Chapter 322: Was Akatsuki's Composition Designed by Hyuga Fuji?
"Madara! Watch out for Zetsu!"
A thunderous explosion erupted as Hikari emerged from underground, rushing toward Uchiha Madara to warn him. But when she saw what was happening, her heart nearly stopped.
Right before her eyes, White Zetsu's hand had already pierced through Madara's chest.
Madara spun around, his gaze filled with shock and confusion, his voice trembling with disbelief.
"You… you… what are you doing?!"
Had he fallen into an illusion?
How could White Zetsu—his own creation, the manifestation of his own will—betray him?!
This was impossible.
This was absurd!
"Lord Madara! It wasn't me! It wasn't me! I didn't betray you!"
The second Black Zetsu, utterly panicked, instantly realized what was happening and frantically shouted for his life—
"It was White Zetsu! It was him! Why the hell did you do this, White Zetsu?!"
White Zetsu smiled politely and calmly responded—
"Lord Madara, this must be the first time we've properly introduced ourselves, yes? My real name is Uzumaki Hiroshi."
At the same time, black markings began to spread from his hand, crawling across Madara's body.
"Serving under you has been enjoyable. If not for the fact that you never truly paid attention to me, I wouldn't have had the confidence to remain hidden for so long."
"But today, it all ends. I no longer have any reason to deceive you."
Uzumaki…?
A member of the Uzumaki clan?!
Not White Zetsu?!
Madara's expression twisted with rage.
He instinctively tried to grab White Zetsu—but his strength failed him.
His Edo Tensei body should have been immune to fatal wounds, but now…
He couldn't recover.
It was those markings.
Those black sealing runes were actively suppressing his power, preventing his body from regenerating.
Madara roared in fury—
"Black Zetsu! What the hell are you waiting for?! STOP HIM!"
The second Black Zetsu immediately tried to take control of White Zetsu's other half, attempting to force him away.
But it was useless.
Somehow, Uzumaki Hiroshi had borrowed an external power, making his current strength far beyond anything Black Zetsu could have predicted.
No matter how hard Black Zetsu struggled, he was completely powerless to stop him.
This wasn't the same weak-willed White Zetsu he had known.
No—this was a true Uzumaki clan ninja!
Realizing the severity of the situation, Black Zetsu wasted no time.
He shouted at the top of his lungs—
"All White Zetsu! Emerge immediately and assist me!"
The ground trembled.
One by one, dozens of White Zetsu clones began rising from the earth.
For a moment, Black Zetsu felt a glimmer of hope—
But then…
He froze.
Something was wrong.
The White Zetsu clones were just standing there.
Watching.
Their expressions were wrong.
Their smiles were twisted.
A chorus of eerie chuckles filled the air.
"Kekekeke…"
A chill ran down Black Zetsu's spine.
"Y-You… Don't tell me—you too?!"
A cold sneer curled across Madara's lips.
"Idiot."
"If even the White Zetsu fused with you had been secretly replaced, did you really think the others would be spared?!"
Even though he had already suspected something, truly witnessing it made Madara's rage boil over.
His entire spy network had been compromised.
The White Zetsu clones were Akatsuki's core intelligence agents.
They were the ones responsible for gathering all external information.
If every single White Zetsu had been replaced, then all of Akatsuki's intelligence had been carefully manipulated from the start!
And worse—
The recruitment process for Akatsuki's members had always relied on White Zetsu's surveillance and intel.
If White Zetsu had been working for another faction from the very beginning…
That meant the entire composition of Akatsuki had been carefully designed by someone else.
Madara's gaze snapped to Hikari.
She had been trying to warn him earlier, but now…
She was engaged in battle.
And her opponent was Tamako.
Madara's eyes darkened.
Tamako's identity…
According to White Zetsu's original reports, she was a native of the False Valley, possessing extremely powerful illusion techniques that she used to maintain order within a den of missing-nin.
But if that was true…
Why the hell was she fighting Hikari right now?!
Madara's mind worked quickly.
His eyes flickered toward the other Akatsuki members present.
Were they all here by coincidence?
Or was this entire structure… carefully arranged from the start?
Madara inhaled sharply.
His gaze locked onto Tobirama, who was now being helped to his feet by White Zetsu.
His voice was dangerously low—
"Was Akatsuki's composition Hyuga Fuji's design all along?"
Tobirama smiled.
"Sharp as ever."
"But not quite."
He adjusted his stance, brushing off the dust.
"Fuji didn't painstakingly engineer it. All he did was bring together a group of exceptionally dangerous individuals."
"In other words… keeping all the threats right in front of you is the best way to keep them under control."
Madara's expression twisted into a mocking grin.
"And that's why Fuji only brought you here today?"
"Because, as far as he's concerned… half of Akatsuki already belongs to him."
"Now that you understand," Tobirama said with amusement, "shall we stop wasting time?"
"This sealing technique isn't effective because it's overwhelmingly powerful."
"It's effective because of how it was applied."
Tobirama reached toward Madara's body, attempting to remove the black rods impaling him.
The moment he touched them, a burst of chakra energy erupted, repelling him backward.
Tobirama sighed, activating Sage Mode before trying again.
These black rods had been infused with Yin-Yang Release, making them nearly untouchable.
Madara could do nothing but watch.
His expression was like a storm—dark and seething.
"What did you do?"
Tobirama smirked.
"White Zetsu belongs to Hyuga Fuji. Thanks to that, I had the chance to modify your Edo Tensei sacrifice."
"Before you were revived, I embedded multiple chakra sources within it and inscribed several sealing techniques."
"Uzumaki Hiroshi's sealing marks? They were just the trigger."
"The real trap was hidden inside your sacrifice."
Tobirama stepped forward—now towering over the immobilized Madara.
The roles had reversed.
Predator had become prey.
"Unless you can disable the seals on your own sacrifice…"
"Or unless you wait for its chakra to deplete…"
"You're stuck."
The Edo Tensei sacrificial body couldn't see or perceive itself.
Even the resurrected person wouldn't know what their sacrifice truly was.
And in Madara's case—
He had just learned the hard way…
That his body was already a ticking time bomb.
(End of Chapter)
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