Chapter 22 When in doubt, first guess Black Zetsu…
While Yasuhiko's hatred for Senju was profound, it never reached the level of madness described by Madara.
—At all costs? Regardless of all consequences? He wanted to, but he couldn't.
"No." Jiang Yan answered crisply, then couldn't help but press, his face filled with confusion and unease: "Young Clan Leader, why are you suddenly asking me this?"
He carefully reviewed his recent words and actions and was certain that he had not done anything out of line.
Madara scrutinized Masahiko's reaction; the shock and confusion seemed genuine. However, if Hashirama's description was accurate, that person was indeed identical to Masahiko.
Is Jiang Yan lying?
After a moment of silence, Madara decided to stop beating around the bush. He laid out all the accusations from the Senju side: someone witnessed "Masahiko" carrying Senju Masaharu's body and openly burning it in front of the Senju clan's gate as a provocation.
"This is impossible!" Jiang Yan was struck dumb, his face drained of color, filled with disbelief and horror. "I swear I never did this! How could I... how could I do something so insane?!"
Madara was not a gullible person. Before summoning Masahiko, he had secretly investigated the whereabouts of everyone involved during the period when the body disappeared.
The investigation revealed that during a crucial period, Jiang Yan had a gap in his record where no one could corroborate his testimony, while other potential suspects had varying degrees of witness testimony or physical evidence to disassociate themselves from the case.
Therefore, even without Hashirama's identification, the internal investigation would eventually focus on Masahiko.
The chain of evidence points to him, but his reaction doesn't seem fake... Where exactly did things go wrong?
Jiang Yan's vehement denial and the almost overflowing shock and astonishment seemed genuine. Madara's Sharingan was fixed on him, capturing the slightest muscle twitch—there was no trace of lying.
But the evidence unequivocally points to him.
Madara's brows furrowed even more. He stopped pressing for answers and instead activated his Sharingan. The tomoe in his crimson eyes slowly rotated, and a powerful, irresistible mental pressure enveloped Masahiko.
"Look me in the eyes, Masahiko." Madara's voice carried an unquestionable command. "Recall! From the night before the body disappeared, tell me everything you did, without missing a single detail, including but not limited to who you met and what you did, especially the period when no one could vouch for you. Don't leave out any details!"
This is one application of the Sharingan: through powerful mental guidance and pressure, it forces the other party to concentrate intensely and recall extremely detailed memories.
During this period, what he needs to do is observe whether the fluctuations of mental energy during his recollection are smooth and natural, and whether there are any signs of being tampered with or interfered with.
Under the immense pressure of the Sharingan, Jiang Yan broke out in a cold sweat, daring not to conceal anything, and desperately began to rewind:
"The night before last... I practiced at the training ground until very late, around 11 PM before returning to my lodgings... I encountered the third patrol squad on the way, who can vouch for me..."
"After returning to my room, I felt extremely tired and almost collapsed into bed..."
"The next day... the day the body disappeared, I got up at the beginning of Chen Shi (around 7 a.m.) and went to have breakfast first..."
"After that, I went to the mission hall to hand over the patrol mission from the day before. There were still several people there..."
"And then..." Jiang Yan's breathing suddenly became rapid, and a moment of confusion and struggle appeared in his eyes, "...I...I think I went back to my room to rest for a while...and then...and then..."
His memories became blurred, fragmented, and even logically confused and blank. The fluctuations of his mental energy also exhibited an extremely unnatural stagnation, as if a piece of memory had been forcibly erased or covered up.
Madara's Sharingan suddenly lit up. This is it!
"And then what?!" Ban demanded sharply, his eye power intensifying.
"I...I don't remember..." Jiang Yan clutched his head, a pained expression on his face. "I only remember...I was very sleepy...and then...it was noon, and I was awakened by the clan's alarm...only to find myself asleep in my room..."
A memory spanning nearly two hours had become a blurry blank. And this period coincided precisely with the time the body was stolen and "him" appeared before the Thousand Hands Gate!
Madara closed his Sharingan, already understanding the situation.
Jiang Yan collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, his face pale, his eyes filled with belated fear: "Young Clan Leader... I... what happened to me? I really didn't..."
“I know it wasn’t you.” Madara’s voice was serious. “Someone used extremely sophisticated illusion magic on you, or… something even more bizarre, to control you and erase your memories of that time.”
To be able to do this, even fooling the Sharingan... this is an effect that ordinary genjutsu cannot achieve.
The Uchiha clan is renowned for its genjutsu (illusionary techniques), and the Sharingan is the foundation and pinnacle of all of this. If even his Sharingan, which has already awakened to the three tomoe, couldn't detect any concrete trace of genjutsu on Yasuhiko—that would be terrifying.
This suggests two possibilities: First, the opponent's technique was not an ordinary illusion; its sophistication and skill far exceeded the current understanding of the Sharingan, allowing them to perfectly conceal themselves and even alter memories without leaving a trace. Second, it was the work of someone from their clan, whose eye power must be extremely strong, possessing a pinnacle of understanding and application of illusion techniques to deceive his eyes so seamlessly.
However, looking at the Uchiha clan today, those with such eye power and genjutsu skills are few and far between, and all of them are core members and high-ranking members of the clan... What reason would they have to take such a risk and do such a crazy thing that would inevitably trigger a war?
All conclusions were ultimately just speculations based on the current situation, lacking the most crucial substantive evidence. This feeling of being shrouded in mystery and unable to find a foothold caused Madara Uchiha a splitting headache.
The mastermind behind it all was far more troublesome than he had imagined.
Looking at the still-shaken Jiang Yan, Ban said in a deep voice, "You must not mention today's events to anyone. Go back first and resume your normal activities. I will send someone to protect you secretly."
***
While Madara Uchiha claimed to be sending people to secretly protect Masahiko, he actually took on the responsibility of surveillance himself. He didn't trust anyone else, fearing that the omnipresent enemy's methods would succeed again and turn around to control the other clan members.
For the next three days, Madara worked tirelessly, his Sharingan constantly activated, like the most patient cheetah, keeping Jiang Yan under absolute visual surveillance. Whether Jiang Yan was active during the day or sleeping soundly at night, no movement within several feet of him could escape Madara's perception.
However, things remained calm.
No suspicious persons approached, and there were no unusual chakra fluctuations. The mastermind behind it all seemed to have fallen silent, or perhaps they had already achieved their goal and no longer cared about this pawn.
at the same time.
With the deadline for a full-scale war against the Senju clan fast approaching, the atmosphere of preparation within the clan had reached its peak. Madara's mood also plummeted, with anxiety and a profound sense of powerlessness gnawing at his heart.
He could sense a pair of malevolent eyes lurking in the darkness, mocking the Uchiha clan. It easily manipulated the threads of "fate," drawing disaster towards the Uchiha, while he couldn't even touch the hem of its garment, forced to passively endure it all.
This feeling of frustration—knowing there's an enemy but having nowhere to retaliate and only being able to watch helplessly—made him extremely anxious.
***
Yan Sheng hasn't sneaked out of the house these past few days and has been staying in the clan's territory.
Through the information gathered over the past few days, Yan Sheng finally pieced together the sequence of events.
It turned out that the body of the Senju ninja possessed by a strange entity that he had killed that night had been brought back by his own people; however, just a few days ago, this carefully guarded corpse was stolen. What's worse, the person who stole the corpse took it to the gates of the Senju clan and openly burned it in broad daylight, an act of blatant audacity and blatant provocation.
This move was like throwing dry tinder into a raging fire, completely igniting the pent-up anger and hatred of the Senju clan, and the challenge was delivered to the Uchiha on the same day.
The corpse thief who carried out the act of stealing the corpse and provoking the enemy vanished without a trace. (Ban kept it a secret and didn't tell anyone.)
—Yes, this development is just as he had previously guessed.
Without a doubt, it must have been the work of that dark creature. That thing possesses unpredictable abilities; only it could accomplish such a sinister act of framing and falsely accusing someone without anyone noticing.
Now that the target is clear, instead of going out to search aimlessly—which would be like looking for a needle in a haystack and would be futile—it is better to stay in the tribe's territory, lay a trap, and wait for the "turtle in the jar".
It's hard to guarantee that the other party won't return again. Perhaps it's to inspect the "results" of its orchestration, perhaps it's to coldly observe the further development of the situation, or perhaps it's already planning a more insidious next move and needs to be present to lay the groundwork.
This is why Yan Sheng chose to patiently lie low within the clan. He responded to the undercurrents with absolute silence; he dealt with ever-changing conspiracies with unwavering seclusion. He was like a highly patient hunter, knowing full well that the cunning prey would eventually succumb and reappear.
Before that, all he had to do was wait, wait for the "bad guy" who had caused so much trouble to come to him.
As for guiding the tribesmen to go up...
= =
Forget it.
Judging from the appearance (ability) of their people, they were clearly powerless and helpless. However, this was not entirely their fault.
The opponent's bizarre abilities were indeed troublesome. If he hadn't possessed the experience accumulated from his previous life, and had an almost instinctive sensitivity to such cold, evil, and well-hidden beings, he probably wouldn't have been able to perceive that dark shadow hidden deep underground, manipulating the winds and clouds.
not to mention......
Yan Sheng slowly lowered his eyes, his gaze falling on the ground beneath his feet. In those unfathomable eyes, his gaze seemed to possess a penetrating power, easily peeling away the surface soil to peer into the depths of the earth—where countless dense spores covered the ground, like an invisible and vast surveillance network, enveloping all directions.
The enemy's intelligence gathering capabilities have reached a level that even he finds troublesome and alarming.
A thought suddenly popped into my head: what if Muzan Kibutsuji had possessed this ability back then...
Yan Sheng shook his head, dismissing the hypothesis.
—No need to even think about it, the Demon Slayer Corps would be wiped out without even peeking out.
Blue spider lilies can also be found quickly.
A note from the author:
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To be fair, the abilities of the scumbag boss and Black Zetsu are quite complementary, and both of them are very cunning. [shrug]
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