"You became Madara's disciple. How could I not go and meet Madara myself?"
Raijin found a chair in the room, sat down, and looked at Tatsu.
"A ninja as powerful as him taking you as a disciple… as your parent, how could I not prepare a gift for your master?"
Leaning back in the chair, Raijin moved his fingers slightly, and a few strands of iron sand floated, gently lowering Uchiha Tatsu to the ground.
"Thud!"
With a soft sound, Tatsu landed firmly on the floor.
"Especially since Uchiha Madara was the one who offered to help me awaken the Rinnegan."
Raijin chuckled and twirled the porcelain bottle between his fingers.
"So this is…"
Tatsu stood in front of him, his gaze falling on the bottle in Raijin's hand.
"This is Madara's blood. Your mother can easily turn it into a genetic serum. If nothing goes wrong, I'll be able to awaken the Rinnegan soon."
Raijin tucked the bottle away and looked at Tatsu.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Tatsu frowned, confused.
The Rinnegan… the Sage's Eyes… the legendary dojutsu of the Sage of the Six Paths.
Wasn't possessing such eyes something to be happy about?
"Why should I be happy? The abilities of the Rinnegan and Tenseigan overlap a lot, and in exchange for obtaining these Rinnegan, I'll have to permanently give up Senjutsu. It's a trade-off."
Raijin explained calmly.
"You're using something you already have to get something that no one else can provide. Isn't that a great deal?"
Tatsu frowned even deeper.
To him, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with this deal.
If anything, it looked like Raijin was the one benefiting.
"Who said he's the only one who can provide it?"
Raijin chuckled and shook his head.
The key to awakening the Rinnegan was the chakra of Asura and Indra's reincarnations.
And chakra existed in their cells, meaning that as long as he got the cells of the reincarnations, he could awaken the Rinnegan.
And as far as Raijin knew, Mikoto was pregnant right now.
It wouldn't be long before the next reincarnation of Indra—Sasuke—was born.
By then, all he would need was a little of Sasuke's blood, combined with Senju Hashirama's cells, and he could awaken the Rinnegan himself.
Without taking Madara's deal.
And that way, he wouldn't have to give up anything.
All it would take was a simple conversation with Senju Tobirama.
"Huh? But didn't you say…"
Tatsu was caught off guard and stopped mid-sentence, unsure of how to continue.
That's right—Raijin never actually said that only Uchiha Madara could provide this resource.
"That's why I told you to talk to me before making decisions. There's information you don't know, and without it, you can't make the best choice."
Raijin chuckled lightly, stood up, and spoke to Uchiha Tatsu.
Teenagers tend to be rebellious, and just scolding them doesn't work.
You have to let them understand what they did wrong.
Compared to regular kids, those in the shinobi world mature faster and are more practical.
They actually reflect on their own shortcomings.
"So… was I wrong this time?"
Tatsu lifted his head and looked at Uchiha Raijin, who was walking into the room.
"Well… not exactly."
Raijin leaned against the doorframe and looked at Uchiha Tatsu.
"In essence, permanent Senjutsu will keep increasing in value over time, while Madara's cells will only decrease in value as time goes on."
"Why?"
Tatsu was surprised. This was something he had never heard before.
"Because without the Rinnegan, I'm constantly adapting to these eyes, and my power ceiling is gradually rising.
But Uchiha Madara is different—he's already reached his limit.
What he's doing now is learning to control the power he suddenly gained, but his strength won't grow any further."
Raijin broke it down and explained it to Uchiha Tatsu.
"So, Uchiha Madara will have to get permanent Senjutsu before his cells lose too much value. Otherwise, he'll eventually be left behind."
"So even if I hadn't become Madara's disciple, this still would've happened?"
Tatsu was stunned, suddenly feeling like he understood something.
"That's right. Your presence just gave Madara a reasonable excuse to make a move earlier than planned."
Raijin nodded.
"If you weren't involved, Madara would've had to bring this up in a more abrupt way, and I could've negotiated for a better deal."
After a pause, Raijin added another remark.
"This world of yours is way too complicated."
Tatsu muttered with a twisted expression.
"Tell me about it. It's exhausting. Making choices is always the hardest part."
Raijin shook his head and turned to leave, planning to find Tsunade.
"Oh, and next time you're about to do something big like this, make sure to report it to the Hokage."
Suddenly remembering something, Raijin turned back to Tatsu.
"Otherwise… you might just get labeled a rogue ninja."
As he finished speaking, the sound of the door closing echoed through the room.
"These old geezers… seriously…"
Uchiha Tatsu glanced at the closed door, shook his head, sighed, and then turned to find Uchiha Madara.
The decision was made, and the consequences had been dealt with, so he might as well make the most of it.
After all, he took a beating to get this chance.
Time to study! Study like crazy!
Uchiha Madara, from today onward, you can forget about getting any rest!
…
"This is Madara's blood?"
Tsunade took the porcelain vial Raijin handed her and asked.
"Yeah."
Raijin nodded. With the current level of Konohagakure's medical facilities, developing a genetic serum wouldn't be too difficult.
"You just turned down Orochimaru not long ago…"
Tsunade played with the vial in her hand, looking at Raijin with a smirk.
"This is different. I traded permanent Senjutsu for it with Uchiha Madara."
Raijin lay down on the bed and shook his head, though his tone lacked confidence.
Even though it was true, Orochimaru would only see that Raijin had completed his Kekkei Genkai while he had not.
That's just human nature. It's not about strength or morality.
"But Orochimaru can also use permanent Senjutsu."
Tsunade glanced sideways at Raijin.
"Yeah, that doesn't matter. What matters is that Uchiha Madara said if anyone besides you, me, Tatsu, and Ryuri awakens the Rinnegan, he's going to kill them."
Raijin stood up and looked at Tsunade.
"Well, I guess Madara just solved a big problem for you."
Tsunade chuckled and nodded. Given the current balance between Raijin and Madara, everyone understood one thing—if Madara wanted to go after someone, Raijin wouldn't be able to stop him.
Unless, of course, they all did what Tsunade did and stayed by Raijin's side.
A fight between Madara and Raijin could go on for a long time without a clear winner.
But if anyone else fought Madara, lasting three moves would already make them one of the strongest in Konohagakure.
"Hmm~"
Raijin sighed with a helpless smile and lay down on the bed.
"In that case, I'll first use this blood to make a potion for you. Then, I'll use your blood to make potions for myself, Tatsu, and Ryuri."
Tsunade nodded and spoke to Raijin.
"Thanks for the hard work."
Raijin nodded back and reached out to pat Tsunade's arm.
"This could be a good thing. Who knows? Maybe once you go further in understanding the chakra system, you'll find a way to remove the curse mark on Tatsu."
Tsunade looked at Raijin, who was sprawled out lazily.
"Alright… I promise not to use physical methods as my first choice to remove the curse mark."
Raijin raised a hand and spoke softly with his eyes closed.
"You… You're getting more shameless!"
Tsunade huffed and smacked Raijin's stomach.
Raijin immediately curled up and, taking the chance, wrapped his arms around Tsunade.
"If nothing unexpected happens, things should stay peaceful for a long time. So, we need to prepare. Bigger challenges are waiting for us in the future."
Raijin whispered near Tsunade's ear.
"Mm."
Tsunade nodded and slowly closed her eyes.
It's really not easy…
She once thought that after the Four Great Hidden Villages were gone, Konohagakure could finally enjoy peace forever.
But before they even finished dealing with external threats, internal conflicts were already starting to surface.
Hopefully, those fools will use their brains. If not, Tsunade wouldn't mind teaching them a lesson—one by one.
---
"If you keep training like this, you're going to end up in the hospital."
Uchiha Madara looked at Uchiha Tatsu, who was drenched in sweat, with a hint of exasperation.
He had no idea what got into this kid today. All of a sudden, he was working so hard.
"It's fine. My mom's healing jutsu is the best in the world."
Tatsu finally stopped, panting heavily.
After becoming Madara's student and giving up so much in return, he felt like every minute of rest was a huge waste.
But the moment he stopped moving, a wave of exhaustion hit him, and he had no choice but to collapse to the ground.
He guided the natural energy in his body to help calm his nerves.
"You don't actually have to push yourself this hard."
Madara spoke softly as he looked at Tatsu.
"The ninja world is completely safe for you right now."
After a short pause, Madara continued.
"So what? Does that mean when danger comes, I should just hide in a shelter, watching my family fight for their lives through a tiny crack?"
Tatsu glanced at Madara, his eyes filled with fatigue.
"If I'm not mistaken, the danger you're talking about… is you, right?"
Madara's lips twitched slightly, his gaze turning sharp.
This brat… Does he even think before he speaks?
Tatsu chuckled.
"Anyone who fights my family is a threat."
He didn't care at all about Madara's reaction.
Interesting. What's he gonna do, kill me?
"So what now? I'm going to be fighting your father more and more in the future."
Uchiha Madara let out a cold laugh, looking down at Uchiha Tatsu.
"Then train hard and take me down."
Tatsu slowly opened one eye and looked at Uchiha Madara.
"Oh? If that's the case, then the effort you're putting in now is far from enough."
Madara stood up, looking down at Tatsu, who was sprawled on the ground.
"Get up. Keep training."
"Wait a minute, let me rest."
Tatsu waved his hand weakly. If he kept going, he felt like he might pass out.
"Rest? Can resting help you defeat me?"
Madara scoffed. As he spoke, he activated the Rinnegan's ability.
With a puff of smoke, a massive, winged, multi-headed hellhound appeared beside Tatsu.
"Huh?"
Tatsu jumped up instinctively, quickly putting some distance between himself and the creature.
But as soon as he moved, the hellhound started chasing after him.
"Uchiha Madara! What are you doing?!"
"What am I doing? Isn't it obvious?"
With his hands behind his back, Madara watched the scene unfold, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
Just giving you a little motivation.
Idiot.
---
"If everything goes as expected, after I awaken the Rinnegan, I'll give Madara permanent Sage Mode."
In the Hokage's office, Raijin spoke to the gathered officials.
"But even if you do that, when will we ever be able to fully suppress Madara?"
Danzo frowned, looking at Raijin.
"Hmm… Do you really think Madara hasn't considered the same problem?"
Raijin rested his chin on one hand, throwing the question back at Danzo.
Honestly, he was glad Danzo hadn't turned into some scheming villain.
But was Danzo just not very smart?
Or did he just have a narrow view of things?
"...He…"
Danzo pressed his lips together and fell silent.
"I think it's a good idea. You've been ahead of him on the Sage Mode path for over ten years. If you use this to refine your bloodline abilities, it's worth it."
Senju Tobirama nodded in support.
Right now, he actually thought it was necessary to have another ninja in the village who was close to Raijin in strength.
Because that would force most of Konoha's people to stay united around Raijin.
"Yeah, later I'll figure out a way for Tsunade and my two kids to awaken the Rinnegan as well. Madara and I already talked about it."
Raijin nodded and looked at Tobirama.
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