In an underground chamber in the Land of Grass, the aged Uchiha Madara sat on a stone chair.
The place was extremely dim, with not a ray of sunlight seeming to reach it. It looked just like a tomb.
But it suited Madara perfectly. He needed quiet, and he was now someone caught between life and death.
"Have you finally found something?"
Madara murmured, then raised his head and looked toward the chamber's domed ceiling.
His scarlet Sharingan rotated slightly, as if he could see everything outside.
Behind his head, pale tubes gradually came into view, connected one by one.
They supplied what he needed to stay alive. He truly had reached the limits of his life.
Before long, a white body slowly descended from the dome. Its bizarre appearance was somewhat unnerving.
And when it landed in front of Madara, its body suddenly split open, revealing Obito inside!
"Ah, Lord Madara, I brought him back. I hope he didn't poop inside my stomach."
But the moment he spoke, the eerie feeling vanished completely.
This guy looked like an idiot.
"He didn't."
Fortunately, Madara was already used to this. He paid no attention to White Zetsu's words, instead carefully examining Obito inside its stomach.
Madara had been watching Obito ever since he entered this battlefield.
Or rather, every Uchiha on the battlefield in the Land of Grass was under his watch.
Although he had given the Rinnegan to Nagato, he still needed someone to keep an eye on him.
Naturally, he preferred someone he knew better, someone more prone to acting on emotion: an Uchiha!
Madara's understanding of the Uchiha ran deep, down to his very soul. Even Senju Tobirama was nothing before him!
"Lord Madara, this guy's a fool, and he's about to die. Is there any point in saving him?"
White Zetsu saw that Madara's gaze remained fixed on Obito inside its body. Tilting its head, it asked curiously.
"The Uchiha's power requires talent, but sometimes there are things more important than talent!"
Madara knew White Zetsu was an idiot, but it was also absolutely loyal to him, so he could say whatever he liked.
"What's talent? And what's more important than talent?"
White Zetsu blinked and continued asking, full of curiosity.
"A person's heart."
Madara gazed calmly at Obito and answered without emotion.
"The purer an Uchiha's heart, the greater his potential to awaken the Sharingan. This is especially true of someone pure-hearted and kind.
"The kinder a person is, the purer their evil will become when their beliefs collapse.
"Someone like that may act rashly and do things beyond anyone's control, but..."
As long as Madara understood what the person yearned for and prepared in advance, that person would never escape his control!
"Lord Madara, what do you mean?"
"I mean nothing. Stop asking. Treat him, then go to Konoha and investigate his background.
"This boy might be a good choice."
Madara could no longer stand White Zetsu's endless questions, so he cut it off.
But as he'd said, Obito was only one option. There were others he still needed to observe.
Even so, Madara was quite pleased with Obito's performance so far—or, more precisely, his performance on the battlefield.
Whether it was breaking the rules and refusing to abandon his teammates, or risking his life to save a comrade and even giving him his eye as he lay dying—
All of it came from Obito's pure kindness. Yet within that kindness, Madara had also glimpsed something else.
Selfishness.
That selfishness might be hidden beneath Obito's sunny, cheerful exterior, but Madara, who had been watching him closely, had noticed something interesting.
Last night, Obito and Nohara Rin had talked about someone, and that person had stirred up an especially strong reaction in Obito.
Madara had no interest in romance, but he had seen that hidden possessiveness clearly.
As long as I seize on that, he'll make the perfect tool.
The thought only made Madara more satisfied with Obito.
He closed his eyes again and began observing the other Uchiha, but he was already considering how to make Obito awaken his Sharingan.
"Hm?"
Just then, Madara noticed that the battle was still raging where Obito had been buried.
More importantly, another Uchiha he'd been watching had arrived!
"Uchiha Haori, the one who made Obito resentful?"
Madara was a little surprised. He hadn't expected to be able to observe this boy so soon.
Madara's feelings about Haori were complicated.
The boy got along with everyone, was extremely clever, and had already awakened his Sharingan in the Land of Whirlpools.
He seemed like the perfect candidate in every way.
Getting along with everyone meant he had a wide range of choices. If one of his friends suffered a tragedy, the chance of awakening his Sharingan would be higher.
Being clever meant he'd carry out the plan more smoothly in the future, with no need to worry about anything going wrong or getting out of hand.
Awakening his Sharingan so early showed that the boy had plenty of talent!
But it was precisely because he seemed so perfect that Madara had reservations.
In his view, getting along with everyone might mean that he wasn't particularly close to anyone—that he was secretly proud of being an Uchiha and treated everyone the same.
Being too clever made it easier to see the flaws in his plan. And if Haori developed other ideas, Madara wouldn't be able to control him after his own death.
Awakening the Sharingan so early certainly showed talent, but being able to endure the pain of awakening it also meant he had a firm will, with his own desires and convictions.
Sometimes Madara wondered if he was worrying too much, but he couldn't help thinking this way.
"Let's watch him first. Have Zetsu investigate the boy's background, too."
Madara reined in his thoughts, then soon smiled.
To him, there was no real difference between one Uchiha and another.
As long as someone had a pure heart, he was confident he could train them into a capable tool!
It was only a question of how useful they'd be.
"They only have Two Tomoe. They still have a long way to go. But Obito's eyes are rather unusual."
Madara seemed to recall Obito's ability leaking through. Those rocks had passed through his body without killing him!
Otherwise, Madara wouldn't have had a chance to bring him back.
But before he could finish the thought, he froze.
Through White Zetsu's eyes, he clearly "saw" that Haori's eyes had become Three Tomoe!
Hadn't the boy only had Two Tomoe last night, when he attacked that Iwagakure camp?
How had he reached Three Tomoe in the blink of an eye?
"And this boy is even faster now, and his moves are much more ruthless. Especially..."
Madara saw Haori face a pincer attack from the Iwagakure Ninja and suddenly change tactics, charging out at high speed.
He weaved through the attacks of the Iwagakure shinobi like a butterfly among flowers, finally reaching the Iwagakure squad leader.
The next moment, the boy used his newly upgraded Sharingan to force the squad leader to meet his gaze.
The Iwagakure squad leader froze on the spot, and Haori immediately killed him!
"He only just awakened it, yet he's already this proficient?"
There was no need to watch what happened next.
The boy who had mastered Senju Tobirama's Flying Thunder God—the most insidious technique of the Senju Clan and the one most deserving of being eliminated—had arrived. The battle was already decided.
Madara fell into deep thought. After a long while, he looked again at Obito, whom White Zetsu had laid on the bed.
A thought suddenly crossed his mind.
Did I choose the wrong person?