76: Madara-sama's script? Here you go!

News in the Ninja World always travels faster than the wind.

In the Land of Rain, a chaotic underground money exchange.

Under the dim lights, a mix of alcohol, mildew, and blood mingled as Ninja exchanged information and lies in hushed tones.

“Did you hear? Kumogakure’s AB Combo almost bit the dust, even though they hadn’t used their strongest Tailed Beast transformation yet.” An Iwagakure Ninja with a scar on his face slammed his cup onto the table.

The rogue Ninja opposite him scoffed, “AB Combo? The future Raikage and a perfect Jinchuriki? You must be drunk. Who could take down those two monsters at once?”

“I’m not drunk.” The scarred man lowered his voice and leaned forward, “Not just them, Konoha’s ‘Yellow Flash’ was also caught up in it. They say his elusive Flying Thunder God almost malfunctioned!”

At these words, the surrounding tables instantly fell silent, and ears perked up.

“Who did it? Iwagakure? Hidden Mist?”

“Sunagakure.” A hint of fear flashed in the scarred man’s eyes, “A puppeteer code-named 【Ghost Lotus】.”

“Ghost Lotus? What a weird name?”

“Because his attack methods are endless—shurikens, poison mist, traps. His strongest attacks are like a blooming lotus of death. And his movements are secretive, making him impossible to guard against.” A scrawny Ninja in a corner, wiping his kunai, interjected, “I just came back from the front lines. I saw the battlefield wreckage with my own eyes. That scene didn’t look like Ninjutsu; it was more like a natural disaster.”

“I heard that guy, by himself, toyed with two elite groups from Kumogakure and Konoha. In the end, he even snatched something right in front of the Yellow Flash and calmly escaped. Such audacity, such power…”

For a moment, no one in the tavern spoke, only heavy breathing could be heard.

The name 【Ghost Lotus】 thus stood alongside “Yellow Flash,” becoming a dangerous presence marked in the brightest red font on all Ninja mission briefs during the Third Ninja World War.

…

Sunagakure’s Duanfeng Pass.

Tang Yan’s fingertips gently traced the three-pronged kunai. The intricate and profound Jutsu formula patterns on it presented a different sight in his eyes.

Under the 【Purple Demon Eyes · Mustard】 realm, the superficial appearance of the material world was stripped away.

This Jutsu formula was no longer a simple ink print, but a three-dimensional, miniature “spatial beacon” composed of countless Chakra particles. It was like a lock, precise to the extreme.

And the key to opening this lock was not mere Chakra, but Minato Namikaze’s unique soul frequency.

The analysis from the 【Myriad Celestial Crafts Box】 flashed through Tang Yan’s mind.

Every teleportation was a “key resonance” between the caster’s soul frequency and the spatial beacon.

A perfect closed loop, unbreakable by external forces, only openable by the one holding the key.

But any closed loop has nodes that can be forcibly broken.

“Perfection also means absolute fragility,” Tang Yan murmured to himself.

He put down the kunai, picked up a dark, heavy special metal ingot, and with his other hand, swiftly sketched on an unfurled blueprint, the pen tip rustling against the paper.

【Void Nail】.

A disposable Tang Clan hidden weapon. The design blueprint instantly formed in his mind.

This nail would encapsulate unstable fragments extracted from special minerals, and then be inscribed with a complex interference Jutsu formula combining Tang Clan techniques and sealing Jutsu.

Once activated by Chakra, it would create a miniature, chaotic spatiotemporal bubble at its point of impact.

Any spatial Ninjutsu beacon entering this area would be interfered with by violent spatial turbulence, and the key would fail to match the lock.

If forced to teleport…

Tang Yan’s pen tip lightly tapped the blueprint, as if he saw the golden flash being torn to shreds in the spatiotemporal turbulence.

The outcome was self-evident.

Of course, there was also the ‘Masked Man’.

His gaze shifted to another sample—the piece of flesh and tissue cut from A, imbued with Lightning Release activated cells.

The analysis by the 【Myriad Forms Ingenuity Box】 was complete.

The essence of Lightning Release activating the body was a specific frequency of high-speed particle vibration, thereby stimulating cell activity to achieve abnormal speed and defense.

This was similar to the ultimate penetration and defense pursued by his Lightning Release ‘Indomitable Lightning’, though achieved by different paths.

The path forward was now clear.

Finally, there was the short katana stained with Killer Bee’s Chakra.

The mixed, violent, yet perfectly restrained energy within it showed Tang Yan a new, crazy possibility.

Tailed Beasts.

The Ninja World’s most powerful strategic weapons, yet sealed like nuclear bombs within Jinchuriki, serving as a deterrent for the Village.

What a waste.

A bold idea took root in his mind.

The Akatsuki organization should have quietly formed by now. Their future goal was to collect all Tailed Beasts.

What if… he could snatch these Tailed Beasts from their hands?

Not to become a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki; such a thing was too troublesome.

But to custom-build 【Pseudo-Jinchuriki Cores】 for his future puppet army.

Sealing Tailed Beast Chakra, this almost infinite energy source, within puppets crafted from “Obsidian Steel,” supplemented by his ingenious mechanisms for restraint and guidance.

What kind of immortal war machine, possessing the power of a Tailed Beast, would that create?

This thought sent a shiver down Tang Yan’s own spine.

He slowly exhaled, and the air seemed to grow hot because of it.

He looked at the three spoils of war on the table. They were no longer mere trophies, but fulcrums to leverage the entire Ninja World, the first cornerstones for him to overturn the world’s order.

Just then, a Sunagakure communication sand eagle flew into the tent, hovering before Tang Yan and then landing on his shoulder.

Tang Yan’s pupils slightly contracted.

Urgent military intelligence intercepted by Sunagakure’s high command: Iwagakure had gathered a thousand Ninja and secretly crossed the Land of Grass border, their target directly the throat of the Land of Fire—Kannabi Bridge.

Kannabi Bridge… Minato Namikaze’s team… Uchiha Obito…

Countless fragmented memories from his past life instantly connected and integrated in his mind.

This was not a military operation; this was a sacrifice.

A grand script meticulously orchestrated by Uchiha Madara himself, designed to thoroughly push his chosen successor into the abyss.

War was the stage, Ninja were the actors, and all sacrifices, coincidences, and tragedies served only to achieve Uchiha Obito’s “death” and rebirth.

Tang Yan’s pupils suddenly constricted, his brows furrowed with disgust.

Madara’s chessboard couldn't be decided by him alone.

Since the script was already known, there was too much room for manipulation.

For example, taking the chess piece directly off the board before it turned dark.

Or even… finding the U-chi-ha Ma-da-ra who was hiding behind the scenes, barely surviving on the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, and thought he controlled everything, and sending him on his way early.

Tang Yan stood up and walked into the deeper shadows.

As he approached, a low hum resonated in the darkness, as if a giant beast was awakening from slumber.

A massive puppet silhouette slowly emerged, like a colossal desert rock spider from ancient times, its eight legs propped on the ground, exuding a cold sense of oppression.

【Shanxiao - Giyan】.

Its “mimetic sand and stone coating” silently shifted, changing from the texture of an underground rock cave to a deep matte black, as if it could swallow all light.

“Your true debut, the stage is set.”

Tang Yan’s palm rested on 【Shanxiao - Giyan】’s cold outer shell, clearly feeling the subtle vibrations from the internal mechanism core.

“Kannabi Bridge, let them witness what a natural disaster is.”

He turned and walked out of the base, summoning his teammates.

Qian and Zi Luo quickly appeared, one after another.

“Another big job?” Zi Luo asked excitedly, cracking his knuckles with a series of firecracker-like snaps, “Last time’s mission didn’t have enough fighting, it really suffocated me.”

Qian was much quieter. She organized her Ninja tools, her gaze fixed on Tang Yan, having already sensed the unusual aura around him.

Tang Yan said no more, unrolling a map on the stone table and tapping his fingertip on the location of “Kannabi Bridge.”

“Iwagakure and Konoha are going to fight a big battle here.”

“Which side should we hit?” Zi Luo leaned closer, his eyes gleaming, “That old man Ōnoki from Iwagakure? Or Konoha’s commander? I’ve been wanting to try out my new iron hands!”

“Neither.”

Tang Yan looked up, a hint of madness flickering in his eyes.

“The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.”

Qian frowned, “We’re the oriole? Insufficient intelligence, too high a risk. We don’t even know who the ‘cicada’ is.”

“Who cares who the cicada is, just punch it to death!” Zi Luo waved his fist carelessly.

“No, we’re not the oriole.” Tang Yan’s voice was calm, yet it made the air suddenly grow cold, “Our mission…”

He paused, then uttered two words.

“Catching the cicada.”

Zi Luo was stunned for a moment, then grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, “Catch it alive? I like that! My 【Seven Day Breathing Method】’s second activation has reached a bottleneck; I need a truly dangerous battle to stimulate me into the third activation!”

Qian, however, was more worried, “Tang Yan, this isn’t like you. This isn’t a simple raid. What are you going to do?”

“I never do business at a loss.” Tang Yan folded the map, his gaze seemingly piercing through the thick rock layers, looking towards the land about to be engulfed by war and conspiracy.

“That ‘cicada’ concerns a much grander feast in the future.”

A bone-chilling coldness flashed in his eyes.

Uchiha Madara, do you think you’re the only chess player?

I’m here to finish the grand meal, and then conveniently beat up the chef too.