Chapter 87: The Worried Uchiha Madara.

Land of Frost, an underground cavern.

Uchiha Madara, with long white hair, leaned against a wide chair. Behind him loomed the Gedo Statue, with several milky-white tubes connecting to Madara's waist, supplying him with energy.

In the distance, Nagato, accompanied by a few White Zetsu, was diligently practicing ninjutsu. His face was tense, showing his earnestness in training.

This was Madara's hideout, located at the northern end of the Land of Frost, in a vast underground cavern he named the Graveyard of Mountains.

Madara pondered deeply. The recent changes in the shinobi world made him feel uneasy and disgusted with his aging body. 

No longer did Madara possess the overwhelming power to dominate the ninja world. The once-feared shinobi Asura could not withstand the erosion of time. 

To realize his grand vision, Madara could only continue his schemes. Ironically, in his youth, he had despised those who relied on underhanded tactics, like Senju Tobirama.

The sudden rise of Hanma greatly disturbed Madara's plans, forcing him to reconsider the structure of the shinobi world.

Madara had intended for Nagato to be the vessel to nurture his Rinnegan, while the true inheritor of his will should have been a pureblooded Uchiha. However, as the former head of the Uchiha clan, Madara now felt estranged from his own clan.

Two months ago, Hanma had been appointed as the clan leader through a grand assembly. From that moment, the Uchiha clan began to seem more and more unfamiliar to Madara.

Hanma had poured in a large amount of silver, appointing specialized personnel for work. Widows, orphans, and disabled ninjas within the Uchiha clan were all given compensation, and numerous ninjutsu were made accessible for clan education.

These policies cleared away the oppressive atmosphere within the Uchiha clan. Most clan members wore satisfied expressions, brimming with hope for the future.

Uchiha working in the security force no longer clashed with the village's ninjas and civilians. Their enforcement was now done with cheerful smiles, adopting a laid-back attitude.

After Hanma's negotiations with the Third Hokage, Uchiha ninjas could now undertake missions outside the village. Previously, they managed security with a stern attitude because they had no other job options.

Now, compared to handling trivial village matters, why not undertake missions outside the village for money or study clan-opened ninjutsu at home?

Though Konoha's security worsened, the Uchiha's reputation within the village improved. This completely disrupted Madara's schemes. In his plan, the Uchiha, under Tobirama's oppressive policies, should be devoid of warmth and care, dominated by anxiety and repression.

Faced with the legacy of Tobirama in the form of the Third Hokage's faction, a leaderless Uchiha should have been internally divided into factions, tearing each other apart.

Just like in the Warring States period, when the Uchiha faced the powerful Senju clan, without Madara's strong suppression, they might have engaged in internal strife before dealing with external enemies.

According to the original script, the dual pressures from the Hokage faction and within the Uchiha clan would sow seeds of darkness in every clan member's heart.

Having lived through the Warring States period and being a peerless ninja, Madara possessed eyes keenly attuned to recognizing potential in others.

Using the omnipresent White Zetsu, Madara could slowly scrutinize each Uchiha clan member, identifying the one with the most intense emotions and deepest inner darkness to be his successor.

What puzzled Madara was that Hanma seemed to suspect something, placing his blond-haired disciple and the Uzumaki orphan to cover the entire Uchiha clan territory with a sensory barrier.

This left Madara speechless. He'd never despised the Third Hokage's incompetence so much. The Uchiha were creating a village within a village, and yet there was no opposition?

In some ways, thanks to the White Zetsu's infiltration abilities, Madara could still indirectly obtain information about the Uchiha from Konoha ninjas, but the results were hard for him to accept.

Most Uchiha clan members had begun to develop a sense of belonging within the clan and praised Hanma's policies almost unanimously.

Narrow clannishness had taken root in every clan member's heart. 

What irritated Madara most was that the Uchiha had become so indulgent in Hanma's welfare policies that they'd forgotten what made the Uchiha clan powerful. Without coldness, internal strife, and pressure, could it still be called the Uchiha clan?

At this moment, Madara morphed into the jinchuuriki of Tobirama, harshly criticizing Hanma's actions internally. 

This was a betrayal of Uchiha traditions, digging at the roots of the clan! 

Even more concerning was that Hanma seemed interested in the Tailed Beasts. According to White Zetsu's reports, Shukaku had shrunken in size after battling Hanma, losing nearly half its chakra.

White Zetsu, created from the Divine Tree, was exceptionally sensitive to Tailed Beast chakra, and Madara trusted their judgment. 

What could be confirmed was that Hanma had peculiar intentions regarding the Tailed Beasts. 

The Tailed Beasts were nine keys to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan. Missing even one would prevent the realization of world peace.

One slight comfort for Madara was his decades of experience, recognizing that Hanma's strength had reached its peak and wouldn't progress significantly. 

This was the limit of a taijutsu ninja. Soloing a Tailed Beast was their ceiling, their potential locked by their physical limits.

Having read the ancient inscriptions in the Naka Shrine, Madara knew that Senju and Uchiha inherited the bloodline of the Sage of Six Paths. 

In this world, only Senju and Uchiha had chances to gain supreme power. Madara had considered contacting Hanma but later dismissed the idea.

Though Madara's grand wish was world peace, in his envisioned completion of the Eye of the Moon Plan, he could only trust himself to ensure its fulfillment.

Given Hanma's exhibited personality, even Madara thought that appearing weakly before Hanma would result in losing his eyes before he could even brainwash him.

Madara had hidden for nearly thirty years to awaken his hard-won Rinnegan, and he wasn't about to hand it over to someone else.

The issue now facing Madara was the difficulty in finding a suitable Uchiha clan member to plan his resurrection after his passing.

Madara held high confidence in Nagato's potential during their two years together. As a mix of Uzumaki and Senju, Madara believed Nagato could easily wield the power of two Rinnegan after maturing.

Madara perceived Rinnegan's power as invincible in the shinobi world. 

With Obito replaced by Nagato in this timeline, Madara encountered a pleasant dilemma. Nagato, systematically groomed by Madara, showed enough potential to sweep through the Five Great Nations, merging the Tailed Beasts into the Ten Tails without Madara's participation.

Now, Madara faced two choices:

One, replace Nagato, controlling the Rinnegan's strength, but risk his successor being too weak, leading to potential eye theft and ultimate failure.

Two, search for mythical artifacts rumored to restore youth.

If Madara could restore his state, in this post-Hashirama world, he believed he could capture all the Tailed Beasts and form the Ten Tails within months.

Yet, this plan brought Madara a sense of shame since he had always trusted his own strength over myths.

The Naka Shrine's inscriptions gave Madara a way out, as the Sage of Six Paths indeed existed.

Madara's gaze fixed on Kusagakure, where the legend of the Box of Ultimate Bliss, said to grant any wish, was reputed to be the final weapon from the Sage's era.

With ten years left before his natural death in the original timeline, donning a customized White Zetsu and wielding the Rinnegan, Madara still ranked among the world's top powerhouses.

Kusagakure couldn't withstand the current Madara. However, if the Box of Ultimate Bliss failed to restore his youth, his existence might be wholly exposed.

"Can the Box of Ultimate Bliss restore me to my peak state?" 

This was the question that had occupied Madara's thoughts for the past three days.

Coincidentally, Hanma had also set his sights on the box, and the entire shinobi world received this information.

At this moment, Kusagakure was becoming a complex vortex where various forces were on the brink of fierce confrontation.