Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

[Chapter 441 The Mastermind is the Sage of Six Paths' Brother]

The period of unruly warfare between the various countries lasted for an extremely long time. To be precise, the ninja world has been immersed in endless wars since the beginning of history. Of course, this "history" is not a proper historical record. In such a chaotic era, who could calm down and compile a book?

There are no proper historical records in the ninja world at all.

The so-called history comes from the few ancient clans in the ninja world that have been passed down for thousands of years. Although these ninja clans do not have proper history books, they have many ancient materials such as diaries and essays, which allow us to vaguely glimpse the historical heritage of the ninja world.

however,

The strange thing is that the Senju and Uchiha clans, two major clans, are unable to trace their own origins and understand where their bloodlines come from. Moreover, it's not just the Senju and Uchiha; clans like the Hyuga and Uzumaki are in a similar situation. The Hyuga clan's main family seems to have some oral traditions, but the Senju and Uchiha clans have absolutely nothing.

"That's really strange."

Hashirama Senju nodded. "I don't know the situation with the Uchiha clan. The Senju clan has experienced many ups and downs over the past thousand years, but in general, it has never encountered a crisis that would cause the clan to lose its lineage. It's impossible that it lost some ancient books by accident. Even if something was lost, there should be corresponding records left behind. At the very least, it should be entirely feasible to pass down a name or two."

"That's right."

Zongxian sighed deeply, "The history of the Uchiha clan is similar. I have looked through the clan's genealogy and can trace it back to our ancestors about nine hundred years ago. Then there is nothing. The clan head's notes from more than nine hundred years ago also made no mention of who the Uchiha clan's ancestor was. It's as if it was deliberately erased."

Hashirama Senju narrowed his eyes slightly, lost in thought, and did not respond for a moment.

Zongxian didn't care about this and continued talking to himself, "Unfortunately, most of the clansmen are not very interested in these things. Even though I almost wore out all the clan's books, I still couldn't find the relevant information. Everything changed after I took back the Flame Fan."

"Flame Fan? Is there something wrong with that fan?"

Hashirama Senju did not get lost in his own thoughts and quickly turned his attention back to his conversation with Sogen.

"First Hokage, you should also know this! The Flame Fan is the symbol of power of the Uchiha clan's successive clan leaders. It has been passed down for thousands of years. Coincidentally, I have a talent that others do not have. I can decipher some of the information contained in these ancient ninja tools."

"After I retrieved the Flame Fan, I deciphered some very interesting information from it."

"What is it?"

Hashirama Senju's curiosity was clearly piqued.

He was very familiar with the Flame Fan. Back then, Madara used the Flame Fan and scythe to fight him. The ability to deflect ninjutsu left a deep impression on him. After all, it could even deflect a small Tailed Beast Ball released by a Jinchuriki. It was hard not to remember it.

"The founder of the Uchiha clan was a man named Indra."

After passing through the Uchiha clan's territory barrier and stepping into Uchiha territory, Sogen uttered this name.

"Indra?"

Hashirama Senju raised an eyebrow. "Never heard of that name!"

“It’s normal not to have heard of the name Indra, but you should be familiar with the name Sage of Six Paths, right?” Zongxian glanced at the First Hokage, who looked astonished, and continued, “Indra is the eldest son of the Sage of Six Paths.”

"If I hadn't witnessed the existence of the Rinnegan with my own eyes, I would most likely have thought you were lying to me. And I still think so now. The Sage of Six Paths? Indra? No matter what you say, what do these things have to do with Madara being deceived?"

Hashirama Senju was having a bit of a headache.

This issue,

Why does this sound so far-fetched and absurd?

Is the Sixth Hokage really not fooling himself?

"Of course it does, and it's very important!"

Zongxian led Senju Hashirama onto a secluded path, avoiding the clansmen, and sped straight toward the Naga Shrine. "The Flame Fan was a gift from the Sage of Six Paths to his eldest son, and it has been passed down through generations as a symbol of the Uchiha clan's leadership."

"Besides the Flame Fan, the Sage of Six Paths also gave his eldest son, Indra, another gift."

"Stone tablet?"

Hashirama Senju's eyebrows arched.

"correct."

As they spoke, the two hurried up the stone steps and arrived at the relocated Nanga Shrine. Sogen dismissed the clansmen guarding the shrine and led Senju Hashirama directly to the secret chamber beneath the shrine, standing before a long, horizontal stone tablet.

"This stone tablet, like the Flame Fan, has been passed down in our clan for thousands of years."

Zongxian pointed to the stone tablet in front of him and said.

"and then?"

Hashirama Senju vaguely realized that this conversation would not end in a short time, so he was no longer in a hurry. Since the Sixth Hokage wanted to explain clearly, he would listen attentively.

"The Sage of Six Paths left this stone tablet for his eldest son, Indra, hoping that he could understand the text and resolve the conflict between him and his younger brother, Ashura. Of course, the text has been altered and is no longer the original version left by the Sage of Six Paths."

"what?"

Hashirama Senju was taken aback for a moment.

Wasn't this supposed to be a long explanation? How come the mystery is solved so quickly?

He hurriedly pressed, "Sixth Hokage, when you said Madara was deceived, you meant the contents of this stone tablet were altered?"

"Pretty much. Shortly after the Sage of Six Paths passed away, a certain mastermind altered the contents of the document. Moreover, the alteration was quite sophisticated, distorting some of the Sage of Six Paths' thoughts and opinions, while also inserting a bunch of personal agendas to mislead the Uchiha clan members onto the wrong path."

This stone tablet reveals different content depending on the stage of the Sharingan used to view it.

The original text is very archaic and difficult to understand, but in general, what the Mangekyou Sharingan sees is the so-called unity of Yin and Yang, which leads to the myriad phenomena of the universe. When the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan is awakened, a further interpretation of the previous text will be seen, which is roughly an indication that combining the power of Indra and Ashura can awaken the Rinnegan.

It's estimated that Madara Uchiha only told Hashirama Senju the original text, without going into the deeper interpretations.

Under the gaze of the Rinnegan,

The scribbles on the stone tablet combined to form new content, revealing information about the 'Eye of the Moon,' including nonsense like the Ninja World would only achieve true peace under the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

In all fairness,

If you were in Madara Uchiha's shoes, it wouldn't be surprising if he went astray after seeing the guidance left by the Sage of Six Paths on the stone tablet.

Madara Uchiha was certainly not a brainless idiot, but the fact that the stone tablet required different stages of Sharingan to decipher made it impossible to doubt the possibility that it could be tampered with. Apart from Sogen, who was a transmigrator, any member of the Uchiha clan would believe that this was a guide left behind by the Sage of Six Paths.

Especially considering that Madara Uchiha failed to become the First Hokage at the time, and that he saw through the fact that the peace established by Hashirama Senju was only a limited peace, his once unwavering belief was shaken. Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that he would be attracted by the contents of the stone tablet.

After Hashirama Senju's death, Madara Uchiha witnessed one Shinobi World War after another and became convinced that Hashirama's ideals had failed.

then,

Under Black Zetsu's skillful manipulation, Madara Uchiha finally decided to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan.

"I won't go into the specifics of the inscription on the stone tablet; it's all just a bunch of misleading nonsense. But I can confirm that Madara Uchiha was most likely deceived by its contents and went astray."

Zongxian stared at the stone tablet and slowly said:

"So, who was the one who altered the inscription?"

Hashirama Senju forcibly maintained his composure.

"The identity of the mastermind is quite complicated and involves a much more distant past. In short, that person should be the younger brother of the Sage of Six Paths, right? The endless wars in the ninja world over the past thousand years are inextricably linked to this guy, and the conflict between you, First Hokage, and Madara Uchiha must have involved this person as well."

"The Sage of Six Paths' younger brother?"

Hashirama Senju's face twitched.

This is getting more and more outrageous. Who is the Sage of Six Paths' brother?

"Sixth Hokage, judging from your words, this Sage of Six Paths' younger brother has lived for a thousand years?"

“That’s right, he’s still alive! If I remember correctly, not long ago, First Generation, you also saw the mastermind behind it all, the one with the pitcher plant-like two-faced face? Do you remember?”

"That guy is the mastermind?"

Hashirama Senju couldn't hold back any longer, his eyes widening in shock.

"To be precise, it's that dark half of his body...that guy...has been active in the shadows of the ninja world for thousands of years, driving the Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, and other clans to constantly clash in order to achieve his personal goals..."

"Wait, wait a minute, this is a lot of information."

Hashirama Senju shouted.

He reached up and rubbed his temples hard. Although his body couldn't feel any pain, the throbbing pain in his soul made him rub his head involuntarily. "What you're saying... it sounds really unbelievable. You deciphered all of this from that Flame Fan?"

"almost."

Zongxian readily agreed.

This wasn't entirely to fool Hashirama Senju. The Flame Fan was essentially a branch of the Divine Tree, containing a vast amount of information. Besides the various details about the Divine Tree itself, it also contained a great deal of information about the Otsutsuki clan. Especially after acquiring the Gedo Mazo, the body of the Divine Tree, even with the memories sealed in his mind, he could still deduce many things.

Of course, the existence of Black Zetsu cannot be deciphered.

It was also impossible to discover that the inscription on the stone tablet had been altered.

but,

Once the truth about Infinite Tsukuyomi is known, all the pretense will be exposed. The inscription on the stele is obviously fake, but the stele itself is real. Therefore, the truth is either that the Sage of Six Paths was playing a joke on his son, or that someone tampered with it.

However, not everyone can extract useful information from objects like the Gedo Mazo, the Flame Fan, etc.

"There's no need to dwell on how I obtained this information. That's not important. What's important is that Madara Uchiha plans to drag everyone in the entire ninja world into a massive, eternal genjutsu, allowing them to enjoy a false peace. However, in reality, this genjutsu that brings peace to the ninja world is nothing more than a technology used to create an army."

Zongxian looked at Senju Hashirama and said, "This is the truth. Of course, I know there are many things that haven't been explained, but I doubt you, First Hokage, would be interested in those questions, so I won't go on about them here."

After all,

Zongxian stood quietly to the side, giving Hashirama Senju ample time to think.

"Now that Miya has the truth...aren't you going to try to communicate with Madara?" Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, had a very strong mental fortitude. Even after hearing such explosive news, he suppressed his many complex emotions and continued to focus on Madara Uchiha instead of asking about those ancient histories.

"First Hokage, do you think Madara Uchiha is the type to listen to advice?"

Zongxian asked a question in return.

This caused Hashirama Senju to fall silent for a moment. He knew very well how proud and confident Madara was, and the hope of persuading Madara to believe the seemingly unbelievable truth that Sogen had told him was almost nonexistent.

"Moreover, it will be more difficult if Madara Uchiha actually believes what I say." Before Hashirama Senju could think of what to say, Sogen continued, "It's meaningless to just persuade Madara Uchiha to turn back from his wrong path. What I want to do is to eliminate the mastermind behind the chaos that has plagued the ninja world for a thousand years once and for all."

"Are you planning to... use Ban?"

"You could say that."

Zongxian replied with a smile, "I'm sorry I can't share the detailed plan with the First Hokage. You only need to know that I already have a complete plan for the future of the ninja world. Madara Uchiha is destined not to cause any trouble. The First Hokage doesn't need to worry about anything. Before you decide to return to the Underworld, please enjoy your time in the village!"

Hashirama Senju remained silent, staring at Sogen for seven or eight seconds before finally sighing with a hint of helplessness and saying softly, "You're just as proud and confident as Madara! But compared to Madara's obsession, you have more rationality. I hope you don't lose that rationality."

"Don't worry! I don't plan to sit in this position forever. I will never repeat the mistakes of the Third Hokage." Zongxian smiled and dragged out the Third Hokage once again to make an appearance.

Hashirama Senju shook his head helplessly.

[442. Chapter 435 Had a Good Night's Sleep]

"If this answer weren't so unexpectedly absurd, I would have thought you were lying." Hashirama Senju held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help but speak his mind. He looked at Sogen and said, "Also, I was prepared to be surprised, but... what you said is so absurd that it's impossible to be surprised."