Deep beneath the outskirts of Konoha village, an elderly man with white hair was carefully wiping a large war fan coated in dust.
"Uchiha..."
The old man fell into reminiscence as he looked at the fan. After a long pause, he hung it on the wall and slowly walked toward a chair deep within the chamber.
His long white bangs partially obscured the right side of his face, revealing only his left eye — the legendary Sharingan of the Uchiha clan. Three thick tubes extended from his back into the darkness behind the chair, where a massive humanoid statue loomed faintly in the shadows.
"Lord Madara," a white figure materialized on the ground before him and greeted respectfully.
"Is that you, Zetsu? What happened?" the old man asked indifferently.
"I just returned from Nagato. He still cannot control the Rinnegan," the white figure replied playfully.
Madara frowned slightly. "Zetsu, didn't I tell you not to talk like that?"
"But Lord Madara, I can't help it. Somehow, this is the only way I know how to speak," Zetsu answered with the same tone. "By the way, Lord Madara, would there be anything else today?"
Madara listened expressionlessly as Zetsu rambled on.
"Lord Madara?" When there was no response, the white figure began murmuring to itself. "Did Lord Madara die? What should I do if he's really dead?"
"I was just asleep!" Madara finally snapped, clearly annoyed by the muttering.
"What important things have happened in the shinobi world recently?"
This question reminded Zetsu. "It seems Hanzo of Amegakure isn't satisfied with the current situation anymore. He's secretly plotting war all across the Rain Country."
"War, huh? It has been over ten years since the last one."
Madara gazed as though toward Konoha, lost in thought — yet all he could see was the pitch-black ceiling of his underground lair.
"Oh, by the way, Lord Madara, something else happened recently within the Uchiha Clan. I'm not sure if it counts as important or not," Zetsu added hesitantly.
"Go ahead."
"The Uchiha recently built a commercial street near the entrance of their compound and are even renting out shops to outsiders. Most noble families in Konoha remain cautious, although a few have already signed agreements."
A faint sneer curled Madara's lips upon hearing this. Noticing Madara's smirk, Zetsu's tone brightened as he continued with renewed enthusiasm.
Indeed, this old man was none other than Madara Uchiha, who had founded Konoha together with Hashirama Senju. The white figure beside him was none other than Zetsu, a unique being cultivated from the "Hashirama cells" Madara obtained after their fateful battle at the Valley of the End.
"Unbelievable — the Uchiha have produced a prodigy like this?" Madara said with genuine interest in his voice.
"The boy is named Shen Uchiha, the youngest son of the current clan chief," explained Zetsu. Then, sensing Madara's interest, he continued, "And he hasn't awakened his Sharingan yet, Lord Madara."
At this, Madara's Sharingan pupil instantly contracted slightly in surprise. He spoke with visible astonishment, "Without even awakening the Sharingan, he can channel chakra so precisely throughout his entire body? Even in my youth, that would have been extremely difficult to accomplish."
"Three chakra natures you say? Earth, fire... and lightning. But why would anyone use lightning nature chakra for physical training?" Zetsu tilted his head in confusion. His "black side" finished the thought: "Why would they need to run around chasing each other while training?"
Madara remained silent, clearly uninterested in answering such trivial questions.
"Actually, there might be more than three," Madara finally spoke, his voice contemplative. "He also appears outgoing and receives love from his family."
"You're not thinking..." Zetsu's eyes widened as he connected the dots. "You want him for the Infinite Tsukuyomi Plan?!"
Madara didn't answer directly. Instead, he reached toward his right eye hidden beneath his long hair. After a long pause, he gave his command: "Observe him carefully. Inform me immediately if he awakens it. Now return to monitoring the state of the shinobi world."
"As you wish! Lord Madara!"
Zetsu responded with solemn respect — this was clearly not the time for jokes.
As Madara slowly sank into the ground, his right eye closed, the entire underground chamber became eerily silent, like a tomb.
Meanwhile, Shen had just arrived at the former Uchiha ninja tools shop when he suddenly shivered.
"Who's thinking about me? Must be that silly Nawaki!"
Shen had a pretty good sense of his own abilities. He knew there were many talented members in the Uchiha Clan right now, so he doubted he'd be someone Madara would notice.
Who else could it be? He couldn't think of anyone besides Nawaki. If he knew Madara had already noticed him, he'd probably act careful like those characters in books do. Though his name means 'careful,' his personality was anything but cautious — always causing trouble and making noise without a care in the world.
Shaking off the weird vibe, Shen turned to the construction crew from Konoha. "Hey uncle, move that sign a bit more to the left!"
The construction worker winced — he was only twenty years old! Why did everyone keep calling him uncle? Did he really look that old after working overtime these past few days helping the Uchiha with their rebuilding projects?
Though grumbling internally, the background character obeyed — after all, this kid was their client. They had bills to pay.
"Thank you, uncle!" Shen politely acknowledged him.
One should always be polite to background characters who only appear briefly. Who knows? Hundreds of chapters later, this guy might come back as the big villain seeking revenge.
The construction worker almost bowed to Shen. Kid, quit calling me 'uncle,' will ya?
Watching the crew quickly finish their work and leave, Shen couldn't help but think: "I guess getting along well with these background characters means they won't come back later to challenge me, right?"
Well... actually, there's no telling if that won't happen.
Stepping into the newly renovated workshop, Shen began looking around curiously.
"Why did they make me the manager of this place?"
"Is the old man trying to put me to work just because I'm free?" Shen had no idea at all that he'd soon be in charge of an entire factory.
Make him watch muscular blacksmiths hammering iron every day? Sorry, but Shen—who was perfectly straight—found the mental image absolutely ridiculous.
"What if I pass the buck to Shoda? Isn't running a small shop his dream anyway? Getting some experience as a workshop director first wouldn't hurt!" Always resourceful, Shen decided to talk (trick) Shoda into becoming the head blacksmith.
Cheerfully, Shen locked the factory gate and headed home. On the way, he kept thinking about what to name it: "How about [Foxconn]? No way—if any other dimension-hoppers found out, they'd totally call me out for profiting from sweatshop labor!"
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