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

Madara stood in silence for a long moment before extending his hand, palm open, and tossing the Rinnegan toward Rinjin.

He was the reincarnation of Indra, and he had fused the cells of Hashirama, the reincarnation of Asura. If he was willing to sacrifice his lifespan, creating another Rinnegan wasn't impossible—just as he had used Izanagi after his battle with Hashirama in the past.

Using the power of the Six Paths to create a Rinnegan, and then using the Rinnegan's Creation of All Things ability to restore his blinded vision—it was all within his reach.

The most critical point was that the two Rinnegans he currently possessed weren't even his own; they were Izuna's eyes. His own eyes had been preserved in pristine condition.

...

Watching the Rinnegan soar toward him, Rinjin couldn't help but let a faint smirk creep onto his lips. With a deft motion, he reached out and caught the eye.

From his ninja pouch, he pulled out a chunk of white flesh and casually stuffed the Rinnegan into it.

He wasn't worried about the Rinnegan turning into a clump of weeds. Sure, his blood was toxic, but as long as he replaced the blood within the eye, there wouldn't be any issue.

Madara, his remaining eye fixed on Rinjin, spoke slowly.

"Rinjin Sokuho, I acknowledge your abilities.

To see someone who combines intellect and strength so seamlessly… From the days of the Warring States Era until now, you are the first."

He paused, his voice growing heavier. "The Six Paths, the Rinnegan—I give them to you. But you must agree to one condition."

As a proud warrior, Madara believed that Rinjin, cunning as he was, had his own pride as well.

Hearing Madara's words, Rinjin nodded lightly.

Integrity was the foundation of his character. No matter how much scheming or trickery he employed, he never broke his word. If he promised something, he would see it through.

Of course, the method of fulfilling the promise? Well, that was open to interpretation.

Seeing Rinjin nod, a glint flashed in Madara's eye. Though his face remained serious and composed, a cold laugh echoed in his heart.

Boy, if you think you can tamper with the eye, you're sorely mistaken. Just wait—you'll obediently become my pawn.

Madara's voice carried weight as he delivered his condition. "Stay out of my plans."

Rinjin pondered for a moment before nodding firmly. "No problem. But you must also ensure your people stay far away from Amegakure."

"Deal."

"Deal."

Watching the exchange between these two sly foxes, Tobirama Senju, standing to the side, felt a strange sense of dissonance.

The passage of time seemed oddly warped in this moment.

Tobirama itched to take action and eliminate Madara, but the man's Susanoo armor was simply too impenetrable.

He also wanted to deal with Rinjin, but the audacity of this guy calling him "Second Grandpa" left him at a loss for words.

Regret bubbled within him.

If he had known things would turn out like this, he would have burned Madara's body to ashes back then—or kicked Rinjin all the way to the Land of Snow!

Wait...

Why not pit this little troublemaker, Rinjin, against the old scourge, Madara?

After all, this little bastard kept calling him "Second Grandpa"...

And as a good grandson, shouldn't he listen to his grandpa?

The realization hit Tobirama like a lightning bolt, and his eyes lit up with newfound brilliance.

Hmph! Old ginger is still spicier!

At that moment, the edge of the battlefield grew noisy as the surviving Kirigakure ninja began shouting and scrambling to rescue their comrades from the ruins.

Seeing this, the three figures decided it was time to leave.

Rinjin waved enthusiastically at Madara and Tobirama before forming a single-hand seal and vanishing on the spot.

Meanwhile, the White Zetsu beside Madara slowly approached, its body melting and enveloping Madara before sinking into the ground.

Realizing there was no opportunity to strike, Tobirama frowned, activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, and disappeared as well.

In an instant, the battlefield fell silent, the ruins eerily still.

Far off in the distance, even the playful cat had disappeared.

Back in Konoha, atop the Hokage Rock, Rinjin landed with a splat, smacking directly onto the stone head of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.

At this moment, the wound on his thigh was wriggling with new flesh, slowly regenerating.

Moments later, Tobirama emerged from a spatial rift, crouching slightly. He glanced at Rinjin, who was sitting up, his expression unreadable.

"Rinjin Sokuho, what exactly are you plotting?"

Looking out over the moonlit Konoha village, Tobirama's voice was low and steady.

Hearing this, Rinjin smiled nonchalantly and turned his gaze toward the direction of the village's civilian cemetery.

"The Rinnegan has a specific ocular technique: Outer Path—Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique. It allows the user to resurrect the dead at the cost of their own life."

"Hm?"

Tobirama's brow furrowed, and a name suddenly surfaced in his mind—Sokuho Mizukuma.

Sokuho Mizukuma, a special jonin of Amegakure, had died during an external mission.

According to intelligence, this Mizukuma had been Rinjin's teacher during his time in Amegakure.

The creases in Tobirama's brow deepened.

To be honest, he wasn't entirely convinced that Rinjin would go to such lengths to challenge Madara over a mere special jonin.

Yet, reality often defied logic.

If not for Mizukuma, Rinjin would have been roaming the world without a care by now.

Wasn't soaking in hot springs enjoyable? Weren't the women beautiful? Wasn't traveling the mountains and rivers relaxing?

Having been given a second chance at life, who in their right mind would willingly dive into schemes and conspiracies?

The most frustrating part was that every plan Rinjin made hinged on one prerequisite: avoiding any significant disruption to the timeline.

A plan that originally had a difficulty level of ten would instantly escalate to fifty with that condition in place.

Even so, the strategic objectives of this operation were nearly complete.

Madara had fundamentally misunderstood something—or rather, he had underestimated Rinjin's level of greed.

Rinjin didn't have a surface plan, an intermediate plan, or a deep plan.

From start to finish, he had only one plan: I want it all.

The only difference was that his methods of obtaining these things were unconventional, leading Madara to mistakenly believe Rinjin was bluffing.

To put it simply:

He wanted the Gedo Statue and planned to use the Ten-Tails' chakra to enhance his body.

But not now. He was waiting for the perfect moment to reap the rewards later.

Thus, his attack on the Gedo Statue was perceived as a mere feint.

He also wanted the Rinnegan, though it wasn't his primary goal.

His real objective was to leave marks on both Black Zetsu and Madara, ensuring he could track these two slippery bastards at all times.

The Rinnegan and White Zetsu were merely a front—a decoy.

That was Rinjin's ultimate goal.

After all, as long as the timeline remained largely intact, Nagato would still destroy Konoha, and Naruto and Sasuke would still confront Madara.

So why bother painstakingly collecting the tailed beasts? Why go out of his way to stop Madara?

All he had to do was keep an eye on the two final bosses...

In the end:

Madara thought Rinjin lacked ambition and dismissed him as insignificant.

To this, Rinjin had only one response: "Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, dear sir. Please, by all means, continue to underestimate me. Just don't ever treat me like someone important..."

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