Uzushiogakure
Uzushiogakure could no longer be called a thriving village.
Although it had not completely collapsed into ruins, the difference was merely a matter of time. Broken streets lay silent beneath layers of moss, and half-standing structures leaned like corpses frozen in their final moments.
Uchiha Madara stood atop the remains of a long-collapsed tower at the center of the village. Shattered stone crunched beneath his feet, green moss creeping across the ruins like rot. His Rinnegan swept calmly across this land of death, unmoved and without the slightest ripple of emotion.
Just as he had expected.
There was nothing of value left here.
The remaining Uzumaki clan members were either too old, too weak in bloodline, or already broken in spirit. None of them were suitable vessels for his eyes.
The plan had to change.
"Tobi," Madara's hoarse voice echoed through the empty ruins, "where is the candidate you scouted in the Land of Rain? Take him to the Land of Water."
White Zetsu, his face spiraling unnaturally, slowly emerged from the shadows behind him. A trace of hesitation crept into his voice.
"Lord Madara… you're not waiting any longer? The variable named Sawada Hiroki—"
"I can't afford to wait anymore," Madara interrupted coldly. His eyes slowly closed, as if gathering the last remnants of his strength. "My time is running out. Before my chosen candidate matures, this world must not be allowed to produce anything capable of threatening the Eye of the Moon Plan."
A ten-year-old child.
Of unknown origin.
Sealing Kakuzu alive.
Capturing Hanzō.
At that age, even Senju Hashirama could not participate in battles of this level.
This was no longer something that could be explained with the word genius.
For a fleeting moment, Madara even suspected the impossible—that this child might be Senju Tobirama himself. That cursed man, having developed some abominable technique before death, might have reincarnated.
Madara had no doubt that Tobirama was capable of something like this.
That man, who—like himself—studied the principles behind ninjutsu rather than merely using them, could absolutely achieve such a feat if he set his mind to it.
If it truly was Tobirama—
A sharp killing intent flashed through Madara's eyes.
Izuna—
Unfortunately, in his current state, Madara lacked the power to send anyone to deal with that child, who might very well be Tobirama reborn.
"…No."
Madara suddenly changed his mind. His Rinnegan flickered with cold resolve.
"Tobi. Take me to the Land of Rain."
White Zetsu froze. "Lord Madara? You're going personally—?"
"I will personally escort the candidate to the Land of Water," Madara said, his voice like a frozen wind from the depths of the underworld. "My plan allows no margin for error."
He needed power.
He needed pawns.
He needed to accumulate strength in the Land of Water and, using his eyes, rebuild a force capable of crushing everything.
That child named Sawada Hiroki—whether you are Tobirama's reincarnation or not, whether you are connected to him or not, whether you would oppose my plan or not—
Uchiha Madara will erase you.
In this world, no one can stop Uchiha Madara.
Land of Rain Border – Temporary Black Prison
Several days later, within the temporary black prison established at the Rain Country border, Hanzō remained unconscious.
Hiroki let out a long breath as his consciousness withdrew from the System space.
The progress bar had finally reached 100%.
Hanzō's vast and intricate knowledge base had been completely backed up into Hiroki's mind.
In truth, the process should have finished much earlier.
Unfortunately, Hanzō kept waking up intermittently, causing the download to abruptly interrupt each time. On top of that, Hiroki couldn't keep his hand pressed against the old man's head twenty-four hours a day—he still needed to eat, drink, and take care of basic bodily needs.
As a result, the process dragged on far longer than expected.
During these days, Konoha's interrogation team had also arrived.
Just like in the original timeline, Jiraiya took Yahiko and Konan as his disciples. However, Nagato—who should have inherited the Rinnegan—was nowhere to be found. Hiroki suspected this was a butterfly effect caused by Hanzō being captured alive before the Second Ninja World War even truly began.
As for Hiroki himself, under Sakumo Hatake's constant "protection," his daily routine consisted of little more than eating, sleeping, and pressing Hanzō's head to continue downloading data.
Now that the backup was complete, it was time to leave.
"Are you ready?" Sakumo Hatake's voice came from behind him, concise and efficient as ever.
Hiroki nodded.
But just as he was about to move, a sharp alarm pierced the quiet of the outpost.
"Report! Hidden Rain ninja are outside the outpost, demanding negotiations!"
"What?!" Jiraiya's expression changed instantly. "They still have the nerve to show up?"
"What are their terms?" Orochimaru asked calmly.
"They demand Hanzō's release. In exchange, they will provide a complete list of all remaining Hidden Rain ninja."
"That's impossible," Jiraiya snapped. "Hanzō is far too dangerous. Even if we get the list, we can't let him go."
"If we refuse," the messenger continued grimly, "they claim they will provide Iwagakure with a detailed strategic map of the Land of Rain. Their remaining three jōnin and over twenty chūnin will defect to Iwagakure and immediately go to war with Konoha."
"Those bastards!" Tsunade slammed her fist down and stood up, pacing angrily. "If we release him and he recovers, breaking the seal, then we gain nothing at all!"
"But if we don't release him," Jiraiya growled, running a hand through his hair, "we'll be dragged into a war right now. How many people will Konoha lose? Sensei's entire plan will collapse!"
"Then sever his limbs," Orochimaru suggested coldly.
"No. They want Hanzō returned completely intact."
Trouble had come again.
—or had it?
Hiroki suddenly realized something.
There was a function he had never tried.
"What if—"
His voice wasn't loud, but it cut cleanly through the argument.
"What if he's still their 'god'… but a god who can no longer wield his scythe?"
"What nonsense are you talking about now?" Tsunade snapped, glaring at him.
Hiroki ignored her.
Under everyone's bewildered gaze, he walked slowly toward the unconscious Hanzō.
He placed his hand gently on Hanzō's forehead.
His eyes closed.
His consciousness sank into Hanzō's System space.
This time, he didn't copy.
He didn't read.
His will manifested as a cold, merciless hand that seized the root directory labeled:
[Combat Ninjutsu]
Then—
He right-clicked.
[Select][Copy][Paste][Delete]
The familiar options appeared.
What would happen if every single combat technique—ninjutsu, taijutsu, summoning arts—
Was erased?
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