By now, Yagura could tell something was wrong, no matter what.
He infused chakra into his staff and prepared to attack Obito and the other two.
"Sorry, but I have no intention of letting anyone find out you've been harmed."
Madara Uchiha's closed eyes snapped open, his Mangekyō Sharingan spinning rapidly.
Yagura abruptly froze, as though he had lost consciousness entirely.
Madara Uchiha rose from his chair and walked toward Yagura, one step at a time.
Then Madara Uchiha pressed an aged finger against Yagura's chest.
A Cursed Seal was branded directly onto Yagura's heart.
Yagura's pupils suddenly contracted. Then he knelt before Madara Uchiha. "Yagura pays his respects, Master."
"All right. From now on, you'll obey their orders," Madara Uchiha told Yagura, pointing at Obito and Zetsu.
"Yes, Master."
With that, the Land of Water was once again under Madara Uchiha's control.
Or rather, under Obito Uchiha's control.
Kirigakure was an unfortunate ninja village.
The Third Mizukage had been controlled by Madara Uchiha, and the Fourth Mizukage was now under his control as well.
The sky gradually darkened.
The snow fell harder and harder.
Like goose feathers, the flakes drifted down wherever the sea breeze carried them.
"Yin, you're here? Itachi, this is the man I often tell you about—the Fifth Elder of our Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Yin."
At the border defense camp on the southeastern coast of the Land of Fire, along the border with the Land of Water, Uchiha Fugaku held five-year-old Uchiha Itachi's hand as he pointed at Uchiha Yin and spoke.
Most of those on the Kirigakure front belonged to the Uchiha Clan or the Hyuga Clan.
Normally, during wartime, the clan heads were supposed to remain with their clans.
But the shortage of manpower had forced even the heads of the Uchiha Clan and