Chapter 308: An Unfortunate Fate Part 1

Disclaimer: Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto. I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 308: An Unfortunate Fate Part 1

"It is time to wake up, Lord Madara." A calm voice aroused him from his sleep.

Uchiha Madara opened his eyes and felt completely disoriented. He scanned the surroundings while his mind was trying to make sense of the situation.

He instinctively knew that he had been asleep for a very long period of time. Some fragments of memories from the brief periods of time he managed to regain consciousness for mere seconds rushed to the front of his mind.

And as this happened, he felt a surge of absolute rage washing over him.

"Zetsu! What did you do to me?!"

His mind was starting to work properly, but his body was completely restrained.

He was in the middle of some desolate plains, with nothing but dust and rocks all around him for hundreds of miles.

There was only one single thing in this otherwise empty place… a tree, but it was not a common one by any means. It had a massive trunk that rose into the sky, with not a single branch and not a single green leaf in sight.

Its roots, however, could be seen leaving the ground and extending everywhere.

The husk of the Ten-Tailed Beast, or as Madara had called it, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path...had been embedded near the top of the tree, giving it a very bizarre appearance.

Madara found his limbs rooted into the trunk of this massive tree, and no matter how much force he put into trying to break free, he could not damage the wood.

And he was not the only one. The remaining members of Akatsuki were not too far from where he was. Madara could see their faces poking out of the tree trunk.

Memories from the day when it all began appeared at the front of his mind.

He was brought to this cursed place under false pretenses by who he thought was his most loyal follower… Zetsu.

Madara was informed that the remnants of the organization were inside a secret hideout, somewhere in these plains.

But when he first arrived, there was nothing here, at least nothing that he could see at first glance, even with his enhanced senses.

This didn't arouse any suspicion at first. After all, it was supposed to be a secret hideout, so it shouldn't be easy to find.

And the one who brought him here was Zetsu himself… he had always thought that this black variant of the Zetsu constructs was a personification of his will, using Hashirama cells to create a physical body.

He could never have suspected that he would be betrayed by his own will… that just seemed ridiculous.

But betrayed he had been… Madara could only remember a few bits of what happened next.

He knew that Zetsu had attacked him and inflicted some grievous wounds on his body...enough to make him lose consciousness.

Next thing he knew, this massive tree had appeared out of nowhere, since he was sure there was nothing in the rocky plains when he first arrived.

His body was restrained to the trunk of the tree, and he could feel his chakra being constantly drained, keeping him weak and fragile.

Other people were brought here by the White Zetsus and promptly had their bodies embedded into the tree as well.

Some kind of fishman was carried first, along with a blonde young man. Shortly after, he woke up just in time to see Obito being secured in the same manner.

This told Madara that Black Zetsu's betrayal was his own work and the rest of the members had taken no part in it.

Madara still didn't understand how that could happen, or even why...

"Zetsu!" He felt his strength returning to him.

For some reason, the tree was no longer draining him of his chakra and keeping him in a half-conscious state… docile and unable to fight back. This was likely the reason for the return of his senses.

Madara was in no position to question why this was happening, as this may be the only chance he had to escape.

"Zetsu! Show yourself, you traitorous slime!" He knew that the bastard was close by, but couldn't even move his head a little bit to turn around.

"Calm down, Lord Madara. I am right here." The voice of Zetsu was filled with joy. "As I have been for the past year."

"A year?..." Madara couldn't believe it. Had he been tied to this tree for an entire year? It was hard to tell how much time passed, as he kept going in and out of consciousness.

"Indeed. A year has passed, but not to worry. I have not wasted our time… not even one bit. And now, everything is close to being ready," Zetsu said.

Madara had no idea what he was talking about, since he never explained what his plan was.

"What the hell are you plotting?... You think you can restrain me forever?! I will get out of here eventually, and then, I'm going t—"

"There is no need to get aggressive, Lord Madara. I told you I had a plan… a way to achieve victory over our enemies, and that was true. Unfortunately, for this plan to work, some sacrifices are necessary. So you see, I never lied to you… not completely."

"Plan, you say?... All you have done is make this tree appear and drain my chakra for a year. What do you think y—"

"You truly underestimate me, Lord Madara." Zetsu interrupted him again.

With a simple gesture, his hand transformed into a polished piece of wood. It was not a mirror, but the surface was reflective enough for Madara to see his reflection on it when Zetsu brought it closer to his face.

Madara became too shocked to scream at Zetsu again when he saw his eyes.

"The Rinnegan!... I have the Rinnegan!" He could see it clearly. His eyes had evolved from his normal Sharingan.

"This is more than just the Rinnegan… this is the combination of both," Zetsu proclaimed. "The Rinne-Sharingan! And also… our hope."

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