8:10 a.m., July 3rd.
After breakfast, Chen's family of three prepared to accompany the two "Flower forms" to the legendary Shadow Hidden Ninja Village.
As they officially set out, Hikari took off her ninja dress and changed into the extended blue trench coat she had worn in her youth. A belt cinched her waist, and ninja boots covered her long, shapely legs. Her dainty feminine air faded away, replaced by a dashing presence!
She took two brand-new outfits from the wardrobe and came to the living room.
Madara and Obito were sitting across from each other on the sofa. Hikari placed the clothes on the cleaned coffee table between them.
"Uncle Madara, I went to a ninja clothing store in a nearby town yesterday and looked around. The standard battle armor you used to wear has already gone out of production, so I picked one from the available styles that seemed more suitable for you and had the tailor modify it a little. See if it fits?"
"Oh, that was thoughtful of you." Madara picked up the clothes before him.
It was a dark-red God Robe similar in style to Chen's black God Robe. Besides the freshly added Uchiha crest, there were rose embroideries on the cuffs and collar!
"Oh? What are these roses for?"
Hikari narrowed her eyes and smiled playfully. "Because Chen gave you the nickname 'Battle Rose,' I took it upon myself to add them. Hehe~"
"Hahaha, Battle Rose. I like it..." Madara beamed as he took off Chen's black God Robe, hung it on the clothes rack, and changed into the new outfit.
After changing, he turned and looked himself over before nodding in satisfaction.
"Not bad... Fits perfectly!"
Hikari turned to look behind her. "Brother Obito, this is a style you wore in the past. I got it ready not long after you went back to greet Rin."
Madara noticed a small detail: Hikari had added rose embroidery to his clothes without asking, yet she had not added anything to Obito's on her own.
Was she the sort of girl who became more playful around older people?
Rather than getting angry, Madara found it rather nice~.
Obito unfolded the outfit before him.
It was the cloak he had worn during his White Mask days, except its color had been changed from black to light gray, better matching his current grayish-white hair.
"This really brings back memories..." Obito put on the new clothes and asked, "No mask?"
"A mask?"
Obito considered it thoroughly. "Of course. If anyone sees Madara's face or mine, it would be an earth-shattering incident in the current ninja world. It would bring Chen trouble, wouldn't it?"
Madara nodded in agreement as well. "Mm, that is a concern. Although I never wore a mask in my life, I can make an exception after death."
Chen arrived in the living room holding Tsuki's hand after putting her in a little sun-protective outfit. Hearing their conversation, he said, "The place we're going today is fine. As for whether you should wear masks after today, I respect your wishes."
Before leaving, Madara picked up a photo frame from atop the TV cabinet.
As mentioned before, it was a family photo of four.
Besides Chen, Hikari, and Tsuki, there was another girl who looked seven or eight years older than Tsuki.
She was Chen and Hikari's eldest daughter, born in the same year they got married: Uchiha Yuki.
Tsuki resembled Chen, while Yuki was practically a miniature version of Hikari! (Image attached below)
Twelve was exactly the age when a ninja was just beginning to make her mark.
Madara felt something strange. From the first moment he saw the photo, he had felt a connection to this child.
He should be able to see her on this trip to the Shadow Hidden Ninja Village...
Madara put the photo frame back on the TV cabinet.
"Let's go." Chen used the Space-Time Ninjutsu of his right eye to draw everyone in.
"Bang!" Just as they left, Naruto and Sasuke, who had followed Chen's Chakra, descended directly into Chen's living room through a Space Gate!
"Damn it! That powerful Chakra Sense vanished without a trace all of a sudden. Were we one step too late?!"
After searching everywhere to no avail, Naruto walked to the TV cabinet, picked up the photo frame, and fell into thought as he looked at Chen's family portrait.
"Whoosh!" The space-time vortex settled, and the group appeared in a narrow mountain valley.
Water babbled beneath their feet, while a thick fog shrouded the path ahead.
Madara's first reaction was to grab Tsuki's hand so she would not fall into the water.
"Hehe, wading through water~!" But this little princess skillfully released Chakra beneath her feet and stood firmly atop the water~!
Madara could not help but stare in surprise. "At only four years old, she's already learned how to release Chakra like a ninja?!"
Chen smiled at Madara. "You're too kind, Uncle Madara. These days, everyone advocates early education, but I thought she was still too young, so I only taught her this basic skill first... I haven't taught her the Three Body Techniques, Shuriken, basic Fire Release, or anything like that yet!"
Madara and Obito thought in unison: Oh... This really is early education!
Chen led the way toward the fog as he introduced the place to Madara and Obito.
"This place is the southern stream valley of a Nameless small country at the intersection of the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth, and the Land of Birds. Everyone thinks this is barren land, but in truth, it hides a sacred ninja training ground passed down from the era of the Six Paths Sage Art. It is called Taoyuan." (Image attached below)
The land where Taoyuan was located, marked by the check.
"Protected by a barrier, Taoyuan has remained isolated from the world. Even though ninja footprints have spread across this land, Taoyuan's whereabouts have remained a mystery."
"I found Taoyuan, then built the Shadow Hidden Ninja Village there."
Madara asked curiously, "A sacred ground of the Six Paths Sage Art? It had been isolated from the world for a thousand years. How did you find it?"
Chen said, "I once had a master. He was a descendant of Ashura's branch of the Six Paths Sage Art. I met him at the lowest point in my life, and he was my great benefactor."
"I owe what I have today to his teachings. Even the clues to Taoyuan were left to me by him before he passed away."
Oh? Chen's master?
Madara had already gained some understanding of Chen's way of doing things.
For a long time, Chen had played the role of a witness through Haniyasu.
That meant he was destined to have very little true combat experience.
Yet during their brief clash the night before last, his movements and awareness had shown that he was absolutely formidable!
It must have had something to do with that master's training, right?
"To be your master, he must not have been some nobody, right?"
"No, he was a wandering monk, without name or surname. I called him Zen Master."
"Then he must have been very strong?"
I knew Lord Madara would ask that. With his back to Madara, Chen smiled to himself.
"Not really. Zen Master did not know any ninjutsu. He and his ancestors had always strictly followed the principles of Ashura's branch of the Six Paths Sage Art: not being beguiled by the dazzling variety of 'techniques' from Indra's branch, but remaining steadfast in cultivating the 'heart.' The unique Zen Meditation born from that was the only discipline Zen Master devoted his entire life to studying. He taught it to me."
Zen Meditation was another name for meditation.
Heh... So after all that, he was just a monk who knew how to sit cross-legged.
As Indra's reincarnation, Madara dismissed it inwardly.
"I've heard of Zen Meditation too. It's nothing more than a technique for holding one's breath and calming one's mind. Ninjas need a certain degree of calmness to refine Chakra."
Chen said calmly, "No. The little bit of calmness ninjas use when refining Chakra does not even count as an introduction to Zen Meditation. True Zen Meditation is profoundly deep. At the highest level, one can enter Samadhi."
"And what can you do after entering Samadhi?"
"In Samadhi, I can fight an Imaginary Enemy, allowing my body, spirit, and consciousness to all grow as though through real combat. I began training under Zen Master at thirteen and spent three years mastering Samadhi at sixteen."
"Another sixteen years have passed since then. For about six of those years, I devoted myself completely to accompanying my eldest daughter Yuki through her childhood."
"Ten years. I truly spent ten years training through Samadhi, but in those ten years, I gained a hundred years of combat experience—moreover, a hundred years of battles with the intensity of the Warring States Era!"
"!?" Chen described it casually, yet Madara and Obito both revealed shocked, dazed expressions.
"Is that even possible? Can time accelerate within Samadhi? Besides, isn't an Imaginary Enemy just something your own consciousness imagines? If you're a rookie yourself, what kind of opponent could you possibly imagine? It wouldn't be anything impressive."
Chen smiled as he explained, "Uncle Madara. Before entering Samadhi, I thought the same as you. But only after truly entering it did I understand that its mysteries cannot be described to those who have never experienced them. I can only say that the Six Paths Sage Art really does have its own methods."
"No wonder Ashura and Indra fought so fiercely over the inheritance of the Six Paths Sage Art back then."
Madara's eyes flickered. He could not experience Samadhi for himself right now, but he finally understood one thing.
"So this was why Chen had fought so few real battles, yet possessed such seasoned skills?"
"However, Zen Master was not my benefactor merely because he taught me Samadhi."
At the end of the fog, Chen stopped before a dead end enclosed by mountain walls.
He raised his hand and formed a secret seal. Amid a rumble, a door appeared.
It was the only entrance to Taoyuan: the Gate of Taoyuan.
"Creak!" Chen lowered his hand and pushed open the Gate of Taoyuan.
Light shone from the gradually opening doorway as Chen's deep voice rang out.
"Uncle Madara, Obito, you probably won't believe this. I used to be an extremely twisted and violent person. I even caused the deaths of my own parents..."
Before you continue