"You brat, you finally came."
Ten miles outside of Konoha, Uchiha Madara stood on the treetop, arms crossed, looking down at the hurriedly arriving Renya from above.
He had sent a ninja cat early in the morning to summon Renya, yet he had been waiting here for half a day, and this kid only now decided to show up.
Aside from Hashirama, Renya was the first person ever to make him wait this long.
"Madara-sama, where's Hashirama-san?" Renya frowned, noticing that Senju Hashirama was nowhere to be seen.
These two were supposed to be inseparable. Why was Madara here alone today?
"Hashirama isn't feeling well. I had him wait inside the cave."
Since last night, Hashirama had been coughing nonstop and only managed to fall asleep around midnight.
Madara hadn't called him along this morning, wanting him to rest properly.
"Is there any way to treat Hashirama's illness?" Uchiha Madara suddenly asked.
Though he didn't necessarily want Hashirama to return to peak condition, neither did he want to watch him deteriorate further.
Without timely treatment, there was always the risk of death.
Hashirama was no longer a threat to his ambitions, so Madara didn't want him to die just like that.
He wanted Hashirama to live long enough to witness the completion of the "Eye of the Moon" plan and see the day true peace was brought to the shinobi world.
If possible, he had to find a way to stabilize Hashirama's condition and prevent further decline.
"Madara-sama, I don't know," Renya shook his head.
He had a vague idea of what Madara was thinking, but there was nothing he could do about Hashirama's health either.
Honestly, the fact that Senju Hashirama was even alive right now was already a miracle!
From being on the brink of death back then, to now being able to eat two big bowls of rice in one sitting.
It was practically a medical miracle—perhaps this was the power of bonds?
Not surprising, really, for the reincarnation of Asura's chakra. If it were anyone else, they'd have been long dead by now.
Renya truly had no idea how to treat Hashirama. Even that old bastard Senju Tobirama couldn't figure it out, let alone him.
All Renya knew was how to make poisons, not heal people.
Well… he could develop a poison that would allow Hashirama-san to pass away peacefully, without pain…
That was probably the last thing he could do for Senju Hashirama.
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Madara's gaze dimmed for a fleeting moment, but he wasn't ready to give up just yet.
"Does Tobirama have any solution?"
"Tobirama-san has already tried," Renya shook his head again. "He has no clue."
If Senju Tobirama could have cured Hashirama, Renya wouldn't have had to reveal Madara's fake death back then.
"I see," Madara replied expressionlessly, as if unconcerned.
But Renya knew better.
He knew full well that Uchiha Madara was far from as calm as he looked…
If Hashirama-san really died, Madara would undoubtedly be the one most devastated.
He just wouldn't show it.
After all, if Renya wasn't mistaken, Madara literally had Hashirama-san's face growing out of his chest by now.
That chunk of flesh had been stitched on by Madara himself, thread by thread.
Never underestimate the power of bonds.
...
"What's the mission this time?" Uchiha Madara leapt down from the tree, landing before him.
"Assassinate a wealthy merchant from the Land of Earth. He's protected by several jōnin," Renya said, taking out the mission scroll.
This mission was most likely commissioned by the Land of Water, hoping to use Konoha to weaken the Land of Earth's military power.
Perhaps this merchant was even related to a high-ranking Kirigakure official.
Otherwise, why would an ordinary merchant have jōnin bodyguards?
Though this was a conflict between Iwagakure and Kirigakure, Konoha shinobi could still choose to accept the mission.
However, the difficulty was so high that hardly anyone wanted to take it.
Since Renya didn't have to personally complete it, of course he chose the highest-paying job.
"You lead the way," Uchiha Madara said, not bothering to take the map. He simply ordered Renya to walk ahead.
This level of mission didn't even require him to look at the intel.
Forget killing a merchant—if he wanted to, killing the Tsuchikage and Mizukage would be no problem.
Madara had met the Tsuchikage before. The guy had some skills, sure, but compared to him? Insignificant.
Even now, with only one Mangekyō eye left, Madara was still confident he could kill the Second Tsuchikage.
Such was the confidence that absolute power brought.
The only person in the shinobi world who could stop Madara… was Senju Hashirama.
Unfortunately, Hashirama was already broken.
Right now, no one in the shinobi world could stand in his way.
But Madara wasn't interested in dominating the shinobi world. Such "peace" wouldn't last.
Only the "Eye of the Moon" plan could bring about true and eternal peace.
For now, he intended to stay hidden, quietly waiting for the awakening of the power spoken of in the stone tablet.
Only then could the plan begin.
Until then, he could coexist peacefully with Hashirama for a while.
Just to pass the time.
As for Renya… after spending some time together, Madara had grown to rather appreciate the kid.
Not only could he cook well, but his strength was also far from ordinary.
It wouldn't be hard to rope him into the "Eye of the Moon" plan and make him contribute to the peace of the shinobi world.
And if Renya really refused… well, Madara would just have to use other methods.
After all, the kid hadn't awakened the true power of the Uchiha yet.
Only after awakening the Mangekyō could one truly see the essence of the shinobi world.
To change this rotten world, only the "Eye of the Moon" plan could succeed.
For the sake of his ideal, anyone could become a pawn.
Even this boy standing before him…
At this moment, Renya had no idea that Uchiha Madara had already set his sights on him.
And even if he did know, there wouldn't be much he could do.
As long as Madara hadn't awakened the Rinnegan, he wouldn't lay a hand on him.
Once Madara awakened it, he'd be too busy hiding in the shadows like a rat, barely clinging to life with the help of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
He definitely wouldn't waste his time targeting him.
That was the only reason Renya dared to hang around Madara. Otherwise, he would've long since poisoned the bastard's food.
Besides, after spending some time together, Madara didn't seem all that bad. He almost never harmed those close to him.
Still, Renya wasn't foolish enough to let his guard down.
Who knew if this guy would stab him in the back someday for the sake of his ideals?
The Uchiha were capable of anything when consumed by obsession…
There were even those who slaughtered their entire clan by their own hand.
So what was impossible?
The Uchiha clan specialized in creating miracles.
If Renya survived until that time came, he'd make sure to eliminate any potential threats while they were still in the cradle.
Even though he now bore the Senju surname, who knew if that damn Itachi would spare him when the time came?
Of course, that was just a passing thought.
With the current Hiruzen and Danzō, there was no reason to worry about such things. That future likely wouldn't happen at all.
Compared to Uchiha Madara, Renya trusted Senju Tobirama more.
As long as he didn't endanger the village, that old bastard would never lay a hand on him.
And so, with hidden thoughts and separate intentions, Renya and Madara set off toward the Land of Earth together.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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