"Damn it, that hurts..."
Uchiha Yaowan opened his eyes, feeling pain emanating from every cell in his body.
Am I dead...?
Recalling the scene of the Exploding Tag exploding in front of him, Uchiha Yaowan breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that he had arrived in the legendary underworld.
Look, isn't there a soul-reaping messenger standing right in front of you, wielding a scythe? And he's a messenger with Sharingan, no less.
Wait, Sharingan?
With his eyes wide open, Uchiha Yaowan finally saw the scene before him clearly.
"Welcome to the crack between the underworld and reality, Uchiha clansmen..."
Upon seeing Yaowan awaken, Madara Uchiha remained expressionless, simply observing her silently.
Behind him stood a masked man, whose Sharingan could be seen through the holes in his mask.
"What? The Underworld Branch Family factions too? Uchiha stay with Uchiha, and Hyuga stay with Hyuga."
Yaowan accepted his fate of death with equanimity, but he felt a little regretful, wondering if Iroha Hyuga was still alive, and if he was dead, whether he would have met the Hyuga Messenger wielding a scythe like he had.
"It hurts so much."
The slight upturn of her lips tugged at the wound on her face, and the intense pain forced Yaowan to abandon her unrealistic fantasies.
"The fact that you can still feel pain means you're still alive. But you're lucky to be alive after being hit by a series of Exploding Tag. I've bandaged you up a bit, but you'd better not look in the mirror for a while."
Looking at the other person's utterly wretched face, Madara Uchiha couldn't help but feel a little sorry for the other person's good fortune.
"So, you saved me?"
Ignoring his own face, Yaowan expressed his gratitude while beginning to ponder the identity of the old man before him.
He had clearly fallen on the Mist Battlefield, but the area he was in now was obviously not any of the clan's properties. He had never seen the old man in the village before, which meant that the other party was a clansman who was far away from the Konoha clan's territory.
To put it more simply, the other party is probably a rogue ninja from Konoha.
"He's quite intelligent."
From Yaowan's subconscious movements, Madara Uchiha realized that the other party had guessed his identity.
Without any attempt to conceal it, Madara Uchiha, supported by the Masked Man, slowly returned to his "throne".
"I am the spirit of the Uchiha Clan, Madara Uchiha."
It's one thing to guess, but quite another to be exposed by someone's own mouth.
Upon receiving the answer from Madara, Yaowan gaped, ignoring the pain of his torn wound, and exclaimed incredulously, "This is impossible! Madara Uchiha was clearly fighting Hashirama Senju— "
"Dead, right?" Ban interrupted Yaowan.
"That was just an illusion I created. However, if it weren't for the golem behind me providing me with Chakra, I would indeed be close to death now."
Ban casually pointed to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path behind him, and following the direction of his finger, Yaowan also saw the full appearance of the Mazo.
"Gulp." Uchiha Yaowan swallowed hard out of fear. No matter how strong he tried to be, he was still just a 15-year-old child.
After a long while, Uchiha Yaowan finally recovered from the shock and asked Madara somewhat nervously, "What do you need me to do for you?"
There's no such thing as a free lunch. He didn't believe that the legendary Madara Uchiha had only saved him out of pity; he was sure the other party wanted something from him...
"I need you to sever the causal bonds of this world, to reshape this cold world, and to create a new world where only the victors, only peace, and only love exist."
"However, you obviously can't understand this concept right now, so just stay here and recover for now."
Ban didn't rush to explain his plan; he'd already endured so many years, what's one more time?
Inside the Akatsuki Organization's stronghold.
A Rain Ninja entered a room with a complicated expression. Inside, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan were huddled together with serious faces, clearly discussing something important.
"Really..."
Yahiko was the first to speak, "Wouldn't porridge be more suitable for lunch?"
"Personally, I feel that it would be better to stew some fish soup and eat it with bread. At this time of year, fishing is still an easy job," Konan objected from the side.
"Nagato, what do you think?" x2
Seeing that they could not persuade each other, the two turned their attention to Nagato, who had remained silent.
"I think we should listen to what Yujiro has to say first." Nagato gave a wry smile and turned his gaze to the Rain Ninja standing at the door.
Yahiko slapped his forehead and walked up to the other person with an apologetic look. "Sorry, Yujiro, I didn't notice you coming. Is something wrong?"
Yujiro, already accustomed to their behavior, wasn't surprised. He maintained his strange expression, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke hesitantly, "A few ninjas sneaked over, but we discovered them, and then..."
"Ninjas?" Yahiko's expression immediately turned serious upon hearing this. Knowing the recent tense situation, he had specifically instructed his organization to temporarily avoid confrontation, but he hadn't expected to still be targeted by the enemy.
"Is the enemy very strong?"
Konan and Nagato, who were standing nearby, also came over, ready for battle.
Recalling what had just happened, Yujiro nodded. "They are indeed very strong, but they claim to have no ill intentions and that their purpose in coming here is to see the three of you."
"See us?"
Yahiko and his companions, who had assumed the other party was there to launch an attack, were somewhat surprised. They were all war orphans from the Land of Rain, having long since lost all their relatives. Why would anyone want to see them?
The only one who might be involved is that one person.
"Is there a white-haired ninja among them?"
Yahiko asked Yujiro with an expectant look on his face.
Yes, there is such a person.
Upon hearing Yahiko accurately describe one of the people's features, Yujiro breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that what Yahiko said was true, and they were indeed not enemies.
"I never expected that Jiraiya- sensei would come looking for us."
Konan showed a surprised expression. Many years had passed since she parted ways with Jiraiya, and even now she still believed that the time she spent with Jiraiya was the most heartwarming experience for the three of them after becoming war orphans.
Even the reserved Nagato revealed a faint smile.
"In that case, I'll let your uncle in."
Seeing that the three of them were happy, Yujiro was also pleased and smiled as he prepared to invite the ninjas outside in.
"Wait, Uncle?"
The words Yujiro used sounded both familiar and unfamiliar, Yahiko quickly stopped him.
"Yes, the guy in the lead said he's your uncle."