Late at night, Shin sat cross-legged on the bed, meditating while reviewing the memories of the people he had touched that day. Very quickly, he uncovered many secrets, and his expression turned quite strange.
Combining all the information he had gathered, after thorough analysis, he finally understood what Madara had been scheming.
Based on the intelligence he currently possessed, he could confirm that Madara had indeed been plotting something. However, for some unknown reason, Madara had abandoned the plan halfway through and had completely ignored everything that followed.
That was why so many White Zetsu were now idly lounging in Kiri, carefree and content.
That was also why, although many people were under his control, they were all behaving obediently.
Yet, the more things were like this, the more uncomfortable Shin felt.
He really couldn't believe that after all of Madara's long-term scheming, he would simply give up like this?
Could it be that he was just overthinking it? Or perhaps some unforeseen event occurred, forcing Madara to change his plans and leave everything else behind?
He went through all this trouble to come here, put in so much effort... And this is it?
Well, maybe it's for the best. Since it's now certain that Madara's plan has fallen apart, I can enjoy myself more freely.
With that, it was probably about time to leave.
But no thief leaves empty-handed, after one last round through the place, he would make his exit.
What Shin didn't know, however, was that it was he himself who had caused Madara to change his plans.
At this moment, Madara had fully shut himself off from the world. He genuinely couldn't be bothered with anything going on in Kiri, not even enough to ask questions.
His and Black Zetsu's schemes had begun the very day, three years ago, when they started paying attention to Shin. The incident with the Land of Whirlpools had originally been instigated by Black Zetsu at Madara's command.
Madara not only hated the Senju clan, he also despised the Uzumaki clan.
Back when the Senju and Uchiha clans were still warring, the Uchiha could have held their own thanks to the power of the Sharingan.
But who would have thought that at the critical moment, the wretched Uzumaki clan would marry into the Senju and form a firm alliance, advancing and retreating together, which ended up causing heavy losses for the Uchiha.
He didn't care at all about the current Uchiha clan. Even if they were all wiped out, he wouldn't bat an eye.
But the Uchiha of the past still held great weight in his heart, and he never forgot that hatred. If it hadn't been for Hashirama persistently persuading him, he wouldn't have let the Uzumaki clan off the hook so easily.
In their plan, if something happened to the Land of Whirlpools, Konoha would surely intervene.
At that point, even if Shin was being strictly monitored, with his exceptional medical skills, he would likely be sent to the battlefield. Then, they could secretly abduct him, brainwash him day and night, and through such and such efforts, accomplish their grand objective. But who would have thought Konoha would abandon its ally without a second thought, causing their first plan to fall apart.
Madara was furious.
What kind of idiot was the current Hokage?
To abandon an ally at the first sign of trouble, he was worse than useless. If Hashirama knew about this, he might be so angry he'd come back to life.
With the first plan a failure, the two came up with a second: to actively provoke a war.
That was when Madara took control of the Third Mizukage and began producing White Zetsu.
At first, they created only a small number, just a few dozen.
According to their plan, the White Zetsu would infiltrate Kiri, use disguise techniques to obtain chakra from many ninjas, but not expose themselves just yet.
Once those ninjas died in the Land of Whirlpools, they would select those with simpler social ties, and have them return to Kiri as "survivors" to lie in wait.
Then, Kiri would take the lead, uniting the other three major villages and igniting the Second Great Ninja War.
In short, the ultimate goal was to draw Shin out of Konoha at any cost.
But who would've thought that Tsunade, all by herself, would lead Uzushio to defeat the multinational coalition forces? Once again, Madara cursed these people as useless trash.
If those ninja villages hadn't failed, instead annexing all of the Land of Whirlpools and strengthening their own forces, and if Konoha had continued performing poorly, then with Madara pushing things behind the scenes, the inflated power of the Four Great Nations might have given rise to ambitions of carving up Konoha.
However, the heavy losses they suffered forced each nation to spend a great deal of time licking their wounds.
On top of that, Tsunade's rise to power intimidated many of the villages and made them too afraid to act recklessly.
So, Madara and Black Zetsu came up with yet another plan.
Whether the other villages went to war or not, Madara no longer cared. But Kiri had to fight. However, even though the Third Mizukage was under his control, the situation within Kiri was complex. Even a Mizukage couldn't act unilaterally.
If they launched a war rashly under such conditions of internal loss and discontent, they risked widespread resistance from within the village.
So to be cautious, Black Zetsu proposed replacing many of Kiri's dead with White Zetsu, who would quietly infiltrate the village. At the same time, they would implant many people with the Spore Technique so they could be controlled at key moments.
They also abducted certain people carrying out missions, knocked them out, and brought them to Madara, who used genjutsu to bring them under his control.
This way, the Third Mizukage's power would steadily grow, and the number of his supporters would increase. Once he fully regained control over Kiri, he would immediately declare war on Konoha.
But again, who would have thought, Black Zetsu botched the job.
Due to an intelligence error, a White Zetsu was discovered.
Even at that point, Madara still hadn't given up hope. As long as he controlled enough people, as long as there were enough White Zetsu, as long as enough people had been implanted with the Spore Technique, then this war had to happen, no matter what.
But then, a week ago, an even more shocking piece of bad news arrived.
Shin had activated Complete Body Susanoo.
The power he displayed left even Madara speechless.
"I waited all these years for you, and this is what you show me?"
And with strength at that level, now that Shin had left the village, how was the current Madara supposed to capture him? Even if by some miracle he did, what the hell could he use to control someone that powerful?
Completely disheartened, he gave up on Shin entirely.
That was what led to the strange situation in Kiri today.
Staring at the unconscious Hanma lying on the bed, Madara found him more and more displeasing.
If he had a choice, this kind of guy would never be his pick.
Back in the day, he was arrogant because he had the power to crush everything. This guy, weak as hell, was even more arrogant than him. Why the hell did he think he had the right?
The truth was, Madara had always admired people like Shin, those who could endure, who could hide their true selves, all to accomplish a greater goal, just like himself.
Hatred combined with patience, that was what truly allows someone to carry out a plan without anyone realizing.
However, his patience had been worn thin thanks to Shin, while Hanma's hatred was deeply rooted, so he was... barely acceptable.
So, Madara had Black Zetsu take advantage of a moment when Hanma's parents brought him out of Konoha to relax, and secretly abducted the now crippled boy and brought him here.
The plan: brainwash him, then let him witness the death of the only two people who still cared for him. Maybe that would awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Madara decided he wouldn't show himself yet, nor reveal the final objective. He'd let Black Zetsu and White Zetsu cultivate him and see how things went.
If this guy turned out to be truly useless, then he would just pick another target.