Born with a great love for the Uchiha

"White Zetsu might live underground! Like plant seeds."

At this point, Hashirama Senju mentioned another "monster" he encountered in Orochimaru's laboratory.

"That was a very special chakra reaction. Half of it was White Zetsu, but the other half was very complex."

Hashirama Senju described the situation he sensed regarding Black Zetsu.

"Back then, after my final battle with Madara, the owner of the other half of the chakra also appeared near the Valley of the End. However, I was in such poor condition at the time that I was powerless to pursue the owner of that chakra."

"I never expected that after so many years, that person would actually reappear."

Tobirama Senju frowned. "Brother, how come I didn't know about this?"

"What good does it do you to know?"

Hashirama Senju waved his hand, his unintentional words striking his younger brother's heart like a knife.

"Even I only sensed the other party's chakra by chance."

"That guy's ability to hide is too good!"

Senju Tobirama was silenced by the harsh reality of his foolish older brother's words.

Gen Uchiha then took over the conversation.

"Perhaps, the person I sensed underground in the Frost Country was the one the First Lord was talking about... Let's do that!"

Uchiha Gen suddenly activated the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, pulling the people around him into his spiritual world and using his spiritual energy to construct the appearances of many Akatsuki members.

"This information comes from the memories of Juzo Biwa, a former member of the Akatsuki organization..."

"That's the person!"

Uchiha Gen pointed to Black Zetsu, thus initially revealing the true nature of this thousand-year-old black devil.

"Half white and half black, he was always by Obito Uchiha's side."

"Incidentally, within the Akatsuki organization, Obito Uchiha also impersonated 'Madara Uchiha'."

"Therefore, this 'Black Zetsu' is definitely related to Uchiha Madara!"

"Madara (Ban)..."

As Hashirama Senju gazed at the half-black, half-white, pitcher plant-like figure, he murmured the name of his old friend.

If it was Madara Uchiha who orchestrated this in secret...

Therefore, it's not incomprehensible that the "Black Zetsu" would appear near the Valley of the End back then.

Could it really be Madara Uchiha?

Hashirama Senju was still hesitating.

Tobirama Senju has firmly pinned the blame on Madara Uchiha!

"It seems to be Uchiha Madara!"

Following the clues, Tobirama Senju filled in the details himself (using his imagination).

“Brother, Madara Uchiha did not die in the battle at the Valley of the End. He must have been resurrected using Izanagi afterward.”

"After Madara Uchiha was resurrected, he remained in seclusion, perhaps because his injuries were too severe to fully recover his strength, or for some other reason."

"Obito Uchiha was chosen by Madara Uchiha as the successor to his will!"

"White Zetsu is a substandard cyborg created by Madara Uchiha using your cells, brother!"

"As for Black Zetsu... perhaps it is a special spiritual entity created by Madara Uchiha using the Sharingan?"

"In short, it's all Madara Uchiha's fault!"

Chapter 229 What exactly does it mean to be a scourge of the Uchiha clan?

Madara Uchiha, Black Zetsu, White Zetsu, Obito Uchiha...

These key figures are linked together, and the basic clues have been roughly sorted out.

Hashirama Senju, Tsunade, and Minato Namikaze carefully considered Tobirama Senju's deductions but couldn't find a single flaw in them.

Even Uchiha Gen couldn't help but glance at him sideways.

Is this the "Hokage mindset" of the Second Hokage, the Old Demon Senju?

Don't tell me, you really shouldn't tell me.

What Tobirama Senju said actually makes a lot of sense!

Even setting aside the facts.

The clues that Tobirama Senju deduced were almost entirely consistent with the apparent "facts".

Even if Madara Uchiha were to be resurrected and hear Tobirama Senju's words, he wouldn't scoff at the latter. Instead, he would think that the latter was able to see through all his plans.

Because in Madara Uchiha's eyes, that's really how things are!

Madara Uchiha was unaware of Black Zetsu's true identity, nor was he aware of White Zetsu's true origin.

He also believed that Black Zetsu was his spiritual creation, while White Zetsu was his artificial weapon.

This is exactly the same as Tobirama Senju's deduction at this time!

And that's not all.

In the end, Tobirama Senju also added Orochimaru as a new key character.

"Orochimaru has dug up the graves of the past Hokage, mastered the Impure World Reincarnation Technique, and now he's even made contact with Black Zetsu and White Zetsu..."

Tobirama Senju took a deep breath and stated his final conclusion.

"Orochimaru's goal is most likely to 'revive' Uchiha Madara using the Impure World Reincarnation technique!"

This is indeed possible, and the probability is extremely high.

The others present all agreed with Tobirama Senju's final conclusion.

However, some people still have doubts.

"Second Generation Lord, I have a question."

Minato Namikaze looked at Tobirama Senju and asked carefully.

"The Impure World Reincarnation Technique you developed shouldn't have the effect of reversing aging, right?"

"No—at least the original version I developed didn't have this effect."

Tobirama Senju shook his head; he had already guessed what Minato Namikaze really wanted to ask.

"This is also what I find puzzling."

"We can all be certain that Madara Uchiha did not die in the battle at the Valley of the End."

"But how long he lived after that, and what he did all those years... we have no idea."

Tsunade frowned and asked, "Could Madara Uchiha still be alive?"

"Impossible—unlikely."

Tobirama Senju initially wanted to firmly deny it, but after careful consideration, his tone became less resolute.

"If Madara Uchiha were still alive, Black Zetsu wouldn't have needed to research the Impure World Reincarnation Technique with Orochimaru."

"Also... if Madara Uchiha were alive today, do you know how old he would be?"

"Those centenarians would never be able to go to the battlefield!"

"That's not necessarily true."

Gen Uchiha smiled and, with a thought, brought the fictional image of Kakuzu closer to his own.

"As far as I know, this S-rank rogue ninja Kakuzu from Takigakure is a ninja from the same era as the First Hokage."

"According to the information passed on by Juzo Biwa, Kakuzu has claimed more than once that he had fought against the First Hokage."

“This is a real centenarian.”

"What?!"

Hashirama Senju looked at Kakuzu's strange face and couldn't help but scratch his head.

"Why don't I recognize this person?"

Ok?

Dazhuzi, doesn't what you said confirm that Kakuzu really did throw a shuriken from 800 miles away back then?

"At least that's what Kakuzu himself said..."

Uchiha Gen made a few jokes, which eased the serious atmosphere in the spiritual world.

But the next moment, he added a further explanation.

"Second Hokage, I think you underestimated Madara Uchiha's 'endurance'."

"As far as I know, Madara Uchiha was definitely not dead until at least before the end of the Third Shinobi World War."

Gen Uchiha did not know the exact time of Madara Uchiha's death.

But what he knew was that Madara Uchiha was definitely not dead before Rin Nohara died!

When did Nohara Rin die?

At least several months after the Battle of Kannabi Bridge ended.

That was roughly in the later stages of World War III.

Therefore, Madara Uchiha's death likely occurred around the time the Third Shinobi World War ended.

Hashirama Senju's eyes widened: "The Fourth Shinobi World War?"

Tobirama Senju sighed, "This is the third time..."

"The Godaime."