White Zetsu shrank its neck.
Only now did it realize that this old man—who usually insulted them occasionally but whose temperament was otherwise fairly mild…
When he became serious, the look in his eyes alone felt as if it could melt someone just by staring at them.
"Madara-sama, your gaze is really scary…"
"Um… please don't get so agitated! He just looks similar, that's all…" White Zetsu took several steps back.
"Stop the nonsense!" Madara suddenly stood up: "Three minutes. I want all the information about that boy you mentioned!"
Madara waved his hand with domineering force and clenched his fist again after a long time.
Although Madara inwardly acknowledged Izuna's "Uchiha potential identification method" very much…
If an Uchiha similar to Izuna were to appear, then this identification method could be discarded on the spot.
Because this was, after all, only a matter of probability.
It was merely that such Uchiha were more likely to possess greater potential—not that only idiots like Obito could become powerful.
For example, Izuna had been outstanding and calm since childhood…
For example, himself—Uchiha Madara considered himself a cold, emotionless Uchiha who had stood out since a young age…
And as a lonely old man who had long been tormented by Poopman…
Deep in his heart, Madara had never wanted to find a mentally unstable, paranoid idiot to act as his spokesperson…
Just thinking about it felt exhausting.
"Madara-sama, three minutes isn't enough time to obtain all the information…"
White Zetsu said cautiously: "You know that Uzumaki Mito isn't always at home now. She has started going out for walks, and our surveillance range and time have both been further reduced…"
"According to your instructions, whenever we see Uzumaki Mito, we silently recite your name in our minds and immediately turn around and leave…"
Most of White Zetsu's minds were abnormal.
They constantly and unconsciously emitted malice, so to avoid White Zetsu being discovered by Mito, Madara had instructed them that whenever they encountered such a situation, they should suppress their malice by silently repeating his name.
But that method only worked for a short while, so they still had to withdraw quickly and could not remain near Mito for long.
"Oh right, she has become much younger recently… Should you also try to find some method? Maybe learn from her…"
In the shadows, Black Zetsu's spirit suddenly lifted.
Good!
He had not expected that the White Zetsu who usually only babbled nonsense would finally say something of value.
Black Zetsu had always believed that Madara's spokesperson plan was extremely poor.
When a plan stretched across a timeline of more than ten years, without strong supervision…
The possibility of problems appearing was simply too great.
Although Black Zetsu was confident he could constantly patch things up for Madara…
How could using a spokesperson possibly be as reliable as Madara personally taking action?
'Madara has grown old. His aging body makes him fear failure—fear that the victory now within reach might be ruined by his own hands. That is why he wants to find a spokesperson to transfer this risk…'
'And these damned fools—spending day and night with them really does dull one's mind and will!' Black Zetsu also cursed the White Zetsu silently in his mind.
It was only because he had received Mother's blessing and his body would not age that the influence of living among the White Zetsu did not affect him much.
The constant flooding of useless information, the interaction pattern with no feedback, the 'idiotic' background of the environment…
This was the backlash of White Zetsu's powerful intelligence-gathering ability on Madara, this old man.
Madara was, after all, a human, and humans needed communication. But the problem was that Madara could only communicate with White Zetsu.
Black Zetsu did want to help Madara keep his mind active, yet he feared exposing his identity, so he could only let things be…
"Hmph. Do you think I don't know about Uzumaki Mito's technique?"
"'Yin Seal'—it is merely an inferior product created in an attempt to imitate the structure of Hashirama's vigorous life force."
"If it were Hashirama, he wouldn't need this technique to maintain his body at all. His cells were inherently highly active—undying and unaging!"
"When he was alive, his wounds could heal without hand seals. People called him a ninja 'so strong he could not be defeated'!"
White Zetsu's face twitched.
No, Madara-sama—who asked you about Senju Hashirama?
No one wants to hear these old lines you've repeated hundreds of times!
Black Zetsu sighed silently.
Hashirama had already been dead for decades, yet Madara was still so obsessed with that man…
In a certain sense, it could even be somewhat compared with his own obsession with Mother.
Looking across the reincarnations of Asura and Indra throughout the ages, even Black Zetsu—an old veteran of the ninja world—had to admit that Madara and Hashirama were a very special pair…
The feelings between them could no longer be explained merely by reincarnation.
Even without the chakra of Indra and Asura, those two would probably still have become entangled with each other.
"It's different. That Mito is only a mortal body, but what I lack is the supplement of the power of all creation…"
"Nagato has that talent. If he can grow up, and with the Rinnegan continuously modifying his body, then if his life force is poured into me all at once, it should work…"
"But more than ten years… heh." Madara sneered and shook his head.
Madara had implanted the Rinnegan into Nagato's eyes in advance.
It was also to let the Rinnegan modify Nagato's body in reverse, making him more suitable to revive him.
But even so, Madara still silently inserted several tubes into his own back.
He hated being connected to tubes…
Being connected to tubes made Madara feel that he had lost his dignity.
This posture of barely clinging to life was simply too ugly.
But when he thought that Mito—the only peer he was still somewhat familiar with—had now regained a trace of vitality,
Madara suddenly found himself somewhat more accepting of the tubes.
Even if the level of his body was higher, several grades stronger than Uzumaki Mito's…
However, Madara always felt that if he appeared inferior to Mito of the same era, then if Hashirama were to find out, he would surely laugh at him!
Since that was the case, being connected to tubes could not be helped. It was all for the sake of competing with Hashirama!
Seeing this, Black Zetsu felt delighted inside.
Taking advantage of this moment, he quickly reported some matters that might make Madara unhappy: "Madara-sama, a few days ago Hanzo spoke publicly in the Land of Rain about forming an alliance with Konoha. He said that in the previous war they had been misled by Sunagakure and Iwagakure, and that both Konoha and Amegakure were victims…"
"In addition, on Konoha's side, the Anbu are currently being dispatched throughout the ninja world to search for surviving members of the Uzumaki…"
"That Nagato is, after all, Jiraiya's disciple. Although we used the information of a fake death to cut off Jiraiya's search, if this continues for a long time, some accidents might occur…"
Black Zetsu spoke cautiously.
If Madara continued to ignore it, and Nagato's Rinnegan were discovered by Konoha…
Or even if he directly joined Konoha, then the plan to revive Mother would be completely disrupted!
Madara was startled. He had indeed overlooked this issue; recently he had been sleeping a little too much…
"I know about this point. I have noticed it."
"Increase the level of surveillance on Nagato. You no longer need to keep returning. If there is any situation, report it to me immediately!"
Madara grabbed Black Zetsu out from the shadows and injected some chakra into his body.
"You now possess the ability to resonate with Nagato's pair of Rinnegan. If there is an emergency, then attach yourself to him. Protecting the Rinnegan is the highest priority."
Black Zetsu obediently nodded. "Everything will follow Madara-sama's orders!"
Inside, however, he was quite dismissive…
What exactly had he noticed? Napping all day, reading newspapers—his life was extremely leisurely!
Besides, this little bit of chakra could not compare with the traits Mother had bestowed upon him…
Even without this chakra, Black Zetsu had full confidence he could attach himself to Nagato!
In Black Zetsu's view, that kid Nagato was far too foolish, completely lacking vigilance…
"You are still somewhat useful, Black Zetsu…"
Madara nodded with satisfaction. "As expected of my will—far stronger than those useless wastes!"
On the surface, Black Zetsu looked extremely excited at being praised by Madara.
But in his mind he sneered: 'Who would be a creation of a low-level creature like you? Foolish descendant of Indra…'
"As for that new candidate, do you know his name?"
"Uchiha Seisui, Madara-sama."
"I will personally monitor that Seisui. You useless trash—trying to deal with Mito is indeed unrealistic for you." A long-absent glimmer appeared in Madara's eyes.
Although after calming down, the hope he held for this Uchiha Seisui was not very great.
A clansman as outstanding as Izuna could not be found a second time in the entire history of the Uchiha!
His excitement just now was merely because he had not heard his younger brother's name for far too long.
But even so, being able to see a substitute who "resembled the one he longed for" would still be good.
At the very least, it could please the eyes. While being connected to tubes to repair his body, it could distract some of his attention—at least giving him something to do…
"Attacking Kusagakure, searching for surviving Uzumaki, obtaining large sums of money from the Land of Fire, intimidating the other hidden villages, even distributing benefits to the Uchiha clan along the way, and also finding me an observation target…"
"Konoha has changed greatly now…"
"That kid Sarutobi Hiruzen is somewhat interesting. If I remember correctly, he is Sarutobi Sasuke's son, right?" Madara muttered to himself while flipping through the intelligence reports.
During the Warring States era, aside from Senju Hashirama, Sarutobi Sasuke was also one of the very few ninjas Madara somewhat held in regard.
Black Zetsu nodded. "You are correct, Madara-sama."
Black Zetsu had also taken notice of the current Sarutobi Hiruzen.
In a ninja world where people were practically all madmen, this man's will and methods made Black Zetsu somewhat surprised.
His steadiness and normality did not resemble that of a ninja.
"But you need not pay attention to him. He does not possess the bloodline of either the Uchiha or the Senju…"
Black Zetsu added, "In the end, he cannot accomplish anything."
"That's right… Alright, I am going to see Uchiha Seisui now!"
Madara waved his hand and, unable to wait any longer, connected to the White Zetsu in Konoha, beginning his old-age rehabilitation.
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