Three days later.
A White Zetsu burst excitedly out of the ground and shouted noisily: "Madara-sama, major intelligence!"
"We've already found out when Seisui and that blond brat are going to fight! And Seisui's even dragging those ninja academy students along to publicly impeach Danzō!"
"Even the Hokage's brat is involved, and also…"
White Zetsu started counting on his fingers. "Idiot Obito, the mask brat, the youth brat…"
Madara shot White Zetsu a sidelong glance. "What brain-dead memory. You've been watching Seisui for this long and you still can't remember the names of the students around him?"
"You mean Might Guy and Kakashi."
White Zetsu stared at Madara in shock.
"Madara-sama, you actually remember those brats' names! But they're weaklings!"
In the past, the person Madara mentioned most was Hashirama. After him came Tobirama and Izuna, and now and then he would mention Mito too.
As for the other Warring States-era shinobi, Madara hardly ever talked about them.
It was only because Hiruzen had now caught his attention that, during idle moments, he would tell the White Zetsus stories about how even Sarutobi Sasuke, despite being just an ordinary man, had still been fairly capable…
"Hmph, mind your own business!" Madara froze for a moment, then replied roughly.
Wasn't the only reason he remembered those brats because he was always watching Seisui with nothing better to do?
He didn't want to remember them either!
The key point was, remembering children's names made Madara feel old.
'According to the intelligence, Hiruzen has grown younger, and even Mito has grown younger…'
'Though that's because they're too weak to know how unbearable it is to slip from one's peak… and my body is special because it possesses the power of all creation…'
'My grand plan must be completed in the finest possible state if it is to be perfect!'
'But it still irritates me!'
Madara slightly increased the force with which the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was pumping chakra into his body.
Better maintain it a bit…
No matter how ugly being hooked up with tubes looked, no one but these White Zetsus could see it anyway.
Even Mito—and Hiruzen, those "mortals" in his eyes—were resisting aging and death.
Even if there were all kinds of reasons behind it, it still left Madara with an unpleasant taste in his mouth.
As if he were some coward running away…
'Sarutobi Hiruzen… somewhat interesting.'
'Still, it's not that I'm lowering myself to compare myself with them. It's that if I want to win Seisui over, I must be in good condition.'
"Madara-sama, what are you muttering to yourself about over there? You okay?" White Zetsu tilted his head, looking at Madara with bafflement.
Wasn't I asking whether your plan was ready? Why are you suddenly talking to yourself?
Don't tell me you're going senile in your old age!
"…" Madara sighed.
At this moment, he missed Black Zetsu.
Though it was a Yin-Yang Release creation, at least it could understand human speech and read the room…
Too bad it had been sent off to monitor Nagato.
"As for the plan, you just obey orders…" Madara let out a cold laugh.
In his view, Hiruzen allowing the Uchiha Clan out of Konoha was simply a heaven-sent opportunity!
Madara had thought Hiruzen might agree.
But he hadn't expected him to be so generous—to wave a hand and let two-thirds of the Uchiha go, looking completely trusting.
Madara had assumed he would just let a couple of token cats and dogs out as a show…
That had greatly expanded the scope of his scheme's targets.
"That Sarutobi Hiruzen is clearly Tobirama's disciple, yet he really does resemble Hashirama a bit…" Madara sighed softly.
As the former clan head, now that the clan's situation had improved, he was still going to make a move against them.
Even if it was for a greater benefit, it still left his heart a little complicated.
Still, it wouldn't cost the clan members too much, and before his plan succeeded, they could still manage to live reasonably well.
"You can only blame him for having a trace of Hashirama's shadow…"
"Meeting me—the opponent destined to defeat Hashirama—is his fate."
A fierce glint flashed through Uchiha Madara's eyes.
His plan had been refined further.
This time, the noble family he had chosen was the En family, whose head was named En Masamune.
The Kyūjō family of the Fire Daimyō and the En family had originally been of the same branch two or three hundred years ago.
Later, due to internal clan disagreements, they split into two lines.
The Kyūjō became the main line and inherited the daimyō position, while the En became the cadet branch.
The clan possessed a pair of mirrors said in legend to have been gifts from an ancient sage. When the family split, each house took one mirror, and among the people they came to be seen as twin symbols of the Fire Country's fortune.
And that, in turn, led to the Kyūjō family and the En family constantly opposing and contending with one another.
A struggle between the main line and the cadet line for succession—
It could only be said that no matter where or when, that was always a classic performance…
"Hiruzen is cooperating with the Fire Daimyō, so the En family is on the verge of being liquidated…"
"The En family hiring Uchiha ninja to escort that mirror, and then for its sake—just to protect a mere companion—letting it be shattered, will give the En family legal grounds to make trouble…"
"Shinobi are tools to begin with. If a tool fails to accomplish a noble's task, and insists on seeing itself as human…"
"The nobles of the Fire Country, and even the other hidden villages, will all launch a denunciation!"
Madara laid out his flawless plan.
"Oh, right, Madara-sama! If the Hokage's brat is involved, doesn't that mean the Hokage actually knows?"
"The plan won't fail, right…" White Zetsu said pensively.
"His name is Asuma… If Hiruzen knew, he wouldn't allow it!"
"From that point alone, it seems that as Hokage, his control over the village is only so-so."
"And besides, even if he wants to cover it up now, it's already too late. I've already seen Seisui's resolve!"
Madara said proudly: "After this, even Asuma might leave Konoha!"
But White Zetsu didn't really understand, so it just nodded and clapped vacantly.
"Ugh, get lost!"
Madara waved his hand listlessly.
"There's something else, Madara-sama…"
"That Uchiha clan head seems to have gone blind, and Seisui has grown stronger too!"
"But we didn't figure out exactly what happened, so when you have time, you'll have to go look for yourself…"
Madara's brows instantly drew tight.
Isshin had gone blind, but Seisui had become stronger?
His first thought was an eye transplant. Wasn't that complete nonsense?
Could just anyone swap eyes like that?!
But in the next instant, he rejected the thought. After all, he still had some impression of Isshin—he wasn't a fool.
"Blind… could it be the Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"And it even made Seisui stronger…" Madara's mood brightened: "As expected of my clansmen. Not trash."
"What are you all doing? Why don't you have precise intelligence?" Madara looked at White Zetsu and said in displeasure: "Don't you know how to combine the Mayfly Technique and the Spore Technique?"
White Zetsu cried bitterly: "Oh, come on, Madara-sama, we can fuse with the earth and trees—not with everything!"
"They went upstairs at the time. If we detached from nature, we'd be discovered!"
"And besides, Seisui is at the ninja academy, Isshin is on that whatever committee, and Uzumaki Mito has been wandering around the village lately—you can run into those two all the time. What if we got exposed while a spore was attached? Aren't you making things hard for us!"
"It's really hard for us in Konoha! Uzumaki Mito is awful!"
This particular White Zetsu seemed unusually sensitive.
It was clearly very dissatisfied with the exploitative treatment from its rotten boss Madara, and even started wiping away tears.
Madara said nothing.
What it said did seem to make some sense…
"Worthy of being Hashirama's wife. What a troublesome woman."
"Hmph, stop crying! Next time I grill meat, come over and eat a portion."
White Zetsu instantly went from tears to laughter. "Really? Madara-sama, you're so nice!"
Madara shook his head, silently warning himself inwardly to keep his thinking active…
How was it that even White Zetsu could think of something, yet he had overlooked it instinctively?
Izuna had told him before that when he ran into a problem, he shouldn't take it out on others, but instead ask whether he himself had failed to do enough…
"Izuna…"
Madara murmured softly, "I miss you."
If his younger brother were here, then no problem would be a problem.
But Madara didn't dare summon Izuna.
First, the state of Impure World Reincarnation was an insult to the one being reincarnated; over time, it tormented the soul.
Second, he hadn't listened to Izuna, so he didn't really dare face his little brother…
Making peace with Hashirama and building the village was one thing, but in the end he had even run off and failed to look after the clan…
What face did he still have left as an older brother?
If he summoned Izuna in this state, and then had to personally tell him all of that…
Madara simply couldn't accept it.
And what was interesting was this:
The Izuna Madara couldn't bear to summon—
Someone else was already itching to give it a try…
Ready to stand up and step on him!
Tobirama sat on the grass of the ninja academy training field, his eyes closed.
He was mobilizing the dōjutsu Isshin had left him.
'So it really is you, bastard…'
'Even Uchiha stronger than you aren't as interesting as you are!'
Tobirama felt the chakra flowing into him from another dimension within his body.
His eyes were crimson, and his heart was thrilled.
The moment he caught even a trace of that chakra's scent, he knew it was Uchiha Izuna who had arrived!
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