Chapter 157 (Patreon)

“Mihawk-kun, what should we do next?”

Hinata flew over and stopped beside Nerona Mihawk, looking toward the direction where Madara had disappeared earlier.

“Uchiha Madara has been resurrected. Should we kill him before he gets the chance to do anything else?”

Mihawk looked in the same direction and nodded slightly.

“It may already be a little late, but that’s still our best option.”

Hinata was about to follow him when Mihawk stopped her.

“Hinata, you stay here.”

Hinata looked at him in surprise.

“Mihawk-kun?”

“You’ve already used the Tenseigan far more than usual today. This is the first time you’ve pushed it this hard in a real battle. Recover while you still have the chance.”

Hinata hesitated for a moment.

She had already fought Obito several times and used the Tenseigan’s gravitational abilities on a scale she had never attempted before. She could still fight, but Mihawk clearly had no intention of letting her waste chakra when neither of them knew what Madara would do next.

After a brief pause, she nodded.

“All right.”

Just as Mihawk was about to leave, Naruto’s voice suddenly came from behind them.

“Hey, Mihawk! Hinata! What exactly happened just now? And what was that black guy?!”

Naruto still had no idea what was going on.

After the nine tailed beasts were pulled out of Obito, Naruto, Sasuke, and the others had planned to help Hashirama deal with Madara. Once Madara was sealed, the Fourth Shinobi World War should have finally come to an end.

Instead, Black Zetsu suddenly appeared, Obito disappeared, and Madara somehow returned to life.

Naruto could hardly make sense of any of it.

Mihawk didn’t answer him. He suddenly frowned and turned his head toward the distance.

“He’s here.”

Naruto blinked.

“Who?”

Before Mihawk could answer, a figure approached the battlefield at tremendous speed and landed on the cliff where Madara had confronted Mihawk not long before.

There were no longer any cracks from Edo Tensei on his body. His upper body was bare, Hashirama’s face remained embedded on the left side of his chest, and the markings of Sage Mode surrounded his eyes.

It was Uchiha Madara.

Hinata’s expression changed slightly when she noticed his right arm.

“Mihawk-kun, his arm…”

“I see it.”

Mihawk had already noticed the difference.

The right arm that he had previously destroyed with the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception had been restored, but the skin was completely white, almost identical to White Zetsu’s body.

More importantly, Madara now had both of his Rinnegan.

Mihawk glanced at the pale arm and quickly understood what had probably happened.

White Zetsu’s body originated from the Divine Tree and the victims of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Rather than regenerating the arm that had already been destroyed, Madara had most likely replaced it with completely new flesh.

“So White Zetsu can bypass the destruction caused by the Mystic Eyes…”

Mihawk thought for a moment before putting the matter aside.

Madara was already surveying the battlefield with both Rinnegan.

His gaze passed over the seven tailed beasts, then Killer B and Naruto, before moving toward Mihawk and Hinata. Finally, he looked toward the Five Kage and the remaining Allied Shinobi Forces.

A satisfied smile appeared on his face.

“The nine tailed beasts, the Five Kage of this era, and the entire Allied Shinobi Forces are all gathered here.”

Madara looked over the battlefield.

“What a sight.”

Naruto stared at him for several seconds before suddenly remembering what he had heard earlier.

Nagato’s Rinne Rebirth Jutsu immediately came to mind.

His expression changed.

“Wait… don’t tell me that guy really came back to life?”

Sasuke answered without looking away from Madara.

“Don’t panic. I don’t know how he managed to resurrect himself, but now that he has a real body, he can also be killed for real.”

Madara, meanwhile, seemed to be looking for someone.

“Black Zetsu and Obito… where did they go?”

“Madara-sama.”

A white figure suddenly emerged from the ground beside him.

Unlike ordinary White Zetsu, this one had a spiral-shaped face.

It was Tobi.

“After giving you your eyes, Black Zetsu took Obito back into that other dimension.”

“Another dimension?”

“Obito’s Mangekyō ability.”

Tobi nodded.

“Black Zetsu is still controlling him, but Obito has been resisting harder than expected. He decided to remain inside for now and stabilize his control over Obito.”

Tobi tilted his head slightly.

“If you need Kamui during the battle, he can use Obito to assist you from there.”

Madara gave a quiet snort.

“Hmph. He’s being overly cautious.”

His eyes shifted toward Mihawk.

“Does he think I’ll need to hide inside another dimension just because that brat managed to cut off one of my arms?”

Tobi glanced toward Mihawk and Hinata.

“Mihawk and his girlfriend really are troublesome.”

Madara looked toward them as well.

“But things are different now.”

He had returned to life, obtained both Rinnegan, and absorbed Hashirama’s senjutsu chakra.

His current strength was far beyond what it had been when he was still an Edo Tensei.

“I’m stronger than I was before.”

Tobi looked at him for a moment.

“Are you sure?”

Madara’s expression stiffened slightly.

Tobi continued as if he hadn’t noticed.

“Mihawk already cut off your arm once. And besides him, there are seven tailed beasts, the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails jinchūriki, the Five Kage, the Allied Shinobi Forces, and Hinata.”

He paused before adding,

“I still feel like you might lose, Madara-sama.”

Madara glanced at him.

“Tobi, you really do have an irritating way of speaking.”

“I get that a lot.”

Madara snorted.

“Those people aren’t worth my attention. You deal with them.”

“Understood.”

Tobi sank back into the ground.

After he disappeared, Madara looked down at the Allied Shinobi Forces. Despite their overwhelming numbers, no one rushed forward.

They had already experienced Madara’s strength once.

Now he had returned to life with Hashirama’s power, Sage Mode, and both Rinnegan.

Madara smiled.

“So, how should I begin?”

“Die, relic of the past!”

Sasuke’s voice suddenly rang across the battlefield.

He leapt into the air as Susanoo formed around him. The huge chakra construct drew its bow, and black flames gathered around the arrow before it was fired directly at Madara.

Madara glanced at the incoming attack.

“The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan…”

His attention shifted from the arrow to Sasuke.

“Not bad, but you’re still far from me.”

Both of his Rinnegan focused on Sasuke.

“Limbo: Border Jail.”

A violent impact suddenly struck Sasuke’s Susanoo.

Sasuke had no idea where the attack came from. Before he could react, the force smashed into him and sent him crashing out of the sky, blood spilling from his mouth.

“Sasuke!”

Naruto immediately rushed toward him.

At the same time, Mihawk disappeared from where he stood.

He crossed the battlefield in an instant, heading straight toward the cliff.

Madara had been watching him from the beginning.

Seeing Mihawk finally make his move, a smile appeared on his face.

“The second round has begun.”