“Madara, wait for me—ah!”
Kaito clutched his chest, his face contorted in pain.
Hearing this, Madara slowed his pace.
“Damn it.
Hasn’t it healed yet?” Kaito muttered to himself.
“What a stubborn tsundere.
Looks like I’ll have to use the heavy artillery.”
“Ah!”
At the sudden cry of pain, Madara immediately turned around.
“Hashirama” was now curled up on the ground, clutching his chest.
“Hey, Hashirama.
This isn’t funny.”
Madara approached him quickly.
“Get up.”
But when he reached him, he saw that Hashirama’s face had become as pale as jade, and his breathing was shallow and rapid.
Madara immediately knelt down to support him.
Before he could speak, his hand was suddenly gripped tightly.
“B-Brother…
don’t go…
don’t leave me…”
“Brother?”
Madara froze.
“Hey, Hashirama!
Wake up!”
The Imperial Guards quickly appeared, intending to take over.
Instead, Madara picked Hashirama up himself.
Then, using the Body Flicker Technique repeatedly, he rushed away.
“Wait…
is this a princess carry?!”
“Oh no.
No no no.
I regret this already.”
Kaito inwardly wailed.
“I really shouldn’t have gone this far.”
“If Madara finds out I tricked him, will he go berserk?”
“No.
I need to commit even harder.”
At that moment, Madara was visibly panicking.
“You idiot.”
“You absolutely can’t die.”
“Otherwise, I…”
Suddenly, he roared:
“Damn you, Black Zetsu!
I will never forgive you!”
Somewhere in the Land of Lightning, inside a cave.
“…?”
Black Zetsu suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
“Again.”
“It’s that feeling again.”
“Every time I get this feeling, something bad happens.”
“Who is it?”
“Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki?
Come out!”
After a moment, he shook his head.
“He’s been dead for a thousand years.”
“I must be getting paranoid.”
“It’s all because of those two.”
“I’ll have my revenge.”
He muttered to himself.
“What do you think?”
“That bastard…”
The other half of his face belonged to Izuna.
“Brother will never forgive you!”
Although Izuna could still speak, he had completely lost control of his body.
Black Zetsu chuckled.
“Hehe.”
“This time, I’ve prepared them a very special gift.”
He continued working on something on the ground.
Behind him stood countless horrifying white humanoid figures.
Meanwhile, back in the Universal Shinobi Empire.
The Medical Department found nothing wrong with Hashirama.
With no other options, Madara went to find the one person he trusted least.
After examining “Hashirama,” Tobirama deliberately exaggerated the severity of his condition and took the opportunity to ridicule Madara thoroughly.
Watching Madara suppress his anger while being unable to retort made Tobirama feel immensely satisfied.
Ever since Madara had awakened the Rinnegan, Tobirama had been living in constant anxiety.
Every day, he thought about how to restrain him.
How to counter him.
How to prevent disaster.
But now he finally understood. Find the original chapter at g.com.
The best way to restrain Madara…
was his elder brother.
Using the excuse of providing intensive treatment, Tobirama kicked Madara out of the room.
Only then did he calmly wake “Hashirama.”
Knowing he couldn’t fool Tobirama, Kaito awkwardly sat up.
“You figured it out.”
“Please don’t tell Madara.”
“Hmph.
Hmph.”
Tobirama hummed happily.
“Why would I tell that guy?”
“Next time you do something like this, tell me in advance.”
“I want to enjoy tormenting him properly.”
“Uh…”
“I’ll definitely do that next time.”
Since he was already there, Kaito asked about the progress of the Hashirama cell research and provided additional samples.
Tobirama shook his head.
“No.”
“The vitality of your cells is too strong.”
“Even after dilution, ordinary shinobi cannot tolerate transplantation.”
“Madara is a complete anomaly.”
He showed Kaito the experimental data.
Kaito , naturally, couldn’t understand a single word.
He could only pretend to ask a few questions and offer some suggestions.
For example:
Start with animal experiments.
Adjust the process based on the data.
After standardization, recruit researchers throughout the country and cultivate talent on a large scale.
“So this is what it feels like…”
“To be supported and trusted by family.”
“It’s actually pretty nice.”
Tobirama thought happily.
Out loud, however, he merely snorted.
“Naive.”
“Do you think research talent is easy to cultivate?”
“Researchers are incredibly rare.”
“We’ll discuss it later.”
“Not necessarily.”
Kaito grinned.
“Just wait for my good news.”
Tobirama didn’t argue.
He simply smiled as he watched his older brother’s enthusiasm.
Ding!
[Congratulations!
The Host has successfully resolved Senju Tobirama’s emotional burden.]
[Bond Value +3]
[Current Bond Value: 97%]
“Oh, right.”
Tobirama suddenly added.
“Brother, stop trying to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique.”
“You simply don’t have the talent for it.”
Kaito immediately clutched his chest in frustration.
“Damn it!”
“After all these attempts, I still can’t do it?”
“Looks like I’ll have to rely on the system.”
Time passed quickly.
Another half month went by.
As the movements of the Lands of Lightning and Water became increasingly suspicious, Kaito ultimately accepted the Cabinet’s recommendation.
The army was mobilized.
War was imminent.
At that moment, Kaito led the leadership toward the city gates.
The main army had already assembled.
As far as the eye could see—
Perfect formations.
Disciplined ranks.
Samurai armed to the teeth.
Shinobi wearing specially designed uniforms.
Every single one of them burned with fighting spirit.
This was the result of Kaito ‘s personal training.
“Soldiers.”
He suddenly asked,
“Are you living well?”
The unexpected question stunned everyone.
Soon, the soldiers shouted back:
“We’re living very well!”
“Better than ever before!”
Kaito nodded.
“Your good days are about to end.”
“The Lands of Water and Lightning intend to wage war.”
“They want to take away your happiness.”
“They want to drag you back to the lives you once lived.”
“Will you allow that?”
The army exploded with righteous fury.
“No!”
“Never!”
Kaito raised his hand.
“Then defeat them.”
“Conquer them!”
“Defeat!”
“Conquer!”
“Defeat!”
“Conquer!”
He then turned toward Shūmō.
“Pangu City is yours.”
“If Wind Province or Earth Province show any signs of rebellion, suppress them immediately.”
“You do not need my permission.”
“Remember.”
“There is another kind of leader.”
“They may be weak themselves, but their true strength lies in employing others and seeing the bigger picture.”
Shūmō knelt on one knee.
“I understand, Father.”
“Also…”
“Uncle Tobirama’s improved Impure World Tracking Seal has already been distributed to the ANBU.”
“If Izuna appears again, we’ll be able to locate him immediately.”
Tobirama nodded approvingly.
As everyone departed, however, he quietly pulled Kaito aside.
“Brother.”
“Your body still hasn’t recovered.”
“During this battle, do not force yourself to use Sage Art: Wood Release — True Several Thousand Hands.”
“Otherwise…”
“I know.”
Kaito looked toward Madara, who was inspecting the troops.
He smiled bitterly.
“I’m more worried about him.”
“If anything happens to Izuna…”
“He’ll probably reduce the entire Land of Lightning to ruins.”
“Hashirama.”
Madara finished his inspection and turned around.
“It’s time.”
“Right.”
Kaito nodded.
“Let’s move out.”
The army advanced.
Behind them followed all nine Tailed Beasts in their reduced forms.
Wherever they passed, countless people came to see them off.
Most of them were ordinary civilians.
Their smiles were sincere.
This was the treatment reserved for an army of justice.
And the inevitable result of Kaito ‘s policies.
During a rest stop, Tobirama unfolded a map.
He circled two locations.
“The Land of Water coastline.”
“The Land of Lightning border.”
“These are where their forces are concentrated.”
“We’ll split into two armies and establish camps five hundred meters from their positions—”
“Too troublesome.”
Madara interrupted him.
“Just fire off a few Tailed Beast Bombs.”
“Then Hashirama and I will break through.”
“You can handle cleanup.”
For once, Tobirama surprisingly didn’t argue.
Kaito took over.
“Madara.”
“You’ll lead ten thousand shinobi to the Land of Lightning.”
“I’ll lead ten thousand to the Land of Water.”
“No matter what they do, we’ll issue a warning first.”
“We’ll use the Tailed Beasts as a deterrent.”
“If that fails…”
“Then we’ll use the Tailed Beast Bombs.”
“Tch.”
Madara frowned.
“Weak.”
Then he interrupted Kaito .
“If we’re fighting separately this time…”
“I’ll just have to show you my ‘surprise’ next time.”