightened up abruptly.

"How is it now? Is Nagato Uzumaki still in the Land of Rain?"

“He should still be there. He is now Jiraiya’s disciple. Jiraiya has not returned to the village for the past few years because he wanted to hide the news of the Rinnegan, but I found out. That’s why I came to find you… The Rinnegan should belong to Konoha Village, and the Uzumaki descendant should be taught by you.”

Danzo said that he knew Mito Uzumaki had made up her mind to bring Nagato Uzumaki back to Konoha no matter what.

Is it reasonable for the disciples of the Hokage's disciples not to return to the village? Is it reasonable for the descendants of the Uzumaki clan not to stay in Konoha?
With Mito Uzumaki taking action, the outcome would be decided in one fell swoop, and no one could stop her.

"Hiruzen, this time, I have won after all." Danzo sneered in his heart. In any case, Mito Uzumaki was already in her twilight years, and as the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, she had been spending her energy and chakra day and night suppressing the Nine-Tails, which further increased Mito Uzumaki's consumption.

Even the Whirlpool Clan wouldn't survive long if they were to consume so much energy every day.

What Danzo needs most right now is a few years of buffer time. Once he obtains the power he desires and his strength skyrockets, he will be able to look down on any ninja in the world.

"Kushina, now return to the barrier. Do not come out without my permission. I will cast an additional spell on you outside the barrier to ensure that no one can harm you."

Mito Uzumaki shed her kind and unhurried demeanor, becoming capable and decisive.

In reality, this is what Mito Uzumaki was originally like. She could be Hashirama Senju's wife and could roughly tether the fully-formed Nine-Tails like a dog. How could she possibly be a gentle and amiable vase?

"I...I understand, I'll wait for you to come back!" Kushina stammered nervously, it was the first time she had ever seen Mito Uzumaki so serious.

Danzo said, "As expected of Lord Mito, you made the most correct decision. However, Jiraiya will probably not agree and will definitely fight to the death, after all, he dared to lay a hand on me."

"That's none of your concern. Whether Jiraiya likes it or not, it won't affect my decision to bring Nagato back to the village. No one can stop me," Mito Uzumaki said with an unquestionable attitude.

Rinnegan? Descendant of the Uzumaki clan?

Even with her experience, she had never thought of connecting these two words. However, compared to the Rinnegan, she was more concerned about Nagato himself.

Since the Uzumaki clan was wiped out at the beginning of World War II, the Uzumaki bloodline has likely become increasingly rare. This is why Mito Uzumaki learned of the existence of the Uzumaki descendants again, and she will not let it go no matter what.

Although Konoha Village is also rife with internal strife and darkness, joining Konoha Village is at least much better than the descendants of Uzumaki struggling to survive on their own.

Mito Uzumaki closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, a powerful aura suddenly erupted from her body, causing her white clothes to tremble violently before subsiding.

She activated a powerful sense that she hadn't used for many years, and the next second, her figure had vanished. Even Danzo couldn't see where Mito Uzumaki had gone.

"This speed..."

Danzo remained silent. Was this old man really about to die? It shouldn't be a lie. Mito Uzumaki had no reason to deceive the village, especially since it involved transferring the Nine-Tails to Kushina before her death.

If he's this strong even on the verge of death, what must he have been like in his prime? No wonder he was a character from the First Hokage era…

But where did Mito Uzumaki go? At that speed, did she head straight to the Land of Rain?
Danzo didn't expect it, and neither did Kaede Tsukasa.

He put down the steaming dumplings he had just bought and slowly stood up.

"We meet again, sir. However, isn't it a bit too abrupt for you to barge into my home like this? This is a brand new house that I just bought for 150 million taels of silver, and I haven't even had a chance to sit down properly yet."

Looking at the person in front of him, Kaede Tsukasa felt that this person was like an abyss, completely unpredictable.

"I need to get to the Land of Rain as soon as possible."

"With your speed, it wouldn't take you long to get to the Land of Rain, so why are you asking me? By the way, would you like some dumplings?"

"No, thank you. I heard the details from Danzo Shimura. After it's all over, Jiraiya will definitely take Nagato away quickly. If I go there myself, it will waste more time, and I don't like waiting," Mito Uzumaki said.

"So you're quite impatient... I also don't know Jiraiya-sama's whereabouts, and I don't know which country he'll take his disciples to hide in."

“They are still in the Land of Rain, and I need you to send me there.” Mito Uzumaki’s expression was calm, but her attitude was firm.

Taking Mito Uzumaki directly from Konoha to the Land of Rain? This is no easy task for Tsukasa Kaede.

After becoming the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Mito Uzumaki also gained the ability to sense malice. Moreover, her strong control over the Nine-Tails was even greater than that of Naruto.

Kaede Tsukasa bluntly said, "I can't do it. Your chakra reserves are too large and too much of a burden on me. Perhaps you should go to Minato Namikaze. His Flying Thunder God Technique is more suitable for transporting people."

"I will provide you with plenty of chakra. Don't waste my time anymore. My patience is very limited."

"...Alright, it seems I can't refuse. Although I don't know why you value me so much, I'm willing to help."

Kaedeji extended his hand.

As soon as Mito Uzumaki touched him with her aged hand, an extremely large amount of chakra surged into Tsukasa Kaede's body.

As a result, a thick layer of tailed beast cloak appeared on Kaede Tsukasa's body, and a chakra tail rapidly grew from his back.

"...This is the Nine-Tails' chakra...I really don't know what to say. I can only work harder to repay you."

Kaede Tsukasa was amazed, both by Mito Uzumaki's clean and efficient tactics and by the Nine-Tails' immense power.

At this time, the Nine-Tails was in its complete form and had not been split into two, Yin and Yang, by the Reaper Death Seal. Even though Kaede Tsukasa only had one tail, the terrifying chakra still shocked him.

In the past, he had extracted the life force from numerous zombies many times, but never before had he reached this level of chakra.

This is only a small part of the Nine-Tails' power. You should know that Mito Uzumaki herself could suppress the fully-formed Nine-Tails so much that it couldn't even lift its head!
This is not entirely due to the sealing technique, but also because Mito Uzumaki's own chakra reserves are exceptionally high.

Kaede Tsukasa had personally experienced a portion of the power of a top-tier being—even when he met Madara before, Madara hadn't given him this level of shock, because Madara had lost his Rinnegan and his body was too old to be anything but.

Normally, Zangetsu would have to rely on the Gedo Mazo to maintain his survival.

"Then, Lady Mito, I shall begin the spell."

With a single hand seal, Kaedeji Tsukasa teleported Mito Uzumaki to the Land of Rain in one go.

No transfer had ever made Kaedeji feel so heavy-hearted, to the point that when the two appeared in the Land of Rain, the tailed beast cloaks on their bodies had become thinner.

Mito Uzumaki, bathed in the rain, chose a direction and moved at high speed, leaving Tsukasa Kaede standing still, watching the direction she went.

There was absolutely no intention to reclaim the Nine-Tails' chakra.

Kaede Tsukasa readily accepted, immediately taking out a special sealing scroll. He unrolled it with one hand and formed a hand seal with the other to seal the Nine-Tails' chakra inside. In the scroll's contents, Kaede Tsukasa had left nine blank spaces. The words "four" and "nine" appeared in the fourth and ninth spaces, respectively.

"I never expected to obtain the Nine-Tails' chakra so easily, which should have been the hardest thing to get... Lady Mito is so generous and magnanimous. This is the kind of demeanor that a top ninja in the ninja world should have."

With this, Kaede Tsukasa had obtained the chakra of the Four-Tails and the Nine-Tails, giving him a bit more confidence.

Mito, moving at high speed, headed straight for the border of the Land of Rain. Of course, she sensed all of Kaedeji's actions, but she didn't care—it was just a tiny bit of Nine-Tails chakra, and Kaedeji could keep it if he wanted.

Through her malicious perception ability, she could even sense the numerous White Zetsu scattered throughout the Land of Rain. She vaguely felt that these strange things were not right, and seemed to have a slight resemblance to her husband's chakra fluctuations. But that didn't matter. The ninja world was too complicated, and she was about to die. The most important thing now was Nagato.

"Hehehe, Mito, your mind is in turmoil."

"The discovery that the Whirlpool Clan still has members scattered in other countries has stirred an unusual emotion in your stagnant mind."

"How pitiful. All your brilliance was overshadowed by Hashirama Senju, and now in your old age you have to take action again for this reason."

The Nine-Tails' voice echoed in Mito Uzumaki's mind, full of mockery and sarcasm, and as if it contained all the negative emotions that humanity hated, crashing against Mito Uzumaki's heart like a flood.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't Kurama deliberately trying to corrupt Mito Uzumaki—it's done similar things many times before, and to no avail.

Mito Uzumaki completely suppressed it, leaving it utterly powerless and unable to escape on its own.

Wow!
Numerous chakra chains appeared out of thin air, violently piercing through the Nine-Tails' body, further suppressing the already heavily bound Nine-Tails.

"Quiet down, you dead fox. If the village didn't need you, I would have killed you long ago... Every time I sense your presence, I think of that hateful guy. Without him, nothing would be the way it is now," Mito Uzumaki said coldly.

"Hmph, so what? You can't kill me anyway. Or are you planning to take me with you to die? I'd be more than happy to do that." Nine-Tails mocked madly.

Actually, it doesn't want to die. Even if it were to be resurrected, it would take several years, and there's no guarantee that something else might happen during that time.

Mito Uzumaki fell silent. She really had nothing to say to this beast. Ever since the battle at the Valley of the End, when her husband captured the Nine-Tails and brought it back to the village, she had endured her disgust and dealt with the Nine-Tails within her for so many years.

"found it……"

Mito Uzumaki looked at the several figures ahead.

Just as she was about to exert more force to catch up with those people, she sensed a large number of White Zetsu blocking her path.

"Stop, we can't let you get past us anymore."

"People of the Uzumaki clan are truly rare, it's a pity they're so old."

A group of White Zetsu, their faces etched with strange, sinister grins, launched an attack on Mito Uzumaki.

"What exactly are these white things...?"

Mito Uzumaki stopped in her tracks, flicked one hand forward, and a large number of chakra chains flew out from her sleeve, instantly binding all the White Zetsu.

Her chakra, transmitted through the chains, directly invaded White Zetsu's body, quickly ascertaining White Zetsu's condition.

"As expected, it's not a normal human. It has no organs and is entirely made from Hashirama's cells. Who could have done this..."

Mito Uzumaki frowned. Why were so many complicated things happening in this small Land of Rain? The Rinnegan, the Uzumaki descendant, Jiraiya from Mount Myōboku, and Kaedeji Tsukasa, who was extremely complex inside and out, unlike any human she knew...

It's normal that some people covet Hashirama Senju's power; there's a group of people in the village secretly doing the same thing, but Mito Uzumaki has never bothered with it.

But now things are different. These mature creations weren't made by Konoha Village? Who else in this world, besides Konoha Village, has the ability and opportunity to research Hashirama cells to this extent...?
However, compared to Nagato, none of this matters. Konoha Village is doing all sorts of shady things, so other people would have even less to worry about.

Mito Uzumaki was delayed for a few seconds. She originally wanted to continue tracking Nagato, but her expression suddenly became serious when she saw the person in front of her.

Standing opposite her was an equally old man, no, he was even more frail than her, with a hunched back and a sickle for support as he walked; he clearly looked like he was on his deathbed.

Mito Uzumaki frowned deeply, observing repeatedly with heightened perception, but ultimately remained silent for a moment.

"So it was you. That explains everything. You actually used Hashirama's cells to this extent, Uchiha... Madara!"

A bolt of lightning tore through the sky of the Land of Rain, briefly illuminating the dark curtain of darkness.

Nagato suddenly turned her head and glanced at it, instinctively reaching out to touch her eyes.

"What's wrong, Nagato?" Jiraiya became alert.

"No, it's just that I suddenly feel something's not right, but I can't quite put my finger on it..." Nagato murmured to himself. His intuition told him that something was happening in that direction, and it was something his eyes should pay attention to.

But what could it be? They managed to escape from Hanzo, so who in this world could possibly possess the strength to absolutely overpower Hanzo, who is hailed as a demigod? Almost impossible…

At the same time, Hanzo, who had just returned to Amegakure, created a large amount of chakra to evaporate the rainwater on his body and was issuing orders to a group of Amegakure ninja who were kneeling on one knee.

"...That's right, that's it. In the towns you're stationed in, spread the name 'Kouha Ghoul,' just like you did with the Legendary Sannin of Konoha back then. I want the entire ninja world to recognize me, Hanzo of the Salamander, in the shortest possible time—what's going on?"

Hanzo shivered, his muscles tense, and he nervously looked around, then at his subordinates in front of him.

"Lord Hanzo, what has happened?" A trusted aide, unaware of anything amiss, asked in confusion.

"Something's not right. I can feel it... Could some unknown natural disaster be about to occur that's giving me this extremely oppressive feeling?"

After much thought, Hanzo concluded that this was the only possibility. However, the Land of Rain was surrounded by three major powers and was not located by the sea, so it couldn't be a tsunami. Could it be a massive earthquake?

"Never mind, it won't affect anything. You all go and carry out my orders... Disperse!"

Many Rain Village ninjas rushed to various towns in the Land of Rain to spread the name of Konoha's Ghoul. Before long, spies from various ninja villages would also know this name and realize that Kaede Tsukasa and Hanzo had made a move in the Land of Rain and had won the approval of the demigod Hanzo!

However, because Hanzo closed the country off in the middle of World War II and implemented a strict border policy, the spread of his name was certainly not as rapid as that of the three legendary Sannin of Konoha.

This was one of Hanzo's few moments of pleasure. He wanted to use this method to indirectly declare to the ninja world that he still existed, and was still powerful and confident. Anyone who wanted to cause him trouble should first weigh how much their strength was inferior to that of the Sannin and the Ghoul before considering whether they should come to the Land of Rain to cause trouble for this demigod of the ninja world.

Unconsciously, too many troubles have been filtered out in advance, and his rule over the Rain Kingdom will be extremely stable. No one can threaten him.

Thinking of this, Hanzo felt extremely happy. Although he had suffered some losses at the hands of Kaedeji, it didn't really affect anything.

Until Hanzo heard a terrifying roar, he hurriedly looked into the distance and was horrified to find that the celestial phenomena in that area had subtly changed. The thick dark clouds were torn apart, and a terrifying roar came from the sky, shaking the entire Land of Rain.

At the beginning, Mito Uzumaki remained restrained and did not take immediate action; she had too many questions to answer.

"You recognized me right away, Mito... It's wonderful to see an old friend in this era." Madara Uchiha spoke calmly, like an ordinary old man.

However, Mito Uzumaki knew very well how terrifying the man in front of her once possessed. In his battle with Hashirama Senju, Tailed Beast Balls flew everywhere, bombarding the ninja world and permanently changing the terrain of many places.

"There seems to be a subtle change in the chakra within you. No wonder I didn't recognize you immediately when I sensed the ninja world before... Are you still alive because you were lucky enough to obtain Hashirama's cells during the battle at the Valley of the End? And you made full use of them?" Mito Uzumaki asked.

Madara said slowly, "I did get it, but you've got some things wrong. I didn't get his cells by chance. One of my purposes in challenging Hashirama was to obtain his cells, including my eventual defeat and feigned death, which was also within my expectations."

Of course, it would be even better if we could defeat Hashirama Senju directly, collect all the tailed beasts according to our own ideas, and thus carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan.

Unfortunately, he was just a little bit short, only a tiny bit short.

"That's just an excuse you used to save face after losing to Hashirama." Mito Uzumaki showed Madara no mercy whatsoever.

Madara gently shook his head: "I learned some valuable information and therefore planned to carry out a plan. At that time, I had already controlled the Nine-Tails and could have controlled the other eight tailed beasts before returning to fight Hashirama. Why don't you think I did that?"

"Your plan requires all the tailed beasts? You want to revive the Ten-Tails?"

"You're really perceptive. Hashirama doesn't have your kind of brain. He always prefers to solve problems in the most straightforward and honest way. Coincidentally, I also want to be honest in battle, so I took the Nine-Tails and went straight to him... He had no choice but to either compete with me or I would find an opportunity to use the Tailed Beast Ball to destroy Konoha Village from a distance. He couldn't possibly defend against it every time."

To put it bluntly, Madara himself wanted to test his own abilities, and he wanted to prove that he could defeat Hashirama even without prior battle preparations!
Unfortunately, it failed.

He used every trick in the book: summoning the Nine-Tails, Hashirama pulled out a wooden dragon; summoning Susanoo, Hashirama pulled out a wooden golem; activating the Armored Susanoo, Hashirama instantly activated Sage Mode and unleashed a Thousand-Armed Buddha—Madara still doesn't understand how Hashirama prepared so many techniques.

How come every powerful technique can perfectly match his ultimate move, and always seems to be able to overpower him at the most crucial moment?
Even though the fight was evenly matched 40/60, he used ninjutsu and Hashirama used ninjutsu, he used taijutsu and Hashirama used taijutsu, so much so that Hashirama gave him a strange feeling, as if he had some moves he hadn't used yet, but he just didn't use them, deliberately saving them up to ambush him.

This feeling of frustration lingered in Madara's mind. In the dead of night, he even wondered if it was because he had captured all the tailed beasts and brought the successfully resurrected Ten-Tails to challenge Hashirama that Hashirama could instantly pull out a powerful move to deal with the Ten-Tails.
But that's all in the past now. Hashirama is dead, while he is still alive.

Mito Uzumaki coldly said, "If I had met you a few years ago, I would have definitely questioned you about your purpose in reviving the Ten-Tails. It shouldn't be as simple as destroying the ninja world. Is it related to the Rinnegan? But none of that matters now. I'm going to deal with you and completely eliminate the hidden dangers left by Hashirama."

"Very well. In the old days, it was best if only one of us could survive, otherwise things would become very complicated. I also won't let you take Nagato away; he is very important to me."

Madara spoke slowly, his three-tomoe Sharingan rotating once. For ordinary ninjas, it was an insurmountable mountain, but for Mito Uzumaki, this eye was pitifully weak.

Madara also knew that, having lost his eyes, he would normally be no match for Mito Uzumaki in her current state.

Even though Mito Uzumaki also had little life left, she was still able to suppress the Nine-Tails!
"Uchiha Madara, it's that damned guy!! I'm going to kill him, I absolutely have to kill him!"

Mito Uzumaki loosened her grip on Kurama slightly, allowing Kurama to sense the outside world, and Kurama indeed became agitated.

In the final battle at the Valley of the End, the one whose defenses were most broken was not Madara or Hashirama, but the Nine-Tails, who was constantly controlled and brutally beaten.

Those two were fighting to the death, neither of them caring about the Nine-Tails' feelings.

"Uchiha Madara and you, Uzumaki Mito, the two humans I hate most are together! Hahahaha, this is so funny! One of you has to die today, right? It would be better if you both died!! I'm going to kill you both!!" Kurama roared.

Then it hesitated and shut its mouth, because usually when it did this, it would be immediately bound by a large number of chains, but this time it was not.

"Nine-Tails, I need your power. Hand over all your chakra," Mito Uzumaki said.

"Didn't you already steal a large amount of my chakra? And you can even enter a special chakra mode..."

“Not enough,” Mito Uzumaki said.

Madara sensed something and rolled his eyes: "It's Kurama, isn't it? It seems you've raised that beast very well. I have to do something about it too."

He had no choice but to intervene personally, as he had not expected Mito Uzumaki to suddenly come to the Land of Rain. He had to use many of the backup plans he had prepared.

Swish!
Tobi emerged from the earth and enveloped Madara Uchiha from behind, gradually drawing in Madara's Wood Release power.

This is Afei's ability: to greatly enhance the physical strength of the target individual.

Afei said, "Lord Madara, if you want to use that technique, it might be a bit difficult. With just the two of us, I can't guarantee that we can succeed."

Ban said, "I have my own plans. If it really comes to that, I will tell you what to do."

"I understand. So you had already devised a battle plan. As expected of Lord Madara. I hope you don't die at the hands of that old woman."

"Hmph, even Hashirama couldn't kill me, let alone his wife," Madara sneered.

“That’s true, but no matter how you look at it, your condition is much worse than that old woman’s. You only have one Sharingan with three tomoe.” Abi said.

Madara ignored her and saw Mito Uzumaki performing a technique on her abdomen, rotating her palms counterclockwise and clockwise as if twisting something on her stomach.

The Eight Trigrams Seal - Released!
Immediately afterwards, a large number of chakra chains emerged from her abdomen, and a huge creature covered in chains burst out from her small belly, roaring as it lay on the ground.

Nine enormous tails, seemingly capable of uprooting mountains and overturning seas, swung wildly. Each casual flick of the tail could unleash terrifying air blasts, and each slap against the ground could create deep trenches and cracks.

The strongest tailed beast, Nine-Tails, has reappeared.

"Ughhhhhh, Uchiha Madara! I'm going to kill you!" Kurama yelled, glaring at him.

Enemies are extremely jealous when they meet.

"So you've already been tamed by Mito," Madara said.

"Bullshit! I just want to kill you first, and then I'll kill her!"

“There’s no difference. You’d better be careful. Bound by the Vajra Lock, you might fall into my illusion at any moment. A beast is still a beast, just wagging its tail and begging for mercy from one master to another,” Ban said coldly.

Tailed beasts? The Ten-Tails might be somewhat interesting, but ultimately it will be enslaved. These nine tailed beasts that were split off are no different from stray dogs on the roadside; they can be kicked around a few times and that's it.

hum!
The Nine-Tails immediately condensed a Tailed Beast Ball, which quickly surpassed the size of the one the Four-Tails created in the Land of Hot Water. It contained an immeasurable amount of chakra, and even before it was released, it caused the surrounding air to tremble and distort.

An endless hurricane rose out of nowhere, squeezed by this chakra mass, and surged in all directions.

"It's finally started. This can be seen as a twilight battle between the elderly, or a unique kind of peak showdown."

Kaedeji Tsukasa kept a close eye on Mito Uzumaki's movements, using the numerous zombies scattered throughout the Land of Rain to try and keep up with Mito's direction.

Just as he expected, Madara absolutely could not tolerate allowing a powerful being like Mito Uzumaki to take Nagato away. If the Rinnegan fell into the hands of Konoha, he would be in a very passive position.

“Mito Uzumaki controls the Nine-Tails, and Madara has nothing. This is a big problem… What will he do? Will he immediately come to me and ask me to use a bunch of zombies to cast the Reincarnation Jutsu on him? Or…”

Kaede Tsukasa stood atop a mountain, gazing at the eye of the storm: "He intends to retrieve the Rinnegan from Nagato?"

(End of this chapter)