Defeated and Returning

In the courtyard of the Uchiha Compound in Konoha, a temporary shinobi tent had been set up.

Because of the little incident two days ago when Sarada mistook her mother, Sakura had flown into a rage and punched their still-mortgaged house into rubble with a single blow.

That was why things had come to this.

In front of the tent, Sakura sat on a small stool, dark circles under her eyes, muttering under her breath.

"That bastard Naruto, where the hell has he dragged Sasuke off to! He said he'd come home for dinner, and I've waited two whole nights without seeing a trace of him!"

Sakura couldn't help but waver between hope and fear.

"Sasuke wouldn't just leave without saying goodbye again, would he?"

Just then, Sarada, wearing pink pajamas and rubbing her eyes, came out of the tent to relieve herself.

Ah, no, it was almost dawn—strictly speaking, it couldn't be called a middle-of-the-night bathroom break anymore.

Seeing Sakura sitting there, she exclaimed in surprise, "Mom! You stayed up all night again?"

Sakura turned her head, her eyes beneath the dark circles narrowing into a bitter smile. "Mm... Mom's just not used to sleeping in a tent, hehe!"

Sarada thought to herself: Adults really do lie so easily. When we went camping outdoors, she slept like a log in the tent! She must have been waiting for Dad again and he didn't show up... Oh well, Mom's pitiful enough as it is. I won't call her out on it.

She glanced at the clock hanging outside the tent.

5:17 AM.

With well-behaved understanding, she said, "Then let me make breakfast this morning..."

"Shwoosh!" But before she finished speaking, a black vortex suddenly appeared in midair above the courtyard!

"Huh?" Sarada froze on the spot.

"Ah!" Sakura sprang to her feet, instantly alert.

That was the Space Gate opened by Sasuke's Rinnegan.

Darling, you're finally back!

"Thud!" But from that Space Gate, a blood-soaked figure tumbled out and crashed to the ground before her!

As she made out his face... both she and Sarada cried out in shock.

"Naruto!?"

"Lord Hokage!"

Right behind him, another figure stumbled and fell beside Naruto... a bloody hole in his chest, gushing fresh blood!

Mother and daughter's faces turned deathly pale!

"Husband!!!"

"Dad!!!"

Sarada sat slumped on the ground, at a loss.

Sakura's expression hardened as she stepped forward urgently. "Sasuke!!! What happened!!!"

"Shwoosh!" The Space Gate closed.

"Zzt!" The six tomoe faded from the Rinnegan beneath Sasuke's bangs. His gaze was unfocused, his consciousness on the verge of collapse, but he used his last strength to instruct Sakura.

"Huff, huff... First, first save Naruto! He's hurt worse. I'm counting on you, Sakura!!"

With that, he completely lost consciousness!

"Dad, Dad!!" Sarada rushed forward, tears streaming down her face!

Sakura remained calm in the crisis: This situation—Naruto and Sasuke had encountered a powerful enemy and been forced to escape using Space-Time Ninjutsu!

What kind of enemy could beat them this badly!

That wasn't the most important thing now!

She couldn't rule out the possibility that the enemy might pursue them at any moment!

She spoke firmly, "Sarada, go to the Yamanaka Clan compound right now and explain the situation to Aunt Ino! Have her notify the jonin still stationed in the village to come guard this courtyard! Also, tell her to inform Shizune's medical unit to come assist me!"

"B-but, Mom..."

Sakura turned, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, but her voice was as strong as iron. "Go! Right now, you're a shinobi of Konoha! Not just my daughter!"

"Y-yes...!!" Sarada didn't bother to wipe away her tears as she leaped toward the courtyard exit!

The moment she landed on the rooftop, the single tomoe that had awakened in her eyes on the day she reunited with Sasuke appeared clearly!

"Zzt!" And from within it, a brand-new tomoe emerged, pushing the original one downward!

"Dad, Lord Hokage..."

Uchiha Sarada, Two Tomoe, awakened!

5:20 AM.

Chen returned home after finishing the battle and looked around everywhere.

Aside from the photo frame that had been shifted in the middle of the TV cabinet and the chair pulled out from the table, nothing else in the room had changed.

"Those two have some class—barging into my home without rummaging around or leaving anything they shouldn't have."

Standing before the TV cabinet, Chen picked up a photo frame and wiped it carefully with a cloth, thinking: Tsuki, Yuki, and Hikari's faces must have been seen by Naruto and Sasuke, but there's nothing shameful about it. I stormed the Forbidden Ground without a mask and left survivors because I never planned to skulk in the shadows.

Madara said, "Our home's location is exposed now. Given Konoha's style, once they catch their breath, they'll likely send people to knock on our door."

"Mm, that's the truth, but no matter—home is wherever you make it~."

Chen set the cleaned photo frame back in its place on the TV cabinet, turned around, and flashed the smile of a domestic man.

"To be honest with you two, I have legal residences in all five great nations and the smaller countries around them. Once we're done with this business, let's go live in the Land of Water for a while."

Chen licked the corner of his mouth.

"Perfect timing—I've been craving fish too~."

Madara and Obito exchanged glances, both thinking in unison: So this is... the composure of a wealthy man?

Chen walked into the dressing room and emerged in a fresh black God Robe. He also fitted the confiscated Kusanagi Sword with an elegant scabbard and hung it at his waist.

"Then let's move out. First, to the top of this mountain—the terrain there is open enough to serve as our 'starting point.'"

On the way up the mountain.

Madara surveyed the terrain reshaped by battle, replaying the ten-minute fight in his mind.

He turned to Chen's back, his eyes filled with awe for the younger generation.

Chen's strength is even more hardcore than I imagined.

Eyes like his, packed with so many overpowered dojutsu techniques, are rare even in the era of the Six Paths.

Omodaru, Amaterasu-no-Mikoto, Toyomiketsunomikoto, Mizuha, Haniyasu... the five techniques Chen has shown so far.

Three in the right eye, two in the left.

Let's take stock.

Omodaru was the original technique of Chen's right eye during his Mangekyo period.

Toyomiketsunomikoto was the original technique of Jin's right eye during his Mangekyo period.

Those two right-eye techniques merged into Chen's current Eternal Mangekyo right eye, so Amaterasu-no-Mikoto must be the new technique born from that Eternal Mangekyo right eye.

It lives up to the name—as long as the dojutsu power is strong enough, Amaterasu-no-Mikoto can theoretically reduce all phenomena to nothing. A technique that breaks all laws!

Left eye.

Haniyasu and Mizuha were the original techniques of Chen and Jin's left eyes during their Mangekyo periods, so... the one still held back is the new technique born from Chen's left eye along with the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan?

I wonder if I'll have the luck to see it on this trip.

They stopped at the mountaintop. At that moment, a blazing sun climbed above the horizon—the shinobi world was about to greet a new dawn!

Step one of the [Plan]: reclaim Kaguya's legacy. This required entering Kaguya's [Outer World] and re-summoning the [Demonic Statue of the Outer Path], which demanded the dojutsu power of both Obito and Madara.

Why did they need Obito's Kamui?

Because during the battle between Naruto, Sasuke, and Kaguya back then, Obito had used Kamui to 'mark' the various spaces of Amenominaka and successfully achieved 'boundary-breaking.'

At that moment, Obito covered his eyes and said in a low voice, "I did use Kamui to mark all of Kaguya's spaces, but that boundary-breaking effect was limited to transitions between the spaces of her Amenominaka."

"And even then, it was barely possible with the help of Naruto's Shadow Clone chakra and that pink-haired girl's so-called Hundred Healings to transmit chakra."

"Now, to connect such a distant space from the [outside] in an instant, even with the marks, it's impossible."

Chen raised his hand to cover his left eye and smiled, "No problem—[Mizuha] exists precisely for this..."

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