Madara walked out from behind, and upon hearing this, electricity crackled in his hand, but seeing Cat Granny, he suppressed the urge to shock Ryou.
Madara and Cat Granny knew each other.
Cat Granny was around sixty years old, someone from the time Konoha was founded.
Madara walked to Cat Granny's side, somewhat nostalgic: "Nekobaba, you've aged!"
Cat Granny saw Madara, as if witnessing something unbelievable, and shakily stood up.
Madara's face was just like before, just like the day he left.
Cat Granny's eyes welled up with tears, her voice trembling: "Madara... Lord Madara..."
Looking into the future is far less clear than looking into the past.
In a flash, Cat Granny seemed to return to the past.
Back then, Cat Granny was still a young girl, rushing through the Village and accidentally falling; it was Madara who helped her up.
Cat Granny was a bit scared seeing Madara's fierce expression, and it was Hashirama who comforted the young Cat Granny.
She was an elder who had seen Madara and Hashirama.
After calming her excitement, Cat Granny sighed: "Lord Madara, you are as impressive as ever!"
Seeing that Madara and Cat Granny seemed to have much to say, Ryou drove away the People around, creating a space just for Madara and Cat Granny.
Cat Granny was an elder who had always been loyal to the Uchiha Clan; when Madara was collectively betrayed by the Uchiha Clan, it had nothing to do with Cat Granny, who raised cats.
The Ninja Cats all regarded Madara as the legitimate one.
If Madara had informed the Uchiha Clan's cats back then.
Perhaps when he fled with his bucket, all the cats of Konoha would have followed him.
Madara was not alone.
Cat Granny, being from the same era as Madara, should give him some hope for the Ninja World!
Ryou eavesdropped nearby; Cat Granny didn't discuss the Eye of the Moon Plan with Madara but talked about the Uchiha Clan's development in Konoha over the years.
Like a steward reporting the family's situation to the master.
Tsunade patted Ryou's back, quietly pointing at Cat Granny and asking: "That's your Uchiha Clan's Cat Granny, right?"
Cat Granny was not just a cat raiser but also a merchant connecting the Uchiha Clan to the black market.
Many in the Uchiha Clan grew up under Cat Granny's watch and respected this elder.
When Ryou said he would send Cat Granny to the Pleasure District to receive customers, it was just angry words.
The cat food Ryou used to raise cats was provided by Cat Granny, and selling forged Exploding Tags on the black market was through channels introduced by Cat Granny.
This elder was the one who helped Ryou the most, aside from Mikoto's parents.
Ryou nodded, then looked at Tsunade and lied: "Cat Granny brings the sincerity of the Uchiha Clan, proving that the Uchiha Clan still wants to side with Uchiha Madara."
"Bah! That granny said she came in her own name, so stop sowing discord."
"Hmph! Uchiha Tsunade, you still cling to Konoha and the Senju Clan; I must properly enforce the family rules on you."
Ryou and Tsunade playfully fought on the side.
On the other side, Fish Ball was teasing Nekomata: "Nekomata, come on, roll over."
Nekomata rolled over under Fish Ball's teasing.
Fortune also joined in: "Another one, and big brother will buy you sunflower seeds!"
"Meow~ that's enough, the boss hasn't taken advantage of you."
Fish Ball yelled: "What do you mean he hasn't taken advantage of us? I washed all the clothes in Ninja Cat City."
Hina said helplessly: "Isn't it because you stole and ate the little goldfish the boss was raising?"
"No way, from now on I'll make good use of Nekomata, letting it know times have changed, and the roles are reversed!"
Fish Ball went to lick the fur on Nekomata's butt.
In human terms, this is like polishing my shoes.
But in the cats' view, only a superior has the right to lick a subordinate's fur.
This is a leader's care, like a mother cat licking her kittens; in the cats' eyes, this means 'I am above you, you must listen to me from now on.'
The genjutsu Ryou cast on Nekomata quickly wore off, and after it regained consciousness, it saw Fish Ball licking its fur.
Instantly furious, it chased and bit Fish Ball: "Fish Ball, how dare you! You dare to ride on my head?"
The cats all shook their heads.
Ryou eavesdropped on Cat Granny and Madara's conversation.
Cat Granny finally got to the main point with Madara.
"Lord Madara, about the Eye of the Moon Plan..."
Madara stared at Cat Granny and said: "You don't approve of the Eye of the Moon Plan either?"
Cat Granny shook her head: "It's not that I don't approve; I am just a servant of the Uchiha Clan. If the master family wants to kill someone, I provide the weapons!"
"Lord Madara, I can't help you; I've never been able to help you."
Madara shook his head: "I don't need your help. Even alone, I can complete the Eye of the Moon Plan."
Cat Granny said: "Then, Lord Madara, have you thought about how to arrange the Uchiha Clan?"
Madara didn't give an answer, but Cat Granny already had one in her heart.
The world Madara wanted was one where everyone lived in a genjutsu; the Uchiha Clan rejected such a future.
Even if the Uchiha Clan had followed Madara and left Konoha back then, upon hearing his Eye of the Moon Plan, some would have fled.
I followed you to fight for power to enjoy blessings and be a master.
Now you tell me I can't be a master and must have the same status as those commoners; who would still follow you?
Do you really think we serve the People?
Cat Granny stood up: "Does Lord Hashirama know about the Eye of the Moon Plan?"
Madara shook his head: "I never told Hashirama. Even if I did, it would be useless; he would never approve of the Eye of the Moon Plan."
The rift between Madara and Hashirama was a rift in their concepts of peace.
Hashirama's peace was superficial, a compromise-style peace.
Just like the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan, seemingly harmonious, but it was actually peace dominated by the Senju Clan.
The establishment of Konoha Village merely turned inter-clan wars into hidden oppression within the Village.
The Uchiha Clan's isolation and suspicion in the Village were all covered up by this illusion of peace.
Konoha's peace was a superficial peace achieved at the expense of the Uchiha Clan's interests.
Just as Hashirama's layout for the Ninja World involved handing over captured Tailed Beasts to other ninja Villages, thereby forming a strategic balance among the Five Great Nations.
To achieve peace in the Ninja World this way.
This was a temporary peace that didn't fundamentally resolve the contradictions of war, so as soon as Hashirama died, the First Ninja World War broke out.
Hashirama couldn't solve the curse of the Ninja World; he feared war, feared more children would sacrifice, so he traded long-term interests for temporary peace.
Regarding the curse of the Ninja World, he and his disciples were the same.
Trusting in the wisdom of future generations!
The peace Madara wanted was an ultimate peace, even if it meant many more deaths to achieve it.
If unifying the Ninja World could eliminate war, then Madara would inevitably try every means to unify the Ninja World.
But to eliminate greed from People's hearts, only the Eye of the Moon Plan could do that.
Madara and Hashirama.
One on the left, one on the right! One radical, one compromising!
Just like their statues in the Valley of the End.