"Is that so?" Mito Uzumaki fell into thought. "If that's true, a lot of things would make sense.
"I'd been wondering why Madara Uchiha hadn't made a move all these years. After Hashirama died, no one in the Shinobi World could stop him. Even I probably wouldn't be his match."
Mito knew her limits. Many considered her the strongest person in the Shinobi World, but she still fell a little short of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju in their prime.
If Madara wanted to return, Konoha couldn't stop him.
Now, though, Mito felt she had found the answer.
"Maybe Madara wasn't in good shape either?" Uchiha Yi said after a moment's thought. "That battle exhausted even the First to the point of death. Madara may have used Izanagi to escape dying.
"But pushing his Chakra too hard would have put an enormous strain on his cells. That could have killed him too."
Mito shook her head slightly. "Normally, yes. But that battle was different. Most of the Chakra Madara used came from the Nine-Tails. The Nine-Tails wasn't as strong as Hashirama or Madara; even its vast Chakra reserves couldn't match Hashirama's.
"But the Nine-Tails isn't human. It doesn't need to draw Chakra from its body the way Hashirama did. It can absorb Natural Energy and convert it directly into Chakra. Its recovery rate is actually better than Hashirama's.
"And more importantly, when Hashirama returned from that battle, a piece of his flesh was missing. Judging by the wound, Madara had bitten it off. I'm afraid getting Hashirama's cells was Madara's goal all along.
"Hashirama may have been the strongest Ninja the Senju Clan ever produced. If Madara wanted the Senju Clan's power, Hashirama was the obvious target.
"If I'm right, Madara has spent these years trying to awaken the Rinnegan.