In the world of ninja, sometimes the dead are more useful than the living.
Especially when it comes to a ninja like Madara Uchiha. His corpse was extremely valuable, containing vast amounts of crucial intelligence and serving as an exceptional specimen for studying the Uchiha clan.
Just his pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan alone was priceless.
If Madara had been buried underground, his grave would likely have been dug up dozens of times the very same night he was laid to rest.
Therefore, out of kindness towards his old friend, Hashirama ordered Madara's body to be cremated, preventing any ill-intentioned individuals from seizing the opportunity.
Unfortunately, Hashirama did not foresee that this so-called "ill-intentioned individual" was none other than his own younger brother, Tobirama Senju.
Tobirama pretended to agree with Hashirama. After arranging escorts to bring Hashirama back to the village to rest, he secretly took away Madara's corpse, hiding it inside a basement located behind Konoha's mountains.
Tobirama always harbored deep prejudice against the Uchiha clan. In his opinion, this clan was inherently evil, unsaveable, and could only be destroyed.
By studying Madara's eyes and body, he hoped to uncover the clan's fatal weaknesses. That way, he could find the chance to wipe them all out.
A day later.
In a dim underground chamber, Madara Uchiha lay on a lab table surrounded by various experimental instruments.
Tobirama had just spent some time experimenting on Madara's corpse, recording several sets of experimental data before returning home to rest.
Plop. Plop.
Water accumulated deep underground continuously dripped from the ceiling of the basement—the only sound in the otherwise silent space.
Suddenly.
Hiss!
Lying on the lab table, Madara abruptly opened his eyes wide, [resurrection] from death.
However, within his right eye, the Sharingan pattern had already faded, leaving behind a murky, pale pupil.
"[Izanagi], did it work..." murmured Madara to himself as he sat up slowly. He touched his blind right eye with his hand, confirming his successful resurrection before bursting into laughter—gradually growing louder and louder.
"Hahaha! Never saw this coming, did you, Hashirama? I deliberately faked my death at your hands. Although I paid the price with one eye, I've obtained your blood and flesh tissue. Soon, I will awaken the Rinnegan and possess the [power of all creation]!"
He ripped open his shirt, staring at the human face pattern that had appeared on his chest, laughing even more maniacally as his voice echoed throughout the basement.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Just as Madara threw his head back in mad laughter, a crisp round of applause suddenly rang out within the basement.
"Who's there?"
Startled, Madara snapped around fiercely, loudly demanding answers while every hair on his body stood straight up in alarm.
He had become too careless in his moment of triumph, failing to notice someone else's presence nearby.
In the corner's shadow, Heiyan stepped forward.
"It's you?!"
Madara felt even greater shock. Making defensive preparations immediately while cautiously questioning Heiyan, he asked, "Exactly who are you?"
Rather than answering, Heiyan acted directly.
Hiss!
Extending one hand outward, he conjured a semi-transparent Chakra hand midair which dashed toward Madara as though grabbing a chicken.
Madara quickly tried to mobilize his chakra to resist, but found a powerful pressure coming from all directions, rendering him completely immobile.
All he could do was stare in helpless horror as that enormous chakra hand reached forward and grabbed him tightly.
At this moment, Heiyan seemed capable of killing Madara Uchiha with just a little extra force.
However, when he attempted to do so, an incomprehensible power suddenly emerged from the void, halting Heiyan's action.
Moreover, even Heiyan's chakra hand was counterattacked by that force. It cracked inch by inch, and finally exploded with a loud noise, dissipating into nothingness.
This appeared to be some kind of rule-based power.
"Indeed, returning to the past and changing history is impossible because established history is destined to remain unaltered. If someone forcefully attempts to do so, they will face retaliation from the world's power and be erased."
Heiyan reflected silently, confirming his initial thought.
Then, would making minor adjustments to history be feasible?
With these thoughts, Heiyan acted again. The Murakumo Sword flew from his sleeve and, at lightning speed, severed Madara Uchiha's left arm.
"Ahh!"
Madara immediately clutched his bleeding shoulder, letting out a painful scream.
At the same time, Heiyan once again felt a powerful presence of the world enveloping him, punishing him for violating its rules.
Heiyan let out a stifled groan, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, though in reality, he wasn't seriously injured.
The retaliation from this world's power stayed well within his capacity to endure.
This was quite interesting.
It meant that, within the river of history in the original timeline, Heiyan wasn't merely a passive spectator anymore—he could now use his own strength to make minor alterations and adjustments to already-occurred events.
"We'll cross paths again someday."
Heiyan spoke those meaningful words directly to Madara before turning around and leaving the basement, leaving the latter in stunned confusion.
Madara sensed that this mysterious white-haired man had seen through all his plans, that every one of his moves had already been foreseen.
But Madara didn't have much time to think about it.
In his current state—blind in one eye and missing an arm—his situation was dire. He needed to leave here as soon as possible.
Gritting his teeth, he dragged himself off the operating table and fled the place in disarray.
Meanwhile, Heiyan had already returned to the banks of the river of time, preparing to head toward the next specific moment.
He witnessed the First Great Ninja World War, where the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, chose to sacrifice himself to fight Cloud's King and Silver in a mortal duel, covering his students' retreat before perishing together with them.
Regarding this historical event, Heiyan had no intention of interfering.
Then, he saw the Second Great Ninja War occurring over a decade later. During that conflict, Uzu Country fell and the Uzumaki clan was annihilated.
Heiyan realized that it must have been at this very point in time when his interference caused the world timeline to shift, giving rise to a parallel world.
He also saw how, on the battlefield of Amegakure, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Orochimaru gained Hanzo's recognition and became known as the legendary Sannin (Legendary Three).
Heiyan continued observing further downstream.
He beheld the Third Great Ninja War.
In this great war, Minato Namikaze shined brilliantly. He successively experienced the battle at Kannabi Bridge and faced off against A and B of Cloud, eventually earning a formidable reputation as the "Yellow Flash."
Heiyan witnessed the tragedy that befell Kakashi's team—the loss of Rin and Obito being taken by Madara, who then implanted the Moon Eye Plan into his mind.
Then came the time after the Third Great Ninja War, on the night when Kushina Uzumaki went into labor.
[Nine-Tails' Attack]
Heiyan saw how, under the moonlight, a massive nine-tailed fox rampaged through the Hidden Leaf Village, unleashing terrible destruction.
By this time, Madara Uchiha had already pulled out his oxygen tubes and ended his life. Obito Uchiha took his place, becoming the hidden hand orchestrating events from the shadows.
[Why don't you go check it out?]
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