Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

Uchiha Obito's eyes widened. His body froze in place, as motionless as a stone.

"Uchiha Madara, you lied to me!"

His loud voice echoed through the valley, filled with anger, indignation, and the agonizing sting of betrayal.

At this moment, Obito's eyes were in their Mangekyo state. The pinwheel-like patterns spun frantically as he tried to activate his visual prowess.

However, with Black Zetsu fused to his body, his abilities were completely suppressed.

Uchiha Madara remained standing in place with his arms crossed, watching Obito. The smile faded from his face. "A brat like you has already outlived his usefulness."

Those words cut like a knife, leaving Obito trembling all over.

He ground his teeth audibly. The veins on his temples throbbed, and the muscles in his face twitched.

His mind raced as scenes from the past flashed before his eyes.

Those memories, those conversations and promises, and the so-called Eye of the Moon Plan... everything suddenly became crystal clear.

He finally understood.

"You've been deceiving me from the very beginning?!"

Obito's roar cracked, his throat sounding as if it had been torn apart.

Madara looked at him and shook his head.

"No."

His voice was calm, like a teacher correcting a student's mistake.

"I originally intended to groom you as my successor, but you disappointed me."

Obito struggled with all his might.

He surged his chakra, desperately trying to force Black Zetsu out of his body.

But to his despair, he realized he was like a caged beast—thrashing wildly, yet utterly unable to break through Black Zetsu's absolute lockdown.

Left with no other choice, he could only glare fiercely at Madara.

"You'll never defeat him!"

In his helpless state, Obito could only spit out a bitter curse.

Madara scoffed coldly, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"As long as I return to life, anything is possible."

With that, he shifted his gaze away from Obito's face, dismissing him like a discarded tool no longer worthy of attention.

Finally, his eyes landed on Orochimaru.

"You're quite capable. Care to cooperate with me?"

Orochimaru had stood by and watched the entire exchange. His expression remained unchanged, still wearing that same eerie smile.

Hearing Madara's words, he chuckled softly.

"Hehehe, am I not already cooperating with you, Madara?"

Madara paused for a moment before throwing his head back and laughing aloud.

"Hahahaha! True enough. You are excellent."

His laughter quickly subsided, and Madara held out his hand.

"Hand over what you prepared."

Orochimaru smiled again. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out a scroll and tossed it over.

The scroll traced an arc through the air before Madara caught it firmly.

Orochimaru licked his lips. "I expended quite a bit of effort to successfully develop this jutsu."

He paused.

"To do so, I even had to dip into the village's hidden reserves."

His gaze fixed on Madara's face, his smile deepening.

"You will need to compensate me for this, Madara."

Madara unrolled the scroll and looked down, his eyes scanning the contents rapidly. He merely gave a cold snort.

"Rest assured, you will get your reward."

Orochimaru watched Madara read the scroll, his smile unwavering as he took a step back.

"In that case, I won't disturb you any further. I need to head back; it wouldn't do to be away for too long."

Madara did not look up.

Seeing this, Orochimaru said no more and retreated into the shadows of the trees.

The valley fell silent, leaving only the sound of Obito's heavy, ragged breathing.

A moment later, Madara's eyes moved away from the very last word on the scroll. He looked up, the corners of his mouth curling into a smirk.

"An impressive concept. To actually develop a jutsu like this... he truly is a genius."

He put the scroll away and turned his head.

"Connect to my body and synchronize with this brat."

Black Zetsu didn't waste any words. It extended a black tentacle from Obito's body, writhing through the air like a snake as it reached toward Madara.

The tip of the tentacle touched Madara's clothes before burrowing straight into his skin.

Black Zetsu's body now connected both Madara and Obito, acting as a bridge that linked their physical forms together.

Madara began to weave hand signs.

His movements weren't fast, but they were incredibly steady. Every sign was formed with perfect precision. One sign, two signs, three signs, four signs... He held each one for the exact right amount of time before transitioning to the next.

At the exact same time, Obito, under Black Zetsu's control, was also weaving hand signs.

His fingers moved in perfect synchronization with Madara—the same signs, the same rhythm, the same angles.

The two of them formed hand signs simultaneously in the valley, mirroring each other perfectly.

Throughout the entire process, Obito's eyes were wide with fury and despair.

His eyes bulged so much that his sockets felt like they would split. He ground his teeth, letting out muffled groans from his throat, as if something was blocking his airway, preventing him from screaming.

Black Zetsu had sealed his mouth. A thin black membrane covered his lips, trapping all his words in his throat.

He could only watch, listen, and hate.

The final hand sign was completed.

Madara's hands stopped in front of his chest, fingers intertwined, palms facing each other.

"Dragon Snake Reincarnation Jutsu!"

The moment the words left his lips, a massive amount of chakra erupted from Obito's body.

The chakra was forcefully extracted from every cell in his body by some unknown power. It surged out of him, flowing like a river along Black Zetsu's dark tentacle and pouring directly into Madara.

The black tentacle swelled under the immense pressure of the chakra, trembling slightly like a hose filled to bursting with water.

The chakra flooded into Madara's body.

Madara threw his head back as steam-like currents radiated from his form. White mist rose from the surface of his skin, dissipating into the air above him.

As time passed, the cracks characteristic of his Reanimation body—on his face, hands, and torso—began to slowly mend.

His eye sockets underwent a change as well. The Reanimated Sharingan spun briefly before crumbling into ash and vanishing, leaving behind two empty, hollow voids.

His body gradually became vibrant, shedding the ghastly pallor of a Reanimation and exuding the vigorous vitality of a living, breathing human.

The process did not take long. Soon, a fully resurrected, flesh-and-blood Uchiha Madara stood before them.

Madara took a deep breath, savoring the long-lost scents filling his nose. He clenched his fist, his fingers curling with immense strength, his nails digging into his palm. The sensation was incredibly real.

He was alive.

In stark contrast, Obito's aura had weakened to the absolute limit. His chakra was nearly drained dry, and his skin had lost all its color, becoming as pale as a sheet of paper.

His lips trembled. His body was so exhausted that he didn't even have the strength to control his own mouth.

Madara took a moment to assess his condition. He lifted his foot and took a step, his boot making a solid, grounded sound against the earth. His body felt no discomfort, stiffness, or sluggishness—it was as if he had never died at all.

Following his senses, he stepped forward and approached Obito.

Obito stood there, his eyes still open, watching Madara walk toward him step by step. His gaze held nothing but the hollow emptiness of absolute despair.

Madara stopped in front of him and reached out. He plunged his fingers into Obito's eye socket, gripping the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Then, he pulled hard.

The eyeball was ripped from its socket, trailing the optic nerve behind it like a weed pulled up by its roots.

Very little blood spilled, as Black Zetsu controlled Obito's body to seal the severed blood vessels. The eyeball rested between Madara's fingers, still warm.

Obito's mouth hung open, but no sound came out.

Madara then plunged two fingers into Obito's other eye socket, seizing the second Mangekyo Sharingan.

Another sharp pull.

Both eyeballs were now in Madara's hands.

They sat in his palms like two red glass beads, gleaming in the sunlight. Without a moment's hesitation, Madara raised his hands and shoved the two eyes into his own empty sockets.

After doing so, he closed his eyes. The eyeballs rolled around in their new sockets for a moment before settling into place.

The optic nerves and surrounding tissues seamlessly connected. Without the need for any surgery or medicine, his body naturally completed the integration.

Immediately after, he opened his eyes.

They were the Mangekyo Sharingan—crimson irises bearing a triangular, shuriken-like pattern.

They were Obito's eyes, but now, they belonged to him.

Madara blinked and shifted his gaze, looking at the distant mountains and trees. His vision extended further, taking in the vast sky beyond.

"Good eyes."

He raised a hand to touch his eye sockets, lightly pressing his fingertips against his eyelids.

"They will come in handy."

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