When Senju Tobirama and a squad of Anbu finally arrived at the Valley of the End, the sight that greeted them was both shocking and heavy with significance.
The battlefield was in ruins.
The ground had been shattered by massive techniques, trees lay broken across the landscape, and the air still carried the lingering scent of battle.
At the center of it all lay two figures.
One was Uchiha Madara, completely motionless.
The other was Senju Hashirama, severely injured and unconscious.
Tobirama's normally calm expression stiffened slightly as he took in the scene.
For a brief moment, his gaze lingered on his elder brother.
Then he issued an order in a steady voice.
"Take my brother back to the village."
His eyes shifted to Madara's body.
"I will handle Madara's corpse."
"Yes, Hokage-sama!"
The Anbu obeyed immediately.
In the blink of an eye, they vanished from the battlefield, carrying the unconscious Hashirama with them.
Soon, only two figures remained at the Valley of the End.
Senju Tobirama.
And the seemingly lifeless body of Uchiha Madara.
Tobirama's eyes flickered with a complicated light.
In his mind, Madara's corpse was no ordinary body.
It was a priceless treasure.
The Mangekyō Sharingan, the final stage of the Sharingan's evolution… the secrets hidden within the legendary eyes of the Uchiha Clan… all of it now lay within Madara's corpse.
For Tobirama, this represented an unparalleled research opportunity.
If he could thoroughly study Madara's body, he believed he would finally gain a deeper understanding of the Uchiha Clan's power.
And once he understood that power, dealing with the Uchiha would become far easier.
From then on, he could control the clan with far greater confidence.
There was even another possibility.
A technique Tobirama had been researching for years.
Edo Tensei — the Reanimation Jutsu.
If he perfected it, Madara himself could be revived and forced to fight as Tobirama's weapon.
The thought alone filled Tobirama with excitement.
For a brief moment, he nearly laughed out loud.
As for the idea of desecrating the dead…
Tobirama simply scoffed inwardly.
This was Uchiha Madara, his greatest enemy.
Why would he care about such moral concerns?
In fact, Tobirama suddenly felt a hint of regret.
If only he had preserved some tissue from Uchiha Izuna's body.
If that were the case, he could revive Izuna every single day just to torment Madara.
The thought was strangely satisfying.
Shaking his head slightly, Tobirama quickly carried Madara's body to a nearby cave.
Inside the cave, he even prepared a simple coffin for the corpse.
After sealing the cave carefully, Tobirama left.
His plan was simple.
First, he would return to the village and confirm his brother's condition.
Once Hashirama's injuries were stable, he would return here to begin his research.
But what Tobirama did not realize was that the moment he left…
Something began to move beneath the ground.
A pitch-black substance slowly emerged from the earth.
It looked like a shadow given physical form.
This creature was Black Zetsu.
It stared blankly at the cave entrance.
For the first time in a very long time, even Black Zetsu seemed confused.
Its thoughts were in complete chaos.
Who could explain what had just happened?
Its carefully prepared chess piece…
The man it had spent years guiding and manipulating…
Uchiha Madara… had just died.
And it had happened so suddenly that Black Zetsu had no time to react.
The plan it had nurtured for centuries appeared to have collapsed in an instant.
Black Zetsu almost felt like crying.
"For a thousand years… I endured humiliation… searched for suitable pawns… waited patiently…"
"And now…"
"All that effort was just for a pair of eyeballs?"
At the very least, it had to retrieve the Mangekyō Sharingan.
No matter what, such eyes could not be wasted.
Black Zetsu sighed heavily.
"After I recover the Mangekyō… I'll go find that child named Su."
A sinister smile slowly appeared.
"The darkness hidden inside that child's heart is terrifying."
"Perhaps… he will become an even better pawn than Madara."
With that thought, Black Zetsu silently entered the cave.
Inside, Madara's coffin rested quietly in the darkness.
Black Zetsu glanced at it.
Then another strange thought crossed its mind.
Tobirama had even prepared a coffin.
How considerate.
After witnessing centuries of hatred between the Senju and Uchiha, such behavior almost moved Black Zetsu to tears.
But just as it prepared to approach the coffin—
A faint sound came from within.
Black Zetsu froze.
In an instant, it slipped back underground and watched carefully.
Then—
BOOM!
The coffin exploded.
Fragments of wood scattered across the cave.
Madara suddenly sat up.
His hand instinctively covered his right eye, which had now gone blind.
A hint of regret flickered in his heart.
These eyes had originally belonged to Izuna.
His beloved younger brother.
But now…
They had been sacrificed.
Still, the plan had worked.
"My guess was correct."
"As long as I used the Transcription Seal to set up the Izanagi technique in advance… and calculated the timing correctly… it would succeed."
Madara spoke calmly.
The Izanagi technique was one of the Uchiha Clan's forbidden secrets.
For a brief moment, it could transform reality into illusion.
Any injury, even death itself, could be rewritten as nothing more than a dream.
Meanwhile, the Transcription Seal allowed a technique to be implanted into a Sharingan beforehand.
Once certain conditions were met, the technique would activate automatically.
Even if the user had already died.
Madara suddenly spat out a bloody piece of flesh.
He looked at it with satisfaction.
This was the piece of Hashirama's flesh he had bitten off during their battle.
To Madara, it was the greatest trophy of this fight.
He smirked slightly.
"That insidious Senju Tobirama…"
"Even after his brother nearly died, he didn't immediately check Hashirama's condition."
"Instead, he secretly hid my body first."
Madara sneered coldly.
Then he carefully stored Hashirama's flesh inside his clothes.
Forming a hand seal, he shouted:
"Ninja Art: Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Poof!
A shadow clone appeared beside him.
Madara left the clone behind deliberately.
If Tobirama returned and encountered the clone, any events would immediately be transmitted back to the original body.
That way, Madara could prepare for whatever came next.
"As long as I obtain the Power of Creation, everything will be worth it."
He touched his chest.
The icy sensation of Hashirama's blade piercing his heart still seemed to linger.
"Hashirama… you have taught me many things."
"And now…"
Madara's voice turned darker.
"I will savor that feast called darkness."
Soon after, Madara quietly left the cave.
He needed to find a hidden location to transplant Hashirama's cells.
Only then could his plan truly begin.
After he disappeared into the night, Black Zetsu slowly emerged from the ground once again.
It stared at the empty cave.
Then it began laughing quietly.
"What a brilliant plan."
"You even deceived me."
But after a moment, Black Zetsu tilted its head thoughtfully.
"Still… your plan has flaws."
A sinister grin spread across its dark face.
"As for Senju Tobirama…"
"I will help you create some trouble."
"If I do that, no one will discover that you are still alive."
Early the next morning.
Uchiha Su and his group returned to the Hidden Mist Village, accompanied by Uzumaki Ashina.
The moment they arrived, Ashina asked directly:
"Where is the Tailed Beast?"
Su waved his hand casually.
"Don't rush."
"First, I need to discuss something."
Ashina frowned.
"Discuss what?"
Su shrugged lazily.
"I need to see who is willing to become the Jinchūriki."
Ashina stared at him in disbelief.
Such an important matter… and Su spoke about it as if he were discussing dinner.
Sometimes Su behaved with surprising maturity.
Other times, he seemed unbelievably carefree.
"Fine," Ashina sighed.
"Tell me when you've finished discussing it."
He prepared to leave for Uzushiogakure.
But Su stopped him.
"Senior, you don't need to leave."
"This will be decided very quickly."
Ashina blinked.
"Shouldn't such an important matter take several days to decide?"
Su shook his head.
"The Three-Tails doesn't need to be sealed yet."
"I already have a candidate for the Six-Tails."
Ashina felt completely numb.
This child seemed determined to test his patience.
At that moment, Uchiha Setsuna arrived.
Su looked at him calmly.
"Setsuna-Jonin."
"Are you willing to become a Jinchūriki?"
Without hesitation, Setsuna answered:
"I am willing."
His response was immediate.
After all, becoming a Jinchūriki meant gaining enormous power.
And power was exactly what Setsuna desired.
Su nodded.
Then he pointed toward the quiet girl standing nearby.
"This is Uchiha Hikari."
"From now on, she is the most important person in the Uchiha Clan… aside from me."
"Arrange a suitable residence for her."
Uchiha Nami nodded respectfully.
"I will take care of it."
She then guided Hikari away.
Ashina turned back to Su.
"Where is the Six-Tails?"
Su smiled slightly.
"We can capture it now."
"With the Mangekyō Sharingan, controlling the Six-Tails will be easy."
He paused briefly.
"Of course… not for very long."
Controlling a Tailed Beast required enormous chakra in addition to ocular power.
If used in battle, the chakra consumption would increase dramatically.
But Su did not need the Six-Tails for combat.
He only needed it to remain quiet long enough for Uzumaki Ashina to perform the sealing.
And once the sealing was complete…
Uchiha Setsuna would become the new Jinchūriki of the Six-Tails.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)