HSU: Ch. 328

The torrential rain did nothing to slow down Madara's advance.

In his state of Edo Tensei, he felt nothing at all. Controlling his body was like kids on Earth playing games in front of a computer, it had no sense of reality whatsoever.

The natural environment around him had no effect on him.

Nagato, being alive, couldn't avoid that factor. But he had his own way of handling it.

Black Zetsu's intel was never completely reliable. Maybe it was because Nagato had always been wary of him, so even getting close to observe Nagato had been difficult. As a result, the intelligence Black Zetsu provided about Nagato's powers was still a bit different from reality.

Nagato directly used a derived technique he had developed based on Shinra Tensei.

He stabilized Shinra Tensei's repulsive force above and around him, creating a rainproof barrier. Then, with his feet, he used that same force to lift himself into the sky, and taking advantage of the rain curtain, combined Water Release and Wind Release to "glide" forward.

Back in the day, when Jiraiya was teaching Yahiko and the other two children, his mindset gradually shifted until he truly gave his all in the limited time he had to train them.

At first his goal had just been to help them survive, but later he shifted to tailored teaching, based on each one's natural talent.

Nagato's gift had been regarded by Jiraiya as the greatest. He was praised as "capable of mastering all mainstream ninjutsu."

By "mainstream ninjutsu," it meant the Five Basic Nature Transformations.

Under Jiraiya's thorough guidance, Nagato had already been able to use all sorts of elemental jutsu by the age of ten.

Jiraiya, as a student of Hiruzen, had no shortage of ninjutsu himself. He could use all Five Elements, and among all his students, only Nagato inherited that same level of ability.

However, as his opponents grew stronger, Nagato relied less and less on elemental jutsu, gradually using only the Rinnegan's abilities.

But it wasn't that he had forgotten them.

He never abandoned the ninjutsu Jiraiya had taught him.

Soon, Nagato had already chased out of Ame.

As he landed, the rain curtain before him suddenly swayed, as if an invisible hand had pulled at a bead curtain. At first glance it seemed like space itself had been distorted.

He was familiar with this.

No, that wasn't right. He was very familiar with this.

Years of fighting had ingrained instincts into him. His body reacted before his mind did, perfectly making up for the split-second delay in thought.

Boom!

A deafening sound erupted across the flat ground. Enormous forces collided, flinging a torrent of rain back into the sky. Countless droplets turned into sharp projectiles like ninja shuriken, spraying in all directions.

For him, his ever-present "rain shield" worked perfectly at this moment, blocking all the attacks.

But what shocked him wasn't the attack, it was the form of power the opponent had just displayed.

The space cleared by the force was instantly drowned again as the repulsion faded, and more rain came crashing down.

But in that fleeting moment, hehad seen it clearly.

"You have these eyes too..." His voice was low, his figure hidden in the downpour, indistinct.

"You don't actually think you're some kind of chosen one, do you?" Madara crossed his arms over his chest. "Of course, in a sense, that's not entirely wrong. With both Senju and Uzumaki blood, you do have some potential."

"What do you mean by that?" Nagato asked.

"You want to know? Then try to push me back." Madara said calmly, still standing in place, utterly unmoving.

Nagato looked up.

The rain poured, as if shouting at him: Summon something! Go invisible!

Just stop falling already!

He had always liked using the Animal Path, especially after capturing a giant chameleon that could turn invisible.

But in this weather... how was he supposed to hide?

And the key thing was, Madara also had the Rinnegan.

The Rinnegan and chakra sensing were Nagato's two greatest weapons. When he fought, he always relied on skill combos.

But he knew one thing: he couldn't do anything against Madara.

His greatest weakness was that he had no counter to another pair of Rinnegan.

"No wonder you are so feared," Nagato said seriously, looking at Madara. "I must admit, I can't defeat you. But you can't really do anything to me either, can you? Why don't we just be honest with each other?"

He tried to maintain his composure, feigning full confidence.

But Madara couldn't see his expression at all.

The rain was just too heavy... Still, he could hear the tone of Nagato's voice.

"Oh? So you think you still have some leverage in front of me." Madara nodded. "Then try this."

Without another word, he activated the curse seal.

Splash!

That was the sound of Nagato's knee hitting the ground. Water splashed beautifully from the puddle.

Suddenly, Madara appeared in front of him.

"You really don't seem to understand your own body at all," Madara said, looking down at him. He was very satisfied to see the dumbfounded expression on this kid's face.

"These eyes I gave you, they work pretty well, don't they?"

Nagato jerked his head up. But before he could even ask, Madara activated the curse seal again.

Thud!

Nagato's forehead smashed into the water.

"You're even worse at knowing yourself than Obito," Madara said coldly. "I taught him ninjutsu, taught him how to use the Sharingan..."

He paused.

Because he thought of how Obito had modified his jutsu.

That was unforgivable.

Worse than failing the plan.

But his investment would never be wasted.

After all, Madara himself had mastered Edo Tensei. Back in the First Great Ninja War, he'd watched it thoroughly.

Now that the plan had run into setbacks, of course he would adjust. This time, with him personally in control, there was no way it would fail.

He had even gone to the Uchiha's dungeon to see Obito in person.

No one owed him a debt without repaying it, not even an Uchiha.

"In any case, I permitted him to use my name. Even if he didn't do that well, at least he knew exactly where his power came from." Madara sneered. "But you, you're completely clueless. You don't even know who gave you your strength."

Madara wasn't sure if his luck in choosing people was just that bad.

Pick Obito, leave him alone for a while, and he starts acting out.

Pick a vessel, look at him now, getting cocky right in front of him.

In his ears came muffled "pfft, pfft" sounds.

Though annoyed, he still glanced down.

Mm, it was Nagato, looked like he wanted to speak. But since Madara had been displeased with his arrogance, he had sealed his mouth with the curse seal.

"Fine. Few have this much spirit in front of me. I'll hear you out for now."

He nodded, releasing the restriction on him.

The kid really had plenty of chakra. He had struggled hard against the restraint, and Madara's chakra had been sustaining the suppression nonstop.

Nagato should understand by now.

"Cough, cough, cough!" Regaining control of his body, Nagato immediately jumped back dozens of meters, coughing violently.

Water had gone up his nose.

Only after a long moment did he recover his composure. He straightened his clothes, then looked directly at Madara.

"You said... these eyes of mine, were given by you?"

"Correct. When you were still young, I made some small modifications, transplanting my eyes into you."

"Why would you do that? For your resurrection? Then why didn't you just directly control me to use the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique?"

"My plan isn't something someone like you could fully comprehend. From here on, all you need to do is follow my instructions. That will be how you repay the debt you owe me."

"Then allow me to make a reasonable deduction," Nagato replied. "Because even if I use the technique, these eyes can't resurrect you, for the simple reason that they were never yours to begin with."

"Oh? You've studied that ability?" Madara gave him a bit of credit.

Noticing that detail proved Nagato wasn't just using the eyes crudely, but had actually researched them with some depth.

And indeed, as Nagato said, within the mechanism of the Samsara of Heavenly Life, Madara himself was considered eyeless.

That was because he had transplanted Izuna's eyes to obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, which then evolved into the Rinnegan.

These eyes were Izuna's.

And thus he needed a vessel.

"You're observant. I've slightly changed my opinion of you," Madara nodded. "Correct. The Uchiha clan can advance further through transplanting a brother's eyes. Strictly speaking, these Rinnegan were my younger brother's. Before he died, he entrusted everything to me."

As for Obito giving one Sharingan to Kakashi, Madara hadn't interfered.

Because in that, he saw the shadow of his own brother.

If Obito hadn't screwed up so badly that the eye's ownership returned to the Uchiha, Madara wouldn't have bothered to meddle.

Across from him, Nagato suddenly raised his hand to point at Madara, his face filled with anger.

"Anger solves nothing against a stronger opponent. It only clouds your judgment," Madara said calmly. "Still, if you accept my training, you do have some potential to improve."

"Madara!" Nagato roared. "Even now you're still trying to trick me!?"

"So you still haven't sobered up?" Madara frowned.

"You're laughable, Madara! To say such words! I am the god who will correct this world's unjust order, the guide who will lead this contradiction-ridden, war-torn world to peace! And before you stands the eyes born in an age of chaos, the bridge to a new and better world! Eyes bestowed by fate itself, so that I may lead the world to peace! Knowing this, do you still challenge them?"

What god?

What nonsense is this?

"Unable to accept reality, so you go insane instead?" Madara looked coldly at the frenzied Nagato. "Seems I need to wake you up a bit more."

"You may be the embodiment of power, but in the end you're still bound by mortal desires." Nagato mirrored Madara's expression. "You think flowery words can shake the faith of one who is god? Stop being foolish! You're driven by petty ambition, ruled by lowly desire, playing shallow tricks, unable to understand the suffering of others. You're just another lost soul."

This guy was even more asking for a beating than Obito.

Madara realized it clearly.

Sure, Obito was a blockhead with no self-awareness, messing with his jutsu, stubborn as hell, but at heart, he was a good kid.

Once Edo Tensei brought him back, he would treat him better.

This one, though, leave him unchecked for a day, and he'd be tearing the roof off the house.

"Don't move!" Nagato shouted as he noticed Madara's familiar hand sign. "I don't know what technique that is, but I'll definitely break it. If you use force, I'll drag you down with me! I've already tested it, I can resist this jutsu. I just need more chakra!"

What he said wasn't entirely wrong. To resist the curse seal's control, he would indeed need to overwhelm Madara's chakra. But...

This Edo Tensei Madara.

Nagato's threat meant nothing to him.

He watched, confirming the kid wasn't in the best mental state. To prevent him from doing something crazy, like gouging out his own eyes, he decided to just let him finish spewing nonsense.

"I'll give you one last chance."

"Angry now, are you..." Nagato sneered. "How ridiculous. A man who rose to fame in an age of chaos, yet still so blind. You live in this world of strife but haven't grasped the true essence of pain. Humans can never understand each other. Only a god can deliver them, only then can they leave their path of straying."

Madara: "..."

He once again activated the curse seal.