Chapter 169: Yuto and Madara Cooperate

At the Akatsuki base, the moment Madara left—

Obito and Zetsu stepped out from the shadows, quietly watching the direction Madara had disappeared toward.

“Where is Madara-sama going?” Obito asked softly, his eyes flickering.

“Doesn’t matter where he’s going—let’s hurry up and finish the task Madara-sama gave us.”

White Zetsu scratched his head and spoke with a grin.

Black Zetsu’s indifferent voice sounded from the side.

“It’s Konoha.”

Konoha?

Obito’s eyes narrowed, a thoughtful look flashing across his face.

On a cliff face some distance away from Konoha—

Yuto sat on a slightly larger rock, legs dangling over the edge, his gaze fixed in the direction of Konoha.

From where he was, the height and angle allowed him to overlook more than half of the village.

Honestly, shinobi were far more efficient than ordinary people.

Even though half of Konoha had been destroyed, reconstruction had already more or less begun.

The outer wall that had been damaged was already being rebuilt.

Even without sensing it deliberately, Yuto could guess that the barrier he had broken before had probably already been repaired, once again covering all of Konoha.

And even within the village, the rubble from the destroyed buildings had mostly been cleared away.

“Not bad for Konoha—the top of the Five Great Villages. Their foundation really is deep.”

A faint smile hung on Yuto’s lips as he spoke lightly.

Whoosh!

Just then, the sound of something cutting through the air came from behind Yuto.

A black figure rushed toward him at high speed.

In a few leaps, the figure closed the distance—then in the blink of an eye, landed beside Yuto.

“Looks like you’ve been here for a while.”

Arms crossed over his chest, Madara lowered his head and glanced at Yuto sitting by the cliff’s edge.

Then Madara lifted his head again, eyes fixed on Konoha in the distance, a trace of complicated emotion flashing through his gaze.

“My stamina’s always been good.”

Yuto didn’t even look back as he answered calmly.

For a moment, the two fell into silence again.

“You should have three tailed beasts in hand right now, correct? The Three-Tails and the Six-Tails originally belonged to Kirigakure.”

“Since that’s the case, hand over Sunagakure’s One-Tail Jinchūriki to me. Consider it payment for helping you this time.”

“A tailed beast is a decent fighting force. As a helper, it can save some trouble.”

After a long pause, Madara spoke first, his indifferent voice carrying over as his peripheral vision swept past Isobu, the Three-Tails perched on Yuto’s shoulder.

Hearing Madara’s words, a cold smile flickered at the corners of Yuto’s mouth.

Others might not know, but how could Yuto not understand why Madara wanted tailed beasts?

As for “a helper,” that was just a line.

Madara saying this was probably also meant to test Yuto’s intentions.

“You’re not helping me. You’re helping yourself.”

“And you’re curious—and wary—of the contingency Hashirama left behind. Otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

“If that ‘contingency’ can deal with me, then naturally it can deal with you too.”

“Right now, you and I are just like you and Hashirama back then—joining hands. The difference is that you two felt threatened by me, while now the two of us are simply clearing out opponents who no longer deserve to stay on the board.”

Yuto curled his lip, speaking evenly.

Then Yuto paused slightly, a smile forming as he added softly:

“If Konoha gets destroyed today, then Konoha’s Nine-Tails is yours.”

Madara’s eyelid twitched, a cold smile flashing on his face.

Did he need someone to “give” him the Nine-Tails?

He already had a contract with it. As long as there was no seal binding it, if Madara wanted, he could summon the Nine-Tails at any time.

Yuto’s words meant nothing to him.

“You don’t seriously think I have no way to deal with you, do you… Yuto?”

Madara’s voice turned icy as it reached Yuto’s ear.

“And what do you think?” Yuto replied, still wearing that faint, unreadable smile, not even turning his head.

The atmosphere on the cliff instantly hardened.

But soon, that stiffness faded away.

Just as Yuto said—if Madara truly had absolute certainty, he wouldn’t be standing here on a cliff “enjoying the wind.”

“Enough testing. It’s time to prepare for the real business.”

Madara broke the silence first, voice calm again.

Right now, they shared common interests. If things turned ugly here, it would help neither of them.

Yuto stood up and brushed the dust from his clothes.

“Yeah. Time for business.”

On the cliff—

Yuto and Madara stood quietly, gazing at Konoha in the distance.

“Hope Hashirama has a way to revive too. Otherwise, this’ll be boring.”

Yuto suddenly smiled.

“Whether he revives or not, the current Hashirama is no longer a match for the two of us.”

“Since we’ve appeared here, it proves that Hashirama’s so-called peace was completely wrong!”

A flash of light burned in Madara’s eyes as he spoke in a low voice.

“In that case… let’s send a greeting gift first.”

Yuto’s eyes narrowed slightly. Senjutsu chakra surged through his body.

His hands rapidly formed seals in front of his chest, and he let out a sharp shout.

“Senpō (Sage Art)—Hiden (Secret Technique)—Kirisaame (Drizzling Rain)!”

As the jutsu activated, the once-clear sky above Konoha suddenly darkened.

Drip. Drip.

Rain began to fall—then in the next instant, a dense, fine rain poured down from the sky.

In a blink, all of Konoha was shrouded in that rain.

The range of the jutsu completely enveloped the entire village.

From where Yuto and Madara stood, they could see a bizarre, striking sight:

Above Konoha, rain fell in a steady drizzle—while outside the village’s perimeter, the sky remained bright and clear.

Madara’s Rinnegan appeared again in his eyes. Watching the rain swallow Konoha, surprise flickered in his gaze.

“This jutsu… it can weaken all ninjutsu and chakra.”

Yuto stared forward in silence.

This technique was originally only a support-type jutsu, but with senjutsu chakra enhancing it, its power had increased dozens of times.

Now, the strength of this jutsu had already reached a truly shocking level.