As a grown-up child who had been longing for maternal love for a thousand years, Xiaobai felt his situation was truly pitiful.
It had already been a thousand years since he began waiting for the reincarnated chakra of Asura and Indra.
After repeated failures and endless waits, he finally saw hope within Madara.
But what happened in the end?
Just as Madara awakened the Rinnegan, he was about to die of old age.
This was absolutely unacceptable!
Fortunately, Madara himself refused to sit idly by waiting for death. He found young Nagato and used him as a vessel to house his Rinnegan.
Yet there remained one problem.
How could he guarantee that Nagato would follow his exact plan?
The best solution, naturally, was to introduce a "Madara Uchiha" to carry out the mission in his place.
Madara certainly wasn't blind to this idea. The issue was, he had already grown too old, and cultivating a qualified proxy wouldn't be easy.
Therefore, all this could only fall upon diligent little Xiaobai!
Giving himself a quiet pep talk, Xiaobai refocused and muttered, "This generation of the Uchiha is just too weak. I can't even find someone capable of carrying the name 'Madara Uchiha.'"
Being Madara Uchiha's proxy was no easy job. If one's strength was too weak, even the slightest test would expose their weakness, making it impossible to convince Nagato.
Temperament and mindset were just as important – those inner traits couldn't be faked or rushed.
"I did spot two kids with barely adequate talent, but they're far too young. The older one is barely five, and the other is even younger. Given Madara's current condition, he probably won't live long enough for them to grow up..."
While drowning in frustration, his troubled gaze swept across the people ahead.
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as if struck by lightning.
"Wait a second! Why must the proxy necessarily come from the Uchiha clan?"
The reason he chose Uchiha was mainly because their powers were easy to master quickly, and most members carried intense emotions, easily swayed by manipulation. They wouldn't resist the identity of an ancient ancestor like outsiders might.
That didn't mean alternatives outside the clan were impossible. After all, he was the divine son behind the biggest conspiracy in the shinobi world. Tricking a mere Konoha ninja? That'd be a piece of cake!
The more he thought about it, the more his excitement grew, "Even by my incredibly high standards, this kid ranks in the top ten for both talent and ability. Moreover, having become Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces at such a young age, his capacity likely isn't much inferior to Madara's!"
"More importantly, he seemed like the kind of person who truly valued deep ties with others..."
Just then, several shuriken flew through the air, striking with both speed and precision.
"Have I been exposed?" Black Zetsu wouldn't boast about many things, but his concealment and escape abilities ranked at the absolute pinnacle.
Almost as soon as the shuriken appeared, he vanished swiftly.
In the next moment, Seiki Shimaseki instantly teleported forward, hurling a [Big Ball Rasengan] that shattered a tree clean in half!
"Was that Black Zetsu?" Standing atop the broken stump, Seiki Shimaseki displayed slight confusion in his eyes, "Strange... Nagato has already left. Why would he remain here?"
"There's also that heart-pounding gaze. Could it mean he's targeting me?" Seiki Shimaseki couldn't help but think this way. If the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist could target him, naturally Black Zetsu could too.
The future isn't set in stone. Treating known futures as fixed facts will only bring oneself into trouble.
"But considering me as prey... Hmph, playing with fire is a very dangerous thing to do!"
These thoughts flashed through Seiki's mind in an instant. Outside, Danzo and others quickly chased over.
"Another enemy?" Looking at the marks left on the tree trunk, Danzo's expression turned grim.
One after another, they've been hiding right under their noses. Are we letting Konoha camp be treated as if it were anyone's playground?
Coming and going as they please?
"It's an extremely bizarre ability. Even I couldn't figure out how the opponent vanished!" Seiki nodded seriously.
Seeing this, a Jonin who supported Danzo sarcastically remarked, "Back when Lord Danzo still ran things, there weren't so many random people lurking around..."
"That's enough! No need to say more!" Danzo immediately interrupted.
"Lord Danzo, you..." The questioning Jonin asked with confusion.
"Now isn't the time for suspicion or mutual blame. We must unite so we don't give our enemies something to laugh about!" Danzo solemnly stated while secretly cursing inwardly.
Damn it! No sooner had power been transferred than two infiltrator groups were discovered — both found by this kid, Seiki Shimaseki. Doesn't this prove my defenses were too lax before? There might've been many undercover agents undetected back then?
Thinking about this, Danzo felt mentally drained.
Looking at the kind of people under Hiruzen versus his own subordinates, such a big gap in talent made it impossible for him to compete against Hiruzen!
Of course, Seiki saw through Danzo's hidden intentions, but he couldn't be bothered to point them out directly. Instead, he looked solemnly at the big hole left on the tree branch.
"Heh, Black Zetsu sure is as cautious as ever."
In Seiki's opinion, Black Zetsu's strength absolutely wasn't weak.
Even a pig that lives a thousand years would gain some wisdom. How could the Black Zetsu, regarded as the 'younger brother' of the Sage of Six Paths, possibly be weak?
Even Might Guy, having unlocked all Eight Gates, needed his final technique just to damage part of Six Paths Madara's body. But Black Zetsu merely needed one strike to easily pierce Madara's heart.
Remember, even Asura-tier Madara went far beyond human limits. Without defenses, merely his Immortal Body should've been enough to resist most attacks.
"Despite not being weak in strength, he didn't even attempt basic resistance. Perhaps, this is an opportunity to study Yin-Yang Release!"
While being targeted, he simultaneously coveted the opponent's physical body — after all, it was a form crafted entirely from Yin-Yang Release itself!
Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away on the ground.
Black Zetsu, whom Seiki viewed as no pushover, cautiously peeked out only after escaping more than ten kilometers away.
"Huff, what exactly is that guy? Neither Madara nor Asura noticed my presence, yet how did he manage to detect me?"
Black Zetsu wasn't scared of the opponent's strength itself, but rather terrified that his key survival method had been cracked.
For him, who had hidden in darkness for over a thousand years, suddenly being exposed to sunlight amplified his fear and confusion almost infinitely.
"This sensing ability... no, wait—that's not sensing at all. It's instinct. Pure, raw instinct from his soul! Just by me looking at him, he can sense me? This kid's talent is even scarier than I thought!"
In reality, Seiki wasn't as powerful as Black Zetsu imagined. The reason Black Zetsu was discovered was largely because Seiki had already known of his existence and had been on guard against him.
But Black Zetsu had no idea about this, which made him hesitate—for the first time ever.
Trying to set a trap for someone with that level of intuition was way too risky—it had a high chance of blowing up in his face.
Still, the gambler inside him eventually won out.
"I'll take a shot. If it backfires, I'll just find someone else."
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