Zetsu looked at the aged Madara. The white and black figure stood in the dim cave while Madara sat on his stone seat with an old and tired body.
Zetsu spoke first in a calm voice. "Have you heard the report of the mist Shinobi?"
"Yes, I have." Madara aged voice sounded slow and deep. He already knew most of the news from the Hidden Mist. His long years of planning made him stay informed about every village.
"What do you think about the boy's ability?" Zetsu asked. He wanted to hear Madara's true thoughts on the strange power shown by Konoha's genin in the Chunin Exams.
"This Shunsui, his ability is like of Izanagi but with limitations just like Izanagi. Do you have anything have to add to his ability apart from what the Kiri shinobi reported?" Madara asked as he compared the boy's power to the famous Uchiha technique that could rewrite reality for a short time. Shunsui's games also changed the world around him but only under special rules.
"Yes, his ability works in all directions around him for at least 20 metres. While I was busy examining the genins during the chunin exams, my clone that was observing him happened to be caught inside one of his games even while he was underground. Thankfully he managed to escape by going outside his range before the boy could tell there was someone else near him. His game somehow allows him to sense how many participants are there in his range." Zetsu said.
"You would have to limit your clones in Konoha and mostly near the boy. We can't have your ability to spy undetected be exposed right now." Madara said. He ordered Zetsu to be more careful. The plan needed secrecy more than constant watching.
"But how is one supposed to deal with someone who could bend reality?" Black Zetsu asked with concern in his voice.
Madara snorted loudly. He looked at Zetsu with clear pride and said, "He can change reality to only make his enemies play children games. No game has a rule of not just killing the other participant immediately. At the end of it it's a children's game and when an adult joins it, he could just overpower the child." Madara spoke with strong arrogance.
He believed that any real adult shinobi could crush a game made for kids. The boy's power looked fancy but it still followed the silly rules of playtime. A true shinobi with strength and skill would never lose to toys and songs.
Madara continued in the same proud tone. "I can just kill the boy by stepping upon him with my Susanoo in any of his games. What rules would stop me from doing so?"
Madara made it sound simple and clear. He saw Shunsui as nothing more than a talented child with a strange trick. Real power always stood above tricks.
Finally Madara finished his point. "So do not worry about this Shunsui. He is interesting but he is still limited. When the time comes I or my chosen successor will handle him without trouble. Games are for children. War is for men like me." He leaned back with a cold smile. Zetsu listened carefully and nodded.
Zetsu then asked, "Is it time for Kiri to join the war?" He wanted to know the next step in Madara's big plan.
Madara nodded slowly. "Soon I will have the Mizukage declare war on Konoha and Suna." He spoke as if the decision was already made. The Hidden Mist would soon move against the Leaf and the Sand.
Leaf was Madara's main target since it was the strongest village and it needed to be weakened. As for Sand, they had officially retreated from the War so to prevent them from healing from their losses, Madara decided to add them to his war plan.
Zetsu nodded and he could not help but shiver at Madara's Mangekyou ability. One of Madara's Mangekyou abilities was simple. He could control a person from far away after putting him in a genjutsu.
It was an everlasting genjutsu that once put was very difficult to get rid of. This ability was called Amenominakanushi. The power let Madara hold one person's mind forever with almost no chance of escape.
Sadly Madara could use it on only one individual with a long cooldown to his ability. That was why he chose his targets carefully. The current Mizukage of the Mist already lived under this control. And Madara could see and hear through Mizukage.
Madara asked, "Update on Nagato?" He wanted the latest news on the young man who carried the Rinnegan.
"He is still playing with Akatsuki." Zetsu said.
"We will have my successor deal with it. Speaking of my successor, have you found any decent Uchiha?" Madara asked.
"There is a couple that I have been keeping eyes on. But we need someone that would awaken a strong Mangekyou ability." Black Zetsu said. He had watched several young Uchiha but none stood out yet.
"That does not matter. We will understand that Uchiha, what drives him, what makes him despair and then make a situation for him to awaken his Mangekyou and get him the desired abilities." Madara explained his method clearly. He planned to study the chosen Uchiha carefully. Then he would create the exact pain needed to open the Mangekyou Sharingan.
"A Mangekyou ability is based on what that Uchiha wants at his most painful time." Madara said remembering when he himself awakened his Mangekyou. He recalled the day he lost his brother and the deep wish that shaped his eyes. The power always came from the strongest desire born in pure despair.
"I will make him see despair and he would unlock an ability that would make the world despair him." Madara said with a cold smile. He wanted a successor whose eyes could spread fear across every nation.
"But first he has to be talented enough to awaken the Mangekyou at least and most importantly driven enough to focus on our plans." He said. Talent alone was not enough. The chosen one also needed a strong will that Madara could guide toward the final goal.
"I will look into it Madara." Black Zetsu said as he went inside the ground. The black and white figure sank into the earth and disappeared. Madara sat alone in the cave with his eyes half closed.
-------Author Notes--------
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