"Shshsh—"
As Konan was speaking, several sharp whistling sounds cut through the air from behind Shimoku.
Several figures had arrived at the village entrance.
Fugaku, Itachi, Yueji…
Obviously, they had sensed Konan's presence and rushed over immediately.
Shimoku cut Konan off and turned to face them.
"Enemy?"
"More like a friend though. Nothing serious. I've got this under control."
Shimoku responded.
Fugaku tilted his head slightly, catching sight of the elegant beauty kneeling behind Shimoku.
Realization dawned on him instantly.
Everyone's been young once. He knew exactly what was going on.
"Alright, you all can head back first."
"Okay."
Everyone returned home accordingly.
Nobody seriously questioned the Young Master's skills anyway.
From others' perspective,
it was late at night, and such an elegantly charming woman had suddenly appeared from nowhere—it was probably just another one of the Young Master's new whims.
Nothing worth worrying about.
Fugaku, however, lingered for a moment longer.
He mentioned something to Shimoku:
"Three days ago, when you went out—"
"a man wearing a tiger-patterned mask sneaked into the village with ill intent."
"But we drove him away together—me and Itachi."
"That guy also seemed to possess a Mangekyō Sharingan. Do you know who he is?"
Fugaku asked gravely.
On one hand, he couldn't believe that another Mangekyō Sharingan existed—one he hadn't even heard of.
On the other hand, the open hostility that individual showed toward the Uchiha Clan made him quite wary.
At this stage, their Uchiha Clan had finally established a new ninja village, fully independent,
and opened a brand-new future.
Although truthfully, this achievement had little to do with himself—the former disappointing clan head—
he absolutely did not want
for this precious hope to be destroyed by yet another mysterious enemy...
"It's him?!"
Shimoku exclaimed in slight shock.
Now everything clicked. That explained why Obito hadn't appeared during the recent battle with Konoha.
He had gone ahead to sneak attack here!
What a cunning 'Big Bro Tu'!
He was almost as cunning as Shimoku himself...
"You know this guy?"
Shimoku nodded. "I do."
"His identity is complicated. Let me explain in detail later..."
"Fair enough. I'll hear you out when we get home."
Without asking further, Fugaku replied and quickly departed,
leaving the space solely for Shimoku and Konan.
As an experienced man himself, he naturally understood situations like this all too well.
"Come on, we can't talk about this properly out here. Let's continue inside my room."
Shimoku said to Konan.
Then, without waiting for any approval,
he activated the [Flying Thunder God Technique] and instantly transported both of them directly into his room.
...
"Instantly teleported elsewhere?"
"What is this?! Space-Time Ninjutsu?!!"
Konan gasped in astonishment, her sorrowful eyes widening with shock.
Despite already holding this kid in the highest regard...
He still kept managing to surprise her!
To think he also mastered such profound and convenient space-time ninjutsu—
Does that mean, even if defeated,
he'd be nearly impossible to pin down?
Across the entire Ninja World, is there still anyone capable of killing this man?
So, I really did come to the right place after all...
As for Shimoku's side,
he didn't mind revealing his "Flying Thunder God Technique" in front of Konan.
After all, from the moment she stepped into Homuragakure, there had already been no turning back.
Either stay alive here... or just stay forever.
Not that there was much difference between them anyway.
As for why she chose to come to Homuragakure, Shimoku had already figured it out.
After all, Nagato was dead.
Black Zetsu, that loving son, was still hunting her down.
She obviously couldn't return to Ame—only walking straight into a trap.
Plus, Akatsuki had already ruined Konoha so badly and offended Hashirama Senju—the Ninja God himself.
Even seeking refuge in other Hidden Villages, she'd struggle to stand firm.
Looking at things this way,
despite the vastness of the Ninja World, there were hardly any places left for her to call safe...
Unless she chose to vanish into isolation, never reappearing again.
Yet having just witnessed Nagato's sudden death,
and carrying boundless resentment in her heart, how could she possibly live in hiding forever?
Therefore,
apart from Homura Hidden Village, apart from himself—she had nowhere else to go.
"This place is safe. Continue telling me. What happened afterward?"
Shimoku handed Konan a cup of warm water, asking further.
Without holding anything back, Konan continued recounting what had happened.
...
It only took several minutes before Shimoku understood everything thoroughly.
In short,
Black Zetsu followed closely behind Konan until finally locating Nagato's actual body.
Then, taking advantage of Nagato's weakened state, he immediately took control of his body.
Controlling it forcefully, he immediately activated the [Six Paths: Resurrection of the Dead Technique], using Nagato's remaining life force as the cost.
Afterward, once he finished using Nagato, he gave him one final backstab,
instantly piercing through his chest and crushing his heart.
Draining every last remnant of Nagato's life energy...
Taking with him this self-proclaimed deity and former Akatsuki leader...
Then, he started chasing after Konan.
Fortunately, by relying on her extremely concealable "Paper Person of God Technique," Konan scattered into countless paper clones, barely escaping Black Zetsu's pursuit.
Eventually fleeing all the way to Homuragakure.
That's roughly how everything unfolded.
Certainly, many details weren't mentioned,
such as how smug and satisfied Black Zetsu appeared after successfully pulling off his plan, and so on.
But those didn't matter anymore.
What mattered was: Black Zetsu really succeeded!
Shimoku: "He controlled Nagato and used the [Six Paths: Resurrection of the Dead Technique]?"
Konan: "Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."
Shimoku: "Who did he resurrect?"
Konan: "I don't know..."
Of course, even without seeing it herself,
Shimoku could already figure it out with just a single thought.
That Black Zetsu must have used the [Six Paths: Resurrection of the Dead Technique] to revive **Madara Uchiha**!
After all, according to Lord Madara's original plan,
the reason he transplanted his [Rinnegan] into Nagato was precisely because of Nagato's Uzumaki Clan constitution, which could properly sustain the [Rinnegan].
At an appropriate time, **Madara would sacrifice Nagato** to resurrect himself.
However, Shimoku never expected
that this time, Black Zetsu would act so far ahead of schedule!
Most likely, witnessing my battle against Hashirama terrified Black Zetsu,
forcing him to accelerate his plan and ruthlessly strike Nagato prematurely.
Otherwise, once Hashirama had firmly **established his footing**,
or if I continued developing further...
**Madara's carefully laid-out plan over many years** would go up in smoke!
Would he ever accept that?
Thus, he acted early, following Konan to locate Nagato's original body, taking advantage of Nagato's weakened state to seize control and perform the [Six Paths: Resurrection of the Dead Technique], reviving Madara.
Then he planned to continue inciting Madara, gathering all the [Tailed Beasts]
to complete his grand design...
What a move! Just when I was waiting for the right moment to summon Lord Madara from the [Impure World],
ready to make my move—**to turn him to my side**!
Unexpectedly, that damned Black Zetsu had already brought Lord Madara back one step ahead.
Now things just got complicated!
**Now fully revived, Lord Madara would no longer be easy to convince.**
With **Black Zetsu inciting him**, Madara would almost certainly see me as a threat, viewing the entire [Homuragakure Hidden Village] as an obstacle toward achieving the [Eye of the Moon Plan].
Now, there was almost no chance of **persuading him at all**.
Unless I can defeat him first...
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