"It's finally over… what a troublesome guy."
Placing the frozen Madara on the icy surface, Aokiji wiped the sweat from his brow.
As a user of the Ice-Ice Fruit, he didn't actually sweat, but the intense exertion of the recent battle had still taken a toll on his stamina.
Not far away, the venom was quickly retracting. Magellan staggered slightly, his body scorched and burned.
Though his poison was deadly, his own defense was still lacking. Having taken a direct hit from Madara's Fire Style jutsu, much of his venom had been vaporized, leaving him with serious burns.
Still, the injuries weren't enough to stop him.
Magellan walked up beside Aokiji, glaring angrily at the frozen Madara.
"Admiral Aokiji, what should we do with this guy? He actually dared to destroy Impel Down—he can't be forgiven!"
"Well, troublesome matters like this should be left to the higher-ups at Marine Headquarters."
Now that the fight was over, Aokiji returned to his usual lazy demeanor, stretching with a yawn.
"He displayed four entirely different powers, all of which seemed like Devil Fruit abilities… yet they coexisted in a single person. And then he went and destroyed Impel Down. Who is this guy? Magellan, can we still open the Gates of Justice?"
"The control console for the Gates sank along with Impel Down. Emergency manual override will probably take some time."
Although Magellan loathed Madara for what he had done, he restrained his emotions and responded calmly.
Aokiji nodded. He had already expected that answer.
Impel Down, Marineford, and Enies Lobby formed a triangle around a naturally occurring oceanic maelstrom. The Gates of Justice were the only way to safely navigate between them; without passing through the gate, ships would be trapped endlessly in the vortex.
He wasn't in a hurry—after all, among the Marine's admirals, he was the most laid-back. His philosophy was "Lazy Justice."
"Make it quick. I may not be in a rush, but if this drags on too long, I'll have trouble explaining things to HQ… Seriously, I thought this was just a routine mission, and now look at the mess we've got."
Aokiji yawned again, hoisted the ice-sculpted Madara over his shoulder, and headed toward a Marine battleship frozen in the ice-bound sea.
"I'll leave the rest to you."
"Yes, sir!"
Magellan saluted and watched as Aokiji gradually walked away before leading the guards to rescue survivors trapped in the sunken prison.
It took considerable effort to haul out the wreckage. Most of what they recovered were corpses—only a few were still alive.
As for Devil Fruit users… nearly all had perished.
The sea was fatal to Devil Fruit users. Once completely submerged, their bodies lost all strength, and they couldn't activate their powers.
In such a state, even the strongest would eventually drown.
These users had taken the brunt of the disaster.
There were still a few who excelled at holding their breath. When rescued, their faces were purple from suffocation, gasping for breath like dying fish.
All in all, just from Madara's act of destroying Impel Down, over half of the prison's inmates and guards were either killed or seriously injured—including several powerful figures.
Some time later, the towering Gates of Justice slowly opened.
As the ice-covered sea thawed, the Marine warships broke free and sailed through the now-open gate.
However, just as one of the ships passed through the Gates of Justice… the ice sculpture placed on board vanished in an instant.
---
[Main Quest Completed: Successfully passed through the Gates of Justice and escaped from the Prison. Reward: 5000 points.]
[Beginner Bonus: Received full body recovery.]
[Returning to base immediately.]
---
Inside a cold, damp cave, a black-haired young man sat in silence.
Madara's eyes were open, deep and contemplative.
He had lost.
In that battle, he had thought himself overwhelmingly superior—but Magellan's horrifying poison had crippled his Susanoo, and Aokiji had taken the opportunity to get close, using his intangible body to freeze him.
Defeated in the blink of an eye. Utterly baffled by what had happened.
If his enemies hadn't wanted to capture him alive—to interrogate him—he might've been killed outright.
He had just regained his youth, full of confidence and pride, believing himself invincible… only to be given a harsh lesson.
If Madara didn't have such a strong mind, anyone else would've already broken down sobbing.
Though he managed to hold himself together, he was still seething inside.
I was using someone else's eyes.
I don't have my Eternal Mangekyo yet—let alone the Rinnegan.
My best weapons aren't even with me.
My Uchiha Fan is still in this cave…
Just you wait until I'm fully geared up—then we'll fight a hundred rounds. If I back down, I'm no Uchiha!
That was essentially Madara's mental state now.
Of course, if Aokiji had heard this, he probably would've laughed.
"There are five or six people in the Marines as strong as me… and even stronger ones beyond that."
After brooding in silence for some time, Madara stood up and changed into a set of his usual battle attire.
A black tight-fitting bodysuit, covered by a long dark robe, and over that, a set of crimson armor that exuded the aura of an ancient shinobi.
His long black hair draped behind him. Beneath his long bangs, a single exposed eye stayed locked in its Sharingan form, exuding a frigid intensity.
"One month until the next mission? I'll use that time to restore my strength… First, I'm getting my eyes back."
With that calm declaration, Madara vanished on the spot.
As soon as he disappeared, the darkness stirred—slowly revealing a figure cloaked in pure black.
Even in the dim light, it was obvious: Black Zetsu wore a dumbfounded expression.
"What the hell just happened? How did Madara suddenly revert from an old man to his youthful form? And it seems like he went through something extraordinary in the process?"
"He should be strong enough now to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi… but I still haven't earned his trust! What happened just now?!"
"Damn it! Why has the plan gone completely off the rails? What in the world is going on?!"
Black Zetsu looked utterly distraught.
At this point in the timeline, Madara hadn't "created" Black Zetsu to monitor and manipulate Obito yet. He hadn't even fully trusted Zetsu.
As for reviving Kaguya—having a Ten-Tails Jinchūriki and casting Infinite Tsukuyomi alone wouldn't be enough.
To bring her back, Black Zetsu still needed to seize the body of "Six Paths Madara" and fuse its soul and flesh to serve as Kaguya's vessel.
But Black Zetsu's own power was weak. Without Madara's trust—and without someone to restrain his will—how could he possibly take his body?
~~~~~
If You Wish To Support Me And Read 25-30 Advance Chapters, Consider Joining Me On This Journey!
p(a)treon(.)com/HudaLin
Remove the parentheses btw