Madara and Black Zetsu

"...Next, ninjas who passed the assessment, please come forward to collect your documents."

Obito patiently endured five minutes of droning announcements.

Once he had his documents,

he hurried home.

Grandmother heard him arrive.

She came out of the house and asked with a warm smile,

"Obito, how did your exam go today? Did you pass?"

Obito pulled a stack of papers from his coat and handed them all to Grandmother.

"Of course! Your grandson's a Chunin now."

"Take a look at my certificate. I've got something to do, so I'll talk to you later."

With that,

Obito ran off to get ready for a bath.

He was short on time.

He needed to bathe, change, and make himself look good!

Seeing him rush around, Grandmother laughed and scolded him fondly.

"Slow down. You're always so careless."

She went back inside for her reading glasses and studied the papers in her hands.

"Oh, my grandson's a Chunin now. He's done so well..."

"Shame about the photo, though. My grandson's so handsome, but they made him look like a little stump..."

Half an hour later,

Obito combed his hair into a grown-up style and put on a smart jacket.

Then he headed out.

A cold gust hit him as he stepped outside.

Only then did Obito realize—

"Holy shit, I forgot my fucking pants!"

By the time Obito had put everything right and hurried toward the grove,

he made a miserable discovery.

He was going to be late again.

"I need my Kamui, or Flying Thunder God!"

The woods were quiet and peaceful at night.

Branches swayed gently in the evening breeze, as if beckoning to someone who would never return.

Huff, huff, huff~

Obito jogged all the way to their usual training spot.

A familiar, soft voice greeted him.

"Obito, you're late again!"

"Rin..."

Obito's eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace.

But when he arrived,

the sight before him stopped him in his tracks.

"Minato-sensei, Kisuke-sensei, Kakashi, Guy, Shikaba... Why is everyone here?"

A plaintive voice rang out.

"Obito, I'm here too..."

Obito scratched his head awkwardly.

"Haha, sorry, Ayako. I didn't see you just now..."

A faint smile played on Shikaba's lips.

"Rin and Minato-sensei got everyone together to celebrate you finally becoming a Chunin."

Hey, what about me?!

Kakashi's eyes went flat as he screamed inwardly.

Obito was so touched his eyes grew damp.

"Everyone..."

Rin walked over with a smile and took Obito's hand.

"Everyone brought you presents, too. Here, I sewed this ninja tool pouch myself."

She placed a small package in Obito's hand.

Minato smiled and handed Obito a book.

"This is my favorite book. Give it a read when you have time."

Kisuke gave Obito a new pair of Goggles.

Ayako's gift was a brand-new set of Shuriken.

"Obito, I bought you a set of training weights. We can start our daily—"

Obito cut Guy off before he could finish.

"Okay, I get it. Thanks, Guy."

Shikaba held up a small box.

"A chess set. Come find me whenever you want to play."

"Oh, right..."

He pulled a Kunai from his coat and handed it to Obito along with the box.

"Nami got you this."

Obito took the box and Kunai, stunned.

"No way. Nami actually got me a present?"

He picked up the Kunai and examined it.

It was brand-new, with a sharp blade.

But the words "Dead Last" were carved into it in large letters.

Obito clicked his tongue.

Yep, that's Nami's style...

His arms full of presents, he bowed deeply to everyone.

"Thank you, everyone. Really, thank you!"

Shikaba grinned.

"Come on, you don't have to be so formal!"

Ayako chimed in.

"He's right, Obito. Not with us."

Kisuke offered a word of encouragement.

"Keep working hard, Obito. Don't let a little success go to your head."

"Minato and I will be going now. We won't get in the way of you youngsters catching up."

The younger ones quickly said,

"Goodbye, Kisuke-sensei! Goodbye, Minato-sensei!"

After seeing the two elders off,

Shikaba stretched lazily and said,

"You three can talk. Ayako and I are leaving too. Nami's waiting for us to have a late-night snack."

Obito nodded and patted him on the shoulder.

"Sure. Let's have tea sometime."

Rin waved her little hand too.

"Bye, Shikaba! Bye, Ayako~"

As for Kakashi, he merely raised an eyebrow in farewell.

Once Shikaba and Ayako had left,

the grove, lively only moments before,

held just Obito and the other two.

Obito looked at Rin beside him, his eyes full of gratitude.

"Sorry for all the trouble tonight, Rin."

He had never experienced anything like this before.

I must mean even more to Rin now, he thought.

Kakashi: "(｀^´) Hmph!"

Obito shot him a look.

"(￢‸￢) What are you huffing about? Where's my present?"

Kakashi huffed again.

"Didn't get one!"

Rin sighed helplessly.

There they go again...

She stepped between them to smooth things over.

"Obito, Kakashi did a lot to help bring everyone together today."

Obito gave Kakashi a thoughtful look.

"Oh, is that so... I got you wrong, then."

Kakashi huffed yet again, though his expression softened.

"..."

The three chatted as they walked and soon reached the edge of the woods.

The quiet street was just visible ahead.

Then

Kakashi pulled out a thin slip of something

and tucked it into Obito's coat.

He turned and walked away quickly without looking back.

"Hey, you...!"

"Kakashi...?"

At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass,

a sizable base lay hidden deep beneath the flat ground.

A fearsome demonic statue stood in the grand hall.

On a stone chair before it

sat a white-haired old man with his eyes closed.

His cheeks were sunken, and his gaunt frame was almost skeletal.

Without being told, who would have guessed

that this frail old man, seemingly at death's door,

was Madara Uchiha—the demon who had once shaken the Shinobi World and left carnage in his wake?

"What was that..."

Madara opened his eyes with difficulty, a flicker of unease in them.

Just moments ago,

he had suddenly felt as though someone had drawn a power out of his body!

The intense sense of loss had jolted him awake.

"Lord Madara, what's wrong?"

A pitch-black figure emerged from the ground and asked in puzzlement.

Madara searched his senses carefully, then slowly shook his head.

"Nothing. Perhaps I imagined it..."

The pitch-black figure looked up

and discovered something shocking.

Inside Madara's body,

that person's chakra had vanished!

How... how could that be?!

Madara Uchiha was still alive. How could that chakra have left him?

Nothing like this had happened in hundreds upon hundreds of years!

Madara seemed to notice something was amiss with the pitch-black figure.

His brow furrowed slightly.

"What's wrong, Black Zetsu?"

Black Zetsu hid his emotions well. He lowered his head and answered respectfully.

"It's nothing, Lord Madara. Since you're fine, I'll take my leave first."

"Mm."

Madara responded indifferently before closing his eyes again.

Through the three tubes behind him, he drew in the life force supplied by the Demonic Statue.

Black Zetsu watched Madara fall into slumber.

His black face darkened completely.

A faint sense of unease stirred in his heart.

After manipulating the Shinobi World from behind the scenes for a thousand years,

it was the first time he had felt that things were slipping beyond his control.