The Plan Begins

The winter of Konoha's forty-fifth year seemed colder than those of previous years. The white vapor Uchiha Kyohaku exhaled quickly dissipated in the frigid air. Leaning on his cane, he blended into the dim streets and alleys of dusk like an inconspicuous ghost, returning to the quiet cottage at the edge of the village.

On the surface, his life remained orderly: an internship at the hospital, assisting Orochimaru in the laboratory, then returning home to rest. But no one knew that, supported by the substantial funds he had accumulated over the past three years from making explosive tags, an exceedingly secret project was quietly underway beneath his unremarkable cottage.

Once night had fully blanketed the land, Kyohaku confirmed that there were no more watchful eyes nearby—human or otherwise. He entered the house and locked the door behind him, then moved an inconspicuous clay jar in the corner. Accompanied by an extremely faint mechanical click, a stone slab beneath the kitchen stove silently slid aside, revealing a deep staircase descending just wide enough for one person to pass through.

A damp, earthy smell mixed with a peculiar energy scent of metal and sealing runes rushed toward him. He descended the stairs step by step, his cane tapping against the cold stone steps with hollow echoes.

At the end of the staircase lay an underground space of roughly ten square meters. It was entirely different from his crude residence aboveground. The walls and ceiling had been reinforced with special cement mixed with chakra conductors and polished smooth. Dense layers of dark-blue sealing formulas covered the walls, flowing slowly like living things and emitting faint yet constant energy fluctuations, forming a powerful barrier that completely isolated the inside from the outside. This was one of the highest-level applications he had learned from Orochimaru and the library's restricted section, enough to block most sensory ninjutsu and surveillance.

This was the biological laboratory he had secretly built, as well as the first core operating room of his future Completion Plan. Its foremost and most urgent objective at present was to capture a White Zetsu.

Based on memories from his past life and his analysis over the years of Madara Uchiha and his schemes, Kyohaku was certain that as an "abnormal individual" who had left the clan compound, possessed Uchiha blood, yet chose to become a medical ninja, he was absolutely one of White Zetsu's key surveillance targets. Those bizarre creatures, capable of perfectly infiltrating the earth, blending into it, and gathering intelligence, were likely silently watching him from somewhere.

He needed a White Zetsu. Not merely to study its unique cellular structure, somewhere between plant and animal, but because of its essential connection to the Divine Tree—the most crucial "universal culture medium" and "genetic adhesive" in his envisioned plan to repair his disability, optimize his genetic sequence, and even fuse other bloodline limits.

But capturing a White Zetsu was easier said than done. Its bizarre Mayfly Technique and impersonation abilities made it extremely difficult to catch and contain.

Kyohaku's gaze swept across the center of the laboratory. Several seemingly ordinary metal pillars stood there, yet the energy fluctuations they emitted were unnaturally cold and lifeless. Countless hair-thin spikes made of chakra metal were embedded across their surfaces—this was the core of his solution.

For this, he had nearly exhausted most of the savings he had accumulated over three years of making explosive tags. Chakra metal was staggeringly expensive, but he had invested in it without hesitation. Combining the principles behind the chakra-suppressing shackles used in the Konoha Interrogation Department's prisons, the sealing formula runes he had learned from Orochimaru, and his own deep understanding of chakra flow mechanisms, he had designed and built this unique device.

He named it the Chakra Sealing Needle Formation.

Once activated, these chakra metal needles would instantly spring out and pierce the target's body. They were exceedingly thin and caused limited physical damage, but the miniature sealing formulas engraved upon them would immediately take effect, powerfully disrupting and blocking the target's chakra flow—particularly White Zetsu's unique chakra pattern, which mixed with natural energy. At the same time, the laboratory's barrier would operate at full capacity, forming a "chakra vacuum prison" completely sealed off from both within and without.

That still was not enough. He had also prepared large quantities of powerful anesthetics and neurotoxins—all formulated by himself using his hospital access and medical knowledge, specifically intended to counter potential biological resistance. In one corner of the laboratory, various instruments for monitoring vital signs, chakra fluctuations, and cellular activity had also been calibrated and were ready for use at any time.

He had repeatedly simulated and calculated every stage. Like the most seasoned hunter, he had laid down an inescapable net and patiently waited for that one-of-a-kind prey to deliver itself to his door.

He walked to the center of the laboratory and extended a finger, lightly brushing it over one of the cold metal pillars. At his fingertips, he could feel the sealing power contained within it, poised to strike.

"Three energy nodes still need their resonance frequencies adjusted..." he murmured, calculations racing through his mind. "The barrier's sensitivity to ground vibrations also needs to be increased by another five percent, in case it uses the Mayfly Technique to escape from below."

He was not the least bit impatient. He had endured three years of preparation; he was not lacking this final bit of time. Ensuring that nothing could go wrong was the highest principle of the operation.

He remained in the basement for several hours, carefully inspecting every rune, testing every mechanism, and calibrating every instrument. Cold light illuminated his focused, tranquil profile. There was none of the innocence that belonged to a ten-year-old child in those black eyes, only the patience and resolve of a calm hunter.

By the time he finished all the adjustments and slowly left the basement, restoring the entrance to its original state, it was already deep into the night outside.

He lay on his bed, listening to the cold wind howling beyond the window, yet his heart was exceptionally calm.

The net had been cast, and the trap was ready.

Now, all he needed to do was wait.

Wait for the best opportunity. Wait for that white monster lurking in the shadows to step into the cage he had carefully prepared.

The plan had officially begun.