"A clansman of Mito, huh? Then let's have a meeting!"
Kusagakure wanted to defect to Madara!
Not all of Kusagakure, but the pro-war faction, the 'Grass Fruit'.
A faction dissatisfied with their current situation, hoping to escape the control of the Great Nations through extreme means.
Madara's resurrection gave the people of the 'Grass Fruit' an opportunity; they wanted to use Madara's power to make Kusagakure a major Ninja Village and the Land of Grass a great nation.
The anti-war faction, 'Grass Flower', believed Madara's power was too evil and following him was too risky, so they resolutely refused to let Kusagakure defect to him.
Later, when the Ninjas of 'Grass Fruit' heard that the three most outstanding Ninjas of the era—the Sannin—had been utterly defeated by Madara, they went completely mad with the idea.
They were determined to defect to Madara no matter what.
Madara sat on the throne held by the hands of the Gedo Statue, legs crossed, looking at the Uzumaki clansman brought by the Kusagakure people.
It was a woman, a pregnant woman.
She had long, crimson-red hair, vermilion eyes, a grain-sized rouge mole between her eyebrows, and warm porcelain-colored skin.
However, her skin was somewhat pale, clear bite marks were visible on her exposed arms, and her face bore a look of numbness.
Aside from that red hair, she didn't have a shred of the Uzumaki Clan's vitality left in her.
Madara had seen too many people like this; they were all pitiful wretches devastated by war.
The Uzumaki woman's abdomen bulged slightly; she seemed to be three or four months pregnant.
Ryūzetsu's teacher, Chizu, supported the numb-looking Uzumaki woman.
The leader of Kusagakure, Mui, along with a group of Kusagakure Jonin, knelt on one knee before Madara.
These Jonin all wore animal masks that obscured their faces—masks of the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit... the twelve zodiac signs, corresponding to the 12 Jonin.
The Kusagakure leader introduced the Uzumaki woman beside him: "Lord Madara, her name is Uzumaki Kiyomi. She wandered to our Village after the Land of Whirlpools was destroyed and was taken in by us."
"She has a very strong healing ability; as long as one bites her skin, they can quickly recover Chakra and injuries."
"You animals—!"
A loud shout echoed throughout the entire Kusagakure Village.
The Kusagakure Ninjas couldn't help but look.
They saw a blonde female Ninja with a beautiful face.
The lethal weapons on her chest were enough to make anyone look with awe.
Tsunade looked at the Kusagakure people in anger; seeing the bite marks on Uzumaki Kyoka's exposed arms, she knew she was being treated as a human pill in Kusagakure.
The Uzumaki Clan and the Senju Clan are distant relatives, sharing the same ancestor.
The Senju Clan has been allied with the Uzumaki family for generations. Tsunade's grandmother, Uzumaki Mito, was from the Uzumaki Clan, and Tsunade also flows with Uzumaki blood.
Seeing a member of the Uzumaki Clan being used as a human pill by Kusagakure, the anger in her heart surged like flames, and she wanted to use her monstrous strength to smash them all to death.
Ryou's Life Spores almost couldn't suppress Tsunade's rampaging Chakra.
The Kusagakure people recognized Tsunade and were instantly shocked.
"Tsunade, calm down, calm down."
Fortune Come and Fish Ball quickly held back the rioting Tsunade.
Madara looked at Kyoka without showing any sympathy.
The Uzumaki and Senju families have been allied for generations.
In the Warring States Period, Madara faced many Uzumaki Ninjas; this clan was truly troublesome, possessing massive Chakra and high-level sealing techniques.
At that time, the patriarch of the Uzumaki Clan, Uzumaki Ashina, was known as the forefather of Konoha's sealing techniques. Almost all of Konoha's sealing techniques were gifted to Konoha by Uzumaki Ashina.
When Madara fought Hashirama, he was most afraid of seeing Uzumaki Ashina, because Ashina's sealing techniques could truly seal Madara away.
Madara was very wary of the Uzumaki Clan.
Because for a Ninja at his level, he feared nothing else but sealing.
Madara looked at Kyoka; functions like restoring Chakra and injuries were just passive traits for the Uzumaki Clan.
The true Uzumaki Clan possessed the Mind's Eye of the Kagura to sense Chakra, and powerful sealing techniques sufficient to restrain Tailed Beasts.
Aside from the Uchiha's Sharingan and Hashirama's Wood Release, the Uzumaki Clan's sealing techniques were the most effective power against Tailed Beasts.
The people of Kusagakure didn't know that the true purpose of the Uzumaki Clan wasn't medical treatment, but sealing.
Treating Kyoka as a human blood bag all this time, this was the limitation of a small Ninja Village.
Madara tapped his finger; was a member of the Uzumaki Clan useful to him?
At this stage, no.
In the past, she could have served as a backup for Nagato.
The Rinnegan could only be suppressed by the Uzumaki Clan's massive Chakra and tenacious life force.
But now, Madara was even prepared to give up on Nagato, so Uzumaki Kyoka was truly useless to him.
But it would be a pity to just discard her like this.
Most importantly, Madara saw despair in Kyoka; her country was destroyed by war, and her husband likely died a violent death.
She couldn't even protect her own child.
Such a person might be the one who craves the Eye of the Moon Plan the most, the one who most desires to live in an illusionary world without conflict!
Madara's tapping finger suddenly stopped: "Kyoka stays, the others drag out and bury them!"
"Ah?!"
The Kusagakure people's faces instantly turned ashen, filled with terror.
It seemed they had joined the wrong organization.
Madara wasn't an enlightened lord; he was the ultimate mass murderer!
The people of 'Grass Flower' were right; Madara was too dangerous. He wasn't a hero aiming to conquer the world, but a lunatic preparing to launch a terrorist attack.
As the swarming White Zetsu closed in, the Kusagakure leader quickly shouted: "Wait, Lord Madara! We in Kusagakure have a powerful weapon called the box of ultimate bliss, a Ninja tool from the era of the Sage of Six Paths."
"Our Kusagakure ancestors once opened the box of ultimate bliss and nearly ruled the entire Ninja World."
"Stop!"
Madara ordered the White Zetsu army to halt.
He seemed to have some impression of the box of ultimate bliss.
"The box of ultimate bliss?! Right, during the Warring States Period, the Land of Grass used the power of the box of ultimate bliss to sweep across the entire world."
"Interesting, you Kusagakure people are somewhat useful after all."
The Kusagakure people breathed a sigh of relief, thinking they were saved.
No wonder the Five Great Nations were so terrified of Madara. This guy simply didn't play by the rules.
If you don't submit, you're killed; if you do submit, you're also killed.
It seemed like death either way. Did he think there were too many people in the Ninja World? That everyone living made things a bit too crowded?
Or perhaps he had gained insight into the essence of the world: humans are the sum of all contradictory relationships. If there were no humans, there would be no conflict or contradiction in the world.
That would be the best way to solve the conflicts of the Ninja World from the root.
Madara formed hand seals, controlling the Gedo Statue to stand up. Everyone looked in horror at the withered wooden giant that seemed to prop up the heavens.
Madara stood on the Gedo Statue's head, looking out at the mountains and dense forests outside Kusagakure.
Although these Ninjas were well-hidden, they had nowhere to hide under the sensing of the Hashirama cells within Madara's body.
"Let's clean up some trash properly!"
Madara formed hand seals.
Wood Release: Wood Dragon Technique!
Outside Kusagakure, Hyuga Hizashi was instantly horrified: "Run, quickly! We've been discovered by Uchiha Madara!"
Kuromaru was the fastest to run; the moment he sniffed danger, he carried Inuzuka Tsume and vanished without a trace.
A long dragon formed of wood emerged from the earth, charging fiercely toward them.
The Konoha reconnaissance team fled for their lives.
"My Sage of Six Paths, it really is Wood Release! Uchiha Madara actually knows the First Hokage's Wood Release!"
"I finally understand why Lord Jiraiya and the others were beaten so badly. Uchiha Madara is invincible."
After driving away some bugs, Madara waved his hand and pointed toward the Land of Rain: "Depart!"