Uchiha Kagen concluded:
"Gogo, settle down. Do not grow restless. Conceal your strength for now. Strike with lethal force at the critical moment — that is what you should do.
After we return to the village, I will once again recommend you to the Third Hokage for promotion to Jonin.
Clan resources will also be tilted in your favor.
You will become the Uchiha clan's foremost powerhouse — our ultimate trump card.
Do not disappoint the clan's expectations."
Though unwilling at heart, Gogo could not openly defy him. Kagen had always treated him well, and as clan head, his authority carried immense weight.
Gogo decided to comply for now — and later seek an opportunity to deal the village a heavy blow.
In his mind, Teacher Dōma's tragic death had been caused by the village sending them to die.
He might not have known Madara's true strength.
But did the Third Hokage not know?
Madara had crushed them all. Only Copper Fox had managed to resist briefly and force out Susanoo.
Seeing Gogo fall silent, Kagen exhaled in relief.
The three departed.
On a branch overhead, a black crow hopped, shaking rainwater from its feathers before preparing to take flight into the stormy night.
Suddenly, a hand emerged from the tree trunk and snapped the crow's neck.
Yako's figure surfaced from the bark, holding the limp corpse.
What kind of crow flew around in heavy rain instead of resting?
Inside the tree hollow, Uchiha Suigiku's eyes flew open.
His summoning crow… dead?
Who knew about the ninja crow he had secretly trained?
Were there others nearby when Kagen and Gogo had spoken?
Yako stood atop the tree, watching the direction in which the three had left.
Heavenly Pillar…
So mysterious.
Mangekyō…
So tempting.
But there was a problem.
He had already died once at Uchiha Gogo's hands before and obtained Fire Release chakra from him.
If he died again at Gogo's hands, it would be real death.
That meant…
Uchiha Tōka.
Perhaps it was time to cultivate Tōka — see whether he could awaken the Mangekyō.
If Gogo could awaken it, his brother's potential couldn't be inferior.
With careful planning, perhaps he could secure an Eternal Mangekyō in one stroke.
As his strength grew, fewer and fewer individuals were suitable "lottery targets."
The thought of nurturing Tōka sparked a realization.
Why fixate only on the current powerhouses of the shinobi world?
Their numbers were limited.
Instead…
Raise talent from behind the scenes.
Cultivate high-potential individuals into Kage-level figures.
Fatten them up — then harvest.
It was time to start farming fish.
The entire shinobi world would become his pond.
Uzumaki Kushina. Hatake Kakashi. Might Guy.
All had tremendous cultivation value.
Even prodigies from other villages could be utilized.
The Shinobi World Fish-Farming Plan would officially begin.
First target: Uchiha Tōka.
Then another thought struck him.
Even if Tōka awakened the Mangekyō and he acquired the eye technique through the system…
Would his own Sharingan be unable to naturally evolve its own Mangekyō ability?
The Mangekyō reflected the soul.
Tōka's Mangekyō would embody Tōka's deepest desire — not Yako's.
Troubling.
Because of the Arc of the Waning Moon system, Yako rarely experienced true mortality.
Without real pressure, how could his own Mangekyō manifest?
Kill one's spouse to attain enlightenment?
He mentally listed the names of lovers and companions.
Each dear in their own way.
No.
Best not tread that path.
Yako gazed outside the tree hollow, pondering.
What was his truest desire?
What reflected his own heart?
Several days later, White Ram emerged from his cocoon.
Yako watched with excitement.
White Ram rose slowly.
He extended a finger — and it dispersed into a swarm of insects.
The Aburame clan's supreme infiltration technique: Insect Clone Technique.
"Excellent, White Ram. You've turned misfortune into blessing."
"I must thank you, Captain — for the Ten Seal, and for the healing technique."
With the Insect Clone mastered, White Ram now possessed the foundation of an elite Jonin.
He became Yako's most crucial subordinate.
"Once the Uchiha recover further, we'll return to the village."
Outside a small town in the Land of Rain, White Zetsu set down the unconscious Nagato and his companions before sinking underground.
How troublesome.
Konoha kept interfering with the Rinnegan.
A village like Konoha deserved destruction.
Every scheme was obstructed by them.
No dignity befitting the world's greatest village.
After returning to Madara, White Zetsu listened as he spoke:
"Add two more names to surveillance.
Uchiha Gogo. Uchiha Tōka."
White Zetsu pulled out a copied Uchiha family registry scroll and found their names.
"Why monitor them, Madara-sama?"
"Gogo awakened the Mangekyō at the final moment."
"Then he's extremely important."
"No."
Madara's voice was calm.
"Gogo's ocular talent is merely above average. Without my stimulation, he would never have awakened it.
But his younger brother Tōka — his talent is superior.
He reveres his brother deeply.
If his brother is destroyed before his eyes by the most extreme means…
Tōka will awaken the Mangekyō naturally.
Then we take Gogo's eyes and give them to Tōka.
Cultivate an Eternal Mangekyō."
If Yako were present, he would have nodded in admiration.
Great minds think alike.
"I understand," White Zetsu said.
"I will focus primarily on Tōka. A naturally awakened Mangekyō is more valuable.
Someone like Gogo — insufficient talent — will go blind quickly."
White Zetsu asked again:
"What about Uchiha Obito? You once said that if his love were shattered, he might awaken an extremely powerful Sharingan."
"Monitor them all."
"Understood, Madara-sama."
A ninja hawk had already delivered mission intelligence from the Land of Rain back to Konoha.
By the time Yako and his group returned, ANBU from Black Ant Squad waited at the gates.
"Captain Fox. Clan Head Kagen. Captain Hyuga Ketsu. The Hokage requests your presence."
Under normal circumstances, the Uchiha clan head outranked an ANBU squad leader.
But not anymore.
Fox now wielded Wood Release.
The last shinobi to possess it was the First Hokage — who had treated tailed beasts like bargaining chips.
Konoha possessing Wood Release again changed morale and symbolism alike.
Yako arrived at the Hokage Tower, faintly disappointed.
The Third Hokage had not come downstairs to greet them.
Not that Yako expected such treatment.
But if the Third had wished to emphasize the symbolic return of Wood Release to Konoha, he might have staged a public display.
It seemed…
The Third had no intention of stirring that kind of momentum.