The Third Raikage, Controlled

"Naori, leave it to me."

"Thank you, Shikata Clan Head."

With the Young Lord's drunken collapse, the banquet came to an end.

Uchiha Shikata took Uchiha Takeyasu from Uchiha Naori and, looking at the gracefully standing girl, couldn't help but pause.

"Naori, that opportunity was probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance. Aren't you regretting it?"

"Naori just hopes the Young Lord will say those words to Naori when he's sober."

Looking at the upright and extremely serious Uchiha Naori, Uchiha Shikata felt the heart of Uchiha Takeyasu, whom he was supporting, beat slightly faster. He nodded.

"I believe the Young Lord will make a decision that satisfies everyone once he sobers up."

"Naori also hopes the Young Lord won't forget everything he said tonight."

After Uchiha Naori finished speaking, she left first.

Uchiha Kaku and Uchiha Setsuna, who were as cunning as old foxes, led the remaining squad leaders and headed towards the clan grounds via another path.

"Clan Head, I didn't offend you anywhere, did I?"

Uchiha Takeyasu, who had been pretending to be drunk, suddenly opened his eyes, a look of helplessness in them. He pushed away Uchiha Shikata's hand, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction.

"Can't you just let me get away with it?"

"Young Lord, during the Warring States period, many boys your age already had children."

As someone who had been through it, Uchiha Shikata understood the young man's mindset. He couldn't bear the thought of him giving up a wonderful girl worth protecting for a lifetime just to save face.

To him, such a thing was simply too foolish.

"Naori is a child everyone watched grow up. She's calm, gentle, wise, kind, upright, and exceptionally talented..."

"There are countless merits to this child. If Fugaku weren't too young, I would have begged for her hand in marriage for him."

"The Clan Head thinks quite beautifully."

Uchiha Takeyasu raised an eyebrow, glared at Uchiha Shikata, and let out a flustered hum to cover his panic. He pushed off with his legs and leaped onto the roof in a few bounds.

Uchiha Shikata shouted from below, "Young Lord, excellent girls won't wait for you forever. Seize the opportunity!"

"So annoying. I'm not blind or deaf, how could I not see or hear."

Uchiha Takeyasu muttered. In the silvery moonlight, his figure flickered a few times, and he spotted Uchiha Naori pacing on the street.

The moonlight gently fell upon the girl, as if it fell into the boy's heart. Uchiha Takeyasu liked her more the more he looked.

"Tomorrow, huh..."

Uchiha Takeyasu's low murmur drifted into the night sky.

Land of Lightning, Unraikyo Gorge.

A figure, perfectly blended into the night, moved rapidly through the cliffs and precipices. Then, it leaped to the bottom of a cliff, formed hand seals, opened a sealing jutsu, and entered a vast underground space.

The space was filled with sophisticated medical machinery, and busy researchers in white coats bustled about. The figure quickly walked to the deepest part of the space and saw his master, a man with a defiant face, dressed in black – Madara Uchiha!

"Ai, what news do you have?"

Madara Uchiha opened his eyes indifferently and glanced at the tall, dark-skinned man with light yellow hair, a long beard, and a "Lightning" tattoo on his right shoulder – the Third Raikage. His eyes held a hint of amusement.

Since arriving in the Land of Lightning, his first stop was South Cloud Village to find Kinkaku and Ginkaku. As expected, he saw the bisected Senju Tobirama, which they occasionally took out to boast about their achievements.

Even though the body was charred, the face was indistinguishable, and it was covered in traces of wind and rain, Madara Uchiha could recognize who it was at a glance.

After the death of his most hated enemy, Madara Uchiha felt a sense of peace after his initial joy. At the same time, he felt disgusted by the barbaric actions of the Land of Lightning.

In the hideout in South Cloud Village, there was an abundance of beastly pleasure and pity for the weak.

But none of this mattered to Madara Uchiha. As long as his plan was completed, he could create a truly peaceful and happy world without sorrow or killing, a world where everyone would smile.

All Madara Uchiha did was completely destroy Senju Tobirama's corpse. He then left that utter bandit's den and came to North Cloud Village, directly controlling the Third Raikage, Ai.

Next, he sought out researchers in biology and medicine from all over the Land of Lightning and gathered them in this newly opened underground space to research how to fuse the powers of the Uchiha and Senju into one.

The acceptance and transmission of external information relied on the Third Raikage Ai, whom he controlled.

"Lord Madara, there's the latest news from Konoha."

The strongest ninja village was naturally the focus of everyone's attention. The Third Raikage reported everything that happened that day to Madara Uchiha, and the black-haired man's lips couldn't help but curl into a smile, erupting into hearty laughter.

"Senju Tobirama, no matter how tightly you guarded, you couldn't defeat the Uchiha's Mangekyo!"

"The position of Hokage, heh heh heh heh heh! Hahahahahaha!"

"Such an outstanding junior. I really want to meet him."

After a long while, Madara Uchiha's laughter subsided. He looked at the Third Raikage, who was still kneeling on one knee, and said calmly, "The research needs to be accelerated. If there aren't enough personnel in the Land of Lightning, find people from other countries. I only want results, understand?"

"Understood, Lord Madara."

"Then you may go."

Madara Uchiha returned to his residence alone and saw the Flame Gunbai hanging on the wall. He had a fleeting thought of wanting to meet Uchiha Takeyasu, but then he dismissed it.

Without the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, his brilliance was ultimately only temporary.

"Other than the Rinnegan, which integrates all things into one, there's nothing else I care about anymore."

Madara Uchiha remained silently indifferent.

On the other side, the Third Raikage, having just emerged from the underground space, had strands of worry appearing on his solemn face.

Knowledgeable researchers weren't common as radishes, yet Madara Uchiha's orders had to be carried out.

After much deliberation, he thought of requesting more supplies from the Land of Lightning's Daimyo and then spending a fortune to hire researchers from every country in the Ninja World—once they came to the Land of Lightning, whether he paid them or not was up to him.

He figured those weak researchers wouldn't dare resist the elite ninja of North Cloud Village.

"Wait, why not control the Daimyo? Wouldn't everything in the Land of Lightning be mine then? And I could serve Lord Madara better."

The Third Raikage, suddenly realizing a blind spot, found the idea increasingly feasible. If the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning couldn't even deal with Kinkaku and Ginkaku, could they possibly resist him, who inherited most of the original Kumogakure's power?

"Kinkaku and Ginkaku need to be killed as soon as possible too. Everything in the Land of Lightning is mine, it's all Lord Madara's!"

"I can't let them keep ruining things!"

A thought struck the Third Raikage, and he began to consider his own Jinchuriki.

During the previous civil war, due to imperfect sealing jutsu, the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki and the Two-Tails Jinchuriki were unable to participate in the battle at all.

It was also due to carelessness that the Two-Tails Jinchuriki was snatched by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, leaving the Third Raikage with only the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki.

"They're all things I can't control, so let them perish together."