Early the next morning.
He heard a commotion outside, which quickly fell silent.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The knocking came in an unbroken barrage.
"Genitsu-san, Genitsu-san, are you there? Genitsu-san, wake up! You only just came back from Shibi Jonin's place, and we haven't trained together in days!"
Might Guy pounded fiercely on the door.
Creak—
Genitsu opened the door and yawned. After spending the entire night struggling against Godzilla in his inner time-space, he felt mentally drained. "Morning, Guy. But why did you suddenly come looking for me today? You could've trained with Mr. Duy."
"Genitsu-san, you look so exhausted... As expected of Genitsu-san! So while I wasn't paying attention, you've actually been working desperately every night? No wonder everyone talks about and admires you!"
Might Guy clenched his fists tightly, his face brimming with fighting spirit.
Genitsu gave a soft exclamation. "Strange. Why are you such a mess? Have you already been training?"
He pointed at the large patches of dust covering Might Guy.
"Oh! This? It's nothing important. A lot of girls heard that you'd finally come home, so they crowded outside your house early this morning. I saw that they had bad intentions and would seriously interfere with Genitsu-san's training progress, so I drove them all away."
"...Thanks, Guy."
Might Guy gave a thumbs-up. Ding! A brilliant gleam flashed between his teeth. "No need to thank me, Genitsu-san. It's what I should do!"
What a ray of righteous light. There really weren't many boys as helpful as Guy.
Genitsu took a deep breath and craned his head outside, but found nothing.
"Genitsu-san, what are you looking for? I'll help you find it!"
"No, it's nothing... Forget it. Let's go find Kazue and get training. It's already been a week since we returned, and our next mission probably isn't far off."
Genitsu shook his head and headed straight for the Uchiha compound with Might Guy.
The moment they entered the compound—
"Wait, Guy. There's something very important we need to do first."
Shadow Clone Technique!
Poof!
Two shadow clones appeared with practiced ease, then impatiently ran into Obito's house as though they owned the place.
"Obito's grandma, we're here to take over again. Don't get up. What if something happens?"
"Ah! Genitsu, you came again! This is really..."
Obito's eyes brimmed with tears, and he was deeply moved.
At that moment, Obito regarded Genitsu as his closest friend. During his most difficult time, Genitsu had repeatedly gone to the trouble of spending enormous amounts of Chakra to create shadow clones and come share his burden.
What kind of spirit was this? This was the Will of Fire!!
"Even when you were out carrying out missions, you still made a point of replacing the shadow clones. Wouldn't that put an enormous burden on you?" Obito wiped his tears and asked with concern.
The two old shadow clones first gave Obito a strange look, making his expression stiffen. He forced out a snort. "Hmph, I'm just worried you'll die. It'd be such a waste if someone like you died on the battlefield."
"Don't worry, Obito. Even if you die, I'll be just fine. We're still comrades, and I absolutely won't let go of your grandma!"
With that, the two old shadow clones, having already expended some Chakra, vanished with two pops.
The two new shadow clones immediately took over, without missing a beat.
Grandma Madara expressionlessly accepted the care of the two shadow clones.
"Obito's grandma, rest assured. We've received all the experience from the old shadow clones and learned some of your daily habits. There definitely won't be any mistakes!"
One shadow clone made the solemn promise.
Grandma Madara nodded, as though praising them. "The Shadow Clone Technique truly is a convenient ninjutsu. And you actually discovered the Shadow Clone Technique's true use of sharing memories. Very impressive... If the Second Hokage saw this, he would surely be very gratified."
"Of course! Though the Second Lord has passed away, his spirit lives on. With that spirit, I'll do everything I can to serve you and let you enjoy your old age in peace!"
The two shadow clones took full responsibility once again, moving Obito beside them to tears.
"Genitsu-san, I know this is asking too much, but... I'll still need your help for a while. I already have a Jonin instructor, so I can't guarantee that I'll always be by Grandma's side..."
Obito wiped away his tears.
"Huh? That's a good thing. Don't worry, Obito. Unless I die, no one can take away the task of caring for your grandma."
"Really? That's wonderful..."
Before long, under the care of the two shadow clones, Grandma Madara lay down once again with a stiff expression, watching helplessly as Obito rushed out the door to meet the man named Minato Namikaze.
"Minato Namikaze, huh? He learned Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique... What a nauseating technique. But no matter how hard he tries, he'll ultimately just be a supporting character."
Grandma Madara turned his head away and was about to close his eyes in thought.
But in the next moment, four hands reached over and forcibly turned his head back.
"Obito's grandma, it's time to drink water!"
"..."
Madara felt his temper getting worse and worse, though he had no idea why.
Just endure it. Endure it until Obito reaches the battlefield and gets his first glimpse of this world's ugliness.
Obito greeted Genitsu's original body, then left in high spirits.
"He has a Jonin instructor? Looks like Minato's team is about to be formed."
Genitsu watched Obito's skipping figure from behind and shook his head slightly.
Was this the beginning of the tragedy? Minato Namikaze was the fastest ninja in the world, yet he arrived late when he was needed most.
If Minato had been just a little faster...
But it didn't matter. With that old schemer Madara around, he would make sure something happened to Obito no matter what, so he could exploit the opening and force his will on him.
"Obito awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan at twelve. His abundant emotions really were easy for Madara to exploit..."
Genitsu paused, then led Might Guy toward Kazue's home.
In the courtyard, Kazue was training diligently, practicing taijutsu.
"Wow, big sister is amazing! Itachi, look! Isn't my big sister incredible? Say it already~"
Xiaoquan Mei hopped excitedly, then grabbed a boy's arm and shook it with all her might.
"Yes, yes, Sister Kazue is truly amazing. If I had Sister Kazue's strength at my age... no, perhaps Shisui could manage it..."
The little boy's eyes were filled with deep envy.
Uchiha Kazue, the clan's greatest genius, was lavishly praised by the adults. Even in the letters his father sent back from the front lines, he had been told to pay more attention to Kazue.
At that moment, the front gate opened.
"Excuse me! Is Kazue home... Hm?"
Genitsu's gaze quickly fell upon the little boy beside Izumi.
This little guy... That was right.
Uchiha Itachi.
Before you continue