Hi-kun's lips twitched slightly.
'Danced beautifully?'
As Hi-kun read more books and spent more time thinking, it gradually realized that although Madara-sama was undeniably a cultured man, his choice of words and the way he thought were...
Well...
Somehow...
They carried a faint trace of youthful energy!
"Madara-sama truly is a great hero!"
Hi-kun bent respectfully and handed Madara the latest intelligence from Konohagakure, including adjustments to recent policies and the registry of newly born children.
"I only regret not having met Madara-sama sooner, so I could have witnessed the Shinobi World's Shura at the height of his glory!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
Madara burst into laughter. Shaking his head, he affectionately patted Hi-kun on the back of the head.
"You... Out of all these White Zetsu, you're the only one who always manages to make me laugh..."
He took the report and began reading it with a relaxed expression.
Hi-kun stood nearby with an obliging smile, though inwardly it couldn't quite understand.
After learning about Konohagakure's baby boom, Madara had specifically instructed it to keep a close watch and gather information from household to household.
Of course, the Uchiha Clan had been the primary focus...
But what did Konohagakure's newborns have to do with Madara-sama's plan to start another Shinobi World War?
"Hmm. Hiruzen's handled this fairly well."
After a while, Madara gave a slight nod.
"He's treated civilian shinobi and shinobi clans equally, using a first-come, first-served system to achieve the goal of increasing the village's population..."
"The Uchiha Clan's enthusiasm for having children is impressive. That brat named Fugaku even had a second son and named him 'Sasuke.' It seems Hiruzen thinks highly of him."
"Keep a close eye on him from now on."
Madara had already heard about Fugaku's exploits.
To grow stronger, the man had undergone surgery twice using Izanagi, pushing himself to the brink of death with only one life left, yet refusing to give up. In the end, he had actually succeeded in developing a rather unique Magnet Release...
Madara admired that determination.
Even during the Warring States Era, that kind of resolve would have been considered downright insane.
He hadn't disgraced the Gunbai!
So, as the Great Clan Head, Madara had taken an interest in this outstanding young member of the clan and, in passing, added Fugaku's second son, Sasuke, to his list of people worth observing.
What Madara hadn't realized yet was that Sasuke, from the moment he was born, bore an uncanny resemblance to Izuna as a child...
If he ever saw Sasuke at his cutest as a little boy, there was no telling what kind of expression the Shinobi World's Shura would make...
'For a shinobi from the Warring States Era, Madara-sama's way of thinking is honestly terrifying...'
'He's clearly worried about Konohagakure. Isn't he just checking whether the Hokage has properly carried out the policy? He also cares deeply about the Uchiha Clan, yet he insists on testing them through war...'
'One moment it's love, the next it's hatred. What exactly is he trying to do?'
Hi-kun complained furiously in its heart as memories of the Fireside Chats and the occasional glimpses of Hiruzen in the village resurfaced.
At this point, Hi-kun had come to believe that the most important quality of a Hokage—or any leader—was emotional stability and consistency.
Trying to serve someone like Madara-sama, whose left and right brains seemed to be fighting each other nonstop, was simply exhausting...
Madara's current mindset was remarkably similar to that of the Sage of Six Paths.
He loved the shinobi world. If it ever faced complete destruction, he would undoubtedly step in.
Yet at the same time, he imposed strange expectations upon it—expectations that could themselves bring about its destruction...
In a sense, it was almost divine.
One could even call him...
A god-man.
Madara stared silently at the report in his hand.
For a moment, he could no longer tell.
Did he truly want to see Konohagakure overcome every one of his harsh trials...
Or did he actually want to see Hiruzen fail?
The Madara of the past had imagined watching Hiruzen sink into despair before appearing before everyone like a savior, proclaiming his magnificent Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan and persuading the entire village to join him...
But now, although his conviction in the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan remained unwavering...
Whenever he thought about how the village had restored his statue, raised banners in his honor, and even displayed his portrait throughout the academy's corridors...
The moment he imagined revealing his true identity...
A trace of fear unexpectedly surfaced in his heart.
How was he supposed to say it?
Yes, the Infinite Tsukuyomi could recreate the world.
Those who had died could all live perfect lives within that new world.
But the suffering they had endured beforehand had been real.
It could never be erased.
The Madara of the past had been able to ignore that because both the Uchiha Clan and Konohagakure had forgotten him.
But now...
His clan and his village had elevated him to such a lofty place.
Even with a perfectly self-contained logic to justify everything he intended to do, he found himself unable to face those expressions of shock... and disappointment.
"...Sigh."
Madara let out a quiet sigh and thought to himself, 'If Hiruzen truly loses... then I'll have no choice but to genuinely play the role of Senju Tobirama.'
'It's better if I don't reveal myself. It's not that I'm hiding... there's simply no need.'
While Madara was thinking about Tobirama, voices drifted over from the other side of the Mountains' Graveyard, where the Six Paths Puppets were gathered.
They, too, were talking about Tobirama.
'That damned loser! We brothers built our reputations over a lifetime, yet we never realized he'd faked his death back then?'
It was the Gold and Silver Brothers.
"You two traitors! If Kumogakure and Konohagakure had joined forces, we would have crushed Iwagakure long ago! Sunagakure is hardly worth mentioning, and Kirigakure lies isolated overseas. The entire continent could have been divided between us!"
Madara had also recreated the Second Raikage. The Kage who had once held peace talks with Tobirama furiously berated them: "We would not even have had to split it evenly. Once the alliance was established, all we had to do was stab them in the back first, and Kumogakure could have become the greatest hidden village in the shinobi world!"
"To hell with the Gold and Silver of Kumogakure! You two are the most heinous criminals in Kumogakure's entire history!"
The Gold and Silver Brothers exchanged a glance and spread their hands.
"Do not blame us. Cooperating with Senju Tobirama would inevitably have provoked the other hidden villages into joining forces against us. Besides, with that brain of yours, what made you think you could ever outmaneuver him?"
Kinkaku fired back at the Second Raikage without yielding an inch. Even though he had personally killed the man, he felt no guilt whatsoever.
This had been a clash of ideals! He had simply lost, that was all...
"Do not think that just because you were the Raikage, you were the rightful heir to Kumogakure's will!"
"Did the First Raikage-sama leave the village to you so you could scheme and play dirty? Let me tell you—once Kumogakure loses its muscle and fighting spirit, it becomes no different from any other hidden village!"
"Give me another chance, and I would still kill a traitor like you. My only regret is that, in the end, that brute swooped in and took the prize, then branded us brothers as criminals..."
"I should have acted one step later. Then he would have killed you, and I could have killed him and become Raikage myself!"
The Third Raikage was clearly every bit as much of a hard-line militant as the Gold and Silver Brothers.
What made him smarter, however, was that he had refused to stick his own neck out. He had let them clash with the Second Raikage first, then stepped in at the end to clean up...
Ginkaku nodded repeatedly. "You, a Kumo shinobi, wanted to match wits with Senju Tobirama? Let me tell you, when we brothers were fighting the Senju Clan during the Warring States Era, you were still a nobody!"
The Second Raikage's expression froze. He suddenly realized that what they were saying seemed to make a certain amount of sense...
Working with Tobirama really did seem like dancing with a wolf. It was far too dangerous.
Why had that never occurred to him back then?
"I was not the one who ruined Kirigakure! It was this chaotic era and Kiritori who destroyed the village!" Hōzuki Gengetsu lamented at length. By now, he had lost count of how many times he had repeated that line over the past several days.
"Bastard! Scum! Tobi! Rama!" Mū ground his teeth, cursing the power of the Six Paths Puppets.
He had secretly tried several times to break free of the Impure World Reincarnation, but he had been unable to find even the slightest flaw.
Senju Tobirama had elevated the technique to an entirely different level. It was not something ordinary methods could pry apart.
That also made Mū understand why the man had been so utterly unconcerned about letting them move around freely, even allowing Gengetsu to visit Kirigakure.
He simply did not regard Kage like them as opponents at all...
The sheer arrogance!
"I have long known that Tobirama loves spouting nonsense..."
Uzumaki Ashina stroked his long beard, fury flashing in his eyes.
"He is despicable himself, yet he refused to let me research the greatest technique in the shinobi world, the 'Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal.' That little bastard even used Impure World Reincarnation against me. Fine! Very fine!"
"By the way, are you certain none of you have ever seen anyone successfully complete the technique I described?" Ashina asked, still unwilling to give up.
Like the others, he had become a broken record as well.
One day, Hi-kun had finally been unable to take it anymore and told him that the Land of Whirlpools had already been destroyed.
But Ashina had only been dispirited for a brief while. Once he learned that members of his clan were still living in Konohagakure, he stopped caring...
He simply went on repeating the same question, hoping that these widely experienced Kage could give him an answer.
He had clearly placed the technique above even his own clansmen. His obsession had already reached a terrifying degree.
"Do any of you understand just how powerful this technique of mine is?"
"That foolish Tobirama and my shortsighted daughter have no idea how valuable the 'Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal' truly is!"
Ashina continued without pause. "Mito took my manuscript, thinking she could stop me from researching the technique, but afterward, I came up with an even more complete concept!"
"I have already devised the optimal internal configuration for the sealing techniques. If it can be completed according to my design, a sufficiently talented shinobi could turn their own body into a miniature world. Forget Tailed Beasts—they could even trap a Sage inside themselves and harness its power!"
Gengetsu and Mū exchanged a glance. Even this pair of bitter rivals had run out of ways to deal with Ashina's endless repetition.
At first, they had still shown some respect toward this forefather of Fūinjutsu. Partly to gather intelligence and partly to comfort him, they had listened as Ashina explained his technique...
But later, they, the Gold and Silver Brothers, and the Second Raikage had all ended up laughing.
Who in their right mind would try to construct sealing techniques into a second set of Chakra Pathways and an additional skeleton?
The term "sealing technique" might not sound particularly aggressive, but Fūinjutsu was by no means a gentle art.
When properly employed, a single Four Symbols Seal could imprison a ferocious Tailed Beast...
And Ashina wanted to stack layer upon layer of them...
Just how powerful and abnormal would the recipient's body have to be to endure that many sealing techniques without dying?
Eventually, the Kage grew so sick of his incessant rambling that they could not help bursting into laughter.
That left Ashina alone, red-faced as he desperately insisted that his technique was in no way inferior to Senjutsu, Wood Release, or the Complete Body Susanoo...
"Senju Tobirama!"
Ashina shouted furiously, "You use Impure World Reincarnation to humiliate me—do you have any idea what Hashirama would do to you if he found out?!"
"Let me tell you, brat—I'll work for you, but you have to find me a genius capable of inheriting the Ten Thousand Seals Body Integration Seal. Otherwise, this matter between us is far from over!"
Madara listened in silence, the corners of his mouth curling upward.
The reason he had not silenced these Six Paths Puppets was that every one of them was insulting Tobirama in their own way. As background commentary throughout the Mountains' Graveyard, it sounded exceptionally pleasant...
Beyond Hi-kun, they also gave Madara a rare taste of lively human company. Perhaps that was one reason his thinking and mental state had improved recently.
Humans were social creatures, after all.
Madara gave Hi-kun a look.
Hi-kun immediately understood and nodded. It walked over to the group and cleared its throat softly. "My lords, as of today, our 'Crimson' organization is officially established..."
"We are dedicated to reconciling the shinobi world and pursuing true peace. From now on, I ask that everyone cooperate in complete sincerity and remain firmly united around Tobirama-sama. Should you have any reasonable requests, you may bring them to me..."
Hi-kun had been the one to come up with the name for Madara.
It had originally thought that 'Akatsuki' sounded better, but after discovering that someone else had already used it, it drew inspiration from the blood-red color of the Sharingan and chose this name instead.
It could also mislead people into associating it with Senju Tobirama's eye color...
Madara was very satisfied with it.
The others looked at Hi-kun with complicated expressions.
Most of them were shinobi with exceptionally powerful sensory abilities, and even the least capable among them possessed basic perception...
They could all sense the abundant vitality within Hi-kun, along with an aura remarkably similar to Hashirama's...
None of them knew what to do with Tobirama anymore.
Never mind Kage and powerful shinobi from other villages—the man had not even spared his own elder brother!
Researching Wood Release and cellular vitality was one thing. That was perfectly normal.
But using them as a foundation to create hundreds or even thousands of Wood Release freaks—what exactly was he trying to accomplish?
Without Mito and Hashirama around to keep him in check, the shinobi world's ultimate demon brat had finally gone berserk!
"'The Crimson Organization'? Senju Tobirama, have you finally stopped pretending?"
Gengetsu scratched his head, his expression slightly theatrical. "Aren't you afraid we'll expose your identity?"
Mū narrowed his eyes. So this was meant to temper Konohagakure's spirit and resolve!
Even if they had to face a former Hokage as an enemy, he intended to make them preserve their determination and fighting spirit?
That bastard's ambitions truly ran deep...
"Do as you please, my lords. The rule here under Tobirama-sama is that anything not prohibited is permitted. Whatever he does not want you to do, no matter how hard you try, you will never be able to accomplish it."
"Conversely, anything you are capable of doing is something Tobirama-sama has chosen not to prevent."
Hi-kun spoke with a beaming smile.
This White Zetsu, which had still been an ugly, misshapen freak only a few years ago, now carried the faint air of a 'Nine-Thousand-Year-Old' court eunuch!
Madara could not help smiling as he listened.
The plan was already working...
If Konohagakure managed to overcome every challenge along the way, Madara would not necessarily have to reveal his identity in the end. After all, the ideals of his youth had already taken root and borne fruit throughout the shinobi world...
He could simply disguise himself and return to Konohagakure for the occasional visit. There was no absolute need for public recognition. After all, when one worked and walked within the darkness, being misunderstood by most people was only natural.
But if the story ended in regret, then he would appear wearing 'Tobirama's' identity and begin the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan!
With Tobi's help, combined with Madara's Rinnegan ability to imitate chakra...
Madara could play whoever he wished.
Besides, objectively speaking, although he had regained some of his youth, he would still need Tobi if he wanted to improve his endurance in battle...
For a shinobi of his level, a child of the Divine Tree remained enormously useful.
Madara had even considered that if the child Mito had brought received Tobi's assistance, he might perhaps become a 'little Hashirama'...
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