Volume One, Chapter One: The Cycle Begins

On this, the sixth attempt...

Damn it. I can already no longer remember.

Deep beneath the earth, a young man named Uchiha Houten rubbed his heavy head and rose while muttering to himself.

His true identity was that of a transmigrator.

By a twist of fate, he had accidentally crossed into the world of Naruto. According to the system’s instructions, he was required to help Uchiha Madara carry out the Moon Eye Project.

Unfortunately, every single time, it was destroyed by Uzumaki Naruto, preventing the plan from proceeding smoothly.

Fortunately, this system allowed nine chances to make mistakes. As long as he failed, time would rewind and everything would begin again.

However, the point in time and the location of each rewind were both random...

"Progress toward completing the Moon Eye Project: 0/9"

As Houten awakened, this line of text appeared in his mind.

After reading it with a blank expression, he felt no disturbance at all.

After six cycles, he understood very well what that 0/9 meant.

Each time a tailed beast was captured and devoured by the Outer Path Demonic Statue, that number would increase.

With each one completed, Houten’s power would rise dramatically.

But now was not the time to think about that.

"Could this be the place where Madara survived after the final battle?"

Houten looked around repeatedly. The scene before him did indeed match the one described in the anime.

"Looks like the priority is to find Madara first. In this cycle, I will definitely make the Moon Eye Project a reality."

He murmured to himself, then his pupils shifted sharply, and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan appeared at once.

"Though it is not as effective as the Byakugan, it should still let me find Madara’s general location by following the flow of chakra."

With that said, Houten set off to search for Uchiha Madara’s trail. The journey was not especially difficult.

In barely half an hour, he arrived before a massive wall that had just been broken through.

Clearly, judging from the plot, this must have been broken by Obito just moments ago when he rushed off to rescue Rin and Kakashi.

Without further thought, Houten looked ahead and saw, not far away, a throne made of wood. On it sat the aged, decrepit Uchiha Madara, several tubes driven into his body and connected to the Outer Path Demonic Statue. One hand rested on a scythe as he eyed Houten warily.

"Who are you? And how did you find this place?"

Though Madara’s voice was faint, it seemed to carry endless oppression.

As his words fell, numerous White Zetsu suddenly appeared all around them, staring at Houten with hostility, as if they would devour him the next second.

"My name is Uchiha Houten..."

"I have come to assist Lord Uchiha Madara in realizing the Moon Eye Project..."

At these words, a glint flashed through Madara’s once deathly eyes. He slowly lifted his head to look at Houten and continued in a hoarse voice:

"The Moon Eye Project? How would a brat like you know of it?"

"It is a secret. Lord Madara, please let me join the Moon Eye Project..."

Madara said nothing. To him, this plan had been prepared for a long time and could not be shattered by the sudden appearance of just anyone.

Seeing that Madara remained silent for a long while, Houten revealed his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, displaying both his identity and his strength.

Yet Madara still did not speak. Instead, his gaze grew increasingly profound.

For the Uchiha clan, teeming as it was with geniuses, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan was nothing remarkable.

Seeing this, Houten let out a deep sigh. Then, after a continued spinning, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan transformed into the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Reversing cause and effect..."

Houten murmured softly, and a strange power surged toward Uchiha Madara. The White Zetsu nearby, seeing this, all rushed forward at once, trying to stop Houten.

"Wait!"

Madara roared and halted their actions.

Then, as Madara sensed that strange power, his aged body actually regained a trace of vitality. His entire being gradually grew younger, and abundant chakra spread through every part of his body.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan. As an Uchiha, I naturally understand the price required to obtain such power."

By then, Madara no longer looked elderly. He began moving his body slowly, as if trying to feel it carefully.

"Still, what surprises me is that your Mangekyo Sharingan seems rather unusual. There is no record of this eye in any known account..."

"Lord Madara, I have named this pair of Mangekyo Sharingan Heaven’s Mandate..."

"You must have already felt that strange force, Lord Madara. This technique is called Reversing Cause and Effect. By altering the cause within certain parts of reality, one can influence the effect of the past..."

"In other words, using these Heaven’s Mandate eyes, I modified the cause of Lord Madara’s past aging, thus producing the present effect of restored strength..."

After saying this, Houten felt discomfort surging from his eyes. It could not be helped; maintaining the tremendous effect that was Uchiha Madara required far too much cause.

"Enough. I understand now..."

With Madara’s words, Houten finally felt a great relief. He quickly deactivated his Mangekyo Sharingan and gasped for breath.

Soon, Madara’s youthfully restored form began to age rapidly once more, until at last he returned to his previous decrepit state.

The aged Madara continued to sit upon the wooden throne. During that brief restoration of power, his thoughts had instantly gone back to the days of his youth and his battles with Hashirama.

How exhilarating those days had been. It was a pity that they had originally been destined to become comrades, only to part ways in the end because their ideals were incompatible.

At that moment, Uchiha Madara stared straight at Uchiha Houten before him and gave a slight nod, indicating his approval of Houten’s strength.

Unlike Obito, his eyes held more than recognition; they held true acknowledgment.

"I, Uchiha Madara, am willing to grant you this chance. Tell me, what do you intend to do?"

Madara raised his head slightly and studied Houten with a scrutinizing gaze.

"First, we must eliminate some uncertain factors..."

As he said this, a trace of killing intent flashed through Houten’s eyes, startling even Madara.

"Uncertain factors? What do you mean?"

Madara could not help asking. To him, there were no uncertain factors on his side at all.

Yet Houten once again activated the Mangekyo Sharingan. Taking up a combat stance, he looked toward Madara and said calmly:

"How much longer do you intend to hide, Black Zetsu..."

"Or rather, the third son of Kaguya Otsutsuki..."