— — — — — — —
"Hah, of course, I know!"
Kaito scoffed and curled his lips. "Isn't it just the Rinnegan? Haven't you used it before? Sure, it wasn't the full version, just an enhancement of your visual prowess."
"That thing is powerful, no doubt, but that's about it. It's still below the Six Paths level!"
"Besides, do you really think a contract with such high requirements would be that simple?"
"Let me be upfront with you—once you make a contract with me, you'll be partially bound by my control. You will never be able to harm me, not even in thought!"
"Of course, in exchange, you'll gain unimaginable benefits!"
"These benefits will help you break into the Six Paths level in the near future, maybe even surpass the Sage of Six Paths himself."
"Given how sharp you are, you must have noticed the recent abnormal changes in the First Hokage's strength, as well as the power boost in many Uchiha and Konoha ninjas, right?"
"That's all thanks to making a contract with me."
"And let me tell you this—no matter how strong you become, even if you reach or surpass the Six Paths level, you still won't be able to break this contract."
"I've said enough. The choice is yours."
"Right now, you still have enough value for me to personally come and persuade you. A few years down the line, I might not even bother offering you a contract. Hah!"
Once someone else reached the Six Paths level, Uchiha Madara's value would plummet.
The longer time dragged on, the more Six Paths-level individuals Kaito would have under his command, making Madara less and less important.
Eventually, Kaito would completely lose interest in contracting Madara.
He couldn't waste too much time on someone stubborn and of little value.
Hearing Kaito's words, Madara's pupils contracted sharply, revealing his shock.
Clearly, he hadn't expected Kaito to be so confident in his contract—or to know so much about the Rinnegan.
After a long silence, Madara finally looked up at Kaito and nodded. "Alright! Then let's use Edo Tensei to resurrect Izuna first. It's been many years since I last saw him, and I'd like to talk to him, catch up a bit."
"Hashirama, come with me to retrieve him!"
Then, Madara turned to Kaito. "Kaito, brat, you come too. Izuna isn't buried within Konoha's borders. Without you, I might not even be able to leave the burial grounds, right?"
"Heh!"
Kaito chuckled. "You could leave, but I could also forcefully teleport you back at any time."
"Since you're inviting me, I might as well tag along."
"Tell me the exact location. We'll teleport there directly!"
As he spoke, Kaito nodded toward Hashirama as a signal.
The First Hokage immediately stepped forward and placed a hand on Madara's shoulder, then asked, "Madara, where is it?"
Madara narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "A valley 50 kilometers north of the Valley of the End."
"It used to be a secret base of the Uchiha clan."
"Got it. Let's go!"
Upon hearing this, Hashirama quickly locked onto the location using his space-time gate map. The next moment, he activated his technique and instantly teleported himself and Madara to the designated spot.
Kaito followed right behind them.
Glancing around the area, Kaito noticed remnants of old buildings, though most had long since crumbled into ruins.
It was clear that no one had lived here for many years.
However, in the center of the area stood a cluster of gravestones, which seemed to have been tended to in recent years.
Among them, Kaito spotted the graves of Uchiha Izuna and Uchiha Tajima.
A secluded graveyard, largely unknown to outsiders.
At this moment, Madara turned to Hashirama and asked with certainty in his tone, "Hashirama, that technique you just used—it wasn't the Flying Thunder God, was it? There's no way you would've left a Flying Thunder God mark here!"
"Huh?"
Hashirama looked at Madara in surprise.
Then, seeing the serious look in Madara's eyes, he scratched the back of his head and let out a hearty laugh. "Haha! You caught me! No, it wasn't Flying Thunder God, but I can't tell you what it was exactly!"
"Oh?"
Madara curled his lips in disdain. "You think I won't figure it out just because you won't say it?"
"It's obviously related to that Kaito brat—he must've given you some kind of ability, right?"
"After all, you never had the talent to learn the Flying Thunder God technique before."
"Not just you—Uzumaki Mito, and many from the Uchiha, Uzumaki, and Senju clans also lacked the talent for it."
"If space-time abilities were that common, the Flying Thunder God wouldn't have remained an unmastered technique for so long!"
"But now, space-time teleportation is practically everywhere in Konoha. It's like everyone suddenly knows how to use it, and they don't even need a marker. That's a huge red flag, hmph!"
Madara suspected that this teleportation ability was something Kaito had granted to everyone who made a contract with him.
That would explain everything.
At the same time, it was likely one of the major benefits Kaito had mentioned about the contract.
As for the other benefits, they were probably tied to Hashirama's recent surge in strength.
The specifics? Madara figured he would only know after making the contract himself.
Otherwise, no matter how many hints he dropped or how he tried to pry, it was like an invisible barrier prevented him from getting the answers.
More than once, he had caught Hashirama instinctively wanting to answer his questions, only to stop abruptly, as if some force had silenced him.
In the end, Hashirama would always cover it up with his usual loud laughter.
Before, Madara didn't understand why.
Now, he finally did. It was all because of that contract.
This only made him even more curious about Kaito's so-called contract.
"Heh! You got me!" Hashirama chuckled awkwardly. "You're too smart not to notice something like this."
"But, let's stop talking about that for now!"
"We should focus on retrieving something from Izuna. Looks like only his bones remain, so we'll have to take a piece of that."
Since there were no special barriers set up in the graveyard, Hashirama's sensory abilities easily confirmed the situation.
"Let me handle this. I don't want to damage the grave," Kaito said, stepping forward.
Before Madara could respond, Kaito waved his hand, and a section of white bone was instantly teleported onto the ground in front of them.
Madara's eyes narrowed slightly at this display. "He can teleport objects remotely? That means he could teleport people anywhere he wants too."
In battle, this kind of ability would be practically unbeatable.
Even if he couldn't win, Kaito could simply teleport his enemies away or escape himself whenever he wanted.
Realizing this, Madara's hope of escaping dwindled even further.
Besides, where would he even go if he did escape?
It wasn't like he could go crawling back to Black Zetsu and figure out another way to revive himself.
That would just be playing right into Black Zetsu's hands.
Madara had no doubt that if he followed that path, there'd be an even bigger trap waiting for him at the end.
After all, Black Zetsu was using him as nothing more than a pawn to revive his so-called mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki.
And a pawn's ultimate fate? Sacrifice.
Madara wasn't going to let that happen to himself.
So instead of running away and falling back into Black Zetsu's schemes, staying in Konoha seemed like a much better option.
At least Kaito had promised that as long as he met the conditions, he could be contracted and revived.
Not only that, but Izuna could be brought back too.
Besides, Hashirama was here. The future of Konoha ruling over the entire ninja world was pretty much inevitable.
There was no reason to keep resisting.
With that thought, Madara suddenly felt like the world had opened up for him.
"Edo Tensei!"
Madara watched as Kaito summoned a White Zetsu and placed it on Izuna's remains.
Then, Kaito stomped his foot, and countless sealing patterns spread from beneath him, forming a complex array around the White Zetsu.
The moment he made a single hand seal, the formation glowed brightly.
Countless paper-like fragments emerged from the ground, covering the White Zetsu's body.
In no time, a tall figure appeared before them.
As Madara looked at that familiar face, he stood frozen, his eyes filled with nostalgia.
"Izuna...!"
At that moment, Uchiha Izuna slowly opened his eyes.
Hearing Madara's voice, he was momentarily stunned, unable to grasp the situation.
Then, turning his head, he saw Madara standing before him.
He hesitated before speaking, uncertainty in his voice. "Big brother...?"
"It's me!" Madara forced a smile and quickly stepped forward, pulling Izuna into a tight embrace. He patted his younger brother's back before stepping away to look him in the eyes.
"It's been so long, Izuna. I never thought I'd get to see you again... especially like this."
"Same here..." Izuna nodded, still overwhelmed by emotion.
But as he took in his surroundings, his expression shifted to one of caution. He glanced at Hashirama and Kaito, then turned to Madara with confusion.
"Big brother... what's going on? Wasn't I already dead?"
"Why do I feel so strange? Like... I'm not even alive?"
"And why is Senju Hashirama here?"
"And who is this Uchiha kid?"
His mind was filled with questions.
After all, he had died too early.
Back when he died, Konoha hadn't even been officially established yet.
"Yo! Izuna, long time no see! Hahaha!" Hashirama waved excitedly.
Seeing Hashirama's goofy, all-too-familiar demeanor, Izuna immediately felt a headache coming on.
"Ugh... You really haven't changed a bit, huh?" he said, exasperated.
He had lost count of how many times he had complained about Hashirama's personality.
Honestly, the fact that his brother had an evenly matched rivalry with this airhead was kind of embarrassing.
Even worse, he himself wasn't even a match for this idiot. That was just humiliating.
"Haha! Right?" Hashirama laughed cheerfully, scratching the back of his head.
Madara: "..."
Izuna: "..."
That wasn't a compliment, you idiot!
The two brothers decided to just ignore him.
.
.
.