Minato's Helpless Return to the Village

Early in Konoha's forty-eighth year.

Orochimaru had the final say within the village. He had completely seized control of it.

Outside the village, Minato had the final say. Most of the border forces were his.

Inside the Hokage's office.

"Obito, what happened to half of your body?" Orochimaru looked at Obito before him.

Ever since Obito had returned to the village with Minato, he had been quite conspicuous. If he wanted to become Hokage, then he should do good deeds—keep doing them, over and over. Among the village's elderly, who didn't know Obito?

Minato's student was trying to win the elderly's favor? That immediately struck a nerve with Orochimaru, so he paid Obito a little more attention.

And he discovered that Obito's body was very strange!

Masaichi trained six days a week, leaving one day for his body to rest. Many Konoha ninja trained that way.

But Obito trained seven days a week, like a tireless machine!

Obito had originally wanted to make up for the training days he had wasted with Madara. In his carelessness, he exposed this body's regenerative abilities.

"Ah, Lord Hokage, someone saved me back then..."

Obito could only gloss over Madara's existence as he explained his origins to Orochimaru.

"Is that so?" Orochimaru always felt that Obito was hiding something from him. And if he let his imagination run wild, could this Obito be an impostor? Could the real Obito already be dead?

"This half of your body, Obito... I have a way to restore your original appearance. Do you want it?" Orochimaru suddenly became interested in Obito's body.

"Yes! Of course I do, Lord Hokage. You're such a good person."

Obito had long since had enough of his battle-damaged half-face. He was afraid his appearance would scare Rin, and after returning for so many days, he still hadn't dared to go see her.

He really...

What would I do without Rin?

If I reveal my true form...

Will I be held tightly?

The White Zetsu fused into Obito's half of his body was despairing and helpless.

Was this the fate of all White Zetsu?!

White Zetsu count: -1.

"So this thing was called White Zetsu? Its body structure truly is fascinating." Orochimaru strangled the White Zetsu to death. Looking at its body, he licked his lips wickedly.

Without White Zetsu fused to him, Obito was missing half his body and looked strange. It was already a miracle that he was alive. Orochimaru had become intensely curious about Obito's body as well, and during his examination, what did he discover?

Hashirama Cells were actually hidden within Obito's body.

Heh. Obito had lied.

Hashirama Cells were not something ordinary people could handle.

Konoha had once conducted Hashirama Cell experiments. Everyone injected with Hashirama Cells, even members of the Senju clan, had been unable to endure that overwhelming vitality. Many had died on the operating table.

Was it because he was Uchiha?

Orochimaru felt that even he still could not fully understand Hashirama Cells. No one in the Ninja World understood cellular research better than him.

So...

It could only be because Obito was Uchiha.

He should conduct research on the Uchiha.

"Go back."

Masaichi felt that Konoha's population of several tens of thousands was still far too small. A small population meant less tax revenue and less consumption in the future. They had to encourage childbirth!

Konoha's economy was on the rise, and Orochimaru kept occasionally throwing out new technological research!

All Konoha villagers firmly believed one thing: tomorrow would be better.

Ever since Minato and the others returned, the village's birth rate had risen sharply. Many people seemed to have agreed to have children around this time.

Many women's bellies gradually swelled as they underwent all kinds of examinations at the hospital.

Minato and the others thus remained in the village.

Shikaku had no choice either. They did not possess Masaichi's boldness in confronting the nobles, because they themselves were Konoha's nobles, unlike Orochimaru and Masaichi, who had been born commoners.

Thus, Minato had military authority but no land. That put him at a severe disadvantage, and he still had to return to the village to develop his power.

Jiraiya was still traveling outside, wandering everywhere.

As long as Minato did not lose military authority, he remained safe. Shikaku advised him to contend with Orochimaru within the village.

And wait for an opportunity to settle everything in a single battle.

Endure! It meant being able to let go and hold on!

Honestly, Minato truly hated Shikaku's way of doing things. But when he saw Shikaku's resolute gaze, knowing it was all for his sake, what could he criticize? There was still much he needed to learn from Shikaku.

How could Orochimaru possibly believe what Obito had said?

He left Konoha in Masaichi's care and secretly led ANBU to investigate the underground area near Kannabi Bridge, where Obito had been lost.

"Lord Hokage! Over here!"

ANBU found a passage. After entering, Orochimaru discovered the place where Madara had once lived.

He swept his gaze around the pitch-black cave, his eyes filled with the desire to investigate.

Who had lived here?

It was clear that the former resident had moved away in great haste. They had erased the traces of their life, yet had not completely buried the cave.

"When Masaichi stole the Hashirama Cells back then, the body he saw was Hashirama's corpse, missing only one piece."

Orochimaru fell into thought.

That missing piece had been used in the Hashirama Cell experiments ordered by the Third Hokage. It had all been destroyed afterward.

This proved that whoever had obtained the Hashirama Cells in Obito's body had acquired them while Hashirama was still alive.

According to Orochimaru's research into Hashirama Cells, Hashirama's cells had become abnormally active after he turned seventeen, reaching their peak. Those who had injured Hashirama before the age of seventeen could also be ruled out.

After Hashirama turned seventeen, there had only been one person capable of injuring him.

Was it you?

Madara Uchiha.

Everyone said Madara Uchiha was dead, but what if... Madara's death had merely been faked? As Orochimaru understood it, the Uchiha possessed an ocular technique called Izanagi. This technique could rewrite reality at the cost of one eye.

If that was the case...

Then it was truly wonderful.

Then...

Madara...

What was your purpose in clinging to life?

Could we become like-minded friends?

Black Zetsu had known that the cave would be exposed.

Fortunately, he had moved Madara away.

Looking at Madara, who hung from the Gedo Statue as though powered off, Black Zetsu missed his mother.

To revive his mother, he had truly suffered and exhausted himself so much.

"What should we do?"

The one asking Black Zetsu was a cold White Zetsu.

Now that Obito had returned to Konoha, who would capture the tailed beasts?

"What has Madara's eye been doing lately?" Black Zetsu asked.

By Madara's eye, he meant Nagato. Nagato, Yahiko, and Konan had established the Akatsuki and were striving for peace in the Hidden Rain Village.

For now...

Their results were mediocre. They had not drawn much attention.

This Nagato was too easily influenced. He only listened to Yahiko.

This Obito was lovestruck. Unless Rin died right in front of him—but whether Rin died now no longer mattered, because the kind of death that could make Obito collapse and hate the world was not something that could simply be arranged.

Two useless fools!

They spent all day obsessed with love. Was love really that important?

And Madara kept mentioning Hashirama every day. Now he had gone and died, sleeping forever, leaving all the problems to him. What did I even need you for?

"A bunch of useless trash. Not one of you can be relied on."

To make matters even worse...

Madara's natural lifespan had run out. He died that winter.

Black Zetsu: "!"

Madara was dead, and Obito had not come over either. What kind of hellish opening was this?!