Chapter 41
"The Nine-Tails Has Been Suppressed..."
"A masked man... wearing a white-bearded mask?"
The moment he appeared on the battlefield, both the masked man—Uchiha Obito—and the Fourth Hokage—Minato Namikaze—narrowed their eyes sharply, their hearts stirring with shock.
No way...
Neither of them could have imagined it.
The Nine-Tails, which had just been summoned, had been so easily suppressed.
Their gazes simultaneously locked onto the figure standing atop the subdued Nine-Tails: a man wearing a white-bearded mask.
"Minato, you're finally here..."
Seeing the Fourth Hokage's arrival, the tense heart of the Third Hokage—Hiruzen Sarutobi—finally relaxed. He immediately flashed over to Minato's side and said in a serious tone,
"This masked man with the white-bearded mask helped Konoha suppress the Nine-Tails."
"Really?"
Minato said grimly, frowning,
"But a different masked man, wearing a vortex-patterned mask, attacked me while Kushina was giving birth. He's the one who summoned the Nine-Tails!"
"This is..."
Sarutobi's face darkened. He glanced suspiciously between Uchiha Liunian and Uchiha Obito, wondering if there might be some secret connection between the two.
After all, one had summoned the Nine-Tails, while the other had suppressed it—both masked.
If it weren't for the obvious differences in their masks and clothing, Hiruzen might have assumed they were part of the same group...
"Wait, he has a Mangekyō Sharingan..."
Suddenly remembering something, Minato pointed at Uchiha Obito and said sharply,
"The Nine-Tails was controlled by his Mangekyō Sharingan!"
"Mangekyō Sharingan? You mean... the Uchiha Clan?"
Sarutobi blurted out instinctively.
"No, not from Konoha's Uchiha Clan."
Minato shook his head with absolute certainty, taking a deep breath.
"There's no one like him among the Uchiha of Konoha."
"That's true..."
Sarutobi nodded heavily. He knew the Uchiha Clan well, and there wasn't anyone with that level of power among them.
"What should we do now?"
"Wait."
Knowing that the two masked individuals weren't on the same side, Minato decided to observe carefully and stay ready to react.
At the same time, Uchiha Obito was equally confused.
After summoning the Nine-Tails, he had been stalling Minato, planning to let the Nine-Tails rampage through Konoha freely.
And the result?
A mysterious masked man had appeared—
Suppressing the Nine-Tails easily.
It was like the old saying: "The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."
Not just Obito—
Even Black Zetsu, hidden in the shadows, was bewildered.
Uchiha Liunian, wearing the white-bearded mask, was a complete unknown. His sudden appearance—and his terrifying strength in subduing the Nine-Tails—was something they hadn't accounted for.
"Wait a second..."
Black Zetsu's expression darkened as a thought struck him.
If he remembered correctly, his mother—Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—had once warned that the people of the Ōtsutsuki Clan were all monsters.
The man standing before them might very well be a member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Otherwise, how could he suppress the Nine-Tails so effortlessly?
And his purpose was obvious: recover the Tailed Beast Chakra within the Jinchūriki and revive the Divine Tree.
"Who are you?"
Finally, Obito couldn't hold back anymore. He stared coldly at Uchiha Liunian standing atop the Nine-Tails' head and demanded.
"You can call me Madara Uchiha."
Liunian, holding Cong Yunche casually over his shoulder, replied lightly.
"You're Madara Uchiha?"
Obito's mouth twitched slightly. He nearly coughed up blood from sheer frustration.
What a joke.
If you're Madara, then who the hell am I? And what about the real, already-dead Madara Uchiha?
Was this some kind of comedy?
"I am Madara Uchiha..."
Obito quickly adjusted his expression, his voice turning icy.
"I don't care who you are. Leave now, or bear the consequences."
"Oh?"
Liunian showed no sign of backing down and said indifferently,
"If you don't believe me, that's your problem."
Then, Liunian turned his gaze toward the Konoha ninjas like Hiruzen and Minato and asked calmly,
"Do you believe that I am Madara Uchiha?"
"If not... then it's time for Konoha to dance."
"I..."
At that moment, whether it was Hiruzen, Minato, or the Konoha ninjas watching from a distance, everyone hesitated.
Two different masked men were both claiming to be Madara Uchiha?
What the hell was going on?
After all, Madara Uchiha was a legendary figure—a man who had once stood on equal footing with the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju.
"I believe you are Madara Uchiha..."
A few seconds later,
Although he knew deep down neither masked man was likely the real Madara,
The Third Hokage—Hiruzen—took a deep breath and spoke solemnly,
"I once witnessed Madara Uchiha's power firsthand. If you can play with the Nine-Tails in the palm of your hand... then yes, you are Madara Uchiha."
--------------------------------+--------------------------
If you like the story please give it some power stones and reviews. And if you want to read 30 advance chapters or just want to support me please join my patreon at patreon.com/Translatingfanfics