In an unknown deep underground, thick tree roots extend irregularly in all directions, clinging to dry earth walls. Here, silence and darkness coexist, eerie and terrifying.
Deep in the darkness, stood a huge humanoid stone statue. The stone statue had nine closed eyes, a ferocious appearance, and its color and body were like dead wood.
Under the stone statue, several pipes stretched forward and were inserted into the body of a gray-haired old man. The old man was sitting on a stone platform with a cane. His expression was indifferent, and the two eye sockets under his bangs were empty, which added to the horror.
The old man stared at the darkness ahead, or in other words, without eyes, he could only see darkness.
But what does it matter? As long as he is willing, there is nothing Shinobi World can hide from him.
The dark ground suddenly fluctuated and seemed to be slowly twisting. Finally, a pure white creature came out.
"Hey, Madara-sama, you woke up so early this time." The white creature expressed its surprise in an exaggerated tone, but it was a bit of a performance no matter how you looked at it.
"Well, how long have I been asleep this time?" Madara raised his head slightly.
"... Um, well, this." The white creature tilted its head and thought for a while, then said, "Seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven days..."
"It's been twenty years?" The old man's tone finally changed. After all, anyone who hears this number will find it... too scary.
"Wrong, wrong, Madara-sama." The white creature waved its hand quickly. "I was confused, this was the time I didn't poop."
"..."
"I'll count it. Every day that passes, I will make a scratch on it. Just wait."
"..."
Madara snorted coldly, but didn't say anything else, nor was he impatient. For him, time... was the least valuable thing.
And White Zetsu, this clone of Hashirama Cells, can be regarded as a leisurely pastime for a long night.
Five minutes later, White Zetsu finally finished counting the notches. He raised his head with excitement and shouted to the old man on the stone chair, "Madara-sama, I've finished counting. It's 186 days in total."
"It's been half a year." Spot nodded, and then continued to ask, "Is there anything noteworthy recently?"
"Yes. Third Kazekage was captured by four people, Orochimaru, Hatake Sakumo, Jiraiya and Uchiha Chen. Then Hidden Sand Village surrendered and the agreement was just signed."
"Sunagakure's defeat is expected." Madara showed a clear look, but then shook his head and said disdainfully, "This Third Kazekage is really a waste. Each generation is worse than the last. I think back then Hashirama and I..."
"You fought for three days and three nights, and it was a clash of muscles and a battle of souls! I know, you have described it several times."
"..."
For some reason, the old man felt that the sealed underground space seemed a little stuffy.
"What about Hidden Cloud Village and Hidden Stone Village?"
"Still fighting." White Zetsu said immediately.
"Ōnoki That brat really hasn't made any progress at all."
White Zetsu asked in confusion, "Then why did Madara-sama help him? If you hadn't let Eight-Tails go, maybe this Ninja World War would have ended long ago."
"I'm not helping Ōnoki, but to help all human beings." The old man replied calmly.
He learned a long time ago through the piece of Stone Tablet that in ancient times, there was no chakra.
People can only survive on this land like the most ordinary creatures.
Later, Sage of Six Paths appeared, and he spread this invisible power throughout the world... As a result, human beings have extraordinary abilities.
Under the leadership of Sage of Six Paths, humans with chakra are like gods walking on the earth, building numerous temples to allow new believers from all over the world to share wisdom and love.
During that short period of time, human beings seemed to calmly sublimate themselves, transcend the constraints of the world, and achieve true peace.
However, humans are mortal and susceptible to the sins of pride, hatred, impatience, and greed.
As the years went by, some people began to tarnish the teachings of Sage of Six Paths, twisting and abusing this power for personal selfishness.
From this came war... war that was more powerful, more direct, and more destructive.
What followed was the fall of mankind.
And the darkness that lasts for thousands of years.
In Madara's view, Ninja World War is the pinnacle of the expansion of darkness.
If humans want to embrace the light, they must endure the darkness. The deeper the darkness, the greater the pain, and the more human beings yearn for light.
"And I, Uchiha Madara..." A blush appeared on his face. "I will be the one who lights up the light."
After a long time, White Zetsu saw that the old man sitting on the stone chair was motionless, and couldn't help but ask, "Madara-sama, are you asleep?"
"No, what's wrong?"
"The guy named Uchiha Fugaku you asked me to monitor had an accident today."
Then White Zetsu told Madara everything he saw, including everything Fugaku showed in the battle, vividly and in great detail.
"Finally I went to check and found that the guy was obviously dead, but he came back to life in the end..."
"It's Izanagi." The old man touched his empty eyes and continued, "This technique can transform all the injuries suffered by the caster, including death, into dreams.
But the price is that the eyes will lose their light forever. "
"In that case, why isn't that guy's injury healed? Otherwise, I wouldn't have to give him any chakra."
"According to your description, he formed the seal while lying on the ground, so what Sharingan recorded was only his physical condition while lying on the ground, and his injuries were naturally recorded as well."
"That's it." White Zetsu nodded with satisfaction after getting the answer, and then asked, "Then do I need to continue to monitor him?"
"Just keep an eye on it."
Although Fugaku's left eye is blind, from Madara's point of view, it is not a big deal. As long as he is willing, even a useless person can be trained!
Therefore, strength is not the key point. Being strong is good, and being weak is okay. The key is... love.
As long as there is love, the darkness you fall into becomes deeper, and the power of hatred becomes stronger. If you cooperate with Mangekyo Sharingan, you can walk on Shinobi World as a substitute for Uchiha Madara and complete the preparations for Infinite Tsukuyomi.
Fugaku This person has love, otherwise he would not choose to sacrifice himself to protect his people.
But the only thing that dissatisfied Madara was that this person wanted to do something, but was a little cowardly.
If it were just these, it would be nothing more than the low-end version Sarutobi Hiruzen, but the key point is... the ability is not good enough, and I have to be cautious about doing things.
For example, in this incident, since we knew we had fallen into the Sand Ninja's trap, we should immediately choose to disperse and break out. After all, the encirclement was not fully formed at that time, instead of breaking out at the end.
So Madara just said let's wait and see, after all, he still has many candidates in his hands.
Even if this generation can't do it, he can still wait for the next generation of ninjas to be born. Again... what he lacks most is time!
"How is Nagato?"
"I still live in that cabin with Yahiko and Konan. While practicing, I occasionally go to nearby towns to help ordinary people."
"I see, it seems that it will take a long time for him to grow up."
"What about Sharingan?"
"I have collected a lot and put them next to Demonic Statue of the Outer Path. Do you want to change them now?"
"I can do it myself. You can continue to monitor."
"Understood." White Zetsu nodded slowly, slowly blending into the ground like mud and disappearing invisible.
After White Zetsu disappeared, Madara stood up slowly, without holding on to his crutch, but walked towards Demonic Statue of the Outer Path tremblingly.
When he touched Demonic Statue of the Outer Path's body, his hands were trembling slightly, and his face showed an ecstatic expression.
"Soon... my successor will capture them all... and return them to your arms."
"Until then‥‥‥"
Madara spreads his arms...
"I will be resurrected and come back to this world;
I will transform and become the new Sage of Six Paths;
I will prove that there is only one path to peace;
And Hashirama will also live forever in my Infinite Tsukuyomi! "
The old man slowly raised his head and stared at the darkness somewhere. A smile slowly appeared on his old face.
I have been waiting for many years...
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