Naruto: Getting Observation Haki By Sacrificing The Byakugan

Fortunately, Madara Uchiha had no idea what thoughts were swirling inside White Zetsu Tobi's mind. If he did, he might have beaten him senseless on the spot.

Not long after, Orochimaru was summoned. During his forced stay under Madara's watch in Amegakure, he hadn't been idle.

Besides observing Nagato—who possessed the Rinnegan—sparring with Madara's wood clone, Orochimaru's greatest discovery was the nature of the White Zetsu.

Tobi was a special case. As the vessel for Madara's will and the inheritor of his Eye of the Moon Plan, he couldn't be touched. However, Madara seemed unconcerned about the other, more ordinary White Zetsu.

Taking advantage of this, Orochimaru secretly acquired one or two for research. He discovered that their cellular structure closely resembled that of Hashirama Senju, exhibiting Wood Release characteristics—but with significantly weaker regenerative and invasive capabilities.

Inadvertently, Orochimaru also found that White Zetsu cells could serve as a suitable medium for nurturing a Byakugan, one he had taken from a shinobi named Aoba Kawaki.

When he implanted a Byakugan into a Zetsu-enhanced test subject, he was surprised to find the dōjutsu's quality had improved slightly. While there was no sign of it evolving into a Tenseigan, the enhancement fascinated Orochimaru. He even relocated some of his experimental equipment to continue the work on-site, entirely immersed in the research.

As for the situation in Konoha, Orochimaru had a general understanding. Danzo's death didn't concern him. Whatever secrets or benefits he had once gleaned from the elder had already been secured, and his most prized experimental tools had long been moved out of the village. He had suffered no real loss.

Upon being summoned and seeing Madara's youthful form, Orochimaru's pupils narrowed slightly.

He licked his lips subtly, mentally noting that perhaps he should seek out the kunoichi Fūka at some point. Although his Impure World Reincarnation was already developed, his thirst for knowledge remained undiminished—especially when encountering unfamiliar resurrection techniques.

"Madara-sama, what do you need of me?" Orochimaru asked, maintaining a respectful tone. Though he harbored his own thoughts, he dared not reveal them in front of the legendary Uchiha.

Madara, of course, cared little for Orochimaru's schemes.

"To summon truly powerful shinobi using the Impure World Reincarnation, you need high-quality sacrifices, right?" Madara asked coolly.

A gleam flickered in Orochimaru's snake-like eyes. He nodded, almost excitedly.

"Indeed. To restore an Edo Tensei to the peak of their living strength, the sacrifice must be strong—preferably Kage-level or higher.

I assume… you wish to summon Hashirama Senju, Madara-sama? I've never seen the First Hokage in his prime, but reviving him properly would certainly require a Kage-level shinobi as a vessel.

Moreover, the stronger the shinobi in life, the harder they are to control."

Orochimaru licked his lips again, eyeing Madara with open curiosity.

But Madara shot him a chilling glance. "What? You want to control Hashirama?"

"N-No, absolutely not. I'm a loyal son of Konoha and have always admired the First Hokage. I'd never consider such a thing," Orochimaru replied instantly, sensing the murderous pressure behind Madara's gaze.

"Hmph. You'd better not," Madara grunted. Then, turning to Tobi, he ordered, "Tobi, bring a White Zetsu."

In a nearby training ground, Orochimaru prepared the Impure World Reincarnation ritual while Madara observed. The sacrifice: a pale-bodied White Zetsu.

Orochimaru had never considered using Zetsu as a vessel before. In his eyes, they had never truly been human.

"Kuchiyose: Edo Tensei!"

The White Zetsu's body was wrapped in ceremonial paper, reshaping into the form of Hashirama Senju. But the result was flawed: his body was covered with dense cracks.

Madara watched in silence. Orochimaru dared not attempt control—but he couldn't resist secretly probing the chakra feedback.

The result stunned him. The spiritual energy tied to Hashirama was far too powerful. He couldn't exert full control.

Is this the power of a god?

Now before him stood Madara Uchiha, the true leader of the Akatsuki (through Tobi), and the revived First Hokage. That made three individuals whose power surpassed conventional limits.

Am I next? Orochimaru thought with a fervent gleam in his eyes. What he craved above all was the truth—and immortality. But he knew that to reach such heights, overwhelming power was a necessity.

Hashirama, revived once again, quickly assessed the state of his new body and was visibly surprised.

"Huh? This body is quite stable. I can probably use over 80% of my original power."

Orochimaru's thoughts raced.

If this is possible using just raw White Zetsu, what if I enrich the Zetsu with pure Hashirama cells? Would the First Hokage be able to unleash even more power?

He began mentally calculating the steps for improving the Edo Tensei vessels. But controlling Hashirama… that was still beyond reach.

And finally, Hashirama noticed his eternal rival.

"Eh? Madara? You died too?"

He blinked in confusion, assuming Madara had been resurrected like him. But he quickly realized Madara was alive and very much in control.

Still, the words had already left his mouth.

Madara frowned slightly, then smirked with amusement as he looked Hashirama in the eye.

"You say you're at 80% strength? Then I'll suppress myself to the same level… and fight you."

Hearing Madara Uchiha's words, Hashirama Senju's expression turned grave.

"Although I don't know the current state of the world, if you're seeking the long-awaited rematch, Madara, then I won't refuse. However—if you lose, you must explain the situation to me."

Madara Uchiha smirked and nodded in agreement. With the power of the Rinnegan now in his grasp, he had long been eager to test it against his eternal rival.

Yet, since Hashirama had laid down a condition, Madara had one of his own.

Startling Demands

"Hashirama, if you lose, I want you to provide me with Senjutsu chakra—Sage Chakra."

Hashirama frowned. He didn't yet realize that Madara had awakened the Rinnegan and could absorb Senjutsu chakra, but he knew Madara wouldn't make such a request without a purpose.

He held up three fingers. "Three times. I can only give you Sage Chakra three times. That's the limit."

"Deal," Madara replied instantly. Even three times was a victory—Hashirama's Sage Mode was one of his strongest assets. And Madara never considered losing.

Back when he lacked the Rinnegan, he was already nearly on par with Hashirama. Now, with both the Rinnegan and Hashirama's DNA augmenting his strength, defeat was no longer a possibility in his mind.

With terms settled, the battle commenced.

It was destined to be one-sided. While Hashirama still had the strength of the First Hokage and Sage Mode, Madara now possessed the power of the Rinnegan, Hashirama's cells, and the Ten Tails' incomplete power—not to mention, Izanagi, Limbo, and other ocular abilities Hashirama couldn't even comprehend.

Even worse, Madara had access to Kamui through his connection to Obito Uchiha—giving him the infuriating advantage of intangibility and teleportation. In a fight where he could hit, but could not be hit, the outcome was inevitable.

Despite once respecting Hashirama as an equal, Madara had no intention of holding back or throwing the match out of sentiment. That would be an insult.

After thoroughly defeating Hashirama and securing three future infusions of Sage Chakra, Madara turned his attention elsewhere.

The true threat now was Kawaki Aoba, a mysterious figure who had been interfering behind the scenes. Only now, having finished business with Hashirama, did Madara have the opportunity to focus on him.

And Madara had bigger plans—namely, initiating the Tailed Beast collection. But one obstacle still stood in his way: the Akatsuki.

---

Meanwhile, back in the Hokage's office in Konoha, a familiar voice echoed.

"Minato, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

Sitting by the window, Kawaki Aoba looked at Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.

Minato frowned. With Aoba, "good" news was often only good in comparison to something worse.

"If I must choose, I'll take the good news first," he said cautiously.

"I sensed your student's chakra in the village—one of the two missing Uchiha."

"…Obito." Minato instantly stood, the name alone stirring him to his core.

Obito Uchiha—his beloved student, presumed dead during the Third Shinobi War. Yet the chakra signature Aoba described was unmistakable.

Still, Minato's sharp instincts kicked in. Obito had vanished under mysterious circumstances, and now he reappeared—undetected by the village's sensor force? It made no sense. He must be in disguise.

As Hokage, Minato had long since made Obito and Rin's disappearance a top-priority mission. Rin had eventually been found, though she was now aligned with Akatsuki under suspicious circumstances.

But Obito—there had been no word. Until now.

Minato forced himself to remain calm. "And the bad news?"

Aoba's tone turned sarcastic, yet grave. "Well, it's nothing much. Just that your former student might be planning to annihilate Konoha—and he seems to be targeting your wife, Kushina. You know, the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails."

Minato: …

Ignoring Aoba's dark sense of humor, Minato immediately summoned his Anbu. He couldn't afford to ignore the intel, no matter how irreverent the source.

As much as he wanted to believe in Obito, the stakes were too high. As Hokage, he had to prepare for the worst.

He turned to Aoba. "You know where he is now, don't you?"

Aoba nodded. Thanks to his advanced Observation Haki, he could locate almost anyone—unless they vanished into a separate dimension, like Kamui's.

But Aoba had seen Obito briefly in the real world. That was enough.

Minato acknowledged the information with a nod. As Obito's teacher, he wanted—needed—to confront him personally, and try to bring him back.

Aoba, however, was skeptical.

He didn't know whether Minato's fabled "Talk no Jutsu" would succeed, but one thing was certain: Obito had come to Konoha with a purpose.

And Madara Uchiha's influence could not be ignored.

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