CHAPTER 284: CHAPTER 284 – BLACK ZETSU: YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND A DAMN THING!

A rogue ninja is still a rogue ninja.

Especially the Uchiha. No matter how much they claimed to have their so-called "reasons," the fact remained: they betrayed the village and brought immense losses to both Konoha and their own clan.

No matter how pitiful their excuses sounded...

Once they were back, they’d still have to work.

The only difference was that Konoha, out of humanitarian duty, would treat their injuries before putting them to work. They wouldn’t be forced to labor while half-dead.

Of course...

Their eyes were another matter.

The Uchiha’s eyes were far too special. By now, every last one of them had probably already fallen into Uchiha Madara’s hands. There was no way they’d ever be returned—let alone treated.

So... they had no reason to expect their vision to be restored.

On the way back, the prisoners didn’t stir up much trouble, but Kyoichi couldn’t help feeling a twinge of unease.

Madara had collected that many Sharingan...

Even if they were nothing more than the common three-tomoe, that alone was terrifying.

It meant Madara had countless replacements, giving him the freedom to use Izanagi as recklessly as he pleased. After all...

Madara’s recovery had already reached the level of "plug and play."

In a real fight, Izanagi was even more revolting than Kakuzu’s multiple hearts.

That was the true horror of the Sharingan.

Even without the Rinnegan or Eternal Mangekyō, Uchiha Madara was still powerful enough to strike fear into anyone.

Truly worthy of being called a legend of the shinobi world!

Kyoichi sighed inwardly.

Fortunately, Madara had never obtained Kaguya Ōtsutsuki’s power. If he had reached her level, then not even Naruto, Sasuke, and the Sage of Six Paths working together from the shadows could have saved the shinobi world from total annihilation.

Because...

In raw strength, Kaguya and Madara might be comparable. But in battle experience and mastery, Madara completely eclipsed her.

Kaguya’s "fights" weren’t entirely devoid of skill, but they were essentially just brute-force domination.

And when brute force failed, she had nothing else.

This wasn’t just Kyoichi nitpicking—it was the conclusion of someone who had experienced the creation and mastery of ninjutsu himself.

A blessing hidden within misfortune, perhaps?

Kyoichi pondered.

The base they’d raided was located on the eastern edge of the Land of Water. To regroup with Shisui’s group, they’d need to cross the entire country—a long journey.

And yet... there was no alternative.

The Flying Thunder God could shorten the trip in an instant. But even if Kyoichi and Minato combined efforts, there was no way to teleport that many Uchiha all at once. If they had that ability...

Wouldn’t it be simpler to just teleport them straight back to Konoha?

Walking as he went, Kyoichi sent word to Shisui to prevent unnecessary worry.

After all...

It would be at least half a day before they made it back.

When Shisui received the message—

"Shisui, what did sensei say?"

Kurenai asked nervously.

The last time sensei had left them, they were ambushed by a powerful enemy. She prayed it wouldn’t happen again. Kakashi was still injured, after all.

"Oh, nothing much. Sensei said everything’s been handled on his end. It’s just that getting back will take time, since he’s bringing people along. That makes the Flying Thunder God impractical..."

Shisui trailed off into thought.

Bringing people?

Clearly... they weren’t just enemies.

If they were enemies, sensei would have either killed them outright or crippled and sealed them, like he did with Sasori. For this to be different...

Shisui recalled his teacher’s earlier suspicions.

That the Uchiha defectors had fled to the Land of Water.

Could it be?

He found the idea highly likely.

If they truly had found missing Uchiha, then bringing them back was the best choice. Otherwise...

Who knew what kind of rumors the fools in the village—or certain hidden forces—might spread?

Sensei might not care, but bickering with idiots always wasted time.

Thinking of his clan, Shisui sighed inwardly.

The Uchiha were truly in ruins.

Especially under Fugaku’s leadership. The clan lacked the vision and bearing of a true noble family. They obsessed over trivial gains yet refused to sacrifice for greater goals.

How could anything great ever be achieved like that?

Still... at least a few realized the truth.

Take Inahori, for instance. He had practically become the de facto leader of the younger generation.

Joining the ANBU had boosted his reputation within the clan, and the "intelligence" he brought back had raised their esteem for him even further.

Yet in reality, Inahori had kept close contact with Shisui, often seeking his counsel in secret, utterly convinced by him.

If Inahori rose to power, Shisui was confident they could change the clan’s direction.

Of course... he also knew.

Inahori’s rise was inseparable from sensei’s support.

Shisui’s mind wandered far from the original report.

Kakashi, watching quietly from the side, spoke up after a pause.

"Could it be sensei captured one of Kakuzu’s allies?"

Shisui blinked. "Sorry, I was distracted... If I had to guess, it might be that he found the missing Uchiha defectors. Though he didn’t say how many."

Kakashi stiffened.

Uchiha defectors?

That would indeed... take some time.

"Then we’ll wait here. It’s unlikely anyone else will attack us now, but we can’t let our guard down."

"Mm."

With Kyoichi’s wood clone and Minato’s shadow clone present, they weren’t in much danger. The only real concern was another sudden attack from elites like Kakuzu or Sasori.

But... ninja of that caliber weren’t cabbages you could pick off the street.

In fact, there weren’t many shinobi of that level across the entire world. A single one in a village was already considered a blessing. Konoha’s younger generation was feared because—

They had both Kyoichi and Minato.

And beyond that...

The older generation still had the Sannin and the Third Hokage.

By high-tier combat power, Konoha was the strongest of the Five Great Villages. Even Iwagakure couldn’t compare.

Yet...

Their true enemy now wasn’t another village.

It was Uchiha Madara.

---

Deep underground.

Black Zetsu returned from outside and once again found Uchiha Madara.

"They followed Kakuzu to our research base. That place has already been destroyed, and every single Uchiha test subject from the outpost has been taken away."

"Don’t panic..."

Madara gave a faint smile.

This sort of thing...

He had already considered the possibility long ago.

That brat was far too shrewd.

"Those ones are of little consequence. Their bloodline and potential are extremely low, with barely any chance of awakening the Sharingan. But even at our other site, none of them have awakened either..."

Black Zetsu felt a bit helpless.

Madara always carried himself with an air of leisure, but at this point the only step left for the enemy was to discover their very lair—yet Madara was still so unhurried...

Did he really just take him for an immortal puppet?

Even a clever housewife can’t cook without rice.

If Madara really squandered away all of their resources, then even Black Zetsu would find it hard to keep control of the situation.

"The Mangekyō doesn’t appear so easily. Yes, putting them through unending torment without telling them the true purpose does increase their chances of awakening...

But that’s only in theory. Besides, hasn’t their ocular power already grown greatly? All they lack is a trigger."

Madara, unlike Black Zetsu, wasn’t particularly concerned.

Those clansmen were, after all, from the branch that revered him. For quite some time now, he had been having Black Zetsu indoctrinate them. In a while...

He would reveal his true identity to them.

By then—

Even if no Mangekyō Sharingan emerged, it was absolutely certain that one or two pairs of exceptionally strong eyes would.

Though using such eyes would be a strain, they would still suffice to unlock at least part of Susanoo’s power—unlike the current useless state.

Black Zetsu was speechless at this.

He understood now.

This man’s head was filled with nothing but how he’d fight Kanda Kyoichi. He hadn’t given the slightest thought to whether, after his death, Black Zetsu could even resurrect him.

Was it because he trusted Black Zetsu that much...

Or because he simply wasn’t thinking at all?

They were, in the end, not walking the same path. They had no shared language, no shared concerns, and nothing more could be said.

So Black Zetsu could only sigh:

"Although you’ve left a contingency with Nagato, no one can say for sure with that Kanda Kyoichi. I still believe it’s better to be prepared."

"Mm. I understand your meaning. I’ll leave you with a promising seedling."

Understand my ass!

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