Chapter 153: Returning to the Ninja World

"Lord Madara, another failure. Senju Hashirama's grandson is truly strong; even after being surrounded by more than forty shinobi, he still fought his way out in the end!"

On the border of the Land of Earth, deep within a dark, subterranean space, the cavern was vast, towering nearly a hundred meters high. There were no obvious light sources, yet the interior environment was faintly visible.

White Zetsu and Tobi were subordinates cultivated by Uchiha Madara using the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and Hashirama's cells. One possessed exceptional stealth capabilities, used for gathering intelligence and information from all over, while the other could use the Possession Technique, clinging to other shinobi like a garment and wielding the Wood Release Kekkei Genkai.

"Indeed, indeed. That Nawaki's Wood Release ninjutsu is truly formidable. Even if White Zetsu and I joined forces, we might not be his match. It seems Lord Madara's worries were well-founded. The Hidden Leaf Village is about to produce another God of Shinobi."

Upon hearing Tobi's words, the aged Uchiha Madara sitting upon his throne wore a look of displeasure. How could the title of God of Shinobi be bestowed so lightly? Throughout the ninja world's long history, there had only ever been one Hashirama who was the God of Shinobi. As for that so-called demigod of the Hidden Rain Village, it was nothing short of a joke. And now, yet another grandson of Hashirama dared to covet the position of the God of Shinobi.

"Tell me the details."

Hearing Madara's command, White Zetsu immediately began to dance excitedly as he spoke, "The situation back then was extremely perilous. My clone disguised itself as Nawaki, cleverly luring the Cloud shinobi near that small town and trapping him within..."

Birth of the Tree World, Wood Dragon Technique...

Hearing these ninjutsu from White Zetsu's mouth, Uchiha Madara gradually recalled the scenes of his past battles with Hashirama. However, he coldly expressed his disdain for the incompetence of the Cloud shinobi. "His Wood Release ninjutsu falls far short of Hashirama's. To think that more than forty Cloud shinobi failed to handle a mere junior—ninjas these days truly have grown weak... Still, this individual will indeed pose some interference to our Tailed Beast collection efforts. If I were to take action myself..."

Uchiha Madara pondered inwardly. He was already deeply aged; should he make a move, it would likely be his last. Perhaps by relying on Tobi's power he could linger on a little longer, but this was certainly not the kind of battle he desired.

An aging body, a single Sharingan—this was not the combat he sought. Moreover, there was the Eye of the Moon Plan. Before his death, he had to find someone to execute the plan in his stead to ensure that Nagato would resurrect him.

Until then, Uchiha Madara would never act rashly.

Madara issued an order: "Leak the detailed intelligence regarding Hashirama's grandson to the other hidden villages. Also, how are the prospective candidates coming along?"

Upon hearing this, White Zetsu immediately reported to Uchiha Madara, "Among the entire Uchiha clan, there are three youths who meet your requirements. Uchiha Obito is ten years old, Uchiha Shisui is nine, and another, Uchiha Yunjian, is five. Among them, Uchiha Obito fits your criteria best; he doesn't feel like a normal Uchiha at all.

"Shisui's talent and strength surpass Obito's, but he receives a fair amount of attention from the Uchiha clan and has recently been training alongside the Military Police Force. Lord Madara, which one should we choose?"

"Keep a close eye on Uchiha Obito. As for talent... an Uchiha's talent reaches its absolute peak only when they experience the loss of love. Any talent displayed at other times is inconsequential..."

As he uttered these words, Uchiha Madara recalled the moment he obtained his Mangekyo Sharingan. Only by attaining the Mangekyo Sharingan could one unleash the true power of the Uchiha clan.

"Understood. I also feel that Obito is more likely to awaken his eyes than Shisui, seeing as he cares deeply for many friends."

With that, White Zetsu departed to manipulate his clone and set the next phase of the plan regarding Uchiha Obito into motion.

The war in the ninja world had already raged for several years, and this conflict was far more intense than any before it.

Chaos!

Virtually the entire ninja world had devolved into a massive brawl. Although the formal trigger for the Third Great Ninja War was the exposure of the Konoha's White Fang incident, the fiercest fighting took place in the battles between the Hidden Cloud and the Hidden Leaf occurring in the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Rice Fields.

Driven by a dual incentive of hatred and profit, the Third Raikage decisively launched an invasion against the Land of Fire, even penetrating deep into its borders for a time. Though Konoha mounted a defense, it struggled to mount an effective counter-offensive against the vengeance-driven Cloud shinobi.

The might of the Third Raikage was such that ordinary jounin had no room to intervene whatsoever. Back then, even when Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya brought twelve elite Konoha ninjas to stall Hanzo, apart from Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya, the remaining Konoha ninjas were swiftly eliminated by Hanzo in a very short span of time.

When the disparity in strength is vast, plunging recklessly into another's battle guarantees only death.

Facing the Third Raikage was no different. Tsunade had been appointed by Sarutobi Hiruzen as the supreme commander of the Land of Hot Water front, yet she proved entirely incapable of curbing the Third Raikage's offensive momentum.

Only after Nawaki rushed to the scene and the siblings joined forces could they contend with the Third Raikage. Moreover, Nawaki possessed an astonishing reserve of chakra, capable of splitting off two Wood Release clones to support the battlefield, which temporarily managed to check the Cloud shinobi's advance.

However, once the next-generation A and Killer Bee duo arrived on the battlefield, the Konoha side began to falter. The Hidden Cloud possessed an overwhelming number of top-tier shinobi; they faced the Mist shinobi harassing the borders of the Land of Lightning with a passive defensive posture, simply ignoring them as long as the enemy didn't step ashore.

The vast majority of their military might was concentrated entirely on dealing with Konoha—the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, the next-generation A, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki, the Storm Release Kekkei Genkai, alongside the supreme Third Raikage.

Facing the massive Cloud army, Tsunade continually contracted her defensive lines. After sending two separate urgent requests for reinforcements to the village, Sarutobi Hiruzen finally dispatched Kushina and a batch of ninjas from clans like the Hyuga to the frontlines of the Land of Hot Water.

This was practically the final reserve of reinforcement troops within Konoha. Nearly all the village's prominent experts had already been deployed. If other battlefields faced acute shortages, Sarutobi Hiruzen would have no choice but to form units out of genin who had barely graduated and send them to the frontlines to alleviate the pressure.

..................

"To think the war has escalated to this degree... Why hasn't Orochimaru made his move yet?"

Upon arriving in the Land of Hot Water, Kahn first familiarized himself with the latest intelligence from the ninja world, then summoned Xia Chuan and Chuan Mu to his presence to carefully brief him on the geopolitical situation of the past two years.

The duration of his absence had not been short. Over two years was more than enough time for people's loyalties to grow complex and divided. Consequently, every time Kahn returned to the ninja world, he made it a point to thoroughly audit and cleanse his sphere of influence.

Fortunately, Xia Chuan and Chuan Mu harbored no disloyal intentions. He could easily detect any emotional fluctuations within them regarding his presence using simple Legilimency; otherwise, Kahn would have found the situation rather troublesome.

This time, however, Kahn intended to vigorously develop his forces within the ninja world.

Super-soldier serum-enhanced humans, powered exoskeleton armor, intelligent combat systems, and more—under the systematic orchestration of the Red Queen, Kahn could manufacture a force capable of wiping out large numbers of shinobi, excluding only elite jounin or Kage-level powerhouses.

The prerequisite, however, was for Kahn to deploy the Red Queen throughout the ninja world, lay down fiber-optic cables, and develop the computer industry. Without massive data support, it would be difficult for the Red Queen to analyze and model the combat styles of shinobi.

"Xia Chuan, from now on, Chuan Mu will hand over her current responsibilities to you; I have other tasks for her to undertake. This document contains detailed plans. Chuan Mu, do not spare expenses moving forward—devote yourself entirely to developing the internet and computers across the ninja world."

Kahn produced a thick binder detailing the blueprint for the development of the internet and computer technology. This was a strategic plan formulated by the Red Queen based on the comprehensive intelligence regarding the ninja world provided by Kahn.

Newspaper offices already existed in the ninja world, and the television industry was also developing, with the capital of the Land of Fire already attempting to construct a television broadcast tower. All of this, however, was tied to Kahn; without his backing, television towers and similar infrastructure would have been delayed by at least several years.

Two years prior, Kahn had instructed Xia Chuan to swiftly acquire any media-related industries, with TV towers and televisions being among them. The moment the slightest trend emerged, Xia Chuan had directly bought them out.

Chuan Mu's current mission was to establish a computer factory while simultaneously laying down fiber-optic cables and signal towers throughout the Land of Fire.

Satellites posed a slightly greater challenge. Kahn had only brought thirty engineering robots this time, because the underground Hive base of the Pentcorp Corporation was equally vital, meaning he couldn't afford to take away too many construction robots; otherwise, Anton would have been heartbroken.

The thirty engineering robots would handle the core components, while local construction crews in the ninja world would take care of simpler civil engineering tasks such as the foundations for rocket launch silos. If everything went smoothly, Kahn would be able to launch the ninja world's very first satellite in less than two years—and that was accounting for round-the-clock construction by the engineering robots in the later stages.

If he relied entirely on engineering robots, Kahn could attempt to launch the first satellite in the ninja world in less than ten months.

By that time, the war should have come to a complete end. Although a post-war ninja world would hardly be peaceful, it would at least enter a phase of rapid development.

"That's roughly the sum of it. For now, go and attend to your respective duties. I may remain in the ninja world for a while longer; if anything comes up, send word."

Kahn anticipated having a busy schedule ahead. There were affairs concerning the Land of Fire's Daimyo's court, the ties with the Yuki clan of the Hidden Mist Village, and Orochimaru.

He had heard that Orochimaru's performance on the Wind Country battlefield had been rather mediocre, which left Kahn somewhat perplexed. If he failed to rapidly build merit during wartime, even his own disciple Nawaki would soon surpass him in renown.

Using Apparition, Kahn patrolled the borders of the Land of Waves, the Land of Tea, and the southern peninsula of the Land of Fire, utilizing Legilimency to root out a few individuals harboring ulterior motives and quietly disposing of them.

Fortunately, the war had broken out shortly after his departure, causing the major hidden villages to focus their attention entirely on one another. Moreover, Kahn had transferred most of his crucial industries to the Land of Tea, allowing him to enjoy two years of peace.

Otherwise, even the Hidden Mist Village would have been tempted to probe and test him.

..................

As night fell, Kahn directly employed the Summoning Technique to summon the little white snake Orochimaru used for communication. He slid a scroll into its mouth, then dispelled the summoning to send the snake back to deliver the message to Orochimaru.

Before long, Kahn sensed the reverse-summoning signal originating from the Ryuchi Cave. He immediately summoned the little white snake once more and retrieved the scroll from its jaws.

"A meeting in the Ryuchi Cave at three in the morning... Very well, it will be safer there."

Kahn checked the time; there were still a few hours before his appointed meeting with Orochimaru. However, he directly instructed the little white snake to seek out Ichikoroshima-hime and summon him over ahead of schedule.

The little white snake nodded, and the summoning was released.

Half an hour later, Kahn felt the reverse-summoning technique cast upon him by Ichikoroshima-hime. This time, Kahn did not resist, allowing himself to be summoned straight into the Ryuchi Cave.

The moment Kahn arrived in the slightly damp cavern, he felt a familiar figure fiercely hurl itself at him. A serpentine loli materialized by his side like an affectionate puppy that hadn't seen its master in ages, repeatedly sniffing the scent lingering on his body.

"Why do you keep growing more enticing... I really want to, really want to take a bite..."

Ichikoroshima-hime's infatuated and eccentric demeanor made Kahn somewhat uncomfortable. With a look of distaste, he pushed her away from him, yet she simply floated back against the resistance, continuously inhaling his scent.

"Give me another bowl. I haven't tasted it in two whole years, just one bowl..."