[Chapter Size: 2400 Words.]
Third Person POV
Skellige.
...
...
On the continent, at that exact moment, a group of people came out of the sea and appeared in the Kingdom of Verden, gathering in a forest after having traveled through the night running over the sea.
Everyone wore black cloaks with red clouds, signaling a certain organization that had emerged half a year earlier on the continent, specifically in the Kingdom of Kaedwen, to the east of the continent.
No one had much information about them. This organization began intervening in events that were turning into a radical war between humans and non-humans living in the Kingdom of Kaedwen.
The king of the kingdom had made drastic decisions to begin "purifying" the region, influenced by the ideas of the new religion that was becoming increasingly strong in the Kingdom of Redania: the Eternal Fire.
This group, called Akatsuki, began by helping the non-humans, massacring the king's soldiers. At the same time, when the revolted non-humans began massacring humans who lived in the same cities, the organization itself intervened again and began killing the non-humans who were unjustly executing humans.
Several sorcerers, spies, and even students from the University of Oxenfurt went to investigate, trying to make some contact with those strange people who were extremely fast and powerful. They could massacre dozens of veteran soldiers as if they were nothing.
They possessed powerful magic capable of incinerating hundreds of people and, not to mention their speed, they emerged from the shadows. The victims did not even realize how they had died when they acted.
No one was able to provide a definitive answer about who they were, since no one obtained direct and lasting contact with them beyond a few words. Those who tried anything against them were, at the very least, injured — in the worst cases, massacred.
However, some wiser individuals linked this group to the feared Madara Uchiha, who had also become active once again after the destruction caused in the Battle of Sodden, years before.
Everyone on the continent was watching him. He appeared in Skellige, supported by King Bran, and married Princess Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, the last descendant of the royal family of Cintra. The continent sent representatives to the wedding for various intentions, but shortly after the wedding, King Bran no longer allowed anyone to enter the castle, preventing interference with the newly formed couple.
Even so, all eyes were turned toward Skellige, waiting for any action. Now Madara could have an influence over Cintra as he had never had before, after his union with the royal family and placing his blood in the children he would have with the princess, and many expected him to act immediately and demonstrate his powers once again, destroying armies like a god, as he had done in the war.
But they would be disappointed in the following year.
Madara would not act now. He would act silently across the continent. And first, he would send this group of people known as the Akatsuki organization.
Now, at that moment, the group of 30 people was gathered in that forest somewhere along the coast of Verden.
Gathered together, faces hidden beneath their hoods, they were all wooden clones created by Madara, sustained with a large amount of chakra that he had made sure to provide—enough for them to last at least three months if they conserved their energy wisely, even in conflicts. If they did not need to fight or use large amounts of chakra, they could last up to five months.
"Then we will split up from now on." said one of the clones, while the others nodded.
"The mission is not simple. Seek all types of information about the creature they call Gaunter O'Dimm, merchant of mirrors or the Devil himself. But not only that. Gather as much information as possible about what is happening on the continent. About important people and their schemes."
Akatsuki would act as an information network, while Madara would continue to send more clones later. They would infiltrate the places where the most powerful people of the continent were concentrated to understand the current state of politics, war, and alliances. They would become by far the greatest gatherers of information in the entire continent.
The clones would spread both to the north, Kovir and the northern mountains, and to the south, invading the edges of the Nilfgaardian Empire.
Each clone would go to different places. Some to secret bases, locations that Madara had obtained by reading Vilgefortz's mind. They would seek knowledge from the sorcerer and other sorcerers, witcher schools, explore royal courts, infiltrating to read documents and listen to conversations without being noticed. Others would seek the main centers of knowledge, such as large libraries, the University of Oxenfurt, and the College of Aretuza in Temeria. Ban Ard was also an option Madara had not yet visited, the magic college for males, unlike Aretuza. Ban Ard is in Kaedwen.
Meanwhile, the real Madara was still in Skellige. He would accompany Ciri to Temeria, to the city of Ellander, where they would go to the Temple of Melitele. After that, Madara would head north, going first to Aretuza. There were clues on how he could deal with Gaunter O'Dimm. He would seek Olgierd von Everec in the future when the time of his contract began to expire, since at that time Olgierd should still be living with the heart of stone, indifferent to his pact with O'Dimm.
Madara would need to find Olgierd. At the same time, Madara would also need to develop a jutsu capable of summoning the Shinigami — the only way to deal with O'Dimm definitively before obtaining his rinnegan.
And he did not intend to trade his own soul to seal the demon. He would need another soul for the sacrifice. He knew very well that, with Olgierd having made a pact with the Djinn, his soul was more than ready to be taken by the contract he accepted. And Madara would not have any scruples in sacrificing it, if necessary, in order to have the Shinigami to seal that primordial evil as it is described.
But that would only be done when he found him.
After all, what was Olgierd's story? A frustrated and passionate man, living with his regret after making a pact with Gaunter O'Dimm. He became vulnerable after being rejected by the father of the woman he loved and being responsible for his brother's death.
What he asked for was: to marry Iris and to regain his family's wealth and prestige. He got that, but with a trick from the demon — he would have a heart of stone, one that feels no love, no joy, no guilt, no emotional pain.
That's why that demon would never be trustworthy. Madara knew more about him than Gaunter could imagine; otherwise, he would know that trying to blackmail Madara would be useless in the end.
"Very well. Let's begin to spread out!"
With that, the clones quickly began to move, leaving that forest and advancing in various directions. Each of them had a clear objective. They ran like ninjas, avoiding people as they entered the kingdom. Some would encounter familiar faces again, and one of the clones was particularly eager to meet the druid leader of the Brokilon Forest. He couldn't imagine how she would react upon seeing him again, after the day he had cast a Chibaku Tensei and destroyed part of the forest within a genjutsu — merely as a threat.
While the clones spread in all directions wearing Akatsuki cloaks, the real Madara was sitting atop a mountain on one of Skellige's islands, in a lotus position.
At that moment, a surge of blue energy burst chaotically from his body like an aura toward the sky, and behind him shone a power stone he had unlocked — the last point of natural energy he had absorbed, raising to the maximum the percentage of system release he could achieve in Skellige.
Madara had finally stabilized his chakra. The energy no longer seemed chaotic, but calm, flowing from him like a peaceful river, completely different from the first time he had tried. He had further increased his chakra reserves, becoming several times stronger — his energy now surpassed that of a Biju.
[Congratulations. You have reached 60% of System Release.]
He now possessed 60% of the full power of Madara's system at his peak. He had hoped to reach the level of the Eternal Mangekyou, but what he gained was different: besides the immense amount of chakra, he obtained additional benefits.
Several days had passed since the attack of the Wild Hunt on the castle. Mousesack and Yennefer worked tirelessly to prevent new attacks, as the elves had managed to open portals directly inside and outside the castle, releasing troops that resulted in the deaths of over a hundred people — servants and soldiers.
This deeply enraged King Bran, and the following days were spent in funerals.
Thanks to the staffs used by the navigators of the Hunt, which had been captured, it was possible to find a way to block the opening of portals in specific areas. Using the information and spells that Madara had stolen from the minds of the navigators themselves, Mousesack and other druids, along with Yennefer, began creating protective barriers around the castle and the city.
But the time of waiting on the islands had come to an end. They would depart at that moment.
Madara reduced the flow of chakra in his body until the blue aura disappeared. He opened his eyes, revealing the Mangekyō. The landscape before him reflected in his glowing pupils.
His eyes were stronger.
There was no longer any loss of vision, even when using the Susanoo — or any advanced ocular technique of his eyes. The abilities of time and space no longer consumed his sight.
Thanks to the Mokuton, he finally had eyes worthy of his own power. But still far inferior to an Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
In any case, upon reaching 60%, he had acquired a new power. The system did not release abilities exactly in the order in which Madara had obtained them in the other world, but rather proportionally to the level of power.
He used to think of four fundamental abilities that would define the peak of his power: The Rinnegan, the Eternal Mangekyō, Sage Mode, and the Nine-Tailed Fox.
Mokuton, in the other world, only came after the Eternal Mangekyō, but here he had received it even before that, because the system understood that if it released the Eternal Mangekyō too early, he would simply become uncontrollably strong. Even so, even with Mokuton, Madara could not create giant colossi like Hashirama. At most, he could create the Wooden Dragon.
Having the Mangekyō before the Mokuton would be extremely broken. That is why the system did not release it and instead granted Mokuton when he reached 50%. What it gave him was the wood element.
And as he had suspected, upon reaching 60%, he did not receive the Eternal Mangekyō, nor the Rinnegan, nor the Kyuubi — which were the abilities he imagined would be the next steps. What he received was Sage Mode — or, at least, the knowledge to acquire it.
He could not simply absorb natural energy in that world as he would in the shinobi world, where there was chakra everywhere. He would have to adapt it to the spiritual energy that existed there, filtering it without allowing the energy of chaos to contaminate his body. After all, he did not have the capacity to use chaos the way the beings who dominated magic did.
It would be a challenge, but that would be the next step of his training — while hunting O'Dimm and protecting his wife and child.
Madara remained seated a while longer on that mountain, breathing deeply as he tried to sense traces of natural energy around him. Fragments of it were in the air, in the vegetation, in the animals, in the ocean. Everything possessed a fraction.
He realized that mastering it would not be as difficult as he initially thought. With some training, he could reach Sage Mode. It would not be as powerful as Hashirama — at least not now — to the point of summoning a statue of ten thousand hands, two kilometers tall, that would make even the Nine-Tailed Fox look like a kitten beside it.
But even so, it was a beginning.
Satisfied, he did not absorb anything at that moment. He simply took a deep breath, raised his hand, and whistled. With a bit of chakra, the sound echoed across the entire island.
Soon, the beating of strong wings cut through the wind — and Toto, his great griffin, landed before him.
"Let's return to the main island. The others are already leaving. It's time for me to say goodbye."
Madara mounted the griffin, and Toto spread his wings, taking flight toward the horizon.
It was time to say farewell to Mousesack, Bran, and the others. They had done everything they could. Everything Madara could take advantage of in Skellige.
He had tamed the giant, learned about the clan of the berserker men and their conspiracies, the path to the Sunstone — it would all be protected should he need it in the future. He had explored the islands, completed missions, fought against the Wild Hunt, and acquired two properties on the main island.
Meanwhile, he and Ciri spent the last days together in the cabin atop the mountain, enjoying the little time they had. Eira always accompanied them. But now, the new journey was beginning.
Madara knew he was at a point in history where, a year from now, the meeting between the sorcerers would take place — later known as the Thanedd Coup — where all the chaos would begin.
Vilgefortz had been one of the main manipulators, and he was dead this time, and Madara wondered how the sorcerers would behave now.
Would they still be creating schemes to kill one another, taking sides between the North and Nilfgaard?
How would they act now, with new pieces on the board? With someone that no one on the continent could truly challenge? After all, he was something no one could ignore.
Those who desired Madara's death — kings, sorcerers, nobles, conspirators — knew he was a threat to the balance of power in the world. But none of them had the courage to face him anymore.
Now, he wondered how they would act when he would not use his power to take Cintra yet.
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