Uchiha Madara... had taken the bait, hadn't he?
Hidden underground, Black Zetsu was utterly perplexed.
Emiya Shigen's lies were so clumsy that even from below, it could feel the awkwardness, yet Madara seed to have fallen for them exactly as planned.
In truth, Madara didn't feel deceived at all.
In fact, he felt he had gained sothing trendous. The crucial information he had obtained from Emiya Shigen gave him hope—hope that his ideals could be realized!
"What do you intend to do?"
Emiya Shigen seed to see through Madara's thoughts, asking seriously,
"Once you awaken the Rinnegan, do you plan to use that world-altering technique to change everything?"
"This is only natural," Madara replied.
His arrogance returned, his tone carrying the pride of a solitary, untouchable warrior:
"If one learns the answers to the world's problems and does nothing, wouldn't that be a disgrace to their own life?"
After speaking, Madara turned to Emiya Shigen.
He wanted to invite him to join forces, knowing that if Shigen agreed, it would provide an imnse advantage. Shigen not only possessed vast wisdom about the Sage of Six Paths but also understood the world-shifting technique left behind.
"Emiya-dono..."
"Don't you think this era is already far too corrupt? Join in reshaping this ninja world..."
"Soon, I'll awaken the Rinnegan..."
"And with your ancient wisdom, together we could guide this world toward..."
But Madara abruptly stopped speaking.
His brow furrowed slightly. He had sensed sothing unusual.
Far away, in a mountain valley.
A group of Konoha ANBU surrounded the area.
Inside the valley, Senju Hashirama swung a blade, slicing through what appeared to be Uchiha Madara. Yet the figure dissolved into wood right before his eyes.
"This is... a Wood Clone."
A bead of sweat rolled down Hashirama's forehead.
The near-perfect replication reminded him of their previous battle when Madara had used a Wood Clone to deceive him, leading him to believe he had killed the real Madara.
Now...
Madara's Wood Clone had fooled him again.
But sothing felt off.
Madara...
When did he awaken the Wood Release ability?
Hashirama, montarily caught in thought about how much stronger Madara had beco with Wood Release, suddenly realized the dire situation at hand.
"Damn... I've been tricked!"
"Madara is with Emiya-dono!"
Hashirama instantly pieced it together.
Madara had lured him here with a Wood Clone, using the classic tiger-away-from-the-mountain tactic to create an opportunity to et with Emiya Shigen.
Without wasting another second, Hashirama ordered his ANBU to regroup and imdiately retrace their steps. They had to reach Emiya Shigen as quickly as possible.
Not only was Emiya Shigen in potential danger...
But so were Konoha's two most promising young ninjas.
"Looks like Hashirama has seen through my plan..."
Madara smirked when his Wood Clone was destroyed.
As always, Hashirama's moves were precise and decisive, but it was already too late.
"Plan?"
Emiya Shigen furrowed his brow.
"Just a little diversion," Madara said with a soft chuckle, mocking Konoha:
"Did you really not notice, Emiya-dono, that soone has been secretly following you this entire ti?"
Madara sneered.
"That sly scher, Tobirama, had already anticipated that I'd want to et you. He secretly had Hashirama and an ANBU unit tailing you, treating you like bait to lure out!"
"Emiya-dono, don't be deceived by their hypocritical words!"
Madara spread his arms wide and, with a serious expression, once again extended an invitation:
"Join in reshaping this world!"
Emiya Shigen remained silent for a while.
The ancient figure's gaze shifted to the two bound boys in the distance—Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo.
Their eyes were covered, and their ears were blocked to ensure they could not overhear the conversation. This had been Madara's precaution, as he deeply distrusted the two young Konoha ninjas.
If not for the risk of upsetting Emiya Shigen, Madara wouldn't have hesitated to kill them both.
"I made a promise."
Shigen sighed, his tone filled with a quiet resolve:
"For now, my priority is finding the materials needed to treat Hashirama's condition."
"You'll need ti to awaken the Rinnegan..."
"And during that ti, only Hashirama can maintain peace in this world."
Madara was persuaded.
The reasoning was airtight, and even he couldn't argue against it.
Though he claid to have no regard for his old friendship with Hashirama, deep down, he didn't mind allowing his old rival to live a while longer. After all, he still needed to prove to Hashirama that his vision of peace was the correct one.
"Others have tried to convince to join this era..."
"But I've thought it through many tis and realized that every generation must write its own story."
"My story," Emiya Shigen said solemnly, "should have ended long ago."
With a rare seriousness in his voice, Shigen spoke softly. In his hand was a single leaf, gently swaying in the wind.
"Now, all I can do is act as a faint breeze in this era—a breeze just strong enough to stir the leaves, but not powerful enough to change anything."
"The ones who can truly change the world..."
"...are the winds strong enough to turn windmills."
"Emiya-dono..."
Madara sighed deeply, gazing at Shigen with newfound respect.
For the first ti, Madara realized he could not persuade Emiya Shigen. Yet, he also understood why this man was revered across centuries, why humans had granted him the title of "great."
Even soone as proud as Madara couldn't deny Shigen's nobility.
anwhile, underground, Black Zetsu felt a pang of sadness.
It finally understood why Shigen had refused to support Madara's Moon Eye Plan.
"Hashirama is coming."
Madara knew his ti was up.
Regretfully, he prepared to leave:
"It seems I'll have to wait for another day to hear more of your wisdom..."
Turning serious, Madara spoke his final request:
"I know you dislike deception, Emiya-dono, but I ask that you keep our conversation today confidential—especially regarding that technique."
"I understand."
Shigen nodded gently, sighing:
"You and Hashirama walk different paths, but your destination is the sa. You rely take different routes to get there."
"Perhaps..." Madara scoffed.
Though his tone was dismissive, his heart agreed with Shigen's words.
Both he and Hashirama sought peace. They simply had different thods of achieving it.
As Madara prepared to leave, he glanced back at the bound boys.
Appearing before Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzo, he removed their blindfolds.
"Uchiha Madara!"
Hiruzen shouted nervously.
Danzo, anwhile, was paralyzed with fear.
"Hmph..."
"These are the children Hashirama hopes to protect?"
Madara sneered at them with disdain before speaking coldly:
"Brats, tell Hashirama this: As a token of thanks to Emiya-dono, I won't wage war on him anyti soon..."
And with that, Madara vanished.
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