I Have a Bunch of Relatives Who Want to Be Hokage Chapter 16

He flung out another volley of shuriken and formed a seal with one hand.

Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!

The air before Uchiha Obito ignited with Fire Style flames. Fire wrapped around each shuriken, their spinning blades taking on an extremely dangerous hue as they flew at Uchiha Obito from every direction like petals filling the sky.

"Such a boring move." Uchiha Obito's pupils widened, and space warped.

The flames and shuriken filling the sky were swallowed in great swathes by the vortex-like distortion of space, leaving the area before Uchiha Obito completely clear.

A brilliant blade flashed straight toward his mask.

Sneering inwardly, Uchiha Obito did not use his ocular technique again to nullify it. Instead, wooden branches shot out from his body and stabbed toward Uchiha Shingen.

The branches were incredibly fast, but Uchiha Shingen seemed even faster. Before they could reach him, his figure had already vanished.

The blade flashed again from a blind spot. A hard tree trunk took Obito's place and was severed into several pieces by the blade imbued with Wind Release power.

The earth rumbled as soil was thrown up. Thorn-covered, grotesquely shaped trees burst from the ground and spiraled upward. Uchiha Obito stood atop the thorny forest, coldly watching Uchiha Shingen, who had been drawn into its killing range.

[Good, kill him like that!]

From afar, Zetsu gave its approval inwardly.

Then it saw Uchiha Shingen glance in its direction from far away.

The next moment, his short sword swept upward and cut it in two.

As half its body flew through the air, Zetsu saw a shuriken that had somehow been embedded in the ground where it had stood.

It seemed... to be one of the shuriken the two had thrown at each other earlier?

It saw a familiar mark fading from the shuriken and immediately understood.

[Dammit! This bastard actually learned Senju Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique!?]

Zetsu Has a Bold Idea

Using the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape the killing range of the Wood Release and casually slash Zetsu in the process, Uchiha Shingen looked at the thorny forest pursuing him. His hands rapidly formed seals, his cheeks puffed out, and he opened his mouth.

Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation Arrows.

The chakra he expelled formed outrageously massive arrow-shaped flames that swept forward unstoppably. The vast sea of fire devoured everything without restraint. Before this disaster-like power, the previously savage forest had no ability to resist. The earth burned as frenzied waves of flame rose one after another, baring their fangs and claws as though they wanted to swallow the sky itself.

This once again proved that whether Wood Release was powerful or not had little to do with Wood Release itself.

[This guy... why is he so strong?]

Zetsu had already fallen to the ground with a thud. Before it could even push up half its body, it stared at the towering inferno ahead and suddenly had a bold idea.

Meanwhile, Uchiha Shingen formed seals once more.

His Sharingan fixed tightly on the completely unharmed figure within the raging sea of flames.

The earth churned again.

Countless ice blades tore open the soil and shot into the sky, forming towering glaciers. The cold extinguished the flames, and cracking sounds rang through the air—the sound of the earth's remains freezing over.

[His Ice Release has already surpassed the Snow Clan...]

Feeling the chill spreading through the ground, Zetsu was certain that based on the temperature and range of this attack alone, Uchiha Shingen's Ice Release surpassed that of the so-called Snow Clan.

In Zetsu's memories, even some Uchiha shinobi throughout history who had possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan might not have been able to defeat the current Uchiha Shingen.

Another Senju Tobirama?

Zetsu was older than the history of shinobi. Since Hagoromo Otsutsuki established the Ninja Sect, it had watched chakra flourish with vitality in human hands. Zetsu had no choice but to admit that humanity's potential was limitless.

By the end of the Warring States Period, after a thousand years of evolution, shinobi had become weapons of war through and through. Every ninja clan's ability to develop ninjutsu had reached the point where long accumulation finally bore fruit. In that era, new ninjutsu emerged every year, and all kinds of techniques appeared in endless succession.

Yet before Senju Hashirama appeared, the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyo Sharingan still stood at the very pinnacle.

Only Uchiha with the Mangekyo were truly Uchiha. Without the power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, the Uchiha might not have been much stronger than other ninja clans.

However, a thousand years of time had ultimately nurtured a ninjutsu prodigy. Through sheer talent, he reached that same height and made Zetsu remember him.

That person was Senju Tobirama.

Back then, everyone had been frantically developing ninjutsu, but Senju Tobirama had a rather different style.

His style was—prolific as a sow!

In the end, this prolific master of ninjutsu achieved an astonishing feat.

Without Indra's or Ashura's chakra, he defeated the Mangekyo Sharingan in a direct battle.

No one besides the Senju reincarnations of Ashura had ever accomplished that. At that moment, Senju Tobirama had not only surpassed his own status, but also surpassed a great many reincarnations of Indra and Ashura throughout history.

After all, not every reincarnation was exceptional. The kind who could beat the entire shinobi world into sitting down to watch a two-man show were few and far between.

Now, Zetsu saw in Uchiha Shingen a possibility similar to Senju Tobirama's.

Not talent, but possibility. Uchiha Shingen's ability to develop ninjutsu could not possibly match Senju Tobirama's. Rather, it was this Uchiha's absurd mastery of ninjutsu at such a young age that let Zetsu see another possibility.

Though it was only a possibility, it was worth trying.

The tip of a blade pressed against Zetsu's face.

It did not care much about that. After all, it could not be killed by a slash.

[What a nuisance... the Uchiha Clan.]

Sensing the power within the other's body—though not particularly strong, it was something that should not have existed in an Uchiha—Zetsu raised its head and looked at this Uchiha youth, whose Sharingan clearly had only three tomoe yet was absurdly powerful.

Ninja could distinguish the chakra of different individuals on their own, but in this regard, no one was more gifted than Zetsu.

In its eyes, no two portions of chakra in this world were alike. Like the soul, chakra was a unique part of every person.

"You cultivate Yang Release?" it asked.

"Can't an Uchiha cultivate Yang Release?" Uchiha Shingen countered, looking at the ancient treasure beneath his feet.

After Senju Hashirama's death, this old ham beneath his feet was the greatest treasure trove of Yang Release in the world.

It had also incorporated acting into its instincts. It was acting at every moment, just like now—when it could clearly have escaped the instant it landed, yet it refused to do so, insisting on putting on an act as though it had been captured.

The greatest old ham in the ninja world had taken the stage and invited him to perform, and Uchiha Shingen was happy to play along.

"Kid, you learned the Fourth Hokage's technique?" Uchiha Obito appeared off to the side amid spatial distortion. He was completely unharmed, but his gaze was unfriendly.

"It was the Second, not the Fourth." Uchiha Shingen sheathed his blade. "There's still a difference. After all, I don't have the Uzumaki Clan's core inheritance. Also, it's about time you took off that mask so we can have a proper talk."

"Do you care a lot about someone called 'Obito'?" Uchiha Obito remained unmoved. "Let this old man guess. He must be dead, right? Looks like you don't have the talent to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan. You're just trash."

Uchiha Shingen noticed that Obito seemed to keep steering the conversation in that direction.

This Uchiha Obito was very different in style from the mastermind behind the scenes in the original timeline.

Still, that was only natural. He had only recently obtained Uchiha Madara's legacy and was still relatively immature.

The future Mist Hidden Village would be the place that truly tempered him.

Falling into darkness changed one's beliefs; it did not conjure experience out of thin air, nor did it temper the soul.

However, Uchiha Shingen still had a trick up his sleeve. After all, they had grown up together. Who didn't know the other's weaknesses?

As though he had suddenly remembered something, he said to Uchiha Obito, "Oh, right. Before coming to the Land of Rain, I stopped by your house. Your grandmother made me osmanthus cakes. Want to go back and have some?"

"Bullshit!" Uchiha Obito flew into a rage. "My grandmother passed away last year!"

A clap of thunder resounded across the sky.

Dark clouds blanketed the heavens as rain began to fall, stirring a layer of white mist over the distant glacier.

Within the curtain of rain, the two Uchiha and Zetsu fell silent at the same time. The scene became utterly still.

Uchiha Obito: "..."

Uchiha Shingen: "..."

Zetsu looked at Uchiha Obito in utter disbelief. Though it had countless things to say, it had no idea what to say at this moment.

Was it still too late to switch candidates?

After a while, thunder rumbled through the sky again.

The rain grew heavier and heavier.

After His Identity Was Exposed

Amid flashes of lightning and crashes of thunder, the rain poured down harder, dense as a waterfall and blown by the wind into mist and haze.

Raindrops the size of marbles pelted the three of them.

"Obito," Uchiha Shingen said, wiping his face as he urged darkly, "hurry up and use some Earth Release to block this first."

Uchiha Obito did not answer, but he still used an Earth Release technique.

The rising earthen walls joined together into a massive earthen canopy, blocking the rain from above.

Then, he took off his mask.

Although he had been mentally prepared, Uchiha Shingen had to admit that Teuchi's version of biotechnology really did not account for appearance.

"How did you do it?" Uchiha Shingen glanced at Zetsu. "You made it, didn't you? Even the patterns are practically the same."

"If not for this, Obito would have died," Zetsu said in a low voice. "You should be able to sense that this body is stronger than one you cultivated yourself."

"Perhaps, but I only trust my own power." Uchiha Shingen waved a hand dismissively.

Then he looked at Uchiha Obito.

"Heh..." Uchiha Obito sneered and turned his head away.

"Hm?" Uchiha Shingen's expression changed. "You want some osmanthus cakes again, is that it?"

Uchiha Obito immediately glared at him. "Bastard! I'll kill you!"

"That's impossible." Uchiha Shingen extended a finger and shook it. "We both have space-time ninjutsu. Neither of us can catch the other."

"Only for now." Uchiha Obito resumed his cold expression. "Also, you're really annoying."

"But your grandmother didn't say that."

"..." Uchiha Obito was instantly speechless.

He had to admit that it was true. When he had returned to Leaf Village before, he had seen that Uchiha Shingen would often visit and keep his grandmother company. After his grandmother passed away, Uchiha Shingen's family had also helped arrange the funeral.

After all, once he had left, his grandmother had been the only one left at home.

After a long while, Uchiha Obito said, "Thanks... for what you did for Grandma."

"We're neighbors. She's always been good to me, too."

After those brief exchanges, the two continued staring at each other.

Zetsu, standing to the side, immediately grew impatient.

Humans really loved getting hung up on strange things.

It reminded him, "Obito, you should get to the point."

"Call me that again and I'll kill you!" Uchiha Obito snapped back with practiced ease.

Zetsu: "..."

Uchiha Shingen: "...What exactly is this important matter?"

"Hmph, since you asked..."

"Talk like a normal person, damn it. Did you spend the last three years specifically training to be a tsundere?"

"Wasn't I about to say it?" Uchiha Obito frowned, clearly dissatisfied with Uchiha Shingen's reaction. "Shingen, what do you think this world is like?"

"Pretty good." Uchiha Shingen answered seriously. "Ninjas make money way too easily."

Really, his second playthrough was far more comfortable than the first. Senju Hashirama, who had come up with the one-country, one-village system, might have been a hands-off boss, but he had truly done a great thing.

"Heh... you're still as shallow as ever." Uchiha Obito looked at him disdainfully. "If all you care about is money, you can leave the Leaf Village and come with me."

"Ah, that won't work." Uchiha Shingen refused without hesitation. "No tea, rather death. The Leaf Village not only has the widest selection, but also the best quality. I'm not leaving."

Uchiha Obito: "???"

Zetsu: "???"