Standing atop a tall rooftop in Amegakure, Uchiha Sakuya took a deep breath.
Feeling the cold rain strike his face, he counted silently in his heart.
Three, two, one!
The instant he reached one, he dropped like an eagle diving from the sky. As he fell, he flicked his right wrist, sending a scroll marked with the character for "sword" flying out. It unfurled in midair.
As a faint haze of smoke dissipated, countless Shuriken and Kunai wrapped with steel wire shot through the air. Some streaked like a shower of meteors, clanging against the building like a hail of arrows, while others flew off to the sides, taking out several Rain Ninja hidden nearby.
At the same time, Sakuya used the recoil from the wire attached to the Shuriken lodged in the wall to pull himself over and land against it. He twisted his wrist again, unscrewing the lid on the Toad Oil Jiraiya had prepared in advance.
Meanwhile, the Rain Ninja who had spotted him shouted that they were under attack and surrounded him.
Genjutsu: Sharingan!
Almost by instinct, he opened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and swept a genjutsu over the Rain Ninja rushing toward him. Then, just as the Toad Oil burst out, a dragon of fire erupted from his mouth.
Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique!
The already scorching flames, empowered by the Toad Oil from Mount Myoboku, exploded like a napalm bomb.
Even the torrential rain overhead evaporated in an instant beneath the blazing inferno, and thick, nearly black smoke billowed high above Amegakure.
Seeing the smoke in the distance, Dan Katō looked startled.
"That Fire Style... It burned everything around it in an instant. I knew Toad Oil could enhance Fire Style, but to this extent..."
"That's impressive, Sakuya. He's drawn all the enemies away."
Orochimaru marveled for a moment, then turned his gaze toward the well ahead.
According to the Akatsuki's intelligence, the entrance to the laboratory was along the edge of the well's inner wall.
"Let's go in too, Kato. We can't let Sakuya's efforts go to waste."
"Understood."
Dan Katō formed hand seals, and a white soul emerged from his body.
He nodded to Orochimaru, then his soul darted into the well.
A moment later, his soul returned to his body.
He nodded firmly to Orochimaru. "The Akatsuki's intelligence was right. There really is a laboratory down there. And because of Uchiha Sakuya's rampage, everyone inside went out to stop him. It's empty now."
"Let's go!"
Orochimaru opened his mouth wide and stretched his neck, transforming in an instant into a giant white serpent that darted into the well. Dan Katō followed close behind, and the two headed down toward the laboratory.
"What a beautiful Fire Style."
Keeping watch in front of the White Zetsu television, Black Zetsu couldn't help praising it. "He used Fire Style in a torrential downpour, and it still burned so brilliantly."
"Hmph. It's nothing special."
Though the old man's eyes seemed unfocused, his expression showed utter indifference.
"Flames of that caliber are barely worth looking at. Compared to mine, they're nothing but grains of sand."
"Yes, Lord Madara."
Black Zetsu nodded obediently.
"However..."
Madara Uchiha changed tack. Gazing at Sakuya's young face, he nodded. "For him to awaken the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at that age... As an Uchiha, he's at least passable."
"Of course, he can't compare to you, Lord Madara."
Black Zetsu offered his praise deferentially. "He only has the Three-Tomoe at fourteen. Compared to you, Lord Madara, he's nothing."
"...Quite."
Black Zetsu's words left Madara stiff for a moment, but he quickly recovered.
"I awakened the Three-Tomoe when I was only ten. By the time I was his age, I'd already awakened the Mangekyō. Back then, my Sharingan and Hashirama's Wood Release were the two great..."
In a corner Madara couldn't see, Black Zetsu's expression turned extremely strange as he listened to Madara brag about himself.
Why are you putting on such a show in front of me?
You think your Uncle Black Zetsu doesn't know when you awakened your Sharingan?
The Three-Tomoe at ten? You didn't even awaken a single Tomoe until you were thirteen!
This generation's reincarnation of Indra sure knows how to put on airs.
Black Zetsu, who had been watching Madara since the day he was born, grumbled inwardly.
Even so, he put on an admiring expression and heaped more praise on Madara.
After all, in the current script, Black Zetsu was still a creation of Madara's Rinnegan.
"Speaking of which, Zetsu..."
After publicly praising himself and Hashirama Senju for a while, Madara asked, "How's the investigation I assigned you going?"
He meant his investigation into Uchiha Sakuya's personality, family, and friends.
He paid close attention to every Uchiha who had the potential to awaken the Mangekyō.
He hoped to cultivate a suitable successor who could continue his Eye of the Moon Plan after his death.
Sakuya was one of the people he had his eye on.
"Lord Madara, this Uchiha Sakuya has a fairly gentle personality, unlike most Uchiha."
Watching Uchiha Sakuya fighting the Rain Ninja on the White Zetsu "television," Black Zetsu added, "He gets along very well with many people in Konoha, and he's particularly close to Tsunade Senju. They seem to be in love with each other."
"With Tsunade... Hashirama's granddaughter?"
At the mention of Tsunade, Madara's cloudy gaze immediately cleared.
He leaned back in his chair and looked up at the dark ceiling.
"Hashirama's granddaughter... Descended from that woman?"
At the thought of the woman from the Uzumaki Clan who had taken Hashirama Senju away from him, Madara felt his irritation rising.
That woman was the one who stole my dearest friend!
In his final battle with me, she must have played a huge part in making him abandon our friendship and strike at me without mercy!
The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became.
What Konoha? What Will of Fire? It's all a lie.
Could any of that possibly matter more than the friendship between Hashirama and me?
If only that woman weren't there. If only that woman...
Madara abruptly sat upright. The Tomoe in his Sharingan spun, and his whole demeanor turned violent.
"Zetsu!"
"Yes, Lord Madara."
Black Zetsu lowered his head.
"Find a chance to test Uchiha Sakuya's mettle."
Madara gave the order. "Use that woman's descendant. Let his Sharingan witness that woman's death, and show me what kind of dōjutsu he'll awaken under such a stimulus!"
"Um... Lord Madara."
Watching the scene on the White Zetsu television, Black Zetsu's expression changed. "It seems... it seems he doesn't need any stimulus."
"Oh?"
Madara was startled and turned toward the television. Seeing those eyes inside, bright as the sun, his expression stiffened.
After a moment, he let out a long sigh.
"...So it's that dōjutsu. What a shame to waste such potential."
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