The Uchiha's Path to the Top, Starting from Konoha

Chapter 16 Cloud Shadow Village Divided in Two

Heading north from the border of the Land of Fire, nearing the sea, lies a vast, unclaimed basin—the Mountain Cemetery.

Originally, the mountain cemetery was deeply tabooed by the villagers, who dared not approach it and where large animals were often active. However, in recent years, it has suddenly been regarded as a sacred place of worship by the villagers, who offer carefully prepared clothing and food every day.

At the entrance basin of the mountain cemetery, there are huge animal skeletons.

The surrounding cliffs have entrances to caves of varying sizes. If someone follows the caves down, they will find an astonishingly large underground cavern beneath the basin.

Inside the incredibly spacious cave, some living facilities have been built by humans.

At this moment, on a stone bed covered with a soft mat, a man with thick hair, wearing a black robe and red armor, exuding a heroic and arrogant air, burst into unrestrained laughter.

"Hehehehe. Hahaha. Hahahahahaha!"

"Tobirama Senju, you've finally met your match!"

"It's a pity I didn't get to see how you died!"

The man wiped away the tears that had welled up in his eyes and walked with a cheerful heart toward the side room where weapons were stored. In the center of the dazzling array of weapons and equipment, there was a weapon passed down from generation to generation among the Uchiha clan leaders—a gourd-shaped fan with two pairs of three-tomoe patterns. It was hard yet flexible and possessed the terrifying power to deflect Tailed Beast Balls.

"The Flame Ball Fan..."

The man's identity is self-evident; he is none other than Uchiha Madara, the former head of the Uchiha clan, who is said to have died at the hands of the First Generation Senju Hashirama in the battle at the Valley of the End!

"If I were still in Konoha, your successor would be that kid."

Gently stroking the flame fan that had accompanied him throughout his life of battle, Madara Uchiha's eyes flashed with memories of the past.

There is fervor and passion, there is deep sorrow and grief, there is a determination to live or die, and there is a resolute spirit of rebirth from the ashes.

"The past is gone."

"There's only one goal now!"

When Madara Uchiha opened his eyes again, his dark eyes were clear. He tore open the collar of his robe, and there was a knife wound that had pierced through his heart.

"Hashirama, you really have a heart of iron for naming Konoha after me."

Even now, Madara Uchiha still feels a dull ache from that knife wound. If he hadn't successfully revived by using the forbidden Sharingan technique [Izanagi] at the cost of losing one eye, he would have already returned to the Pure Land.

In that all-out final battle, Hashirama Senju won, but soon after, he died in Konoha Village due to excessive exertion and incurable injuries.

As Madara Uchiha predicted, the next Hokage was Tobirama Senju. The Uchiha clan members who were unwilling to leave Konoha with him lived increasingly stifled and miserable lives.

He had promised his younger brother, Uchiha Izuna, that he would take care of Uchiha Madara of the Uchiha clan, and he felt both joy and sorrow.

Fortunately, I didn't come away empty-handed.

Madara Uchiha picked up the Flame Fan and a sealed container beside him. In the container, which was filled with liquid, was a bright red mass of flesh, as if it had just been peeled off from some creature, full of vigorous life force. His eyes were burning with passion, as if he had seen his other half.

Beneath the Naga Shrine in the ancestral home of the Uchiha clan stands a stone tablet that can only be fully seen by those with the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. The tablet is inscribed with the words, "Two mutually exclusive forces combine to form one, giving birth to the power of all things in the universe," which is the legendary eye of the Sage of Six Paths—the Rinnegan!

"It's time to begin fusing the power of the Senju and Uchiha."

To change the Uchiha clan, to change this war-torn ninja world, and to bring true peace, the Rinnegan was something Madara Uchiha was determined to obtain.

After quickly packing his belongings, Madara Uchiha embarked on his journey. His first stop was the Land of Lightning, as he was quite interested in the matter of Kinkaku and Ginkaku killing Tobirama Senju.

Another important reason is that he wants to find a laboratory to fuse the flesh and blood he obtained from Hashirama Senju with his own body, so as to cultivate the supreme Rinnegan.

If the Land of Lightning isn't an option, then the Land of Wind, the Land of Water, or even the Land of Fire won't matter. Without Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha is an invincible ninja world demon.

As for directly stuffing chunks of meat into the body...

There are other ways to avoid such mindless confrontation, but Madara Uchiha would never do that.

Just as Madara Uchiha was setting off, shocking news came from Kumogakure, one of the five great ninja villages in the Land of Lightning—a ninja infighting and rebellion had broken Kumogakure into two!

With the Land of Lightning's Cloud and Lightning Gorge as the boundary, the land was divided into north and south. In the south, Kinkaku and Ginkaku established Nankumo Village, while in the north, the original rightful heir, the Third Hokage, established Hokumo Village. For a time, the entire ninja world was in an uproar.

The daimyo of the Land of Lightning was furious and smashed countless exquisite porcelain pieces brought from the Land of Fire. Many beautiful singers and dancers perished under the daimyo's tyranny.

Meanwhile, news also came from the Daimyo's residence in the Land of Lightning—that while the northern and southern Kumogakure villages were not yet united, the government refused to provide any financial assistance and sternly rebuked the leaders of the two villages to negotiate and reconcile as soon as possible, lest they become a laughing stock in the eyes of foreigners.

The merciless words and imperious manner of the messengers were justified in the fact that, in a fit of temper, no one, regardless of who they were, would be beheaded. Even the messenger group from the third generation of Ai in Beiyun Village was driven out.

For a time, the entire ninja world was laughing at the Land of Lightning.

The Daimyo of the Land of Thunder was furious and resolutely refused to provide any further financial assistance. Kinkaku and Ginkaku of Nangumo Village went even further, declaring, "You're doing this once, I'll do it again. I'll go all the way!" and started a zero-dollar shopping spree with his men.

With the speed of ninjas, they made a fortune in a short time, making the villagers of Kitakumo drool with envy. Before the Third Hokage A could follow the example of Kinkaku and Ginkaku, this act, which was like cutting off his own flesh, caused great panic and fear among the daimyo of the Land of Lightning. What if Kinkaku and Ginkaku directly robbed the daimyo's mansion?

For the sake of their own lives, the supplies were sent to Beiyun Village as if they were free.

Upon seeing the mountain of supplies, the Third Hokage, A, sent out ninjas while lost in thought—it seemed he had found the daimyo's weakness.

If the Golden Horn and Silver Horn of Nanyun Village continued to exist, would Beiyun Village no longer lack supplies?

The daimyo of the Land of Lightning, unaware that the will of the third generation of Kitakumo Village, Ai, was beginning to waver, breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the two villages, North and South, starting to check each other.

However, the daimyo of the Land of Lightning also began to feel dissatisfied and prepared to contact the daimyo of the major countries to discuss how to control the ninja villages, so that these lowly tools would not be allowed to jump onto their masters' heads!

In just five days, the Land of Lightning was in complete chaos. The Hidden Stone Village of the Land of Earth, the Hidden Mist Village of the Land of Water, and the Hidden Sand Village of the Land of Wind all sent people to gather information, hoping to profit from the chaos.

Seeing that the Land of Lightning was too busy to invade Konoha again, Nara Shikanaru, after communicating with the Konoha leadership, decided to send a portion of the Konoha ninja army back to the village, except for a portion that would remain stationed on the border of the Land of Fire.

In the matter of the Land of Lightning, Uchiha Takeoshi, who had kept his merits hidden, once again set foot on the territory of the Land of Fire.

The First Shinobi World War thus came to an end.

(End of this chapter)