The bitter cold wind roared like a wild beast, carrying heavy snowfall with it. The sparsely populated Forest of Death was covered in snow, resembling a pure white land wrapped in silver from a distance.
After ensuring that no one was following him, Uchiha Sogetsu walked alone straight into the Forest of Death.
Following a familiar path, he arrived at the depths of the Kurama clan's forbidden area. Black Zetsu had been waiting there for a long time.
Seeing his arrival, a smile immediately appeared on Black Zetsu's face as he respectfully said, "Lord Sogetsu, welcome back. Lord Madara has been waiting for you inside for a long time."
"Um."
Uchiha Sogetsu nodded indifferently and walked straight past Black Zetsu.
"Lord Sogetsu, I will not enter. I'll stay on guard outside in case anyone unwelcome breaks in. I'll be able to notify you in time."
Black Zetsu was not annoyed, clearly unbothered by this minor task. His body slowly merged into the snow, as if he had never appeared.
After nearly two months, he met Uchiha Madara again.
However, this time Uchiha Madara appeared significantly older, relying on the pipes on his back to sustain his life, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to be extinguished at any moment.
"Ahem. You, are here?"
Uchiha Madara raised his eyelids, looking extremely tired and weak.
"You called me here suddenly, is something wrong?" Uchiha Sogetsu frowned, putting on an impatient expression and said coldly, "You should know that if it is not necessary, we should reduce our meetings. After all, this is Konoha, and we could be discovered by the Third Hokage."
"I know."
Uchiha Madara leaned back in his chair, a glimmer of light flashing in the depths of his sunken eyes: "This time, I have something to ask you."
Every time he spoke, his emaciated chest would rise and fall several times, making one worry that he could die suddenly.
"What is it?" Uchiha Sogetsu asked.
"You did well this time, ahem. It seems I can trust you with the Eye of the Moon Plan."
Uchiha Madara took a deep breath and paused before speaking again. "I have come to formally entrust you with the three most crucial 'jutsu' in the 'Eye of the Moon Plan', Sogetsu."
"Entrust them to me?"
Uchiha Sogetsu feigned surprise, then seemed to realize something. "You can't hold on any longer?!"
"It's not that I can't hold on," Uchiha Madara replied, shaking his head. "I just believe it's unnecessary to prolong this any further. Besides, White Zetsu has already informed me of your outstanding performance. What we lack now is only time and the right opportunity."
"And what about you?" Uchiha Sogetsu inquired.
"It's time for me to leave this place."
Uchiha Madara showed no fear of death. Calm and composed, he continued, "There's nothing more for me to teach you. Remaining here would be a meaningless waste of time. It's better to use the remaining time to lay the groundwork for the future."
"I understand."
Uchiha Sogetsu nodded slightly and said, "I will continue to remain hidden and wait for the right moment."
"I will take Black Zetsu with me." Uchiha Madara coughed heavily, blood trickling from the corners of his lips. His face grew paler and weaker.
Breathing heavily, he added, "But I will leave White Zetsu with you. After my death, Black Zetsu will come to assist you in completing the 'Eye of the Moon Plan'!"
"Is there anything else?" Uchiha Sogetsu asked calmly.
After a brief silence, Uchiha Madara seemed to recall something. A pitch-black tomoe appeared in his blood-red eyes. He fixed his gaze on Uchiha Sogetsu, the tomoe slowly rotating, and emphasized, "Remember, don't be too extreme. The Eye of the Moon Plan is meant for the happiness of the ninja world, not as a means to eliminate ninjas. Don't let our efforts be in vain, Sogetsu!"
Uchiha Sogetsu was taken aback, his eyes glazing over as he repeated, almost absentmindedly, "Yes, I understand. I won't be too extreme."
"That's good. Now I can be at ease," Uchiha Madara said, finally feeling a weight lift off his shoulders.
Madara had been worried that after his death, Uchiha Sogetsu might not be controllable, and that his extreme ideas could push the Eye of the Moon Plan into unpredictable chaos.
Now that he was reassured, Uchiha Madara proceeded to teach Sogetsu the three crucial techniques of the Eye of the Moon Plan Plan:
Summoning Jutsu: Gedo Statue!
Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation!
Outer Path — Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique!
Mastering these three jutsu would ensure that Uchiha Madara could be resurrected even if the worst came to pass.
Madara was confident that even in the Impure World Reincarnation state, no one in the entire ninja world could match him.
If Hashirama didn't return, who could challenge him?
"Ahem, ahem."
After imparting the techniques, Uchiha Madara weakly waved his hand. "You can leave now. I hope that when we meet again, I'll be revived again."
"Perhaps, by the time you're resurrected, the Eye of the Moon Plan will be almost complete."
Uchiha Sogetsu stored the three scrolls away, made a light-hearted comment, and then turned to leave.
Watching him depart, Uchiha Madara felt a flicker of unease. For some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss, though he couldn't pinpoint what it was.
A person under the influence of Kotoamatsukami would never detect this. With this thought, Uchiha Madara pushed aside his unease, leaned back in his chair, pinched his brow, and closed his eyes.
He murmured to himself, "Uchiha Sogetsu, my choice was not wrong, was it?"
Returning home from the Forest of Death, Uchiha Sogetsu sat down with a smile and took out a parchment notebook from his belongings.
After completing the task, the system rewarded him with an extraordinary item: 'Leymano's Travels'!
This item allows the user to record and preserve Beyonder abilities they encounter on its pages for future reference, though it can only be used once.
Opening the parchment notebook, a line of handwriting slowly appeared on the blank page.
Recorded: Eye Technique - Kotoamatsukami
Effect: Can directly invade the opponent's brain and forcibly alter their consciousness.
"What a pity! If I weren't the 'Spectator,' I might have been controlled by you~"
Uchiha Sogetsu placed one hand on his chin, examining the contents of the notebook with interest. He gently turned the page with his left index finger.
Leymano's Travels pages were filled with pages of ninjutsu techniques.
Recorded: Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet
Recorded: Water Style: Exploding Water Wave
Recorded: Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique
Recorded: Water Style: Raging Tornado
Recorded: Water Style: Exploding Dragon Wave
Recorded: Tailed Beast Ball (Three-Tailed)
The trip to the Hidden Mist Village had indeed been fruitful.
Speaking of which, we must thank the Third Mizukage's gift. Without him, there wouldn't be so many advanced water-style techniques.
White Zetsu slowly emerged from the wall beside him, looked at him, and said, "Lord Sogetsu, I've completed all your tasks without being detected. Soon, the Namikaze Minato team will confront the AB brothers from the Hidden Cloud Village head-on, hehe."
"Well done, White Zetsu."
Uchiha Sogetsu didn't hide his satisfaction and continued flipping through the pages of the book.
After being promoted to a Dream Walker, he had completely transformed this White Zetsu from the inside out into a form that belonged only to him.
In other words, once he becomes a demigod in the future, he could fully create a false personality, implant it into the spiritual world of this White Zetsu, and turn it into his own 'clone.'
"Lord Sogetsu, there's something I don't quite understand~"
White Zetsu asked curiously, "Why did you specifically arrange for the AB brothers from the Hidden Cloud Village to take on the same mission as the Namikaze Minato team?"
"War always needs a reason, doesn't it?"
The book page that had been opened was closed again. Uchiha Sogetsu smiled faintly and said with a hint of meaning, "In this case, why don't I light the fuse."
And Namikaze Minato is the perfect candidate to be that 'fuse'!
An elite jonin directly under the Hokage, the most promising candidate for the next Hokage, was ambushed by multiple parties and nearly died during the mission.
This is enough to stir up the already fragile relationships in the ninja world, which are on the brink of collapse, and will immediately trigger a series of chain reactions!
Just like how the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and his wife led to a global conflict.
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