After seeing Uchiha Cai and Uchiha Oto off, Uchiha En fell into deep thought. He had long known that the Third Great Ninja War would cause heavy losses to the Uchiha Clan.
Because in the original work, Itachi said that after the Third Great Ninja War, only the First Squad of the Police Force consisted entirely of Uchiha Clan members.
But Uchiha En didn't expect the Uchiha Clan's losses to be so severe.
For one, the Third Squad has already lost more than half its members, and the Third Great Ninja War won't end for another four years or so.
If things continue like this, it's no wonder the Uchiha Clan would suffer a decline in talent after the war.
With so few people left, even if three Mangekyo users stood with the hawk faction and launched a coup together, it probably wouldn't end well.
"What a mess!" Uchiha En couldn't help but sigh.
Meanwhile, the White Zetsu beneath the Land of Bears camp had heard Uchiha En and Uchiha Cai's conversation in its entirety.
He felt that this clan member was also very suitable for Uchiha Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan. So, White Zetsu left a spore clone and quickly returned to Uchiha Madara using the Mayfly technique.
At this time, Uchiha Madara's hair was white and his skin was loose. If it weren't for the powerful life force of the Gedo Statue sustaining him, he would have been in his coffin long ago; to describe him as on his last legs was no exaggeration.
Yet, even so, this Ninja World Asura, just by sitting there, exuded immense pressure, and his crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan seemed capable of seeing through all things.
Madara was currently looking through a file, which contained information on all the Uchiha Clan children between the ages of 10 and 15.
"Lord Madara, I've found another promising candidate," White Zetsu, emerging from underground, interrupted Madara's thoughts.
He looked up and glanced at White Zetsu, and the usually erratic White Zetsu immediately dared not make any movements.
White Zetsu stood obediently aside until Uchiha Madara finished reading the file.
"Another group of useless individuals. How can such aptitude qualify for the Eye of the Moon Plan?" Uchiha Madara said, throwing the file away.
"Lord Madara, please don't be angry. I just found a promising candidate who definitely meets your requirements," White Zetsu quickly said.
"A promising candidate? Tell me about him."
"He's on the Land of Bears battlefield, a recently graduated Genin, turning 11 in half a month, he..."
"Stop with the nonsense. Has he awakened his Sharingan?" Uchiha Madara interrupted White Zetsu, asking.
"Yes, not only has he awakened it, but it has already evolved to Double Tomoe."
Hearing White Zetsu's words, Uchiha Madara became interested. Double Tomoe at 11 years old, that talent was indeed good.
However, awakening the Sharingan early doesn't necessarily mean a high potential. He had seen many Uchiha Clan members who awakened their Sharingan before the age of 10 but ultimately became ordinary.
He himself awakened his Sharingan at 12, and didn't he still dominate the Ninja World, with no rival except Senju Hashirama?
"Tell me about his specific situation!"
"Lord Madara, this brat is definitely a genius, he..."
Then White Zetsu reported everything he had observed about Uchiha En to Madara during this period.
After hearing White Zetsu's report, Madara showed an intrigued expression: "He believes that Konoha, which Hashirama just founded, and the Uchiha Clan share a relationship where they prosper together and suffer together? And he wants to lead the Uchiha Clan out of its predicament?
Interesting, some of this brat's ideas are very similar to mine back then!
However, such people are harder to control, and it's also difficult to determine now if he has the potential for Mangekyo. Whether an Uchiha Clan member can awaken the Mangekyo depends on how deep their love is."
"Lord Madara, this brat has an unusual relationship with the Hyuga Clan girl in his squad."
"Hyuga? She must be a member of the branch family, right?"
White Zetsu nodded.
"Then there is indeed some room for manipulation. Add him to the list of key individuals to observe!"
"Yes, Lord Madara."
"How many key individuals are there now?" Uchiha Madara asked.
"Including this brat, there are four now."
"Only four? The selection pool is still too small."
"Could it be that your requirements are too high?"
Uchiha Madara snorted without speaking. White Zetsu knew nothing at all. Uchiha Madara was confident that no one in the entire Ninja World understood the Mangekyo Sharingan better than him. The people he chose were those with a high probability of awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan.
After the Battle of the Valley of the End, Uchiha Madara had calculated that even if he was defeated by Hashirama, Senju Tobirama would not immediately dispose of his corpse but would choose to research his Sharingan.
Thus, before his death, Uchiha Madara set the forbidden jutsu Izanagi in his right eye, sacrificing his right eye to rewrite reality and revive himself, and disguised a Shadow Clone as his corpse, then silently left the deep mountains of Konoha.
Before leaving, Madara naturally wouldn't miss Senju Tobirama's research results on the Sharingan. Coupled with Madara's own Eternal Mangekyo, the combination meant Madara's understanding of the Sharingan was absolutely unparalleled in the Ninja World.
It was precisely because of his understanding of the Sharingan that Madara was so strict with his selection, as not everyone could awaken the Mangekyo.
Returning to the Land of Bears, Uchiha En's squad received a new mission after two days of idleness.
This mission was to protect members of the Hyuga Main Family for one week.
Apparently, all reconnaissance squads had received this mission, and now it was their turn.
Asana didn't object to this mission, but Yamanaka Kagetsu had quite a few complaints.
In his opinion, the Hyuga Main Family members contributed nothing to the war, yet required people to protect them. The thought alone was frustrating.
In fact, many Ninja shared similar thoughts with Yamanaka Kagetsu; they had long been fed up with the Hyuga Clan's Main Family members.
While ordinary Ninja like them charged to the front lines in the war between Konoha and Kirigakure, these two useless individuals hid in the center of the camp, protected by everyone, doing nothing all day, and eating better than average Ninja. Who could tolerate that?
If it weren't for the prestige of the Hyuga Clan, a thousand-year-old bloodline family, these two good-for-nothings might have been ambushed and beaten unconscious.
Of course, not all Hyuga Main Family members were useless Ninja. The Main Family controlled far more educational resources than the branch family, so anyone with a bit of talent, with so many resources, wouldn't be too weak.
However, these Main Family members were considered the Hyuga Clan's foundation and were generally not dispatched to the battlefield. For instance, in this generation, only Hyuga Hiashi came to the battlefield.
The remaining Hyuga Main Family members were useless. They were sent here only to appease the branch family members and show them that the Main Family would also go to the battlefield.
------------------------------
I've just released 40 brand-new chapters on Patreon!
If you're enjoying the story and want to read ahead, feel free to check out my Patreon. Every bit of support truly means a lot to me.
patreon.com/Kazenova223
Thank you so much for reading and supporting the story! And if you're liking it here, don't forget to drop a Power Stone to show your support!