Far to the northwest, the Stone Village naturally received the news sent back from the Cloud Village.
As the Cloud Village's arch-rivals, they had planted a large number of spies in the Land of Lightning.
News about such a large-scale search for Uchiha Madara was naturally easy to obtain.
This matter was extremely grave, and it was quickly sent through spy channels to the Tsuchikage's office in the Stone Village.
In the Tsuchikage's office, the current Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, whose eyebrows and beard were already white, was full of astonishment.
'How could that guy still be alive?'
He remembered being even younger than the other man back then.
'I'm already at this age; Madara should have already died of old age by now.'
However, judging by the intel the spies gathered from the Cloud Village, there was a very high probability that the news was true.
The Cloud Village would never have directly identified this person's identity without evidence.
He had faced Uchiha Madara before, and the man had left a very deep impression on him.
Powerful and tyrannical.
Back then, Senju Hashirama had clearly promised them an alliance, but when it came to Madara, he wanted to directly rule over them and force the Stone Village to submit.
Facing such an unreasonable demand, he had been completely powerless at the time.
When Uchiha Madara unleashed his Susanoo, the sheer pressure had been enough to blow him away.
Fortunately, that man had defected from the Leaf Village.
Otherwise, if he were still in the Leaf Village...
The Stone Village wouldn't have dared to wage war against them.
That man was far more terrifying than the Third Raikage of the Cloud Village.
It took ten thousand shinobi from the Stone Village to eliminate the Third Raikage, and even then, they lost a huge number of ninja.
If not for the news that the Cloud Village had been defeated by the Leaf Village, the Stone Village would have definitely taken the chance to invade the Land of Lightning and seize a massive chunk of territory.
But their own losses were simply too severe; if they started another war, the people of the village likely wouldn't agree to it.
When he first heard that the Cloud Village was defeated by the Leaf Village and forced to pay massive reparations...
Ōnoki had been secretly pleased. It was a bit of a shame that the powerhouse from the Leaf Village hadn't finished off more of the Cloud Village's shinobi; that was truly a regret.
Otherwise, the Cloud Village could have been wiped out, and the Land of Earth could have even begun its expansion.
However, he was now starting to feel some anxiety.
Because the Stone Village's Tailed Beast Jinchūriki might encounter an attack from Uchiha Madara.
According to the intelligence, Uchiha Madara didn't attack the Cloud Village's headquarters, but instead targeted the Jinchūriki, Killer B.
The fact that the Cloud Village lost another Tailed Beast was certainly good news for the Stone Village.
Tailed Beasts were crucial weapons of war, and the Cloud Village's strength had declined yet again.
But there was no guarantee that Uchiha Madara wouldn't come to seize the Stone Village's two Tailed Beasts.
To make matters worse, the two Jinchūriki in the village had actually had a falling out with him and both left the village.
Leaving the village was fine in a way, since Jinchūriki were unstable factors, and there was no way to ensure they wouldn't lose control.
But now, the situation was extremely dire.
Even if the Jinchūriki were unstable factors, he didn't want to lose two Tailed Beasts.
That would significantly reduce the Stone Village's deterrence against rival villages and greatly weaken their strength.
Beside him, the burly Kitsuchi watched his father, seeing his face full of surprise, worry, and sighs.
He couldn't help but ask.
"Father, what's wrong?"
On the other side, the young girl Kurotsuchi, nearly 1.6 meters tall, also watched her grandfather.
She was very confused. What major event could be troubling her grandfather so much?
She leaned in on her own initiative.
Ōnoki didn't hide the intelligence; she was his granddaughter, after all, and there was no need for secrecy.
His granddaughter had great talent as a ninja and even possessed a Kekkei Genkai.
She was destined to be a pillar of the village in the future, so exposing her to village affairs early would help her develop into a leader.
Kitsuchi felt helpless; his father really spoiled his granddaughter.
This was a major village matter, so he directly took the letters from the old man's hands.
He began to read carefully.
The more he read, the deeper he frowned.
"Father, this...?"
Seeing this, Kurotsuchi was very dissatisfied.
"Dad, let me see too!"
Kitsuchi handed the secret letter directly to her and looked at his father.
If Uchiha Madara was truly still in this world, the entire shinobi world would likely be thrown into chaos.
Ōnoki looked at his son.
"You should know what needs to be done next, right?"
He was already quite old.
He probably only had a few years left before he had to retire.
Before then, he needed to train the next Tsuchikage properly.
There weren't many talents in the Stone Village right now, so his son Kitsuchi would likely be the one to take over.
It was a bit ridiculous that his son didn't have a Kekkei Genkai.
It was quite strange that he hadn't inherited the bloodline power, yet his granddaughter had.
Nevertheless, his son was quite capable, already possessing the strength of an elite Jōnin.
The most important quality in a leader was decision-making.
He wanted to see what kind of decision Kitsuchi would make.
Hearing his father's words, Kitsuchi thought for a moment and said slowly.
"If Uchiha Madara has returned, the shinobi world will not know peace."
"His collection of Tailed Beasts likely serves some nefarious purpose."
Ōnoki was very pleased.
Though he looked burly and somewhat simple-minded, he was actually quite meticulous.
"You're right. So, what should we do next?"
Kitsuchi understood this was his father's test.
His father had been strict with him since childhood.
"Since Uchiha Madara wants to collect Tailed Beasts, he might come for ours."
"We should either send people to protect them or recall the Jinchūriki to the village."
"However, given their personalities, I doubt they will return quietly."
"And since they are Jinchūriki, using force probably won't work."
Ōnoki was relieved; his son being able to see this far was good enough.
"It's good that you can see that. That's why I will go personally."
"I'll even make concessions to Rōshi and Han and do my best to persuade them to return."
"If even I, the Tsuchikage, swallow my pride to ask them, they should at least show me some respect."
Kurotsuchi finished reading the secret letter and looked at the man named Madara they were discussing.
She asked curiously.
"Grandpa, you're invincible. Is that Madara really so strong that you and Dad are this nervous and making such plans?"
In her eyes, her grandfather was invincible, possessing a Kekkei Tōta which was even higher than a Kekkei Genkai.
According to her grandfather, Kekkei Tōta was composed of three different chakra nature transformations.
In the entire shinobi world, very few people possess it.