Uchiha Kane concluded, "Mahiru, settle down. Don't be impulsive. First, conceal your strength, then deliver a fatal blow to the enemy at the critical moment. That is what you should do. After returning to the village, I will apply to the Third Hokage again, recommending you for promotion to Jōnin. The clan's resources will also be inclined towards you. You will be the Uchiha clan's top expert, our ultimate trump card. Do not disappoint the Uchiha clan's expectations."
Uchiha Mahiru was unconvinced at heart, but Uchiha Kane had always treated him well, and as clan leader, Kane carried significant authority. Uchiha Mahiru found it difficult to refute him directly. He decided to follow the clan leader's advice for now, planning to find an opportunity later to deal Konoha a severe blow. In his view, his teacher Uchiha Michi's tragic death was precisely because the village had sent them on a suicide mission. He hadn't seen Uchiha Madara before, but hadn't the Third Hokage? He didn't understand Uchiha Madara's power, but didn't the Third Hokage? Uchiha Madara had crushed them all; only Copper Fox had managed to resist at the end, forcing Uchiha Madara to use Susano'o.
Seeing Uchiha Mahiru fall silent, Uchiha Kane breathed a sigh of relief. The three of them left.
On a branch, a black crow hopped up, preparing to flap its damp wings and fly into the rainy night. However, a hand suddenly reached out from the branch, swiftly twisting the crow's neck. Yōkō's figure emerged from the tree trunk, holding the dead crow. Whose crow doesn't rest on a rainy day, flying around in the rain?
Inside the tree hollow, Uchiha Mizukiku's eyes snapped open. Her summoned creature was dead? Who was it? Who knew she had secretly trained Ninja Crows? Was there someone else near Uchiha Kane and Uchiha Mahiru?
Yōkō stood on the tree trunk, looking in the direction where Uchiha Mahiru and the other two had departed. Ameno Mihashira... so mysterious. The Mangekyō... I really want it.
Now there was a problem. It seemed he had already died once because of Uchiha Mahiru; he had obtained Fire Attribute Chakra from him. If he died by Uchiha Mahiru's hand now, he would truly die. Uchiha Kirika... It seemed he needed to find a way to cultivate Uchiha Kirika, to see if he could awaken the Mangekyō. If Uchiha Mahiru could awaken it, his younger brother's talent probably wasn't bad. If planned properly, he might even obtain the Eternal Mangekyō directly, achieving the goal in one step.
As his own strength grew, the number of suitable people for "lottery draws" was decreasing. The anticipation for Uchiha Kirika gave him an idea. Why focus only on the current strong individuals in the shinobi world? The number of powerful people was limited, not enough for him to farm. Why not cultivate talent from behind the scenes, for his own use? Nurture high-potential targets to Kage-level, then harvest them when they were ripe. It was time to start breeding fish. The shinobi world would be his fish pond. Uzumaki Kushina, Kakashi, Might Guy, and others like them all had great breeding value. Even geniuses from other villages should be utilized to their fullest. The Shinobi World Breeding Plan was time to be put on the agenda.
The first breeding target would be Uchiha Kirika. But Yōkō suddenly thought of a problem. Even if Uchiha Kirika awakened the Mangekyō, and he used the system to take Uchiha Kirika's dōjutsu, would his own Sharingan be unable to independently evolve its own unique Mangekyō abilities? The Mangekyō was the eye that reflected the heart. Uchiha Kirika's Mangekyō would reflect his most desperate desires, not Yōkō's. So frustrating.
With the Mochizuki's Arc system, Yōkō found it hard to truly die, which meant he lacked a sense of life-or-death pressure. Did he really have to "kill his wife to prove his Dao"? Lovers, mistress number two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight... whether close or not so close, they were all his flesh and blood. Better not play at wife-killing for enlightenment.
Yōkō gazed outside the tree hollow, pondering what his own deepest, most genuine desire was, what his own heart's reflection would be...
Several days later, White Ram emerged from his cocoon. Yōkō looked at him excitedly. White Ram slowly stood up. He stretched out a finger, and the finger dispersed, transforming into a swarm of insects. This was the Aburame clan's premier infiltration secret technique, the Insect Clone Technique.
"Excellent, White Ram. You've managed to turn misfortune into blessing."
"I must thank you, Captain, for the Cross Seal you gave me, and also for your healing secret technique."
With the Insect Clone Technique, White Ram now had the foundation of an elite Jōnin. He became Yōkō's most important subordinate.
"Once the Uchiha clansmen's injuries have improved, we will return to the village."
Outside a town in the Land of Rain, White Zetsu placed the unconscious Nagato and the other two down and submerged into the ground. So annoying. Konoha people repeatedly using the Rinnegan to disturb Lord Madara. A village like Konoha should have been destroyed long ago. Whatever plan they try to complete, Konoha always interferes. Konoha has no bottom line, their methods are too despicable, utterly lacking the demeanor of the number one village in the shinobi world.
After returning to Uchiha Madara's side, Madara said, "White Zetsu, add two individuals to the monitoring list: the brothers Uchiha Mahiru and Uchiha Kirika."
White Zetsu took out a copied scroll of the Uchiha clan genealogy and found the two individuals. "Lord Madara, why monitor them?"
"Uchiha Mahiru awakened the Mangekyō at the last moment."
"Really? Then Uchiha Mahiru is extremely important."
"No," Uchiha Madara said. "Uchiha Mahiru is not important. His dōjutsu talent is only above average at best. Without my stimulation, he would never have been able to awaken the Mangekyō. However, his younger brother, Uchiha Kirika, has rather good talent and might awaken the Mangekyō independently. His admiration for his older brother comes from the heart. If we use the most extreme methods to destroy his brother in front of Uchiha Kirika, he will definitely awaken the Mangekyō independently. At that time, we can give him his brother's eyes to cultivate a pair of Eternal Mangekyō."
If Yōkō were here, he would say "great minds think alike." As expected of a master schemer in the shinobi world, their choices were so similar.
"I understand. I will primarily monitor the younger brother, Uchiha Kirika. An independently awakened Mangekyō is more valuable. Someone like Uchiha Mahiru, with insufficient dōjutsu talent, will go blind quickly even after awakening the Mangekyō."
White Zetsu asked, "Then should we continue monitoring Uchiha Obito? You said that Uchiha Obito possesses great love in his heart, and completely crushing him could lead to an extremely powerful Sharingan."
"Monitor them all."
"Understood, Lord Madara."
A messenger hawk had long since delivered the mission intelligence from the Land of Rain back to Konoha. When Yōkō's group hurried back to Konoha, Anbu members from the Black Ant squad were waiting for them at the gate.
"Captain Fox, Clan Leader Uchiha Kane, Captain Hyūga Koe, the Hokage requests your presence in his office."
Normally, the Uchiha Clan Leader would take precedence over an Anbu captain in any situation, but now it was different. Anbu Captain Fox actually possessed Wood Release; his status was no longer the same as before. The last shinobi who had Wood Release was the First Hokage, who could treat Tailed Beasts as burdens to be discarded. Now that Konoha possessed Wood Release again, its significance for morale and symbolism was entirely different.
When Yōkō arrived at the base of the Hokage Building, he felt somewhat disappointed. The Third Hokage and the others hadn't waited for him downstairs. It wasn't that he had the right to expect the Third Hokage to wait for him downstairs. Rather, if the Third Hokage wanted to emphasize the symbolic significance of Konoha possessing Wood Release again, he would have had him demonstrate it publicly. Unfortunately, the Third Hokage showed no intention of building momentum.
***
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(End of Chapter)