Chapter 37

The first was that boy named Nagato. He had given Nagato a pair of Rinnegan, and with Uzumaki Clan blood flowing through the boy's veins, he was just right for the job.

The second was "Zetsu"-the monster he had imbued with his will.

But Madara felt those two alone still weren't enough of a guarantee.

He needed to find someone else who could help cover every contingency.

That person had to meet two conditions.

The first condition-they had to carry the direct bloodline of the Six Paths.

Someone from the Senju Clan, the Uchiha Clan, or failing that, the Uzumaki Clan.

Only someone like that could withstand the side effects of Hashirama cells, receive a Rinnegan transplant, and possibly learn the Rinne Rebirth technique.

Otherwise, how would they bring him, Madara, back to life?

The second condition-this person had to have completely given up on this rotten world, with nothing but the Eye of the Moon Plan on their mind.

Only then would they work for him with absolute devotion.

White Zetsu had been keeping watch in Konoha these past few years, and Madara had spotted several suitable targets.

The first was the grandson of his old rival Hashirama Senju-Senju Nawaki.

The boy had Hashirama's blood flowing through his veins. Last year, Konoha High Command had brought down the Senju Clan, leaving it a clan in name only.

Nawaki hated Konoha with a vengeance. He was just right.

Besides, corrupting his sworn rival's own grandson, then later summoning those two old bastards Hashirama and Tobirama with Impure World Reincarnation to let them see for themselves what their grandson had become...

Just imagining that scene felt good.

The more Madara thought about it, the more excited he became.

There really weren't many things left in this world that could excite him like this.

If the great god of censorship hadn't been tightening its grip over the years, he really would have liked to do something even nastier.

Unfortunately, Senju Nawaki's aptitude was simply too poor.

Madara couldn't help wanting to complain-compared to Hashirama, this grandson fell short by far more than a little.

There was another issue: his sister Tsunade was still alive. Wouldn't corrupting him be much easier if he were all alone?

The second target was the Uchiha Clan's newly emerged genius-Shisui Uchiha.

The boy was currently being used as a tool by those bastards in Konoha to research Hashirama cells.

With a little manipulation, he could probably be corrupted too.

The third target was a seemingly unremarkable brat-Obito Uchiha.

But Madara had a very keen eye.

The boy had considerable potential hidden within him.

Several months passed.

In the large tiered classroom at the Konoha Ninja Academy, the first round of the Chunin Ninja Exams was proceeding tensely.

Everyone seated in the examination room was a Genin from Konoha itself. Unlike in Naruto's future days, candidates from different ninja villages hadn't been gathered together.

Obito Uchiha huddled in his seat with both hands clutching his head, trembling like a leaf. He might as well have had "terrified" written across his forehead.

"I-I'm finished... I'm really dead this time..."

He glanced up at the clock, then looked down at his exam paper, which was blank apart from his name, and completely fell apart.

Tap.

Suddenly, a paper ball landed at his feet.

Obito looked down and saw a little wad of paper lying between his feet.

"Th-this is..."

While the examiner named Nawaki at the front wasn't looking, Obito quietly picked up the paper ball and unfolded it.

A line of small, graceful handwriting met his eyes, and he froze.

Turning to glance to the side, he caught sight of the little face he had been thinking about for months, two seats away.

His heart gave a hard thump.

"Ten minutes left before you hand in your papers," Nawaki reminded them from the front.

Obito hurriedly snapped out of his daze and began filling in his exam paper with the contents of the note.

"This kid..." Standing at the front, Nawaki shook his head.

Being a lousy ninja is one thing, but cheating this clumsily? Do you really think I can't see you?

After giving it some thought, however, Nawaki decided to turn a blind eye.

They both came from prestigious clans, and both were the dead last of their teams, so he was a little more lenient with Obito.

What made Nawaki even more curious, though, was why Shisui Uchiha, who had graduated from the Ninja Academy at five, had also come to take this exam.

Could Orochimaru think it's a little too early for the boy to take the Chunin Ninja Exams?

Inside the teachers' lounge next to the written examination classroom.

Xuan Zhe and Orochimaru sat facing each other.

With his right hand resting along the top of the sofa's back and his legs crossed, Xuan Zhe raised his left hand slightly and asked Orochimaru:

"How's that Uchiha boy under you doing?"

"Oh? Xuan Zhe, who never takes an interest in anything, actually remembers Shisui? Has the sun risen in the west?"

Orochimaru wore his trademark strange smile, which looked sinister no matter how one looked at it.

Xuan Zhe raised his head and chuckled softly.

That girl named Mitaraishi Anko was a year older than Shisui, and she was still whiling away her days at the Ninja Academy.

Thinking about it the other way around, that boy Shisui probably wouldn't escape being branded with that Cursed Seal either.

Still, he remembered the original story mentioning that although Anko had spent some time with Orochimaru, she had at least remained alive, unlike Shisui, who had simply vanished off the face of the earth.

It seemed things weren't that simple.

"I was only teasing. Since you're so eager to know, Xuan Zhe, naturally I have nothing to hide."

Orochimaru's smile deepened before his expression grew somewhat more serious, and he continued:

"Still, I really never expected it. The Uchiha bloodline actually meshes so well with the First's cells. Apart from Shisui, who is still alive, all the others are completely dead..."

"You've already started?"

A flicker of something unusual crossed Xuan Zhe's eyes, but he didn't lose his composure.

"Already?"

Orochimaru keenly picked up on that word in Xuan Zhe's remark, and his lips spread into a grin.

"From the sound of it, Xuan Zhe, you seem to have guessed long ago that Teacher and the others were experimenting with the First's cells?"

"What's so strange about it? Wood Release has long been lost, and the village lacks a way to keep the Nine-Tails in check. It's hardly surprising that they'd want to create another First."

Xuan Zhe answered casually, then asked:

"So? What do you intend to do with this Shisui Uchiha, who survived being implanted with the First's cells?"

"..."

At this point, Orochimaru fell silent. Nearly two minutes passed before he spoke again:

"This matter... Xuan Zhe, could you help keep it secret?"

"I was only asking casually. Besides, you haven't spilled the fact that I killed Sarutobi Shinnosuke, have you? What would I gain by blabbing about it everywhere?"

Finding the question a little ridiculous, Xuan Zhe turned it back on him.

Hearing that, Orochimaru felt considerably more at ease, though he still instinctively lowered his voice:

"Although he survived, he still can't reliably control Wood Release. Lord Danzo lied to Teacher Sarutobi and said Shisui Uchiha was dead. In reality, though, he's hidden him on the deepest level of the Root Base, keeping him as his own pawn."

Xuan Zhe raised an eyebrow slightly.

That old bastard Danzo really did have a few tricks up his sleeve.

He had originally thought Danzo wouldn't turn against Hiruzen Sarutobi until after the Third Shinobi World War ended.

Yet he had already begun laying his plans this early.

"Lord Danzo is getting on in years, after all. His strength is declining, and he can no longer maintain Kage Level strength. It's understandable that he'd keep a trump card in hand."

Orochimaru chuckled.

"As for that genius's 'death,' Teacher Sarutobi is at his wits' end too, thinking only of putting it off again and again. But once the Uchiha learn the truth, there's no telling what kind of uproar they'll cause."

This round of the Chunin Ninja Exams made it through peacefully, without any major trouble.