After using Kamui to move through space, Obito arrived at the Heroes' Cemetery.
This was one of his favorite places to stay, second only to the Mizukage Building. In this cemetery lay his parents, his teacher, himself… and the only light that had ever existed in his heart.
Feeling the gentle breeze brushing across the grass, Obito's mood gradually calmed, and his expression became more resolute.
After seeing the Flying Thunder God kunai in Kakashi's house, he had confirmed one thing—
His teacher hadn't died.
Instead, he had become the leader of Uzushio Village. While buying time for Konoha's development, he had also been secretly investigating the Akatsuki organization.
And the reason he hadn't made a move against him…
Was because he feared Obito's identity as "Madara."
He wasn't confident he could kill him completely, so he had been waiting for the perfect opportunity.
How absurd.
Both student and teacher had returned from the dead… and now treated each other as enemies.
But then again, the ninja world itself was absurd.
For the living, it was hell—filled with lies, deception, and endless war.
Arriving in front of Rin Nohara's grave, Obito activated his ability and sank into the ground.
Rin's body was still there…
A few seconds later, Obito returned to the surface and hid in the shadows.
Even he didn't know what he was feeling at that moment.
Relief that her remains were still intact?
Or disappointment that she hadn't played some cruel joke on the world and come back?
In the end, he exhaled slowly.
"...Whatever."
Time to head to ANBU.
As long as Naruto's location could be locked, the Tailed Beast Project could proceed smoothly.
...
Obito's departure was as silent as a breeze, but Kakashi still sensed the spatial fluctuation.
Looking at the broken tree branch nearby, Kakashi's expression shifted repeatedly.
He knew—
The masked man had just been here.
The same man who had unleashed the Nine-Tails disaster… the same devil who had dragged Itachi Uchiha into darkness.
But in Naruto's letter, Minato-sensei had hinted that the masked man was someone they all knew.
That almost outright confirmed it.
Obito.
Kakashi didn't want to believe it.
He refused to believe that Obito had become that monster.
But after calming down and thinking it through…
There was no other possibility.
And yet—
That wasn't the Obito he knew.
If it were, then when he had been hunted by Kirigakure ANBU back then, he wouldn't have managed to return to Konoha carrying Rin's body.
He would have died long ago.
So what changed him?
Was the world he saw… even more cruel than Kakashi's own?
Over the years in ANBU, Kakashi had seen plenty of darkness within the village.
He could understand Obito falling into darkness.
But why take revenge like this?
Why target Minato-sensei and Kushina—people who had cared about him without reservation?
Letting out a quiet sigh, Kakashi walked to the mirror and removed his headband.
Beneath it was his ever-active three-tomoe Sharingan—his greatest asset as Konoha's "copy ninja."
If Obito really was the masked man, then that space-time ability…
Probably came from this very eye.
But now, the biggest problem was—
How to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
If he could awaken it, he would not only be able to counter the masked man…
He might even have the power to bring down Danzo and the higher-ups.
And pushing Jiraiya into the position of Fifth Hokage would become much easier.
After all—
In the ninja world, strength spoke louder than anything.
And the Mangekyō would be his capital.
...
Back in Uzushio Village, Naruto did not receive a reply from Kakashi.
Partly because the two didn't really have much to say…
And partly because Kakashi's chakra reserves weren't exactly massive. Sending "mail" across thousands of kilometers wasn't exactly cheap—one wrong move and the guy might drain himself dry like an idiot.
Compared to that, the Rinnegan's communication methods were much more convenient.
The Demonic Statue communication technique could even work like a group video call.
…Thinking about it that way, the Akatsuki meetings sounded suspiciously like some shady ninja chat group.
After finishing communication with his "inside agent" Kakashi, Naruto stepped out of the office.
While listening to Hōmen's development report, he walked toward the Uzumaki Temple.
After the Battle of the Land of Waves, Uzushio Village had completely secured its foothold there.
However, the development of the Land of Waves and the Land of Whirlpool was actually conflicting.
Both regions were ideal for ports and tourism.
But both relied heavily on surrounding major powers.
Which meant… growth would hit a ceiling sooner or later.
Worse—
The ninja academy was severely lacking students.
At present, they could only rely on orphans to fill the gaps.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—
With the Akatsuki stirring up chaos everywhere, there was never a shortage of orphans.
Children with no parents… were often the easiest to mold into tools.
After all, even Akatsuki had started that way.
After hearing the report, Naruto gave only two suggestions.
First:
Recruit scientific talent and develop chakra-based technology.
Technology could be mass-produced.
Ninjas, on the other hand, required years of training.
From what he remembered of the future, the gap between academy students, genin, and even chunin would shrink drastically.
Even elite ninja could be wiped out by lower-ranked ones using scientific ninja tools.
Only Kage-level fighters could maintain absolute dominance.
Second:
Clean out the nobles of the Land of Waves.
Let Uzushio Village directly govern the country.
Cut out the middlemen.
No more "price differences."
No more money mysteriously vanishing into someone else's pocket.
After giving his suggestions, Naruto pushed open the temple doors and entered the Uzumaki Shrine.
Seeing Ashina Uzumaki, Naruto immediately smiled:
"Old man, have you developed any new sealing techniques recently? Any progress in your Pure Land research?"
Ashina looked impatient and waved him over.
"Stop talking crap. Hurry up and assist me. There's an experiment I can't do without you."
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"What experiment?"
Ashina led the way and said:
"It's about the Pure Land. I'm planning to go back there. Undo the Reanimation Jutsu for me."
Naruto hesitated slightly.
Once the Impure World Reincarnation was released, Ashina would become a free soul.
Although… knowing him, he could probably just seal himself back anyway.
Still—
There was a more important issue.
Reanimation required a living sacrifice.
After Naruto voiced his concern, Ashina casually pointed at a box in the distance.
"My corpse is over there. Dug it up myself. Plenty of material—go ahead and use it."
Naruto: "…"
For a moment, he didn't even know what to say.
Most dead people were worried about their bodies being desecrated.
This old guy?
Not only did he not care—
He literally dug up his own corpse for research.
This was beyond madness.
This was academic insanity.
Honestly, if he had been alive, he and Orochimaru would've gotten along way too well.
Out of basic respect, Naruto still asked:
"Isn't this… desecrating a corpse?"
Ashina rolled his eyes.
"I am the corpse, and I'm the former head of the Uzumaki clan. Who the hell is going to accuse me of desecration?"
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