Deep within a hidden cave sowhere in the Land of Rain, an old man sat motionless on a stone chair, his body frail, his eyes dim, yet his presence still carried the faint shadow of overwhelming power.
Uchiha Madara.
Even aged to this state, he had not stopped watching the ninja world.
The Second Shinobi World War had co to an end, at least on the surface. The three great villages that had fought across the Land of Rain were finally preparing to sit down and negotiate.
To most people, the war would be rembered for the bloodshed, the destruction, and the unstable peace left behind.
But to Madara, none of that mattered.
Only one thing had truly interested him.
Ragnar.
Konoha's Rakshasa.
Since the age of Hashirama, no one had caught Madara's attention like this. And what made it more remarkable was that Ragnar was still so young. Yet in him, Madara could see traces of two impossible figures at once.
There was a shadow of himself.
And there was a shadow of Hashirama.
That contradiction made Ragnar even more fascinating.
Madara slowly closed his eyes, as though seeing an image that existed only in mory.
How wonderful it would be, he thought, to stand at the peak once more and test that young monster with his own hands.
At that mont, the ground beneath the cave rippled.
A dark figure erged soundlessly from the soil.
Black Zetsu.
"Madara-sama," Black Zetsu said respectfully.
Madara did not look at him right away.
"Has anything interesting happened in the ninja world recently?"
Black Zetsu answered at once.
"Other than the results of the battlefield in the Land of Rain, the biggest matter is the destruction of the Uzumaki clan."
Madara let out a low, mocking laugh.
"As expected."
There was no surprise in his voice. Only ridicule.
"Human nature is greedy and selfish. When people fear a power they cannot control and cannot claim for themselves, they would rather destroy it."
His old eyes reflected a cruel understanding of the world.
This had always been the pattern.
For thousands of years, the shinobi world had produced countless bloodlines, hidden arts, and extraordinary powers. But only a few survived the march of ti. Many vanished completely, not because they were weak, but because others feared them too much.
The Uzumaki clan was only one example.
Powerful bloodlines often did not die from natural decline.
They were hunted.
Erased.
Silenced before they could grow too strong.
Madara had seen it happen again and again. Special clans rose, beca feared, and then drew the envy and hostility of the world. In the end, even the powerful were worn down by the combined malice of others.
The Uzumaki had fallen that way.
And one day, many others would too.
Black Zetsu listened, but did not truly understand.
It could mimic human speech and observe human behavior, but it did not possess human emotions. It could not understand the bitterness in Madara's words, nor the contempt behind them.
Instead, it moved on to the next report.
"There is another matter, Madara-sama. I have been keeping watch near the Konoha camp and discovered sothing interesting within the Uchiha clan."
Madara's gaze shifted slightly.
"Speak."
"This Uchiha may not possess the level of talent you would consider exceptional," Black Zetsu said, "but recently I observed that he seems to be actively searching for a way to evolve beyond the three-tomoe Sharingan."
Madara gave a faint scoff.
"He needs to search for a thod?"
To Madara, the answer was obvious.
"If one can sever emotional weakness and embrace the true weight of loss, then the Sharingan will naturally evolve."
But Black Zetsu continued.
"That is not the most interesting part. It seems the current Uchiha do not even fully understand the road ahead. The stone tablet in their ancestral shrine appears to have been tampered with. Sothing was hidden."
Madara laughed softly.
"So that's how it is."
There was no anger in him, only a tired kind of amusent.
"That was likely done after my era. Perhaps by Hashirama. More likely by his brother. Tobirama was always the more suspicious one."
His expression grew colder.
"No wonder the Uchiha have produced so few truly outstanding eyes in recent years. If the path itself was concealed, then most of them would only wander in confusion."
He paused there.
Even so, knowing the theory alone was not enough.
The Mangekyo Sharingan was not sothing one gained simply by reading about it. It required powerful ocular potential and emotional trauma intense enough to tear open the soul itself.
Without both, the knowledge was aningless.
Still, the fact remained.
The Uchiha had weakened.
The clan of his blood no longer stood at the height it once had.
Madara had watched them for years and found only a few individuals even remotely worth noticing. If one of them had finally begun seeking the truth on his own, then perhaps that spark deserved a little encouragent.
"Since this clansman is trying to uncover the secret himself," Madara said, "help him."
Black Zetsu bowed his head.
"As you wish, Madara-sama."
"How far he goes," Madara added, "depends on his own ability."
Black Zetsu accepted the order and silently sank back into the earth.
The cave fell quiet again.
Madara remained seated in darkness, his aged face unreadable.
But sowhere in the depths of his fading eyes, interest still burned.
The night before the formal peace talks between Konoha, Iwa, Suna, and Hanzo of the Rain, Ragnar had finally recovered enough to move freely again.
With Tsunade's dical ninjutsu and his own monstrous vitality, his injuries had healed faster than anyone had expected.
After a period of ditation in his quarters, he received word that Hatake Sakumo wanted to see him.
Ragnar did not delay.
He headed straight for the command center.
Inside, Sakumo was seated behind a desk piled high with reports and docunts. The famous White Fang of Konoha was not so distant legend wrapped in endless mystery. Up close, he was simply a man burdened with responsibility—calm, capable, and carrying the weight of command with quiet discipline.
When Ragnar entered, Sakumo looked up and smiled.
"You're here."
Ragnar stepped forward. "What do you need, Captain?"
Sakumo laughed lightly.
"What a direct personality. Am I not allowed to call you over unless sothing important has happened?"
Ragnar answered without hesitation.
"You're not the kind of person who wastes ti."
That made Sakumo chuckle again.
"So now you're saying I'm boring?"
He stood and walked around the desk, then placed a hand on Ragnar's shoulder. There was no hostility in the gesture, only warmth.
"I forgot to tell you sothing during all this chaos," Sakumo said. "My son was born."
For once, Ragnar's eyes shifted slightly.
He already knew the na that would matter in the future, but he did not show it.
"Congratulations," he said.
Sakumo's expression softened imdiately.
"Yes," he said. "The birth of a child... there are few things in this world better than that."
Then he smiled with unmistakable pride.
"His na is Kakashi. Hatake Kakashi."
Ragnar gave a small nod.
"He'll beco an outstanding shinobi."
Sakumo shook his head with a modest smile.
"That's not so easy. I'd be satisfied if he beca even half as capable as you."
Ragnar replied calmly, "You're being humble."
Sakumo returned to his desk, but the atmosphere had already grown more serious.
"Enough of that," he said. "There's sothing else I wanted to discuss with you."
Ragnar remained standing. "Go on."
Sakumo folded his hands on the desk.
"You know tomorrow is the negotiation eting with Onoki, the Kazekage, and Hanzo. They've all agreed to an armistice in principle. But that doesn't an tomorrow will be peaceful."
Ragnar considered that for a mont.
"They'll join forces politically," he said. "Not on the battlefield, but at the table."
Sakumo nodded.
"Exactly. They no longer have the military strength to pressure Konoha directly, and our forces aren't afraid of them anyway. But the issue isn't simple military pressure."
He tapped the desk lightly.
"It's the Land of Rain."
Ragnar's gaze sharpened.
For the Land of Fire, the Rain Country was useful at best and expendable at worst. It was not central to Konoha's long-term survival.
But for the other sides, it was different.
Iwa and Suna had both bled in this war.
Neither would want to leave empty-handed.
And Hanzo, as ruler of the Land of Rain, would never accept his country being casually carved apart.
"If Konoha agrees to let Iwa and Suna divide Rain territory between themselves," Ragnar said slowly, "Hanzo will refuse. And if Hanzo refuses, the negotiation collapses."
Sakumo's eyes showed approval.
"And when the negotiations collapse," he said, "the war begins again."
Silence hung in the room for a mont.
The battlefield might have gone quiet, but peace had not yet truly arrived.
Sakumo leaned back slightly and looked at Ragnar with calm seriousness.
"That is why I wanted your thoughts," he said. "Tomorrow's eting may decide whether this war truly ends—or whether all of us return to killing again."
Ragnar stood there quietly, his expression unreadable.
Outside, the night wind moved through the Konoha camp.
Inside, beneath the lantern light and stacks of unfinished reports, the shape of the coming negotiations had already begun to reveal its teeth.
(End of Chapter)
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