Southeastern Land of Fire.
Within a Konoha camp, over a hundred Konoha shinobi corpses lay scattered across the bloodstained ground.
Nearby, countless White Zetsu stood in perfectly ordered ranks like a silent army awaiting deployment at any moment.
Madara Uchiha looked down at the unconscious girl lying before him.
"She's the perfect jinchūriki?"
"Yep!" Tobi replied cheerfully from behind his spiral mask. "Her name's Rin. The Yellow Flash's student."
Then he chuckled smugly.
"Not long after Konoha launched their assault on Kirigakure, I leaked the information to the Mist shinobi. The moment they heard the news, they rushed back to reinforce the village."
Once the Kirigakure army began moving, the Konoha troops stationed here naturally dispatched reinforcements as well.
That had created the perfect opening.
Madara and Tobi then led several hundred White Zetsu in a direct assault and ultimately captured the now poorly defended Konoha camp.
"If danger hadn't appeared elsewhere," Tobi said with a grin, "how could we ever have found a chance to strike here?"
"This time, you performed well."
Rare praise from Madara.
Then his gaze returned to Rin Nohara.
"Next, implant the Three-Tails into her and bring her to Konoha. Also... how is the search for the Two-Tails progressing?"
"I already confirmed it," Tobi answered immediately. "The Two-Tails is still inside Konoha. It didn't leave with Orochimaru."
"If you're certain," Madara said calmly, "then inform Kumogakure immediately. We move at once. The sooner, the better."
"Huh?! Kumogakure actually agreed to your terms too?"
Madara's expression remained indifferent.
"A few surviving Uzumaki clan shinobi in exchange for their precious Two-Tails. They have no reason to refuse."
"Oho~ Then with the sacrifices from Kirigakure added in, it should finally be enough for you to regain your youth, right?" Tobi sounded increasingly excited. "Honestly, we should thank Shimizu Uzuki for this. If not for him, you never would've discovered this method of restoring your strength."
"Who would've thought the Uzumaki bloodline possessed such miraculous vitality..." Tobi continued thoughtfully. "It's almost comparable to the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique. Is it because of their connection to the Sage of Six Paths' bloodline?"
Then he laughed again.
"But now that you've been hunting them down like this, you've probably rooted out nearly every hidden Uzumaki survivor left in the world... aside from the last one in Konoha."
Madara's presence gradually grew heavier and more oppressive.
"Regaining my youth is only the first step," he said slowly. "After that comes obtaining true power."
"Heh, heh... then the real fun begins!" Tobi clapped enthusiastically while shouting exaggeratedly, "Uchiha Madara! Eternal glory! Rule the world!"
Madara ignored him completely.
Because he understood exactly what Tobi was like.
For a moment, the air itself seemed to freeze.
Fortunately, Tobi also understood when to stop.
He quickly changed the subject as though nothing had happened.
"Uh... then what about the original plan?"
"Shimizu Uzuki?"
"Yeah. Didn't you always want to recruit him?" Tobi lowered his voice. "But he might already be dead now. Surrounded and wiped out by the Kirigakure army."
"As long as I truly regain my youth," Madara replied indifferently, "someone like Shimizu is insignificant."
"Then what about your descendant? That kid's got incredible talent!"
Tobi immediately began selling the idea enthusiastically.
"Since we're already helping Kumogakure stir up chaos in Konoha so they can take advantage of the confusion and rescue the Two-Tails jinchūriki... why not use the opportunity to abduct that brat too?"
Madara fell silent, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.
Tobi quickly pressed harder.
"Sure, you'll recover your youth soon, but you're not invincible yet, right? Even you said mastering that power wouldn't happen overnight."
"Until then, we still need capable helpers. If we train him properly, that kid would make a pretty good weapon."
Then Tobi added confidently,
"At the very least, we wouldn't need to worry about getting ambushed again."
"...You already have a plan?"
"Of course." Tobi sounded smug. "I already investigated everything. The girl in front of us is that brat's little girlfriend. As for him, he's still recovering in Konoha Hospital."
He could not help marveling at his own luck.
"Tsk tsk... this is basically a gift from heaven."
"Then I'll leave this matter to you."
With that, Madara turned and walked away.
"Begin preparations for the Two-Tails retrieval plan immediately."
"Huh? Where are you going?"
"To Amegakure."
Madara's voice grew distant.
"I'm going to see how my seed is growing."
A light rain began falling from the darkened sky, washing over the bloodstained earth below.
"Little Black, you heard all that too, right?" Tobi muttered while staring up at the gloomy sky, almost as though speaking to himself.
"Madara's starting to rebel."
"He's gradually slipping beyond your control. Soon, he'll recover both his youth and his power completely."
"And now he's going to see Nagato..." Tobi's tone slowly deepened. "I think he's finally preparing to pursue the power of the Six Paths."
A long silence followed.
Meanwhile, the rain continued to fall harder and harder, as though the sky themselves wished to wash away the bloodshed and sins staining the land.
"If Shimizu Uzuki survives Kirigakure," Black Zetsu said slowly as his figure emerged from beneath the ground, "then once Madara regains his youth, have Madara kill him first."
Tobi Uchiha froze.
"Huh? You don't need me to handle it anymore?"
"Shimizu Uzuki no longer has any obvious weaknesses."
Tobi naturally understood what Black Zetsu meant.
Shimizu's greatest flaw had always been his insufficient chakra reserves. At their level, battles rarely ended in instant kills.
Most fights eventually became wars of attrition.
Previously, even though Shimizu possessed chakra reserves comparable to an elite jōnin, how long could that truly sustain high-intensity combat?
But now...
That young man had already stepped into the realm of Kage-level shinobi.
And that created a small problem.
Not an unsolvable one.
But definitely troublesome.
"And then?" Tobi asked.
"You might not be able to beat him," Black Zetsu replied bluntly. "He's stronger than you imagine."
Tobi immediately acted as though he were about to flip a table in outrage.
Unfortunately, there was no table nearby.
Only the White Zetsu clones.
Well...
A White Zetsu would do just fine.
He quickly grabbed the ugliest-looking White Zetsu he could find.
The uglier, the better.
Yep.
This one.
"WHY ME?!" the chosen White Zetsu screamed in utter despair.
"Please. I could squash him anytime I want..." Tobi declared loudly while lifting the White Zetsu like a weapon and pointing it toward Black Zetsu. "Keep slandering me and I'll make this guy kiss you."
"Mother is very angry."
Black Zetsu's tone remained calm and emotionless, yet hidden pressure lingered beneath every word.
"The next operation must succeed. Failure is not acceptable."
He paused deliberately.
"Otherwise..."
"Oh, I see."
Tobi casually tossed the White Zetsu aside. The unfortunate creature immediately fled at top speed and vanished without a trace.
Then Tobi lowered his voice again.
"So... Shimizu Uzuki's really become that strong?"
"He killed the Third Mizukage."
"I... holy shit..."
Tobi trembled visibly before staring speechlessly up at the sky.
A moment later, however, he acted as though nothing had happened and immediately offered a sincere suggestion.
"Then definitely let Madara handle it. I'm sure he'd love running errands."
Just like that, Shimizu's fate was casually decided.
"But you did perform well this time," Black Zetsu continued. "You even found that Uchiha brat to help pave the way for Madara."
Tobi instantly began complaining.
"Seriously, I've been working myself to death here. Madara's getting more and more difficult to control, and you never offer any plans."
"You're confident about manipulating that Uchiha child?"
"Hah. Naive young boys like him are the easiest to fool."
"Don't make mistakes."
"How could I?"
Tobi sounded completely certain.
"If I wasn't worried about Madara destroying the 'seed' we planted in Nagato, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble to prepare backup plans."
Then he suddenly seemed to realize something.
"So Madara really did go to find Nagato."
"If you chase after him now, you can still catch up," Tobi probed cautiously.
"Before regaining his youth, he won't act against Nagato."
As Black Zetsu slowly sank back into the earth, he repeated one final reminder.
"Remember. Have Madara kill Shimizu Uzuki afterward."
"Yes, sir~"
Tobi gave a playful salute while watching Black Zetsu disappear underground.
But moments later, another serious issue suddenly occurred to him.
"Wait," he shouted toward the empty ground. "You still haven't explained how we're supposed to weaken Madara enough to keep him following our plans!"
Black Zetsu's final answer drifted back from beneath the earth.
"That... is Shimizu Uzuki's task."
...
Read Advanced Chapters on : www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin
~ Every 100 PS = Bonus Chapter!
~ Push the Story forward with your [Power Stones]