For these reasons, Madara had always been screening candidates from among the descendants of the Uchiha clan, grooming them to become his pawns.
When the time came, he would entrust everything to this person.
Then, under Black Zetsu's guidance, after completing the plan to collect the tailed beasts, this person would resurrect Madara in his prime.
Because the plan was so earth-shattering, Madara and Black Zetsu chose to keep it absolutely secret.
For decades before that, he had been working on evolving the Rinnegan.
Now, he was old and frail, unable to do anything himself, so he never showed his face, only plotting in the shadows.
Seven years ago, someone caught his attention, this man was Shin.
Shin had been expelled by his own clan and constantly targeted and ostracized by Konoha's higher-ups.
Upon learning this, he was overjoyed and decided that this man would be his target.
A guy like that would surely hate Konoha to the bone, have a twisted heart, and crave power!
When the time came, all he had to do was provoke Shin's deepest hatred, and with Black Zetsu fanning the flames over time, this man would definitely be his to use.
But who could have predicted that this useless fellow would be utterly captivated by Hashirama's granddaughter? Not only did he abandon any thought of taking revenge on Konoha, he instead devoted himself wholeheartedly to serving it.
Such a man was nothing short of a complete waste.
Madara was so furious he nearly dragged Shin over and slapped him twice, just to ask if his brain was broken.
But it was too late by then, and with no choice, he had to find another target.
Three years ago, he chose Hanma, and after observing him for a while, he decided to cultivate him as a backup candidate.
But unexpectedly, this man turned out to be worse than useless, and in the end, Madara completely abandoned him. Hanma was killed by Shin and died in some obscure corner.
The plan couldn't stop. After repeated investigations by Black Zetsu, Madara felt completely helpless, aside from Shin, there wasn't a single person in the current Uchiha clan who met his requirements.
So he could only screen among the newborns, having Black Zetsu keep an eye on them from time to time, to see if any would match his expectations.
Though the waiting was dull, tasteless, and despair-inducing, Madara's conviction only grew stronger.
He had become almost fanatically obsessed with the Eye of the Moon Plan, caring about nothing else.
So whether it was the outbreak of the Second Great Ninja War or Konoha's thriving prosperity, Madara didn't care in the slightest.
Three months ago, Madara was suddenly awakened from his sleep, breaking out in a cold sweat. He turned around in disbelief to look at the Gedo Statue behind him.
At that moment, he could clearly sense a deep, unsettling feeling emanating from the statue, as if it might leave with him at any moment.
For the past three months, he had been tormented by this feeling constantly, his body aging even faster than before.
This left him feeling hopeless, and he began to doubt whether he could last until he found the resentful pawn he sought.
"Madara-sama!" A pitch-black figure suddenly emerged from the ground and spoke cautiously, "I've come across some very troubling news."
Madara clenched his fists tightly, forcing down his anxiety and impatience. Coldly, he said, "Speak."
"It's just... it's almost certain, Shin... seems to have actually awakened the Rinnegan."
Madara's heart trembled violently at these words, and he quickly asked, "How do you know?"
"The bandages around his eyes have been removed again. And this time, after taking them off, he's started wearing sunglasses everywhere he goes, as if hiding something."
Indeed, this was the second time Shin had bandaged his eyes, and this time it had lasted nearly two years.
At first, neither Madara nor Black Zetsu had paid any attention to it.
In Madara's view, the first time Shin had wrapped his eyes, it was to mislead Hiruzen, he hadn't actually gone blind at all.
Later, removing the bandages was simply because there was no longer any need to deceive the other side, and it was even a chance to show off his strength.
Not only Madara, but everyone else thought the same.
As for the second time Shin wrapped bandages around his eyes, it was likely because he had overused his ocular powers and had truly gone blind.
Madara himself was a wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan and knew its conditions better than anyone, so naturally he trusted his own judgment.
He did not believe that Shin had awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
After all, Madara had obtained his own Eternal Mangekyō by transplanting the eyes of his younger brother, Izuna.
As for Shin, he didn't even have a brother, his parents had long since passed away, so there was simply no opportunity for him to obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
However, three months ago, after that unsettling feeling came over him, Madara immediately suspected that someone else might have evolved their eyes into the Rinnegan, just as he had.
Only the power of the Rinnegan could summon the Gedo Statue, and that feeling he had, that the statue might leave him at any moment, meant that someone was trying to influence it.
At the same time, he knew that the culprit wasn't Nagato, the vessel he had chosen, but someone else entirely.
This act of influencing the statue from afar without summoning it away was, in Madara's eyes, a grave insult and provocation.
What the hell do you mean by this?
On the verge of losing his mind, Madara immediately ordered Black Zetsu to investigate and find out exactly who was opposing him.
After a long period of elimination, Madara narrowed it down to Shin and Orochimaru.
If it were anyone else, he would never have connected them to the Rinnegan just because of Shin and Orochimaru.
But Madara himself had gained the Rinnegan by transplanting Hashirama's cells.
Put together the three names, Konoha, Orochimaru, Shin, and you get: Hashirama cells, the scientist who performs the transplant, and the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Hashirama cells + transplant + Mangekyō Sharingan = Rinnegan!
In this way, everything made sense, and there was no other explanation.
Moreover, it seemed this scientist had mastered some extraordinary secret that could accelerate the evolution of the Rinnegan.
From Shin's recent removal of his bandages, combined with his ability to affect the Gedo Statue, it was clear that his Rinnegan had already fully evolved.
Are scientists really this terrifying? Are they actually stronger than my own rough methods?
"What should we do?" Black Zetsu asked urgently.
Others might not know the details of the Eye of the Moon Plan, but Black Zetsu knew them all too well.
If anyone was most unwilling for the plan to fail, it was Black Zetsu, far more so than Madara himself.
If Shin really had awakened the Rinnegan and summoned the Gedo Statue away, killing Madara in the process, Black Zetsu's entire plan would collapse.
He could give up everything else, but if this meant he couldn't save Mother, what would he do?
At that moment, a proud, cold smile appeared on Madara's aged face. "Then let's meet him."
"Huh?" Black Zetsu froze, unable to follow Madara's train of thought.
Meet him? What are you talking about?
"If that person really is Shin, he may simply want to meet me. This method might just be his way of sending the message that he wants a meeting and has no hostile intent."
"Isn't the idea of meeting him far too risky?" Black Zetsu's heart tightened, his whole body trembling as he asked in extreme anxiety.
Meet him? Are you sure about this? What if you're wrong? You'd be dead on the spot!
You dying might not matter, but what about saving Mother?
That's a fully evolved Rinnegan wielder at his peak. In your current state, if you fell into his hands, you'd be nothing more than a fish on the chopping board, without even a chance to struggle.
"You seem awfully nervous," Madara said coldly, fixing his gaze on Black Zetsu.
"I'm only concerned for your safety." Realizing he had overreacted, Black Zetsu hurried to explain.