HSU: Ch. 322

When the wheelchair was pushed into the backyard, Madara had already turned his head.

In recent days, that arrogant, stubborn, disdainful Uchiha, who looked down on everyone as if they were nothing, seemed to have returned to the clan head of old, the one obsessed with protecting his family.

When people came to visit Setsuna, he didn't put on a particularly sour face. He simply chose solitude and didn't see them. The only person he allowed into the backyard was Hashirama. With his old friend, he would sit together for a while. Other than that, if someone wasn't of the Uchiha clan, he would not see them.

Moreover, he had started to become "generous."

Any Uchiha clansman who came, as long as they were a ninja, would receive his guidance.

There was a small detail in this: toward those with black hair and black eyes, the so-called "pure" Uchiha, he was noticeably more patient.

"Madara-sama," Masashi greeted.

Madara nodded, saying nothing.

"Setsuna, how are you feeling?"

Sitting at the side, Setsuna's wife, who had shared decades with him, had sorrow in her eyes. But when she looked at him, she hid it well.

Her name was Aki. Back in the day, when she and Setsuna were dating, many thought she wouldn't last a month with him.

Yet she endured for decades, until she had grown from "Aki" into "Aki-obachan."

"I'm doing quite well," Setsuna said with a smile. "Just a bit of a fever."

"I told you to cover yourself properly at night. How old are you, still kicking off your blankets?" Aki also smiled.

Her smile, however, wasn't as natural as Setsuna's.

"Masashi, sit down. I'll get you tea," she said, then hurried away.

No one exposed her feelings.

Aki had never been involved in politics, nor had she ever been a ninja. Her whole life was centered on her family.

Outside, Setsuna would argue with everyone. At home, he was the one on the receiving end. Ever since their children had died, he never lost his temper with his wife again.

"You two go ahead and talk, I'll help Aki-obachan."

Masashi pushed the wheelchair to a suitable spot near Madara, then intended to leave.

In this world, the person Setsuna admired most was Madara, and the one he loved most, and felt most guilty toward, was Aki.

Now that Setsuna had regained his clarity, of course time should be left for the right people.

"No, Masashi, stay," Madara said.

"Yes, Masashi, Madara has spoken. Stay. Don't go over and make trouble," Setsuna added.

Sometimes, when he awoke at night, he could hear his wife secretly crying.

She still remembered.

It was their wedding vow: no matter who went first, the one left behind must not cry.

Seeing this, Masashi didn't argue. He casually found a seat nearby and sat down.

"These past few days have been quiet. We finally have some time," Madara said.

Setsuna and Masashi listened silently without interrupting.

"Many years ago, right here, I tried to persuade people to follow me," Madara said. "But most refused. I must admit, when I left, I didn't feel as carefree as I appeared."

He paused slightly, then continued, "I began to resent this clan."

Setsuna's expression was complicated, while Masashi's remained calm.

A beginning like this always meant a 'but' was coming. The content before the turn wasn't worth dwelling on.

"But," Madara didn't disappoint Masashi's expectations and quickly brought out the turn, "after dying for decades and being forced back with Edo Tensei, my view of this clan has changed."

What a load of nonsense! He wasn't even dead when Minato became Hokage!

"Then what do you think of the clan now?" Masashi showed a just-right expression of curiosity.

"I must admit, I was surprised, the backbone of this clan has not disappeared," Madara replied calmly.

Black Zetsu had told him that Masashi probably knew his true time of death.

He didn't mind Masashi putting on an act in front of him. The truth of that intel wasn't important. What mattered was quality.

Foolish subordinates were worse than none at all.

A mind was more important than eyes.

Whether someone had a good head could be seen from the details of how they treated people and handled affairs.

Young Madara hadn't been a "super prodigy" type. He was not like Hashirama.

Take the Sharingan, for example, compared to the many "geniuses" in the clan who opened their eyes early, his timing was nothing special.

Yet he ultimately became synonymous with power in the shinobi world.

The only one who could surpass him was Hashirama, who earned the title "God of Shinobi." That, in turn, proved how the world saw Madara, only a "god" could defeat him.

Madara had enough willpower and patience. Combined with his potential, that made him the strongest Uchiha clan head in history.

In all respects, Masashi appealed to him. He had talent, will, and patience. More importantly, he controlled power instead of being controlled by it.

In dealing with people, he used strength cautiously and wasn't blinded by violence.

That was precisely Madara's taste.

Subjugating others with power was the persona he built only after becoming overwhelmingly strong. Walking the path he did was a decision made after long weighing of pros and cons, when all other roads had closed.

Recently, while maintaining that persona, he also tried to use his past influence to build prestige within the clan.

There were many ways to reduce obstacles, and he understood this clan well.

It had now returned to its former glory.

The old Uchiha had no fighting spirit: the weak were arrogant, while the strong stooped to be lapdogs. That wasted the honor their forebears had fought to preserve in the Warring States period.

To destroy such an Uchiha was to protect Uchiha.

"I once believed that mutual understanding between people would bring peace. That way of thinking proved wrong," Madara said. "You two should know this deeply."

"Yes..." Setsuna sighed. "After you left, the clan declined day by day. Only in recent years has it risen again."

At this, he looked toward Masashi, feeling truly grateful.

Masashi's style was very different from Madara's, yet he had achieved the same "effect" that Madara once brought when he led the Uchiha.

In today's shinobi world, the name "Uchiha" was synonymous with untouchable.

"Great power, combined with effective goals, is the only way to bring peace. I already know this answer, and I wish to share it with you."

"We are eager to hear," Masashi replied.

"With our power, we can collect the tailed beasts in the shortest possible time. This was Hashirama's greatest mistake. We can first correct that mistake."

Back then, after Madara exited the stage according to plan, Konoha immediately began making large-scale moves against the tailed beasts.

The Uchiha clan played an important role in this as well.

With eight tailed beasts in hand, he assumed that next would come Tobirama's ambition to dominate the entire shinobi world.

But to his surprise, Konoha started doing business.

Leaving only the Nine-Tails they had taken from him, the other seven were sold away.

Madara knew this was Hashirama's obsession surfacing again.

The Eye of the Moon Plan didn't necessarily mean becoming the enemy of the whole world, but it absolutely meant becoming the enemy of the Five Great Villages.

In this way, the strength of the other four villages also increased.

Though Madara didn't care much for the tailed beasts themselves, once combined with ninja villages, their potential in the future was clear.

After the First Great Ninja War, he set his sights on Kiri. Through cooperation with the Third Mizukage, he exerted influence over them.

This included the implementation of the Bloody Mist Policy.

On the surface, this policy seemed more beneficial than harmful, but the actual results spoke for themselves.

Still, by exploiting Kiri's resources, Madara secured ample research funding and established his own laboratories.

Kiri also grew weaker.

By the time of the Third Great Ninja War, he was pleased to see that Konoha, too, had begun to decline.

But the Sarutobi era ended too early, which Madara regretted.

If Hiruzen's rule had continued for another decade, Konoha's strength would have steadily collapsed, inciting further ambition from the other villages.

Only in a chaotic shinobi world could all of Madara's arrangements take full effect.

"You've all read the ancestral stone tablet. Especially you, Masashi, you already possess the Rinnegan. You should have seen it, right? The Infinite Tsukuyomi." Madara fixed his gaze on him. "What are your thoughts?"

"Hard to say," Masashi answered. "That passage is recorded in a mythical style. But myth is only fragments of history. Unlike history, myth is characterized by distortion and allegory. Without sufficient evidence, truth or falsehood can't be judged."

Direct refutation would not work, if Madara believed so deeply, that meant Black Zetsu had laid the groundwork well.

In his memory, Madara was never easy to fool. On the contrary, he was a skeptic, almost a nitpicker. And Black Zetsu had prepared and schemed for a thousand years before obtaining Madara as his perfect pawn.

If he wanted to undo all of that groundwork, he'd have to bring up Kaguya. But he absolutely could not do that.

If Madara and Kaguya ended up together, then truly no one could stop them.

"Your questioning is good," Madara nodded. "I didn't fully believe it at first either. But now I can responsibly tell you, it's true. In the age of the Ancestors, that princess used the power of chakra to pacify the chaotic world and created peace through the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Until the Sage of Six Paths defeated the Ten-Tails and recreated today's world. But this world is a failed world."

"If peace had truly been achieved, then why did the Ten-Tails bring calamity?" Masashi asked in a purely exploratory tone. "Logically, it doesn't make sense, does it?"

"There's no contradiction," Madara said. "The princess' power came from the God Tree. When its fruit was taken, the tree transformed into the Ten-Tails. After the princess passed away, it sought to reclaim chakra. This was a natural disaster, not human error. All we need to do is reunite the tailed beasts, revive the Ten-Tails, become its jinchūriki, and then use the Infinite Tsukuyomi to grant the world true peace."

"So that's how it works." Masashi feigned sudden realization. "But if it's so simple, then why didn't the Sage of Six Paths just become the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki himself? Why didn't he continue the princess' strategy?"

"Because he lacked the conditions we now have," Madara's eyes gleamed. "The Ten-Tails' power far surpasses the combined power of the nine tailed beasts. Yet all we need to do is subdue and seal the nine, one by one. The Gedo Statue is the Ten-Tails' husk. By controlling it from the start, we can control the Ten-Tails."

After a pause, he answered Masashi's second question.

"Everything the Sage of Six Paths created is a failure. But he believed it was the right path. I think he was like Hashirama, though immensely powerful, far too naive."

"All right... but you too had the Rinnegan. Why didn't you do this while alive?"

"I obtained these eyes too late. By then, I no longer had the ability. But you now possess the full capability. I can assist you. I failed to fulfill Izuna's wish in life. If a descendant can achieve it, then I can finally rest in peace."

"By reason, I shouldn't refuse you," Masashi showed hesitation. "But even with you, I can't so easily agree or trust that such records are true. Besides, actions like this would have immense consequences. Everything I have today is inseparable from the clan's support, so I must also be responsible to the clan."

"That's fine. If you agreed immediately, I wouldn't believe you." Madara was very satisfied with Masashi's response.

From his observation over these days, he was certain that Masashi was utterly different from Obito, who was stubborn and skeptical of everything. On the surface, that seemed like a good trait. But in truth, his heart was weak, fragile, and easy to manipulate. That also made him unstable.

Masashi, however, was different. His heart was strong, he was truly powerful.

Madara's attitude toward the Uchiha had indeed changed, but not in the way many might think, that he wanted to return to his identity as a clansman.

Rather, he had begun to view the Uchiha as excellent tools.

Taking Yosuke as a student, cultivating Sasuke, these were essentially ways to draw closer to the clan. Personal sentiment wasn't entirely absent, but it wasn't much. In Madara's mind, the Eye of the Moon outweighed everything.

He acknowledged the clan's rebirth, so he intended to "invite" them once more.

"Think carefully about this. What you're doing now can't be said to be useless. But once you die, I don't think anyone in the clan can carry on your path. In the end, it's just Hashirama's old road. No rush. When you've decided, tell me."

"I will," Masashi nodded with a serious attitude.

No doubt, Madara now viewed the entire Uchiha clan as tools to be used.

From today onward, Masashi knew he had to be much more cautious.