RADG: Chapter 212: Uchiha Madara Returns, Have You Seen My Heyday?

That guy, Hiruko, really is a talented individual.

In a world where bloodlines are everything, it’s extremely difficult for an ordinary person to break past their natural limits.

You either dedicate your life like Might Guy and exchange it for a moment of brilliance...

Or... you change your fate through insight and resolve, like Orochimaru did.

The Hokage and Orochimaru are the same type. Both are rare scientific minds in the shinobi world, and both set their sights on Kekkei Genkai.

The Chimera Technique developed by Hiruko allows him to fuse other shinobi or summoned beasts with his own body, even combining bloodline limits. Relying on this ability, he had already stolen several Kekkei Genkai and appeared on wanted posters across multiple shinobi villages.

Yami’s new village has always valued scientific talent like that.

Unfortunately, after joining the Akatsuki, Hiruko made it clear that he was loyal to Madara. Konan and Nagato never truly trusted him, and he had been sent on a mission some time ago, so he wasn’t at the base.

Since they couldn't find him, Yami didn’t go out of his way to track him down. He simply brought everyone back to Konoha.

Judging by the timing, Sasuke and the others should have already completed their mission.

"Why did you capture Ajisai? She’s just a Genin."

On the way, Konan finally voiced the question in her mind.

She knew of Ajisai, but only because the girl had slightly more potential than most others in the village. That was it. Her talent wasn’t shocking, and at best, she might become a jōnin someday.

Even Kakashi perked up his ears, interested in the answer.

"So many questions."

Yami’s expression didn’t change as he soared through the forest. "Sometimes things are based on intuition. Don’t you think she has a cute voice?"

Konan thought about it seriously.

Ajisai was sixteen this year. Her voice did sound soft and youthful. It really was kind of cute.

"Just because of that?"

Her eyes, which had always been indifferent, now showed disbelief.

As Hokage, why was he always focused on such trivial things?

"Because I like it. That’s reason enough."

Yami said this as he sped up.

By the time Yami and his group returned to Konoha, Sasuke’s team had arrived half a day earlier.

After hearing Sasuke’s report, Yami nodded. "Well done. Hidden Mist really is weak. Even Terumi Mei lacks strong offensive jutsu. But if you encounter that old man Ōnoki, be careful. Your Susanoo won’t hold up against his Dust Release."

Sasuke didn’t argue. Even though he hadn’t seen Dust Release firsthand, he had experienced the terror of Bloodline Elimination before...

Last time, he was nearly killed by that lunatic, Senju Tobirama.

"Sensei, Pain’s already been taken out by you. There’s no one left in the whole shinobi world who can stop us. Now is the perfect time to sweep through everything."

Sasuke was undoubtedly a radical. His obsession with reshaping the world was even deeper than Naruto’s.

Even though one of the ten villages was already in chaos, the other shinobi villages weren’t doing much better.

Hidden Mist was a mess.

In Kumo, the conservative faction had been nearly wiped out by the militant Yotsuki clan.

Since the village’s founding, the Raikage position had always been in the Yotsuki clan’s hands.

In Iwa, the Tsuchikage’s family held absolute power, and their scheming was no less than Konoha’s.

As for Suna... it was better now, but its history of betrayal and backstabbing had left a terrible impression.

To Sasuke, this world was incurably sick. It needed a complete reset.

"Don’t worry."

Yami waved his hand and leaned back in his chair. "Let the big countries worry. Konoha just needs to prepare according to plan."

Although Sasuke felt a bit disappointed, he still responded reluctantly.

"Then do you have a mission for me?"

"I do."

Yami had Sasuke wait for a bit, and then summoned Naruto, who had just returned from a mission with Yamato, via Anbu.

As soon as Naruto entered the office, Sasuke acted according to Yami’s instructions and grabbed him.

Naruto’s eyes widened in horror as he watched Yami slowly approach. "Yami-nii, this is too much! No, don’t do it!"

"Cut the crap and swallow it."

Yami held a scroll toad nearly as big as Naruto’s head and stuffed it straight into his mouth. This was the ultimate demonstration of human potential.

Such a big toad, and Naruto actually swallowed it whole.

Sasuke let go, amused. Naruto dropped to his knees and gagged for a while, but nothing came out.

"It’s fine. The scroll toad only entered your body to leave a key behind. Once it was done, it was summoned back to Mount Myōboku."

Hearing that made Naruto feel even worse. He looked up at Yami with resentment. "Yami-nii, why didn’t you tell me earlier? I thought the toad was going to eat my insides!"

"How was I supposed to know you lacked basic common sense?"

Yami smacked Naruto upside the head and returned to his seat.

"Sasuke, your mission is to help Naruto fully control the Nine Tails’ chakra."

"Me?" Sasuke was taken aback. "I don’t know anything about Sealing Techniques."

His sealing knowledge extended only to storing ninja tools in the seal patterns on his body for easy access. Helping Naruto? That sounded way out of his league.

Yami shook his head slightly. "It’s just like what Shisui did before. You just need to suppress the Nine Tails if Naruto starts to lose control."

"You have the Eternal Mangekyō, so suppressing a tailed beast shouldn’t be difficult for you."

"Originally, I was supposed to monitor Naruto, but now I have more pressing matters. So I’m leaving it to you."

"I get it."

Now that he knew all he had to do was suppress the beast, Sasuke’s expression returned to normal.

The Mangekyō is the nemesis of all tailed beasts. The Eternal Mangekyō? It’s the tailed beasts’ ancestor. Suppressing them was child’s play for him.

"Naruto, if you want to become a perfect Jinchūriki, there are two stages."

Naruto straightened up, staring at the two fingers Yami held up.

"First, without relying on the seal, you must take chakra from the Nine Tails with your own strength.

Most Jinchūriki only reach this stage.

They can force a tailed beast transformation, but it’s still borrowed power. It’ll never be more than the sum of its parts."

"Secondly..."

Yami retracted his fingers, his voice becoming ethereal. "The second stage is resonance with the tailed beast."

"Yami-nii, that’s way too hard."

Naruto’s face fell. "Every time I meet that damn fox, all he does is cuss me out. He’s nasty as hell. How am I supposed to talk to him?"

"That’s your problem."

Yami ignored Naruto’s whining. "There’s a place called the Falls of Truth in the Land of Lightning. Killer Bee, the Eight Tails Jinchūriki, overcame his dark side there and eliminated his hatred toward the Eight Tails. That’s how he became the only perfect Jinchūriki."

"But I don’t think you need that. It’s normal to feel resentment. You’ve suffered so much because of being a Jinchūriki. You’d barely be human if you didn’t resent it."

"What’s important is whether you can treat the Nine Tails as an equal in the future."

At this, Yami sighed. "The tailed beasts also suffered. You’ll understand eventually."

Naruto listened carefully.

He often went into his sealed space to talk with Minato. Deep down, he didn’t believe the Nine Tails hated humans just for being a beast. There had to be a reason.

"I’ll try." Naruto didn’t sound confident.

"If you don’t become a perfect Jinchūriki, you’ll never beat Sasuke."

Using Sasuke as bait was always effective on Naruto. The moment he heard that, he dashed out of the office yelling at Sasuke to train with him all night.

Watching them bicker as they ran off, Yami couldn’t help but smile.

In truth, it wasn’t difficult for him to find Turtle Island. With the Snow Country as a base, sending a few dozen ships would easily locate it.

But he had a feeling the real Falls of Truth wasn’t so great.

Was it the dark side that got destroyed... or Naruto?

So, even though there was a shortcut, Yami chose to make things more difficult—just to be safe.

After some thought, Yami summoned several of Konoha’s high-ranking officials to assign various preparation tasks. Then he spoke to Izumi and entered the training room to begin studying the fusion of the Gedo Statue.

Meanwhile...

Obito and Black Zetsu, who had fled far away, were headed toward a secret base in the Land of Earth.

At the same time, Orochimaru was contacted through special means.

"Here are the materials you asked for."

Obito tossed a test tube over with a disgusted look on his face. Though, with the mask, no one could see it...

Orochimaru smiled and stuck out his tongue as he took the sample. "Interesting. So the real Uchiha Madara has returned. Then who exactly are you?"

"Enough nonsense."

Obito glared coldly. "You’ll know when it’s time."

Orochimaru wasn’t annoyed. Instead, he turned to Zetsu with a gleam in his eyes. "I’ll need a few more materials to bring out his full power."

Two days later...

"Impure World Reincarnation!"

Orochimaru slapped his palm to the ground.

The White Zetsu, combined with countless materials, screamed as it crumbled into debris and reformed into a man wearing crimson Sengoku-era armor with flowing black hair.

Orochimaru quietly stepped back, aligning himself with the masked man. He couldn’t hide his shock. "What an enormous amount of chakra... What terrifying pressure!"

Even though the soul hadn’t fully awakened yet, the oppressive aura from just standing there made everyone feel heavy.

Kabuto subtly moved his fingers, a habit he had when thinking.

Uchiha Madara had been resurrected. This news needed to reach Konoha immediately...

Clack, clack...

The sound of armored plates grinding echoed as the soul from the Pure Land returned and synchronized with the Impure World body.

A domineering voice full of emotion rang out.

"So... I’ve finally returned to this world."

"Hm?"

The next moment, Uchiha Madara noticed something was wrong. He knew his own body well. This sensation was too unnatural.

"This is... the Impure World Reincarnation Technique. One of Tobirama’s tricks."

He raised his arms slightly, and his expression turned dark. He was clearly dissatisfied with this resurrection. "Why didn’t you follow the plan?"

"Madara-sama."

Black Zetsu respectfully addressed his 'master'. "There was a major issue with the plan. Nagato... was defeated. He’s already dead."

"Useless trash!"

Uchiha Madara cursed. "He failed even with my eyes."

"Oho..."

Orochimaru’s chuckle interrupted Black Zetsu’s explanation. "I think the Impure World Body is even better. I used many materials to ensure your body returned in its prime."

"Hmm?" Madara turned his eyes toward him. The moment the connection was made, he realized Orochimaru had performed the Impure World Reincarnation.

"You’ve seen me in my prime?"

"No." Orochimaru shook his head slightly. "But this body has Wood Release. The strongest body, and the strongest eyes. Isn’t that enough?"

Uchiha Madara sneered, not bothering to answer.

It was true that this Impure World Body possessed infinite chakra, a body that regenerated endlessly, and even the complete power he gained late in life.

But such people wouldn’t understand the sensation of flesh and blood, the thrill of blood, or the ecstasy of life-or-death combat. They had no idea how much being resurrected as filth diminished his fighting potential.

Madara turned toward the masked man. His hollow eye sockets lit up with three tomoe Sharingan.

"Now explain. What happened, Obito?"

"Uchiha Obito?!"

Orochimaru immediately recognized him and was shocked.

Wasn’t that the guy with the same Sharingan as Kakashi? The Fourth Hokage’s student?

He was the one pulling the strings behind the entire ninja world?

Realizing that Obito had attacked Konoha and killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife, Orochimaru was amused. He even had the urge to resurrect the Fourth Hokage just to see his reaction.

"Leave now, Orochimaru. You and Kabuto."

Obito dismissed them, then began explaining the recent major events in the shinobi world and the decline of the Akatsuki to Madara.

"Shimura Yami? I never expected that Konoha, which I thought was doomed, would give rise to someone like that."

"Hahahaha!"

After his initial rage, Madara quickly calmed down. When he heard that Yami had mastered both Wood Release and Sage Mode, and now threatened the entire ninja world, even possessing the tailed beasts...

His interest was fully ignited. He burst into wild laughter.

"Now this is interesting. What’s the fun in defeating a bunch of weaklings? Shimura Yami... I want to see just how much of Hashirama’s power you’ve inherited!"

(To be continued.)