"Cough!"
After escaping the pursuit of Konoha's Anbu,
Madara Uchiha still couldn't stop himself from spitting out a mouthful of blood.
At the same time, his body could no longer hold out.
Countless tender green branches sprouted from Madara Uchiha's body once again.
In barely a moment, they had used his body as nourishment
and grown into several towering trees.
At this critical moment,
Madara Uchiha formed Hand Seals. "Izanagi!"
Only after the last Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes turned gray and lifeless
was the crisis facing Madara Uchiha's body finally resolved.
The reason he hadn't immediately used Izanagi in the village
was that he feared losing his one remaining eye.
With both Sharingan gone,
escaping from Konoha's Anbu would have been much more difficult.
And even if he did manage to get away,
the information that Madara Uchiha was still alive would inevitably be exposed.
Now, only after completely escaping danger,
did Madara Uchiha finally use this ninjutsu to narrowly escape the crisis.
Though he hadn't managed to take the Mangekyō Sharingan he wanted this time,
getting to warm up a little before his final long sleep
was still a decent consolation.
"Let's go. We're returning to the Mountain Graveyard."
Blind, Madara Uchiha intended to have the White Zetsu on his body take him back to their base.
Before the candle burned out,
he would make sure his body was properly preserved,
so the plans that followed could proceed smoothly.
"Lord Madara, are we really just going to let that guy go?"
The White Zetsu on Madara Uchiha asked cautiously, "Could he interfere with our plans?"
"Hahaha, of course not!"
Madara Uchiha laughed scornfully.
Although he was blind at that moment,
the arrogance of a strong man remained undiminished.
Madara Uchiha spoke with confidence. "Though I didn't take his eyes, I already know what his dōjutsu can do."
"I just need to return to the base and leave behind some intelligence and a scroll explaining how to deal with him."
After all, for all these years,
Madara Uchiha had been secretly gathering information about the world and all kinds of ninjutsu.
Naturally, that included a way to counter a simple dōjutsu like Yatsuhashi's.
"A mere bug relying on brute force alone will never amount to anything."
A battle of this scale erupting in the village
naturally drew the attention of the higher-ups.
Even as Yatsuhashi lay in a hospital bed at Konoha Hospital,
he could clearly sense
several Anbu colleagues keeping a close watch on him.
It was only the middle of the night,
but several groups had already come to visit Yatsuhashi.
First, Uchiha Uruchi and Uchiha Tesho,
then Gota and the others from the Iburi Clan.
Finally, Mitaraishi Anko arrived after hearing the news.
Yatsuhashi sent Gota and the others back.
Uchiha Uruchi looked at Yatsuhashi, who was safe and sound,
then at Anko, who was peeling an apple for him.
She gave Yatsuhashi a meaningful look,
then led Uchiha Tesho away from the bedside.
The Anbu watching from the shadows looked on as Anko kept feeding Yatsuhashi fruit.
Their eyes filled with envy.
"Who exactly is this guy?"
The Iburi Clan had recently become one of Konoha's major clans.
They had reportedly joined forces with the village to develop the mineral deposits beneath the Forest of Death.
Their prospects were naturally bright.
Now, the clan head, Gota, and others had come to visit this man.
How could the Anbu not be astonished?
Yatsuhashi's injuries weren't serious;
he had just overused his chakra.
As for the two blows he'd taken from Madara Uchiha,
his body, already strengthened to some extent by Hashirama Cells, had mostly recovered.
His choice to stay at Konoha Hospital was merely a stopgap measure.
It gave him time to think about how to handle the Anbu's follow-up questioning.
Just as Yatsuhashi thought no one else would come,
the Uchiha Clan's head,
Uchiha Fugaku, actually arrived at the ward to visit him.
"Yatsuhashi must have a lot of pull!"
Uchiha Fugaku's appearance startled the Anbu monitoring Yatsuhashi all over again.
Usually, when a ninja from a clan was injured,
the clan head would just send someone to offer their regards and concern.
Those who received a personal visit from the clan head
were few and far between.
They were invariably the clan's outstanding talents and elite.
And yet now,
Uchiha Fugaku, the head of the Uchiha Clan, had come in person to visit Yatsuhashi in his hospital bed.
This was the Uchiha Clan, after all.
The Uchiha Clan had always been known for its arrogance.
Quite a few of the Anbu had been mocked coldly by Uchiha Fugaku himself.
Yatsuhashi looked at the clan head, Uchiha Fugaku, whose eyes were still wrapped in white bandages
and whose vision had yet to fully recover.
He felt a distinct headache coming on.
Uchiha Fugaku, however, acted as if nothing had happened,
showering Yatsuhashi with concern.
It was as though the deadly battle between them that night
had never happened at all.
At that moment, Uchiha Fugaku acted like a kindly elder.
The sight
left many of the Anbu feeling as if they were dreaming.
It made Yatsuhashi deeply uncomfortable, too.
Just before leaving,
Fugaku finally thanked Yatsuhashi for recommending Uchiha Itachi for the mission.
Just as Yatsuhashi thought he'd have some peace that night,
someone opened the ward door again.
"Creak—"
This time, everyone held their breath at the sight of the person who entered.
His golden hair stirred as though blown by an unseen breeze.
It was Minato Namikaze, wearing a gentle smile.
It wasn't just Mitaraishi Anko—
even the Anbu monitors hiding in the shadows nearly felt their hearts leap out of their chests.
The Fourth Hokage?!
The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze,
had actually come in person to visit an Anbu subordinate?!
How could they not be shocked?
"Anko, go home and get some rest."
Minato said gently.
"But, Lord Hokage..."
Anko was clearly reluctant to give up this time alone with Yatsuhashi.
"Go."
Minato waved a hand, his tone leaving no room for argument.
With no choice, Anko gathered her things and prepared to leave.
Before she went,
she peeled an apple herself,
then set it on the table beside Yatsuhashi.
Only then did she leave the ward, reluctant to go.
Next, Minato gestured to the Anbu watching from the shadows.
"You can leave, too. I want to speak with Yatsuhashi alone."
"Yes!"
The Anbu on watch were surprised,
but they wouldn't dare disobey the Hokage's orders.
In an instant,
the Anbu hiding in the shadows vanished without a trace.
Now, in the spacious ward,
only Yatsuhashi and Minato remained.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
Minato didn't sit in a chair. Instead, he stood beside the bed,
looking down at Yatsuhashi.
The pressure of the Yellow Flash, the Hokage of Konoha,
was now unleashed without restraint.
"Yatsuhashi."
Minato's voice was soft, but it struck Yatsuhashi's heart like a heavy hammer.
He asked slowly, one word at a time, "Now that it's just the two of us, I suspect you're a rogue ninja!"
Minato's gaze instantly turned razor-sharp
as he stared closely at Yatsuhashi's expression,
trying to spot anything amiss.
But what Minato hadn't expected was
that, when faced with Minato's interrogation,
Yatsuhashi answered almost without hesitation. "I think you're the rogue ninja!"
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