Uzushio Village.
It wasn't exactly a wasteland, but it wasn't far from one, either.
Madara Uchiha stood atop the tower that had long since collapsed in the center of the village. Broken stones and rampant moss lay beneath his feet. His Rinnegan swept calmly over the dead land, without the slightest change in expression.
Just as he'd expected.
There was no value left here.
The Uzumaki Clan members who remained were either old, or weak-blooded, dispirited, useless wretches. In short, not one of them could serve as a vessel for his eyes.
The plan had to change.
"Zetsu," his hoarse voice rang through the empty ruins. "What about the candidate you found in the Land of Rain? Take him to the Land of Water!"
White Zetsu, with a face like a whirlpool, slowly rose from the shadows behind him. A hint of confusion crept into his voice. "Lord Madara, you're not going to wait? That variable called Sawada Hiroki—"
"We can't wait any longer," Madara interrupted. He slowly closed his eyes, as if gathering what little strength he had left. "I don't have much time. Before the suitable candidate I've chosen has grown strong enough, this world cannot have anyone capable of threatening the Eye of the Moon."
A ten-year-old brat with an unknown background had sealed Kakuzu and captured Hanzo alive.
Even Senju Hashirama hadn't been able to take part in battles at that level when he was that age!
The word "genius" couldn't explain this.
Madara even suspected that the bastard Tobirama had developed some bizarre jutsu before his death, then reincarnated in another body!
He had no doubt Tobirama could do something like that.
That man studied the principles behind all kinds of ninjutsu just like he did. If Tobirama wanted to do something, he could do