"If Madara truly is hiding within the Land of Iron, it'll be too late to gather reinforcements once we confirm it. Shouldn't we rally our forces now and convene a Five Kage Summit?"
Mifune posed the final question.
If Madara really was in the Land of Iron, it would spell disaster—utter annihilation. Once discovered, if the Five Great Shinobi Villages united at that moment, they could surround and destroy him.
On the other hand…
If they began searching now, and Madara detected them first, then even if Konoha managed to hold their own, the Land of Iron would become a battlefield drenched in chaos.
"I'm still not certain Madara is truly here," Kyoichi said calmly. "That man has plenty of places to hide. Several smaller hidden villages near your borders are possible as well… but this area carries the highest likelihood."
Kyoichi glanced at Mifune and smiled faintly. "Don't worry. Madara isn't confident he can defeat me. If he were, with that personality of his, he would've already come out and tried to cut me down himself."
"Hmm… you have a point. You came here quietly, and if we made too much noise, it'd only draw attention. Still, I think we should start reaching out to the other villages."
"That's fine," Kyoichi nodded. "I'll contact Kirigakure and Sunagakure myself. But for Kumogakure and Iwagakure, I'll need your help."
Madara's surveillance of Konoha's forces was surely airtight—only the areas devoid of White Zetsu patrols remained unseen.
That meant the moment a Konoha unit moved, they'd be tracked instantly.
However, Kyoichi had his own advantage: his teams stationed in Suna, Kiri, and Ame all bore Flying Thunder God marks, allowing him to relay information instantly—bypassing Madara's and Black Zetsu's detection.
Iwa and Kumo, however, didn't have that luxury.
That's where the Land of Iron came in.
Unlike Konoha, the Land of Iron communicated primarily through merchant caravans. Those same caravans could be used to secretly contact other nations.
There were countless caravans leaving Iron every day—White Zetsu couldn't possibly monitor them all. That made Mifune's men the perfect messengers.
As for what came after… it didn't matter.
Once the five great villages united, the Zetsu army would have nowhere to run.
As for Madara…
The old man's strength was indeed formidable, but his body had aged beyond repair. Even if he replaced a few "parts," it could only sustain him for so long.
Without the Gedo Staue and without his army of White Zetsu, with only Black Zetsu by his side—what could he possibly do?
In the end, he'd be nothing but a lone, desperate man.
Unless he wanted to imitate Orochimaru, dabbling in reincarnation and forbidden arts, there was no path left for him. Meanwhile, Kyoichi, Minato, and the others were still in their prime—the longer things went on, the more the balance tilted in their favor.
Therefore…
This mission's first goal was to wipe out every last White Zetsu under Madara's command. Madara himself was secondary.
Of course, if possible—Kyoichi intended to end it once and for all.
No loose ends.
Kyoichi left Mifune's residence quietly. Mifune didn't sound any alarms; after some thought, he had to admit Kyoichi was right. They still didn't know if Madara was even in the Land of Iron—acting rashly could only alert the enemy.
So…
A silent coordination, a tightening encirclement—that was the wiser path.
With the decision made, Mifune quickly began to move.
---
Meanwhile—
Kyoichi used Earth Release to track down Jiraiya, who was currently hiding inside a giant toad to avoid being detected. He only emerged once Kyoichi arrived.
"What's this supposed to be?"
Kyoichi raised an eyebrow.
Jiraiya's "precaution" was… questionable.
He had left behind a wood clone specifically to guard against any White Zetsu interference—if one approached, it would act immediately. Hiding inside a toad was overkill.
But… if Jiraiya was happy, Kyoichi wouldn't argue.
"Cough, cough! You never know with those weird things around," Jiraiya said, looking serious. "So, did you talk to Mifune yet?"
"Yeah. I got a map of the Land of Iron."
—Thunk!—
"Excellent! Let me see!"
Jiraiya snatched it up eagerly, spread it open, and after studying it for a while, drew a line across it.
"Everything south of this line is densely populated. Let's start searching north."
"Then we'll split up," Kyoichi suggested. "I'll leave a clone to cover your trail while I move along this eastern route. We'll both head north and regroup at the upper border."
Jiraiya thought for a moment, then nodded. "Sounds good."
Splitting up meant better coverage and less wasted time—they couldn't afford delays.
Once the plan was set, Kyoichi created a shadow clone to accompany Jiraiya, then burrowed eastward using Earth Release.
Both men moved swiftly underground.
At the same time, Mifune's elite warriors departed from the Land of Iron toward the other nations. To maintain secrecy, they traveled alongside merchant caravans before breaking off and rushing ahead at full speed.
Elsewhere—
Inside Madara's hidden lair.
Black Zetsu had just returned from outside and immediately went to check on Madara.
"How's it going?"
"It's nearly complete. Madara-sama's body will soon return to its prime. No one in this world will be able to oppose him!"
"Ugh…" White Zetsu muttered.
Black Zetsu wanted to roll his nonexistent eyes. What a bunch of idiots…
If Asura's lineage weren't so stubborn, he'd have switched sides long ago.
He sighed softly.
Then—
From within the chamber came a deep, booming laugh.
"Ha ha ha ha! Success! I've done it!"
The cavern shook violently as Madara burst out from behind a wall of stone, laughing madly. His skin was pale white—the result of White Zetsu's cellular grafts. But that alone wouldn't have taken this long.
For months, he had been experimenting—trying to balance the power of Hashirama's cells with his own Sharingan and the Zetsu tissue.
Now, he had achieved it.
Though not quite his true peak, his current power placed him once again among the strongest in the shinobi world.
There was, however… one new feature.
A third eye had appeared on his forehead—closed for now.
Black Zetsu froze. He'd been away for a while, and hadn't kept up with Madara's progress. Good grief… you went and modified yourself again.
Still, he had to admit—it worked.
If superior Sharingan power wasn't possible, increasing the number of eyes was another way to enhance it. Clever, in a twisted way.
Madara turned to him. "What have you learned outside?"
"The enemy has mobilized all their Earth Release shinobi to search for us. I recommend retreating. Engaging now would be reckless."
Madara sighed.
Black Zetsu frowned. "What are you sighing for?"
Madara's gaze sharpened. "Zetsu… are you truly my clone?"
For a split second, Black Zetsu's heart skipped a beat.
Good thing he had no face—his black, featureless form betrayed no reaction.
But still…
What's gotten into this old man now?
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