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In the Land of Earth, inside Madara Uchiha's hidden base.
After Black Zetsu brought Obito back, he had placed him inside one of the caves within the underground complex.
There were no top-tier medical ninja like Taiichi here.
Obito's serious injuries and the backlash from overusing his Mangekyō Sharingan had gone untreated by any professional healer.
Right now, his upper body was bare, but the skin covering him wasn't normal human flesh. Especially around his wounds, his entire body was wrapped in a layer of pale, almost translucent material.
White Zetsu was using its own body to treat Obito's injuries. The method worked reasonably well, but the way Obito's brows kept twitching in pain made it clear that effective or not, it still hurt like hell.
At one point, Obito's eyes snapped open.
The first thing he saw was the dim, damp cave. The steady drip, drip, drip of water echoed from the ceiling into a small puddle nearby.
The moment he tried to move, pain exploded through him—his torso, limbs, even his brain felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly by red-hot needles.
He stiffly turned his neck, the only part of his body he could still somewhat control, and looked down.
Half of his body was completely encased in a semi-transparent, jelly-like white substance. It had sunk deep into his exposed wounds and seemed to have fused with his flesh.
Once the worst of the pain settled into something he could endure, fragmented memories slammed into his mind like steel spikes.
Burning forest. Kakashi covered in blood. The twisted, savage faces of the Iwa-nin. And Rin.
Rin's clear, gentle brown eyes looking at him in her final moments. There had been no fear in them. Only a deep, heartbreaking tenderness.
Then came the cold kunai—the one that should have pierced his own chest—driving straight through hers instead.
"Rin—!"
A raw, inhuman scream of agony and despair tore out of Obito's throat and echoed violently through the sealed cave.
His left arm, the only one he could still move, began slamming repeatedly against the cold stone bed beneath him. He kept hitting it, over and over, until blood seeped from his knuckles.
"Why?! Why couldn't it have been me?!"
He thrashed like a dying beast, forcing his broken body upright. Ignoring the agony, he slammed his forehead against the rock wall again and again.
Dull, heavy thud, thud, thud sounds filled the cave. Each impact left a dark red smear of blood on the stone.
Fresh blood poured from his reopened wounds, soaking his entire body.
It was as if he wanted to smash himself—and the unbearable memories—into pieces against the unyielding rock.
His strength finally gave out. He collapsed, body convulsing violently as he gasped for air like a broken bellows.
Tears mixed with the blood running down his face, carving filthy streaks across his pale, twisted features. The world in front of him had turned a violent shade of red.
"Tsk tsk tsk. He's awake. And making quite the racket."
"So loud. Lord Madara's going to hear this."
Two light, completely unsympathetic voices spoke one after another.
Through Obito's tear-blurred vision, two nearly identical pale faces suddenly appeared. They leaned in close, swaying slightly, wearing eerie smiles as they examined him like some fascinating new specimen.
"Look, he's bleeding! The white stuff came off!"
"Idiot, he did that to himself! What a pain in the ass."
The two White Zetsu chattered noisily, their voices bouncing around the empty cave.
Obito slowly focused his bloodshot Sharingan on them.
"Where… where's Rin?!" His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper scraping together.
"Rin?" One of the White Zetsu tilted its head, looking innocently confused. "She's dead! Stabbed right through! Poor thing!"
"Her heart was completely destroyed! No way she's coming back from that!"
The other one added cheerfully, as if delivering the punchline to a joke.
Ice-cold despair flooded Obito's veins. Every muscle in his body went rigid. His teeth ground together so hard they creaked. He wanted nothing more than to tear these two monsters apart with his bare hands.
"Enough."
A deep, ancient voice cut through the White Zetsu's chatter like a blade.
From the heavy shadows at the back of the cave, a tall figure slowly stepped forward.
He wore the familiar Uchiha clan robes. His wild black hair fell around his shoulders like a lion's mane, framing a sharp, weathered face that looked carved from stone.
A deep, instinctive tremor ran through Obito's blood.
"Who are you?!"
Obito forced the words out. The sheer presence this man carried told him he was no ordinary person, yet Obito had no memory of ever seeing him before.
"How pathetic. A member of the Uchiha clan, and you can't even recognize my face."
Madara gave a cold laugh, then answered without further teasing.
"I am Uchiha Madara."
"U-Uchiha… Madara?!"
Obito's voice cracked with disbelief and shock.
Even someone like him, considered the dead-last of the clan, knew exactly how heavy that forbidden name was.
But how could he possibly still be alive? And why was he here?
Madara didn't bother answering the obvious question. His Sharingan calmly observed Obito's bloodied, broken, despairing form.
"It hurts, doesn't it?"
His voice was calm, almost gentle, as if stating an eternal truth.
"Being betrayed by the world you loved. Watching the person you cherished most turn to dust right in front of you. That soul-crushing despair sinking into your bones, gnawing at everything you are?"
He took one step closer, looking down at Obito like a wounded animal.
"You've felt it now, Obito. This is the true nature of the world—a massive prison built on lies, plunder, and endless suffering."
Madara's voice dropped lower, but it carried a seductive, penetrating power that slipped straight into Obito's chaotic mind.
"War breeds pain. Pain breeds hatred. Hatred breeds more war. The so-called peace of the Hidden Leaf? The unspoken agreement between the Five Great Nations? It's nothing but the false calm before the next storm."
A cold, thin smile curved Madara's lips. His Sharingan pulsed faintly.
"That girl you loved… her name was Rin, wasn't it?"
He deliberately slowed his words, each one striking Obito's most vulnerable places like an icy chisel.
"Why did she throw herself in front of that blade for you? Because she couldn't bear to face this broken world anymore. Because she would rather let her warm blood splash across your face and grow cold—"
Madara's voice had become a whisper from hell. Every vivid detail made Obito's trembling worse.
"That feeling of helplessness. That rage that makes you want to destroy everything. Tell me, Obito… is this the reality you wanted? Is this the reward the girl who gave her life to protect you deserves?"
"Shut up! Shut your mouth!!"
Obito suddenly jerked his head up. His three-tomoe Sharingan spun violently, twisting and distorting until it transformed into the Mangekyō. Cold, violent ocular power erupted from his eyes.
He was panting like a cornered wolf, staring at Madara with wild, broken eyes. But he couldn't find a single word to argue back.
Rin's final gaze. The kunai piercing her chest. The warm blood splattering across his face. Every image was being magnified and replayed with perfect clarity under Madara's words.
Madara straightened, meeting Obito's gaze evenly. The power radiating from his own three-tomoe Sharingan was no weaker than Obito's Mangekyō.
"This despair. This pain. This hatred strong enough to burn everything down—"
Madara's voice suddenly rose, filled with absolute certainty, like a final prophecy.
"This is not the end. It is an endless cycle. The world will keep repeating this tragedy forever. But Obito… now you have a chance to break it."
Break it?
The word cut through Obito's fractured mind like lightning. Rin's pale face surfaced in his memory.
"Join me."
Madara's voice was sweet poison, impossible to resist. Every syllable struck against the crumbling walls of Obito's will.
"Together, we will tear this endless cycle apart. We will create a true paradise with no war, no separation, and no pain. A world where everything you lost will be returned to you. Where every regret can be healed. Where the girl you loved will smile at you again—"
"Rin… can come back?"
A weak but incredibly strong thought fought its way out of Obito's shattered soul.
"Not come back," Madara corrected, a knowing smile on his lips as his Sharingan locked onto the sudden spark of light in Obito's eyes.
"We will create a new world. One where she will never be hurt. One where she will never have to leave you."
He spread his arms wide, as if embracing a grand, invisible vision.
"An eternal dream. A perfect world filled only with peace and love."
"A perfect world… Rin…"
Obito murmured the words. The crimson light of his Mangekyō flared violently. The three-leaf clover pattern spun faster and faster, releasing a terrifying wave of ocular power.
In his mind, the image of Rin's death collided violently with the paradise Madara had painted. Destruction and creation twisted together into a raging storm inside his fragile spirit.
"Ugh—!"
His body, already pushed far beyond its limits by waking up, going berserk, and now this mental assault, finally gave out.
Obito convulsed once, then slipped back into unconsciousness.
The cave fell into dead silence, broken only by the steady sound of dripping water.
Madara slowly lowered his arms. The seductive fervor on his face faded, leaving behind nothing but cold calculation.
He looked down at the unconscious Obito with no emotion in his eyes—only icy evaluation.
"Watch him."
His voice carried no warmth, like he was giving instructions about an object.
"The next time he wakes, he'll understand the truth of this world more clearly."
"Got it, Lord Madara!"
"Don't worry! We'll keep him nice and stuck!"
The two White Zetsu immediately went back to their carefree attitudes. They moved to Obito's side like flowing white liquid and began covering his body again, especially the wounds that had torn open during his earlier violent struggle and ocular power outburst.
The sticky substance quickly filled the cracks and seeped into his tissue, continuing its strange, living "treatment."
Madara gave Obito one last glance, then silently left the cave.
---
At the same time, Taiichi arrived at the ruins of Kannabi Bridge.
Cold wind howled across the massive ravine, kicking up clouds of dust that stung his face.
He stood alone at the edge of the broken cliff. Jagged remnants of the once-great bridge stretched toward the bottomless gorge below.
The magnificent stone bridge that had once spanned the ravine was now nothing more than a few isolated pillars.
The Land of Grass had poured enormous resources into building it. And yet, it had taken only moments to destroy.
Destruction was easy. Creation was hard. Taiichi wondered if this bridge would ever be rebuilt.
He could still smell the faint scent of explosive tags in the air. For a long moment, he said nothing.
This was the battlefield that had changed the course of the war.
Looking across the gorge, the traces left by the Iwa-nin were still clearly visible. Thick stone walls from Earth Flow Wall. Massive stone pillars from Rock Pillar Technique. They had clearly tried to rebuild the bridge using Earth Release.
But the ravine was simply too wide and too deep. Ordinary Earth Release techniques couldn't bridge such a massive gap. All that remained were twisted, broken chunks of rock.
This devastated ruin symbolized the complete collapse of the Hidden Rock's supply line—and the approaching end of this long war.
"Next will probably be peace talks," Taiichi thought.
He pulled his gaze away from the ruined bridge. Right now, he had a more important task.
Following Kakashi's description, he moved to the location where the team had retreated and began tracking their path through the forest.
Unlike Minato's standard sensory techniques, Taiichi had a unique advantage.
He closed his eyes and focused.
Sage Mode—activate.
Vast amounts of natural energy surged into his body like a tidal wave, perfectly fusing with his own chakra.
In Sage Mode, his perception was already dramatically enhanced. Combined with—
Sage Art: Chakra Sensing.
His sensory range expanded several times beyond normal.
He could hear the whisper of wind through leaves, feel insects moving beneath the soil, sense the ripples of distant streams. Every subtle pulse of life in the forest was now clearly mapped in his Sage-enhanced perception network.
Taiichi knew exactly how troublesome Black Zetsu's "Mayfly Technique" was. That creature could merge with the earth and plants, becoming an invisible shadow that was nearly impossible to detect while hidden.
Minato's earlier search had been useful against ordinary ninja, but against the Mayfly Technique, it would have yielded almost nothing.
However— if Black Zetsu had even briefly left the Mayfly state and revealed its form, or if it had slightly disturbed the surrounding environment, it would have left traces behind.
In Taiichi's current sensory state, any foreign interference with nature stood out immediately.
Sure enough, he soon picked up several anomalies.
Not residual energy, but extremely faint "traces."
A cluster of vines that should have hung naturally were twisted in an unnatural way, as if something invisible had forcibly wrung them.
A patch of fallen leaves that didn't match the natural layering of the forest floor.
Several large trees and bushes carried faint traces of what felt like Wood Release chakra.
These traces were scattered, but they followed the exact path Kakashi's team had taken while fleeing.
When Taiichi finally found his own Flying Thunder God kunai twisted and tangled in a mass of branches, his eyes turned ice-cold.
Uchiha Madara and Black Zetsu had really gone to a lot of trouble—monitoring the entire time, deliberately cutting off Kakashi's team's escape route. They had clearly taken him very seriously.
The kunai had been twisted into a knot by the branches. Taiichi carefully removed it along with the wood. This was undeniable evidence.
He held his breath and pushed his Sage sensory abilities to their absolute limit, spreading them outward from the kunai's location like an invisible radar, scanning in every direction.
His perception sank into the soil, brushed across every leaf, and analyzed every trace of lingering energy and environmental disturbance.
This time, however, he found nothing.
The final traces ended at the exact spot where Obito had collapsed. The Mayfly Technique truly lived up to its reputation as the ultimate stealth and reconnaissance ability. Even Sage Mode couldn't pick up Black Zetsu's trail.
Taiichi slowly released Sage Mode. Standing at the place where Obito had last fallen, he felt a rare sense of helplessness.
He knew Madara's hidden cave was somewhere in the Land of Earth. But the Land of Earth was enormous. How was he supposed to find it?
And the longer it took, the higher the chance that Obito would be completely manipulated. If he couldn't find him now, the next time they met might be as enemies.