Hearing Tobi's voice,
Uchiha Madara slowly opened his eyes and glanced at the figure flailing around as it rushed up to him. A trace of displeasure appeared on his face.
No matter how many times he saw them, he instinctively felt dissatisfied with these inferior artificial creations. They always made him feel like his intolerance for stupidity was about to flare up.
Still, they were things "he" had created.
And they were products of Hashirama's cells, so…
he could only endure it.
Fortunately, after repeated orders from him, the current White Zetsu no longer shouted "What does poop feel like?" into his ears every single day. Otherwise, Madara might have lost patience long ago and killed a few of them.
"Speak. What is it?"
"It's that kid! Uchiha Obito! The little brat you've been paying special attention to!"
Tobi gestured excitedly. "He awakened his eyes! Just now… well, probably a few hours ago! While fighting people from Sunagakure!"
"Oh?"
Uchiha Madara raised an eyebrow. This time, he was genuinely interested, and a ripple appeared in his aged eyes. "What happened?"
"Uh… that guy was attacked on the Suna battlefield and almost got stabbed right through the chest by a Suna ninja, then—whoosh!—he suddenly awakened the Sharingan! And it went straight to two tomoe!"
Tobi excitedly held up two fingers and waved them back and forth in front of Madara's eyes. "Two tomoe! Straight to two tomoe! Wahahaha, as expected of the piece Madara-sama chose. His potential is amazing!"
"Oh, right. His two teammates were there too, but that white-haired kid was kind of strong. Obito called him… what was it again, Yuu? Ah, not important. The important thing is that Obito awakened his eyes! This is huge news!"
"…"
Uchiha Madara listened to the somewhat chaotic description and frowned.
"Come here. I'll see for myself."
"Huh? Yes, Madara-sama!"
Tobi obediently shuffled forward a few steps until he was within Madara's reach.
Soon,
Madara raised his hand and pressed a fingertip against Tobi's forehead. Then he closed his eyes and, using chakra as a medium, began reading the images Tobi had recorded earlier.
From Obito and Nohara Rin joining up and fighting the Suna ninja,
to the moment the crisis arrived and Obito awakened his eyes,
then to Mikami Yuu arriving at the critical instant…
Only after the images ended did Uchiha Madara slowly close his eyes, as if digesting everything he had just seen.
"Two tomoe…"
"On the brink of death, intense love and despair triggered the power of the Sharingan… That is indeed the usual pattern for an Uchiha awakening their eyes. But to awaken directly to two tomoe, his aptitude is truly not bad. It seems I did not choose the wrong person. This Obito really does have potential."
"But…"
But that wasn't necessarily a good thing.
Strictly speaking, Obito wasn't the only "successor" Uchiha Madara had selected. There were several others.
But Obito was the one with the greatest potential among them.
Based on past experience, Uchiha who were lively and optimistic in childhood often became the most extreme once they fell into darkness. They could easily jump directly from one end of the scale to the other, making them excellent candidates for advancing that plan.
However,
on a personal level, Madara actually did not want Obito to awaken the Sharingan this early.
Because what his Eye of the Moon Plan needed was a pawn that would be easy to manipulate—preferably one who had already been betrayed by the world.
Awakening the Sharingan early meant Obito would go from an ordinary Konoha ninja to an "excellent seedling" with jōnin potential, which would cause Konoha to value and care for him more. That would create more bonds and hope, making him less easy to control.
Of course…
this wasn't entirely bad either.
If someone in that state later experienced despair and tasted the fall from heaven to hell, the hatred born from it would become even stronger.
It was just that the difficulty of manipulating him had increased considerably, and things would need to be planned carefully.
"That girl is called Nohara Rin, correct? She appeared in the previous monitoring reports."
Uchiha Madara spoke. "Do we have more detailed information about that white-haired brat?"
"Not yet. Right now, we only know he's a civilian-born ninja. His name is kind of weird. He's saved Obito once or twice before…"
Tobi scratched his head with a troubled expression. "Madara-sama, is he very important? He just feels like a brat who can fight pretty well."
"Hmph. He is no ordinary brat. His reactions and speed far exceed ordinary genin. His battle awareness is sharp, and his taijutsu foundation is solid. That 'Body Flicker' he used just now even resembles that man's Flying Thunder God a little."
"That man" referred to Senju Tobirama.
Because the name was too cursed, Uchiha Madara didn't even want to say it.
But even Madara had to admit that Flying Thunder God was indeed a remarkable technique.
Moreover, this generation's Konoha ninja named Namikaze Minato had elevated that technique to a new level. That Spiraling Flash Super Wheel Dance Roar Type Three alone had already surpassed Senju Tobirama.
At that moment,
Uchiha Madara snorted coldly and said, "The girl named Rin is the anchor of 'love' in Obito's heart, and also the key to igniting his future 'hatred.' But this white-haired brat may also hold a significant position in Obito's heart. He is an unplanned variable and must be monitored closely."
"Tobi."
"From this moment on, raise the surveillance level on Uchiha Obito to the highest priority. I want to know his every move. Every detail of his contact with that girl named Rin, the white-haired brat, and all other Konoha people must be reported to me immediately."
"Yes, Madara-sama! I guarantee the mission will be completed! I'll have all the clones watch him closely!"
Tobi thumped his chest and promised.
"Not all of them. Konoha's Uchiha clan, as well as Amegakure and Kirigakure, also need to remain under close watch. Pull some clones back from the Land of Earth."
"Also, make collecting information on that white-haired brat a priority. I want to know the true depth of his strength, the characteristics of his ninjutsu, his background and status in Konoha, and the specifics of his relationships with Namikaze Minato, Obito, and Rin."
Uchiha Madara said.
"I understand!"
Tobi nodded hard.
Madara waved a hand, signaling for Tobi to withdraw.
Then, in the lonely, deserted darkness, he slowly closed his eyes. His fingers tapped unconsciously against his knee, as if he were calculating a vast chess game that spanned time and space.
To realize that grand goal, everyone in the ninja world—including himself—could be a piece on this board.
After a long while,
Madara raised his head and looked toward the cavern ceiling. He seemed to be speaking to himself, yet also as if talking to an old friend.
"Hashirama, just wait."
"I will show you exactly what the world I yearn for truly looks like…"
~~~
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