"The players outside the chessboard?" Sasuke repeated Uchiha Touhuan's words, thought carefully for a while, and then said uncertainly, "Their position should also be to win this game, right?" "
That's right. From the moment the players in a normal game sit across the chessboard, their position is also to win against the other. So, Sasuke, what do you think is the difference between the two?" "
The pieces are controlled by the players. The pieces themselves cannot decide where they should go on the board..." Sasuke finished speaking and suddenly fell silent. He seemed to understand why his brother's fate was like this.
"Of course, that's the normal situation. But what if one side of the game doesn't intend to win from the beginning? In that case, is the piece's position still the same?" Uchiha Touhuan asked.
Sasuke was also taken aback after hearing Uchiha Touhuan's words, then seemed to understand.
"So, teacher, you want me to transcend the position itself, become a player, and be the one who decides the piece's position, right?" Sasuke said.
Uchiha Touhuan nodded in satisfaction before saying, "You're a promising student, but Sasuke, you're still far from becoming a true Go player. To put it simply, Sasuke, do you even have any Go pieces?"
"Please teach me, teacher," Sasuke replied.
"Didn't I already teach you that?" Uchiha Touhuan said, staring into Sasuke's eyes.
Sasuke froze, stunned.
After a moment, Uchiha Touhuan patted Sasuke's head and said, "That's all for today's lesson. When you're qualified to sit at the Go board, I'll teach you the techniques."
Sasuke left, his mind still reeling. What Uchiha Touhuan had taught him today was still too much for him to process; the boy would likely need considerable time to digest it.
After Sasuke left, Uchiha Touhuan began his daily Sage Mode practice.
After this period of practice, Uchiha Touhuan's Sage Mode perception could now completely cover the entire Uchiha clan's territory.
After a cursory scan of the clan grounds, Uchiha Touhuan suddenly sensed something interesting in the clan's cemetery area. A
knowing smile appeared on his face. He changed his clothes and headed towards the cemetery. Uchiha
Itachi was buried in the far corner of the cemetery, his grave adorned with bouquets of flowers.
Although Itachi hadn't caused any real damage to the clan, his failure to stand by the clan in matters of great importance was a betrayal. Considering the majority of clan members who had worked diligently for the clan, the Uchiha clan hadn't held a proper funeral for him, and even his grave was located at the very edge of the clan cemetery.
However, some of Fugaku's peers would still sneak over to bring him a bouquet of flowers; after all, they had watched Itachi grow up.
As for the younger members of the clan, very few came. Even in the Uchiha clan, known for its geniuses, Itachi, a prodigy since childhood, wasn't particularly popular among his peers. Aside from Shisui who had stayed for two days, it seemed no one else came.
No, there were some.
Uchiha Touhuan bent down and picked up a bunch of cornflowers with obvious tear stains on their petals, and a girl with a beauty mark at the corner of her eye involuntarily appeared in his mind.
"Itachi, you've let so many people down," Uchiha Touhuan said.
"However, perhaps from the moment you were taken to the battlefield at the age of four, this ending was already destined," Uchiha Touhuan sighed softly. "What's wrong with this world? Why does this tragedy repeat itself again and again? When will this world have true peace?"
At that moment, just a few meters below Uchiha Touhuan's feet, a figure entirely in black suddenly stopped.
Three days ago, when Obito Uchiha shattered into stone, Black Zetsu was filled with utter despair.
For millennia, Black Zetsu had strived to save his mother, sealed away by his two filial brothers. Over a decade ago, when Madara Uchiha's Rinnegan was born in his eyes, that was the closest he had ever come to success.
However, after Madara Uchiha had planned everything and fallen into eternal slumber, many variables were introduced.
First, Nagato, the vessel for the Rinnegan, gradually veered off course. He seemed unwilling to carry out the Eye of the Moon Plan, instead intending to collect all nine tailed beasts and use their power to inflict pain on the world, making it understand the preciousness of peace. He himself would then act as a god to intimidate the great ninja villages—a complete contradiction to his Eye of the Moon Plan.
Fortunately, Obito Uchiha, Madara's backup plan to control Nagato, had remained under his control.
But just three days ago, Obito Uchiha died in a moment of impulsiveness!
Although Black Zetsu still doesn't understand why Obito Uchiha, possessing what is perhaps the strongest life-saving eye technique of the Uchiha clan to date—Kamui—and Izanagi as a backup plan, died so easily at the hands of Touhuan Uchiha.
When he saw Obito turn to stone and shatter into pieces, Black Zetsu's heart shattered along with him.
His plan, meticulously crafted for thousands of years, the closest he ever came to success, had crumbled so easily!
However, after recovering, Black Zetsu got busy again. So what if he failed? Hadn't he failed countless times over the years? As long as he could rescue his mother, what did this torment matter? This time he was already close to success; next time he would surely succeed.
With this in mind, Black Zetsu devised another plan. The first step was to hide, waiting for Nagato and Touhuan Uchiha, who had thwarted his plan, to reach the end of their lives.
Then he would retrieve the Rinnegan and plan for the future.
And today, the reason he came to the Uchiha clan's cemetery was to collect some of Itachi Uchiha's DNA.
Decades ago, a peerless genius named Tobirama Senju emerged in the ninja world. He created a technique that could connect the human world and the Pure Land: the Impure World Reincarnation.
Upon learning of this technique, Black Zetsu immediately set his sights on it. In fact, he spent almost all his time underground in Tobirama Senju's laboratory during that period. He learned that the technique required the summoner's DNA information to succeed. Although the technique was written into the Book of Seals after its creation, and Black Zetsu hadn't had the chance to see it yet, he knew there would be opportunities in the future; time was never an obstacle.
Therefore, for the sake of a future Mangekyō Sharingan-level fighter, he came to the Uchiha clan's cemetery. But he had barely begun his work when Uchiha Touhuan's appearance terrified him.
Over the years, Black Zetsu had seen many people who had mastered Sage Mode and knew how terrifyingly powerful their sensory abilities were in that state.
Although Uchiha Touhuan wasn't currently in Sage Mode, what if he suddenly decided to practice it here? Black Zetsu didn't dare gamble.
Therefore, the moment Uchiha Touhuan appeared, Black Zetsu wanted to run away.
However, what Uchiha Touhuan said at Uchiha Itachi's grave made Black Zetsu stop in his tracks.
"When will this world have true peace?"
[Wait, maybe my plan can still be saved?]
Uchiha Touhuan's words were like heavenly music to Black Zetsu's ears.
[I knew it! Indra's group of lunatic descendants will start thinking about world peace once they get strong enough! Mom! I'll rescue you right away!]
Black Zetsu forcibly suppressed the urge to jump out and fool Uchiha Touhuan immediately, and left from underground.
He knew that Uchiha Touhuan was different from the traditional Uchiha. From how he deduced Obito's identity from the slightest clues, it was clear that he couldn't simply fabricate a couple of reasons to convince him like he did with Madara. Everything needed to be planned carefully.
...
Uchiha Touhuan waited a while, and seeing that Black Zetsu didn't immediately jump out, he sighed inwardly, wondering,
[Did I overact just now?] That
's right, Uchiha Touhuan's late-night visit to the graveyard wasn't just to pay respects to Uchiha Itachi; he was more interested in luring out Black Zetsu, the big fish.
However, Uchiha Touhuan didn't intend to harm Black Zetsu.
On the contrary, he was very interested in Black Zetsu's plan.
After all, Uchiha Touhuan knew that a large number of aliens would invade the ninja world in the future, and the best way to fight against aliens was to become an alien himself.
Therefore, Uchiha Touhuan absolutely supported releasing Kaguya.
It was just that Black Zetsu didn't immediately take the bait, which made Uchiha Touhuan somewhat disappointed.
...
The next day, with Kakashi's nomination and Hiruzen Sarutobi's cooperation, the Jonin election for the Fifth Hokage of Konoha Village in the Land of Fire officially began.
Uchiha Touhuan lived up to expectations, winning all the Jonin votes in the village and becoming the sole candidate for the Fifth Hokage.
Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't delay, sending a messenger to the Land of Fire that very day to deliver the voting results. At this point, Uchiha Touhuan was only a matter of time before he officially became the Fifth Hokage, with the Daimyo's approval remaining.
To celebrate this good news, Uchiha Touhuan held a small banquet.
After the banquet, upon returning home, a letter on his desk caught his attention.
[Want to bring true peace to the ninja world? Then come to the basement of the Naga Shrine.]
Upon seeing this letter, Uchiha Touhuan chuckled inwardly; it seemed his previous attempt had succeeded.
However, to prevent Black Zetsu from spying, Uchiha Touhuan suppressed a smile and summoned Uchiha Keiko.
"Keiko-nee, has anyone been in this room today?"
"No, did something happen?" Uchiha Keiko asked.
"No, I must be mistaken," Uchiha Touhuan said.
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(End of Chapter)