Uchiha Yuki

"Sure~! It's been a while since I soaked in the Shadow Hidden's big hot spring~!" Hikari replied enthusiastically to Samui's suggestion.

"Alright, then I'll head home first to prepare the meal." Samui reached into her bosom, using her long middle and ring fingers—lacking nail tips—to pull out a black card with gold-embossed magatama patterns from between two warm enclosures, then tossed a glance over.

"A-Chen, you and your brothers should come too. I'll book out the hot spring inn tonight."

Chen smiled. "Alright, sister-in-law, then we won't hold back."

Tsuki munched on a meat bun as she stepped forward. "Auntie Samui! Can I come too?"

Samui said gently, "You're still young, you might get dizzy from the soak. Let your big brothers and sisters take you to watch the Fireworks Festival instead~!"

"Wow, awesome! I love wearing a yukata and watching the fireworks!"

"Then it's settled. See you tonight, don't be late~!" Samui waved her hand, leaving behind a sexy silhouette as she carried her groceries and rubbed her shoulder, heading south.

Watching her back, Hikari felt heartfelt relief. "Seeing her so spirited now puts my mind at ease."

Chen empathized. "Yeah, the year my brother passed, it felt like her soul was about to leave her. Even for the child's sake, she had to pull herself together."

Hikari took Chen's hand and said softly, "You've worked hard too, dear."

A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Chen's mouth.

Back then, his brother's death had hit him the hardest. The two brothers had always valued each other's lives above their own.

But he was the ultimate pillar of this family. If he collapsed, how would the people around him get by?

In truth, his entry into the dark underworld wasn't just to build the Shadow Hidden Ninja Village for wealth, but also to create another channel for gathering intel—to investigate the truth behind his brother's death.

Only, to this day, he still hadn't uncovered who the hell was responsible for killing his brother!

Why hadn't the enemy taken his brother's eyes? Could it be they didn't know the value of those Mangekyo?

And why couldn't his brother be summoned by Impure World Reincarnation?

He loathed this feeling of not having the situation under his control.

The potential threat from the murderer who killed his brother even surpassed the Otsutsuki who hadn't yet shown themselves in truth...

Forget it.

Chen shook his head.

You eat a meal one bite at a time; you walk a path one step at a time.

The current arrangements made to counter the Otsutsuki threat were the shared effort of him and his brother.

His brother was watching too—through these peerless, Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

Pushing aside his thoughts, he put his smile back on.

He glanced down at his watch.

2:08 PM.

"Uncle Madara, Obito, before we welcome you both, let's go one more place. The Shadow Hidden Village's Ninja Academy. There, besides a bunch of half-grown kids, you'll also meet a shared 'old acquaintance.'"

"Oh~ I'm looking forward to that." Madara thought to himself: I should be able to see her, right? 'Yuki' from the photo.

Mentioning 'old acquaintance,' Obito clearly had some trauma. "What kind of stunt are you pulling now? It's not Minato and Kushina, is it?"

Chen said, "Rest assured, there's no trace of Konoha's F4 in this village, nor anyone connected to them."

"Konoha's F4... oh, you mean the first four Hokage. That's a fresh way to put it!" Madara wasn't disheartened that Hashirama wasn't in this village.

They'd already said their formal goodbyes once.

If there was still a chance to meet again, Madara hoped that when they did... he could say, with true pride, "Hashirama, I've already left you in the dust! I've accomplished what even you couldn't!"

"I see..." Obito didn't breathe the sigh of relief he'd expected upon hearing Minato and Kushina weren't here.

What a shame. If only Kushina were here, I'd want to kneel and confess my past deeds to her—not for her forgiveness, but just to give her a little solace.

Each carrying their own burdens.

The group arrived outside the Shadow Hidden Ninja Academy's training ground.

Through the chain-link fence.

They could see, at the front of a line of children of varying ages, a girl of twelve or thirteen. She wore a blue robe, a headband, a sash around her waist, and black half-finger tactical gloves on both hands. Her gaze was sharp, like Hikari in her youth! (Image attached)

Uchiha Yuki, sharp-eyed and fierce.

"Uchiha Yuki, subject: Shuriken throwing!" The teacher recording the exam results, holding a clipboard, was a square-faced man with a beard, carrying an air of authority.

Obito felt a flicker of recognition—he'd seen that face somewhere before, but couldn't place it.

Madara's focus, from start to finish, was on Yuki.

"Zzt!" Yuki's eyelids closed, then opened again—three bright tomoe appeared within!

"Oh? At such a young age, you've already awakened to Three Tomoe, and that gaze—it's not bad, sharp as a blade!"

"Shwoosh!" The girl moved, leaping gracefully into the air, her body inverted. Eight kunai lined up between the gaps of her ten fingers, fired in rapid succession at extremely short intervals. In the moment of her spin, she drew two more from her waist with a blurring hand speed and fired them as follow-up shots, striking the tails of the first blades to alter their trajectories!

"Clang-clang-clang-clang!" Eight kunai struck the bullseyes of eight targets in succession—including two in dead angles!

The girl landed lightly, her robes draping down to cover her ninja boots as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Whoa! Amazing! As expected of the strongest genius, Uchiha Yuki!" The children gasped in awe.

The middle-aged teacher recording the scores muttered to himself, "That man's daughter... truly monstrous talent. This shurikenjutsu is already on par with Konoha Anbu's Uchiha Itachi back in the day..."

"Next subject: signature ninjutsu assessment. Uchiha Yuki, use your signature technique!"

Yuki said coolly, "My signature techniques... there are quite a few."

The middle-aged teacher thought for a moment and said, "You're from the Uchiha Clan, so how about using Fire Style? What do you think?"

Yuki paused briefly. "Fine." The hands crossed over her chest slowly lowered.

"However, releasing it into open air might cause quite a bit of collateral damage."

"Alright, then I'll create a barrier for you." The middle-aged teacher tucked the record board under his arm and clasped his hands together before his chest.

—Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"

From the ground ahead, vines and roots burst forth, rapidly growing into towering forests!

Obito narrowed his eyes slowly. "I finally remember who that guy is. Well... in a sense, he is an old acquaintance, but it's a bit of a downer, honestly..."

"Fire Style." Uchiha Yuki's hands, clad in black half-finger tactical gloves, formed the 'Boar' seal before her chest. Her black hair stirred without wind as she cupped her palm to her mouth!

—"Great Fire Annihilation!"

"Rumble...!" A sea of flame, exploding like crimson lotuses, rolled across the ground and instantly swallowed the forest!

Madara's lips curled upward with a bold, arrogant smile. "Yeah~ that's the flavor~!"

On the rooftop of the school building, a white 'scroll-like face' stared down at the explosive scene on the training ground with its fathomless 'eye sockets.'

"Oh my~, that really is something. If only my bowel movements could be this smooth..."

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