Naruto: I am Uchiha Shirou

"Rinnegan! Uchiha Madara!"

As these two names resurfaced in his mind, Shirou gazed out at the drizzle beyond the window and murmured to himself:

"Should I make contact with the Rinnegan? The moment I do, I'll undoubtedly be targeted. And Nagato might already be on his way here. Was the meeting of the three of them mere coincidence, or something more? Perhaps I've already been marked as well!"

It wasn't paranoia on Shirou's part—there were simply too many coincidences. Reflecting on Uchiha Madara's life and considering his character...

A resolute Will of Fire, someone willing to sacrifice everything for the village, paired with his talent and strength!

Isn't this just an upgraded version of Obito?!

Shirou had considered this possibility before, but after encountering Konan, he suddenly felt as though he was being watched. This sensation stirred a persistent unease within him.

A future star of Konoha, plotted against to become a rat hiding in the shadows? A rogue ninja?

That's insane!

 "Still… there might be an opportunity here."

As if struck by inspiration, Shirou narrowed his eyes. The Uchiha Madara who had long been secretly manipulating the Mist Village had, in essence, only ever had one overarching personality and dream throughout his life: peace!

 A desire for peace! Pursuit of peace!

 Once upon a time, he and Senju Hashirama had sought peace together—until their differing views led them to part ways.

"First Hokage Hashirama's idea of distributing the Tailed Beasts to maintain balance and peace has already failed. And now, Uchiha Madara has found a new peace plan: the Eye of the Moon. But before that, Madara never proved that his path was the right one!"

At this moment, a thought crossed Shirou's mind, and a smile crept across his face.

"Before the Eye of the Moon Plan, the disagreements between Madara and Hashirama boiled down to two key points: the death of his brother and the position of Hokage. The second was their vision of the ninja world.

Hashirama planned to distribute the Tailed Beasts among the Five Great Nations to maintain balance and peace. Madara, on the other hand, did not agree. He pursued an extreme form of strength. While it was only a budding idea at the time, it's not hard to discern his intent!"

"Madara's concept back then must have been that the strongest force in the ninja world should be Konoha, and all others should submit to its power."

As these thoughts crystallized in his mind, Shirou's vision grew clearer, and his smile deepened.

"A life so dedicated to peace, yet so full of hardships—what if someone walked his original path? At the very least, Madara never proved to the world that his path had been wrong."

"From a psychological standpoint, if Uchiha Madara were to see a member of the Uchiha clan walking the path he once envisioned—more refined, more perfected—what would his proud and arrogant personality compel him to do!?"

With this realization, Shirou slowly stood, pushed open the window, and let the damp, cold air of the Land of Rain wash over him. Yet, his face carried a smile.

"Someone who resembles him so closely, treading an even more perfected version of his path—especially alongside a Senju—Madara's greatest excitement would be proving to Hashirama that he was wrong!

Look at your descendants—they chose the Uchiha! They chose to align and walk the path I once envisioned. That thrill of vindication would far surpass the satisfaction of defeating Hashirama."

"This crisis, perhaps, could become my protective charm—at least until I've grown stronger!"

With this thought, Shirou lowered his head and slowly retrieved a red book, his smile widening further.

"Perhaps it's time to publish a few volumes showcasing my philosophy of peace, ending war, and pursuing harmony. Feeling the pain of war, yearning for peace, and gradually revealing the belief in a peace rooted in ultimate strength..."

As images of Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko flitted through his mind, Shirou found himself smiling even more.

He might be able to avoid Nagato and the Rinnegan, but he was likely already a target of Uchiha Madara. If that was the case, why not turn this potential threat into his advantage?

After all, his life motto had always been: "Since I'm already here, why not make the most of it?"

 The greater the risk, the greater the reward—turning crisis into opportunity was his specialty.

Nagato, Konan, Yahiko, the Rinnegan, and Uchiha Madara—all of these could become his future power. Once he planted the seeds, all he had to do was wait for them to sprout and grow.

As for Uchiha Madara?

Shirou believed that this arrogant and proud ancestor of his would enjoy watching this unfold in secret. At least before his plan reached fruition, Madara would surely want to see if his old ideas could bring about a new result for the ninja world: peace or failure, like Hashirama's.

And that kind of entertainment, especially if it involved the Senju Clan, would certainly bring a sly smile to Madara's face...

...

Deep within a dark underground cavern, an elderly man with white hair sat on a stone chair, his gaze fixed on the intelligence report in his hand.

"Lord Madara, this is the information on the Uchiha prodigy, Uchiha Shirou, whom you've taken an interest in," said the mischievous voice of White Zetsu.

Sitting on the stone chair, Uchiha Madara studied the report and rasped, "A renewed alliance between the Senju and Uchiha... I wonder how Hashirama would feel if he saw his descendant standing alongside a Uchiha."

As this thought crossed his mind, a flicker of mischief and anticipation appeared in Madara's eyes.

In particular, he noticed that this outstanding Uchiha seemed to hold a significant place in the heart of a certain Senju descendant. All it needed was a moment of transformation.

If Hashirama saw this, and if his detested brother Tobirama saw it too!

 The mere thought of it filled Madara's heart with an unexplainable sense of satisfaction and vengeance.

That transformation! It had to happen. No one understood the emotions of the Uchiha better than he did.

Madara was convinced that just one opportunity was all it would take. When the time came, Hashirama's descendant would undoubtedly fall into it—Senju Hashirama's granddaughter becoming a woman of the Uchiha.

At this thought, Madara's face flushed slightly as he fantasized about laughing in Hashirama and Tobirama's faces, shouting, "Hashirama, this time, the Uchiha have won!"

"Hmph, hmph... Hahaha…"

Suddenly, Madara's maniacal laughter echoed through the dark cavern, leaving White Zetsu utterly confused.

"Lord Madara, this Uchiha Shirou only needs to confront the darkness to become a fitting representative," White Zetsu remarked, pulling Madara out of his reverie. Madara's face reddened slightly—thankfully, no one had seen it—but as he glanced back at the intelligence scroll, his eye twitched uncontrollably.

"Darkness! This kid may be very Uchiha-like, but his emotions are too excessive!"

The report detailed that Uchiha Shirou already had romantic feelings for three women: Tsunade, Uchiha Mikoto, and Uzumaki Kushina. Two of these relationships were just shy of transformation.

In other words, for Uchiha Shirou to truly face darkness and collapse, Madara would need to orchestrate scenarios to manipulate these relationships—not once, but three times! Damn it! Even a single attempt would require considerable effort, and now there had to be three?

Madara fell silent for a long moment before finally muttering:

"No, this child isn't suitable. Beyond these three women, he also harbors ambitions to reform the Uchiha clan, a thirst for power, and even dreams of becoming Hokage."

The more Madara spoke, the darker his expression grew. This kid's emotions were far too overgrown. To put it bluntly, he was too greedy. Greedier than Madara himself.

He wanted everything!

Little did Shirou know that, in secret, Madara had decided to abandon him simply because he was too womanizer.