'Boom!'
The moment he saw the intelligence report, the Third Raikage angrily threw a punch, shattering a rock to his left.
Black Lightning vaguely crackled around his body.
This was a sign that he was integrating Black Lightning into the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
Driving the Lightning Release Chakra Mode with Black Lightning would give birth to even greater power!
"Very good! Since you Konoha still want to fight, then let's continue. I will never forget the grudge over A and Killer B."
The Third Raikage was furious.
The coldness in his eyes was extremely obvious.
Konoha had allowed Konoha's Reaper to attack their border garrison in the Land of Lightning, directly penetrating into the country.
This sent a clear message.
The war that had stopped would reignite at this moment!
And this time, it was initiated by Konoha!
At the same time, the Third Raikage had not forgotten Killer B. A had died at Konoha's Reaper's hands, and he could never forget this grudge.
Because he knew Seiryū's strength, he had also been training diligently, combining Black Lightning with the Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
He had made significant progress.
Although losing an arm had greatly affected him, the success of the Black Lightning Lightning Release Chakra Mode made his overall strength even greater than before!
Since Konoha wanted to continue the war, and Konoha's Shinigami, Seiryū, wanted to fight him, then let it be a fight!
'Swish!'
With a flash, the Third Raikage left the spot and arrived at the camp outside the canyon, issuing order after order.
...
Meanwhile.
He was not the only one to receive this news.
There was also the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure.
Iwagakure and Kumogakure were also at war, so naturally, they paid close attention to every move Kumogakure made.
The attack on the Kumogakure border garrison was discovered by Iwagakure scouts, who immediately passed the information to the high command.
Inside Iwagakure.
The Third Tsuchikage held the intelligence report in his hand, his expression somewhat strange and solemn. "Konoha actually broke the stalemate first and attacked Kumogakure? And only Konoha's Shinigami alone?"
"This doesn't quite fit Konoha's style."
Konoha rarely initiated conflicts.
Most of the time, they responded passively, only launching attacks after being pushed to the edge.
But recently, Konoha had changed its past style.
First, they planned to attack the Land of Rain, and in that great battle, even the former Asura of the Shinobi World, Madara, appeared.
Now, they had even directly fought their way into the Land of Lightning, wiping out the Kumogakure border garrison and reigniting the war.
This was very unlike Konoha!
Moreover, in both incidents, Konoha's Reaper, Seiryū, acted alone and rushed in to fight!
This revealed Konoha's confidence and foundation.
It was as if they were saying that Konoha only needed one person to equal a thousand troops.
This was a display of power!
To be fair, the strength of Konoha's Reaper, Seiryū, did indeed make these Kage of the Ninja Villages feel wary.
Even now, the Third Tsuchikage could not figure out why an eleven or twelve-year-old boy could possess such terrifying strength.
But one thing was certain. Konoha's Reaper, Seiryū, was a huge disaster!
He did not want to see another God of Shinobi appear in Konoha!
"Perhaps this is an opportunity."
The Third Tsuchikage pondered, his eyes gleaming.
The intelligence showed that only Konoha's Reaper had invaded the Land of Lightning.
Based on his understanding of the Third Raikage's personality, the other party would definitely not sit idly by, nor would he swallow this loss.
In other words, a great battle was about to unfold!
When two tigers fought, one would definitely be injured.
Could he perhaps take advantage of the situation, like the oriole waiting behind the mantis stalking the cicada?
After all, whether it was Konoha's Reaper or the Third Raikage, both were enemies of Iwagakure.
"Kitsuchi!"
Thinking of this, the Third Tsuchikage called for his son, who was also the current deputy commander of Iwagakure's war efforts.
He said to Kitsuchi, "Send people to investigate the situation in the Land of Lightning, and at the same time, mobilize troops to head to the Land of Lightning. Act according to the situation!"
After a pause, the Third Tsuchikage added, "Go to the underground bounty station and issue a mission with ten times the reward. There are some formidable people among the bounty ninja who might be able to play a role."
Bounty ninja were people who valued money over their lives.
As long as the pay was enough, even if they were asked to attack the Five Great Ninja Villages, someone would be willing to do it.
At the same time, there were some quite strong individuals among the bounty ninja.
Some even gave the Five Great Ninja Villages headaches.
The Third Tsuchikage often hired bounty ninja to carry out missions where it was inconvenient for Iwagakure shinobi to appear.
This was a very useful force!
"I understand, Tsuchikage-sama!"
Kitsuchi bowed respectfully. On formal occasions, he was not a son, but a subordinate.
Then he asked, "Tsuchikage-sama, what specific mission should be issued?"
After thinking for a moment, the Third Tsuchikage said, "Assassinate Konoha's Reaper, Seiryū, and the Third Raikage!"
"Whether it succeeds is another matter. The purpose is simply to see if we can create an opportunity, an opportunity for us to kill those two!"
This was only a means.
It was just to make the situation more chaotic so that Iwagakure could be the oriole waiting behind.
...
Somewhere underground.
Listening to Black Zetsu's account, Madara, whose hair was now mixed black and white and whose appearance had become much younger, frowned. "Invaded the Land of Lightning? What exactly is that guy planning?"
Madara did not dare to underestimate Seiryū now.
He paid close attention to every move the other party made.
That guy's mind was too sharp, and he could always deduce many things from the smallest details.
He had ruined his plans several times in succession.
The Eight-Tails had been killed by him, and it was currently unknown when it could be "resurrected." The Rinnegan in Nagato's eye sockets had also been forced by him to cut off contact.
Furthermore.
One of the original backups, Obito, who had been intended as a threat to make Seiryū hesitate, had also had some abnormalities noticed by the other party.
Well, the old lady transformed by that White Zetsu had been killed by him.
Again and again!
The other party had already ruined many of his plans.
"Could it be that he wants to continue attacking the Tailed Beasts? Or is there some other deeper purpose?"
Madara muttered.
However, he could not guess the other party's thoughts, which made him somewhat irritable.
His previous injuries had not fully healed, he had not returned to his peak combat power, and now even Nagato and the Rinnegan were on Konoha's side.
His plans had not only failed to advance, but because of that guy's repeated interventions, they had been delayed.
No, it even felt like they were about to be ruined!
The more Madara thought about it, the angrier he became!
Even Hashirama had not made him feel this troubled.
Shaking off the many thoughts in his mind, Madara looked at Black Zetsu and said calmly, "Let White Zetsu keep an eye on the situation there, and notify me immediately if there is any news!"
"Yes, Madara-sama!"
Merged with White Zetsu, Black Zetsu was always the one in control, and he replied respectfully.
Lowering his head slightly, his eyes revealed an expression even more anxious than Madara's.
How could that damned Konoha's Reaper, Seiryū, be so difficult to deal with?
After living for so many years, this was the first time Black Zetsu had the urge to tear someone into thousands of pieces!
Everything had been going well.
Under his guidance, Madara was moving in the direction he wanted, and this was the most promising chance to resurrect his mother in over a thousand years.
As a result, Konoha's Shinigami, Seiryū, appeared!
This added unpredictable variables to both Madara's plans and his own.
Black Zetsu was utterly disgusted by that Seiryū!
Madara did not notice Black Zetsu's abnormality. After all, this was the embodiment of his will, so he did not pay too much attention to him and continued, "How is Ryota's situation?"
Only the Rinnegan could control the Gedō Statue.
And only the Rinnegan could allow the Gedō Statue to devour the nine Tailed Beasts and restore its form as the Ten-Tails.
Madara had already tried.
The Mangekyō Sharingan's Dōjutsu, Kaiten-shin, could not make the Gedō Statue completely devour the Tailed Beasts.
It could only increase the chakra reserves within the Gedō Statue.
Unable to completely devour the Tailed Beasts, it was impossible to restore the Gedō Statue to the Ten-Tails!
Therefore.
The Rinnegan was still the key!
Madara could only make preparations on two fronts.
First, find a way to retrieve the Rinnegan in Nagato's eye sockets.
Second, give birth to another pair of Rinnegan.
The Rinnegan was the final evolution of the Sharingan!
Having experienced it once before, Madara was very confident that he could give birth to another pair of Rinnegan.
Because he now had Setsuna's Mangekyō Sharingan.
As long as he let Setsuna's grandson, Ryota's Sharingan, evolve into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He could fuse the two pairs of Mangekyō Sharingan to give birth to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan!
Then, by nourishing the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan with the Power of Shinra Banshō, if the conditions were met, it would give birth to another pair of Rinnegan!
And it would certainly be easier than when he had made his own Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan evolve.
Because this was a complete pair of Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, and its ocular power had no defects!
The reason Madara had waited until he was half-buried before awakening the Rinnegan was because, during the battle with Senju Hashirama at the Valley of the End, one of his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had used Izanagi.
This had caused a defect in his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan's ocular power.
That was why he had wasted so much time.
Hearing Madara's words, Black Zetsu said truthfully, "Although his ocular power has increased after transplanting the First Hokage's cells."
"However, to undergo a complete transformation, he still needs a strong emotional stimulus."
"Then find an opportunity for him to witness Seiryū's strength with his own eyes. The desire for power, the desire for revenge. The greatest stimulus is to see with his own eyes that his enemy has become an existence he can never surpass!"
Madara said calmly, "Extreme desire and hatred, combined with Satoru's Yin Release chakra, are enough to make his Sharingan transform into the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
The Mangekyō Sharingan.
In the end, it was a product of a qualitative change in the Uchiha Clan's Yin Release chakra.
Yin Release chakra was related to the mental aspect.
Emotional stimulation would cause the Yin Release chakra to break through the threshold at a certain moment, allowing the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan to transform.
This situation was not impossible to achieve with external help.
As long as there was stronger Yin Release chakra to nourish the Sharingan, there was a high probability that the Uchiha Clan could smoothly awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan without emotional stimulation.
After all, the higher-level Rinnegan could also transform the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan into the Rinnegan through the nourishment of the Power of Shinra Banshō.
There was one more point not to forget.
Madara's current Mangekyō Sharingan, when combined with Satoru's chakra, could also exert ocular power not inferior to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Satoru's chakra was effective on the Mangekyō Sharingan, let alone the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Ryota, who had transplanted the First Hokage's cells, already had increased Sharingan ocular power. All he lacked was emotional stimulation.
If the emotion was not enough, then make up for it with quality.
It could be said that with these preparations, Ryota awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan was a certainty!
If Madara did not want to speed up the progress, just nourishing Ryota's Three-Tomoe Sharingan with Satoru's chakra for a period of time would naturally transform it into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
It was just that Madara did not want to wait. It was too much of a waste of time.
However, Black Zetsu seemed to have thought of something, and it quickly said, "Madara-sama, doing this might be discovered by Seiryū."
"His perception is very strong. He can even detect White Zetsu. If."
This was risky.
To let Ryota witness Seiryū's strength with his own eyes, he naturally needed to get close to Seiryū.
But Seiryū's perception was too terrifying. Even White Zetsu, who was integrated with the natural environment, would be discovered by him as long as he revealed even the slightest bit of malice.
With the enemy in front of him, Ryota could not suppress his malice.
Coupled with the presence of Satoru's Tailed Beast-like chakra.
In Seiryū's perception, this would be as obvious as a candle in the dark night.
Wasn't this just delivering himself to his door?
Madara: "..."
He thought about it.
Damn it, this situation would indeed occur.
This made Madara somewhat irritable.
That guy really was too difficult to deal with.
"Madara-sama, I have an idea."
Black Zetsu spoke again at this time.
Now that it had the same goal as Madara, it would naturally think of helping Madara.
Black Zetsu continued, "Not long ago, White Zetsu discovered another monster suspected to be a Tailed Beast."
"Judging from the chakra reaction, it should also be a type of Yin Release chakra."
"Another monster suspected to be a Tailed Beast?"
Madara's eyes flashed upon hearing this.
Because of the Dragon Vein chakra in Seiryū's body, Madara had asked White Zetsu to search throughout the Ninja World for the existence of monsters suspected to be Tailed Beasts.
The Box of Ultimate Bliss had been found by White Zetsu.
It was of no small use to him!
Now White Zetsu had actually found another monster suspected to be a Tailed Beast?
And it was also a type of Yin Release chakra!?
"Yes, Madara-sama!"
Black Zetsu said respectfully, "This is an artificial Tailed Beast named Zero-Tails Void."
"Its owner is a wandering doctor named Shinnō, who is a person from Sora-nin Village, which was destroyed by Konoha during the Second Shinobi World War."
Nowadays, White Zetsu were spread all over the Ninja World.
This was to collect intelligence on the Tailed Beasts of the various large and small Ninja Villages.
By coincidence, when one White Zetsu was collecting intelligence, it happened to learn about Shinnō and the artificial Tailed Beast, Zero-Tails Void.
Perhaps the artificial Tailed Beast, Zero-Tails Void, could also be of some help to them, just like Satori's chakra?
This was something worth trying.
(To be continued.)