Chapter Seventy-One: A Small World Beneath the Deep Pool

Uchiha Madara did not believe Orochimaru, for the method of his resurrection was incorrect. If the Akatsuki were to unify the ninja world and the organization fell under his rule, how could he possibly be revived through some sort of "enlightenment"? Clearly, he would have to put in more effort.

Orochimaru, sensing Madara’s distrust and anticipating an attack, quickly spoke, "There’s an internal conflict within the Akatsuki right now. Uchiha Obito and Pain have started fighting, and the battle is intense. I belong to Pain’s faction. Obito had been acting under your name all along, and it was only when Pain exposed him that the rest of us learned the truth. After that, Pain ordered us to bring you back."

Upon hearing Obito’s name, Uchiha Madara fell silent and held back his attack. After a moment, he asked, "You’re the ones who brought me back?"

Orochimaru nodded. "We were divided into five teams, two members each. Hidan and Kakuzu formed one group, Deidara and Sasori another, Black Zetsu and White Zetsu a third, Uchiha Itachi and Kisame a fourth, and Konan and I made the fifth. I don’t know which group revived you, since I was tricked by the Three Great Sages and plunged into a deep pool before it happened."

Madara knew nothing of the Akatsuki or its members, so Orochimaru simply claimed all the members were on Pain’s side. That way, no matter who actually revived Madara, the explanation would fit.

As expected, Madara grew even more silent. He deduced the two who resurrected him: Uchiha Itachi and Kisame. It was easy to surmise—only a member of the Uchiha clan could possess the Sharingan.

He also heard the names Black and White Zetsu. Black Zetsu was his subordinate—indeed, Madara considered him to be his own will incarnate (though he was actually Kaguya’s third son). Black Zetsu would never betray him, so it made sense for him to be on Pain’s side as well.

Madara began to believe Orochimaru’s words.

He did not dismiss his Susanoo, instead seating himself cross-legged atop its head, gazing down with a calm demeanor.

Orochimaru approached, patting Susanoo’s massive thigh, and looked up. "I very much agree with the Moon’s Eye Plan."

The Moon’s Eye Plan was Madara’s ultimate scheme, known only to a select few. Certainly not something an ordinary person would learn of. Orochimaru knew of it thanks to rebirth.

But Madara didn’t know about Orochimaru’s reincarnation. He had already started to trust him, and when he heard those three words, “Moon’s Eye,” his doubts vanished completely.

…

In the depths of the green energy pool, the world was mysterious and bizarre, evolving at a rapid pace every so often. Orochimaru and Madara bore witness to the development of this strange world.

Both studied the power of this world—the green energy within the deep pool. If they could decipher its secrets, perhaps they could one day attain the ultimate Sage Mode!

Such power would be cataclysmic, capable of destroying heaven and earth.

Orochimaru and Madara became unlikely allies, strangers bound by mutual interests. Their personalities ensured they would never become friends.

Nevertheless, this did not hinder the exchange of information between them. Orochimaru recounted the affairs of the ninja world, while Madara explained the principles behind Susanoo.

Orochimaru possessed ocular powers and could assume the Yamata no Orochi form. Combined with the various Sage Modes he had recently developed and his understanding of Susanoo, he eventually devised an ultimate transformation.

The King of Eight Branches!

It was the integration of all his abilities. Once transformed, he could rival Madara’s three-headed, six-armed Susanoo.

This was a deliberate creation by Orochimaru, who believed himself superior to Madara—he had always held back during their sparring sessions.

As for whether Madara was also holding back, that remained a mystery.

Time passed, and the world accelerated again. This time, true life forms emerged—not mere bacteria or cells, but living, breathing creatures.

This marked the dawn of the biological era.

Orochimaru and Madara retreated into the roles of observers, watching the creatures and studying the world’s fundamental forces. From time to time, they sparred, and discovered that their actions could affect the world—as if they truly existed within it.

This became all the more apparent when primitive humans appeared. These early people revered Orochimaru’s Yamata no Orochi form and Madara’s sword-wielding energy giant as gods, passing down these myths through generations.

Orochimaru and Madara chose certain primitive tribes, acting as divine guides in an attempt to study the world’s principles through this method. They also orchestrated conflicts between the tribes, resulting in even more legends.

In a flash, the world advanced to the imperial age. Empires waged endless wars, countless lives were lost over the ages, and Orochimaru and Madara began to focus on the abode of souls.

Where did the souls of the dead go?

Eventually, the two discovered the land of souls—a shadowy realm at the world’s farthest edge.

It was a place suited for souls to exist. There, the spirits founded an empire, waging eternal wars just as they had in life. Even more remarkable, they had devised a system for soul reincarnation.

Orochimaru sensed a familiar power here—the power of immortality. It seemed to be the original realm of death.

He and Madara studied the forces of the death realm, tracing them to their source, but time was running short.

After years in that realm, Orochimaru and Madara deduced the rules of the world’s time acceleration mechanism and predicted another imminent surge. To prevent anomalies in the death realm and avoid mistakes in their research, they needed to grasp the essence of its power directly.

Thus, Madara controlled Susanoo and, with a single slash, split the death realm into two forces: the secret domain and the source of the secret domain.

The latter power then transformed into nine Rashomon Palaces.

Orochimaru was astonished. He recalled that in the real world he too had obtained the nine Rashomon Palaces, and had once visited the death realm himself. The two had indeed been one, later separated by someone’s intervention.

Could it have been Madara who split them?

It seemed unlikely. If it was, then weren’t they participating in the world’s own history?

Orochimaru preferred to believe this was all an illusion conjured by the deep pool’s power.

Where there was a death realm, there naturally were places like Mount Myoboku, Ryuchi Cave, and Shikkotsu Forest.

Orochimaru and Madara visited these places together to comprehend their powers. As time was ample, they refrained from causing destruction. Yet, something caught Orochimaru’s attention.

While training at Mount Myoboku, a toad wandered in unexpectedly. At Ryuchi Cave, a white snake appeared. At Shikkotsu Forest, a slug intruded.

These three creatures, still in an age of ignorance, acted solely on instinct, their minds as yet unawakened.

Orochimaru found this interesting and, in his spare time, developed a method for awakening intelligence, which he applied to each of the three creatures. What would become of them, he left to fate.

Afterward, Orochimaru and Madara traveled through various secret domains, gaining insight into their powers. By the time they completed their journey, the world had advanced to the Warring States era.

A divine tree had taken root in the land of the ancestral nation, and no one dared approach it—save for a woman with horns on her head and pure white eyes.

Her name was Kaguya Otsutsuki.