Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

Ai suddenly asked.

Then Onoki's old face immediately fell. A's question had already indirectly indicated his choice. Between resistance and submission, he was leaning towards the latter. In addition, the Kirigakure had completely surrendered to Konoha... Damn it!

The old man cursed these useless young people in his heart.

Simultaneously,

It inevitably brings a strong sense of frustration and powerlessness.

"of course."

Zongxian replied with a smile, "I don't just make empty promises. I have a ready example here: a Jinchuriki who survived after having his Tailed Beast removed is in Konoha."

"Who is it?"

Ai blurted it out.

"Don't be in such a hurry! We have plenty of time." Zongxian said calmly, "Lord Raikage, be patient. After the Chunin Selection Exams finals are over, if you are interested in visiting, I will naturally take you to see it for yourself. You will know then."

Ai's face twitched. "Don't rush?"

He felt like his lips were about to get sore and blistered.

How could I not be anxious?

The thought of handing over his two tailed beasts... caused him immense heartache. He was definitely the most incompetent Raikage in the history of Kumogakure. He didn't even dare to fight a single battle before giving up his tailed beasts. He was afraid that there would be no more cowardly Raikage than himself in the future.

but,

Whenever I think back to the crushing defeat years ago,

The courage he had mustered to fight Konoha melted away as quickly as snow in June. Fighting a war with no chance of victory was foolish; it would only waste the lives of his comrades in the village.

"I'm looking forward to it."

Ai said in a deep voice.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"The defenses... are indeed very tight!"

The crimson eyes were fixed on Konoha Village. However, in the field of vision of those eyes, one could see a powerful barrier that enveloped the entire village, which was invisible to ordinary people. Moreover, it was not just one layer, but many layers of different types of barriers. It would be extremely difficult to sneak in without alerting the Konoha ninjas.

but,

This only applies to ordinary ninjas.

In Madara Uchiha's eyes, these barriers were nothing special. His eyes were enough to see through their mysteries, and breaking them would not be difficult at all. What really troubled him and made him hesitant to infiltrate Konoha was the strange cloak that Black Zetsu had mentioned, which could perfectly conceal one's aura like White Zetsu.

Nagato never expected Uchiha Mugen to have such abilities, which led to his true location being discovered, ultimately resulting in his untimely death.

This forced Madara Uchiha to be cautious, and he dared not rashly infiltrate Konoha Village. If his whereabouts were discovered by the hidden sentries, things would not be good. He was not yet ready to fight Uchiha Sogen again.

"Is there no other way to find the whereabouts of the Gedo Mazo besides infiltrating and searching?"

Madara Uchiha muttered to himself.

The reason he was lingering outside Konoha at this time was because he was after the Gedo Mazo, an indispensable and irreplaceable vessel for the Eye of the Moon Plan. Without the Gedo Mazo, the Eye of the Moon Plan could not be carried out at all. So, the first thing he did after his true resurrection was to come to the outside of Konoha.

Yes,

Madara Uchiha has been resurrected.

Standing atop the treetop, Madara Uchiha's breathing was strong and powerful. The cracks and marks characteristic of Edo Tensei users on his face and body had completely disappeared, all indicating that he was no longer a living dead man. He had truly returned to the ninja world in his prime.

Of course, as a price, Obito Uchiha paid for it with his own life.

"No."

Obito Uchiha, standing to the side, replied coldly.

"I don't believe that Uchiha Mugen would dare to put something as important as the Gedo Mazo outside Konoha. How could he feel at ease if it wasn't under his own nose? That thing... must be somewhere underground in Konoha."

At this moment, Obito Uchiha's body was cold, with a faint smell of corpse, and obvious cracks on his face and body, typical of a reanimated being... That's right, Obito Uchiha resurrected Madara Uchiha, and then Madara Uchiha, who possessed the Reanimation Jutsu, summoned Obito Uchiha from the underworld to serve as his assistant.

correct,

Obito Uchiha also tried to summon Nagato. Black Zetsu had a backup of part of Nagato's physical tissue as a medium, but for some reason, the summoning of Nagato failed. He guessed that Nagato's soul might have been sealed, and then he put the matter out of his mind.

Anyway, it's just a casual attempt, so it doesn't matter if it fails.

As for summoning more powerful figures to assist in the battle...

Feel sorry,

Madara Uchiha had no interest in that and was too lazy to do such a boring thing.

In his view, no matter how many small fry there are, they are still small fry. After awakening the Rinnegan, he did not believe that even Hashirama in his prime would be his opponent. As for the other so-called strongmen, they were even more of a joke. Even if he summoned Uchiha Obito, it was because Uchiha Obito was an accomplice who knew about the Eye of the Moon Plan. Perhaps he might be useful when the Eye of the Moon Plan was actually implemented.

"...In other words, to find the whereabouts of the Gedo Mazo, we must destroy these barriers and then conduct a thorough search of Konoha."

Madara Uchiha frowned.

this way,

A direct conflict with Konoha is inevitable.

In other words, he will fight Uchiha Sogen.

This doesn't quite fit his current plans.

He does have a slight arrogance; in the past, no one except Hashirama Senju could catch his eye. However, this doesn't mean he's a brainless brute who only knows how to recklessly charge and attack. When dealing with weaklings, he'll violently crush them.

When facing opponents of similar skill level, he also considers strategies and weighs the pros and cons.

Uchiha Sogen, this junior, also awakened the Rinnegan. Last time the two fought, he was at a disadvantage. Although he was still in the Edo Tensei form last time and could not show his full strength, after that battle, he realized that Uchiha Sogen was definitely a troublesome enemy, even surpassing Hashirama at his peak.

It was an enemy of the same level as his resurrected self, and he wasn't entirely confident he could defeat him.

Therefore,

At this moment, it would be incredibly stupid to blindly rush in and start a battle with Uchiha Mugen!

"Doing this is tantamount to starting a war with Uchiha Mugen ahead of time!"

Black Zetsu chimed in, "To be honest, I don't think it's wise to start a war with Uchiha Sogen at this time. Uchiha Sogen has also awakened the Rinnegan. If we really fight... there's too much uncertainty."

He perfectly embodied the will of Madara Uchiha, expressing Madara's true feelings.

"Furthermore, I don't think we need to be in a hurry right now. Uchiha Sogen is also collecting tailed beasts. Even if he is unwilling to let others implement the Eye of the Moon Plan, we can find a suitable opportunity to make a move. As long as we can take control of the resurrected Ten-Tails before Uchiha Sogen, even if Uchiha Sogen has the Rinnegan, he will never be a match for us."

"Humph."

Obito Uchiha glanced away unhappily.

Although he had become a living dead and, strictly speaking, no longer had a brain, his thinking ability had not regressed to that of a toddler. He understood that Black Zetsu was right; starting a war with Konoha at this time was not a wise move. The best time to act would be when Uchiha Sogen had gathered almost all the Tailed Beasts.

after all,

Based on the information they possess,

The commotion of the Ten-Tails' revival cannot be concealed. The Ten-Tails' essence is the Divine Tree. Once such a large Divine Tree is erected, it is impossible for it not to be noticed. There is no need to worry that Uchiha Munen secretly and quietly revived the Ten-Tails; that is impossible.

"So we're just going to wait like this?"

"Uchiha Obito asked irritably."

“Waiting is not a bad thing, Obito. Your patience is too short. I waited for so many years to awaken the Rinnegan, and then waited for so long to find you to help me... Compared to blind action, waiting is never a bad choice.”

Madara Uchiha spoke slowly, his calm demeanor making Obito Uchiha's mood even worse.

[Chapter 468. Naruto's Performance!]

"By now, the Chunin Selection Exams finals must have already begun, right?"

On the official road north of Konoha Village, a group of people were resting in a wooden house by the roadside. Outside, the cold wind howled, carrying snowflakes the size of a palm. Even sitting by the stove, they still felt a chill down their spines. Even though they were all ninjas, it would be difficult for them to travel in such harsh weather.

In particular, their team also has the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki.

Yes,

This was the group of Haku and his party who had returned from Takigaku Village.

If the journey had gone smoothly, they should have already arrived at Konoha Village by now. However, such missions are bound to encounter setbacks. Even though the confidant of the Takigakure leader was with Haku on his way to Takigakure Village, the order to hand over the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki still caused a huge uproar in Takigakure Village.

In the end, it wasn't until Haku demonstrated his resolve as the Hokage to the Takigakure ninja through his actions that he truly stood up for the Hokage.

The frozen waterfall silenced the mouths of those high-ranking officials in Takigakure.

It wasn't so easy to take the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki away from Takigakure. It was because of the delay in Takigakure that the return journey was also postponed, and they were unable to return to Konoha before the blizzard hit. And strangely enough, the blizzard wasn't this strong at first.

But for some reason, the snowstorm suddenly intensified to the point that they could no longer travel.

Fortunately, there was a ninja from the Anbu named Tenzo in the group. He possessed the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai of the First Hokage. He built a sturdy wooden house right by the roadside in the middle of nowhere, providing everyone with shelter in the snowy weather. They even lit a campfire to keep warm.

And while warming oneself by the fire

Someone, having nothing better to do, casually mentioned the Chunin Exams, saying, "With such a heavy snowstorm, I wonder if the finals can be held smoothly." The person who said this was none other than Hayate Gekko, the chief examiner of the Chunin Selection Exams preliminary rounds.

This time, the mission to Takigakure Village wasn't just assigned to Haku alone.

Many skilled individuals were recruited from various departments, including the Anbu, to work alongside Haku. Hayate Gekko, the chief examiner of the preliminary rounds, was also selected. He had previously served as Sogen's bodyguard alongside Kurenai Yuhi and had received guidance from Sogen. He can be considered a staunch supporter of Sogen who was not from the Uchiha clan, so it was only natural that he would be selected for such an operation.

"Hard to say."

After thinking for a moment, Bai recalled the image of the dark clouds piled up above Amegakure being lifted by the demonic wind. He said, "The snowstorm here is indeed quite heavy, but it's hard to say what the situation is in the village. Moreover... based on my understanding of the Hokage, unless it's truly a last resort, he would never postpone the Chunin Exams finals."

"That's true."

Moonlight Gale nodded in agreement.

At the same time, they looked at the boy with great surprise. His identity information was very vague, and all they knew was that his name was a lonely 'White'. The matter of White and Orochimaru was not common knowledge in Konoha. Even though Hayate Gekko was a Jonin, he did not know the details. He only thought that White was a talent that the Sixth Hokage had hidden in his pocket. Otherwise, there would be no reason for him to know so much about the Hokage's temperament.

I couldn't help but admire the Hokage's power.

Not only is he himself incredibly powerful, rivaling even the First Hokage, but he also has a formidable figure hidden among his ranks who is not from the Uchiha clan.

"However, this means we'll miss the finals, which is a bit of a pity. We'll just have to watch the recordings when we get back. There are several geniuses in this Chunin Exams finals, not only from Konoha, but also from Sand Village, Mist Village, and Cloud Village."

"The Chunin Exams finals... were they interesting?"

suddenly,

The girl with a special identity, who was sitting by the campfire, spoke.

The girl had short, breezy blue-green hair with an orange hair clip in her right bun. She had dark skin, orange eyes, and a rather neat and simple outfit. She wore a white cloak given to her to keep warm.