As Shimizu watched Madara and "Obito" locked in a deadlock not far away, fragments of long-buried memories surfaced in his mind, leaving him momentarily dazed.
The existence of that unusually active White Zetsu known as Tobi had once led him to entertain a bold theory—that Tobi's true identity might actually have been Black Zetsu itself.
Perhaps it had merely concealed its true nature through some unknown method while borrowing the name "Tobi."
The clearest evidence had been Tobi's own claim that it had personally killed the Second Hokage, and from the way it spoke, the statement had not sounded false.
After all, according to the original story, among all the Zetsu that had existed for so long while possessing such obvious independent consciousness, only Black Zetsu truly fit that description.
That was why Shimizu had been so shocked the first time he encountered White Zetsu Tobi. At that point in time, a White Zetsu should not even have appeared yet.
And yet, not long ago, that abnormal White Zetsu Tobi had told Shimizu that it already knew how its story would end.
Then it died.
Not even a corpse remained, because Samehada had devoured the body along with everything else.
Immediately afterward, Black Zetsu revealed itself, and its appearance completely overturned every assumption Shimizu had previously made.
The White Zetsu Tobi that had died truly had been nothing more than a White Zetsu, entirely unrelated to Kaguya's will.
And now, the Black Zetsu that had always remained hidden in the shadows had actually chosen to act ahead of time…
Then came the familiar yet shocking scene before him:
The same hand thrust from behind.
The same sneak attack aimed straight through the heart.
The difference was that in the original story, Madara had completely trusted Black Zetsu, believing it to be an extension of his own will, and therefore never lowered his guard against it.
Here, however, Black Zetsu had disguised itself as Obito and launched its attack during Madara's moment of weakness.
As for why Black Zetsu had chosen to impersonate Obito instead of Tobi, Shimizu could only assume that Tobi had been far too familiar to Madara. Black Zetsu likely understood there was no possibility of deceiving him that way, so it had instead chosen Obito, someone relatively unfamiliar to Madara. Besides, Obito himself had already been one of their intended targets, so his presence here made perfect sense.
The moment Black Zetsu's ambush succeeded, Shimizu had nearly believed that Ōtsutsuki Kaguya was about to revive and that the world was about to reach its final ending.
Yet Madara was still Madara.
He had not disappointed Shimizu.
The legendary shinobi of the old era had reacted at the final moment after all. That instinctive backward block with his left arm had prevented the attack from piercing straight through his heart.
Still, Madara's situation remained far from optimistic.
He was unable to move at all, and as time passed, it became increasingly clear that he and Black Zetsu had fallen into a brutal struggle for control.
Inside Madara's body, the two were engaged in a silent life-and-death battle.
Perhaps they were competing through willpower.
Perhaps through chakra.
Shimizu could not tell.
But he remained patient.
He was waiting for the exact moment the victor between the two would be decided.
"Although I still don't know who you truly are…" Madara suddenly spoke, "your earlier mockery sounds more like wishful thinking than anything else."
"You think you still have a chance to escape?!" Obito's expression became increasingly twisted as black chakra engulfed not only Madara, but his own body as well.
"I simply assumed… you would care whether this body remained young."
The instant those words fell, an overwhelming torrent of chakra erupted violently from Madara's body.
The Madara who had appeared to be around thirty years old began aging visibly before the naked eye.
Vast quantities of blue chakra surged outward and clashed directly against Black Zetsu's black chakra in a true battle for dominance.
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Black Zetsu truly wanted Madara's body because the rejuvenated Madara had already regained terrifying strength.
In the current shinobi world, who could possibly stop a Madara like this?
According to its calculations, as long as it acted carefully from here onward, it had every confidence that it could fully revive Mother—Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
Yet in only a single breath, Madara had already aged into a man around forty years old.
"Still not enough…"
Another breath passed.
Wrinkles appeared at the corners of Madara's eyes, while streaks of white spread through his hair at the temples.
Madara had reached fifty.
Yet he showed no intention of stopping.
Even more chakra erupted outward.
Black Zetsu panicked.
Its original goal had been to seize Madara's rejuvenated body, but it simply could not devour Madara's consciousness in an instant. It could only watch helplessly as its prey rapidly aged before its eyes.
Not only that, the chakra Madara was unleashing now was gradually beginning to suppress even Black Zetsu itself.
"You're reaching your limit already… aren't you?"
Madara mocked coldly.
At this point, he had already entered old age.
The sixty-year-old Madara looked visibly aged and worn.
Finally, Black Zetsu could no longer endure the pressure.
It retreated.
In truth, if one judged purely by the situation itself, Black Zetsu still held the advantage.
But it had never expected that the Madara who regained his youth through the Uzumaki clan's life force could also forcibly age himself again by actively burning away that same vitality.
And what use was there in seizing the body of an old Madara?
Rather than expose itself completely, it would be better to temporarily withdraw, hide its identity, and wait until things settled before making new plans.
However, the instant Black Zetsu withdrew its left hand and prepared to sink into the earth with Earth Release—
A streak of blue light suddenly slashed toward it from behind.
With a sharp tearing sound, "Obito's" body was cut cleanly in half.
Yet Black Zetsu had not fully perished.
Its true form had already been exposed—those masses of shapeless black matter desperately trying to burrow underground.
In the blink of an eye, Shimizu created two shadow clones.
Lightning Release: White Lightning!
Two bolts of lightning flashed simultaneously from the clones and struck Black Zetsu directly. The violent pain instantly interrupted its attempt to flee.
Lightning Release: Lightning Blade Slash!
Two more Lightning Release techniques were fired instantly, blasting toward the scattered masses of black matter once again.
Boom!
The explosion tore Black Zetsu apart into nearly twenty separate fragments. Although it had become significantly weaker, it had gained a slim chance at survival.
After all, once divided into so many pieces, if every fragment focused solely on escaping, who could possibly stop them all?
Yet before Black Zetsu could even feel relieved, eighteen beams of light came crashing down one after another.
Those lasers, formed from the fusion of lightning and water chakra, curved through the air at bizarre angles as they precisely pursued the eighteen fleeing fragments of Black Zetsu.
Storm Release: Aurora Light!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!
The black masses that had scattered in every direction were annihilated one after another until only a single final fragment remained.
That last piece stopped trying to sink into the ground.
Because standing directly above it was Shimizu himself.
"You… Shimizu Uzuki… don't kill me."
"So long as you spare me, I can let Mother—"
Shimizu acted as though he had heard nothing at all and crushed the final black mass beneath his foot.
At last, Black Zetsu completely vanished.
"Oh?" Madara revealed a deeply intrigued expression. "I never expected that thing to be something like this…"
"You still have the mood to worry about someone else?"
Three Shimizus had already surrounded Madara completely.
Black Zetsu had been dealt with.
Now it was Madara's turn.
"One Shadow Clone, one Water Clone… and every technique you used earlier was cast without hand seals, including Kekkei Genkai Ninjutsu." Madara looked at him with clear admiration. "That's quite impressive."
"Heh. Spare me."
Shimizu paid no attention whatsoever to Madara's praise as he slowly raised his sword.
"When have you ever truly looked at anyone else as an equal? In your eyes, we're all nothing more than insects." His voice gradually turned colder. "And that's exactly why you failed."
"Madara… you're too arrogant."
Even in Madara's current aged state, Shimizu had not forgotten one crucial fact—
At any moment, Madara's Sharingan could still shift into that Mangekyō capable of freezing a target in place.
Earlier, Black Zetsu had restrained him, which was why he had been unable to move.
But now—
He was free.
Under no circumstances could Shimizu underestimate the enemy before him.
Madara remained silent for a brief moment.
Then, slowly, he opened his left eye.
Within it, the Mangekyō Sharingan had already formed.
"No…" Madara spoke calmly. "I sincerely invite you to join me. Akatsuki would welcome a capable young shinobi like you."
Madara?
Akatsuki?
What kind of development was this?
And from the seriousness in Madara's expression, he clearly was not joking.
He genuinely intended to recruit him into Akatsuki.
Yet Shimizu remained as he always had.
His sword and his killing intent already answered everything.
"What a pity…" Madara shook his head regretfully. "But Shimizu Uzuki, do you truly believe you're the only final victor here?"
"Enough."
Shimizu had already decided to strike first.
"You should stay buried in the past where you belong…"
But at the exact moment he moved, Shimizu suddenly understood the true meaning behind Madara's earlier words.
Madara belonged to Akatsuki.
Which meant Akatsuki were his allies.
He still had companions.
Before Shimizu could react, another Mangekyō Sharingan entered his field of vision.
His consciousness gradually faded into nothingness.
…
"Lord Madara,, shouldn't we kill him?" a shinobi wearing a blue clown mask suddenly asked.
At that moment, the aged and weakened Madara was slowly recovering from his previous injuries. Without even lifting his head, he replied:
"Zero, doesn't your Mangekyō ability—Phantom Mirror, Water Flower—allow its victims to sleep forever within an illusion?"
"Yes, Lord Madara."
Phantom Mirror, Water Flower.
An ability known mas "the unreal made real," it was the power possessed by Zero's right Mangekyō Sharingan.
Using the target's memories as a foundation, it could construct an absolutely realistic illusory world.
If the victim died within that false world, then their real body would truly die as well.
But if they continued surviving within that illusion…
Then naturally, their real body could continue clinging to life too.
Though in reality, they would merely become a living corpse.
A vegetative shell.
"In that case, what difference is there between killing him and not killing him?"
"But—" Zero still wanted to say something.
"There is no 'but.' Since you have absolute confidence in your Mangekyō, then let him experience a fate worse than death."
A strange gleam flickered through Madara's eyes, the same look he had shown earlier when observing Black Zetsu. "Lord Madara… are you trying to test something? Or prove something?"
Madara let out a faint scoff. "I'm merely amusing myself."
Yet before leaving, Madara turned back one final time to look at Shimizu.
"Still… he truly did make me realize something."
The Madara who once stood above the entire shinobi world had nearly fallen in a place like this.
What humiliation…
So perhaps, from now on, I should lower this arrogant head of mine… just a little.
…
Jiraiya and Minato arrived belatedly.
Both instinctively swept their gazes across the vast green ocean formed by the Wood Release forest.
"Sensei, I'll continue pursuing the enemy!"
"Go."
Carrying a heavy heart, Jiraiya stepped into the endless forest.
Everything was silent.
Clearly, the battle here had already ended.
Then he saw him—
The young Konoha shinobi lying amidst the sea of trees.
He looked as though he were merely asleep.
"Sorry… we were too late."
"Kakashi already told me everything…"
Jiraiya let out a long sigh.
"You idiot… honestly…"
Then he slowly bent down.
"Let's go home, child of Konoha's destiny."