Tsunade swallowed hard. "Wait a second, Makiya. This intel... It's not that I doubt you, but how could you possibly know such detailed information? This isn't something a mere intelligence network can explain—unless Nagato himself is your informant."
Makiya shook his head. "It's not Nagato. I have an informant named Kishimoto who knows a bit about everything in the ninja world. He's a manga artist."
'That guy not only knows everything about the past and present of the ninja world, but he can even predict the future.'
Makiya's words left the two even more confused. Since when did manga artists get involved with shinobi?
"Anyway, don't sweat the details." Makiya waved his hand dismissively and closed the lid on Madara's coffin. "The war with the Mist has dragged on this long largely because Madara was controlling things from the shadows. Now that Uchiha Madara is dead and the Mist high-ranking officials are free from the genjutsu's control, I believe the war will end soon. Minato, you should start preparing early."
"I need to think this through." Minato rubbed his temples, his face pained. "Regarding Nagato... I'll send a secret message tomorrow to call Jiraiya Sensei back. In any case, thank you, Makiya. Your intelligence is vital. This far exceeds the S-rank mission I issued; the bounty will be hard to calculate."
"Put it on my tab. If I ever take a fancy to a certain jutsu in the Scroll of Seals, I'll redeem it using that account."
"Very well."
Minato left, filled with shock and doubt. The volume of information Makiya revealed today was massive enough to nearly flip his world view. He had originally thought his strength was enough to protect Konoha, but it turned out there was always someone better. The pressure the Rinnegan put on him was unparalleled.
Thinking of the Rinnegan made Minato think of Uchiha Madara, who had awakened it. He believed that even though Madara had given his eyes away, his personal power was definitely extraordinary. Seeing such a legendary powerhouse fall at Makiya's hands showed that Makiya's strength was growing ever more formidable.
'Fortunately, Makiya is here. He can suppress any petty scoundrels eyeing Konoha.'
Minato suddenly slapped his cheeks. Relying on others wasn't his style. As the Hokage, protecting the village was his responsibility; how could he push it onto Makiya? It seemed that developing a powerful new ninjutsu was now a matter of extreme urgency!
Tsunade's residence, meeting room.
Uchiha Madara's coffin still sat on the table. Tsunade's feelings were complicated as she stared blankly at it.
Makiya thought she was sad because Hashirama's face had been sewn onto someone's chest, so he offered some comfort. "Don't think too much about it. Those Hashirama cells just grew that way on their own. In a way, you could say the First Hokage held the upper hand in that tug-of-war."
Tsunade didn't hear Makiya's words. She muttered to herself, "Makiya... you said... if the Senju and Uchiha unite, they can awaken the power of all things and open the Rinnegan?"
"Uh... theoretically, it is possible." Makiya scratched his head. Madara had essentially stumbled into it. He was the reincarnation of Indra, the Sage of the Six Paths' son, and possessed Indra's unique chakra. Hashirama was the reincarnation of the younger brother, Asura, and possessed his chakra. Only by combining the two could the Rinnegan be awakened.
As for ordinary clansmen, Makiya didn't dare speak in absolutes. After all, with things like genes and bloodlines, anything was possible, but the chance of a natural awakening was lower than winning the lottery.
Tsunade's gaze drifted to Makiya's chest. The First Hokage's necklace hung perfectly intact. This necklace would only trigger if Makiya's life was in danger, which meant Makiya still had strength to spare during his fight with Madara. The latter hadn't been able to threaten Makiya's life at all.
'A powerful Uchiha combining with a powerful Senju...' Tsunade didn't know what kind of scene she was imagining, but a flush of pink crawled up her cheeks.
It was the first time Makiya had seen Tsunade look so shy. Usually, she acted like a strong-willed woman. Even while soaking in a hot spring, she maintained her tomboyish demeanor, acting bold and unrefined. This sudden 180-degree shift in style was a bit hard to get used to.
Tsunade reached out and waved her hand in front of Makiya's eyes. "Hey, snap out of it. What are you thinking about so intently?"
Makiya regained his senses and glanced out the window, improvising a distraction. "I was just noticing as Minato and I walked in that only two or three houses around here have lights on. It is too lonely. Have you considered making this place more lively?"
Tsunade was dumbstruck. "How... how many would I have to give birth to for that?"
Makiya walked to the window and looked around. "Not many. Maybe a hundred or so."
Hearing this, Tsunade's face turned pale instantly. "No! Absolutely not! People will die! Even with medical ninjutsu, that place will be stretched too far! Absolutely not!"
Makiya said, "Huh?"
Realizing she might have misunderstood, he quickly explained, "I meant relocating the members of the former Senju clan back here to let them thrive. The Senju may have given up their surname, but the blood connection remains. Why live on the outskirts of Konoha when they have perfectly good houses in the core district?"
Tsunade replied, "...I see. I will consider it."
Makiya left with Madara's coffin. Tsunade was clearly very interested in the idea of the Uchiha and Senju combining to produce the Rinnegan, but Hashirama's face on the corpse killed any desire for research. She could only ask Makiya to share his data.
With Uchiha Madara dead and the briefly seen Nagato gone, the aftershocks of Makiya's battle had wiped out a significant portion of the Mist's forces, making it impossible for them to maintain their front lines.
Hiruzen Sarutobi seized the opportunity to drive all the Mist ninjas invading the Land of Fire back to the sea in one fell swoop, killing a large number of them during the pursuit and further weakening the Mist's strength.
Facing a menacing Konoha, the Mist chose to retreat temporarily. They did not opt for peace talks, nor did they intend to continue the war. They simply returned to their village without a word to lick their wounds.
With the vast ocean as a barrier, the Mist was confident that Konoha could not directly attack their homeland. This gave them the audacity to refuse a peace treaty, intending to restart the war at any time.
However, before that, they would likely have to deal with internal affairs. The total collapse of their leadership had left the Daimyo of the Land of Water very dissatisfied, and he was determined to replace them with a more reliable group of shinobi. Under the Daimyo's intervention, the Mist Village began a massive reformation.
Meanwhile, news of the Sharingan controlling the Mist Village spread like wildfire, sweeping across the ninja world. For a time, small villages were in a state of panic, fearing they would wake up as genjutsu puppets.
The other Great Ninja Villages also ramped up their vigilance, establishing rules to regularly check the chakra flow of their high-ranking officials to guard against the Uchiha of Konoha.
The Uchiha's reputation in the ninja world plummeted, making them targets of universal scorn. Yet, they were also a highly coveted bloodline. The other Kage hated Konoha for having the Uchiha, while simultaneously hating that their own villages lacked them.
The truce between Konoha and the Mist seemed to mark the end of the war for the entire ninja world. The intensity of conflict dropped sharply. Although minor friction still occurred between nations, it was mostly disputes over missions, resulting in few casualties.
In the blink of an eye, the calendar turned to October of Konoha Year 48. Kushina's belly grew larger by the day, nearing its limit. Recently, little Naruto's movements had intensified, signaling that the day of labor was approaching.
With Uchiha Madara dead, Obito following Rin Nohara around like a loyal dog, and Nagato's intel already handed to Minato, Makiya could not see what danger Kushina could possibly face.
This should be a sure win.jpg
Of course, one shouldn't raise death flags. Necessary preparations still had to be made. While Minato and the Third were busy with arrangements, Makiya was staying in his base, staring at the script in front of him.
"Tekka, is this really the thing you would least want to see?" Makiya picked up the script to confirm once more, looking at the young clansman standing respectfully before him.
"Yes, Lord Makiya," the clansman named Tekka replied respectfully.
"Have you clearly seen the price you will have to pay after succeeding?" Makiya pointed to the agreement on the table, signed by both Makiya and Tekka.
"Of course, Lord Makiya." Tekka was full of excitement. "Once I awaken the Mangekyo, you are free to study both my eyes and my ocular jutsu!"
"Good. Then lie down on the operating table over there."
Once Tekka was settled, Makiya secured his limbs, took one last look at the script, and locked onto the most suitable genjutsu world in his mind.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan opened quietly, meeting Tekka's gaze. The latter immediately felt a flash of white light as his memories and sense of self were veiled.
"Immerse yourself in the genjutsu world of Night Shift Nurses, Tekka," Makiya whispered, constructing the world Tekka least wanted to see.
As his ocular power was consumed, time flowed rapidly in the genjutsu world. Tekka's expression grew distorted. "No! Tell me this isn't real! Miss Ako, you are lying to me, right? Ryuji is lying, right!?"
Cold ocular power surged from Tekka's body. His two Three-Tomoe Sharingan flew open uncontrollably, and the tomoe began to melt and merge.
Everything seemed to fall into place naturally. Tekka had awakened his Three-Tomoe on the battlefield and had been a Jonin for some time. As his strength grew, few things could trigger such intense emotional fluctuations.
The mental stimulation from the genjutsu was just right. Tekka had been building up potential for a long time; Makiya simply gave him a gentle nudge to trigger the advancement.
"NO—!"
With a roar, the tomoe in Tekka's eyes finally solidified into a pattern. The Mangekyo's ocular power erupted within his mind, shattering the genjutsu Makiya had constructed.
Tekka stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time, unable to process what had happened.
He had remembered everything and understood that what he just experienced was a genjutsu, but... it was too real. That heart-wrenching pain...
Half an hour later, Tekka left Makiya's base carrying a fresh pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan—originally part of Danzo's collection.
On Makiya's desk sat two test tubes containing the Mangekyo Sharingan. These were Tekka's original eyes.
After transplanting Tekka's eyes, Makiya felt the power contained within them. He slowly began to comprehend the flow of ocular power within the eyeballs, scribbling notes in his notebook.
Analyzing the Mangekyo's ocular techniques would be a long and arduous journey, but he had finally found a starting point.
The night of October 10th, Konoha Year 48.
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, silver light bathing the land.
Two figures appeared on the outskirts of Konoha, coldly watching the peaceful village.
"Zetsu, your intel better be right. You are sure it is tonight?" the blonde-haired hunk with glowing eyes asked slowly.
"It won't be wrong. It's definitely today."
Nagato fell silent for a moment. "I hope this Uchiha Itachi is as exceptional as you say, otherwise this pawn isn't worth having."
"He is someone Lord Madara spoke highly of, just like you." The aloe vera creature glanced at Nagato, secretly laughing to himself. 'You are all just pawns; none of you are more special than the others.'
Considering Nagato's status was quite important, he added a warning, "Be careful of Makiya Uchiha."
Nagato gave a disdainful smile. "Before a god, mortals are nothing more than dust."
Black Zetsu: "..."
Behind the Hokage Rock in an unknown grove of trees—the same place where Hashirama and Madara once met—the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was currently in labor.