In the depths of the cave, only faint light gathered from an unknown source illuminated the place.
"Lord Madara."
A being known as 'White Zetsu' emerged from the ground, respectfully addressing the white-haired old man sitting on the wooden chair.
"Oh, it's White Zetsu, what is it?"
The old man awoke from his slumber, immediately noticing White Zetsu's presence.
"Lord Madara, I'm not really sure how important this is, but while investigating in the Land of Wind, I discovered that the Hidden Sand Village is secretly preparing a large amount of supplies."
White Zetsu relayed the information he had uncovered to the old man called 'Madara'.
After listening to White Zetsu's brief report, a knowing look appeared in Madara's eyes, and he murmured softly:
"I see, it's coming again, war…"
"War?"
White Zetsu tilted his head, finding it difficult to understand why Madara would make such a conclusion.
Madara did not explain his reasoning to White Zetsu, but he trusted his years of life experience, believing the Hidden Sand Village was certainly plotting the Third Ninja World War.
In the Ninja Realm, there's never a lack of ambitious individuals.
It's been just over five years since the last Ninja World War, and yet a new war is about to descend once more.
You could say this upcoming Ninja World War is merely a continuation of the unfinished conflict from last time, something that is inevitably bound to happen.
Therefore, the news from White Zetsu did not surprise Madara in the slightest; instead, he found it to be within expectations, not worth making a fuss over.
As long as mankind continues to exist, war is unavoidable, blood will be shed, and sorrow will persist.
Such causality is an unbreakable cursed chain that humanity cannot sever on its own.
"Cough, cough… Hashirama, the one nation one village system we established back then is now just repeating the tragedy of the Warring States Era…"
Seeing the Ninja Realm trapped in the clutches of inescapable war, Madara thought of many things at once.
His childhood dreams, the promise made with that man, now upon reflection, this world is constantly repeating the tragedies of the Warring States Era.
The longer one lives, the more they comprehend the sorrowful aspects of this era.
Having faked his death at the Valley of the End, Madara could see more clearly than his already deceased best friend Senju Hashirama, the essence of this world filled with hatred, brutality, and pain.
The previous two Ninja World Wars also proved this: one nation one village is useless, and like the deceased God of Ninja, they could protect nothing this way.
White Zetsu stood beside listening to Madara's muttering, scratching his head in embarrassment.
Lord Madara is good at everything, except for his tendency to reminisce about past events and speak words that are hard to understand, and every time he reminisces, he mentions 'that man'.
'That man' is extremely important to Lord Madara.
Perhaps this is a common issue with the elderly.
The older you get, the more you talk, and the more you like to reminisce about people and things from the past.
Thinking this way, White Zetsu felt that Madara's current actions were instead a normal reaction.
"White Zetsu, is it still impossible to infiltrate the Uchiha Clan Land?"
After reminiscing for a while, Madara asked about the matter he was most concerned with, which was the current status of the Uchiha Race in Konoha.
Is there someone in this clan now who could carry on his 'will' and act under the name 'Uchiha Madara' to complete a certain plan in the future?
"Yes, Lord Madara. Last month, two White Zetsus were sent there, but the result was the same as before. As soon as they approached the Uchiha Clan Land, they mysteriously disappeared. We have no idea what exactly happened there."
White Zetsu shook his head helplessly in response to Madara's question.
To be honest, in the minds of the remaining existing White Zetsus, the Uchiha Clan Land has long become an untouchable forbidden zone.
Any White Zetsu that infiltrated there would mysteriously disappear on the first day of work without making a sound.
If this continues, not only will no useful information be obtained, but the number of White Zetsus will also be wasted in vain.
Aside from this, there are no benefits for them.
Madara nodded after hearing this, not speaking.
Although he was also quite eager to know what was happening with the current Uchiha Race, Madara knew that at such a crucial time, it was crucial not to let anxiety control his emotions. He needed to think calmly and handle these unforeseen obstacles cautiously.
Choosing a suitable 'inheritor' from the Uchiha Race was merely to ensure the foolproof execution of the plan, considering it as part of the plan itself.
However, there are many substitutes; after all, in his current state, surviving on the last breath, encountering unexpected situations was normal.
To ensure the continuation of the plan, he still had many backup plans yet to be unfolded, so he could employ other means for remediation when unforeseen circumstances arise.
"By the way, what's Fei doing? Why haven't I seen him here?"
Fei was also a member of White Zetsu, but unlike ordinary White Zetsus, Fei was the only one among them given a 'name'.
Madara was still quite attentive to him, believing that with Fei's abilities, most ninjas in the Ninja Realm were no match for him.
After all, Fei inherited the Wood Style Ninjutsu of that man—Senju Hashirama. Even if he couldn't compare to Senju Hashirama himself, that level of Wood Style was sufficient to deal with the ninjas of the current era.