Inside a pitch-black underground water prison, under the dim glow of an oil lamp, one could barely make out a man sitting in the water.
He was naked, gaunt to the point of skin and bones, with shackles even fastened around his wrists.
Looking at the scene before him, Uchiha Madara asked in disbelief, "This really is the Three-Tails' jinchuriki?"
Black Zetsu answered respectfully, "It is, Madara-sama."
Uchiha Madara still found it hard to believe, and pressed again, "Kirigakure treats its jinchuriki like this? What are they thinking?"
Even Black Zetsu sounded rather helpless as he shrank back slightly and replied, "I… I don't know either, Madara-sama. It was precisely because no one would imagine a jinchuriki being imprisoned in a water cell that White Zetsu searched all through Kirigakure and still couldn't find him."
Sensing the chakra emanating from this living corpse in front of him, Uchiha Madara could confirm it was indeed the special chakra of the Three-Tails—the kind mixed with Wind Release, Water Release, and that cold Ice Release chakra.
He shook his head helplessly.
The jinchuriki's identity was confirmed, but he still could not understand why something so important had been locked away so simply.
"Those wastes in Kirigakure really are nothing but trash unfit for the stage. Back then, I should have exterminated them all. If not for Byakuren being somewhat decent, there would've been no need for Kirigakure to exist at all."
Madara suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"Heh. When you think about it, it's also a matter of luck. If all Five Great Villages were like Iwagakure and Kumogakure, I really wouldn't have found an opening to put my plan into motion today."
He took half a step forward, only to be forced back by the foul stench coming off the jinchuriki. Frowning, he said, "This guy's body is already giving off the smell of a corpse. Troublesome."
"A jinchuriki in this half-dead state is a nuisance. While I'm hypnotizing Isobu, I'll also have to waste effort keeping the jinchuriki alive, so he doesn't drag the Three-Tails down with him while I'm subduing it."
As he spoke, his eyes shifted from black to a three-tomoe Sharingan. Then the three tomoe began to rotate and merge, evolving into a complex pattern of three connected blades.
Terrifying, scorching ocular power burst forth in an instant, flooding the entire prison.
Centered on Uchiha Madara, the filthy water in the cell was forced back in a perfect circle, even climbing up the walls and exposing the mud-caked ground beneath.
The lower half of the dying jinchuriki's body was revealed as well. Madara noticed that thicker shackles, mottled with reddish rust, were fastened around both ankles, pinning him firmly in place.
He could not help but laugh.
"Hehehe. Locked up this tightly—looks like you really caused quite a commotion, little Isobu."
The jinchuriki suddenly spoke, but the voice that came out was extremely strange, as if muffled behind a very thick wall.
"An unfamiliar Mangekyo Sharingan… you… are you an Uchiha from Konoha?"
Uchiha Madara said, "I changed my eyes, but my ocular power hasn't changed. Still can't remember who I am?"
After a long silence, Isobu's voice sounded again.
"…You should already be dead, Uchiha Madara."
Though the voice still had that thick, muffled quality, the fear and trembling in it could not be concealed at all, and that pleased Madara greatly. The corner of his mouth lifted.
"I was indeed dead. But I crawled back out of hell. To save this shinobi world, I need your power."
Isobu said nothing more.
The tailed beast chakra emanating from the jinchuriki suddenly shrank inward, like a turtle pulling back its head and limbs, leaving only a hard shell on the outside.
"So many years have passed, and when faced with an enemy, all you still know how to do is hide. Not even the slightest progress."
"Relax. This time, I'm not taking your life, and I won't peel you out of your shell either."
A visible tremor ran through the jinchuriki's body.
It seemed the Isobu hidden within the seal, having heard Madara's words, had recalled a terror it would never forget.
The ocular power in Uchiha Madara's eyes continued to intensify. Under his tremendous control, all of that power converged like a pair of swords and stabbed straight into the jinchuriki's eyes.
The jinchuriki opened his mouth wide, as if screaming soundlessly, but he was too weak. Forget screaming—even trembling properly was beyond him.
Blood tears began to run from Madara's eyes.
These were not his original eyes. Not only were they awkward to use, they simply could not withstand his overwhelming ocular power.
He could not help but complain, "What a pain. Not only do I have to keep the jinchuriki alive, I also have to protect these fragile eyes."
His lackey, Black Zetsu, immediately praised him, "Madara-sama's power is simply too great. Only your own Rinnegan could truly withstand your might."
Madara smiled and said, "Heh. Good. I've caught you, Isobu."
Isobu's voice rang out once more. "What do you want with me after catching me? Kill me? Heh. In that case, I should thank you."
"No. Killing you would mean setting you free. You're still useful to me, so I won't kill you. I'm going to control you with genjutsu."
"Hmph. A jinchuriki cannot be controlled by genjutsu!"
"Indeed, the common sense of the shinobi world says jinchuriki cannot be controlled by genjutsu. But how could the common sense of ignorant fools ever bind a genius?"
"Isobu… can your jinchuriki still help you break free from genjutsu right now?"
"If both you and your jinchuriki are under genjutsu at the same time, can the two of you still help each other break free together?"
"And after I control you, I'll erase this memory. You won't even know you were controlled. So how exactly would you save yourself?"
"You think your jinchuriki is on the verge of death, and that dying once will let you slip free of everything?"
"Heh. You think my target is the current you? Wrong. It isn't you."
"My target is your next seal. No… the next time you become a stable jinchuriki. Before then, you'll forget I ever came to see you."
At last, Isobu could no longer endure it and let out a despairing cry.
"No…"
Uchiha Madara suddenly broke into wild laughter.
"Hahahahaha! There you are at last. I've got you!!"
The pattern in his eyes spun at terrifying speed, almost becoming a blur. At the same time, his ocular power erupted like a surging tide and poured into the jinchuriki.
A few seconds later, blood tears covering his face, Uchiha Madara closed his Mangekyo Sharingan and let out a tired breath. The filth-black water that had been forced back came rushing in again, once more submerging the lower half of the Three-Tails' jinchuriki.
He stood motionless for a full three minutes before his breathing finally calmed.
After wiping away the bloodstained tracks on his face with a handkerchief, he said with deep feeling, "It's finally done."
"Old age is truly frightening. Forty years ago, subduing the Three-Tails took me no more than a glance. Today, just hypnotizing it nearly ruined this pair of Mangekyo Sharingan."
Until now, Black Zetsu had remained silent, but suddenly he spoke.
"Madara-sama!"
Madara was still lost in his own thoughts. Eyes closed, he asked carelessly, "Hm? What is it?"
Black Zetsu looked toward the prison door and said, "The Third Mizukage has arrived."
Uchiha Madara's eyes snapped open. In disbelief, he said, "Impossible. How could he have broken free of my genjutsu?"
"Madara-sama, shall we leave?"
Madara did not answer.
He merely gave Black Zetsu a sidelong glance.
Black Zetsu instantly understood what he meant.
After going through such trouble to deal with the Three-Tails, Uchiha Madara would not allow the Third Mizukage to inspect the scene as he pleased. After all, this man from the Yuki clan had broken free of his genjutsu.
Even if there was only the slightest chance of something going wrong, Madara would erase the risk.
Knowing that a battle was about to begin, Black Zetsu silently sank into the shadows and disappeared.
Immediately afterward, the prison door was blasted open by a violent column of water, revealing the Mizukage and six Kirigakure Anbu shinobi behind him. They had formed an assault formation and now blocked the entrance to the prison.
The Anbu who had used Water Release was the first to spot Uchiha Madara, and shouted, "Who are you!?"
The other Anbu were all visibly shocked. One of them even blurted out, "Someone really dared infiltrate our forbidden ground in Kirigakure!"
Uchiha Madara did not answer the question.
He looked directly at the Third Mizukage, whose face had gone pale, and asked, "How did you break my genjutsu?"
"So you really are an Uchiha from Konoha?" the Third Mizukage demanded with a cold sneer.
He raised one hand and formed a water mirror in his palm. In the mirror's surface, his own figure and Uchiha Madara's were reflected clearly, but none of the six Anbu behind him appeared in it.
With a cold laugh, the Third Mizukage said, "Ever since the Asura of the Uchiha clan stormed Kirigakure, every Mizukage from First-sama Byakuren onward has practiced this technique—Water Release: Heart Mirror. Three times a day, they use it to reflect upon themselves and break all genjutsu."
"Especially Sharingan genjutsu."
"I always thought it was some outdated, unnecessary habit. I never expected Sharingan genjutsu could really control a Kage. And I never expected Konoha to actually be deranged enough to make a move on one."
He roared, "Does Konoha think this is still the age when gods and demons walk the earth!?"
Uchiha Madara laughed wildly.
His laugh sounded a little hoarse and weak, but the reckless madness and lofty arrogance in it still made the Third Mizukage's face change drastically.
Madara reopened his Mangekyo Sharingan and said coldly, "This time, I'll make you forget all about some little Water Mirror Technique and obediently become my puppet."
The Third Mizukage was already regretting not bringing even more shinobi with him.
He had never encountered someone so terrifying. Even in his memories, the First Mizukage, Byakuren, had never carried such an oppressive presence.
He could not help but think that if he had brought three or five hundred shinobi to surround this place, perhaps he would not feel this panicked.
He no longer dared hesitate and immediately waved his hand forward.
"Take him down. Dead or alive!!"
The Anbu raised their weapons with trembling hands and charged at Uchiha Madara without regard for their own lives, shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Kill!!"
Uchiha Madara only said coldly, "Insects."
...
Uchiha Madara left Kirigakure supported by Black Zetsu.
He was so weak that even from a distance one could hear his labored breathing, and the harsh rattle rising from deep in his throat with every breath.
"Old. I'm truly old."
"Killing six shinobi and controlling one Mizukage was enough to push me to the brink of death."
"If this were thirty years ago, I would've gone straight to the gates of the Five Great Villages, demanded their tailed beasts from their Kage, and killed whoever dared resist. If the whole village refused, I'd flatten the entire place."
He sighed.
"If I weren't this old, why would I be skulking around like a sewer rat, hiding in the shadows and handling all this messy nonsense?"
Black Zetsu immediately played along and asked, "Madara-sama, this time the Mizukage won't break free of your control again, will he?"
Madara replied calmly, "I didn't control the Mizukage. I only gave him two suggestions and one segment of false memory. He'll know only that he repelled an assassination attempt by a mysterious shinobi, but he won't remember any information about me."
"From now on, he'll never inspect his own mental state again. And under my suggestion, he'll dispose of the jinchuriki and preserve the Three-Tails completely intact, refusing to acknowledge any candidate for a new jinchuriki."
"Madara-sama, since the Mizukage has always guarded himself against Sharingan hypnosis, could someone else inspect his mental state?"
"No one will do that. I beat him into a state of severe injury. A deep inspection of his mind would kill him outright."
Black Zetsu praised him in the most sycophantic tone possible, "The Mizukage of Kirigakure is finished. Madara-sama is truly wise!"
Madara answered with detached calm, "What's wise about it? This only proves my own helplessness. And in the process, I even gave that monkey Sarutobi a hand."
Black Zetsu suddenly cut him off.
"Madara-sama, we need to move faster."
"Without the Mangekyo Sharingan, the flesh of Senju Hashirama is eroding you badly. The speed of the fibrosis is becoming too fast."
"Hashirama…"
Uchiha Madara placed a hand over his chest and murmured that name. Only after a long while did he finally say, "Let's go. We'll return as quickly as possible."
...
Uchiha Yoru and Miwa Masayo walked happily across the sea surface, dragging behind them a fresh octopus tentacle that was still twitching and struggling.
Over the past month, every few days they had gone looking for trouble with that giant octopus—beating it up, digging out a few octopus pearls, and cutting off one leg before leaving.
The tentacle they had just chopped off was the last of its original legs.
Not without regret, Miwa Masayo said, "What a shame. Why does an octopus only have eight legs, nya? It'll be such a long, long time before we can eat it again."
Uchiha Yoru laughed loudly.
"Be content, Rika-chan. Contentment brings happiness."
"Besides, haven't the octopus's legs already started regenerating? Once they grow back and mature, we'll have octopus legs again."
"After we finish this one, we'll have to go back and hand over the mission. Which means we'll be back in the Land of Hot Water again."
"I hate the Land of Hot Water, nya. It has a strange smell everywhere, and it makes a cat feel nervous."
"It's weird, nya. I've never smelled anything like it before, but it just makes me scared, nya."
Uchiha Yoru said, "Then that's something we really do need to spend time studying. You're a cat sage, Rika-chan. If something can make even you feel fear and tension, it definitely isn't simple."
"No, nya. I don't want to study it. I think staying far away from it is the right choice, nya."
"When you run away from a problem instead of facing it, that problem will keep haunting you. In the future, it might even turn into a mental block."
"No, nya. A cat sage won't get a mental block."
Suddenly, Uchiha Yoru stopped moving.
Frowning, he looked toward the southwest.
Through the memories returning from a dispelled shadow clone, he saw the army of Kirigakure shinobi.
"It's almost the New Year, and those bastards from Kirigakure are making a large-scale move at a time like this?"
"Kirigakure is mobilizing on a large scale, nya?"
"There's no mistake. Fifteen big ships, more than a hundred smaller ones. They're packed with shinobi. At least five or six thousand of them. This is definitely a full-scale mobilization."
Miwa Masayo froze, then turned to look at the octopus tentacle dragging behind them.
"What about our octopus leg, nya?"
"We'll roast it while we move. We'll eat it on the way."
"Octopus legs don't have any fat. Roasting them tastes worse than pan-frying them on an iron plate."
"Stop complaining. We're going."
In truth, the distance between the two sides was still very great.
The location Uchiha Yoru's shadow clone had seen the Kirigakure army at was still within the territory of the Land of Water. From there, even sailing with wind-driven ships, it would still take at least a full day to reach the Land of Hot Water.
He and Miwa Masayo had more than enough time to return to the uninhabited island, calmly finish off some pan-fried octopus, and only then return to the Land of Hot Water to report the news.
But at a time like this, every minute gained by sounding the alarm for Konoha might save the life of a Konoha shinobi.
Uchiha Yoru had no sense of belonging toward Konoha.
Even so, he was not cold-blooded enough to exchange who knew how many Konoha lives for the chance to eat one peaceful meal.
A few hours later, Orochimaru received the intelligence brought back by Uchiha Yoru, and all the Konoha shinobi were mobilized at once, beginning feverish preparations for battle.
Inside the Konoha military camp, shinobi ran at top speed everywhere. The entire place was full of soldiers and horses in chaos.
Uchiha Yoru disliked this kind of atmosphere.
After handing over the mission and the intelligence, he immediately took Miwa Masayo and slipped away to the most remote corner of the camp.
The organizational structure of a shinobi army was completely different from that of Blue Star.
A commander like Orochimaru did not actually command the entire army directly.
Once he formulated a battle plan, he would break it down into separate missions.
The key missions within that strategy he would entrust to his own direct subordinates, ensuring that the strategic intent was carried through and the battle advanced as intended.
As for the less critical tasks, those would be sent directly to the mission center, where ordinary shinobi teams could claim them based on their own circumstances.
It wasn't that Orochimaru didn't want to command everyone directly.
It was that the shinobi army simply lacked the organizational system to support such command. There were no basic conditions for direct top-down control.
As supreme commander, the organizational unit Orochimaru dealt with below him was, absurdly enough, the three-to-four-man shinobi squad.
In the Land of Hot Water, the Konoha forces had more than two thousand shinobi teams of various sizes.
Their conditions could change almost hourly.
How exactly was Orochimaru supposed to command them all directly?
If the army were organized like that of ordinary people, into larger thirty-man companies, hundred-man battalions, or even five- to six-hundred-man detachments, then it would require more than three hundred commanders at various levels just to manage all those shinobi properly.
Among Konoha's tens of thousands of shinobi, team leaders were everywhere.
But when it came to someone capable of commanding thirty men, only a handful could be found.
As for officers able to lead a hundred or several hundred in battle—there were even fewer.
To put it bluntly, even Shimura Danzo wouldn't know how to command a hundred men in combat.
He simply had no such experience.
Without enough qualified commanders, forcibly establishing a multi-tier structure would only result in bloated organization and ineffective command, which would instead hamper the shinobi's combat strength.
By contrast, the mission-based model shinobi were most familiar with was actually more favorable for letting them play their combat ability.
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