In the forest along the coastal border of the Land of Hot Water.
As far as the eye could see, lush trees grew in dense abundance.
Yet scattered across the ground were numerous pedestal statues carved with human faces.
This was the so-called Land of the Sky, home to the Sky Ninja Village—a subterranean fortress primarily constructed of stone.
Upon a stone throne in the fortress's control room sat a powerfully built man.
He appeared to be around thirty, with thick, jet-black long hair and an exceptionally youthful, arrogant air.
Standing before him was a Ninja clad in a flight suit and wearing the forehead protector of the Sky Ninja.
After hearing the Sky Ninja's report, the middle-aged man on the stone throne could not hide his disappointment. He sighed. "Still unable to find an energy source capable of steadily supplying Zero-Tail with power?"
"My deepest apologies, Lord Shinnō. The Chakra required by Zero-Tail is simply too vast. I fear only the legendary tailed beasts can provide it with a stable, continuous supply of energy."
Faced with the Sky Ninja leader's apology, Shinnō merely waved a hand. He furrowed his brow and lowered his head in thought.
As someone proficient in biomedical techniques, he was not surprised by this situation.
As the Sky Ninja Village's ultimate weapon, Zero-Tail: Void possessed destructive power no weaker than that of true tailed beasts.
So long as Zero-Tail could be fully charged, the accumulated foundations of the great nations would amount to nothing.
With the outbreak of the Second Shinobi World War imminent, he had originally planned to use Zero-Tail's power to launch aerial strikes against Konoha while it was occupied by the great nations.
But now, he found himself caught between advancing and retreating.
Though he did not wish to give up such a perfect opportunity, Zero-Tail's technology was still incomplete.
Once Zero-Tail's energy was exhausted, the Sky Ninja Village would effectively be crippled by half.
"Then there is no other choice."
After considering it for a moment, Shinnō still refused to give up. He raised his head to look at the Sky Ninja before him, his voice icy. "The negative emotions and life force emitted by humans can also provide energy for Zero-Tail."
"In that case, abduct people from the small countries near the Land of Hot Water. Whether it is hundreds or thousands, make sure Zero-Tail completes its charging as soon as possible!"
"..."
Hearing this, the Sky Ninja leader froze, hesitation flashing through his eyes.
There were already more than a thousand humans imprisoned inside the fortress. They were ordinary people secretly transported in from outside, reserve "living sacrifices" meant to supply Zero-Tail with energy.
They were enough if used only as reserves, but if they wanted to charge Zero-Tail with ordinary humans alone, those thousand people would be nowhere near enough. They needed even more humans to provide Chakra and vitality.
The number of people who would need to be sacrificed was likely beyond counting.
"Turdus, let me ask you a question."
Looking at the Sky Ninja leader's reluctance, Shinnō lightly tapped the stone armrest and asked calmly, "In this world, humans without fangs or claws are fragile. Yet why has such a world become humanity's possession?"
"..." The Sky Ninja leader came back to his senses and respectfully lowered his head. "Forgive my ignorance. Is it because humans can use tools and Chakra?"
"No, no, no!" Shinnō shook his head, a grin spreading across his face as he said softly, "It is because humans are the cruelest of all living things!"
"Only to gain a slightly more favorable position than other species did humans gather together and create today's prosperity."
"This world is like that, and so are the great nations!"
"We are the same!"
"...The Land of the Sky?"
Madara Uchiha's recollection was interrupted. He shot White Zetsu a displeased glance and said coldly, "What backwater clown has crawled out this time?"
"Ah! Lord Madara, I do not know whether this matter is important either. It is just that Tobi thought you should know."
White Zetsu shuddered under his glare and hurriedly shifted the blame before continuing, "While remotely observing Uzushio Village's movements in the Land of Whirlpools, I discovered an organization near the border of the Land of Hot Water calling itself the Sky Ninja Village of the Land of the Sky."
"Honestly, I think they are rather weak, but they have many strange inventions—Ninja tools that launch projectiles, flying Ninja tools powered by Wind Release Chakra, and even a flying fortress hidden underground as their base..."
"According to our investigation, their leader is called Shinnō. On the surface, he is a highly skilled physician, but in reality, he is someone proficient in medical Ninjutsu. They are currently preparing an enormous amount of supplies on the black market..."
"If I am not mistaken, their target should be Konoha!"
White Zetsu recounted every piece of intelligence he had uncovered to Madara Uchiha.
Yet Madara showed no interest whatsoever. He sneered. "Another fool with no strength and nothing but ambition."
White Zetsu tilted his head. He did not quite understand why Lord Madara had reached that conclusion, but he did not dare argue.
After all, he found those Sky Ninja tools quite troublesome. They flew around in the sky like irritating, hard-to-swat flies.
"...Boring."
Madara calmly shook his head, with no intention of explaining himself to White Zetsu.
This shinobi world had never lacked ambitious men. This so-called Land of the Sky and Shinnō were not the first ambitious fools to attempt to challenge the Five Great Nations.
Such a state of affairs had persisted for hundreds, even thousands, of years, until he and Hashirama brought the wars between clans of the Warring States era to a complete end through absolute strength.
Only after founding Konoha and ushering in the era of one country, one village had the shinobi world entered a brief period of peace.
—At least, that was what Madara had once believed. He had once taken pride in Konoha as well.
But after faking his death and escaping following the battle at the Valley of the End, he finally saw the truth of this world.
He saw the miserable world filled with hatred, brutality, desire, and pain.
The restraint shown by the various powers back then had not been due to a mere agreement from the Five Kage Summit. It had only been because they feared the prestige and strength of him and Hashirama.
As he and Hashirama "died" one after another, that useless Tobirama Senju lacked the power to maintain peace on his own.
Naturally, those people revealed their ugly faces, recklessly tearing apart the so-called agreement and the exceedingly fragile peace.
The scale of the First Shinobi World War had even exceeded Madara's expectations.
It was no longer a minor conflict between clans, but had become a true war between nations.
The one-country-one-village system was utterly useless. So long as humanity possessed desire, true peace would never exist.
That was why Madara had not been remotely surprised upon hearing White Zetsu mention the Land of the Sky. Instead, he felt it was only natural that such a thing would happen, not worth making a fuss over at all.
And because of that, he felt ever more resentful and bitter toward Hashirama's betrayal.
"The original purpose of founding Konoha was clearly to protect our comrades and family!"
"If the clan had followed me, where would not be Uchiha? If we were still together, where would not be Konoha?!"
"Everything now is enough to prove..."
"Hashirama, I was right. You were wrong."
A trace of melancholy flashed through Madara Uchiha's eyes as he said quietly, "The one-country-one-village system we created back then is now merely repeating the tragedy of the Warring States era..."
The three tomoe in his eyes gradually faded away, and his black pupils became clouded and unfocused. Only then did he resemble an old man—an old man reminiscing about the past and an old friend.
So long as humans lived, conflict could not be avoided.
There would be people who hated, and people who suffered.
This curse was simply not something humanity could sever through its own strength.
"Unlike you, who were content with the status quo, I walk the path of seeking peace."
Madara slowly closed his eyes and said softly, "Therefore, I will definitely complete the Eye of the Moon Plan."
No matter the price of peace, everyone would enter the Infinite Tsukuyomi and never experience pain or sorrow again.
Before you continue