The Plan Begins

The winter of Konoha's forty-fifth year seemed colder than those of previous years. The white vapor Kyohaku Uchiha exhaled quickly dispersed into the frigid air. Leaning on his cane, he blended into the dim streets and alleys of dusk like an inconspicuous ghost, returning to the silent little house on 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. Yet no one knew that, supported by the substantial funds he had accumulated over the past three years making Explosive Tags, an exceedingly secret project was quietly underway beneath his unremarkable home.

Once night had completely enveloped the land, Kyohaku made sure there were no longer any watchful eyes nearby—human or otherwise. He entered the house and locked the door behind him, then moved an utterly inconspicuous clay jar in the corner. With an almost imperceptible click of machinery, a stone slab beneath the kitchen stove silently slid aside, revealing a deep stairway leading down, barely wide enough for one person.

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

At the end of the staircase was an underground space of roughly ten square meters. It stood in stark contrast to his crude residence aboveground. The walls and ceiling had been reinforced with special cement mixed with chakra conductors and polished smooth. Dense layers of dim blue Fūinjutsu formulas covered the walls, flowing slowly like living creatures and emitting faint but continuous 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 for his future Completion Plan. Its foremost and most urgent objective at present was—capturing a White Zetsu.

Based on memories from his previous life and his analysis of Madara Uchiha and his schemes over the years, Kyohaku was certain that he, an "abnormal individual" who had left the clan compound, carried the Uchiha Bloodline, yet had chosen to become a medical ninja, was absolutely one of White Zetsu's key surveillance targets. Those bizarre creatures, capable of perfectly concealing themselves, merging with the earth, and gathering intelligence, were likely watching him silently from somewhere.

He needed a White Zetsu. Not merely to study its unique cellular structure, somewhere between plant and animal, but also because of its essential connection to the God Tree—it was 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 Kekkei Genkai.

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, but the energy fluctuations they emitted were unusually cold and lifeless. Countless hair-thin spikes forged from Chakra Metal had been embedded into their surfaces—this was the core of his solution.

To create this, he had nearly exhausted most of the savings he had built up over three years of making Explosive Tags. Chakra Metal was outrageously expensive, but he had invested in it without hesitation. Combining the principles behind the shackles used to restrain ninja chakra in the Konoha Torture Division's prison, the sealing formula runes he had learned from Orochimaru, and his own deep understanding of chakra flow mechanisms, he had designed and constructed this unique device.

He had named it the "Chakra Sealing Needle Array."

Once activated, these Chakra Metal needles would instantly spring out and pierce the target's body. They were incredibly fine and caused limited physical harm, but the miniature Fūinjutsu formulas engraved upon them would immediately take effect, forcefully disrupting and blocking the target's chakra flow—especially White Zetsu's unique chakra pattern, mixed with Nature Energy. At the same time, the laboratory's barrier would operate at full capacity, creating a "chakra vacuum cage" completely isolated from both inside and out.

That still was not enough. He had also prepared large quantities of potent anesthetics and neurotoxins—all formulated by himself using his hospital access and medical knowledge, specifically intended to counter any possible 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 step. Like a seasoned hunter, he had cast 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 across one of the icy metal pillars. His fingertips could feel the sealing power contained within it, poised to strike.

"Three energy nodes still need their resonance frequencies adjusted..." he muttered, calculating rapidly. "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 impatient in the slightest. He had endured three years of preparation; he did not mind spending a little more time. Ensuring absolute certainty 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, calm profile. There was none of the innocence expected of a ten-year-old child in those black eyes, only the patience and resolve of a cool-headed hunter.

By the time he had completed all the adjustments and slowly emerged from the basement, restoring the entrance to its original state, the night outside had already grown deep and silent.

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

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

Now, all that remained was to wait.

Wait for the perfect opportunity, wait for that white monster lurking in the shadows to step into the cage he had meticulously prepared for it.

The plan had officially begun.