Boom!!
A thunderous explosion erupted in the distance, and the shockwave sent Uchiha Madara's long hair flying.
With his arms folded across his chest, he ignored the battlefield and merely looked up, sensing the cocoon hanging beneath the branches of the Divine Tree.
"Asuka."
Uchiha Madara's murmur scattered in the wind. The figure who had always called "Old Man Madara" by his ear surfaced in his mind once more.
Over the long years, he had received scattered bits of information about Uchiha Asuka.
That child had inherited Uchiha Hiyoku's talent for battle. More remarkably, his Chakra had changed, giving him the potential to become a Medical Ninja.
A Medical Ninja with formidable combat strength had a far greater chance of survival than others, whether in times of peace or war.
If nothing unexpected happened, that child should have become a pillar of the Uchiha Clan—and even Konoha.
Faced with such an outstanding junior, Madara had once considered bringing him into the Eye of the Moon Plan. But after a brief assessment, he abandoned Uchiha Asuka and chose Uchiha Obito instead, someone easier to exploit.
From then on, he never actively gathered intelligence on Uchiha Asuka again, until—
A Tailed Beast suddenly appeared at Uchiha Asuka's side.
"The least qualified one became my aid in realizing the Eye of the Moon, while the most qualified one became an obstacle to my Eye of the Moon Plan." Uchiha Madara stared at the cocoon with a complicated expression, his deep voice slowly sounding. "Infinite Tsukuyomi. The truth of the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Madara paused, then turned his gaze toward the blood moon high above. "The daimyo rely on ninja to maintain their power, yet constantly fear the blades turning against them. Ninja clutch kunai to protect others, yet invite even more hatred because of