Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

Before Sasuke could even speak, Jiraiya's expression changed drastically. He stepped forward and demanded sharply, "You mean Uchiha Madara?! Which Uchiha Madara?!"

"How is this possible! How could a spirit from the same era as the First Hokage still be alive?!"

Sasuke's eyes also darkened.

"It's not that masked guy, it's someone else, right?"

“Yes.” Konan nodded. “That person’s chakra is even more terrifying than Nagato’s.”

"Is it the Impure World Reincarnation...?" Sasuke sneered, or perhaps some other secret technique he didn't know about.

But none of that matters.

Nagato is now his "owner," and anyone who dares to touch his things is courting death.

"I see."

Sasuke raised his right hand and slashed it sharply in the air in front of him.

Space was forcibly torn apart, and a dark and deep rift opened up in front of everyone.

"Let's go." Sasuke nodded to Konan and stepped inside first.

"and many more!"

Seeing this, Jiraiya took a step forward, staring at Sasuke and Konan with a complicated expression. "Are you going back to Amegakure to save Nagato?"

"Is there anything else, Jiraiya-sensei?" Konan's voice was icy.

"Although I don't know what happened, if the opponent really is Uchiha Madara..."

Jiraiya took a deep breath, his eyes hardening. "Then this isn't just a matter between the two of you."

Nagato was his disciple, and no matter how big a mistake Nagato made, as his teacher, he had a responsibility to stop him or protect him.

Moreover, if that legendary Asura were to truly be resurrected, it would be a catastrophe for the entire ninja world.

“Nagato is my disciple, I’m going too,” Jiraiya said in a deep voice.

Sasuke glanced at him, neither refusing nor agreeing, but coldly tossing out, "Do as you please, just don't hold me back."

After saying that, his figure disappeared into the darkness.

Xiao Nan transformed into a piece of paper and followed closely behind.

"The lecherous immortal..."

Naruto wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and staggered over to Jiraiya's side. "I'm going too! Sasuke's going to go play the hero again, I can't just stand by and do nothing!"

"And..." he clenched his fist, "If that person named Nagato is also your disciple, then he would be my senior brother, right?"

"Since he's my senior brother, I can't just sit idly by!"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto, then glanced at Karin beside him, who also looked determined.

"...What a bunch of troublesome brats."

He sighed helplessly, then a smile appeared on his lips.

"Let's go then!"

Jiraiya grabbed Naruto and Karin, and before the spatial rift closed, he leaped into the darkness.

The Land of Rain, the Hidden Village of Rain.

The rain stopped.

The statue of Pain, which symbolized the Rain Village, has now been reduced to ruins.

The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder, and huge concrete blocks were scattered all over the ground, smashing the surrounding streets beyond recognition.

The moment Sasuke and his group emerged from the black cavity, this was the scene that greeted their eyes.

"this......"

Jiraiya looked at the ruins before him, and his heart sank. He could sense that a fierce battle had just taken place here.

"Nagato!"

Xiao Nan shouted and rushed towards the center of the ruins.

In the center of the ruins lay a lifeless corpse.

Nagato lay on his back in the pile of rubble, his hair now gray, as if his life force had been completely drained.

His eye sockets were now just two dark, bloody holes, the blood congealed on his face.

"Nagato..."

Xiao Nan knelt beside the corpse, her hand trembling as she reached out.

Naruto and Karin stood aside, watching this scene, and a sense of sorrow rose in their hearts.

Although they had never met, seeing the man he called "senior brother" end up like this, Naruto's belief in protecting him was once again deeply hurt.

"Where's Madara?" Sasuke asked softly.

"I just left not long ago."

Deidara and Sasori emerged from the ruins looking rather disheveled.

When he saw Sasuke's face, the smile he was trying to force froze instantly.

"It's you..."

Deidara instinctively took a half step back. Although he had been transformed into a human puppet by Sasori, he had indeed died once.

He had no intention of dying again before he had made his art famous.

"Hey, you Uchiha brat."

Deidara gritted his teeth, trying to mask his unease with a fierce tone, "What are you doing here? To laugh at us? Huh?!"

Sasuke glanced at him indifferently; under his gaze, all pretense was laid bare.

He could see that Deidara's body was filled with chakra threads, and that his beating heart had been replaced by some kind of substance.

Human puppet?

"You lost so easily?" Sasuke asked coldly.

"That bastard is a monster." Deidara spat, though he was unwilling, he had to admit it.

“Whether it’s the Hundred Machine Maneuvers or the Clay Bombs…” Scorpion’s voice was hoarse. Now he was starting to doubt his own art. “In the face of his absolute power, they all seem like children’s toys.”

"Then why didn't he kill you?" Sasuke continued to ask.

"Ha! That guy said..."

Deidara gritted his teeth, mimicking Madara's arrogant tone, "'Ants of this caliber are not even worth my time.'"

"Damn bastard! How dare he underestimate my art like that! Next time I'll make him taste the flavor of C4 Garuda! Hmm!"

Although he was cursing fiercely, everyone could hear the hint of helplessness in his tone.

"What about Nagato?"

Konan suddenly raised her head, "If he disdained to kill you, then why did he use such a vicious attack on Nagato?!"

“Well…” Deidara scratched his head, his expression turning somewhat strange. “Actually, it wasn’t Madara who killed him.”

"What?" Xiao Nan was stunned.

"At the time, Ban did beat the leader badly, but he didn't seem to be in a hurry to kill the leader. Instead, it was as if he was waiting for something."

Deidara frowned as he recalled the scene.

"Just then, that guy Zetsu suddenly appeared."

“Absolute?” Sasuke’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Hmm, a black-and-white face guy."

Deidara continued, "At that time, the leader was already unable to move, and then that guy suddenly emerged from underground, and then..."

"That black half of the body, like a lump of mud, burrowed directly into the leader's body!"

"Go inside?" Jiraiya's expression changed.

“Yeah, it’s like possession,” Sasori added from the side. “That Black Zetsu controlled the leader’s body and then forcibly formed a hand seal that we’ve never seen before.”

"After that, Nagato's life force seemed to be drained instantly; his hair turned white, and then..."

Scorpion glanced at the corpse on the ground and said nothing more.

But everyone understood what he meant.

“After that, the aura of death on Madara disappeared.” Deidara shrugged. “That guy was like he had truly come back to life; his heartbeat and body temperature all returned to normal.”

"Then he gouged out Nagato's eyes, laughed, and left, completely disregarding us."

After hearing this description, everyone present fell silent.

"I see......"

Sasuke whispered to himself, "Is he manipulating Nagato to unleash the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique?"

Nagato's life was used to bring Madara Uchiha back to life.

"Black Zetsu..."

In the Pure Land, the Sage of Six Paths once mentioned that after Kaguya was sealed, her will did not completely dissipate, but left behind a kind of shadow, lurking in this world, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

That so-called "Black Zetsu" is probably the ominous thing that the Sage of Six Paths spoke of.

It was also this entity that altered the contents of the stone tablet at the Naga Shrine, implanting the colossal lie of "Infinite Tsukuyomi" into the history of the Uchiha clan.

Whether it's Obito or Madara, these ambitious individuals who call themselves chess players are probably nothing more than pawns in that thing's hands in the end.

"Sasuke..."

Konan gripped Sasuke's clothes tightly with both hands, her eyes filled with helplessness and pleading.

Please...

"If you were able to save me, then Nagato can certainly do it too, right?"

"I'm willing to do anything, pay any price, just to get him back!"