Naruto：Immortality and the Eight Inner Gates[Double agent]

Dragging himself up, Rinjin crawled into the magic array like a worm.

At the same time, the clone sitting in the array vanished.

On the ground, Madara Uchiha summoned Susano'o once more, standing amidst the desolate battlefield. His lips curled into a faint, contemptuous smile as he surveyed the empty surroundings.

"Heh~ Only six seconds, huh?"

As he spoke, he leapt off the corpse of the Three-Tails, Isobu, and walked towards his severed arm.

Picking up the dismembered limb, Madara pressed it against the wound. The next moment, something astonishing occurred.

With a puff of white smoke, the jagged edges of his severed arm began to slowly regenerate.

However, as Madara vigilantly scanned his surroundings, he failed to notice a small line of text hidden within the blood-soaked inner side of his arm:

"Go wherever you want."

Not only did Madara Uchiha find those few seconds of Rinjin opening the Gate of Death excruciatingly long, but even Rinjin himself thought they felt like an eternity.

So, he simply let himself fall flat on his face, burning three seconds in the process.

The purpose? To ensure that he could land that crucial kick in the final second. Otherwise, there would have been no way for him to leave the Flying Thunder God seal during their brief encounter.

After all, opening the Eighth Gate, the Gate of Death, was akin to placing a "silence" debuff on himself.

This was also why, despite only being able to sustain the technique for five seconds, he insisted on claiming it was six.

He dared not underestimate Madara Uchiha. What if this old man was extremely knowledgeable about the Eight Gates Formation?

If Madara truly understood the technique, he would know that under the effects of the Gate of Death, Rinjin couldn't use any ninjutsu. And that would mean Madara wouldn't suspect that Rinjin had left behind a Flying Thunder God seal.

Of course, such a possibility was slim, but Rinjin wasn't willing to take the risk. After enduring ninety-nine hardships, he couldn't afford to slip up on the final step.

As Madara picked up his arm, his brow suddenly furrowed. For some reason, a strange sense of unease crept over him.

The last time he had felt this way was decades ago, during his battle with Hashirama Senju.

High above, atop a cloud of iron sand, Rinjin had already crawled into the blood-drawn array.

Raising his hand, he sucked on his thumb and let out a sinister chuckle.

As his grin widened, black and white stripes began to appear on his skin.

"Heh~"

"You thought I relied on my rock-hard body? Nah, I rely on Dead Demon Consuming Seal: Blood Contract~"

"You thought I wanted your eyes? Well... you guessed right. I do want them~"

Cursed Technique: Dead Demon Consuming Seal: Blood Contract! Activate!

Link established!

Amidst the ruins, Madara abruptly raised his head, his face darkening.

Without hesitation, a magatama formed in Susano'o's hand.

"Yasaka Magatama!"

With a low growl, the blue magatama shot out like a bullet, hurtling toward the iron sand cloud in the sky.

At the same time, Rinjin reached out and gouged out his own eyes with a swift motion.

Below, Madara Uchiha suddenly dropped to one knee, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

Moments later, dark marks began to seep from the skin around his eye sockets, spreading to cover the entire area.

In the next instant, his eyeballs, as if unsupported, naturally fell out.

Above, explosions erupted, flames and shockwaves tearing through the sky, momentarily clearing the heavens.

Madara instinctively reached out, trying to catch his falling eyes. But at the same time, so did Rinjin, who was now down to one leg.

Both reached out simultaneously, each grabbing one eyeball.

Both greedily reached for the other eyeball, their fists colliding mid-air.

Both were stunned.

Two blind men, one looking down, the other looking up, their hollow eye sockets meeting in a bizarre confrontation.

Madara frowned deeply, while Rinjin's lips curled into a sly grin.

"Old man, sayōnara~"

In an instant, Rinjin vanished before Madara's eyes. Madara, however, wasted no time and immediately inserted the eye into his socket.

Not far away, Rinjin lay sprawled on the ground, grinning as he shoved the Rinnegan into his own eye socket.

Though his posture was awkward, the uncontrollable smile on his face betrayed his excitement.

The next moment, their newly implanted Rinnegan met, and the atmosphere turned eerily tense.

Both were monsters with unparalleled regenerative abilities. Their vision quickly sharpened from blurry to clear.

The only difference was that around Rinjin's eye socket, a tiny green sprout broke through his skin and poked its head out.

This…

Rinjin's lips twitched as he awkwardly scratched his head. Then, with a sheepish smile, he plucked the little sprout and tossed it aside.

The Rinnegan doesn't even work? So lame.

Why is it that everyone else can use it instantly, but when it comes to me, it grows a plant?!

Am I some kind of legendary druid turned tree shepherd???

Is my real job planting trees to combat desertification?

Plant one Rinnegan, grow a whole sack of them?

The initial joy Rinjin felt was now completely overshadowed by his inability to even complain.

Opposite him, Madara Uchiha was furious—extremely furious, to the point of exploding.

But watching Rinjin's eye socket sprouting grass, he couldn't help but feel utterly speechless. Even his toes itched to dig into something.

This ridiculous clown!

And to think he had been fighting him so passionately just moments ago?

How embarrassing!

Not far away, Rinjin, worried that the Rinnegan might grow into a full bush, decided to gouge it out again.

After casually wiping it on his sleeve, he was just about to stash it in his ninja pouch when a powerful suction force erupted.

Not far away, Madara Uchiha was staring intently at the eyeball in Rinjin's hand, his lips curling into the faintest smirk.

Banshō Ten'in!

In an instant, the Rinnegan flew rapidly toward Madara.

Just then, a pair of large hands appeared mid-air, reaching for the Rinnegan.

"Madara Uchiha! Leave the Rinnegan!"

With a low shout, Tobirama Senju teleported into the scene using his Flying Thunder God Technique, his hands outstretched to grab the eye.

Having anticipated Tobirama's interference, Madara was fully prepared. Susano'o's massive hand swatted Tobirama away like a fly.

One had to admit, Madara's anti-gank skills were top-notch—he had clearly been ready for this.

Catching the flying eye, Madara quickly scanned the battlefield.

Tobirama was sent flying, while Rinjin stared blankly at his empty palm.

Seeing this, Madara smirked and promptly inserted the eye into his hollow socket.

...

Moments later, his vision cleared.

In the distance, Rinjin lay sprawled on the ground, raising an eyebrow as he tilted his head, gloatingly staring at Madara while trying to suppress the grin threatening to take over his face.

"What are you laughing at?!"

Madara glared at Rinjin, his brows furrowing in irritation.

Hearing this, Rinjin shook his head furiously, biting down on his lower lip.

"Old... old man... I... I'm not laughing... pfft... hehehe... I'm not laughing!"

As Rinjin spoke, Madara suddenly felt an itch at the corner of his eye.

Rubbing it, he felt something foreign. Tugging at it, he pulled out… a handful of grass!

Staring blankly at the green leaves in his hand, Madara Uchiha completely lost his composure.

This!

This damned lunatic is cursed!

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