Black Zetsu was not surprised to see Uchiha Madara suddenly become so angry.
If there was a creature in the world that knew Uchiha Madara best, it would definitely be him. He had watched most of Uchiha Madara's growth experiences secretly and guided him quietly. He deeply understood that Uchiha Madara valued two people in this world the most:
one was his younger brother Uchiha Izuna, and the other was his best friend and nemesis Senju Hashirama.
It was because of the deaths of these two that Uchiha Madara completely lost his love within, fell deeply into the endless darkness, and completely lost hope in the world. He then went in pursuit of the ridiculous illusory world, attempting to escape the world with Infinite Tsukiyomi.
However, deep down inside, he still loved the two immensely, and would give the highest level of attention and care to anything related to them.
Just as now, when Senju Hashirama's remains were in danger, he immediately exploded with rage.
Black Zetsu believed that if Danzo really moved Senju Hashirama's corpse and Uchiha Madara found out, Danzo would definitely be killed, and even everyone related to Danzo would be killed by him.
"Don't worry, Lord Madara, the place where Senju Hashirama is buried in the Senju clan cemetery is sealed with very powerful sealing techniques. Danzo's people are not capable of breaking the seal. His plan to steal the Wood Release power from Senju Hashirama has failed,"
Black Zetsu stared at the terrifying pressure coming from Uchiha Madara's Sharingan and answered truthfully.
"That's good, but given this bug's personality, he definitely won't let it go. He'll definitely bother Hashirama again in the future."
Uchiha Madara heard that Senju Hashirama's remains were fine, and he was greatly relieved. His murderous aura receded, and he said with a cold face, although his voice still revealed a deep murderous intent.
He had no intention of letting anyone who might threaten the remains of Senju Hashirama go.
"Lord Madara, please calm down. Danzo is actually not a concern. I will go and take a look at the place where Senju Hashirama is buried. The seal technique used there is the Four Symbols Seal, and it is an improved version. The seal level is very high, and I estimate that only a ninja with Uzumaki Mito-level seal techniques would be able to break the seal."
Black Zetsu saw that Uchiha Madara had no intention of sparing Danzo, so he quickly added:
Although Danzo is just a bug, he is a terrible poisonous bug that can seriously harm Konoha. As long as he is alive, Konoha will be constantly endangered by this poisonous bug, accelerating the decay of the Konoha tree.
If Uchiha Madara were to get angry and kill Danzo now, Konoha would be able to greatly clean up the rotten roots underground, and the tree would soon unite and regain new vitality.
Therefore, he did not want Danzo, the pest, to die so soon.
"What? The seal technique there actually required a seal ninja of Uzumaki Mito's level to break it?"
Uchiha Madara doubted, obviously not trusting Black Zetsu's words.
Although he didn't want to admit it, among the seal ninjas he had seen, Uzumaki Mito was the most powerful.
Now that Uzumaki Mito was dead, there was no one else in the world who could set such a powerful seal.
Senju Hashirama's remains were located in a place he had been to before, and it was not protected by sealing techniques of that level.
"If you don't believe me, Lord Madara, you can go and see for yourself."
Black Zetsu respectfully said, seeing that Uchiha Madara did not believe him.
"That is exactly what I intend to do."
Uchiha Madara said coldly, and then quietly mobilized the chakra within his body to release a certain teleportation jutsu.
In a moment, a vortex-faced White Zetsu emerged from the ground not far away, holding a branch with a piece of excrement stuck in it in its hand. It was the special White Zetsu. A Fei.
As soon as A Fei came out, it giggled and said to Uchiha Madara, "Lord Madara, you called me again, I'm so happy. By the way, do you know what it feels like to poop? I've been studying this lately, but unfortunately I've never been able to find the feeling of pooping. I really want to know, can you tell me?"
Uchiha Madara was in no mood for A Fei, a special White Zetsu individual whose mind was only about poop. A red light suddenly flashed in his eyes, and the three magatama inside spun rapidly.
The next moment, the person who had been rambling on and on about poop, A Fei, suddenly fell silent. Then he quickly came up to Uchiha Madara and opened his arms, completely enveloping Uchiha Madara.
Next, under Uchiha Madara's control of illusion techniques, A Fei used the Mayfly Technique to quickly move underground, taking Uchiha Madara quickly to the depths of the Senju clan's graveyard.
Black Zetsu followed closely behind.
"Very good sealing technique. You actually placed the eye of the formation on top of that dead tree made from the fragments of the divine tree, and it seems that you have also made use of the rich natural energy here. What's more, there is also a terrifying binding type of sealing technique hidden deep within this sealing technique. One is bright, the other dark, and they are fused together without conflicting. What a wonderful design! Who actually set this seal? Does Konoha still have ninjas of this level of sealing technique?"
Uchiha Madara poked his head out of the ground by the lake, then used his Sharingan to look at the island in the middle of the lake in front of him. Relying on the power of his Sharingan, he was able to see the seal technique that had been secretly set here at a glance, and he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
He was a ninja talent in himself, and his own seal technique ability was naturally not low. Although it was not as good as Uzumaki Mito's, it was only slightly worse than Uzumaki Mito's.
With his seal technique ability, how could he not be able to see how terrifying the seal technique in front of him was.
To be honest, he himself did not have the confidence to set a seal technique of this level.
"Kirito Tosaka, Uzumaki Mito's disciple. As far as I know, the only ninja in Konoha who is capable of setting a seal technique of this level is him. And as you know, this is the core of the Senju clan, no outsider can possibly come here, so the only ninja in the Senju clan who meets the requirements is him."
Black Zetsu answered immediately.
Kirito Tosaka is the ninja that Black Zetsu is currently paying more attention to in Konoha.
However, it has collected very little information on Kirito Tosaka, and most of the information it has is from what White Zetsu has learned from other people.
Because this Kirito Tosaka can use the Spirit Transformation Technique, it is very likely that he will sense White Zetsu's existence, so it has to order White Zetsu to stay away from Kirito Tosaka in Konoha.
"Kirito Tosaka, Uzumaki Mito's disciple? What is his background? Why didn't you tell me about this person before?"
Uchiha Madara immediately questioned.
"Because he is only 9 years old,"
Black Zetsu said helplessly.
It knew very well how arrogant Uchiha Madara was. If he knew that Kirito Tosaka was only 9 years old, he would not have cared about this person at all, nor would he be interested in a 9-year-old brat who was not from the Uchiha clan.
In addition, the intelligence it had collected on Kirito Tosaka was not much, and none of it was of any value, so it would not say anything.
"..."
Uchiha Madara's eyes widened when he heard Black Zetsu say that Kirito was only nine years old. He then turned his head and looked at the seal technique on the island in the middle of the lake, speechless.
Suddenly, a strong sense of defeat arose within him.
Although he was quite strong at the age of nine, he could not perform seal techniques of this level, but he was quite good at skipping stones.
"Tell me about this brat. If the seal technique here was cast by this brat, he will very likely become our enemy in the future."
Uchiha Madara said awkwardly.
He had schemed to deal with a 9-year-old non-Uchiha for a long time, and to be honest, he felt bad about it.
However, reason told him that he had to pay attention to this brat named Kirito Tosaka.
There was no way around it, this kid's talent for sealing techniques was terrifying, and at just 9 years old he was able to cast sealing techniques of this level, what the future held was even more terrifying.
He knew only too well how troublesome ninjutsu such as seal techniques could be, and he didn't want Konoha to have to deal with another seal technique ninja of Uzumaki Mito's calibre in the future.
"This Kirito Tosaka is Konoha's most outstanding genius right now, surpassing his peers from the Senju clan and Uchiha clan. Because of his outstanding talent in seal techniques, he was taken on as a disciple by Uzumaki Mito when he was six years old, and his seal technique abilities have since improved by leaps and bounds.
However, the boy's abilities are not only reflected in sealing techniques. He also has outstanding talent in the areas of Five Elemental Ninjutsu, body techniques, and medical ninjutsu. He has also developed a special Magnet Release jutsu. According to information that Danzo has secretly revealed to the outside world, he also masters the Spirit Transformation Technique.
Although he is only 9 years old, he was able to easily capture the Hyūga clan's jōnin not long ago with his Magnet Release jutsu and sealing techniques. A conservative estimate would be that this brat now has the strength of an elite jōnin."
Black Zetsu quickly organized the information he had on Kirito Tosaka and spoke it out.
"Nine years old, a genius at Sealing Technique, Spirit Transformation Technique, the strength of an elite jōnin, not simple at all. I didn't think Konoha would actually produce such an outstanding young talent. If this brat can grow up, he will definitely become a major enemy of our "Moon Eye" Project."
Uchiha Madara learned about Kirito from Black Zetsu and sighed.
Even a genius like him had to admit that this brat named Kirito Tosaka was truly terrifying. If he continued to grow at this rate, it was only a matter of time before he broke through to the shadow level, and in the future, he might even go further and reach the level of power that Hashirama and him had reached during their heyday.
Of course, even if Kirito grows up to the level of his heyday, he is not afraid.
"Lord Madara, you are absolutely right. This brat definitely cannot be allowed to grow up. However, this brat knows the Spirit Transformation Technique and has a high level of perception. When the White Zetsu in Konoha was exposed, it was likely this brat who did it. Moreover, he already has the strength of an elite jōnin, so it will not be easy to eliminate him. What do you think we should do?"
Black Zetsu asked hurriedly.
A genius ninja like Kirito Tosaka, who obviously had a strong will for fire, it hated from the bottom of its heart and wanted to strangle him at all times.
Therefore, he had been secretly putting the collected information on Kirito Tosaka on the black market of underground intelligence, so that people from other ninja villages could get information on Kirito Tosaka.
Unfortunately, this Kirito Tosaka has never been on the battlefield, and he is still here in Konoha growing up. Then, before he knew it, this brat had grown to the strength of an elite jōnin.
It is urgent to see this in his eyes.
"Hmph, what do we do about it? Let the people from the other villages deal with him. Oh yes, you said this brat can use the Spirit Transformation Technique, so this brat must be the one who let the stinkbug Danzo destroy the sealing barrier on the Senju Clan territory all those years ago.
This brat is a genius, but he hasn't fully matured yet. As long as Danzo cooperates from the inside and the outside, there's still a good chance he can kill this brat."
Uchiha Madara said disdainfully.
He heard the meaning in Black Zetsu's words, but having Uchiha Madara deal with a nine-year-old brat, how was that even possible?
He would never do something so boring.
"If this brat doesn't die, then in the future, there might be someone else to dance with. After Senju Hashirama died, there was no longer anyone in the world with whom the ninja could dance together. This brat has that potential,"
Uchiha Madara thought to himself, and a trace of excitement inexplicably arose in his heart.
He liked fighting powerful opponents, because it made him feel alive.
That feeling of excitement when fighting an evenly matched opponent was the joy of living for him.
Unfortunately, since the death of Senju Hashirama, no one had been able to make him feel that joy anymore.
Now, before he died, he might be able to enjoy that joy again.
"Yes, Lord Madara,"
Black Zetsu nodded and said, not surprised by Uchiha Madara's answer. He sighed inwardly, "If Uchiha Madara can let go of that arrogance in his heart, the Moon Eye plan will definitely go more smoothly. But it is also this arrogance that brings confidence, and it is precisely because of this that I have been able to avoid arousing Uchiha Madara's suspicions."
Uchiha Madara didn't like to waste time. Seeing that Senju Hashirama's remains were well protected, he felt relieved and immediately used A Fei to return to the past. Then he went into a deep sleep again, quietly waiting for Black Zetsu to awaken next.
...
Time flew, and another month passed.
In the Land of Soup, on a stormy night with lightning and thunder, a burly young ninja with white hair and dark skin was sitting cross-legged on a large stone at the top of a peak. Wearing a black face mask, he watched the lightning in the sky as it flashed non-stop, and a look of excitement flashed in his eyes.
This young man with white hair and dark skin was Kirito's Lightning Release clone, and he was planning to use the current massive thunderstorm to comprehend Lightning Release.
As for how to comprehend it, naturally, he had to attract the lightning body.
The next moment, blue and white electric currents suddenly lit up on his body, quickly spreading across his entire front, before a blue and white current shot straight up into the sky.
At the same time, a curse mark on his chest lit up with a fiery red glow, and a large number of fiery red runes covered his entire body, causing the amount of chakra in his body to skyrocket, and his skin to turn a deep red.
The towering mountain peak was originally the target of an intense lightning attack, but now Kirito used the electric current formed by his Lightning Release Chakra to act as a lightning rod.
Suddenly, a huge flash of lightning fell from the sky, hitting the White Zetsu clone precisely.
The blue and white lightning pillar enveloped the Lightning Release clone.
The power of heaven and earth thunder is undoubtedly terrifying. A single flash of lightning has a voltage of hundreds of millions or even a billion volts. If an ordinary person were struck, they would instantly be electrocuted to a coke.
However, in the face of this lightning attack, the Lightning Release clone still calmly sat on the boulder, showing no signs of being electrocuted. Only his hair stood on end, and the surface of his skin showed a little damage.
Soon, the pillar of lightning formed by the natural lightning disappeared, and the Lightning Release clone reopened his eyes, emitting a lot of heat.
"Sandaime Raikage's Lightning Release talent is truly amazing, and his physical strength talent is also very powerful. Being struck by natural lightning is no big deal."
Kirito moved slightly, then activated the yang attribute chakra within his body to use the Mystical Palm Technique to repair the damage to his body, exclaiming in admiration.
The fact that the Lightning Release clone was able to survive the natural lightning was naturally related to his high level of electrical resistance. The deeper his understanding of Lightning Release, the higher his electrical resistance. On the other hand, his physical strength was very powerful, although it was still far from the level of Sandaime Raikage, but it was also 20 to 30 percent.
In addition, the Kirito-style curse mark activation technique on his body further increased his physical strength.
Finally, Kirito just turned his Lightning Release clone into a lightning rod, channeling most of the current into the ground.
Using his Lightning Release clone to increase the level of his Lightning Release was the right approach. After he allowed his soul to occupy the Lightning Release clone, the speed of his Lightning Release training, which had been stagnant for some time, suddenly returned to the comfortable and fast feeling he had when he first started training Lightning Release.
Now that he is using this method of channeling lightning through the human body to comprehend Lightning Release, the speed of his Lightning Release training can be described as rapid progress.
In addition, the Lightning Release clone inherited the Yotsuki clan's powerful physical strength talent. After a little training in physical techniques and obtaining a large amount of resources for physical training, his physical strength has improved rapidly, as has his own chakra.
Because of his strong physical fitness, the Lightning Release clone can keep the curse mark on for a longer period of time to strengthen his own strength.
In just four months, Kirito has successfully used his Lightning Release clone to raise his Lightning Release level to the fourth stage, and is now working his way up to the fifth stage.
The reason he continues to use his Lightning Release clone to understand Lightning Release is that after raising both Water Release and Lightning Release to the fourth stage, he still hasn't found the opportunity to fuse the two Chakras together to form Storm Release. He feels that there is an invisible resistance preventing the two Chakras from completing a thorough fusion.
Although this invisible resistance has been weakening after repeated attempts, the fusion speed is still too slow.
With no choice, he had to continue using the White Zetsu clone and Lightning Release clone to improve his Water Release and Lightning Release, in the hope of speeding up the fusion process.
Compared to the Water Release talent of the White Zetsu clone, the Lightning Release talent of the Lightning Release clone was a little higher.
Kirito, with the intention that his main body would use Magnet Release as a regular means of attack on the battlefield in the future, had recently been concentrating on using the Lightning Release clone to improve his Lightning Release.
At the same time, he also took the opportunity to go to the border troops of Iwagakure to deepen his understanding of Lightning Release, and incidentally continue to deepen the conflict between Iwagakure and Kumogakure, so that this ninja village would be temporarily unable to target Konoha.
This nighttime thunderstorm in the Land of Soup did not last long, and it ended after Kirito used Lightning Release to persistently eat hundreds of natural lightning strikes.
At this time, Lightning Release was also not in good condition, as it had been electrocuted by high-voltage electricity for a long time, and his body was somewhat numb.
Just as Kirito was about to use Lightning Release to escape, two Kumogakure ANBU ninjas wearing masks suddenly appeared. One ninja drew a shinai wrapped in dense electricity and slashed at the Lightning Release clone's neck from the front, while the other ninja did the same from behind.
The speed of their slashes was like lightning.
But then a loud thunderclap suddenly appeared, and the shinai in the two ninjas' hands pierced through the Lightning Release clone's neck.
The two ninjas' faces changed at this sight, but they calmly and quickly formed a seal.
The next moment, there was a flash of light.
The bodies of the two Kumogakure ANBU ninjas were cut in half by a ninja sword covered in Lightning Release Chakra.
Two white plumes of smoke appeared, and two halved stones fell to the ground.
At the same time, not far away, the two Kumogakure ANBU ninjas who had used their substitution techniques to escape the attack were rapidly withdrawing.
During the process, lightning Release Chakra covered their feet, and it was clear that they were using some sort of Lightning Release acceleration jutsu.
Seeing this, Kirito's body was suddenly covered in blue and white electric currents, and he charged over as a blue and white flash of lightning.
For a time, the two sides engaged in a high-speed chase.
Unfortunately, although the speed increase brought about by the two Cloud Ninshi's Lightning Release Acceleration Secret Technique was not inferior to Kirito's Lightning Release Clone's use of the Lightning Stimulation Secret Technique at the moment, the physical strength of the two was not enough for them to use this Lightning Release Acceleration Secret Technique for a long time, and they were quickly caught up by Kirito.
"You Kumogakure ANBU have really sharp noses. You found me again so quickly."
Kirito sneered as he looked at the two Kumogakure ANBU ninjas in front of him, who had decided to fight him to the death.
The ANBU of the major ninja villages were no pushovers. His Lightning Release clones had been out in the open for some time, and every time they appeared in a human settlement, ANBU ninjas from Kumogakure and Iwagakure would soon come looking for them.
He had already experienced assassinations like today's many times.
He wasn't bored by this, but rather enjoyed it.
Because these ANBU ninjas from the major ninja villages were very strong, and basically all of them who came after him were jōnin.
Just like these two Kumogakure ANBU ninjas in front of him, one of them was a jōnin.
These jōnin generally possess some of Kumogakure's best Lightning Release jutsu, and he would kill these Kumogakure jōnin and then use the Spirit Transformation Technique to steal their Lightning Release jutsu.
Unfortunately, none of these people knew the Lightning Release Chakra Pattern.
"Just who are you? Why do you keep pretending to be a ninja from our Kumogakure and create conflicts between Iwagakure and our Kumogakure?"
One of the Kumogakure ANBU ninjas wearing a cat mask angrily questioned Kirito after hearing his sarcastic words.
Naturally, Kirito would not answer the question posed by his enemy. The reason he did not attack immediately was that he was waiting for the rest of these people to arrive. These ANBU had some kind of special means of communication, and the ANBU of Kumogakure would soon arrive at their current location due to their speed.
"Attack! This guy is waiting for the rest of our companions to arrive. You go quickly, I'll hold him off."
Another Kumogakure ANBU ninja with the strength of a Jōnin sensed Kirito's intentions and shouted, immediately quickly forming seals and performing a ninjutsu attack.
However, before he could finish forming the seals, his head was completely separated from his body.
After activating the Lightning Release: Clone Technique, he used the Lightning Stimulation Secret Technique with all his strength. The speed of the explosion was such that only a Kage-Level powerhouse could react in time, and an ordinary Jōnin simply couldn't react in time at all, so he was beheaded by Kirito's blade.
"Bastard!"
The Kumogakure ANBU wearing a cat mask cried out in grief at this sight, and a terrifying wave of chakra suddenly erupted from his body.
Kirito saw this and decisively retreated.
"Boom!"
The next moment, a terrifying explosion occurred, and an explosion crater with a coverage area of nearly 20 meters appeared.
At the same time, a firework appeared in the sky.
Realizing that he could not escape, this ANBU member from Kumogakure decisively used a powerful self-destructive ninjutsu technique that would take them both down, and released the fireworks as a warning to keep his other comrades away.
"What a pity,"
said Kirito, looking at the fireworks in the sky a hundred meters away and sighing.
This was the firework that Kumogakure used to retreat, and after the appearance of this fireworks, no other ANBU ninja would come here.
He then decisively used the Lightning Stimulation Secret Technique to quickly leave.
On the other side, in Konoha, on the training grounds of the Senju Clan territory, a duel between Kirito and Tsunade was taking place.
At this time, Kirito was sitting on the back of a giant turtle, and above him, a large scarlet bird was hovering, its wings and tail feathers covered in long, scarlet plumes all ablaze with red-hot flames.