Preparations

"I have Hashirama Cells here," Shin said casually upon hearing Madara's words.

Now that the two of them were tied to the same rope, there were some things Shin could reveal to Madara. Of course, he had to do it bit by bit—he could not spill everything at once. And some things could never be told, no matter what; they had to rot in his stomach for the rest of his life.

"You have them?" Madara was clearly taken aback. "Since when?"

Shin explained, "When we fought Hamura of the Otsutsuki Clan last time, you used Izanagi to block a fatal blow for me and collapsed from exhaustion. Hashirama fell unconscious afterward as well, so I took the chance to obtain his cells."

"That early?" Madara sighed. By that calculation, Shin had acquired the cells at least three years ago. "Sure enough, when it comes to planning ahead, you're countless times better than me."

"But that's even better. I no longer need to think about obtaining his cells, so I can fight him without distractions. I really want to see who is stronger between him and me."

Shin glanced at him and silently thought, You're going to be crushed. I just hope you won't do anything foolish when the time comes.

After silently mocking him for a moment, Shin suddenly reached out and took a map from his storage space, spreading it across the table. "This place would be a good spot to make a move."

Madara followed his finger, his gaze sharpening. "This is?"

The place Shin pointed to was a valley not far from Konoha. It had hills and lakes, surrounded by forests—a typical Land of Fire landscape.

This valley had no name yet, but it was one of the most important geographical locations outside Konoha.

In the