Goodbye Tobi

Fire Tide receded, leaving behind a charred wasteland of tree carcasses and a fan-shaped scar gouged into the earth by the blaze's passage.

Behind her, the children gasped in shock, their cries filling the air.

"Heavens... the gap between us and her is way too big!"

"Yuki's even fiercer than she was during the last grade assessment! And it's only been half a month!"

"No doubt about it, she's gonna beat Fuu again and take first place this time!"

Sitting in the second row, a girl with short, ear-length blonde hair and a face that bore some resemblance to Samui sucked on a lollipop.

Her emerald eyes slid to the boy beside her—a youth with neat black hair and a scholarly air—and she said, "Big bro~, looks like you didn't manage to turn the tables this time either~."

"Yeah, I've got no complaints about losing. Yuki's talent is far above mine, and she works just as hard..." the boy replied, his expression one of genuine admiration.

These siblings, Uchiha Fuu and Uchiha Hana, were Yuki's cousins.

"Hah." Yuki exhaled the residual heat from her throat, unsealed her hand signs, and propped her right hand on her hip.

She bit her lip, her left hand hanging at her side clenched into a fist. "Is this all I've got now?"

Under the worshipful or envious gazes of her peers, she turned and walked back to the lineup, but a secret thought churned in her chest: This level? Forget comparing to Dad—I'm still way off from Mom! At this rate, when will I ever be able to help Dad out...

This year! The pests threatening the ninja world will show up this year! Dad's going to be swamped then! I can't leave all the work of taking care of and protecting Tsuki to Mom alone!

I have to get stronger!

Madara's gaze lingered on Yuki's face until she took her seat, then he turned to Chen and said, "That child's eyes are something else. Not the kind you see in spoiled kids of this era."

Chen watched Yuki's petite, delicate back and replied in a complex tone, "Yuki's been sensible since she was little. How should I put it? In the old saying from our hometown, she was born to repay a debt of gratitude."

"And she's exceptionally sharp, always mulling things over. From the people and events around her, she pieced together clues and figured out I was brewing something big. She kept probing me openly and covertly, trying different angles—it put me on the back foot too..."

"Honestly, I didn't want the kids involved. I tried to keep it from her the whole way... but."

The massacre of Konoha's main Uchiha clan, the lessons of Itachi and Sasuke—they were still fresh in his mind...

Too often, adults, in their self-righteous, self-serving idea of "what's best for the child," end up twisting a child who should have grown up healthy into a distorted person.

It wasn't just Sasuke's example; Chen's own real-life experience was a living proof.

"After thinking it over, I decided to be completely open with Yuki and let her choose her own path! As parents, all we need to do is support her wholeheartedly."

"I see." Madara nodded deeply, admiration in his heart. With such a family ethos, no wonder she turned out this way!

Back at the Ninja Academy, everyone's focus had locked onto Yuki, but Chen, while feeling proud and gratified, hadn't forgotten his main purpose.

He introduced the important "family members" he was determined to protect.

"The short-haired boy and the blonde girl in the third row back are Fuu and Hana, my nephew and niece. They're excellent too—especially Fuu. He's already awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan, excels at Lightning Release, and his Body Flicker Technique and swordsmanship are quite refined."

Madara gave a face-saving nod. "Mm. Since they're your brother's children, they naturally wouldn't be lacking."

At that, Obito chimed in: "But Lightning Release, Body Flicker, swordsmanship—those are Uchiha specialties, though I imagine their mother being from Kumogakure has something to do with it too, right?"

"Exactly. The boy's swordsmanship foundation was taught by Samui."

"By the way." Obito asked with interest, "Samui's from Kumogakure. She was willing to follow you all the way to the Shadow Hidden Village?"

Chen said, "Actually, it's not just Samui. Her younger brother Atsui came along too."

"Oh?"

Under Obito's attentive gaze, Chen explained.

"Samui, as my sister-in-law, knew a bit about the plan Jin and I once carried out together. She understood that plan clashed with the Five Great Ninja Villages' entrenched ideals, and she could see that staying in Kumogakure with Jin's children might one day force her into a no-win choice—bad for me, bad for her and the kids."

"Samui—what I respect most about my sister-in-law is that she never wavers or muddles through on big matters. She understands the logic that a short pain is better than a long one."

"She even helped me convince her brother Atsui, and the way she said goodbye to Kumogakure was both wise and dignified!"

"A ninja isn't allowed to become a rogue ninja, but they are allowed to revert to a legal civilian identity."

"The two siblings submitted a petition to the Raikage to return to civilian status, and vowed never to do anything against Kumogakure's interests for life!"

"After arriving at my Shadow Hidden Village, they chose not to wear headbands as ninjas but stayed as civilians, honoring their promise to their homeland!"

"For me, I never needed my sister-in-law or her brother to join my plans! Their staying by my side with the children is the best support they could give me!"

"And..." At this, Chen gripped the wire fence, a meaningful smile curling at the corner of his mouth. "Atsui—his strength as a ninja is utterly mediocre, even lackluster—but he's become a winner in life in another sense."

"How so?"

"More than half of the twelve fresh forces our Shadow Hidden Village is 'currently' focusing on cultivating were contributed by Atsui!"

"Uncle Madara, Obito—do you see those kids in the crowd with the same blonde hair and identical faces?"

Madara and Obito looked. Sure enough, at the very back of the line, they spotted seven children with blonde bowl cuts and identical faces!

But they were very young, only about six or seven years old, there just to observe and learn, not participating in the ongoing tests.

"In the same year Atsui joined the Shadow Hidden Village, he married a local girl. The next year, he fathered septuplet boys. See the characters tattooed on those kids' shoulders?"

They read: Da, Er, San, Si, Wu, Liu, Qi.

Chen smiled wryly. "I can't even keep track of the Seven Little Ones' names. Their nicknames are just the numbers on their shoulders: Da Wa, Er Wa, San Wa, Si Wa, Wu Wa, Liu Wa, Qi Wa."

"Though the Seven Little Ones are still young, their talents are already showing. San Wa excels at Fire Release, Si Wa at Water Release, Wu Wa at Lightning Release, Liu Wa at Wind Release, and Qi Wa at Earth Release!"

Obito asked, "Then, what about Da Wa and Er Wa?"

Chen replied, "Da Wa possesses Yang Release, with extraordinary natural strength. In the future, he can be cultivated as a Taijutsu ninja. Er Wa has Yin Release, with outstanding Spiritual Energy—he's a promising candidate for a genjutsu ninja."

Obito said, "Quite a lively bunch. You mentioned twelve rising forces you're focusing on cultivating. Yuki, Wind, Flower, plus these Seven Little Ones—that's ten total. What about the other two?"

"One of them isn't here. It's the one I mentioned before—the Zen Master's granddaughter, named 'Jinghua.' When the Zen Master entrusted her to me, she was still a little thing. Now she's already an Official Ninja of the Shadow Hidden Village, out on a journey."

"A journey, not a mission?"

"Our Shadow Hidden Village is self-sufficient financially; we don't need state funding, so we don't send out missions just to make a living."

"I see... And the last one?"

Chen pointed at the boy on the training ground who had just finished throwing shuriken!

"Gansuke. He's also the Academic Dean of the Shadow Hidden Ninja Academy, currently overseeing the assessment records. Yamato's son!"

Madara looked at the middle-aged man rapidly writing on a record board and said flatly, "Oh, that Wood Release ninja. So his name is Yamato."

"Mm. After he came to the Shadow Hidden Village, he got married and had a child. I gave him the name 'Gansuke.' Gansuke is also a promising talent. He was born with Wood Release—a variant of it."

"A variant of Wood Release?" Now Madara was genuinely curious!

"Gansuke, proceed with the ninjutsu assessment!" Yamato looked up, offering an encouraging gaze.

Gansuke nodded in acknowledgment, took a deep breath, and formed hand seals.

-- Wood Release: Demonic Bamboo Dance!

Chen said, "Gansuke's Wood Release creates bamboo that grows wildly, with extremely strong extensibility and piercing power..."

"Crrrrk, crrrrk, crrrrk!" A dozen bamboo stalks burst from the ground, crisscrossing and intertwining. They pierced through a hard block of Granite on the field, suspending the entire thing in midair!

That block of Granite weighed over a thousand jin. The bamboo supporting it bent like drawn bows, creaking under the strain, but never snapped!

Madara gave an evaluation that would make Gansuke proud for a lifetime: "Interesting."

Obito didn't voice an opinion. He turned his gaze to Chen. "Why did you specifically recruit Yamato into your village? With your level of skill, you probably wouldn't think much of his Wood Release, right?"

I knew you'd ask that.

Chen smiled faintly and said, "Don't underestimate Yamato. His Wood Release 'mechanism' is complete—it's just that his 'stats' aren't enough. If there were external means to boost his stats, the combat power he could unleash would not be underestimated."

"On the battlefield of the Fourth Great Ninja War, wrapped in a special White Zetsu, he once blocked the path of the Kage. Well... you were already lying flat by then, so you didn't get to see that splendid scene."

"A special White Zetsu." Obito's eyes flickered intensely. "Could it be..."

"That's right. That's the 'old acquaintance' I truly wanted you to meet."

"..." Obito lifted his gaze.

"..." On the rooftop of the school building, the figure wrapped in a black robe also raised his pale, spiraling face.

Their eyes met across the distance.

Obito's thoughts seemed to be pulled back in an instant to that dark underground lair. Back then, his body was wrapped in bandages, sitting on a cold stone bed, surrounded by White Zetsus laughing and joking, bringing him brief, warm moments.

"Never thought I'd see you again, Tobi..."