Chapter 23 This is really the point (Ch 23)

“Little brat…” Uchiha Madara adjusted his mood and said calmly: “As you can see, I am almost dead.”
“I have laid the foundation for the Moon Eye Project, but to ultimately realize it, your power… is a key link and is irreplaceable.”
Uchiha Madara naturally omitted the part about the elaborate plan to use the Rinnegan Technique to resurrect himself.
Such secrets involving the foundation of life and death are absolutely core.
The more people know, the greater the unpredictable risk.
Especially the little kid in front of him, who is full of uncertainty.
“Don’t worry, Madara-sama! I will never let you down!” Moze immediately expressed his position, his voice loud and full of enthusiasm, “Then I will set off to the Sand Village now and catch the One-Tail back.”
“Stop.” Uchiha Madara looked at Moze, who looked like he wanted to pick up a huge shovel and rush out to dig up all the ancestral graves of the Sand Village. His eyelids, which were only skin and bones left, couldn’t help but twitch violently.
This kid…
Is he really that crazy, or is he just pretending to be stupid in front of me?
Or maybe both?
He stopped her in a deep voice: “It’s too early to take action now.”
“Capturing the Tailed Beast is an important part of the Moon Eye Plan, and we must hit it with one strike.”
“Once we begin, we must capture all the tailed beasts with lightning speed in the shortest possible time. Not a single one can be missed.”
“If you act rashly now, you will be like a firefly in the dark night, instantly exposing our target and attracting the combined efforts of the five major villages to strangle us.”
There was an obvious look of disappointment on Moze’s face.
Then, as if he remembered something crucial, he frowned slightly and said, “But the ‘Outer Path Demon Statue’ puppet that I left in the Sand Village has not been recovered yet.”
“Although that thing is a fake I made, it does involve the existence of the ‘Outer Path Golem’ after all.”
“If we don’t take it back and just leave it alone, will it cause unpredictable changes to the Moon Eye Project in the future?”
Uchiha Madara subconsciously wanted to shake his head to deny it.
The secret of the Outer Path Statue is known to almost no one except himself and Black Zetsu. What impact can a replica have?
But when the words came to his lips, he suddenly stopped.
He looked at Moze again, his eyes sharper.
This kid himself is the biggest variable.
Although his understanding and history of the “Outer Path Demon Statue” are biased, who can guarantee that there are no scattered truths about the Outer Path Demon Statue in the countless records circulating in the ninja world?
In case someone gets in touch with me…
After a moment’s silence, the only sound left in the cave was the faint sound of dripping water.
Uchiha Madara spoke slowly, his tone much more serious than before.
“…You are right to remind me.”
“Leaving that thing outside is indeed a potential hidden danger.”
“But it’s still not possible now.”
“Why?”
Moser asked, his expression very serious.
“The Sand Village just experienced a huge chaos, and then took the initiative to declare war on Konoha.”
“At this moment, the entire Sand Village’s alert must have been raised to the highest level.”
“The morale of the ninjas in the village is high, and the mood of revenge is everywhere, like a bowstring stretched to its limit. Any slight disturbance could cause it to explode.”
“I can’t leave here like this.”
His eyes fell on Moze again with undisguised scrutiny.
“And you…”
“Do you think you can break through the entire Sand Village’s defenses by yourself?”
Upon hearing this, Mo Ze did not refute immediately. Instead, he lowered his head, put his fingers on his chin, and thought seriously for a few seconds.
Then he raised his head and said sincerely: “I think I can.”
“……”Uchiha Madara’s eyes twitched again.
The kids nowadays are really crazy.
If it was really as easy as he said, why would he have to run so miserably before?
If he hadn’t asked Jue to take action in secret and erase many traces for this kid, he would probably have been caught up by the Sand Village’s pursuit troops like chasing a rabbit.
“Even if you think you have the ability to force your way into Sunagakure, now is not the time.”
Uchiha Madara forced himself to suppress the emotions surging in his heart and continued to calmly analyze the pros and cons.
“The chaos in Sand Village, on the surface, was planned and implemented by Konoha.”
“Once you, the real ‘mastermind’, show up in the Sand Village again, in order to clear suspicion and quell the war as quickly as possible, Konoha will most likely send elite personnel to assist the Sand Village in capturing you.”
“By then, you will face the joint encirclement of the two major ninja villages. The situation will only become more complicated, which will be extremely detrimental to our subsequent plans.”
Moze blinked, as if trying to digest this possibility, and then nodded as if suddenly realizing it: “Oh… In this case, it is indeed a bit troublesome.”
Seeing that Moze finally “faced reality” and no longer insisted on that unrealistic idea, Uchiha Madara secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.
He said this in a tone that left no room for doubt.
“So you have to stay here until the time is right.”
“Before I die, I will tell you in detail every step of the Moon Eye Plan, as well as the chess pieces and back-up plans I have laid out in various parts of the Ninja World over the years. I will make sure that after I leave, you can accurately inherit my will and carry out the plan.”
These words were both an order and a heavy bait—about power, about knowledge, and about the core of the entire plan.
“I will definitely study hard!”
Moser agreed immediately with an extremely correct attitude, his eyes full of desire for knowledge and longing for the future.
“I won’t let Madara-sama’s hard work go to waste!”
Uchiha Madara nodded slightly, quite satisfied with his attitude.
Then, he suddenly changed the subject and asked as if casually.
“Where do you keep the Kaguya’s Book of Friends?”
“‘Kaguya’s Book of Friends’?” Mo Ze showed just the right amount of confusion on his face, then shook his head.
“It’s strange.”
“Ever since I seem to have… um… probably obtained some of the power left by Lady Kaguya from that book…”
“The book just disappeared without a trace.”
“I don’t know where it went.”
“I see…”
Uchiha Madara’s deep gaze lingered on Moze’s face for a moment, but he did not continue to ask.
He just nodded thoughtfully, seeming to accept this statement.
He turned toward the twisting, surging shadow beside him.
“Black Zetsu.”
“Please pay close attention and don’t miss any news about Kaguya’s Book of Friends.”
“In addition, increase efforts to collect various ancient books circulating in the ninja world, especially scrolls that record ancient secrets.”
“Before the plan officially begins, we must ensure that all possible hidden dangers are thoroughly eliminated.”
Black Zetsu was like a disembodied shadow, silently blending into the deeper darkness.
Only a low echo was left floating in the cave.
“clear.”
After Black Zetsu left, Uchiha Madara continued to ask, “Besides puppetry, what other ninjutsu are you good at?”
When Mo Ze heard Uchiha Madara’s question, his eyes lit up.
Asking this? That’s really the point!
He straightened his back and announced loudly, almost as if rushing to answer, “Three Body Techniques!”
“…”
The cave fell into silence again, with only the occasional sound of dripping water in the distance reminding people of the passage of time.
Uchiha Madara’s facial muscles seemed to stiffen for a moment.
He waited for a moment, but the expected subsequent, more powerful ninjutsu name did not appear.
“No more?”
Although he knew that Mo Ze’s ninjutsu foundation was very poor, he didn’t expect it to be this poor.
If you only know the Three Body Techniques, what’s the difference between that and not knowing anything at all?
“Oh, wait!” Mo Ze seemed to suddenly remember something and added quickly, “And there’s more! There’s also Wind Style: Beast Wave Palm! Wind Style: Whirlwind Fist!”
Uchiha Madara looked at him silently, the emotions in his eyes were complex and difficult to understand.
He patiently asked again: “Anything else?”
“No more.” Moser answered straightforwardly, with a matter-of-fact expression on his face. “I was born a commoner, and after graduating from the Ninja School, I was exposed to very few Ninjutsu. Later, I devoted all my attention to the research and improvement of puppetry. As for other Ninjutsu… to be honest, I am not very interested in it, and I don’t have time to learn it.”
“…”
Uchiha Madara closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they had returned to their calm and deep state.
He seemed to have completely accepted this troublesome reality.
“I see.” His voice was emotionless. “It seems that you need to learn much more than I expected.”
This is no longer a problem of weak foundation, it is simply building a castle in the air on a wasteland!
He looked at Mo Ze with sharp eyes: “Your puppetry is indeed unique, but in front of a truly powerful person, a single method is too fragile. You must have more comprehensive abilities. At least, you must have the strength to deal with any emergency and protect yourself. This is also to ensure that the plan can proceed smoothly.”
“Beginning tomorrow, in addition to the details of the Moon Eye plan, I will also personally guide your ninjutsu training.”
Moze replied, “Yes, Madara-sama.”
Yay!
Moze was so happy that he was already thinking about how to show off to the pirate brothers later.