Chapter 87: A Clever Lie
[Hidden Quest: Rebirth of the Patch (First Ring)]
Difficulty Level: Lv.?
Quest Brief: Assist Uchiha Madara in his rebirth.
Quest Info: According to Uchiha Madara's own plan, he requires 15 hours before he can be reborn, and there is a possibility he may fail to resurrect.
Quest Time Limit: 8 hours.
Quest Reward: Mangekyo Sharingan (This reward will be obtained during the quest)
Quest Penalty: No penalty for the first ring. This quest has three rings total. If the first two rings fail, this hidden quest will disappear. If all three rings are completed, the Hunter will receive substantial rewards.
...
After seeing the information for this hidden quest, Su Xiao had a general idea of what was going on.
If things developed normally, Madara might resurrect in 15 hours, but there were too many variables on the battlefield. Whether Madara could actually resurrect was uncertain. What Su Xiao needed to do was help Madara resurrect within 8 hours.
Not only that, this hidden quest had three rings. From the quest penalty hints, it was clear that the first two rings had no penalty. If it progressed to the third ring and failed, the punishment would be extremely severe. Of course, the reward for the third ring should be very tempting.
Su Xiao rarely triggered hidden quests, which was related to his Charm attribute. But he was surprised to find that Madara seemed to ignore the influence of the Charm attribute.
Or rather, Su Xiao's blood-soaked aura actually made it very easy for him to complete the initial negotiation with Madara. After all, Madara wasn't a plot character from the lawful alignment.
After hesitating for a moment, Su Xiao chose to accept the hidden quest. He had already reached a preliminary agreement with Madara. While they hadn't yet reached a level of cooperation, they were close.
If he could cooperate with Madara, then Su Xiao wouldn't need to sneak attack the rear of the Ninja Alliance. That would be a waste of time. As for hunting strong enemies, there was no need to worry about that. With Madara around, plenty of strong enemies would come to them automatically. This guy's ability to draw aggro was incredibly powerful.
Moreover, Su Xiao had a very good plan. If that plan succeeded, Su Xiao would definitely obtain a Legendary Chest, provided he had Madara's cooperation.
"We've been talking for so long, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Bai Ye. This is Bubuteni. As for that somewhat dull ox in the distance, his name is Amu."
Su Xiao patted Bubu Wang beside him. Madara looked at Amu and clearly sensed that Amu's combat power was stronger than Bubu Wang's.
"Not bad summoning beasts."
"No, he's a combat creature, not a summoning beast."
"Is there a difference?"
Madara looked puzzled.
"Of course there's a difference. Trash like summoning beasts will flee at critical moments of life and death, but Amu will fight to the death."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Madara looked at Amu with some interest. Amu noticed Madara's gaze.
"What are you looking at?"
Amu spoke in a deep, rumbling voice, his cow eyes wide. Madara was stunned, not understanding what Amu meant. It was no wonder he couldn't understand. It was like saying 'monkey old two' — although when strung together it meant 'second monkey,' most people definitely wouldn't get it.
Amu usually didn't speak, but every time he did, it was hilariously strange. He could speak various dialects, which was related to the language alchemy array Su Xiao had set up inside him. This was Su Xiao's first time setting up such a thing.
"Although we're not yet in a cooperative relationship, I have no interest in cooperating with a dead man."
Su Xiao's words made Madara visibly displeased.
"First, let's find a way to successfully reincarnate you."
"Oh?"
A smile appeared on Madara's face. Clearly, Su Xiao had mentioned what he most wanted to do right now.
"I've already arranged that."
Madara crossed his arms over his chest, looking very confident.
"Is it Black Zetsu or White Zetsu? I feel Black Zetsu is more likely."
Su Xiao was ready to start sowing discord.
"You..."
Madara's expression turned displeased, not at Su Xiao, but at Obito.
"Don't worry about how I guessed that. It's just that Black Zetsu is too suspicious."
"Suspicious?"
"Mm, suspicious. Nagato founded an organization called the Akatsuki, which happened after your death. To this day, the Akatsuki is nearly wiped out, but the eight tailed beasts Obito now possesses were all captured by the Akatsuki.
You can ask any member of the Akatsuki what their impression of Black and White Zetsu is. In my view, White Zetsu is stupid, curious about everything, while Black Zetsu... is very suspicious."
Su Xiao wouldn't directly tell Madara that in a dozen or so hours, Black Zetsu would ambush him and turn him into a ball.
From start to finish, Su Xiao only provided Madara with clues, not directly telling him what would happen later.
First, even if Su Xiao took the huge risk of telling Madara what would happen later, Madara wouldn't believe him. Instead, he would become suspicious of Su Xiao. As for explanations like predicting the future, never mind whether Madara would believe it, Su Xiao himself didn't believe it.
Therefore, Su Xiao only provided Madara with some key clues, such as the Otsutsuki clan, the things sealed inside the moon, the Sage of Six Paths, the origin of chakra, etc.
Moreover, he didn't confirm the truth of these clues, which would give Madara the feeling that Su Xiao had also learned this information through other channels, and its credibility needed verification.
People all have subjective consciousness. If others forcefully deny this subjective consciousness, it will inevitably cause rebellious psychology. If Su Xiao had denied the Moon Eye Plan earlier, Madara would have had a completely different attitude.
For example, if my information is wrong, why is the information you provide correct?
Su Xiao perfectly avoided this. He directly provided Madara with information of unknown truth. Madara wasn't sure of the truth of this information, but he had already obtained these concepts.
Su Xiao didn't confirm the truth of this information, but Madara would think and judge for himself, connecting it with the information he already knew, thereby forming his own judgment.
Madara didn't trust Su Xiao, but wouldn't he trust his own judgment?
"Woof."
Bubu Wang suddenly barked loudly. Hearing this bark, Su Xiao instinctively stood up and leaped backward.
Seeing Su Xiao suddenly leap back, Madara knew something was wrong. He immediately looked at the trees beneath his feet.
"Dust Release: Detachment of the Primitive World Technique."
A white beam of light shot out from the large area of trees beneath Madara's feet. He leaped sideways, but the beam still grazed his upper body. One of Madara's arms and a small part of his upper body disappeared.
Hum~
The beam cut in a circular shape. Everything it touched was decomposed into molecular states.
Although Madara was injured, he was currently in an Impure World Reincarnation state, and his injuries would recover quickly.
In mid-air, Madara's expression was extremely ugly. If this were when he was alive, an attack of this speed wouldn't even touch his clothes.
"Still can't adapt to this body, huh."
Madara looked at his broken left side. Large pieces of debris fluttered away. His injuries healed at a visible rate, yet he felt nothing.
Madara landed, his gaze looking downward. The trees there were broken in large swathes. The Third Tsuchikage, Onoki, floated in mid-air, his white hair fluttering. Beside him was a Dust Release beam that occasionally distorted.
"Kid, you've grown quite capable."
Indeed, in Madara's mouth, the 72-year-old Two Scales Onoki was just a kid.