Uchiha Yuki

"Sure~! It had been a long time since I soaked in Shadow Hidden Village's big hot springs too~!" Hikari replied enthusiastically to Samui's suggestion.

"Alright, then I'll go home first and prepare the food." Samui reached into her clothes and, using her slender middle and ring fingers with their untrimmed nails, pulled a black card embossed with gold flower patterns from between two warm, soft folds. Her gaze swept over.

"A-Chen, you guys should come too. Tonight, I'll book out the entire hot spring inn."

Chen smiled. "Alright, sister-in-law. Then we won't stand on ceremony."

Tsuki stepped forward while munching on a meat bun. "Auntie Samui! Can I come too?"

Samui said gently, "You're still little. You might get dizzy from soaking too long. Have your big brothers and sisters take you to the Fireworks Festival instead~!"

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

"Then it's settled. See you tonight~!" Samui waved, leaving behind a sexy silhouette as she carried the groceries and rubbed her shoulder while heading south.

Watching her leave, Hikari felt relieved from the bottom of her heart. "Seeing how lively she is now, I can finally rest easy."

Chen said with deep understanding, "Yeah. The year my little brother died, it felt like she'd lost her soul. 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, darling."

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

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

But he was the final pillar of this large family. If he collapsed, how would the people around him survive?

In truth, he had entered the dark world not only to build the Shadow Hidden Ninja Village and amass wealth, but also to gain another channel for gathering intelligence and investigating the cause of his brother's death.

Yet even now, he still had not discovered who exactly had killed his younger brother!

Why had the other party not taken his brother's eyes? Could it be that they did not know the value of that pair of Mangekyo?

And why could his younger brother not be summoned through Impure World Reincarnation?

He utterly hated this feeling of being unable to control the situation.

The potential threat brought by his brother's killer even surpassed those Otsutsuki who had yet to truly appear...

Forget it.

Chen shook his head.

Meals had to be eaten one bite at a time, and roads had to be walked one step at a time.

The preparations they had made to face the Otsutsuki threat were the shared labor of love between him and his younger brother.

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

He put away his worries, and his smile returned to business.

He lowered his head and glanced at his watch.

2:08 p.m.

"Uncle Madara, Obito, before we welcome you properly, let's visit one more place. The Shadow Hidden Village's Ninja Academy. Aside from a group of half-grown kids, you'll also meet a mutual 'old acquaintance' there."

"Oh~? Then I'm looking forward to it." Madara thought, I should be able to see the 'little Yuki' from the photo, right?

At the mention of an "old acquaintance," Obito was visibly traumatized. "What are you plotting this time? It's not Minato and Kushina, is it?"

Chen said, "Don't worry. There are no traces of Konoha's F4 in this village, nor are there any people connected to them."

"Konoha's F4... Oh, you mean the first four Hokage? That's quite a fresh way of putting it!" Madara was not upset that there was no sign of Hashirama in this village.

They had already formally said goodbye once.

If they might meet again, Madara hoped that when they did... he could proudly say in the truest sense of the word, Hashirama, I've thrown you to the other side! I accomplished the great undertaking that even you failed to achieve!

"I see..." Hearing that Minato and Kushina were not here, Obito did not feel as relieved as he had expected.

What a pity. Kushina alone... I wanted to kneel before her and repent for what I did back then. Not to seek her forgiveness, but only to give her even the slightest comfort.

Each carrying their own thoughts.

The group arrived outside the Training Ground of the Shadow Hidden Ninja Academy.

Through the wire fence.

They could see a girl of twelve or thirteen standing at the front of a formation made up of children of varying ages. She wore a blue robe, a forehead protector, and a waist sash, with black fingerless tactical gloves on both hands. Her gaze was sharp, just like Hikari in her youth! (Image attached below.)

Uchiha Yuki, sharp-eyed and fierce.

"Uchiha Yuki, shuriken throwing assessment!" The teacher responsible for recording the test results held a clipboard. He was a stern-looking man with a square face and a full beard.

Obito immediately felt that the man looked familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before, but he could not be sure.

From beginning to end, Madara's attention remained fixed on Yuki.

"Zzt!" Yuki closed her eyelids. When she opened them again, three bright tomoe appeared within!

"Oh? She had already awakened Three Tomoe at such a young age? And those eyes are good too, sharp as blades!"

"Whoosh!" The girl moved. She leaped gracefully into the air, her body turning upside down. Eight kunai lay between the fingers of both hands, shooting out one after another at extremely short intervals. As she spun, she drew two more from her waist with lightning-fast hands and fired them into the tails of the previous kunai, changing their trajectories!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! The eight kunai struck the bullseyes of eight targets in succession! This even included two targets hidden in blind spots!

The girl drifted down gracefully, her robes covering her ninja boots. She crossed her hands before her chest.

"Whoa! Amazing! As expected of the strongest genius, Uchiha Yuki!" The children cried out in astonishment.

The middle-aged teacher recording the results muttered, "That woman's daughter really has monstrous talent. Her shuriken technique has already reached the level of Konoha Anbu's Uchiha Itachi from back then..."

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

Yuki said coolly, "I have many specialties."

After thinking for a moment, the middle-aged teacher said, "You're from the Uchiha Clan, so how about using Fire Release?"

Yuki pondered for a moment. "Alright." Her hands slowly lowered from before her chest.

"However, if I release it into the air, the area affected may be rather large."

"Then I'll make a barrier for you." The middle-aged teacher tucked the clipboard under his arm and clasped his hands before his chest.

—Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Vines burst from the ground ahead, rapidly growing into a forest of towering trees!

Obito slowly narrowed his eyes. "I finally remember who that guy is. Well, in a sense, he really does count as an old acquaintance. Though he's a bit of a letdown..."

"Fire Release." Uchiha Yuki formed the Horse hand seal before her chest with her black fingerless tactical gloves. Her black hair stirred without wind as she cupped her hand before her mouth!

—Great Fire Annihilation!

Rumble...! A crimson, lotus-like sea of exploding flames surged forward, swallowing the forest in an instant!

Madara's lips curled in a domineering smile. "Yes~! That's the flavor~!"

On the rooftop of the school building, a white "swirly face" watched the explosive scene on the Training Ground with its bottomless "eye sockets."

"Oho~, it really is quite impressive. If only bowel movements could be this smooth too..."