Uchiha Madara

Time officially entered Year 38 of Hidden Leaf.

And on the first day of the new year, Yin Jie celebrated his eighth birthday.

Night.

There was no overly elaborate celebration.

Only Yin Jie and Yasashiro sat facing each other across a neatly arranged dining table.

Under the flickering candlelight, the entire living room had been cleaned spotless by Uchiha Yasashiro, and the floor was so polished that not a speck of dust remained.

Yin Jie kept his eyes tightly shut, his hands clasped together as he silently recited something in his heart.

His eyelashes cast fine shadows beneath his eyes, his lips were lightly pursed, and even his breathing had unconsciously softened considerably at that moment.

Making a wish...

Second by second, time passed, yet Yin Jie remained in that posture without moving.

Only after quite a while did he slowly open his eyes. Gratitude, confusion, relief, and determination flickered through his gaze in turn.

At the same time.

Land of Frost.

Mountain Graveyard.

Within a massive cavern deep underground.

An old man sat witheredly upon a stone "throne."

His hair stood out in wild, hedgehog-like spikes. It was pale white and utterly dry.

Deep, ravine-like wrinkles covered his face. Though his features were aged, his complexion possessed an eerie ruddy hue.

A white tube extended from the shadows behind him and connected to his back.

This old man was none other than the Asura who had once dominated the ninja world—Uchiha Madara!!!

And this was the underground base Uchiha Madara had constructed beneath the Land of Frost.

At that moment, a white humanoid creature slowly emerged from the ground and came before Uchiha Madara.

"Lord Madara!"

White Zetsu, cultivated by Uchiha Madara using the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and Hashirama's cells, spoke in a frivolous voice that echoed continuously through the underground base, rousing Uchiha Madara from his half-awake state. "I've brought back good news!"

"Speak!"

Uchiha Madara responded in a deep voice. It was aged yet still commanding, though tinged with weariness and faintly concealing a trace of anticipation.

He hoped White Zetsu had truly brought him the good news he wanted.

"We found two children in the Uchiha Clan of the Hidden Leaf who may meet Lord Madara's requirements!"

Still using that flippant tone, White Zetsu delivered the good news it had brought back to Uchiha Madara.

"Oh?"

Upon hearing White Zetsu's report, Uchiha Madara's heart—calm as an ancient well after sitting and sleeping here year after year—immediately stirred with a faint trace of joy.

Finally...

At last, Uchihas who met his requirements had appeared!

Ever since awakening the Rinnegan, summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and barely extending his life, he had been planning a scheme known as the Eye of the Moon.

For that, he needed a "stand-in" who could inherit his name and temporarily walk the ninja world in his place before his resurrection.

Thus, he had used the power of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path to cultivate White Zetsu, which possessed formidable intelligence-gathering abilities, and had it infiltrate the Uchiha Clan compound in the Hidden Leaf at regular intervals to search for Uchiha clansmen who might become his "stand-in."

However, what disappointed Uchiha Madara greatly was this.

Other than Uchiha Fugaku, White Zetsu had never found another Uchiha in the clan over the years who met his criteria and possessed the potential to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Yet Uchiha Fugaku had already been a fairly powerful chunin at the time.

With the Sharingan's enhancement, he could even fight an ordinary jonin.

Moreover, the Uchiha Clan regarded him as the clan's "rising star," the best candidate to become the next clan head.

Therefore, although Uchiha Madara, whose strength had declined by seventy or eighty percent by then, did possess a means to temporarily restore his combat power, he had no particularly good way to achieve his goal and turn Uchiha Fugaku—who only barely met his standards and whose ability to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan remained uncertain—into a qualified "stand-in."

He did not wish to pay a disproportionate price.

And he still had time. He could wait for a better candidate to appear...

Thus.

He waited until today.

White Zetsu, returning from the Hidden Leaf, had brought intelligence on two candidates who roughly met his requirements.

Of course, whether they truly met those requirements still needed further confirmation through White Zetsu's report.

Thus.

"Then, White Zetsu, tell me about these two children."

Uchiha Madara gave the order calmly, without any emotion discernible in his tone.

After briefly organizing its thoughts, White Zetsu immediately began its report to Uchiha Madara. Its tone also became more normal once it turned to serious business.

"First is a child named Uchiha Yin Jie."

Yin Jie was the first person White Zetsu introduced to Uchiha Madara. "He is blood of the Uchiha Clan that had been left outside. About a year and a half ago, Uchiha Yasashiro and Uchiha Fugaku brought him back from the Land of Rain!"

"According to the intelligence we collected, he had already awakened the Sharingan by then, and one of his eyes had two tomoe the moment it awakened!"

"Furthermore, some time ago, he successfully fought an ANBU chunin to a draw, graduated early from the Hidden Leaf Ninja Academy, and became a genin!"

White Zetsu provided extremely detailed intelligence. Through its Transformation Technique, it had obtained virtually all of Yin Jie's public information.

However, White Zetsu had not brought back a portrait of Yin Jie. All the intelligence was delivered orally.

As such, Uchiha Madara had no way of knowing that Yin Jie somewhat resembled both his younger self and his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna.

"Not bad!"

Uchiha Madara rarely offered praise. This was the first Uchiha child to catch his eye.

After all, Yin Jie had awakened his Sharingan far earlier than Madara himself had.

Of course, the timing of one's awakening did not represent everything.

Throughout the Uchiha Clan's history, there had been many who awakened their Sharingan earlier than he had.

Yet in the end, those people were not even worthy of carrying his shoes in terms of strength.

Still, in his view, with Yin Jie's talent, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan would be no difficult matter so long as he received Madara's "proper guidance."

And having experienced the chaos of war in the Land of Rain at such a young age, Yin Jie would surely be better able to understand the peaceful world Madara dreamed of.

"However, there is one point where he does not quite meet Lord Madara's requirements."

White Zetsu suddenly recalled something and hurriedly added, "He does not have enough bonds in the Hidden Leaf Village or the Uchiha Clan, nor does he have any other relatives."

"Hmm..."

Hearing White Zetsu's addition, Uchiha Madara fell into thought. "That is indeed a problem, but it is not without a solution."