If it were anyone else, they might consider it, but Kushina was absolutely out of the question because she was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
Madara wanted to resurrect the Ten-Tails, and the Nine-Tails was indispensable.
The direct conflict between Konoha and Madara was the Nine-Tails.
As the military force of the Land of Fire, Konoha fought for the interests of the ruling class, such as the Daimyo and nobles; they could never agree to Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan.
It was even more impossible to hand the Nine-Tails over to Madara.
Jiraiya jumped out, truly believing Ryou was some kind of lecherous demon.
"Ryou, you bastard! Kushina is married and about to have a child, yet you're still staring at her. Do you have any Ninja qualities at all?"
Ryou laughed loudly. "Ninja qualities? Sorry, I don't have those. Just now, I tortured the Daimyo of the Land of Rain in the name of a Konoha Ninja."
"Hahaha..."
The Konoha Ninjas were all furious. This guy Ryou was simply ruining the reputation of Ninjas, making it so everyone wouldn't be able to earn a living.
He was practically biting the hand that fed him.
A disgrace among Ninjas!
Mikoto covered her face, unable to face anyone. She quickly used the Transformation Jutsu to look like a member of the Aburame Clan, just like Itachi.
Could they still tolerate this?
Kushina rushed forward, grabbed the back of Ryou's neck, and seized his family jewels.
Immediately, Ryou begged for mercy.
"Kushina—no, Mom, Mom! I was wrong! I was wrong!"
Aburame Ryoma pushed the door open and entered. He found it quite strange to see two people from the Aburame Clan inside; he didn't recognize either of them!
Aburame Ryoma didn't look into it further. During Aburame Clan meetings, everyone looked the same; children often called the wrong person Dad or Mom.
Seeing Aburame Ryoma with only one arm left, the Third Hokage stood up. "Ryoma, are you the only one from Root who came back?"
Ryoma nodded. "Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama has sacrificed himself!"
With the Sages of Mount Myōboku present, Ryoma didn't dare reveal the news that Danzo was still alive.
Once the Sages of Mount Myōboku left, Ryoma would find a way to catch a few thousand pounds of insects for Mount Myōboku as an apology.
While other abilities of the Aburame Clan might be questioned, their insect-controlling ability was beyond doubt.
The Third Hokage felt somewhat sorrowful. He said to Fukasaku and Shima, "Sages, Danzo has already sacrificed himself. There is no need to trouble him further."
The two Sages felt a bit embarrassed. After all, Danzo was a hero who died for his country!
As Sages, being so petty lacked a certain sage-like grace.
The Third Hokage stopped wasting words, walked up to Ryou, and said, "Ryou, I want to speak with Uchiha Madara."
Ryou stuck to his previous rhetoric: "It's useless. Madara has gone mad. He wants to create a new Ninja World. Even Hashirama wouldn't be able to persuade him."
The Third Hokage said solemnly, "Regardless of whether it's useful, I want to speak with him once."
"Useless!"
"Kushina, crush them!"
"Wait, my original body has already set out. I'll let you talk to Madara right away."
Amegakure.
Ryou constructed a Chakra transmission channel between himself and the spore clone in Konoha; his balls hurt a bit.
This was because Chakra was the energy manifestation of consciousness and emotions.
Since the clone over there was taking damage, the original body was also somewhat affected due to the Chakra transmission channel.
"Kiyomi, bring the inari sushi you made for the Ancestor. I'm taking it to him."
"Okay!"
Kiyomi packed the inari sushi she had carefully prepared for Madara.
Madara wasn't completely devoid of desires. During this period of physical recovery, he hadn't relied on the Gedo Statue for energy; Ryou had been bringing him food.
Sometimes, while dazing off, he would also pet cats.
The frisky cats in Ryou's office had been snatched by the Ninja Cat and sent to serve Madara in his sleep.
Ryou had Candy bring all the frisky cats from the office, and then he went with her to the underground of the Hidden Rain Village.
Madara had moved the base where he originally repaired the Gedo Statue to Amegakure, hoping to use the heavy human presence here to hide the Gedo Statue's aura.
Soon, Ryou and Candy arrived at Madara's underground base.
The Gedo Statue was one-third repaired. Madara even had the leisure to read books; they were all very old, seemingly ancient texts.
Madara wanted to figure out what the extraterrestrial power that attacked him was.
Madara felt that the Ninja World seemed to be exceeding his expectations.
Even the Rinnegan couldn't let him do whatever he wanted anymore.
The moment Ryou and Candy's figures appeared, Madara had already sensed them. He put down his book and looked at Ryou with a slight sneer.
"Ah~ The General has arrived!"
The Uchiha youth immediately stood at attention. "I wouldn't dare. I am but a small soldier under the Ancestor's command."
"Hmph!"
Madara gave a light snort.
Ryou placed the cuisine Kiyomi made next to Madara and then released the group of frisky cats. Instantly, the entire underground base was filled with meowing.
"Where did you get so many cats?"
Madara grabbed a blue-furred cat and started petting it without even using a glove.
Ryou smiled. "The Ninja Cat brought them to honor their Ancestor."
Madara nodded, then said, "Is disaster relief useful? This country will soon become a battlefield for the Five Great Nations. How many people can you save?"
Ryou smiled. "One person is one of my lives. The Land of Rain is my nursery!"
"..."
Madara fell silent.
His pursuit was to save a world, and for that, he could sacrifice a person or a country.
This was the law the Warring States Period had taught Madara: to gain something, you must sacrifice something!
Indecision would at any time become your final choice.
After a moment of silence, Madara looked at Ryou and asked, "You still haven't integrated Hashirama's cells?"
Ryou said, "My clones are studying the compatibility between me and Hashirama's cells. Tonight, I will be able to integrate them and obtain the power of Wood Release."
The cells Madara gave Ryou weren't just Hashirama's; they also included Madara's own cells. If their bloodlines were purified further, they could reach the level of Indra and Asura.
Then these would be Six Paths cells.
Even if they didn't reach the Six Paths level, these were no ordinary Kekkei Genkai cells. The ultimate power of Wood Release and the Sharingan was more terrifying than even a Kekkei Tota.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a fusion of four bloodlines.
If time weren't so tight, Ryou would have wanted to study it for at least two or three months before attempting a stable fusion.
Madara nodded. "Stop wasting time saving this country that's always weeping. Set out for Sunagakure tomorrow to capture the One Tail."
"I have arrangements for Nagato and those from Kusagakure as well. When the time comes, I'll have them go to Takigakure to capture the Seven-Tails."
As Madara spoke of his plans, Kirigakure was already under his control.
The Three-Tails and Six-Tails were essentially in the bag.
Capturing the One Tail and Seven-Tails would mean having four Tailed Beasts.
As for the remaining five, they were the taboos of the three great Ninja villages, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha. None of them were easy to deal with.
However, once Ryou integrated Hashirama's cells into his body, combined with his Immortality Technique, he would already surpass conventional Ninjas.
By then, the Five Great Nations likely wouldn't even be able to get past Ryou.
Ryou nodded, then stated his purpose: "My spore clone in Konoha was exposed by Obito. The Konoha high-ranking officials now know the truth about the Eye of the Moon Plan."
"Now, the Konoha leadership wants to speak with you, Ancestor."
Madara was disdainful. "A bunch of small fry aren't worthy of talking to me. Let them obediently prepare the Nine-Tails; when the time comes, I will naturally grant them a beautiful dream."
There were very few people in this world whom Madara respected. The only one worthy of speaking with him was Hashirama.
Ryou persuaded, "Since we're already here, why not hear what they have to say?"
Madara nodded. "Fine. Let's see what these poor worms have to say."
Ryou approached Madara, letting him place a hand on his shoulder to inject Chakra and connect to the Chakra channel inside Ryou's body.
The next second, Madara's Chakra was transmitted to Konoha.