White Zetsu praised brainlessly, "Lord Madara is amazing. You controlled the Fourth Mizukage with just one glance!"
Black Zetsu asked with concern instead, "Lord Madara, is your body alright?"
Uchiha Madara closed his eyes and rested for quite a while before his breathing finally stabilized again. He signaled Black Zetsu to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, then answered, "Not bad. Yagura Karatachi's spirit had fallen into a low point. I didn't need to use much strength to control him."
One White Zetsu, who utterly lacked awareness, leaned in front of Uchiha Madara. After observing him carefully, it shouted, "Lord Madara, your complexion looks terrible."
In the next instant, that reckless White Zetsu was slapped flat by Uchiha Madara.
Uchiha Madara's body had aged to its limit, to the point that he had no choice but to rely on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to maintain his life.
However, because of the existence of Hashirama's cells, Uchiha Madara's physical strength had not declined. He could not fight continuously, but he still possessed enough strength to casually hammer White Zetsu to death with one strike.
After casually killing one White Zetsu, Uchiha Madara swept his gaze across the other trembling White Zetsu and said coldly, "You're clearly trash, yet you don't have the self-awareness of trash. You even dare judge me."
"Black Zetsu."
"I am here, Lord Madara."
"Next time, choose a smarter White Zetsu to revive. Don't let this kind of eyesore appear before me again."
"As you command, Lord Madara."
"Keep watch for me. I need to rewrite Yagura Karatachi's memories and prepare for Obito to control Kirigakure."
"Please rest assured. I guarantee no shinobi will come disturb you."
Uchiha Madara walked in front of Yagura Karatachi. The pattern in his Sharingan distorted and changed. After activating the Mangekyō Sharingan, he forcibly invaded the Fourth Mizukage's brain and began modifying his memories and judgment little by little, adding irreversible obsessions at key points.
The question of whether destroying the kekkei genkai clans was necessary to protect Kirigakure became the obsession that every kekkei genkai shinobi had to be killed in order to protect Kirigakure.
The thought of whether the Bloody Mist policy had to be restarted to effectively deter Kaguya Yoshi became the paranoia that the Bloody Mist policy had to be restarted at all costs in order to slaughter the Kaguya clan.
The desire for power born from the regret of being unable to defeat Orochimaru became the obsession to become the Three-Tails' jinchuriki.
Uchiha Madara edited him one item at a time. According to his plans for the future, he gradually altered the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, turning him into a key piece in his own plan.
Using the other party's original thoughts and strengthening them into obsessions was a hypnosis method with the highest technical requirements and the lowest power requirement.
But even for Uchiha Madara, it was still a burden difficult to endure.
Very soon, he began panting heavily. Then bloody tears flowed down, and his complexion gradually turned as pale as paper.
By the time Uchiha Madara completed everything, he was already too weak to stand at all. His breathing also became extremely faint. Speaking was certainly impossible.
Fortunately, Black Zetsu was an "extension of his will." Even without words, it knew what Uchiha Madara needed and what needed to be done next.
Under Black Zetsu's command, one White Zetsu attached itself to Uchiha Madara's body, sending him chakra and life force while also acting like an exoskeleton to move in Uchiha Madara's place.
With White Zetsu's help, Uchiha Madara smoothly left Kirigakure and returned to the underground base at the border of the Land of Grass, Land of Rain, and Land of Fire.
When the black tubes connected to Uchiha Madara's back, his condition improved at a speed visible to the naked eye. His skin became smooth and pale, his complexion turned rosy, and his breathing became smooth and strong, as though he had recovered his health.
But Uchiha Madara knew that all of this was merely an illusion.
Through the connection between himself and the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, he remotely extracted Nagato's chakra and life force to maintain his current healthy state.
Moreover, during this trip outside, he had forcefully used the Mangekyō Sharingan without the support of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, pushing Uchiha Madara's body completely to the verge of collapse.
Even White Zetsu attachment could only keep him from dying, not restore him even slightly. This meant that the next time he disconnected from the black tubes would be the time of his death.
Uchiha Madara sighed deeply.
He did not fear death.
Not in the slightest.
With his current way of living, was being alive meaningful at all?
Perhaps those fat-headed, big-bellied daimyo were willing to live like this, dragging things out one day at a time, but he, Uchiha Madara, absolutely could not endure it.
The only reason he was clinging to life was because his plan still lacked one link.
He lacked an Uchiha junior who could inherit his will and continue advancing the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan. If that person appeared today, Uchiha Madara would disconnect the black tubes without hesitation and calmly face death.
One had to know that what he was consuming now was Nagato's chakra and life force. This was an extremely serious injury to Nagato and the final straw causing his continued weakness.
There were too many things hanging on Nagato right now.
The Rinnegan required long-term nurturing. The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path required massive chakra.
And now there was Uchiha Madara, hanging on while nearly dead.
No matter how powerful Nagato's physique was, he could not endure this bone-scraping, marrow-sucking exploitation.
The earlier Madara could find a successor, the earlier he could go to the Pure Land to rest, and the earlier Nagato could catch his breath. After that, all kinds of plans, including the progress of his own revival, could advance by one day.
Thinking of this, Uchiha Madara called out, "Black Zetsu!"
Like the most qualified servant, Black Zetsu silently emerged from the shadow beneath Uchiha Madara's feet and respectfully bowed. "Lord Madara, what are your orders?"
Uchiha Madara asked, "Have you confirmed all the people in the Uchiha clan with the potential to awaken the Mangekyō?"
Black Zetsu answered, "Yes, Lord Madara. I have confirmed them."
"Mm."
Uchiha Madara casually formed a hand seal, and a stone stool rose from the ground. He sat down quite relaxed and ordered, "Tell me. I can no longer leave this place. I have enough time to listen to your detailed description."
"Yes, Lord Madara."
Black Zetsu did not need any documents. Relying entirely on memory, it began narrating. "First is Uchiha Kazuma, twenty-nine years old…"
The moment Uchiha Madara heard the age, he immediately interrupted Black Zetsu and said decisively, "This one won't do. He's too old. Next."
"Yes, Lord Madara."
"The next is Uchiha Ryuichi, twenty-one years old, jonin, awakened three-tomoe Sharingan, currently serving in the Police Force…"
…
Orochimaru and Uchiha Yoru tested each other through all kinds of topics. Their clash of intelligence, eloquence, and shamelessness continued for more than a dozen rounds, until both of them began feeling impatient.
Damn it. Bickering with a shameless bastard is truly irritating!
Damn Uchiha Yoru. He's so slippery I want to strangle him. Who taught him this?
In the end, Orochimaru was the first to make things clear.
"Uchiha Yoru, I want the full set of tactics used by your Tiger Unit. What do you want?"
Uchiha Yoru smiled happily and said simply, "Lord Orochimaru, I want the Impure World Reincarnation."
Orochimaru immediately nodded. "Deal."
Uchiha Yoru took out a storage scroll from his chest. After undoing the seal, he revealed more than twenty thick handwritten volumes.
He patted the pile of notes, then directly handed them to Orochimaru.
Orochimaru was shocked by Uchiha Yoru's actions. He laughed darkly and asked, "You're not afraid I'll take the goods and refuse to acknowledge the deal?"
Uchiha Yoru responded with a bright smile. "Lord Orochimaru is the smartest shinobi in Konoha Village, so I'm not afraid."
Uchiha Yoru's composure and confidence made Orochimaru's heart jump.
Using "smartest" rather than "most trustworthy" to describe him meant the implication inside and outside the words was that he had the ability to guarantee the execution of the transaction. He was completely unconcerned that Orochimaru would cheat.
And Orochimaru understood that there was only one kind of ability that could truly guarantee a transaction's execution.
Violence.
While secretly shocked, he could not help feeling somewhat curious.
He knew Uchiha Yoru was indeed very powerful. He had managed to entangle the unsealed Three-Tails and even survive under a Tailed Beast Ball's attack. His strength had already surpassed most jonin.
But this young Uchiha was only eighteen years old after all.
On what basis did he possess enough violence to make Orochimaru obediently carry out the deal?
Orochimaru was a genuine Kage-level shinobi, and an outstanding one among Kage-level shinobi. To make him trade honestly, one had to at least be Kage level as well.
Many years later, when Orochimaru had crippled himself and his strength had declined severely, he still did not care about the elite jonin Hatake Kakashi and did not think Kakashi was any trouble.
With Uchiha Yoru's wisdom and caution, by hinting to Orochimaru in this way, he was actually announcing:
I am already a Kage-level shinobi.
Orochimaru stared at Uchiha Yoru, his gaze gradually becoming sharp.
But Uchiha Yoru, who was being stared at, remained extremely relaxed. The smile on his face also grew increasingly bright.
"I understand."
Orochimaru bit his finger, formed hand seals, and used the Summoning Jutsu, summoning a short, thick python.
The python opened its mouth and noisily spat out more than a hundred scrolls of various sizes. The key was that all of those scrolls were covered in sticky white slime.
Miwa Masayo and Uchiha Yoru covered their mouths at the same time and simultaneously took half a step back.
Orochimaru was searching through the scrolls for the record of the Impure World Reincarnation. Seeing the two of them move, his eyelids could not help twitching several times.
If other shinobi had done this, Orochimaru would ignore them when he was in a good mood and kill them when he was in a bad mood.
They were merely ants. There was no need to care about their feelings.
But Uchiha Yoru and Miwa Masayo were different. Orochimaru regarded them as equal existences, so their feelings could not be ignored.
Thus, when handing the ninjutsu scroll to Uchiha Yoru, Orochimaru explained very seriously, "This is a protective fluid to prevent the scrolls from rotting. It doesn't stink at all."
When Uchiha Yoru took the scroll from Orochimaru's hand, he discovered that the slime had indeed completely vanished, leaving no trace behind.
Out of sight, out of mind. Since the slime had vanished, he no longer felt disgusted, so he opened the scroll and carefully read it.
After only a few glances, Uchiha Yoru confirmed that this scroll was not merely the forbidden jutsu Impure World Reincarnation.
It was also Orochimaru's research notes.
It included Tobirama Senju's original version, the four improved stages of Orochimaru's version, and most importantly, Orochimaru's many thoughts regarding this forbidden jutsu.
He put the scroll away in satisfaction and said to Orochimaru, "Pleasure doing business."
At this time, Orochimaru had also completed his initial inspection of the tactical notes. He was deeply attracted by the simple yet exquisite tactics recorded within and was even more shocked by the systematic dialectical content.
When he saw part of the descriptions involving contradiction theory, Orochimaru experienced, for the first time in his life, the feeling of "not understanding but still finding it impressive." It even made him suspect that there was a wise figure behind Uchiha Yoru.
Hearing Uchiha Yoru's words, he asked in return, "You mean there will be another exchange?"
Uchiha Yoru answered seriously, "Yes, Lord Orochimaru. There will be another exchange."
Orochimaru fell silent for a while, then nodded and agreed. "That's fine."
Just as the two of them finished putting away their things and prepared to leave the battlefield, Orochimaru suddenly said, "As a partner, let me remind you: prepare yourself."
Hearing this sentence without beginning or end, Uchiha Yoru was not surprised. He asked, "I know. How much time do I have?"
"At most one month."
"Thank you for your help."
Strictly speaking, what Uchiha Yoru had done this time was not more exaggerated than four months ago.
Helplessly, among the Kirigakure shinobi defeated this time were the newly appointed Fourth Mizukage. More importantly, there was also Kirigakure's first jinchuriki.
Defeating a great village's Kage and repelling a jinchuriki was the greatest kind of achievement in the shinobi world. Orochimaru had no way to cover it through word games and could only report it to the Third Hokage exactly as it was.
Under the radiance of the two defeated parties, Uchiha Yoru would be completely exposed before the Third Hokage's eyes. Next, a series of feedback would follow.
Leaving the Land of Hot Water and leaving the Tiger Unit was inevitable. There was also a high probability he would be directly transferred back to Konoha Village and then hidden away, allowing his name to gradually cool down.
Fortunately, Orochimaru had just promised that he would help delay the report and buy Uchiha Yoru one month.
Uchiha Yoru thanked Orochimaru from the bottom of his heart, because this month was extremely important to him.
The breakthrough of the Foundation Establishment realm had ended, but the changes in his body had not stopped.
After all five spirits were complete, natural energy fused again within his meridians. The fusion process was extremely slow and clearly seemed to be nurturing some kind of power.
Affected by the changes in natural energy, the chakra within his body's cells also showed signs of fusion.
His dantian was changing.
His Purple Mansion was also changing.
All five great heart-aspects were changing.
Uchiha Yoru truly urgently needed a period of time to quietly wait for all fusion, nurturing, and changes to complete.
In addition, two matters still lingered in his heart.
The first was the Evil God in the Land of Hot Water. Uchiha Yoru had already obtained benefits from the Evil God. Without awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, he had touched the power of Susanoo ahead of time.
This proved that the Evil God truly existed and was also connected to the Uchiha clan's ultimate power. He could not turn a blind eye.
Before returning to Konoha Village, he had to try contacting the Evil God again. Ideally, he would find a way to contact the Evil God anytime and anywhere.
The other matter Uchiha Yoru cared about was the sinkhole at Kubota Village.
The giant hole he had created connected to an enormous and complicated underground cave. At the time, he had not felt anything special, but later, he kept thinking of that cave. The more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.
As time passed, Uchiha Yoru's intuition instead became increasingly certain that the underground cave held a great secret.
When he confirmed the underground cave was suspicious, he had truly startled himself.
To be honest, this was no small matter.
Ever since Uchiha Yoru began cultivating immortality, the reason he had cultivated all the way to today and survived was entirely due to the judgment of his body's pleasure and pain, as well as the guidance of intuition. The accuracy and sensitivity of his intuition had been tested again and again. If there had been even one mistake, it would have been difficult for him to survive until today.
But the intuition he relied on so deeply had detected nothing inside that enormous underground cave.
Instead, only after leaving for a month did it begin giving feedback, and the longer he was away, the stronger that intuition became.
Uchiha Yoru was certain that there was no problem with his intuition.
The problem was with the underground cave!
There was a power there capable of suppressing his intuition.
He had to go down again and thoroughly investigate the cave inside and out.
These two matters had to be resolved before returning to the village. Otherwise, constantly thinking about them would make him uncomfortable. If too much time passed and they turned into obsessions, that would be bad.
Of course, there was one final and extremely important matter.
The transfer of power within the Tiger Unit.
Where there were people, there would be rivers and lakes.
The interior of the Tiger Unit also had all kinds of conflicts of interest, as well as different disputes and arguments.
When Uchiha Yoru was present, the Tiger Unit could be viewed as a single whole.
Because he had created the study group, guided these bottom-level Uchiha to awaken their Sharingan, and brought them limitless hope.
When these Uchiha were deployed to the Land of Hot Water and faced Kirigakure shinobi who restrained them, helpless and terrified day after day, it was still Uchiha Yoru who organized them into the Tiger Unit.
Uchiha Yoru led them to be invincible, unstoppable on the battlefield. Wherever they went, they killed gods if gods stood in their way and ghosts if ghosts blocked them, creating unprecedented achievements.
In sharp contrast, the study group members sent to the Land of Rain had been almost completely wiped out in defeat. In the end, only one person had returned alive to Konoha Village.
Such an extreme contrast between the two sides gave Uchiha Yoru unprecedented prestige. Within the Tiger Unit, he held absolute power.
But beneath Uchiha Yoru, the so-called number two figure, Uchiha Shigenobu, fundamentally could not suppress Uchiha Kazushi, Uchiha Tadamichi, and Uchiha Hiroto.
Beneath the four of them, the squad leader level also had their own groups. Even the team leaders each formed their own small factions, and there were quite a few contradictions between these small groups.
Although the Tiger Unit had fewer than three hundred people, its internal contradictions were still very complicated.
When Uchiha Yoru was present, he could suppress everyone and lead everyone to obtain enormous benefits. Naturally, all the Uchiha were united beneath him and acted as though they were one person.
But after he left, no one would be able to obtain everyone's recognition. Contradictions would surface, combat power would naturally decline, external benefits would naturally decrease, and then contradictions would erupt further.
In order to prevent the Tiger Unit from entering this vicious spiral, Uchiha Yoru needed to make special arrangements.
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