Uchiha Madara was already quite old.
He had gained the chance to awaken the Rinnegan thanks to a piece of Senju Hashirama's flesh, but bearing and nurturing the Rinnegan also required massive amounts of Chakra.
If there wasn't enough Chakra, it would drain life force instead.
This was also why Madara transplanted the Rinnegan to Nagato.
Nagato, possessing both Uzumaki and Senju bloodlines, had the Chakra and life force to sustain the Rinnegan long-term. Even so, Nagato barely avoided being drained dry by the Rinnegan and the Gedo Statue.
If Madara hadn't transplanted the Rinnegan to Nagato, he, at his advanced age, wouldn't have been able to withstand losing so much life force.
A large part of the Uchiha's strength lay in their eyes, with the rest being Fire Release, Taijutsu, and so on.
But Madara had now lost his original eyes and could only temporarily use a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan. His other combat abilities had also declined due to aging.
No matter how proud Uchiha Madara was, even in his youth, he had to rely on White Zetsu to temporarily provide him with some life force for enhancement.
However, for Madara, this was already enough to deal with the Three-Tails.
Because he was Uchiha Madara.
Even without the Mangekyo Sharingan, a massive, half-bodied Susanoo Warrior still emerged with Madara's surging Chakra.
With one swing of his blade, rivers churned, and the Tailed Beast roared.
...
...
Sand Village, Kazekage Building.
The Third Kazekage had started his workday early, reviewing documents and sifting through intelligence from the Land of Wind's capital.
The old generation Daimyo of the Land of Wind had passed away, and a new one had taken over.
The previous Daimyo had spent his days in debauchery, neglecting state affairs. Even though the Land of Wind had some foundations, it led to the national treasury being on the verge of collapse. During his tenure, he had twice cut military expenditure to the Sand Village.
The current Daimyo also seemed to be giving the Third Kazekage a headache.
Because during his ascension, this individual had made numerous promises to the various noble factions within the country to gain their support.
It was likely that these nobles would have to be appeased first before the Sand Village's military expenses would be considered.
Fortunately, the resources the Sand Village plundered from the Ninja World War two years ago had not yet been exhausted. Moreover, the canals, new Puppetry production lines, and Chakra Energy Vehicles developed by Qingshui had greatly improved the Sand Village's financial situation, bringing in massive profits.
The Third Kazekage glanced at the summary of last year's annual financial report, which had just been annotated next to him.
The village's economic productivity had now entered a positive cycle. Even without military funding from the Daimyo, the Sand Village could sustain itself.
Perhaps, it was precisely because of this that the Daimyo and those nobles felt they had lost control over the Sand Village, prompting them to react in this way.
Thinking of this, the Third Kazekage remembered the nobles from the Land of Wind who had wanted to intervene in the profits after the canal construction was completed.
The Third Kazekage couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Never mind, I'll call Chiyo and Ebizo to discuss it later, and bring Qingshui in as well.
Rasa wasn't smart enough, but Qingshui had a unique perspective and way of thinking.
Although this child was talented, he was still young. It was time to expose him more to the treacherous nature of politics.
However, since Qingshui was being called, then Rasa had to be called too.
Although the Third Kazekage recognized Qingshui's abilities more and preferred him as his successor, it didn't mean Rasa was out of the running.
He was still one of the Kazekage candidates.
The Third Kazekage wouldn't play favorites; he would provide what was necessary. Whether they could win depended on their own abilities.
"Please summon Elder Chiyo and Elder Ebizo, and also call Qingshui and Rasa," the Third Kazekage said, tapping the bell on his desk to summon an Anbu.
Qingshui was the first to arrive, as he was just about to report on the Kekkei Human Puppet matter at the Kazekage Building.
In fact, he literally bumped into the Anbu as soon as they left.
"Oh? You're here so fast. Is there something you needed to report just now?"
The Third Kazekage was a little surprised by Qingshui's quick arrival and guessed that it was a coincidence.
"Sasori has created something incredible."
Qingshui presented the scroll Sasori had given him yesterday to the Third Kazekage.
"This is..."
"A new method for creating Human Puppets."
Qingshui paused, then said, "Human Puppets that can inherit the abilities of the body's former owner, including their Kekkei Genkai."
The Third Kazekage looked slightly surprised, but far from shocked.
This was because Qingshui had brought him too many surprises over the past year or two.
While not completely numb, he had developed a certain resistance to such things.
"So, you're here to request further research and development again?"
As the Third Kazekage asked, he quickly calculated in his mind how much money would be appropriate to allocate.
This technology, like Qingshui's previous projects, had immense potential, and not investing in it was simply not an option.
"This won't require much funding. Sasori's experiments are nearing completion; we just need to capture a few Kekkei Genkai shinobi for some testing."
The Third Kazekage paused.
This was worse than asking for money.
What ninja village wouldn't guard its own Kekkei Genkai fiercely?
"For this matter, once the meeting starts, ask your teacher Ebizo if there are any Kekkei Genkai users outside the Five Great Ninja Villages who would be easier to handle. The village is currently in a period of rapid development. Before the benefits from the last war are fully digested, it's best not to get into conflicts with other major ninja villages."
The Third Kazekage thought for a moment and said to Qingshui.
Ebizo's position in the Sand Village was similar to Danzō's in Konoha; he was responsible for intelligence work. The difference was that he didn't have to take the fall for the Kage, nor did he have an entire department as his private armed force like Danzō. His absolute power hadn't reached a level that could threaten the Kage's position.
Shortly after Qingshui and the Third Kazekage finished their discussion, Rasa, Ebizo, and Chiyo arrived at the Kazekage's office.
Once everyone was present, Rasa specifically gave Qingshui a few extra glances.
He had been mining gold recently and hadn't shown up much in the village, but he had been paying close attention to all information regarding the Sand Village.
Especially news about Qingshui.
This junior, four or five years his junior, had risen rapidly in recent years. After joining the Puppet Force, he had grown at an astonishing pace, was taken as a disciple by Chiyo, and quickly became the youngest Jonin in the history of the Sand Village.
Especially in the two years since the war ended, starting with the canal construction, he had been indispensable in every major event in the village, often appearing as the most crucial person in these incidents.
Thus, Rasa gradually began to view Qingshui as his biggest rival for the position of Kazekage in the future.
But that was only in the future.
In Rasa's view at the time, given Qingshui's age, no matter how outstanding his abilities were, due to the limited training time, his strength could not possibly reach the level required to be a Kage.
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