Konoha.
Naka Shrine.
The shrine building, built of stone bricks, was ancient and weathered, carrying the weight of history.
Candlelight flickered inside the dim ancestral hall.
Dozens of crimson eyes lit up, instantly turning the atmosphere up to eleven!
At the center of the crowd.
Bathed in blood-red light, a reanimated body slowly opened his eyes.
"Where is this...?"
He looked around in confusion, his hand freezing in midair as he reached for his weapon.
The sight before him would have scared an ordinary person witless, yet he found it deeply reassuring!
Madara strode forward excitedly and pulled him into his arms.
"Izuna!"
The figure was Izuna, who had just been reincarnated.
This familiar voice and embrace...
He spoke in a voice filled with delight and disbelief.
"Nii-san, it's really you! How did you end up looking like this?"
"And wasn't I already dead? Why am I...?"
Madara released Izuna and burst out laughing.
"I gained greater power, and my appearance changed along with it."
"I took it upon myself to use a certain Forbidden Technique to summon you back to the Living World through Impure World Reincarnation."
"You don't blame me, do you, Izuna?"
Izuna shook his head firmly and said.
"How could I? I couldn't be happier to see you and everyone in the Uchiha Clan again, Nii-san..."
With that.
Izuna surveyed the Uchiha clansmen around him and found that every face was unfamiliar.
He couldn't help asking hesitantly.
"Nii-san, what year is it now? Did we win our war against the Senju?"
The smile on Madara's face stiffened.
But as Konoha's Joker, he covered it up beautifully.
He also shot Obito a look.
Taking the hint, Obito walked over to Izuna and said with a smile.
"Izuna, it's been seventy or eighty years since that great war."