Fallen Madara

Inside the dimly lit, dark cave, an old man with white hair sat dejectedly on a wooden chair. His right eye was covered by white hair, leaving only a scarlet left eye that gleamed ominously in the darkness.

The white-haired old man sat motionless in the chair like a corpse; if it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, anyone would have thought he was dead.

On the wooden table beside him was a transparent Glass Jar filled with Solution, but the Glass Jar was empty. The pair of eyeballs that had been submerged inside had disappeared without a trace.

After a long while, as if he noticed something, the red Sharingan in his left eye shifted slightly, looking at the ground to the side.

A white protrusion emerged from the ground, revealing a pale-skinned humanoid creature with an eerie, natural smile on its face, seemingly without any malice— the White Zetsu.

"... How is the situation?"

The white-haired old man asked a question out of the blue.

"As per your instructions, Lord Madara, Nagato's situation has been settled. Tobi is currently monitoring him nearby to ensure Nagato's safety."

"Well, in that case, we'll just have to wait for Nagato 'open his eyes' and notice his own uniqueness..."

The elderly man with white hair and spots was very satisfied with this answer.

To ensure the target's safe growth, he deliberately placed his strongest White Zetsu individual, Tobi, around the target.

Furthermore, he also took out another layer of insurance.

That was to secretly capture a Wood Release ninja from the Senju Clan Konoha, and have Tobi possess him, thus enabling Tobi to unleash even more powerful Wood Release power.

Even now, Konoha still suspects that the disappearance of their Wood Release ninja is the work of the Hidden Cloud Village.

This was also the result he hoped to see: causing these ninja villages to distrust each other and even break out into conflict, which would be beneficial to the implementation of his plan.

As for leverage... Madara couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

He's been away from Konoha for so many years, yet Konoha's current Barrier system is still the same one from when Hashirama was alive. Although it's been patched up a lot and its power and range have been greatly increased, the core hasn't changed much...

This Barrier is very effective against outsiders, but for him, the founder, it's as convenient as a public toilet.

It's fair to say that infiltrating Hidden Mist Village and causing trouble is much more difficult than doing so in Konoha.

"Lord Madara, there's one more thing..."

"What?"

Madara snapped out of his daze and turned to White Zetsu.

White Zetsu stared directly into Madara's Sharingan and continued answering:

"The new Mizukage Genji Hidden Mist Village is secretly investigating the Third Mizukage's attack on the Uzumaki Clan. He seems to suspect something is amiss..."

"..."

This news was somewhat unexpected for Ban.

Logically, this matter should have been closed in Kirigakure, but it turns out that the new Mizukage is still making so many underhanded moves.

Is it just caution, or have they actually sensed something?

However, considering that Genji was acquainted with the Third Mizukage when he was young, Madara understood.

It was probably the Third Mizukage's sudden actions that made Genji notice something amiss with his friend, thus alerting him.

In that case, it might be harder to use the Hidden Mist Village to cause trouble next time.

Fortunately, the current situation between countries is tense. Even if he doesn't secretly instigate, a new round of Shinobi World War will probably break out soon.

"Ignore them, let Hidden Mist Village investigate. The focus now is on Nagato... and keep an eye on the Uchiha Clan in Konoha. Besides Nagato, I need a 'proxy' to act on my behalf..."

Ban made a decision quickly.

He cleaned up the mess in Hidden Mist Village very well. Even if Genji new Mizukage noticed something, he could only stop there at most and wouldn't be able to find anything useful.

Moreover, the more you do, the easier it is to be exposed.

The fact that several White Zetsu were captured alive by the Land of Night during this operation is troublesome enough.

"Uh, this is taking too much time. I think that Land of Night Sharingan kid who killed the Third Mizukage might be a decent guy..."

Before he could finish saying the word "choose," White Zetsu noticed Madara's impatient gaze and quickly shut his mouth, forcing a fawning smile.

"I think Lord Madara is right. I'll arrange for them to be monitored by the Uchiha Clan in Konoha right away."

Fearing that Madara would twist off his head, the White Zetsu quickly burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

The White Zetsu, which had burrowed underground and was moving, could no longer hide the sorrow on its face.

"One mouth from above, legs worn out below" perfectly describes the current situation.

If it were just surveillance, that would be fine, but the thought of Madara's 'agent' request sent chills down White Zetsu's spine.

' Lord Madara is really getting old; he's starting to understand the principle of picking on the weak...'

However, White Zetsu only dared to utter such slanderous words in his heart.

◎

at the same time--

The Land of Lightning, Hidden Cloud Village.

The Third Raikage lay on the hospital bed in a private room, staring blankly at the white ceiling.

He had only slowly woken up from his hospital bed two hours earlier, only to be met with the unfamiliar ceiling of the hospital.

At first, he was confused as to why he was lying in a hospital. Then, after racking his brains, he slowly recalled the memories before he lost consciousness, as if from another world.

I... collapsed from exhaustion on the battlefield.

In the final moments before his consciousness faded into darkness, he saw Gentle Fist hurtling towards him like a ferocious beast, and the loud shouts of the Hidden Cloud Village around him, rushing forward one after another to provide desperate support.

"It failed..."

The Third Raikage placed his palm on his forehead, his face showing disappointment and confusion.

The revenge battle, which had been fought more than a decade ago, ended in defeat for him.

Moreover, this time they were defeated openly and squarely on the battlefield, and there was no way to find excuses like last time, claiming that the enemy was too despicable and that they were defeated and captured...

Thinking about all the hard work and training I've put in for over a decade, only to end up with such a terrible result...

What about all the blood and sweat I've poured into this over the past decade?

What does working from dawn till dusk for over a decade count for?

What about the more than ten years of plundering other countries' Secret Technique?

He felt that his life, ever since his capture more than a decade ago, had been living in the shadow of the Land of Night.

Am I truly a successful Raikage?

In the past, the Third Raikage would undoubtedly have affirmed his efforts and achievements over the years.

But now, he's a little insecure.

The conflict that Hidden Cloud Village had instigated has once again ended in defeat.

Click.

Hearing the sound of the doorknob being turned, Third Raikage propped himself up and sat up, looking towards the doorway.

Robui, along with several advisors, elders, and two ministers and deputy ministers from the Hidden Cloud Anbu, entered.

"It seems you've recovered quite well, Lord Raikage."

Robui glanced at Third Raikage's complexion and knew that Third Raikage was recovering well; in another day or two, he would be able to get out of bed.

"You've come. This time, what happened..."

Looking at the exhausted faces of these people, Third Raikage guessed that he must have held many emergency meetings during his unconsciousness.

"You don't need to take the blame alone; this was a collective policy failure. That's how strategies work—there are successes and failures. The important thing is to learn from the failures."

Robui cut off what the Third Raikage was about to say, his expression completely open.

The other advisors and elders did not show any sign of blame.

Even Elder Yotsuki Kōmon, who had opposed the attack on the Uzumaki Clan beforehand, did not rub salt into the wound.

"... I see."

The Third Raikage took a deep breath and nodded seriously.

The gloom and despondency in my heart were swept away, replaced by an even more intense and high-spirited fighting spirit.

It's just another defeat. As long as he hasn't fallen and can continue fighting, the final outcome is still uncertain.

Now, let the storm rage on!