One Piece: I am Imu
Chapter 383: He Who Laughs in Flame and Chaos

Chapter 383: Chapter 383: He Who Laughs in Flame and Chaos

Shinobi World, Mountain’s Graveyard.

From the overcast sky above, cotton-like snowflakes drifted down in large, silent clumps.

Bit by bit, they laid a fresh white blanket over the earth.

A vast underground expanse lay hidden beneath the surface.

Within these sprawling, labyrinthine tunnels—

One could occasionally catch sight of pale, grotesque humanoid creatures. Naked and ghastly, they wandered aimlessly.

Following one of the tunnels deeper in, the path sloped downward, stretching farther and farther from the surface.

And eventually—

It opened into a massive subterranean chamber, nearly 100 metres high and covering almost 10,000 square metres.

In the shadows of this vast darkness—

A colossal statue sat cross-legged in the west, towering 70 metres tall, complete with arms and legs.

Thick, branch-like tubes extended from its body—

Connecting to the back of a seated figure in a wide-backed wooden chair on the floor below.

The figure’s long hair was a dull grey, his appearance unmistakably aged and frail.

His body was emaciated, not a single tooth left in his mouth—

And yet his back remained perfectly straight.

Most striking of all were his crimson eyes—gleaming sharply in the darkness.

He said nothing.

It was as if he had become one with this space—

Or perhaps even speaking would place too much strain on his withered body.

Suddenly—

The old man, whose eyes bore the pattern of the three-tomoe Sharingan, jerked his head toward the south.

"Hashirama?!"

He had sensed the chakra of his lifelong rival.

Yes—

This old man was Uchiha Madara. And the one he called his dearest friend was none other than Senju Hashirama.

"Hehehehe... Looks like Konoha’s taken a heavy loss this time," Madara muttered darkly, his voice low and hoarse.

"To make Hashirama this angry... even more than he was when we fought at the Valley of the End."

What should he do now?

Go to Konoha and face him?

No—he didn’t want Hashirama to see what he had become.

Before long, Black Zetsu returned.

He reported that Senju Hashirama and Senju Tobirama had been resurrected by Orochimaru using Impure World Reincarnation.

"As I thought."

Madara didn’t seem surprised.

He was no stranger to that technique—though he detested it deeply, especially since it had been created by the one he loathed most: Senju Tobirama.

But if he wanted to be reborn and carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan—

He had no choice but to suppress his disgust and master the technique himself.

Only then could he ensure that, when he was summoned again, he could break free of the summoner’s control on his own terms.

"It seems I’ll have to move ahead of schedule. I’ll leave the rest to you, Zetsu."

"My body was born of your shadow. My will flows from yours."

Zetsu didn’t bother saying things like ’Don’t worry, I’ve got this’.

Because he knew—

Words like that were far less reassuring to Uchiha Madara than simply speaking the truth.

Moments later—

The massive Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind Madara vanished with a thunderous bang, dissolving into thick, white smoke.

Along with it, Madara’s chakra signature disappeared entirely.

With eyes that gleamed in the gloom, Zetsu stepped forward and sealed Madara’s body into a scroll.

Truth be told, he had no idea what to do now.

From the conversation between Jiraiya and Aramaki, he’d gathered that both Aramaki and Crocodile were invaders from another world, affiliated with a force known as the World Government.

That left Zetsu feeling more than a little lost.

All he’d ever wanted was to rescue his mother.

One shinobi world was already enough trouble—

And now there were outside forces entering the fray?

"Well... guess I’ll just take it one step at a time. If worst comes to worst... I’ll wait another thousand years."

"After all, neither Mother nor I need to worry about lifespans."

Zetsu let out a long, weary sigh, full of helplessness, and slowly sank into the earth beneath his feet.

Elsewhere—

Uchiha Madara, now dead, had barely felt darkness take his sight—

When, almost reflexively, his eyes opened again...

And a dim, unfamiliar world greeted his vision.

At the same time, his hearing, smell, touch, and other senses rapidly returned.

"So this is the Underworld... the Pure Land after death?"

Uchiha Madara looked around in astonishment.

His gaze was immediately drawn to the massive black vortex overhead, spewing waves of strange figures and countless red butterflies amid a blazing sky.

In the distance, explosions thundered, and bursts of chakra erupted one after another.

From that alone, Madara instantly realized—

There was a war happening here.

He fell silent.

What the hell...? Why is even the afterlife in such chaos?

Pure Land... Pure Land...

Shouldn’t it be a clean, tranquil, and peaceful place?

But... my body—it’s been restored!

Madara spread his arms and looked down, excitement rising in his chest as he took in his form and condition.

The surging strength and chakra flowing through his body left no doubt—it wasn’t an illusion.

His heart began to race.

Even his outfit had been changed back to the crimson armor he’d worn during the Warring States Period.

"Madara. Those beings are invaders from another Underworld. They likely hail from the same world as Crocodile and Aramaki, who appeared in the shinobi realm. Head to the Shinobi Sect at once and assist them!"

Just then, a stern and commanding voice echoed in Madara’s mind.

And it concisely explained the situation.

"Who are you?"

Madara’s eyes flashed—his crimson irises gleamed.

Two sets of three-tomoe Sharingan swept coldly over the monstrous horde charging at him.

"I am the ruler of the Pure Land in the shinobi world, known to you as the ’Ancestor of Shinobi’... the Sage of Six Paths."

"Uchiha Madara. Be wary of the four figures above. Their spiritual presence is not much weaker than yours."

Madara fell silent again.

He hadn’t expected the Sage of Six Paths to be real.

And yet here he was, acting overly familiar—giving orders before they’d even met face to face.

Still, now that he had a basic grasp of the situation, and knew that these things were enemies—

The next step was simple.

"Invaders from another world, huh? Then I’ll crush you first!"

A wild grin spread across Madara’s face, and his hands blurred into motion, forming hand seals.

His eyes gleamed with irrepressible excitement.

Another world... Another world... Another world...

Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!

Torrents of crimson flames poured from his mouth like a flood, surging forward and expanding into a sea of fire that stretched for kilometers—massive enough to rival a tsunami.

Madara laughed wildly in his heart.

Hahahahahaha!

So there really are other worlds? Incredible—this is just... wonderful!

He had always felt the shinobi world was too small—barely enough for one person.

Or rather, only just enough for himself and Senju Hashirama to go all out.

But now—

The existence of other worlds meant his stage had become boundless.

Now he could truly dance as he pleased!

[Swoooooosh—!]

Wave after wave of raging fire devoured vast stretches of land—

Incinerating the massive Kabane army along with the once-damp Pure Land soil.

"Aaarghhh—!"

"AAAAH—!"

Even though these beings were mindless—

Even though they barely felt pain—

Even though their superheated blood gave them a degree of resistance to high temperatures—

Now, they felt the searing agony.

Their charred bodies writhed as they were swiftly reduced to cinders amid their shrill, deathly screams.

But they didn’t go down without a fight.

Driven by primal survival instinct, the Kabane in the rear began to converge at a central point.

Like ants forming a defensive ball during a fire—

They sacrificed the outer layers to preserve those within.

As their numbers swelled—

A tremendous amount of ’fear energy’ gathered into the strongest Kabane at the center of the swarm—

And its once fiery-red heart burst forth with a radiant, ghostly blue glow.

This breakthrough elevated its spiritual energy to an entirely new level.

Nue!

It began producing massive quantities of black mucus, manipulating the densely packed Kabane on its body to merge into a single colossal mass.

This was the ultimate form of power in the Kabane world—

Black Smoke!

Amid the vast sea of fire, over a dozen Black Smoke entities of varying size began to form one after another.

[BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!]

The moment they emerged, they let out crazed howls and launched purple-blue energy blasts indiscriminately in all directions, hoping to scatter the nearly liquefied sea of flames through repeated explosions.

But it was all in vain.

Before long—

These freshly formed Black Smoke creatures were completely incinerated in the firestorm.

At that moment—

Uchiha Madara, showing no concern for the blazing inferno raging behind him, sprinted in the direction with the most concentrated chakra signals.

That must be the Shinobi Sect the Sage of Six Paths had mentioned.

But as he ran—

He began to encounter more and more enemies.

In addition to the countless Kabane—

There were bizarre humanoids with snake-like necks, arms with multiple joints, faces resembling fish or marine creatures, some towering over 2.5 or even 3 metres tall—monsters of all shapes and sizes.

The most eye-catching among them were the giants, estimated to stand nearly 20 metres tall.

Honestly—

Uchiha Madara couldn’t help but feel like his worldview was being expanded.

But none of this stopped him from charging straight into the horde of monsters and freaks, unleashing a rampage with nothing but his three-tomoe Sharingan and taijutsu.

Chaos erupted around him as a wave of shouting and cursing followed.

During this rampage—

Madara witnessed a wide array of combat styles: sword techniques based on the Breath Forms, strange abilities derived from Blood Demon Arts,

He saw the Six Forms, Red-Leg Kicks, Fishman Karate, Eight-Impact Fist, and other extraordinary martial arts—

He even saw swordplay and airborne slashes from native swordsmen of the Starfish World—

And most importantly: the use of Armament Haki and Observation Haki.

These escalating threats eventually prompted Madara to activate the initial form of his Susanoo—

His entire body became encased in a blue skeletal structure of pure energy, shielding him from the increasingly intense attacks coming from all directions.

But his smile only grew wider.

"Hahahahahaha!"

"Hahahahahaha!!"

He laughed uncontrollably as the Susanoo’s skeletal arms swung wildly, smashing enemies in every direction.

He laughed so hard he was nearly in tears.

Madara couldn’t speak at the moment, but deep inside, he was overjoyed.

Because this was the kind of battle he had always dreamed of.

These powerful beings from different worlds, each with their own fighting styles—

Every encounter was full of novelty and wonder.

He hadn’t yet met anyone who could truly force him to go all out—

But several of them were, in his judgment, at least on par with high-ranking jōnin of the shinobi world, perhaps even at the so-called ’Kage-level’.

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar

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