An unknown underground space.
An extremely old man sat against a stone chair, several tendrils extending from his back and connecting to the unknown darkness beyond.
He had a pair of Crimson Eyes. At a glance, he looked just like the legendary Death God.
Long ago, his name had been even more terrifying than the Death God's.
A legendary shinobi who stood alongside the God of Shinobi.
Uchiha Madara!
A mass of white matter rose from the ground, breaking the silence.
"Lord Madara! They're fighting! They're fighting!"
"Konohagakure and Sunagakure have already started fighting along the border, and the other hidden villages seem eager to make a move too!"
After a moment of silence, a hoarse, cold laugh filled with disdain rang out.
"That's the Ninja World for you. Even if we do nothing, people can never coexist peacefully."
"Hashirama, the illusion of peace you maintained completely fell apart after your death."
Oh dear, Lord Madara was going to start talking to Hashirama Senju from afar again.
White Zetsu waited patiently for quite a while.
"How did things go?"
White Zetsu pulled out a sheet of paper covered with several names and intelligence reports.
"As you ordered, all the information on Uchiha children between the ages of five and ten is here."
The first name was Kagami Uchiha.
He had awakened the Three Tomoe at the age of seven. Even during the Warring States period, Uchiha Madara had never heard of such a genius.
But it was nothing that impressive.
Being fast out of the gate didn't mean one would go far.
Uchiha Madara's understanding of the Sharingan was extraordinarily profound. He knew that awakening the Sharingan earlier was not necessarily better.
Possessing power that the body could not withstand during childhood was not a good thing.
The more he understood, the more Uchiha Madara felt that Kagami Uchiha would never awaken the Mangekyo—or that, even if he did, it would not be to his liking.
That brat was too calm and too mature.
Though he did have people he cared about, if someone targeted his grandmother and younger brother, given that brat's personality...
He would most likely be able to investigate what had happened and would not be blinded by rage.
Then he would not become what Uchiha Madara wanted.
Uchiha Madara studied the list carefully, eventually locking his gaze onto the name Uchiha Obito.
He knew the conditions for awakening the Mangekyo very well. Apart from the basic requirements, the most important one was a massive shock.
When an Uchiha lost someone he loved, he would gain power.
Such a... cursed condition.
Thus, the more emotionally rich an Uchiha was, the stronger the hatred he gained after losing his love.
"Keep an eye on that brat named Obito. Investigate him thoroughly. I want to know what he cares about most."
"Ah, Lord Madara, isn't that Kagami Uchiha better suited to be your successor?"
"If I didn't know you were still alive, I would have thought he was your reincarnation. That overflowing talent..."
"Shut up."
Uchiha Madara grunted. "The true talent of the Uchiha isn't something like the Three Tomoe or ninjutsu."
"Uchiha Obito has greater potential than Kagami Uchiha!"
After a pause, he continued, "Have one of your clones contact that Kagami as well... He can serve as a backup."
White Zetsu's words had still touched something within him.
Kagami Uchiha could not possibly be his reincarnation, but... if reincarnation truly existed...
Could he be...
After all, his personality was very similar to Izuna's, and he possessed extraordinary talent with the sword...
Even his appearance somewhat resembled Izuna's in his youth.
This was where Uchiha Madara had gotten it wrong.
The Uchiha were all paragons of beauty. Kagami Uchiha simply happened to be handsome in the same way Izuna was, with a fresh and clean appearance.
Even Fugaku, who was at the bottom of the Uchiha's looks, could still be praised as mature and dignified.
"That settles it..."
After arranging everything, Uchiha Madara slowly closed his eyes.
He was already too old, and the injuries accumulated throughout his body were too severe. Without the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path sustaining him, he should have died long ago.
This sense of powerlessness irritated him greatly. He only hoped to choose a successor to restrain Nagato as soon as possible, then go meet his death.
When he returned once more...
He would be at the peak of his strength!
--
Hokage Office.
The situation on the battlefield was tense. Shimura Danzō had been very busy lately, working behind the scenes against the other hidden villages and sowing discord between them.
Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura had also gone to the capital of the Land of Fire, telling the Daimyo to prepare the war supplies and not hold them back.
Everyone had realized...
The Third Shinobi World War might be about to begin.
There were clear signs of it. After losing the First Hokage's suppression, every few years, once the villages had rested and recovered, they would want to divide up the territory again.
After all, the Land of Fire possessed the most territory and the best resources.
None of the Kage were fools. If they allowed the Land of Fire to develop peacefully, it would once again become the sole dominant power it had been during the First Hokage's era in a few decades.
No one wanted to be the underling. Everyone wanted to take a bite out of the Land of Fire's enormous bounty.
Recent developments had filled the Hokage Office with even thicker smoke.
Sarutobi Hiruzen sat alone, reading the reports from the front while constantly producing secondhand smoke.
Should he order the Uchiha Clan to advance to the front lines...?
Among the Konoha Four Shin Gods, Sarutobi Hiruzen was considered the one with the least prejudice against the Uchiha.
But less did not mean none.
He wanted to wield the Uchiha as a blade, but he also feared that the blade would become too sharp and turn against him.
According to Jiraiya, Kagami's true nature was not bad. However, compared to the village, he cared more about the Uchiha Clan.
This was... the narrow-minded obsession with one's clan that could never be escaped.
In Sarutobi Hiruzen's view, that alone meant he could never give Kagami Uchiha the chance to reach the village's higher-ups.
But...
If Orochimaru's plan succeeded, it really could end the conflict with the Land of Wind.
If they could quickly force the Land of Wind into submission and form an alliance with it, they might be able to deter the other hidden villages.
They might even... be able to delay the Third Shinobi World War.
Peace was simply too tempting to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
After pondering for a long while, he summoned a shinobi.
"Have the shinobi I marked on the list prepare to head for the Western Front."
Sarutobi Hiruzen had not followed Orochimaru's list entirely. Those people were all staunch members of the Uchiha Radical Faction.
He selected half of them, then added some Uchiha from the moderate faction, including Uchiha Fugaku.
Sarutobi Hiruzen had held an in-depth conversation with Fugaku.
He could tell that Fugaku did not want the rift between the village and the Uchiha to grow wider, and was willing to make some compromises for that reason.
At dusk, Sarutobi Hiruzen met with Uchiha Fugaku alone.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Sarutobi Hiruzen got straight to the point.
"Fugaku, what do you think... what kind of person is Kagami?"
Fugaku was slightly taken aback. Lowering his head, he replied, "He's an exceptionally talented shinobi. He treats his relatives and friends very well, and he's an extraordinary child."
Though he had clashed with Kagami Uchiha before, he would not bring such matters up in front of outsiders.
Sarutobi Hiruzen exhaled a cloud of smoke and said solemnly, "He's only kind to his fellow clansmen, isn't he?"
"Hokage-sama..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen raised a hand to indicate that he should listen quietly, then continued, "I specifically arranged for Jiraiya to take Kagami as his student because I value his talent."
"But in the past year or so, it seems his thinking still hasn't changed. He's still not close enough to the other Leaf Ninja..."
Cold sweat appeared on Fugaku's forehead. He resorted to the universal excuse: "Hokage-sama, he's only a child. He's just not very good at expressing himself."
"You know that isn't what I want to hear."
From the time Fugaku could remember, Sarutobi Hiruzen had been the Hokage.
The authority he had accumulated over several decades made Fugaku feel as though he were walking on thin ice.
That calm sentence made him feel like a child being reprimanded by his teacher, leaving him completely at a loss.
"Hokage-sama, I'll definitely change Kagami's way of thinking and help him form deep bonds with his companions in the village!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen revealed a smile.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Fugaku."
Before you continue