Madara's Heart: Strong! Overbearing! Powerful!

Hashirama Senju believed he had killed Madara with his own hands. Though burdened with guilt, he had preserved Konoha's peace—he had won.

Madara Uchiha had faked his death and escaped, deceived Hashirama, and obtained his flesh and blood—he had won too.

Black Zetsu had watched Indra's reincarnation follow the predetermined script under its deception—it had won as well.

Toji had taken Madara's heart during the Battle of the Valley of the End and returned loaded with spoils—he had won too.

That night, amid the rain of the Valley of the End, not a single person had lost!

After racing nonstop for a day, the parasite finally returned to the Forest of Death before dawn.

The Earth Grudge Fear Clone received it seamlessly, took the already cold heart of Madara Uchiha, and sent it into the Zenin laboratory.

Toji had been waiting there for a long time.

By his calculations, Hashirama's injuries were severe, and it would take him another half day to return to Konoha. When that happened, Toji would have to go treat him in his capacity as the Hokage's personal physician.

Before then, Toji planned to refine Madara's heart first.

Madara's heart lay quietly on the laboratory table.

Looking at the hole pierced through it by Hashirama's ninja blade, Toji felt a twinge of regret. That strike had cost the heart at least thirty percent of its power.

It was like animal pelts: once the quality suffered, the value dropped sharply.

The same applied to hearts.

Toji controlled the Earth Grudge Threads and carefully stitched Madara's heart back together. Then his back split open, and the massive main body tentacles of Earth Grudge Fear emerged, spitting out the heart of a Wind Release Chunin.

He grabbed Madara's heart and refined it in an instant.

The refined heart