Knowing that his plan had been ruined beyond recognition, Uchiha Madara didn't care at all, because he found something even more interesting.
Shimura Yami.
With Sage Mode and the awakened Wood Release, even if his strength was slightly inferior to Hashirama back then, he was definitely far stronger than all the other ants.
That's right—ants.
In Madara's eyes, no one in this world besides Hashirama was worthy of his attention.
Now, there was one more—Shimura.
"It's really strange... Hashirama, who was always willing to compromise and even went so far as to distribute the tailed beasts to seek peace, actually has a descendant who wants to swallow the entire ninja world..."
Uchiha Madara let out a rare sigh. If Hashirama had thought the same way back then, the two of them would never have fought to the death.
His original vision was to unify the entire ninja world and eliminate all the chaotic noise. There would only be one Konoha, and peace would follow naturally.
Unfortunately, that stubborn idiot... was just too stubborn!
But Madara's sentiment ended there.
He only lamented the past. Now, he had an even grander goal.
From now on, there would be no more war, no more death. Everyone would live in an eternal dream beneath the moon.
"He's Danzō's descendant." With no outsiders around, Obito removed his mask.
After removing his original Mangekyō Sharingan, what appeared in his other eye socket was the Rinnegan he had taken from Nagato.
Madara glanced at his eyes without much reaction and said calmly, "The surname doesn't matter. What matters is whose power he inherited.
"The Shimura clan, a small family, could never raise someone with such ambition."
Obito snorted coldly, clearly displeased at Madara praising Shimura.
"This isn't the time for praise. What do we do now? We've only collected five tailed beasts. The Eight Tails is incomplete and has only a small portion of chakra. The rest are all in Shimura's hands."
"Even if we wanted to take them from him, it wouldn't be easy."
Madara thought for a moment and agreed.
"If he were alone, I wouldn't waste time talking to you. I'd knock directly on Konoha's gates."
"But now, Konoha has several Mangekyō Sharingan. Uchiha Sasuke has likely already awakened the Eternal Mangekyō after inheriting Itachi's eye power.
"If the two of them team up... it'll be troublesome."
"Only the Eternal Mangekyō can counter Sage Wood Release, and only Sage Wood Release can rival the Eternal Mangekyō."
Madara flexed his hands, looked out at the distance, and smiled mysteriously. "This body is still usable. In that case... why don't we find more manpower?"
Obito was still processing his words, but quickly caught on.
"Madara-sama, do you mean having Orochimaru reincarnate Senju Hashirama?"
"Useless."
Obito immediately shook his head. "He doesn't have the strength to control someone like that. That's why I allowed him to reincarnate you."
"If Hashirama is summoned in his complete form, he'll break free from control instantly and side with Konoha."
Madara stroked his chin. "You don't understand Hashirama, and you don't understand me either."
"When did I say to let Orochimaru summon Hashirama? Does he even qualify to control him?!"
He snorted coldly. "What I meant is—let me be the Impure World Hashirama. An Impure World Reincarnation summoning another Impure World Body. Isn't that interesting?"
Black Zetsu grinned. Obito's expression turned gloomy, but he lowered his head without saying anything.
He was using Madara, and Madara was using him. That was their unspoken agreement.
If Madara gained control of Impure World Reincarnation and revived Hashirama himself, the power dynamic between them would be completely shattered.
But he couldn't refuse. With a powerful enemy looming, infighting would only benefit Konoha. He could only look for another loophole and asked, "Do you think Orochimaru will agree?"
"I'll make him agree."
Madara's tone was calm, but his confidence was overwhelming.
"I can see the thirst for power and immortality in his eyes. People like him are easy to handle."
"Then give it a try."
After Obito spoke, Black Zetsu added, "I just received word that Uchiha Sasuke led several Uchiha and razed the Hidden Mist Village. Fifth Mizukage Terumi Mei has sent letters to the other major nations, proposing a secret Four Kage Conference."
"The Four Kage Conference?" Madara didn't react much and said calmly, "Maybe we can use those cannon fodder to keep the Mangekyō users occupied, so they don't interfere with my battle with Shimura."
"You want to cooperate with the Four Great Nations?" Obito asked, surprised.
"Cooperate?" Madara sneered and shook his head.
"There's constant friction and old grudges between those nations. They can't unite their forces to deal with Konoha. What they lack is a qualified leader. I think I fit the role."
Black Zetsu grinned. "You're absolutely right."
Madara waved his hand. "Go gather intel. I'll join the fun when the time comes. Where's Nagato's body?"
As the space twisted, Nagato, long dead, was brought out.
Madara looked down at him, eyes flashing with cold memories. "I was betrayed again. The same mistake I made back then."
"But this time, no one will be standing behind me..."
The resurrection of Uchiha Madara was definitely news that could shake the entire ninja world, but since it hadn't leaked yet, the various villages were still caught up in their own affairs.
In Kumogakure, Fourth Raikage A received Terumi Mei's letter. After reading it, he didn't jump to conclusions and called several of the village's sharpest minds.
He knew his flaws well. He had brains, but he was too easily riled up and lacked calm analysis.
"Mabui, how credible do you think Kirigakure's letter is?"
After reading the letter, Mabui hesitated slightly. "Raikage-sama, the destruction of Hidden Mist is a major incident. The Mizukage wouldn't lie about something like that."
"I'm asking about the Mangekyō." A slapped the table, roaring, "Six pairs of Mangekyō? Did Mizukage get caught in a Uchiha genjutsu?!"
Although Kumo hadn't fought against the Mangekyō Sharingan directly, there were many records about Uchiha Madara's power.
"We'll know if we send someone to investigate."
Darui yawned. "Send an envoy openly and a few intel operatives secretly. We'll find out soon enough."
Mabui also nodded. "I agree."
"Then do it. As long as we confirm Mizukage's telling the truth, we'll accept the invitation to the Four Kage Conference."
"Yes!"
After making his decision, A asked another question. "Where's that idiot? Doesn't he know the Akatsuki are hunting Jinchūriki?"
Mabui forced a polite smile and was about to respond when there was a sudden knock at the door. After receiving permission, an Anbu rushed in.
"Raikage-sama, Master B was ambushed by Akatsuki. He's wounded and has been taken to the hospital."
Bang!
Under Mabui's horrified gaze, the office table... broke again.
Iwagakure.
The current Tsuchikage was Kitsuchi, but like Minato in the past, his authority was limited.
Ōnoki had retired in name, but still held the real power. Kitsuchi simply stamped papers. The two had no conflicts, and Kitsuchi didn't care about power.
After reading the letter, Ōnoki became excited.
The moment he'd been waiting for had finally come. It was time to get revenge for Iwagakure's fall.
"Kitsuchi, once the intel is confirmed, immediately agree to the Mizukage's proposal. This time, Iwagakure will take the lead."
But Kitsuchi hesitated. "Father, if we go to war with Konoha... then Kurotsuchi..."
Ōnoki shot him a cold look.
"You think I don't care? She's my granddaughter too. But what can we do?"
"Konoha's strength now far surpasses the other nations. If we miss this golden opportunity, do you think Shimura Yami will let us live comfortably after he's fully prepared?"
"We're Kage. We can't ignore our village's interests over personal feelings. This is a matter of survival."
Kitsuchi nodded reluctantly, agreeing with his father.
Seeing this, Ōnoki softened and compromised a bit.
"Let's wait for the outcome of the Four Kage Conference. If war really breaks out, Konoha will leave gaps. Then we can try to rescue Kurotsuchi."
"It's all we can do..." Kitsuchi sighed and silently apologized to his daughter in his heart.
Sunagakure.
After two days of hesitation, Gaara decided to attend the Four Kage Conference.
Just as Ōnoki had said, a Kage must prioritize the interests of the village, not personal feelings.
Gaara was deeply grateful to Konoha for saving his life, but Yami's ambition was clearly evident in the letter.
No one understood Shimura Yami better than Gaara.
His purpose in attending wasn't to declare war on Konoha, but to use the combined strength of the other villages to contain Konoha and maintain stability in the ninja world.
For a time, letters flew back and forth among the four great nations. Undercurrents surged throughout the ninja world.
In Konoha, Danzō had already made his preparations. Most of the intelligence agents had been deployed. He'd noticed something was off and wanted to report to Yami, but the latter was still in closed-door training.
Even he didn't dare make a rash decision in such a critical moment. All he could do was keep his forces on standby and continue gathering intel.
Still, the atmosphere in Konoha had clearly grown tense. Ninja movements increased, and Seimei's ninja tool factories had expanded to three, working day and night.
Tsunade met Konan, who had been brought back by Yami.
"I really want to take this chance to kill you and avenge an old friend." Tsunade looked at Konan with mixed emotions. "You turned on your own sensei... Jiraiya raised traitorous disciples. What a failure."
"Same to you."
Konan remained calm, not intimidated. "Wasn't your sensei the same? Orochimaru's not a good person, but at least he had clarity."
Tsunade's expression darkened, raising her fist. "Don't think I won't hit you."
Izumi, who had been watching, quickly stepped in. "Tsunade-san, calm down. Konan is one of us now."
"I don't trust her," Tsunade said coldly, but she still lowered her fist.
Though she usually acted like the big sister, she knew who truly held the highest position in the family. She wouldn't fight Izumi over something so small.
"Shimura believes in me. You don't matter."
Konan also understood much and gave Izumi a kind smile.
She felt like a child again, instinctively seeking protection from the strong. And... she'd never made a mistake about it.
"Miss Konan."
After calming Tsunade and sending her off, Izumi looked at Konan again with a gentle smile.
"Miss Konan, Yami gave you a task before entering seclusion."
Konan nodded slightly. "As long as it's something I can do, leave it to me. You can even assign someone to monitor me."
"That's unnecessary." Izumi shook her head gently. "From the moment I first saw you, I knew we were the same kind."
"The same kind?" Konan was surprised.
"Yes."
Izumi looked toward the Hokage Rock. "We're both fragile. Our talents alone couldn't have brought us this far. It was Yami who guided me. It was your two companions who protected you and helped you grow."
"Without someone to follow, people like us are no different from walking corpses. That's why you won't leave Konoha. This place is not only your only path to revenge, but also the emotional anchor you sought unconsciously."
Konan lowered her head. She felt completely seen through.
Even... she herself hadn't realized it.
Flustered, she quickly changed the subject. "You haven't told me what he wants me to do."
"Bring the Hidden Rain Village, no... the Land of Rain under Yami's control."
Izumi's voice turned serious. "The Land of Rain has no daimyō, which makes it the best testing ground."
"Don't worry. After the annexation, they'll receive the same treatment as Konoha residents."
Konan's expression shifted several times, but she finally accepted the task.
She knew if she refused, Konoha's army would simply take the Hidden Rain Village by force.
Meanwhile...
Inside the Hokage's exclusive training chamber.
After absorbing the Gedo Statue into his body, the tailed beast chakra Yami had previously collected began to riot, trying to escape from his body and flee the Gedo Statue.
But he forcefully suppressed it and sent it deep into the statue's core.
Gradually, Yami's appearance began to change.
(To be continued.)
***
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