When White Zetsu said this, Uchiha Madara's brow lifted slightly before he sank into silence.
Seeing that, White Zetsu also quieted down, patiently waiting for Madara to think.
After a moment of contemplation, Madara spoke in a low voice:
"Do we still have any spare Sharingan in storage?"
Right now, the Rinnegan he originally possessed had already been transplanted into Nagato. As for himself, he currently had only an ordinary pair of eyes.
So if he planned to take action, he naturally needed a spare pair of Sharingan.
Hearing Madara ask this, White Zetsu immediately understood his intention and replied with excitement:
"There are still four left! So you are planning to head out? Great! I can finally stretch my legs too!"
Watching White Zetsu jumping around, Madara coldly jabbed:
"Aren't you 'stretching your legs' every single day?"
White Zetsu wasn't embarrassed at all. He simply waved his arms even more enthusiastically.
"But going out with you is different! I finally get to witness your true power in person!"
Madara snorted, then his gaze deepened.
"Let's hope that kid doesn't disappoint me…"
...
At the eastern gate of Konohagakure, a man in black attire wearing a forehead protector with the Uzumaki emblem approached, leading a small girl with long red hair.
The two were none other than Uzumaki Kushina and the Uzumaki clan's ANBU member who was escorting her to Konoha.
They had rushed nonstop and finally reached Konoha's gates in a single day.
Because it was wartime, they had been stopped for inspection multiple times along the way. Fortunately, once they presented the Uzumaki clan's travel pass, they were allowed through—barely.
However, looking up at the village gates, the Uzumaki ANBU didn't seem optimistic.
He didn't believe that Arata would help the Uzumaki clan.
Even though Kushina was related to Tsunade's family by marriage, the connection between Arata and the Uzumaki was tenuous at best—distant at the level of "maybe related if you trace hard enough."
And in this era of war, who would risk their life against twenty thousand allied shinobi for a stranger?
Standing beside him, little Kushina peeked through the opened gate, managing to glimpse the inside of the village.
And she immediately widened her eyes.
Just the broad main street and the rows of buildings were already several times more prosperous than anything in the Uzumaki homeland.
And inside the village… there wasn't even the faintest scent of war.
Civilians strolled through the streets without worry.
"So this is Konoha? Looks pretty nice, actually!"
Hearing Kushina mumble that, the ANBU could only shake his head.
She was still a child—far too young to understand the dire situation they were facing.
As the two stood at the gate, a Konoha shinobi assigned to gate duty walked toward them.
These gate guard positions were generally cushy jobs reserved for the Hokage's loyal faction. Ordinary shinobi would be out on the battlefield—not standing guard in such safety.
The guard today happened to be from the Sarutobi clan, a relative of Sarutobi Hiruzen—his nephew, Sarutobi Shinnosuke.
The moment he saw their red hair, his expression grew even more disdainful.
Then he spoke impatiently:
"State your identities and register."
The Uzumaki ANBU saw Shinnosuke's rude attitude but didn't dare respond harshly.
After all, he was here to beg Konoha for aid; he couldn't afford to offend anyone.
But Kushina—who had been treated like a jewel of her clan since birth—had never been looked down on like this.
She immediately snapped:
"Who do you think you are?! We're emissaries of the Uzumaki clan! Tell the Hokage to come meet us!"
In Kushina's mind, the Uzumaki were a great clan, long allied with Konoha.
Their relations should be equal.
And since she was here as a clan envoy, if not the Hokage, then at least someone of advisor-level should be receiving them!
Shinnosuke burst out laughing, then mocked:
"You want the Hokage to come see you? Your clan can barely protect itself! For all we know, by tomorrow the Uzumaki will be wiped off the map! Hahahaha!"
As Sarutobi Hiruzen's nephew, he naturally had access to privileged information.
This wasn't the first time an Uzumaki messenger had come begging for aid.
In fact, counting Kushina and the ANBU, this would be the fourth or fifth group.
But every time, Sarutobi Hiruzen had instructed him:
"Just tell them the Hokage isn't available."
No need to receive them.
After doing this repeatedly, Shinnosuke's contempt for the Uzumaki had only grown deeper.
A clan on the brink of destruction—why should he respect them?
Hearing these words, the Uzumaki ANBU was immediately filled with rage.
Their clan was facing annihilation, and this brat dared taunt them?!
He was an elite jōnin, otherwise he wouldn't be escorting Kushina.
Shinnosuke, on the other hand, was a typical pampered second-generation shinobi whose strength barely reached ordinary jōnin.
At his age, reaching elite jōnin was already improbable.
The Uzumaki ANBU stepped forward, murderous aura erupting:
"What… did you just say?"
But before he could act, Kushina stuck out her tongue at Shinnosuke.
"See? Our ANBU uncle is super strong! You'd better be scared!"
Shinnosuke—who had never fought in an actual battlefield—was instantly terrified by the killing intent and stumbled backward.
Fortunately, the gate guards weren't composed of just Shinnosuke.
Six Konoha jōnin immediately appeared, forming a protective circle.
Clearly, this "simple gate job" had hidden reinforcements—likely placed specifically to bail Shinnosuke out whenever he screwed up.
Seeing backup arrive, Shinnosuke regained a bit of courage and shouted harshly:
"The Hokage isn't here! If you want help, forget it! Get out of here—Konoha doesn't welcome you!"
He purposely raised his voice, drawing in a crowd of Konoha civilians.
When they saw the Uzumaki pair's red hair, the residents began whispering.
After all, it was the Uzumaki clan who had rejected joining Konoha back then.
Even though their princess had married the First Hokage, many villagers still held a grudge.
The Uzumaki ANBU forced himself to calm his killing intent—he could not act violently in Konoha.
But he still replied coldly, voice unwavering:
"I'm not here to see the Hokage. I'm here for Arata!"