Madara Uchiha's Sudden Enlightenment

"How many patients are still at Konoha Hospital?"

Tobirama Senju tapped on the desk, seemingly absentmindedly.

"There are still several dozen critically ill patients in the hospital..."

This assistant, who had been planted beside Shirou Emiya, had been won over by Shirou Emiya's medical skills in just one day. He could not help but sigh. "With Lord Shirou's medical expertise, these patients will soon be free from the suffering caused by their illnesses..."

"In that case..."

Tobirama Senju narrowed his eyes and spoke as though talking to himself. "If our village hospital has no more patients, someone with his temperament could not possibly remain in Konoha forever. He will probably travel everywhere to heal the sick and save lives, just as he did in the Ancient Era..."

"Besides..."

"He must also want to see this era."

The sound of Tobirama Senju's fingers tapping the desk was strangely unnerving. He considered the situation in the Shinobi World and the troubles facing Konoha. "If he leaves Konoha..."

"Lord Tobirama, do you mean..."

The assistant did not quite understand Tobirama Senju's meaning and cautiously tried to persuade him. "If Lord Tobirama intends to imprison Lord Shirou, I would not advise it..."

"What are you thinking?"

Tobirama Senju waved a hand, signaling his subordinate not to worry, and said coldly, "Konoha would never do such a thing. I am merely concerned for Lord Shirou's safety. Not everyone in the Shinobi World will respect him as much as our village does..."

For example...

Madara Uchiha.

Tobirama Senju rested his chin on his palm, a dangerous look appearing in his eyes. He was considering a plan that would thoroughly make use of Shirou Emiya.

"Tomorrow morning."

"Have Monkey and the others gather at the Training Ground!"

Tobirama Senju gave the order in a deep voice. "Starting tomorrow, I will put them through special training. Based on their results, I will select suitable candidates to carry out a special mission!"

"And..."

"Gather the Anbu as well."

"I will select another group of suitable candidates."

Tobirama Senju was exceptionally serious as he considered his plan concerning Shirou Emiya, even fearing the slightest mishap. "I must also find time to meet my elder brother..."

If nothing unexpected happened...

When Shirou Emiya left Konoha...

Madara Uchiha would definitely make his move.

Tobirama Senju believed he understood Madara Uchiha fairly well. He believed Madara Uchiha would certainly want to use Shirou Emiya's medical skills to treat the Sharingan that had gone blind in order to escape death!

"That was the eye of his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna..."

Tobirama Senju recalled the man he had killed in the past, his eyes cold as he thought, "That pair of eyes is the only trace of Uchiha Izuna left in this world. The Uchiha Clan's power also depends entirely on their Sharingan..."

"By both emotion and reason..."

"Madara Uchiha will definitely find a way to restore sight to that eye."

"Without question, once Shirou Emiya leaves Konoha, it will be Madara's best opportunity—and our best opportunity to kill Madara once again."

In fact...

Tobirama Senju's guess was indeed correct.

This man understood Madara Uchiha's way of thinking quite well.

The only thing Tobirama Senju had guessed wrong was that Madara Uchiha did not intend to heal his blind eye.

Because Madara Uchiha did not believe Shirou Emiya's medical skills could cure his blindness. He merely wanted to meet Shirou Emiya and ask about some secrets of the Ancient Era.

Land of Fire.

One of the Uchiha Clan's underground hideouts.

After escaping the pursuit of the Konoha Ninja, Madara Uchiha had stopped here briefly to rest, because only he, the former clan head, knew of this hideout.

Without a Medical Ninja, Madara Uchiha could only attempt to transplant Hashirama's flesh onto his wounds himself. He wanted to obtain Hashirama Senju's power this way.

Fortunately...

This crude transplant succeeded.

The process had been somewhat dangerous. Hashirama Senju's flesh rapidly grew across his body, but it was soon brought under control by the Chakra within him.

"It worked..."

Madara Uchiha closed his eyes in satisfaction.

The man could clearly feel the Chakra surging through his body. After transplanting Hashirama Cells, both his Chakra and physical recovery ability had improved enormously!

"Let me see..."

Madara Uchiha sliced open his arm with a finger.

After blood flowed from the wound on Madara Uchiha's arm, it rapidly healed under the stimulation of the Chakra within his body!

This self-healing ability...

Was unique to Hashirama Senju!

Now, he too possessed this terrifying self-healing ability!

What surprised Madara Uchiha most was that a vine had grown from his arm. This was Hashirama Senju's unique Wood Release Bloodline Limit!

"My chest feels strange..."

Madara Uchiha stood before a smooth pane of glass.

Madara Uchiha saw a white face growing from his chest. Its features somewhat resembled those of his friend, Hashirama Senju.

This was the price he had paid for obtaining Hashirama Senju's power. Transplanting Hashirama Cells would permanently leave a mark on one's body.

"However..."

"It is still far from what I truly wanted..."

Madara Uchiha casually threw on a garment to cover the face on his chest. His brow furrowed deeply in dissatisfaction.

"Based on the information left behind on the Stone Tablet from our Uchiha Clan's Ancient Era, the interaction between opposing forces should yield the Power of All Things."

The difference was far too great!

Although his strength had improved tremendously!

To Madara Uchiha, this increase in strength was completely incomparable to the price he had paid. He had sacrificed an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to blindness!

That was the eye his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna, had entrusted to him!

Had he guessed wrong?

"The Power of All Things..."

"What exactly is the Power of All Things?"

Madara Uchiha sank back into thought. He did not believe his understanding could have been wrong, and he raised a hand to touch his eye socket. "After obtaining Hashirama's power, I can feel that the ocular power consumed when using Mangekyo Sharingan techniques has also decreased..."

"But..."

"This improvement is not a qualitative change."

"There is still some information on our clan's Stone Tablet, information I was unable to read even after transplanting Izuna's eyes."

"If my guess is correct, the final content should state that after our clan obtains the Power of All Things, we are to use that power to save this world..."

"Hmph..."

"However..."

"Things are not so troublesome now..."

Madara Uchiha recalled the man who had exposed his secret of faking his death, recalled that Medical Ninja from the Ancient Era, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"If I remember correctly, Hashirama told me stories about Shirou Emiya when we were children. He was the Shinobi World's first Medical Ninja..."

"Perhaps..."

"He knows something."

"It seems I still need to find an opportunity to meet that man from the Ancient Era. Perhaps I can learn from him the information hidden on the Stone Tablet..."

Madara Uchiha's mind was exceptionally quick.

He was no longer completely bound by the contents of the Uchiha Clan's Stone Tablet.

Since Shirou Emiya, a figure from the Ancient Era, had appeared in this era, why not find an opportunity to ask him directly? Perhaps all his doubts could be resolved!

"Perhaps..."

Madara Uchiha raised a short blade, intending to lie in wait near Konoha and seek another chance to meet Shirou Emiya. "That man may know how to unlock the Power of All Things. Perhaps there will be even greater gains!"

"..."

Beneath this hideout.

Black Zetsu's figure silently lurked in the darkness.

Compared to Madara Uchiha's confidence, Black Zetsu's thoughts were more complicated. It had originally believed that after Madara Uchiha obtained Hashirama Senju's Chakra, he would quickly evolve from the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan to the Rinnegan. Yet things did not seem to be as it had imagined.

"I also need to meet Wei Yuan!"

"I must find a way to help Wei Yuan and Madara Uchiha meet again..."

Black Zetsu concealed itself underground and followed Madara Uchiha toward Konoha. It was also seriously considering something. "Only Wei Yuan can discover where the problem lies and allow Madara Uchiha to truly awaken the Rinnegan..."

"However..."

"I should first teach Wei Yuan how to deceive others..."

"Madara Uchiha is arrogant and unruly. He has already seen the Stone Tablet left behind by the Sage of Six Paths. I must find a way to prevent him from realizing the deception on that Stone Tablet after meeting Wei Yuan and hearing it from Wei Yuan himself..."

"What a headache..."

"How can I make Wei Yuan learn to lie..."

"How can I make Wei Yuan accept that sometimes concealing the truth and deceiving others is not necessarily a bad thing?"