Old Bastard, You're Dead Meat!

Chapter 3: Old Bastard, You're Dead Meat!

Shimiya Aoba had no idea that Madara had already examined his memories once while he was unconscious. Even less did he know that Madara had only seen the memories remaining in this body and had been unable to see the memories of his past life, which had been blocked by the system. Otherwise, he would not have been so frightened.

However, after forcing himself to calm down, he suddenly realized that things might not be as bad as he thought.

After all, the person he had been in this body was nothing more than a four-year-old brat. Madara might not actually see him that way, and it was even less likely that Madara would take him seriously.

And that was his opportunity—his advantage!

Thus, Aoba kept his body stiff and trembling as he nervously asked, "You're... Lord Shinigami, right?"

As he spoke, he secretly shifted his gaze toward the scythe standing beside them.

Sure enough!

Nothing escaped Madara's remaining eye. He put away the suspicion carved into his bones and wondered why he had become like this. Why had the surprised gaze of a little brat made him think in that direction? It seemed he really was getting old.

"I'm not the Shinigami. I merely rescued you from a group of shinobi. Unfortunately, you were the only one I could save."

As he watched Madara "perform," Aoba did not believe that this was the truth. However, the final memories remaining in this body did show his mother fleeing with him and evading pursuit from a group of shinobi. His father had already been killed in the village while protecting him and his mother.

As for what happened afterward, he only remembered a sharp pain coming from his body before the entire world went completely dark.

He must have been attacked at that time. His clothes had also been torn to shreds, so why was there not a single injury on him now?

Putting those questions aside, Aoba decided that he had to find a way to get through the immediate crisis first.

He thanked Madara, then his expression dimmed, as if he had remembered something extremely desperate, sorrowful, and terrifying.

"It's too early to thank me. I'll make you repay this debt properly." Madara had no intention of comforting the little brat. Instead, he calmly stated a fact.

But that was Madara's true personality!

Rescue someone out of pure kindness without asking for anything in return?

That was the sort of stupid thing Senju Hashirama would do!

If Uchiha Madara ever saved someone, it would certainly be for some purpose or because of some connection of interests!

Madara's blunt demand for repayment instead made Aoba relax. It seemed that this old monster had no intention of abandoning or killing him, but planned to make use of him.

For him, who currently had no strength whatsoever and could be crushed to death with one hand by any bandit, this was undoubtedly the best news possible!

He had to cling to this temporary lifeline and see whether he could squeeze some benefits out of it. After all, he could not help Madara with anything at the moment.

There was also that seemingly impossible mission. He had already made some calculations and found a direction, but it would require a long wait.

So, at this stage, the most important thing was to stay here and survive!

Aoba immediately nodded. "I'll definitely repay this debt. What do I need to do?"

"You're still too weak. For now, stay here and work as a servant. When the time is right, I'll tell you how you can repay this debt."

Madara did not explain further, and Aoba did not ask any more questions.

He was afraid that if he asked a few more, he would get dragged into that damn Moon Eye Plan!

That crazy plan could be left to little Obito. All he wanted now was to activate his cheat, outlive Madara, and then roam wherever he pleased under the vast heavens!

Conquer the shinobi world?

Go head-to-head with the Otsutsuki clan?

Forget it!

That was not his personality.

What he did not know yet was that the shitty system would utterly wreck the life he had planned for himself!

Over the next six months, Aoba took the initiative to blend into his new life.

Madara had said he was to be a servant, and he truly treated him like one!

Serving tea and water and cleaning the place were all his duties every day.

And originally, none of those chores had been necessary at all!

As for clinging to a powerful patron and receiving early investment, there was not even a ghost of either!

Let alone a chakra cultivation method—even the most basic taijutsu or training methods, Madara did not teach him.

Several times, he could not resist asking, only for Madara to tell him that the time was not right yet...

At the time, he had practically wanted to start cursing!

He had wanted to rip out Madara's "oxygen tube" immediately and make the old bastard drop dead on the spot!

But after weighing the gap in strength and considering his own capabilities, he ultimately gave up in resignation.

That day would come sooner or later. He was not in a hurry. He would let the old geezer bounce around a while longer.

Still, one could lose on one side and gain on another. His plan to cling to Madara had made no progress for the time being, but he had gotten along quite well with that flighty fellow White Zetsu—assuming one could tolerate several clones chattering endlessly and nagging at them without pause...

Oh, right.

White Zetsu also brought back all his daily food from outside. It was usually wild fruits and vegetables. Only when some unlucky wild beast wandered into the area would their meals improve. He had even been mocked for quite some time because of this. After all, neither Madara in his current state nor the artificial human White Zetsu needed to eat.

Strangely enough, White Zetsu seemed extremely interested in the topic of "poop." He had once interrogated Aoba for fifteen whole days about what "the urge to poop" actually felt like...

He had even tried to spy on Aoba while he was doing his business...

All of this nearly drove Aoba insane. He had wanted to conjure a forty-meter-long blade and chop the bastard down before doing anything else!

Later, he spent an enormous amount of effort finally redirecting that fellow's attention, narrowly escaping a disaster in which his "backside would be lost."

"I can't cling to that dying golden thigh, so it wouldn't hurt to build a good relationship with the future Akatsuki Organization intelligence network."

With no other choice, Aoba could only comfort himself this way.

Fortunately, Black Zetsu had not yet been released by Madara. Otherwise, there would have been one more headache for him.

One day, as usual, Aoba lay on his bed in a daze after finishing his assigned chores, wondering when this sort of life would ever end.

But just then, a powerful tremor instantly swept through the entire secret base.

"Little White, what happened? Was that an earthquake?"

Aoba immediately shouted toward the empty space in front of him.

Then, a white figure about his size suddenly emerged from the wall. This Little White was one of White Zetsu's clones, specially made for him as... a "playmate"?

"It wasn't an earthquake. The rocks above a tunnel collapsed. There are two groups of shinobi fighting outside. The other clones are checking the situation, and new intelligence will be sent back soon." Little White, who somewhat resembled Nezha the Demon Child, explained.

Shinobi fighting?

Rocks collapsing onto a tunnel?

Could it be...

Was this day finally here?

Aoba desperately recalled the plot of "Old Madara" meeting Obito. His eyes then lit up, as if he had finally seen hope of completing the mission and activating his cheat.

During the six months he had stayed here, he had not been completely idle. At least after building a good relationship with White Zetsu, he had coaxed plenty of information about the outside world out of him.

Of course, those actions certainly could not have escaped that old bastard's notice. But Aoba had never intended to hide them in the first place. After all, this body of his posed no threat whatsoever and was extremely deceptive.

What was wrong with a little brat who spent all day doing nothing and was curious about everything outside?

That was perfectly reasonable!

So, judging from what he had learned, the battle at Kannabi Bridge was not far off. Given the timing, what was supposed to happen should be happening soon.

Heh heh. As long as that pitiful Obito showed up, how far away could it be from the old man arranging his final affairs?

This "oxygen tube"—he was definitely going to pull it out!

P.S. Fine, I'm done pretending. I'll come clean! I took a month off, and then the novel coronavirus happened, so I could only stay home. I was seriously bored out of my mind!!! So I took a look at my outline and the four or five chapters I had saved up, and on a whim, I uploaded a new novel. I hope everyone will support me, add it to your collections, and don't forget those recommendation votes—not a single one can be missing, okay? Okay? Okay?