Farewell, Tobi

As the Fire Tide receded, it left behind the charred remains of trees scattered across the ground, along with fan-shaped scorch marks carved by the passing flames.

The children behind her cried out in astonishment.

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

"Yuki seems even fiercer than during the last class evaluation! It's only been half a month!"

"No doubt about it—she'll surpass Fuu again and take first place this time, right?"

In the second row of the crowd sat a girl with short, ear-length blond hair and features somewhat resembling Samui's. She sucked on a lollipop with her small mouth.

Her turquoise eyes glanced at the refined young man beside her, who had neat black short hair. "Big bro~, looks like you failed to make a comeback again this time~."

"Yeah. I can't even complain about losing. Yuki's talent far surpasses mine, and she works just as hard as I do..." the boy said with admiration.

The siblings, Uchiha Fuu and Uchiha Hana, were Yuki's cousin and cousin sister.

"Phew." Yuki exhaled the lingering heat from her throat, released her hand seal, and braced her right hand against her waist.

She bit her lip and clenched her left hand at her side. "Is this really all I can do now?"

Under the admiring and envious gazes of her peers, she turned and walked back toward the line, though a hidden worry flowed through her heart: This level isn't even worth comparing to Dad. I'm still far behind Mom! At this rate, when will I ever be able to help Dad...?

This year! Those pests threatening the ninja world would appear this year! Dad would definitely be busy then! I couldn't dump the responsibility of caring for and protecting Tsuki entirely on Mom alone!

I had to become stronger!

Madara's gaze remained fixed on Yuki's face. Only after she took her seat did he turn to Chen and say, "That child has a fine look in her eyes. Not the look children spoiled by this era ought to have."

Chen looked at Yuki's petite back and said in a complicated tone, "Yuki has been sensible since she was little. Well, how should I put it? Back in my hometown, we'd say she was born to repay kindness."

"And she's exceptionally clever, good at thinking things through. From little clues in the people and things around her, she somehow guessed that I was planning something major. Openly and subtly, she kept changing tactics to probe and confirm it with me. She's put me in quite a passive position..."

"Personally, I never wanted the children involved. At one point, I wanted to hide it from her until the very end... but."

The tragedy of Konoha's Uchiha main family being exterminated, and the lessons of Itachi and Sasuke, were still vivid in his mind...

Far too often, what adults arrogantly and presumptuously called "doing what's best for the child" was exactly what drove children who should have grown up healthy into twisted personalities.

It was not merely Sasuke's example. Chen's own experiences in reality were equally living proof.

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

"I see." Madara nodded deeply, inwardly praising him. With such a family tradition, it is only natural to raise such a daughter!

After arriving at the Ninja Academy, everyone's attention had focused on Yuki. Though Chen felt gratified and proud, he had not forgotten his most important purpose.

He introduced the important "family members" he intended to protect with all his strength.

"The short-haired boy and blond girl in the back of the third row are Fuka, my nephew and niece. They're both outstanding, especially Fuu. He has already awakened the Three Tomoe Sharingan, excels most at Lightning Release, and is also highly skilled in the Body Flicker Technique and swordsmanship."

Madara nodded obligingly. "Mm. Since they're your younger brother's children, naturally they can't be lacking."

At that moment, Obito joined the conversation. "But Lightning Release, the Body Flicker Technique, and swordsmanship may be Uchiha specialties, yet I imagine his mother being from Kumogakure had something to do with it as well?"

"That's right. Samui was the one who introduced him to swordsmanship."

"By the way," Obito asked with interest, "Samui is from Kumogakure. She was actually willing to follow you to this Shadow Hidden Village?"

"Not just Samui. Her younger brother Atsui came along too."

"Hm?"

Under Obito's attentive gaze, Chen began to explain.

"As my younger sister-in-law, Samui knew somewhat about the plans Jin and I had carried out together in the past. She understood that those plans conflicted with the principles upheld by the Five Great Ninja Villages. She could also see that if she remained in Kumogakure with her and Jin's children, one day she might face an impossible choice. That would be disadvantageous to me, and disadvantageous to her and the two children as well."

"Samui, my younger sister-in-law—the thing I respect most about her is that she is never muddleheaded or indecisive when it comes to major matters. She understood that a short pain was better than a long one."

"She even helped persuade her younger brother Atsui, and the way they finally parted from Kumogakure was both wise and dignified!"

"Ninjas were not allowed to become rogue ninjas, but they were allowed to return to the legal status of ordinary civilians."

"The two siblings submitted a petition to the Raikage to return to civilian status, and promised never to do anything harmful to Kumogakure for the rest of their lives!"

"After coming to my Shadow Hidden Village, they also chose not to wear forehead protectors and become ninjas. Instead, they remained as civilians, which counted as honoring their promise to their homeland!"

"As far as I'm concerned, I never needed my younger sister-in-law or her brother to participate in my plans! Them bringing the children and staying by my side was already the greatest support they could give me!"

"And..." At this point, Chen gripped the wire fence, a meaningful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Atsui's strength as a ninja is utterly ordinary—one could even say he's pretty pathetic—but in another sense, he became a great winner in life."

"How so?"

"Of the twelve promising new talents our Shadow Hidden Village is currently focusing on cultivating, more than half were contributed by Atsui!"

"Uncle Madara, Obito, did you see those blond children in the crowd who all look exactly alike?"

Madara and Obito looked over. Sure enough, in the last row of the line stood seven identical children with blond bowl cuts!

However, they were very young, appearing only six or seven years old. They had come merely to observe and learn and were not participating in the ongoing test.

"The same year Atsui joined Shadow Hidden, he married a local girl. The following year, she gave birth to seven boys at once. Did you see the characters tattooed on those children's shoulders?"

They were Da, Er, San, Si, Wu, Liu, and Qi.

Chen smiled. "I can't even remember all the Seven Little Ones' names. Their nicknames correspond to the numbers on their shoulders: Da Wa, Er Wa, San Wa, Si Wa, Wu Wa, Liu Wa, and Qi Wa."

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

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

Chen answered, "Da Wa has Yang Release and was born with extraordinary brute strength. He can be specially cultivated as a Taijutsu ninja in the future. Er Wa has Yin Release and exceptional Spiritual Energy, making him excellent material for a genjutsu ninja."

Obito asked, "It really is lively here. You said there were twelve promising new talents receiving special cultivation. Yuki, Fuu, Hana, plus the Seven Little Ones—that makes ten in total. Who are the other two?"

"One of them isn't here. She's the Zen Master's granddaughter I mentioned before, named Jinghua. When the Zen Master entrusted her to me, she was still just a tiny little thing. Now, she is already an Official Ninja of Shadow Hidden Village and is traveling abroad."

"Traveling, not carrying out missions?"

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

"I see... What about the last one?"

Chen pointed at the boy on the Training Ground who had just completed his shuriken throw!

"Gansuke. He's also the son of Yamato, the Academic Dean of the Shadow Hidden Ninja Academy who is currently responsible for recording the evaluation!"

Madara looked toward the middle-aged man rapidly writing on the record board and said blandly, "Oh, so that Wood Release ninja is called Yamato."

"Mm. After coming to Shadow Hidden, he married and had children as well. I was the one who named Gansuke. Gansuke is also a promising talent. He was born with Wood Release, and it's a mutated form of Wood Release."

"Mutated Wood Release?" Now Madara was truly curious!

"Gansuke, begin your ninjutsu assessment!" Yamato raised his head and gave him an encouraging look.

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 and possesses tremendous flexibility and piercing power..."

"Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack!" More than a dozen bamboo stalks surged explosively from the ground, twisting and interweaving as they pierced through a huge piece of Granite and hoisted it into the air!

That piece of Granite weighed over a thousand jin. The bamboo supporting it bent beneath the weight like fully drawn bows, creaking loudly, yet never breaking!

Madara gave Gansuke an evaluation he could be proud of for the rest of his life. "Interesting."

Obito offered no comment. Instead, he turned to Chen. "Why did you specifically think to bring Yamato into your village? With your standards, his Wood Release shouldn't be worth much to you."

I knew you'd ask that.

Chen smiled faintly. "Don't underestimate Yamato. The 'mechanism' of his Wood Release is complete; it's only the 'numbers' that are lacking. If there were external means of raising those 'numbers,' the combat power he could unleash would not be trivial."

"On the battlefield of the Fourth Great Ninja War, while enveloped by a certain special White Zetsu, he once blocked the Kage's path. Well... you seemed to have already given up and lain flat by then, so you didn't see that splendid scene."

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

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

"..." Obito raised his gaze.

"..." Above the school building's eaves, the figure wrapped in a black robe simultaneously raised his white, swirly face.

Their gazes met across the distance.

Obito's thoughts seemed to be pulled back in an instant to that dark underground nest. Back then, his body had been wrapped in bandages as he sat on a cold stone bed, surrounded by White Zetsu who laughed and played to cheer him up during that brief, warm time.

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