Uchiha Madara sat alone on the stone chair, eyes tightly shut, his face void of any expression.
Compared to a few years ago, he was now even more indifferent.
In the silent space, only his faint breathing could be heard.
Ever since Renya informed him that his identity had been exposed, he had left the mansion in the Land of Iron.
He came to this place, one that had been prepared from the very beginning.
This underground space was a hiding spot Madara had long selected.
As for the other supposed locations around the ninja world—those were merely misleading decoys.
In the fixed thinking of Renya and Hashirama, they would surely believe he was hiding deep within the mountains.
But in reality, he was buried dozens of meters beneath the ground.
A place like this ensured no one could ever find him.
...
No one knew how much time had passed when Uchiha Madara slowly opened his eyes.
A pair of violet Rinnegan quietly appeared.
They emitted a pale purple glow—cold, detached, divine.
"With these eyes, peace for the ninja world will no longer be just an ideal!"
Before the Rinnegan, achieving peace was no longer out of reach. For him now, it was only a matter of time.
But for him at this moment, time was the most precious thing of all.
Feeling the frailty of his aging body, a trace of unwillingness surfaced in Madara's eyes.
Why hadn't the Rinnegan awakened earlier?
Why did he gain them only after his power had drastically declined?
Though the Rinnegan greatly strengthened him, aging of the body was unavoidable.
He was already old.
His physical strength could no longer support him in completing the "Eye of the Moon" Plan alone.
Time was something every strong person feared.
It could silently erode a powerhouse from their peak, bit by bit—
Until finally they burned out entirely.
Everyone's lifespan was different.
Some lived to ninety, others only to eighty.
And he felt that the days he had left were few.
"I must witness with my own eyes the day peace is achieved in the ninja world. Before that happens—I cannot die!"
A rare hint of emotion appeared on Madara's cold face.
In his eyes, it didn't matter whether peace was achieved by him personally.
What mattered was that he would see it with his own eyes!
Uchiha Madara stretched out a withered hand and formed several special seals.
"Summoning Technique: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!"
His low voice echoed throughout the stone cavern, filled with an irresistible will.
...
On the moon—
The main house and branch house of the Ōtsutsuki clan paused at the same moment during their confrontation.
Only to see the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path in the distance suddenly vanish without a trace.
"The Demonic Statue disappeared!"
The Ōtsutsuki on the moon—both main house and branch house—wore grim expressions.
They had always guarded the statue to prevent Ōtsutsuki Kaguya's resurrection.
But now it had disappeared!
"Main House, the Demonic Statue is gone. It must be the doing of those Earthlings!"
A branch family clansman complained unhappily.
"The world our ancestor created is a failure. The ninja world on Earth treats chakra like a weapon—wars never cease. We should destroy Earth and create a new world!"
"No! We cannot commit such a heinous act!"
The head of the Ōtsutsuki main house—a man around thirty—refuted them without hesitation.
The main house sought to maintain the peaceful world built by the Sage of Six Paths, clinging to the ideal of peace.
But the branch house did not share this belief.
They had been arguing over this for who knew how long.
"You've been to the ninja world. Do you not know exactly what kind of place it is?"
An elderly branch house leader stepped forward and rebuked loudly.
The main house patriarch fell silent.
In his youth, he had been sent by his father to train in the ninja world—and indeed, it was exactly as the branch house said.
The ninja world was full of conflict.
But that was not a reason to destroy it!
"If you continue to be stubborn, don't blame me for forgetting old ties."
The patriarch's gaze turned icy—he already held killing intent toward the branch house.
"Ōtsutsuki Hyūki, you will regret this sooner or later!"
The branch elder snorted coldly and left with his clansmen in anger.
The branch house was no match for the main house.
Even if they were dissatisfied, they could only swallow the humiliation.
"Patriarch, the rift between us and the branch house is now beyond repair," a main house clansman said. "We should begin preparing early."
Ōtsutsuki Hyūki said nothing—he only gazed into the distance toward the ninja world.
"The disappearance of the Demonic Statue… is it related to you?"
...
Deep beneath the ninja world—
Rumble—!!!
The earth trembled violently as enormous chakra tore open the space.
A humanoid monster appeared behind Madara—its body like dried wood, without a face, only hollow eyes and a hollow mouth, covered in numerous arms.
This was the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path!
Uchiha Madara glanced sideways at the statue, the corner of his lips rising faintly.
With the Rinnegan, he naturally understood how to use it.
Under his control, the statue extended several chakra chains, piercing straight into his back.
The Demonic Statue could continuously supply him with chakra,
Preventing his body from deteriorating further.
With this, he would live long enough to witness the day peace was achieved in the ninja world!
...
Next, he would use the statue's power.
Uchiha Madara manipulated the Demonic Statue, merging its life force with Hashirama's cells.
The statue's roots pierced into the earth like living organisms, catalyzing and cultivating—
Pale humanoid embryos formed on the roots like fruit.
Pop—
The first White Zetsu—its features blurred, body pale—appeared before Madara.
"Madara-sama!"
It bowed respectfully to its creator.
Madara's Rinnegan stared at this first creation.
"White… Zetsu…"
He gave them their name.
For some reason, he felt this was the name they should have.
Then the second, the third… hundreds, thousands of White Zetsu were continuously produced, filling the entire underground space.
Madara looked at the army he had cultivated—an expression of absolute control appearing on his aged face.
"Go," he ordered softly, his will conveyed to every White Zetsu through the Demonic Statue.
"Sink underground. Spread to every corner of the ninja world… Become my eyes and ears, my hands and feet…"
Countless White Zetsu, like ordered worker ants, quietly merged into the rock, sinking into the earth—beginning silent infiltration and hiding.
After finishing everything, Uchiha Madara once again closed his eyes.
He completely failed to notice that a black mass in the shadows also slipped away silently.
"That Madara guy has finally awakened the Rinnegan!"
Black Zetsu's face showed excitement—everything was proceeding exactly as planned!
It believed it would soon be able to rescue its mother!
"Right, I haven't checked on the cook in a long time."
With that, it headed straight for Konoha Village.