Somewhere in a hidden underground cavern in the Land of Grass.
Uchiha Madara, now past eighty, was still working diligently toward his grand Infinite Tsukuyomi plan today!
But people did grow old, and he had never paid much attention to taking care of himself.
At an age when old men and women in the park could still do 360-degree gymnastics on the horizontal bar, Uchiha Madara was already having considerable difficulty moving around.
On top of that, he had spent years without seeing sunlight, lacked any concept of scientific health maintenance, and synthesized vitamin D slowly. Osteoporosis had naturally become the norm.
After exhausting the last trace of his Dojutsu Power to evolve his Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan into the Rinnegan, then placing them inside a gifted Uzumaki Clan child for safekeeping, Uchiha Madara began his life of lying around in a cave.
Among the current Uchiha Clan, there were no exceptionally talented young people like the future Kenji (Obito), none with much potential. Most of them were nothing but crooked melons and cracked dates in his eyes.
The only thing worth even a little of his attention was the Second Great Ninja War currently spreading across the entire Ninja World.
"Heh."
Setting down a newspaper brought back from another country last month, Uchiha Madara looked at the casualty figures printed on it, and a mocking smile appeared on his aged face.
"Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of dead ninja, along with countless civilians suffering disaster in every country."
"In just a few years, the numbers have surpassed what the Warring States Period couldn't achieve in decades."
"How impressive."
"Hashirama."
"Is this the 'peace' you hoped for?"
"..."
Uchiha Madara slowly shook his head, and his head of white hair swayed slightly with the motion as he sighed.
Hashirama had been