A Clown Playing God

Deep in the sunless underground, the air was thick with a musty, dry scent, mingled with the eerie, decaying vitality emanating from the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

"Madara-sama..."

White Zetsu's pale body slowly emerged from the moss-covered rock wall, looking for all the world like a mushroom.

He poked half his head out first, glancing furtively toward the distance.

Uchiha Obito was drenched in sweat, undergoing rehabilitation training with Uzumaki Tobi. After confirming that everything was normal over there, White Zetsu slid silently toward the massive stone throne.

"Madara-sama?"

The old man on the throne kept his head bowed, his messy, long hair obscuring his aged face, his life force seemingly long since extinguished.

White Zetsu tilted his head, extended a pale finger, and tentatively poked Madara's trouser leg, his voice rising a notch: "Madara-sama! Nagato and those other two brats have formed an alliance with that old man, Salamander Hanzo~"

This sentence finally struck the withered shell like a faint electric current.

Uchiha Madara's eyelids twitched, and those dull Sharingan slowly opened.

Even though the man before him was so aged that he had to rely on the chakra tubes of the statue to sustain his life, the moment he opened his eyes, the pressure that transcended all living beings remained.

"Speak."

"It's like this..."

White Zetsu rubbed his hands together and quickly spilled all the intelligence he had gathered from across the ninja world.

"Konoha is barely holding on; they've been pushed back repeatedly by Iwagakure, and the village is filled with the wounded."

"So that guy named Shimura Danzō couldn't sit still anymore. He sent people to Amegakure to find Hanzo, wanting Hanzo to bring his Amegakure army, along with that Akatsuki organization Nagato and the others belong to, to help Konoha fight the war."

Madara listened to these petty squabbles with a detached expression, as if listening to ants struggling in the mud.

That was until White Zetsu lowered his voice, his tone turning peculiar.

"However... something very interesting happened in Konoha a while ago."

"A strange golden light flashed in the territory of the Hyuga Clan, and the commotion was massive. There was also a man who called himself Ao, and according to him, he even has a connection to the Sage of Six Paths~"

Ao?

The Sage of Six Paths?

"What connection does he have to the Sage of Six Paths?"

Madara's brow furrowed slightly, and he asked with curiosity.

"I don't know~"

White Zetsu swayed his head, his tone light and airy.

"I heard it's because the Hyuga Clan stole something of his, so he came knocking to collect the debt. That man's ability, tsk tsk tsk, is terrifying beyond reason. With a casual wave, he nearly razed the entire Forest of Death to the ground~"

White Zetsu gestured exaggeratedly, as if he had been there to witness the scene himself.

"Oh—right!"

White Zetsu seemed to suddenly recall some trivial matter and leaned close to Madara's ear.

"That guy named Ao, while he was wreaking havoc at the Hyuga estate, also mentioned a name..."

"It was Otsutsuki Kaguya."

Otsutsuki Kaguya?

The originally indifferent Uchiha Madara finally perked up a little.

The name was completely unfamiliar...

It was neither a ninja clan from the Warring States period, nor had it ever appeared in any ancient texts.

The Uchiha stone tablet did not contain this name either.

He pondered for a few breaths, ultimately attributing it to some ancient name lost in the long river of history, and signaled for White Zetsu to continue.

However, Madara did not notice that Black Zetsu, currently lurking in his shadow, was already dumbfounded.

Why... why would that guy mention Mother?

Black Zetsu's thoughts surged violently in the darkness. He desperately suppressed the trembling rising from the depths of his soul, struggling to keep himself calm.

Could he not be a descendant of Hamura from the moon?

Black Zetsu was both fearful and confused.

He had already heard White Zetsu's report about the golden light in Konoha, but he hadn't taken it fully to heart at the time.

He had assumed it was just another descendant of Otsutsuki Hamura from the moon coming to trouble the Hyuga Clan again.

Such things had happened throughout the long passage of time.

But this time, the nature of the event had completely changed.

They had actually mentioned... Mother's name.

Hamura's descendants might know of the Ten-Tails, or the Sage of Six Paths. But they could never possibly know Mother's name.

What made Black Zetsu feel even more furious and terrified was that White Zetsu, that blockhead, hadn't just failed to inform him of the information immediately.

He had actually leaked such critical information directly to Uchiha Madara!

If Madara grew suspicious and followed the trail of "Otsutsuki Kaguya" to uncover the truth beyond the stone tablet...

Wouldn't the lies he had meticulously woven for a thousand years, and the Eye of the Moon Plan that was about to reach its conclusion, all fall apart?

Black Zetsu wanted to leave for Konoha immediately to get to the bottom of things, yet he dared not leave Madara's side.

Madara did not have much time left, and Obito, his successor, was currently nothing more than a fool who only knew how to play around. If he were to leave even for a moment and Obito failed to become "Madara's successor" according to the predetermined plan, then who would resurrect Mother?

"Qing... Sage of Six Paths..."

Uchiha Madara suddenly let out a cold laugh. He slowly leaned back into his stone throne, feeling the aura of decay within his body, his tone filled with disdain.

"Just another clown playing god, emerging after Hashirama and me."

"Much like Salamander Hanzo, who dared to challenge the Five Great Nations. A wet-behind-the-ears brat, wanting to seek peace among the Five Great Nations..."

"How could it be... how could true peace ever be realized here..."

"Hashirama..."

Uchiha Madara seemed to have fallen into memories once again, but soon, he put away his cold smile, his gaze becoming profound once more.

"Protect Nagato at all times; he must not come to any harm."

He paused, his tone heavy as if it carried the shadows of the entire world.

"Since the situation has become this chaotic... then let us advance the plan."

"There is no need for this world to continue struggling any longer."

Land of Rain.

The outskirts of Amegakure.

Fine threads of rain drifted diagonally from the lead-gray sky, like a veil that could never be lifted, shrouding the entire Amegakure in a stifling atmosphere.

Hyuga Qinglan waited quietly for the Amegakure troops gradually gathering in the distance, while never forgetting to control his chakra to manipulate his long hair.

"Kid, are you a student of that brat Jiraiya?"

A low, slightly hoarse voice sounded from not far behind him.

Hyuga Qinglan turned slightly, looking back.

Not far away, a man wearing the standard Amegakure cloak was standing there.

The man wore a respirator, his figure tall and thin, dressed quite similarly to Salamander Hanzo, even his posture carrying a hint of deliberately imitated majesty.

"Who... are you?"

The man's mouth twitched, then he let out a cold snort and puffed out his chest intentionally.

"You don't even recognize me, Heiji of the Rain Shelter, you brat?"

Heiji glared fiercely at Hyuga Qinglan, attempting to overwhelm him with his presence.

"We have met in Amegakure before."

"What, is this how Konoha treats its allies?"