"You're saying Konoha assigned you to go undercover?"
Uchiha Madara leisurely lifted a cup of hot tea, half-lidding his eyes as he stared at Uchiha Kaien.
"That's right."
No way was he going to admit that he'd volunteered.
"I can try to quietly take control of part of Kumogakure while gathering intel on their two Tailed Beasts."
Once Nagato's strong enough, we can start the Tailed Beast capture plan!
Besides, these new eyes needed a proper test run.
Kaien glanced at his system interface, noticing how his chakra reserves had jumped by a third after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan. It felt like he was walking further and further down the path of infinite chakra.
More than that, the quality of his chakra had improved too. The amount that previously could only fuel a Fireball Jutsu could now boost the jutsu's power by thirty percent.
This was a full-on leap in quality.
Even a ten percent boost in chakra quality was enough to create a noticeable difference. Beyond experience, that might be all that separates a standard jōnin from an elite jōnin.
"You just want to test out your Mangekyō Sharingan. Save your ocular power. Without Hashirama cells, those eyes of yours won't last under strain."
Madara could tell what Kaien was thinking just by the look in his eyes.
That eagerness to fight. That thirst to unleash power.
Madara knew that look all too well.
"You caught me," Kaien said, sticking out his tongue and making a face at him. "I just want to see how powerful the Tailed Beasts really are."
Confidence radiated from his expression.
"As long as it's not the Nine-Tails, the rest shouldn't be a big deal, right?" Well, maybe the Eight-Tails too.
"They're just beasts."
Madara was equally dismissive. But even he had to admit—one man going up against the five great shinobi villages would be a bit much.
If only he'd awakened the Rinnegan ten years earlier, he could've enacted the Eye of the Moon Plan himself and brought peace to the shinobi world.
Unfortunately, time was a cruel thing. Once it slipped away, it never came back. These days, all Madara could do was rely on a successor.
But that successor... well, he had issues.
Like now, for example.
Kaien was floating in the air, grinning smugly as he mocked Madara.
"See? Even without Hashirama cells, I can be strong. You're the one who needed your best friend's cells, you relic."
"Come on, if it weren't for me, would your quality of life even be this high?"
"Hey, hey, don't get salty now!"
The wrinkles on Madara's forehead scrunched up, and his chakra began to surge, practically radiating from his body.
Blue chakra condensed into the shape of a massive skeletal arm, which lunged straight toward Kaien.
"You're cheating, old man! Why do you get to use Susanoo?!"
"Hmph. Consider this another lesson—respect your elders."
The corner of Madara's mouth curled slightly as he continued manipulating his Susanoo, trying to catch Kaien.
For him, using Susanoo like this wasn't much of a strain—especially since he was only manifesting a skeletal arm.
Even without his Sharingan, Madara could still summon Susanoo. Now that he had the Mangekyō Sharingan active, it was even easier.
Eventually, Kaien decided to show some mercy to the lonely old man and let himself get caught.
"My bad, Grandpa Madara..."
The moment he admitted defeat, Madara immediately released him. That trick always worked.
"Fine. If you're so against transplanting cells, then just be careful with your eyes."
Madara didn't really care whether Kaien wanted to use Hashirama cells or not.
Even with all his research, those cells still carried risks. If there were better alternatives, Madara wouldn't force it.
The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was no worse than having Hashirama cells.
Still... that power would have to wait.
Madara wasn't in a rush.
Kaien needed more time to grow anyway—he was still too young.
If he recklessly tried to transplant the Mangekyō Sharingan now, there'd be all kinds of complications.
Seeing Kaien obediently stop struggling and admit fault, Madara's mood clearly improved.
Whatever happened later when Kaien noticed the truth behind his eyes—that was a problem for the future.
...
Eventually, Kaien gave Susanoo a try himself.
Even though he already knew what color his Susanoo would be, seeing it in action was a whole different experience.
"Susanoo!"
Dark indigo chakra surged outward as Kaien unleashed his ocular power and chakra, forming the skeletal structure around him. A huge arm condensed into shape and collided head-on with Madara's Susanoo.
The result?
Utter disappointment.
Kaien's Susanoo shattered after just a few hits. They weren't even close in terms of power.
But Kaien wasn't discouraged.
Trying to match Madara in chakra and ocular power right after awakening the Mangekyō was just asking for a beating.
Even Sasuke got skewered half to death after getting the Eternal Mangekyō.
Madara, that old fossil, had definitely paid to win. Once Kaien figured out how to fully control Susanoo, his combat power would skyrocket again.
If the Sage of Six Paths doesn't show up, no one in the ninja world understands Susanoo better than Uchiha Madara.
...
At its core, Susanoo was a ninjutsu.
It just had some unusual activation requirements.
Only after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan in both eyes could one unlock the key to this unique power.
From there, even if you didn't manifest the full form, you could still train with it.
After all, you don't just master a technique like Susanoo by casually whipping it out a few times in battle.
Without real mastery, your Susanoo's defense and offense would be weak and flimsy.
Just like the gap between Kaien and Madara's Susanoo.
Kaien's had just awakened. Madara's was a perfected force of destruction. No contest.
Still, Kaien wasn't shy—he clung to Madara, pestering him to teach him how to use Susanoo properly.
Madara, surprisingly, was more than happy to oblige.
A lonely old man plotting an earth-shattering plan… all he really wanted was for someone to need him again. And maybe, just maybe, for a grandson to swing by once in a while.
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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