"Seriously, those bastards aren't actually planning to start a war, are they?"
In Konoha's sector of the Land of Hot Water, a group of Konoha shinobi was out on night patrol.
The approaching war had affected everyone. Whether they wanted it or not, things had already reached this point.
The Land of Hot Water defense line was a critical position. Beyond it lay Kumogakure's sphere of influence. The moment war broke out, they would become the front line.
During the patrol, one of the shinobi couldn't help muttering under his breath. Their captain glanced back at him.
"Whether war starts or not, I don't know. But we have our duty to fulfill."
The captain spoke slowly. Silver moonlight spilled across the earth and illuminated his face, making those Byakugan eyes especially striking.
"And besides, this time it isn't us starting the war. It's Iwagakure and Kumogakure coming to war with us. They envy our prosperous lives. They want to take everything we have. They want to crush us under their feet and plunder what we built. So what, are we supposed to just stand by and let them do whatever they want?"
"As if, Captain!"
"Sorry, Captain, I just…"
Hearing the Hyuga captain's words, the others immediately looked embarrassed and hurried to apologize.
Even though Ren and Tsunade had never pushed any nonsense like, "You can never repay the Hokage and the Hokage's aide," life in Konoha really had changed for the better.
It wasn't just the satellite states that had undergone earthshaking change. Konoha itself had benefited immensely from their existence, with industries continuously expanding.
The influx of cheap raw materials and cheap labor had brought Konoha enormous profits, and that had directly improved the treatment of Konoha's shinobi.
Ninjas had income beyond mission rewards. They also had official salaries and benefits. Even an ordinary chunin now lived incomparably better than before.
And with the rise of the satellite states, the shinobi villages within those smaller nations also needed Konoha ninja for training and support. That meant another huge stream of income through foreign assignments.
It was no exaggeration to say that Konoha's shinobi were now living far better than they ever had in the past.
So even without any talk of debts of gratitude, none of them wanted to see everything they had taken from them.
"Since you understand that, then do your job properly. Stop complaining. Our task is to keep watch on everything across the line."
The Hyuga captain nodded, but just as he was about to say more, something felt wrong.
Dust was rising in the distance, and orange-red firelight stood out sharply beneath the moon.
The captain's expression changed. He immediately activated his Byakugan.
And in that instant, his face went completely pale.
Because through the Byakugan, he saw countless shinobi already gathered, moving straight toward their position.
Even though all he could see were chakra signatures, he understood at once what that sight meant.
"What is it, Captain?"
The other squad members looked over in confusion, but seeing the beacon fires in the distance, they also seemed to realize something.
Their hands instinctively dropped to their tool pouches, fingers tightening around the handles of their kunai.
"Get the signal flares ready."
The Hyuga captain took a deep breath, his voice grave.
"Highest level alert. Notify everyone, because…"
"The war has begun!"
"Hyuga? The moon? The Sage of Six Paths' younger brother?"
Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha stared at each other in disbelief. They had no idea when Ren had arrived.
But now wasn't the time to worry about that. They were completely stunned by what he had just said.
What kind of information was this? Why did it suddenly make the shinobi world feel so unfamiliar?
And yet, when they thought about it carefully, it didn't feel impossible either.
"So the Sharingan and Byakugan are connected in that way too?"
The Sharingan was the pride of the Uchiha, while the Byakugan was the lifeblood of the Hyuga. Both clans were built upon dōjutsu.
If the Uchiha descended from the Sage of Six Paths, then the Hyuga descending from the Sage's younger brother… somehow, that really did seem plausible.
There were still many questions, though. And neither of them knew whether they should ask them.
"Since you're already here, ask whatever you want."
Ren seemed to see through their hesitation. He stretched lazily and smiled as if none of it mattered.
"The fact that I didn't attack you the moment I saw you means I don't intend to do so right now. Opportunities like this are pretty rare, you know."
"Then why are the Hyuga of today so weak?"
Hashirama had calmed down quite a bit now, and he immediately asked the question on his mind.
He felt no hostility toward Ren, unlike Madara's constant tension.
"Did they lose part of their inheritance, or is there some other reason?"
"First Hokage-sama, you guessed right."
Ren smiled and nodded.
"Their clan on the moon also had a main branch and a branch family."
"Tch. A leopard can't change its spots."
Seeing that Ren truly didn't seem intent on fighting for the moment, Madara relaxed slightly too. And hearing that the Hyuga on the moon had the same structure, he couldn't help snorting.
"Main branch, branch family. The main branch controls everything and enslaves the branch family, while the branch family resents it but can do nothing. Some things never change."
"Then you've got it wrong. The ones on the moon hadn't reached that point."
Ren shrugged and said with a grin, "They did have a huge internal conflict, but it wasn't about that. In fact, they got along surprisingly well. The split came from ideology. The main branch believed they had to remain on the moon and guard the shinobi world, so that if the Otsutsuki ever descended, they would serve as the first line of defense."
"Oh? Then the Hyuga main branch on the moon sounds pretty decent."
Hashirama looked surprised, though he still answered with a smile. Madara, however, immediately picked up on the implication.
"Then what about the branch family? What did they believe? And how did the Hyuga in the shinobi world come to be?"
"The branch family on the moon believed the shinobi world was a place inhabited by inferior lifeforms, and that the shinobi world had long since strayed from the will of their ancestor."
Ren tapped the desk lightly and said in a low voice, "Those branch family members wanted to use the Tenseigan to destroy the shinobi world and start everything over from scratch. Oh, and while we're at it—the Tenseigan, like the Rinnegan, is the final stage of the Byakugan's evolution."
"What?"
"This…"
Neither Hashirama nor Madara had expected things to turn out like this.
And what was even more unbelievable was that those Hyuga on the moon had actually held such insane ideas.
"It was precisely because of those extreme and contradictory beliefs that some of them left through a transfer passage and came down to the shinobi world."
Ren continued, and Madara immediately understood.
"So that's the present-day Hyuga. No wonder the ancient records about them were always vague and incomplete. They just appeared out of nowhere. And you found the passage by digging through old records and tracing the location where they first appeared, right?"
"Exactly."
Ren smiled. At this point, he had already committed the biggest forged-historical-artifact case and the biggest historical-revision case in shinobi history. He didn't mind adding a few more details to fill the story out and leave some room for imagination.
"Since there were precedents with the Uchiha and Senju, I figured the Hyuga were special enough that there had to be something to trace too. Turns out I was right. We found the path to the moon."
"And honestly, we got lucky. The moon's main and branch families had already fought a huge war. The dead were dead, the survivors were crippled, and most of them were in terrible condition. So when we got up there, we picked up a huge bargain. We paid a price, sure, but we managed to wipe them all out. And now the moon belongs to us."
The moon belonged to Konoha now?
That one sentence made Hashirama's eyes widen. Madara, on the other hand, wasn't surprised at all.
They had killed everyone on the moon and claimed the territory.
What was wrong with expanding your domain?
Free territory was still territory.
"So you found this root on the moon?"
It took Hashirama a while to recover. Then he pointed at the root with disbelief.
"So this thing was taken up there by those Hyuga back then?"
I took it up there myself, Ren complained inwardly, but on the surface he only nodded.
"That's right. I'd seen the Uchiha stone tablet, so I guessed the Senju should have had something similar too. I just had no idea where it had ended up. Never thought it would be on the moon. No wonder no one ever found it. Still, in a way we were lucky it was on the moon. Otherwise it probably would've been tampered with too."
"…."
Madara's face darkened the instant that was said.
Damn it, he really had been made into a clown!
Not just him—even the entire Uchiha line, their ancestors, even Indra himself, all reduced to clowns!
That was something Madara simply could not let go of.
"Hmph. For all you know, it could be your Senju relic that was tampered with."
Madara was still stubborn. He snorted coldly and said flatly, "That thing sat on the moon for who knows how many years. Who's to say those Hyuga never laid a hand on it?"
"Actually, even without this root, I already knew the Uchiha stone tablet had been altered."
Ren gave him no face whatsoever. He shook his head and sighed.
"The Senju represent Yang Release, the Uchiha represent Yin Release. The two together give birth to the power of creation from all things. After I gained Wood Release, I never gave up pursuing Yin Release either. And once Hikari came into the picture…"
"My Yin Release progressed by leaps and bounds. So I tried combining the two powers. It was incredibly difficult, but I succeeded. And while reading the Uchiha stone tablet afterward, I noticed something strange in the information."
"More importantly, I possess Yin-Yang Release. I can sense the chakra within your stone tablet, and it isn't continuous."
That explanation gave a simple justification for Ren's "power of creation from all things."
Of course, if someone really dug into it, there were bound to be problems. But Ren didn't care. And he knew perfectly well that Hashirama and Madara wouldn't go digging too hard either. Some secrets simply weren't things people would casually explain.
Madara truly didn't overthink that part. His attention was fixed entirely on the latter half.
"Not continuous…"
He repeated it under his breath, and Hashirama immediately understood.
"You mean… the chakra itself was altered?"
"Exactly."
Ren nodded openly. The best lies were eight parts truth and two parts fiction—and if you didn't look too closely, even the fiction could feel true.
Otherwise, how was he supposed to outdo Black Zetsu and pull off the greatest scam in shinobi history?
"The person who altered it was extremely skilled. Their mastery of Yin-Yang Release was also incredibly high. Ordinary people would never be able to figure it out. But I'm different. I don't rely on sight. I rely on sensing it. And since I myself cultivate Yin-Yang Release, I noticed the difference immediately."
"And if I'm not mistaken, Madara Uchiha, when you saw that information, you never stopped to examine it. Because by then, your mental state was already compromised. Right?"
"…."
Madara said nothing. He simply turned back in silence toward the two "holy relics" behind him, especially the Uchiha stone tablet.
"Madara?"
Hashirama looked confused. He didn't quite understand what Ren was getting at, but Ren continued before he could ask.
"From what Hikari told me, reading those deeper layers of information requires the Sharingan to evolve further and further."
"Back when you had the Mangekyo, you probably already saw quite a bit, but you didn't take it seriously."
"When you reached the Eternal Mangekyo, your brother had already been killed by the Second Hokage. There's no way your heart wasn't shaken. Even if you still wanted to build Konoha at that point, the seed had already been planted."
"Then the First Hokage rejected your plan to unify the shinobi world. You saw Konoha's limitations. You saw the inevitability of war returning. That seed started to sprout."
"And later, when you obtained the First Hokage's power and gradually awakened the Rinnegan, your faith in the Eye of the Moon Plan had already solidified. You saw the complete plan. At that point, you no longer wanted to question it. No longer wanted to think more deeply. All you wanted was to complete it. Wasn't that right?"
"Madara?"
Hashirama stared at him in disbelief. He had never imagined that his old friend's internal transformation had been so complicated.
Madara remained silent for a long time. Finally, he shook his head and sighed.
"If only you had been Hashirama Senju."
"…."
Hashirama's eyes widened. That answer alone meant everything Ren had said had hit the mark.
Still, he felt a little bitter inside. Was the gap between himself and Ren really that large?
"No."
Yet Ren immediately shook his head with complete firmness.
"You're not Hikari, so let's not even consider it."
"..."
You're just lusting after her!
Madara no longer wanted to speak. He could already feel his fists tightening.
"And besides, there's something else that becomes obvious if you think about it carefully."
Ren sighed and leaned back in the chair.
"The Sage of Six Paths created Ninshu so the shinobi world could grow, so everyone living in this world could survive and prosper."
"If that was truly his purpose, then why would he also create some Eye of the Moon Plan? Why would he use something so stupid to bring about a fake peace?"
"Anyone with a functioning brain should've been able to spot the contradiction, but…"
Madara didn't say anything. He only shot Ren a look. He could obviously tell Ren was insulting him.
The problem was that he found himself unable to refute it.
The more he thought about it, the more it really did make sense. There was no reason for the Sage of Six Paths to do something like that.
And if he truly wanted to, he probably could have done it himself. Why would he need to split up the tailed beasts and rely on future generations to pull it off?
And then there was the information on the root—that the Sage of Six Paths wanted the shinobi world tempered through warfare so it could face the Otsutsuki, and that there was an "evil shadow" lurking within it.
All of it seemed to point to the same conclusion.
Madara Uchiha really had been a clown.
The instant that thought fully settled in, his body started trembling with rage.
He had never imagined that the thing he had spent so many years preparing, so many years fighting for, would end with a truth like this.
"I'm going to kill that bastard! I swear I'll tear that bastard into pieces!"
At last, Madara completely lost it. His fury seemed to shoot straight into the heavens.
He swore he would kill the one responsible. He could not let this humiliation go unanswered.
And now, he had no interest left in the Eye of the Moon Plan at all.
"We're leaving."
His voice was icy, his eyes full of rage and frustration.
"There's no point staying here any longer."
"I don't agree."
What Madara hadn't expected was for Ren to suddenly shake his head.
"I think there's still plenty of meaning in staying, because there are a few other things we can still talk about."
"For example… don't you want to know the true secret of the Eye of the Moon? Don't you want to drag out the real mastermind behind it all?"
The Fourth Great Ninja War had, in the end, begun.
This war was no different from any that had come before. It was still about development. Still about利益.
Tens of thousands of shinobi had been divided into several large battle divisions, along with a number of specialized squads, and a massive war had exploded along the borders of the Land of Fire.
The hundred thousand White Zetsu had also split into multiple forces and begun moving in secret. Orochimaru had even assigned his Edo Tensei army to the various combat divisions.
"Seriously… looks like trouble's here."
Kakashi stared at the enemy ninja forces in the distance and couldn't help rubbing his forehead. He truly felt like this was becoming a headache.
"Fighting alongside you people is the real headache. Don't hold me back."
Zabuza, his face covered in bandages, let out a cold snort. The two of them were currently in the same unit.
The delicate-looking Haku stood beside Zabuza, also watching the front lines. He was now dressed in a proper Kirigakure uniform.
Zabuza had never defected. He had been absorbed back into the Mist, and both he and Haku were now official Kirigakure shinobi.
"Zabuza-sama."
Suddenly Haku seemed to sense something and spoke quietly.
"There's movement ahead. They're coming. And their chakra signatures…"
As he spoke, a crowd of figures began appearing before them.
Their faces were covered in cracks, clearly marking them as Edo Tensei.
And the first few wore Kirigakure forehead protectors, prompting Kakashi to glance sideways at Zabuza.
But soon more and more appeared, from all sorts of villages, wearing all kinds of headbands. Kakashi let out a sigh.
"Orochimaru really came prepared. But the first ones up there…"
"The previous Seven Ninja Swordsmen? I like this."
Before Kakashi could finish, a bloodthirsty grin had already appeared on Zabuza's face.
Kirigakure may have changed tremendously since then, but for a shinobi born from Zabuza's era of the Mist, there was one thing he had always excelled at—
Stabbing his own comrades in the back.
"Maniac…"
Watching Zabuza get this excited, Kakashi sighed inwardly.
He rubbed his brow, then casually lifted the forehead protector that covered his left eye, revealing a crimson Sharingan.
"So it's finally begun."
Beside him, Guy looked even more energized. He laughed loudly.
"Kakashi! Let's give it everything we've got! Youth is something meant to burn brightly!"
"…."
Kakashi said nothing. He truly felt speechless.
So in the end, he could only steel himself and prepare to strike at any moment.
On another battlefield, Chiyo of Sunagakure had already linked up with the Konoha forces.
Looking at the densely packed enemy figures ahead, she couldn't help sighing.
"To think I'm this old and still facing war. What a thing to live through."
"You really didn't have to come."
With a cigarette dangling from his lips, Asuma glanced at Chiyo, exhaled smoke, and shook his head.
"You know you're old. So why come out here anyway?"
Beside him, Ino looked tense. Choji no longer had the appetite to eat. Only Shikamaru kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield ahead.
"Is it because of Sasori?"
After a while, Shikamaru finally asked.
"I heard he'd be making a move. Is that why you came?"
Chiyo didn't answer, but her attitude said enough.
She had come for Sasori.
In the sky opposite them, white clay birds spread their wings and flew high through the night. Two figures stood atop them.
"Seriously, why do I have to bring you along?"
Standing on the clay bird, Deidara shot Sasori an annoyed glance. He was excited for the war, but being forced to move alongside another Akatsuki member still irritated him.
Especially since the guy beside him, wrapped in that black cloak with red clouds, had an artistic philosophy that completely clashed with his own. Just standing beside him was already unbearable.
"I don't want to be here with you either. But you're the only one who can fly. I need to observe the battlefield."
Sasori looked at the brat beside him and couldn't shake the feeling that the kid was born short-lived.
Still, he couldn't be bothered to say more than that. He only needed to complete his mission.
Then his gaze suddenly sharpened. He noticed a familiar figure standing at the enemy front.
"Granny Chiyo…"
Seeing that person, a trace of complexity flickered across Sasori's face. But after a moment, he shook his head lightly.
Whoever it was, now that things had reached this point, he no longer had any path of retreat.
Below, Kitsuchi was also watching the opposing side. Standing beside him, Kurotsuchi asked in a low voice, "Father… are we really going to war?"
"That's not really for me to decide."
Kitsuchi sighed, but quickly smiled again.
"Don't worry too much. I'll protect you. And once this is over, things should settle down."
"Father…"
Kurotsuchi wanted to say something else, but couldn't find the words. In the end, all she could do was nod.
"Oh, and one more thing."
At that, Kitsuchi lowered his voice further, almost to a whisper.
"If—and I mean if—we're really unlucky enough to run straight into Ren…"
"Then don't hesitate for even a second. There's only one thing you should do."
"Run."
"Didn't expect we'd end up fighting Konoha again. This is getting interesting."
On another front, Kumogakure's main force was gathering in huge numbers.
To one side of their position, within the White Zetsu army, stood two towering figures shoulder to shoulder.
They had horns on their heads and held gourds, swords, and ropes in their hands. Their identities were obvious at a glance.
They were Kinkaku and Ginkaku—the Kumogakure extremists who had once ambushed the Second Raikage and hunted down the Second Hokage.
"This time, we'll be taking our revenge properly."
Ginkaku nodded. Then, before long, he glanced over at Kakuzu, who stood nearby in his Akatsuki cloak.
"Well, this is a surprise. You're still alive?"
"I heard Takigakure had something called Earth Grudge Fear, some terrifying forbidden technique that could be used together with it."
Kinkaku also tilted his head, looking Kakuzu up and down.
"You must've survived all this time thanks to that. How come I never saw you in the Akatsuki before?"
"Because I've never had any interest in interacting with people like you."
Kakuzu glanced at the brothers and answered with open disdain.
Back in their day, Kinkaku and Ginkaku had already been known as lunatics.
Kakuzu, who in those days had still been devoted to his village, naturally hated that type. And after becoming a rogue bounty hunter, he had even less interest in them.
Even after learning they had been revived through Edo Tensei, he hadn't bothered interacting with them. He just hadn't expected to get grouped together with them now.
"I feel exactly the same. Being put with you is no fun at all."
Ginkaku snorted, then grinned at Kakuzu.
"If Tobirama Senju were here, now that would've been interesting."
"That's not something you should ask me."
Kakuzu shook his head and looked ahead.
"You're probably not going to run into Tobirama himself. But his students and their descendants? You might get a chance to meet them yet."
"Oh?"
The brothers looked into the distance.
Even now, they could already see Konoha's forces standing ready.
At the front was an old man in old-fashioned armor, staring back from the other side.
"An old man?"
"Does Konoha think so little of us?"
The two brothers looked insulted. Kakuzu, however, chuckled lightly.
"Don't underestimate that old man. By their standards, he's still considered a youngster. That's Konoha's Third Hokage. He was appointed by Tobirama Senju himself just before the man died. And his name should ring a bell for you."
"His name is Hiruzen Sarutobi."
"Oh?"
"So it's that brat who used to stand beside Tobirama Senju?"
The moment they heard that name, recognition flashed in both their eyes. More than that, they clearly found Hiruzen's position amusing.
"A final appointment, huh?"
"Looks like he ought to thank us, then."
"The only question is…"
"How much stronger has that brat become compared to his teacher?"
All across the shinobi world, armies were still gathering. In some places, fierce clashes had already broken out.
And on the moon, Naruto was still training furiously, though he was thoroughly miserable.
He could tell his father's mood wasn't very good. He'd also noticed that more than half the ANBU stationed there had left.
"What exactly happened?"
Naruto was frustrated, but no one would tell him what was going on in the shinobi world—not even his own parents.
"Brat, your power and mine still haven't synced completely. No one's going to let you leave like this."
Just when Naruto was at his most irritated, the Nine-Tails suddenly spoke inside him.
"You can't calm your mind. So how are you supposed to fully synchronize your chakra with mine?"
Over this period on the moon, Naruto had at least developed some understanding with Kurama.
Strictly speaking, Kurama didn't actually resent Naruto all that much anymore.
And Kurama also knew a lot more of the truth now.
The person who had controlled him that night had been Obito Uchiha. That was something Kurama had never forgotten.
Naruto was just a pitiful victim. A tragic little bastard who could do nothing at all.
And Kurama himself had also been nothing more than an unlucky bastard.
Maybe that was why unlucky brats and unlucky beasts could understand each other a little.
Of course, that wasn't the real issue.
The real issue was one person.
"Ren…"
Through Naruto, Kurama had constantly been able to observe the outside world, which meant he had also been able to observe Ren more and more clearly.
At the very beginning, it had been Ren who first brought warmth to that boy. Ren who had brought a different kind of light into Naruto's darkest and most helpless moments.
Naruto kept talking about him, and because of that, Kurama couldn't help observing him too.
And the more he observed, the more frightened he became.
Because Ren truly had become someone who made even Kurama feel fear.
At first, Kurama thought he was simply the next Minato Namikaze. Then perhaps the next Tobirama Senju.
To be fair, Kurama had never actually dealt with Tobirama directly, so that comparison meant little.
But once Ren's bloodline awakened and he gained Wood Release, everything changed.
Kurama had originally thought he was looking at another damned Hashirama Senju.
But as time went on, he slowly came to a different realization.
"How does this guy feel more and more like the old man?"
The "old man" Kurama referred to was naturally the Sage of Six Paths—the man who had split the Ten-Tails and created the tailed beasts.
For Kurama to feel that way at all was enough to show how absurd Ren had become.
And more absurd still, Ren's growth never seemed to stop. His progress defied imagination.
Not long ago, that pillar of chakra that pierced heaven and earth—the terrifying moment where it had nearly drained the entire moon dry—had filled Kurama with instinctive terror.
It was the kind of fear that came from the soul itself, as if some source of origin was pulling at him so strongly that he had nearly been ripped out of Naruto altogether.
"What the hell is that?"
Kurama kept turning that question over in his mind.
That feeling no longer resembled the Sage of Six Paths.
If anything, it felt closer to the original being that had once contained all of them—
The Ten-Tails itself.
But how could a person become the Ten-Tails?
Kurama couldn't make sense of it.
But he did understand one thing with perfect clarity—
Picking a fight with that man was the last thing he wanted.
"He's never given me trouble. He's never looked down on Naruto. Even when Minato was summoned through Edo Tensei, he didn't rip out the other half of me."
"That means he has no designs on them. Maybe he simply doesn't care enough. Maybe it's respect. Either way, we're not his problem."
Being looked down on really was unpleasant.
After all, even Hashirama Senju, after beating him senseless, had still said, "The Nine-Tails is too strong and too dangerous. It must be sealed."
But unpleasant as that was, it still sounded a lot better than being drained dry.
So Kurama had decided that those who knew when to bow were the true wise ones.
That was why he had cooperated so honestly with Naruto and sped up Naruto's progress so much.
The problem was that achieving true chakra synchronization still wasn't easy.
"Tch, all you do is talk shit, Kurama."
Naruto sighed helplessly. He already knew the Nine-Tails' name now, so he called him by it directly. Scratching his head, he muttered, "Everyone's clearly restless. Something huge happened in the shinobi world, but nobody will tell me anything. How am I supposed to calm down like this?"
"Idiot brat, what exactly do you think you'd accomplish if you went back?"
Kurama really couldn't be bothered to sugarcoat anything. The kid really was stupid.
"There are countless powerful shinobi in the world. And on top of that, there's your terrifyingly strong Hokage's aide. Whether you're there or not doesn't change much."
"Damn it…"
Naruto was annoyed.
He wanted to prove himself. He wanted to fight alongside everyone else, not stay cowering in the back.
And yet Kurama's words made him sound like he was entirely optional.
How was he supposed to feel good about that?
"And besides, if you can't settle down and do this properly…"
Just when Naruto was at his most frustrated, Kurama spoke again in a lazy tone.
"Sasuke's probably going to surpass you."
"Oh crap!"
Naruto's expression instantly changed.
Sasuke might be his friend, but if there was one person in the world Naruto absolutely didn't want to lose to, it was Sasuke.
"Well, that's only natural."
Kurama clearly understood Naruto far too well, and continued pouring oil on the fire.
"After all, Sasuke only needs a new pair of eyes. You, on the other hand, need to buckle down and train like hell. If you lose, that's only normal."
"Though honestly, I'd be annoyed too. If you somehow managed to catch up to him—or even surpass him—under these circumstances, that would feel amazing."
"But with the way you are now, there's no chance. Better just take things one step at a time. And when the time comes, don't start whining about why he gets to go down there while you don't…"
"That's enough!"
Naruto completely snapped.
He shot to his feet in one smooth motion, suddenly full of spirit again.
Clenching his fists, he shouted, "Alright! Let's do it! I'm finishing this as fast as I can!"
"Tch."
Kurama rolled his eyes.
The kid really was too easy to deal with.
One basic taunt and he was fired up.
What an idiot.
"So this is the Eternal Mangekyo…"
Within Hamura's temple, Sasuke's eyes remained tightly wrapped in bandages. He couldn't see anything.
But he could clearly feel the changes in his eyes. He could also feel the cells injected into his body rapidly transforming him.
The sensation of growing power made him wildly excited.
And like Naruto, he also knew the shinobi world had changed.
Shisui hadn't told him exactly what was happening, but Sasuke understood that something serious was going on. And that meant this was an opportunity.
"This is my chance to prove myself to Ren-sama, Hikari-sama, and Lady Hokage…"
"This is my chance to rebuild the Uchiha and let everyone live beneath the sunlight again!"
"Faster… faster… I can't wait any longer…"
"Hey. Are you sure about this?"
Back at the base in the Land of Rice Fields, Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju had returned.
The whole shinobi world was already in chaos, with seals and blockades everywhere—but to the two of them, it may as well have been an empty road.
Still, after returning, Hashirama looked at Madara with a hint of doubt.
"You know what the consequences will be if you do this. Are you really going through with it?"
"It's already come to this. There's nothing more to say."
Madara shook his head, his eyes full of cold fury.
"I'd rather see where all of this really leads!"
Seeing his attitude, Hashirama merely shrugged and said nothing more.
By then, they had already entered the underground base.
The place was nearly empty now, with only a few people left behind. But the moment the two of them appeared, Orochimaru, Black Zetsu, and Obito Uchiha—who had no assigned mission—came over at once.
"So you're back, Madara-sama."
Black Zetsu's expression betrayed nothing at all as he greeted him with a smile.
"Mm."
Madara's response was flat. His mood remained unreadable. He swept his gaze across the room and asked, "Where is Nagato? He didn't come?"
"He seems to have other ideas. He's practically glued to the Demonic Statue all day long."
Obito let out a cold snort.
The truth was, he had really wanted to make a move while Madara was gone, but there simply hadn't been enough time.
And he had already tested the situation. Nagato was extremely cautious. The instant Obito passed through space, the Demonic Statue noticed, which immediately put Nagato on guard.
That made Obito furious, but at least it had let him probe the situation. Next time, he could move more smoothly.
As long as Madara left again, there would definitely be another chance.
"Forget it. It doesn't matter whether he's here or not."
Yet after thinking for a moment, Madara suddenly spoke.
"And one more thing. All operations are terminated. This all ends here."
Ends here?
Hearing that, Orochimaru raised a brow, though he wasn't surprised.
After all, he had effectively "listened in" the night before, so he already had some idea of how things had progressed. If anything, he simply found it entertaining.
Black Zetsu's face, however, changed instantly. Madara still hadn't guessed who the "shadow" really was, but the thing Black Zetsu feared most had still come to pass.
"Ends here?"
Obito frowned, momentarily unable to process what he had just heard.
What did that even mean?
"Wasn't I clear enough, Obito Uchiha?"
Madara frowned too.
He really had no interest in explaining things in detail, but the sheer level of stupidity Obito was displaying left him speechless.
He had said it plainly enough already. How was this fool still standing there like he didn't understand?
"What Madara means is, there will be no more attacks. All plans are cancelled."
Hashirama seemed unable to watch any longer and finally spoke up.
That one sentence turned Obito's face pale. He stared at Madara in disbelief.
Madara gave a slow, emotionless nod and looked straight at him.
"That's right. All plans are cancelled. Or, more accurately…"
"The Eye of the Moon Plan is completely terminated and abolished."
When Obito Uchiha heard that, he was completely dumbfounded.
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