Ever since Madara and Ari had become husband and wife in every sense, he had found genuine peace.
When Ari's father and brother returned and learned what had happened, there was no turning back. They simply accepted it as fate. Though they never said it aloud, it was clear they already saw Madara as one of their own.
Unwittingly, Madara had settled into this new life, no longer obsessed with chasing after his lost memories.
That is, until this night.
A group of men broke into Ari's family compound under cover of darkness.
Their movements were swift and precise—unmistakably trained ninja.
Whoosh!
From his sleep, Madara's eyes snapped open.
Ari stirred. "Madara, what's wrong?"
Madara replied, voice low, "Footsteps. There are people outside."
Ari tried to reassure him. "Maybe it's just Father or my brother, up in the night?"
"I'll go check."
Madara rose, shrugging on the clothes Ari had lovingly made for him, and stepped into the courtyard.
Whoosh!
A kunai whistled straight for his face!
Without thinking, Madara raised his hand and caught the kunai between two fingers.
But more followed in a deadly volley!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! There was no time to think. Madara flipped the kunai in his grip and spun, parrying every single blade out of the air.
A masked ninja in black stepped forward, cold and composed—the leader.
"You're no ordinary man. You're a ninja, aren't you?"
At the same time, shadows flickered atop the walls and eaves. In an instant, the courtyard was surrounded.
Madara demanded, "What do you want?"
The leader's tone was icy. "Drop the weapon, now. Otherwise, the two men in the other courtyard die first."
Ari's father and brother—hostages.
For the sake of those he cared about, Madara slowly crouched and set the kunai on the ground.
"Good." The masked man's lips curled beneath his disguise. He pulled a small bottle from his cloak and rolled it to Madara's feet.
"What's this for?" Madara asked, wary.
The man replied, "Your right eye. Take it out and put it in the bottle."
That voice… Suddenly, Madara remembered. This was the same man who'd examined his right eye days before!
The man barked, "Enough talk. Hand over the eye!"
Without a word, Madara pressed his hand to his right eye—and pushed hard.
Schluck—!!
Blood gushed down his face as he gouged out the Byakugan he'd taken from a Hyūga before losing his memory.
The pain seared through his nerves, and flashes of chaotic memory tore through his mind.
He shook them off. No time for doubts.
With one hand, he gripped the bloody eyeball. With the other, he picked up the bottle from the blood-slick ground, bit the cap off, dropped the eye—optic nerve trailing—inside, and screwed the lid shut. He pushed it to the masked man's feet.
Then Madara stood, half his face painted with blood, his expression cold as ice.
He hadn't hesitated for a moment. Not even a groan of pain escaped his lips.
The sight stunned every ninja present.
Even the leader, confronted with such ruthless resolve, thought twice about making a move here.
"Good. Very good. You're decisive—I like that."
He stooped, retrieved the bottle, stowed it away, and signaled. Instantly, the ninja on the rooftops melted into the night.
"Ari!!"
As the intruders vanished, Ari rushed out, panic written on her face. At the sight of Madara, she gasped, covering her mouth, and collapsed to the cold ground. "Ma—Madara, you…"
"It's nothing. It's over now…"
Madara tried to comfort her.
Suddenly, a surge of burning chakra pulsed from the Hashirama-faced mark on his chest!
"Ugh…!"
Madara clutched his right eye socket. Smoke curled between his fingers as the wound began to heal itself!
Sizzle! At the same time, his left eye spun, morphing into the Sharingan.
"Ahhh—!" In an instant, memories and emotions flooded in. Madara's head throbbed violently.
Ari was frantic. "Madara, don't scare me!"
"I'm… I'm fine. Help me inside…"
He staggered, but after only a few steps, dizziness overtook him and he collapsed!
"Clean up the ninja tools and blood—don't… let your father or brother see, hurry, go!"
With those words, Madara lost consciousness.
…
The attackers regrouped at the edge of the village.
The leader removed his mask, revealing a hooked nose and a sly mustache. He pulled the bottle from his cloak, gazing at the Byakugan floating within. His eyes glimmered with greedy delight.
"A Byakugan—the real thing, straight from the Hyūga main family…"
"How many ninja have died chasing this dream, only to lose their lives for nothing…"
"And yet, I got my hands on one so easily!"
He couldn't help himself—he threw his head back and laughed, the sound echoing through the night.
But as the laughter faded, a sobering thought crept in.
"The Byakugan—one of Konoha's top secrets. They'll do anything to keep it from leaking out."
"But that man—he somehow stole a Hyūga main family Byakugan. Konoha and the Hyūga will hunt him relentlessly. It's only a matter of time before they track him down…"
"Worse, he recognized me as the doctor who examined him before. If Konoha digs deep enough, they might learn my identity from his lips…"
"If they trace it to me, fine. But if my brother gets dragged in…"
His brother—one of the Land of Water daimyo's chief advisors.
For years, it was his brother's shadowy support that let him run wild in the Water Country's underworld.
His brother's only rule: kill and steal if you must, but never let anything lead back to him.
"If Konoha follows this trail, it won't be easy to clean up. It could spark a diplomatic incident. If my brother gets caught in the crossfire… I won't have enough heads to pay for it…"
He glanced back at the quiet village, a cruel smile twisting his lips. "Might as well go all the way. That man, his woman, her family, every last elder, woman, and child in this village—kill them all…"
His lackeys blanched. "If this blows up, won't we be in trouble?"
The leader sneered, full of arrogance. "What's there to fear? With Chikuragawa backing me, even the Mizukage has to show respect. If the sky falls, I'll hold it up myself!"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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