In Amegakure, inside one of Akatsuki's underground bases—
Tobi was chatting and joking with the members of Akatsuki, cheerfully greeting everyone. After a round of banter, he returned to his room.
Once back inside, his skin quickly turned pale, and the left half of his body shifted into a pale, spiral-like mass. Looking at his own whirling form, Tobi smiled with satisfaction:
"Ma~ as expected, I look most comfortable in my true form."
If the other members of Akatsuki were to see this, they would be utterly shocked. None of them would ever imagine that the goofy young man who looked barely in his twenties actually looked like this.
After stretching a little, Tobi slid under his bed. Once beneath it, he let out a strange smile, formed a seal with both hands, and the next second transformed into a wooden dummy.
As a block of wood, he slowly phased into the ground, sinking down more than ten meters before reaching a small, secret chamber. If Akatsuki members discovered this, they would be shocked yet again—underneath the base they had lived in for years, there was another hidden underground room.
Entering the chamber, Tobi's grin faded. With his shapeshifting ability, he reverted into the form of Danzō. Pushing open the door, he looked at the busy Hiruko and spoke in a commanding tone:
"How are the new research results coming along?"
Hiruko's eyes, dull and lifeless, twitched at the sight of "Danzō." Damn it, this guy again.
Bound by command seals and the Four Symbols Seal etched into his body, he dared not resist Tobi. Silently, he handed over his research results.
After scanning the reports and listening to Hiruko's explanation, Tobi nodded, then pulled a vial of blood from his pocket:
"This is an extremely important material. Study it thoroughly. Within three years, I want you to produce a solvent that guarantees a one-hundred-percent success rate in fusing the owner of this bloodline with Hashirama's cells.
I don't care if Wood Release manifests or not. What I need is for his vitality to be overwhelmingly strong—do you understand? If you fail, you know very well what the consequences will be."
At the threat, Hiruko trembled. For some reason, he felt that ever since Danzō was driven out of Konoha, he had become even stranger.
Before, he had only been grim and gloomy. But now, his moods were utterly unpredictable. Hiruko no longer dared to provoke him. With his life and freedom firmly held in the man's grip, he had no choice but to obey unconditionally.
If he could return to the Rain Country battlefield years ago, he would rather kill himself than ever step foot into this underground chamber.
Leaving the chamber, Tobi's body split in two—one half staying to rest, the other sinking into the ground, tunneling deep until he reached a familiar underground cavern.
"Lord Madara, I've returned."
In the cavern, Uchiha Madara slowly opened his eyes from his stone bed. Compared to a few years ago, he looked even more aged. Now, he spent nearly all twenty-four hours confined to the stone slab, minimizing all movement.
"Oh, it's you, Tobi. Coming at this time—what news do you bring?"
With a sly grin, Tobi knelt on one knee:
"Lord Madara, Akatsuki has now grown strong enough. I wonder what your next move will be?"
Hearing this, Madara, half-asleep moments ago, perked up with a spark of interest. Shifting to a more comfortable position, he said:
"So they can already stand as equals against that so-called Hanzō? That man was that weak? It hasn't even been that long."
Tobi chuckled:
"Hanzō's ambitions were completely crushed by Hoshiyomi. These days he only indulges in pleasures inside his palace, ignoring the affairs of Amegakure. All he cares about now is clinging to his rule."
At that, Madara sneered with disdain:
"A worthless insect like that dares to bear the title of 'demi-god'? Hmph. Truly—when the mountain has no tiger, even monkeys call themselves king."
At this moment, Black Zetsu also emerged from the ground with a grin:
"Precisely because tools like this exist, Lord Madara, that you can realize your plan, isn't that so?"
Hearing this, Madara laughed with satisfaction:
"Not wrong. But if there are too many of such trash, that's no good either. When I'm revived, I want the shinobi world to at least provide me some challenge. If the world turns out to be too boring, I may have no choice but to resurrect Hashirama—only then would I find some real amusement."
Seizing the moment, Black Zetsu pressed on:
"In that case, Lord Madara, shouldn't we proceed to the next phase of the plan?"
Madara nodded. He snapped his fingers, summoning a White Zetsu carrying a map. After scrutinizing the map for quite a while, he finally spoke:
"How are the Hashirama cells prepared for Nagato? My eyes cannot afford any mishap."
Tobi replied respectfully:
"I've already set Hiruko to work on it. I've given him three years—he should be able to develop a successful solvent by then. With the boost from Hashirama's cells, Nagato should be able to endure the strain of the Rinnegan."
"Good. In that case, let's set the next stage of the plan for three years from now."
Madara studied the shinobi world map for a long time before finally resting his hand on the directions of Sunagakure and Kirigakure:
"These two villages are the direct breakthrough points. For Amegakure to change, it needs external pressure—and nothing stirs conflict better than a war.
Looking at the current balance of power, Suna and Kiri are absolutely the weak points. Iwagakure should have recovered quite a bit after years of recuperation. Kumogakure's strength is not lacking either. Those two villages—stone and cloud—are ambitious, and if Suna and Kiri clash even slightly, just a little push will drive them to fight.
Send several White Zetsu to closely monitor Sunagakure and Kirigakure for the next three years. The moment there's any disturbance, inform me at once.
Three years from now, we will ignite the Third Great War!
With outside pressure combined with Akatsuki stirring within Ame, Hanzō will definitely not be able to sit still. The moment you, Tobi, make a small move, Hanzō will surely take the bait.
And once Nagato sees this hopeless world with his own eyes, our plan can finally unfold in full."
As he watched Tobi nodding repeatedly, Madara lifted his gaze to the dim ceiling above him:
"I don't have many years left. Soon, I won't be able to personally oversee everything. From here on, I'll be relying on you and Black Zetsu.
With you two here, my resurrection plan should not go astray… correct?"
From the shadows, Black Zetsu let out a sinister chuckle:
"Rest assured, Lord Madara. As your very will, of course we will carry out your plan to the letter. Believe in us—your day of reigning over the shinobi world once more is not far off."
Sitting cross-legged before Black Zetsu, Madara could not see the treacherous undertone in its smile. He would never imagine that the "you" Black Zetsu spoke of… referred to someone else entirely.