— — — — — — —
"My name is Uchiha Kaito. I am the Fourth Hokage of Konoha." Kaito said with a smile.
"Lord Kaito!"
Uzumaki Nagato immediately bowed respectfully to Kaito and expressed his gratitude. "Thank you for saving me! If it weren't for you, I would have remained blinded by my enemies and been played like a fool!"
"I really don't know how to thank you enough!!"
"No need to thank me!" Kaito waved his hand dismissively. "It was just a coincidence."
"Hey, hey!"
Yahiko, who had been listening on the side, couldn't hold back any longer. He turned to Nagato and asked, "Nagato, what exactly is going on?"
"Here's what happened..."
Nagato took a deep breath and explained everything to Yahiko and Konan—how he had recovered his memories, how Black Zetsu had murdered his parents, altered his memories, brainwashed him, and even replaced his eyes.
"Wait, what? Madara, you've already reclaimed your Rinnegan?"
"And what about Black Zetsu?"
Hashirama and the others were visibly confused by the situation, and Hashirama directly asked Uchiha Madara for clarification.
"Of course, I got them back!" Madara smirked. "Kaito's strength and abilities far exceed what I imagined."
"He dealt with Black Zetsu effortlessly. That ability of his... it must be some kind of time-based Dojutsu, right?"
Saying this, he turned to look at Kaito and asked curiously, "I never expected your Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan to possess such an incredibly powerful ability. I have to admit, I'm envious."
"With this time-stopping power, you're practically invincible at your level!"
He openly admitted his jealousy. For a moment, even his Rinnegan didn't seem all that special anymore.
"Heh! It's not just time-stopping, you know."
At this moment, Uchiha Naori chuckled and added, "Kaito's left eye ability controls time itself. It includes time acceleration, deceleration, and, of course, time-stopping. It's a pure time-based Dojutsu!"
"What?!"
Madara and the others were all shocked. They turned their eyes toward Kaito, who simply nodded in confirmation. The realization sent chills down their spines.
Madara, stunned, muttered, "To think such an overpowered Dojutsu exists... Kid, you're really breaking the limits!"
"If I had possessed such a Dojutsu back then, I would have crushed Hashirama with ease. None of those later events would have even happened!"
"So this is the benefit of unlocking the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan purely through training?"
"Something like that," Kaito replied nonchalantly. "When the Mangekyō evolves naturally through accumulated experience and effort, the resulting ability tends to be much stronger."
"However, the specific Dojutsu one receives still depends on both oneself and a bit of luck."
"The Sharingan is often called the 'Eye that Reflects the Heart,' but ultimately, the Dojutsu it grants is influenced by one's emotions, experiences, and fate."
"That makes sense," Madara nodded in understanding. He then curiously asked, "Since your left eye controls time, your right eye's ability must be equally extraordinary, right? Can you tell us what it is?"
"Death."
Kaito uttered a single word.
The room fell silent.
"Hiss—! Death?!"
Madara and the others gasped, their shock intensifying.
Madara looked deeply at Kaito and said, "Kid, you're seriously defying the heavens! At this point, I don't think we need to wait any longer—honestly, even now, I doubt the Sage of Six Paths could be your match!"
These two Dojutsu were simply too powerful.
Kaito could already surpass multiple power levels.
Time manipulation alone was incredibly overpowered, and if the Death Dojutsu contained multiple deadly abilities, then...
One-hit kill techniques might be possible.
Kaito It was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous combat ability.
"Maybe. Who knows? We can't gamble on what level the Sage of Six Paths has truly reached, can we?"
"After all, he has been existing in the Pure Land for over a thousand years. There's no way he's simple."
Kaito shrugged, unwilling to make assumptions.
"True," Madara agreed, then asked, "What do you plan to do with Black Zetsu? Can you completely control or brainwash him?"
If possible, Madara hoped to turn Black Zetsu into a useful tool.
Black Zetsu's undetectable infiltration skills and incredible mobility made him highly valuable.
"I can!"
Kaito nodded. "His strength isn't particularly high—his form is just unusual."
"When I sealed him earlier, I examined him. He does have a soul."
"I can use a soul-sealing technique I developed before to restrict and control him, making him work for us."
"So Madara, you're planning to make him part of your Akatsuki and put him to work?"
"That's right," Madara confirmed without hesitation. "That guy is too useful. Plus, using him to revive Kaguya and even the Sage of Six Paths would be perfect!"
"I'll need you to seal and brainwash him properly."
"Consider it done." Kaito nodded.
"It's no big deal. I'll take care of it soon and hand him over to you."
With that, he turned toward Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan, raising his hand and transmitting some information directly into their minds before speaking.
"From now on, you will follow us and become part of the Akatsuki organization we are about to establish."
"We will train you, help you grow stronger, and guide you to survive in this world while working toward true peace. What do you think?"
Nagato and the others quickly processed the information in their minds. They now had a clear understanding of Kaito's identity and their plans for world peace.
Without hesitation, they nodded in unison. "Lord Kaito, we are willing!"
They hadn't thought too deeply about it.
They simply felt that Lord Kaito was a great and powerful person, and following him would lead to a better future.
As for achieving world peace?
They actually admired that idea.
Because they had personally suffered through war and tragedy.
Wasn't all their suffering caused by endless war?
If war could be eliminated and true peace achieved, wouldn't it prevent tragedies like theirs from happening again?
For that goal, they were willing to give their all.
"Good!"
Kaito nodded in satisfaction.
Then, he turned to Madara and said, "Training them will be your responsibility."
"Huh?"
Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan were dumbfounded, staring at Madara in shock.
Right at that moment, Madara looked over at them.
His gaze alone made the three of them instinctively huddle together, stepping back in fear.
Madara twitched the corner of his eye and said in exasperation, "Don't be scared, you little brats! I'm not going to harm you."
"I only took back my eyes because they were originally mine, after all."
"Besides, Nagato, you couldn't even deactivate them freely before, could you?"
Saying this, Madara deactivated his Rinnegan, then demonstrated the evolution from Three Tomoe Sharingan to Eternal Mangekyō, and finally back to Rinnegan.
Nagato and his friends stared in awe.
"Gulp..."
Nagato swallowed hard. "So they really can be turned off... Alright, I fully believe you now."
"Hah! Glad you understand," Madara smirked, then turned to Kaito.
"So, are we dealing with Black Zetsu first, or are we going straight for Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and his Divine Tree?"
Kaito responded without hesitation, "Let's handle Black Zetsu first. He'll have to stay here and keep an eye on Nagato and the others later."
Without waiting for Madara's reply, Kaito focused his mind, channeling his energy into the space-time dimension.
He locked onto Black Zetsu and used his spatial authority to analyze him. After extracting a small sample, he cast a powerful soul-sealing technique deep into Black Zetsu's spirit, completely erasing his memories.
After checking several times to ensure everything was secure, he released Black Zetsu.
With a snap of his fingers, he woke him up.
"Master!"
Black Zetsu, now fully controlled, immediately kneeled before Kaito, shocking Madara and the others.
"Uh..."
Hashirama and the others were visibly startled.
Kaito remained calm and nodded. "From now on, you'll stay here and guide Nagato and his friends in the basics of ninjutsu and chakra control. We'll be leaving for a while."
"Yes, Master!"
Black Zetsu bowed respectfully.
"Good."
Satisfied, Kaito turned to Madara and the others. "This place is settled. Now, we go after Ōtsutsuki Isshiki and his Divine Tree."
"Madara, have you fully adjusted to your Rinnegan?"
"Hah!" Madara scoffed.
"What a joke! These were my eyes to begin with—there's nothing to adjust to. Let's go!"
"Alright, let's move!" With a mere thought, Kaito transported everyone away.
— — —
The next moment, they appeared in a hidden underground subspace near Amegakure.
Kaito had previously scouted this location using his spiritual senses, discovering that Isshiki—now in his monk alias, Jigen—was hiding there alongside his Divine Tree sapling.
"Who's there?!"
Their sudden arrival alarmed Jigen and several members of Kara.
But before they could react, Kaito activated his Eternal Mangekyō ability.
"Time Freeze!"
Instantly, everything in the subspace—except for Kaito and his group—froze in place.
"Whew... That took quite a bit of energy. As expected of an Ōtsutsuki and a Divine Tree."
"Fortunately, my Origin Power Technique is constantly replenishing my energy, keeping my reserves above the drain rate."
"Damn..."
Madara and the others were stunned as they observed everything in the subspace frozen in time.
"Kaito, your ability is ridiculous! Forget fighting people on your level—even someone a tier above you wouldn't stand a chance."
"This is so broken!"
Uchiha Izuna gave Kaito a thumbs-up in admiration.
He wanted an ability like this too!
If he had this kind of insane power in the past, Tobirama's Flying Thunder God would've been worthless.
Unfortunately, he never had such a chance.
But now, his Sharingan was evolving again from the start. If he worked hard, he might unlock his own powerful Eternal Mangekyō ability.
He resolved to train even harder, hoping to obtain a superior eye technique.
With that, defeating Tobirama would finally be within reach—
Wait.
He suddenly remembered that the Research Division had already developed a Uchiha bloodline serum.
Which meant... Tobirama could now awaken the Sharingan too and maybe Kaito would find a way for him to get Eternal Mangekyō.
He no longer had the advantage.
"Damn it... But I won't give up! With talent and effort, I'll surpass Tobirama!"
"I can't slack off anymore!"
Izuna clenched his fists, silently making a vow to himself.
This time, he would defeat Tobirama once and for all.
"This is it? So why did we even come? Just to watch?" Hashirama scratched his head, looking at the completely immobilized Jigen and the Divine Tree.
"Well... I didn't expect them to be this weak," admitted with a shrug.
It wasn't his fault. His ability was just too overpowered, and Isshiki and the Divine Tree were currently in a weakened state.
.
.
.