From the night of genocide, marching towards the strongest.

Otherwise, why would Kirigakure suddenly seal the nuclear weapon Three-Tails into Rin Nohara at the end of World War III?

And then there's the brain-dead act of escorting them all the way from the border of the Land of Fire to the heart of Konoha and then self-destructing.

Anyone with eyes could see that something was amiss, but only Kenji's Obito was convinced of it.

During the period when Madara Uchiha infiltrated Kirigakure and Obito Uchiha controlled Kirigakure, it was far too easy for them to do what they wanted.

"I see. It seems that the internal strife in the Mist Village a few years ago was inextricably linked to the organization."

Upon hearing this, Kazuma suddenly understood, nodded, and was about to say something when he saw Black Zetsu throw another scroll.

After a puff of smoke, the object sealed inside the scroll was revealed.

"This, this!?"

This time, Kazuma was completely shocked. Looking at the four corpses in front of him, he said incredulously, "The First Mizukage, Byakuren; the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki; the Third and Fourth Mizukage... you even got their corpses?"

"As I said, Kirigakure was under our control for a period of time, so getting these people's corpses wasn't difficult."

Black Zetsu tossed over a transparent glass bottle filled with white tissue, saying calmly, "This thing should be able to enhance your control over the Edo Tensei and the strength of the Edo Tensei itself."

The organization actually used so many resources and forces just to kill Uchiha Sasuke?

Upon receiving the glass bottle, Kazuma was shocked not only by Akatsuki's trump card but also by their determination to kill Uchiha Sasuke.

Composing himself, he asked in a deep voice, "Does Payne know that you came here?"

"Perhaps he knows? Perhaps he doesn't?" Black Zetsu smiled. "Even if he does know, he won't say anything."

The implication is that they don't know.

Upon hearing this, Kazuma gave Black Zetsu a deep look: "I understand. I will do my best to kill Uchiha Sasuke."

"That's good." Black Zetsu nodded.

After realizing that Uchiha Sasuke was a variable, and might even have awakened some of Indra's memories.

Black Zetsu understood this variable, which could very well cause significant trouble for his future plans.

He must do everything possible to eliminate this unstable factor.

He himself didn't want to be exposed, and Obito had his own ulterior motives, not wanting Madara Uchiha to come out.

Black Zetsu actually had his own plans; it was best not to let Madara Uchiha come out so early.

After all, compared to the easily fooled Obito, Black Zetsu couldn't say he could deceive the meticulous Madara Uchiha for the next two years.

Of course, all of this is based on the premise that the situation does not change drastically.

Otherwise, even at the risk of exposure, he would still summon Madara Uchiha.

He even personally intervened!

"Kazuma, I hope you can master what I gave you today as soon as possible. If your progress and the assassination of Uchiha Sasuke satisfy me, I will give you another person's corpse."

"A corpse that's a hundred times stronger than all of these guys combined!"

After leaving behind such a profound and unfathomable statement, the pitcher plant on Black Zetsu's head slowly closed up and disappeared into the earth, leaving only a bewildered Kazuma behind.

"A person stronger than all the previous Mizukage and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist combined?"

"who is it?"

Kazuma muttered to himself in disbelief.

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are already among the best in the ninja world, and the Mizukage is a major figure at the top of the ninja pyramid.

In particular, the First Mizukage, Byakuren, was the founder and first leader of Kirigakure in the Land of Water. He single-handedly quelled the chaos in the Land of Water and subdued the major clans and ninja clans within the country, making him a legendary figure.

The first Kage of the five great ninja villages were ruthless figures who could suppress any dissent within their own country and forcibly bring them together.

After their deaths, it seems that only figures like Hanzo and the Third Raikage, who also achieved legendary feats, can be compared to them.

Although he was not as good as Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi at the time, or Madara Uchiha, the Asura of the Shinobi World, that was because the two were simply too strong.

It can be said that, in the thousand-year history of the Ninja Sect, apart from the Sage of Six Paths, whose identity is difficult to verify and whose authenticity is unknown, there has been no other figure in the sect.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha were the two strongest ninjas in a thousand years!

"So the person he's referring to should be...."

Thinking of this, Kazuma's eyes flickered slightly, and he slowly uttered a name from the corner of his mouth.

"Uchiha Madara?"

The reason it's called Uchiha Madara is because of what happened a few months ago during the Chunin Finals in Konoha.

The fact that the First and Second Hokage were sealed away by the Third Hokage, while not exactly common knowledge, was openly witnessed by tens of thousands of ninjas, villagers, spectators, and even spies.

Therefore, the person Black Zetsu was referring to could only be the legendary Asura of the Shinobi World—Uchiha Madara!

"It seems this organization is more complex than I imagined. Hehehe, interesting!"

....................

Inside a medical room in Amegakure Village.

"Are you saying that you have absolutely no solution right now?"

Konan, dressed in a black trench coat embroidered with red clouds, looked through the transparent glass into the room where Uchiha Itachi lay unconscious on the hospital bed, emaciated and covered in various instruments and IV tubing, and said in a deep voice.

"We dare not hide it from you, Divine Envoy. We have tried every possible method these past few days, but we still cannot improve Lord Itachi's condition."

Several ninjas dressed as medical personnel spoke hesitantly.

“Perhaps…” a medical worker hesitated for a moment, then tentatively said, “Perhaps only the Fifth Hokage of Konoha in the current ninja world can save Lord Itachi’s life.”

"Tsunade...."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Nan frowned slightly and said calmly, "How much longer can he live?"

"It can take anywhere from six months to as little as three months."

"I see."

"Try to let him live as long as possible."

"Yes!"

Several medical staff members quickly responded.

Konan gave Itachi Uchiha a deep look before turning and leaving the ward, leaving the medical staff looking at each other in bewilderment.

The group exchanged glances, remained silent for a moment, and then got up and left the room to prepare medicine for Itachi Uchiha.

Shortly after Konan and the medical staff left, Zetsu appeared in the ward and stood in front of the unconscious Uchiha Itachi.

"Hey! Black Zetsu, are you really going to do this? Obito will definitely kill us if he finds out!"

"Shut up!" Black Zetsu said coldly. "Don't forget that I am the will created by Madara. My thoughts are Madara's thoughts. Obito has no right to order me around!"

"And Itachi Uchiha, he's still useful to our plans,"

Black Zetsu glanced at Uchiha Itachi, who was exhaling heavily and inhaling little, his eyes flashing.

"He can't die now, at least not so quickly, not so pointlessly!"

Chapter 237 Ghost Island

A few days later, in the Land of the Sea, on an island called Ghost Realm Island.

The sea breeze was blowing in our faces, and the raging waves crashed against the rocks, making a loud splashing sound as they pounded against the shore!

Under the moonlight, Sasuke walked slowly alone on the beach.

Three days had passed since they moved their base here. After settling in yesterday, Kabuto Yakushi accepted the mission Sasuke had given him and went to the Shinobi World to search for Hiruko's whereabouts.

Sasuke was naturally very reluctant to see Kabuto leave the base for a while.

First, Kabuto Yakushi is an outstanding research talent who can save Sasuke a lot of energy and time in many research projects, and can even occasionally bring Sasuke some unexpected inspiration and gains when his thinking is stuck.

Secondly, Kabuto Yakushi is a very difficult person to control. Once he leaves, it's like he's free to roam, and if he's not under Sasuke's nose, it will be difficult for Sasuke to keep track of his movements.

However, there was nothing that could be done about it; Hiruko was a cautious and meticulous fellow.

After escaping the pursuit of the Three Ninjas eighteen years ago, he has been missing without a trace, and his whereabouts remain a mystery.

Konoha Village couldn't find him, nor could the Otogakure Village and Granny Cat's intelligence network.

After much thought, Sasuke concluded that if there was anyone in the entire ninja world who could find Hiruko, the answer would naturally be the White Zetsu, whose clones were scattered across various countries.

The other one is Kabuto Yakushi, who is known as the number one spy in the ninja world and is skilled at gathering intelligence.

In order to find Hiruko's whereabouts, Sasuke had no choice but to reluctantly send out this perfect tool.

Anyway, he's currently facing a bottleneck in many of his research projects and has temporarily put them on hold.

Currently, Kabuto Yakushi's effectiveness at the base is far less than that of being sent out to gather intelligence.

Sasuke wasn't worried that Kabuto would betray him, after all, Kabuto was a stubborn person, and Orochimaru's corpse was still in his hands.

Kabuto Yakushi might resort to some minor tricks, and Sasuke is least afraid of such tricks, as long as the overall situation remains under his control.

"The environment here is quite nice..."

After slowly surveying the surroundings of the island, Sasuke smiled.

This island is called Ghost Island, and it is one of the countless archipelagos in the Sea Kingdom.

In his early years, Orochimaru had set up a secret research institute on this island, where he and a subordinate named Tenchi conducted human experiments on the so-called transformation of human bodies into amphibious weapons.

Of course, Orochimaru was not interested in this. At the time, he was mainly researching the cursed seal. The person who truly led the human experiments on amphibious weapons was Tenchi.

Later, after Orochimaru made some progress in his research on the cursed seal, he left the secret research institute and entrusted it to Tenchi to manage.

A few days ago, when their Sound Village moved to this place, Tenchi was overjoyed at first, but later realized Sasuke's special status.

He was resentful, but after Sasuke nearly killed him in one move, he became obedient.

"Come out, I've found you."

After slowly scanning his surroundings, Sasuke focused his gaze on the rolling waves in the distance and spoke.

"........"

A slender girl with long, flowing purple hair emerged from the water. Notably, her skin was covered in fish-like scales, and she had something resembling a fish growing on her head.