"Did something happen to that old man? He looks serious," Obito asked weakly, his body wrapped in bandages.
Strict as he was, Obito still saw the old man as a good person.
After all, respecting elders and caring for the young was something he prided himself on. Back in Konoha, he often helped elderly villagers cross the road.
Uchiha Madara, his face showing the weight of time, looked at Obito.
Thoughts flickered through his mind, but in the end, he shook his head.
"Nothing."
This boy was different from the usual Uchiha, too bright, too full of life. It reminded Madara of an old acquaintance.
The Uchiha weren't meant to be like this. But the more light an Uchiha carried, the deeper the darkness when they fell.
Madara had always believed that.
That was why he chose Obito to carry out his plan. The only regret was that someone had interfered, throwing everything into chaos.
Obito touched his head, still confused. He looked at the old man's pale face, unsure.
"Are you really okay?"
"I told you, I'm fine."
A scarlet light flashed in Uchiha Madara's eyes, and in an instant, the crushing darkness of his power nearly swallowed Obito whole.
Suddenly, a White Zetsu emerged from the wall, startling Obito.
"Can you stop popping out like ghosts?" he grumbled, clearly annoyed. He never liked these strange creatures they always gave him an unsettling feeling.
But the White Zetsu ignored Obito's complaint and respectfully reported to Madara,
"Madara-sama, Hanyu Simu and his group are approaching the stronghold."
Madara's eyebrows lifted slightly. He muttered in a low voice,
"Have we been discovered...?"
Obito, on the other hand, was thrilled.
"Teacher? Grandpa, Hanyu Simu is my teacher! You can let me go now!"
Madara had kept him here under the excuse of making him stronger, forcing him to experience bloodshed. But now that his teacher was coming, safety was no longer an issue.
Although Simu's personality was questionable, Obito trusted his strength completely.
Madara remained silent for a moment before finally saying,
"I see. Keep a close watch on Hanyu Simu's movements."
Slowly, he stood up. The tree roots entwined around him writhed as his aura surged.
As White Zetsu vanished, Obito could barely contain his impatience he was more than ready to leave this gloomy cave.
"Grandpa, thanks for your help all this time! When I get back to Konoha, I'll buy you some ramen!"
With that, Obito sprinted toward the cave entrance.
"Stop."
Uchiha Madara's cold voice echoed through the cavern.
Obito turned back.
"What is it, Grandpa? If it's about the ramen, I can—"
Before he could finish, he saw the old man raise a white cattail fan from seemingly nowhere.
"Enough with your nonsense, Uchiha Obito!" Madara snapped.
With a powerful swing of the fan, he unleashed not a gust of wind, but a roaring inferno.
Obito barely had time to react before the flames engulfed the cavern, rushing toward him with unstoppable force.
His usefulness had come to an end. Since the plan had failed, there was no reason to let him live.
Rather than allowing Hanyu Simu to train a potential threat, it was better to eliminate him now.
"Why...?"
Frozen in shock, Obito stood there, unable to believe what was happening.
The very man who had saved him was now trying to kill him.
Just as the flames were about to burned him, Simu appeared in a flash.
A lightsaber rose high into the air.
With a dazzling slash, the blade cut straight through the sea of fire, splitting it cleanly in two.
The force of the strike sent a powerful gust through the cavern, causing Simu's Hokage robe to billow.
Under the flickering firelight, the five bold characters "Fourth Hokage" shone brightly before Obito's eyes.
"Teacher Simu…?"
"Fourth Hokage!"
That second title hit him harder.
He had only been away from Konoha for a few months, and his teacher was already Hokage?
A lifetime dream achieved just like that.
Damn it...
Simu was still so young. Was there even a chance of him stepping down anytime soon?
For a brief moment, Obito's mind raced with thoughts.
Then, as Simu landed, Minato arrived with Kakashi and Rin right behind him.
"Rin! Kakashi!"
Seeing his two best friends, a look of joy appeared on his face.
Rin ran up to Obito, her eyes filled with worry as she saw his gray arms for the first time.
"You..."
Sensing her concern, Obito quickly grinned and waved his hand.
"It's fine! This arm works just like my own—nothing to worry about!"
Once Kakashi confirmed that Obito was unharmed, his focus shifted to their teacher and the enemy before them. Minato did the same.
As an elite ninja, he could feel the crushing pressure radiating from the old man standing opposite them like the weight of the deep sea itself.
Hanyu Simu stood with one hand in his pocket, his other gripping a flickering lightsaber.
He pointed it straight at the legendary figure and spoke calmly:
"Trying to kill my student like this… That's not very honorable, Uchiha Madara."
Uchiha Madara, the man whose name stood alongside the God of Shinobi.
The flames burned fiercely on both sides, but in the center, a clear path remained a vacuum carved by Simu's slash.
Uchiha Madara sat calmly in his chair, his massive war fan planted firmly in the ground before him. His gaze rested on the young man from Konoha with quiet intrigue.
"To achieve this without using Chakra… You truly are a genius, Hanyu Simu."
A legend like him could see it at a glance Simu's power didn't rely on Chakra.
The weight of those words sent shockwaves through the group.
"Uchiha Madara?"
Even Minato's usually calm expression changed to one of disbelief.
He had expected Simu's enemies to be formidable, figures with dangerous histories but Uchiha Madara? That was beyond imagination.
The man was not just a founder of Konoha but also its most infamous rogue ninja, a name etched deep in history.
Minato knew the stories.
"Didn't Uchiha Madara die at the Valley of the End, fighting the First Hokage? How could this be…?"
While Minato, Kakashi, and the others were stunned, Obito's reaction was different.
His face wasn't filled with shock, just confusion.
"Uchiha Madara? Are you famous?" Obito asked, puffing up his chest.
"As expected of him, he also belongs to the Uchiha clan!"
Rin looked at him, exasperated.
"This guy is the first Uchiha patriarch after Konoha was founded."
Obito's eyes widened. "Wait, seriously?"
But while the others talked, Uchiha Madara's attention remained fixed on one person, Hanyu Simu.
Among everyone present, only Simu commanded his respect.
Even Minato, despite his Kage-level strength, was insignificant before Uchiha Madara.
Slowly, Madara rose from his chair.
As he stood, the branches entangled around his body withered and fell away.
His presence seemed to grow stronger, his very essence sharpening like a blade.
Then, his old eyes burned with a dazzling red light.
The Three Tomoe Sharingan flared to life, and in an instant, his overwhelming pupil power dragged Simu into an illusion.
But Simu didn't hesitate.
He unleashed his Conqueror's Haki at full force.
A monstrous wave of willpower crashed through the cave like a raging storm, shaking the very air itself.
The pressure was so intense it became a tangible force, whipping Madara's long hair into motion.
Under this suffocating aura, Minato and the others finally snapped out of their daze.
For just a moment…
It felt as if they had been trapped in a nightmare.
Obito's entire body was drenched in sweat, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he struggled to catch his breath.
Only Minato and Kakashi managed to hold themselves together, though they weren't much better off.
"What terrifying power..." Minato muttered, his gaze shifting back to Uchiha Madara now filled with a deep sense of dread.
If Madara, in his old age, was already this powerful…
Then what kind of monster had he been in his prime?
It was no wonder he stood among legends, the man who once battled the First Hokage to shape history itself.
Simu turned his head slightly and spoke in a calm, yet firm voice:
"Minato, take them and leave."
Minato immediately nodded.
This battle was far beyond anything Obito and the others could handle. Even for himself, staying meant risking death.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Madara took in the force radiating from Simu, his expression filled with something close to admiration.
"This aura… it's incredible..."
He could barely contain his excitement, a wild grin threatening to break across his face.
Gripping the war fan still embedded in the ground, Madara pulled it free with a swift motion.
"If illusions won't work on you…" His voice was laced with anticipation.
"Then come and dance!"
As Chakra surged into the legendary war fan, an artifact said to be passed down from the Sage of Six Paths its power was unleashed.
The fan expanded, transforming its energy into a raging inferno that roared toward them once more.
The cave's temperature skyrocketed in an instant.
Flames danced wildly, casting flickering shadows on Simu's face, painting it in shades of red.
Without hesitation, his lightsaber fell once more.
With a single slash, the sea of fire was split clean in two.
Seizing the moment, Minato swiftly led Kakashi and the others out of the battlefield.
Even Obito, normally the most reckless, didn't dare insist on staying behind this time.
.
.
TO BE CONTINUED
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