Ancient Scroll?

So they had to send people who had only recently joined Konoha but were highly trustworthy and wouldn't betray them.

That would not only earn the daimyo's trust, but also strengthen the relationship between their village and the Land of Fire.

"Mm, then that's settled. Sending six elite jonin and six jonin to protect him should be enough."

"No one in the Ninja World would send a Kage Level strongman to assassinate a daimyo. There's no need."

"Besides, twelve jonin, six of them elite jonin, should be enough to kill some of the weaker Kage Level fighters."

Madara Uchiha wore the Hokage's hat as he sat in the office. Looking at Hashirama Senju, who wore one too, he said:

"Then it's settled. Hashirama, arrange the candidates from the Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan, and talk things over with them."

"Tobirama and Izuna, you two gather some elite jonin and jonin. Choose four elite jonin and six jonin among them."

"Vet them carefully and eliminate anyone with ulterior motives. If necessary, you can probe their minds."

"Have someone from the Yamanaka Clan help vet them. We must be cautious about the people we send to the daimyo. Otherwise, if anything goes wrong, Konoha Village will lose its source of income."

Madara Uchiha quickly assigned the tasks. He felt it would be better to let Hashirama look into the Sarutobi Clan and the Shimura Clan. If he went himself, it might backfire.

"Mm, I understand. I'll go talk to them."

Hashirama Senju nodded slightly. How could he not know what Madara Uchiha was thinking? He was too softhearted to be hard on people from his own village.

"Yes, First."

"Yes, First."

Izuna Uchiha and Tobirama Senju answered at once, then the three of them left the Hokage Office together.

"It really feels like a dream. I actually became the Hokage of the village. Heh!"

After everyone had left, Madara Uchiha stood up from his chair. Looking outside at the workers busily building the village and carving statues of him and Hashirama, he smiled faintly.

"Damn it! Who ruined my plan? I'd already made it foolproof. How could this have happened?"

"This is strange. The one who was supposed to die is still alive. How can Madara Uchiha awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?"

"Hmph, looks like I'll have to make new plans."

"There's still plenty of time. I have all the time in the world. Hmph."

Somewhere outside Konoha Village, a pitch-black figure appeared beside a large tree, half of his body still buried in the ground. He stared at Konoha Village with a deeply furrowed brow—well, he had no brows—and shouted in anger.

After shouting, he sank into the ground and disappeared.

As for the wars, Black Zetsu had started every last one of them. He wanted to find the strongest reincarnations of Asura and Indra.

That was why he had started one conflict after another: to find an Indra reincarnation who could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

But in a thousand years, not a single person had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, let alone the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Now, at long last, he had found Madara Uchiha, an Indra reincarnation who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. He had already arranged for them to fight a great battle, only to discover that Izuna Uchiha hadn't died.

If Izuna hadn't died, he couldn't make Madara Uchiha obtain the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and his plan couldn't be carried out.

"Knock, knock, knock...!"

Just as Madara Uchiha was looking out at the village he loved, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in."

Hearing the sound, Madara Uchiha quickly turned toward the door and called out.

"Creak...!"

Just then, Senju Fujima walked in.

"Heh! Uncle Madara."

Seeing Madara Uchiha, Senju Fujima greeted him with a grin.

"So it's you, kid. Heh!"

"What's up? Shouldn't you be spending time with your little wife? What brings you to see your Uncle Madara?"

When Madara Uchiha saw Senju Fujima, a trace of affection flashed in his eyes. He had no children, and he and Hashirama Senju were brothers. Naturally, that affection extended to Hashirama's family, and he cared for Fujima too.

"Heh! I have something to tell you, so I came over."

Senju Fujima grinned at Madara Uchiha, then walked forward and hopped up onto the Hokage's desk.

"What is it? Go ahead."

Madara Uchiha didn't mind. He walked over, sat down in a chair, and smiled at him.

"Uncle Madara, I found an old book. It records some interesting things. Take a look."

Senju Fujima then took out a scroll. It was extremely worn, and looked as though it was quite old.

"What is it?"

"Let me see."

Curious, Madara Uchiha took the scroll and began to read.

It read as follows: In the first year of the Warring States period, strife raged across the land. Ninjas roamed everywhere, and the most powerful clans were the Kaguya Clan, the Uchiha Clan, and the Senju Clan.

They fought among themselves for resources, constantly hired themselves out to the nations, and accepted missions. They killed without mercy and spared no one. The whole world was in a wretched state.

Everyone believed the wars were caused by the brutal nature of ninjas and hated them deeply. But there was a hidden hand behind it all.

He had no name, but his entire body was pitch-black. He could merge with trees, the earth, or even another person without being noticed. He sowed conflict across the world, making all the clans attack one another.

He was the source of all evil. It was said that he was the son of the Celestial Maiden, who was the mother of the Sage of Six Paths. In the end, the Sage of Six Paths sealed her away because she intended to destroy the world. But she left behind a son who wandered among the living, possessing an immortal body.

He sought to resurrect the Celestial Maiden and wreak havoc upon the world. To resurrect her, one had to possess the Rinnegan.

There was one necessary condition for awakening the Rinnegan: the Mangekyō Sharingan. However, excessive use of the Mangekyō Sharingan led to blindness. Only by obtaining the eyes of a close relative could one gain the Straight Tomoe Mangekyo Sharingan, commonly known as the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan would never go blind. But the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan alone was far from enough. One also needed to combine the purest bloodlines of the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan. Adding the bloodline of the Kaguya Clan could lead to the creation of a divine body.

Once the Rinnegan was awakened, using it would break the Celestial Maiden's seal. When that happened, the world would be destroyed.

May future generations remain vigilant and not fall for this person's schemes. Remember this. Remember this.

"What? How is this possible? The first year of the Warring States period? Wouldn't that have been a thousand years ago?"

"A black man? Who could that be? And the Celestial Maiden? The Sage of Six Paths? Did the Sage of Six Paths really exist?"

Madara Uchiha didn't think what he was looking at was fake. Who would bother writing all this if it were made up? And Senju Fujima had handed it to him, which meant—

Since Senju Fujima couldn't tell Madara Uchiha directly, he had to come up with a way to make his point clear. So he had written a fake book.

"Uncle Madara, when I saw this book, I realized that you and Uncle Izuna might be in danger, so I came straight to find you."

Senju Fujima saw Madara Uchiha's startled expression. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he looked at him and spoke.

"Azuna and I are in danger? Why?"

Madara Uchiha looked at Senju Fujima in confusion. He clearly hadn't caught on yet, and was still shaken by all this unfamiliar knowledge.

"Uncle Madara, look. It's all written clearly right there."

"It says there's a Celestial Maiden in this world who wants to destroy it, so the Sage of Six Paths sealed her away."

"But she left behind someone pitch-black from head to toe—probably her son—and he can't die. That means he's still alive."

"You've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, and Uncle Izuna has awakened it too."

"That means the person might kill you, or find some way to kill Uncle Izuna, so that you can awaken the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan."

"Then you or Uncle Izuna could obtain the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and afterward ask Dad for some of his pure Senju bloodline to combine with it."

"Wouldn't that give you the Rinnegan? And that black man is after your Rinnegan."

"He can possess anyone, too. What if he possessed you and released the Celestial Maiden? Everyone would die."

Senju Fujima launched into his con. He looked Madara Uchiha in the eye and spouted nonsense with a perfectly serious expression, making it sound incredibly convincing. Though, it did seem to be true.

"Hmm?"

"When you put it that way, it does make some sense."

"So someone wants to harm me or Izuna?"

"No. I won't let anyone hurt Izuna. If anyone tries, I'll kill him."

Izuna Uchiha was Madara Uchiha's one weak spot. Anyone who wanted to kill his younger brother would have to get past his dead body first.

"That's right, Uncle Madara. That black man could be hiding somewhere, waiting to harm us."

"If someone can live forever, just imagine how powerful he must be. We need to be careful."

"If he can live forever, then the Celestial Maiden probably can't die either. Once she tricks Uncle Madara into giving up his Rinnegan, she'll be released."

"Forget about me—Uncle Izuna will be killed too."

"And the book says the Rinnegan can revive the dead. That means these eyes must be terrifying."

Senju Fujima looked at Madara Uchiha as he spoke. He knew Madara Uchiha would never take his younger brother's eyes to awaken the Rinnegan. Even if it meant his own death, he would never let his brother die.

"I saw something similar in our clan's territory. But I could only understand the message with my Mangekyō Sharingan."

"It said: A deity sought stability and divided yin and yang into two opposing forces that acted upon each other, giving rise to All-Encompassing Phenomena."

"It's similar to what this book says. It says the bloodlines of the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan must be combined."

"It seems this isn't fake. It might really be true."

"Thank you, Fujima."

"I'll be extra careful and keep an eye on Izuna. I won't let anything happen to him."

Madara Uchiha looked at Senju Fujima and nodded slightly, then reached out and patted him on the shoulder.