"You're saying you want to entrust this matter to me?"
The slightly rounder—but still unmistakably handsome—young man hesitated as he spoke.
This was Uchiha Itachi.
After several years of peace and comfortable living, his body had softened a little. He wasn't fully devoted to training anymore, and even with medicinal tonics, he occasionally felt an ache in his back.
"Yes, Itachi," Naruto replied calmly. "Although you once committed a grave mistake, you've already atoned for much of it. And the Uchiha Clan has finally stepped into a new future."
"I was too young back then to change anything. But you… you were raised under the Third Hokage's influence, always believing every word he said was correct. With your talent, you should have achieved something far greater. Now, the Ninja World needs you."
Naruto spoke sincerely.
His former resentment toward Itachi had faded long ago. After all, Itachi had worked tirelessly these past years for the restoration and prosperity of the Uchiha Clan.
Itachi fell silent.
In recent years, aside from reflecting on his past, he had been reading—a lot. The Umbrella Organization had a saying:
Reading makes one wise.
Naruto had even collected a number of books from his previous world, ones Itachi had never imagined existed.
And after reading them… Itachi came to a shocking realization:
The "Will of Fire" he had once revered—
was absolute garbage.
No—worse. It was essentially:
The Third Hokage's glorified autobiography.
Looking back now, he understood that Naruto had been right. A child's mind is easily shaped by early indoctrination.
Even so, Naruto couldn't deny that in that environment, Itachi had been a hero—willing to be buried in darkness for the village.
His greatest mistake wasn't the slaughter itself… but that he hadn't trusted his own clan. That he had personally taken on the sin of annihilating the innocent members of Uchiha.
Perhaps many Uchiha had grown arrogant.
But the ordinary people of the clan were blameless.
And that was a debt Itachi intended to repay for the rest of his life.
"Father, do we have guests?"
A small child toddled into the room—around two years old, with bright, striking eyes and a natural calmness far beyond his age.
"Oh! Is that Lord Naruto?"
The child reacted immediately, eyes filled with admiration.
Children in the Ninja World matured quickly; infancy passed in a blink. By the age of two they could already speak, remember, and understand as clearly as a four- or five-year-old from Naruto's previous world.
This boy was Itachi's third son—
and the one who resembled him the most.
The other two were already older than him.
The truth of the previous Uchiha generation had been deliberately hidden from the children. It was a way to protect them—after all, what child could bear learning that their father had personally killed his entire clan?
This clean slate allowed a better, healthier Uchiha to grow—unburdened by past sins and free from the clan's old flaws.
The little boy admired Naruto deeply. His strongest impression of his own father was simply that Itachi had many wives and many children.
In this era, where Naruto's legend shone brightest, Naruto was—without question—the greatest hero in the hearts of these children.
"So it's settled, then," Naruto said with a smile. "I even found a partner for you."
Itachi's expression remained calm, resigned to whatever fate awaited.
But he still asked, with mild surprise:
"Who?"
"Madara!!!"
…In the Pure Land…
Naruto had already found Madara and secured his cooperation by promising to revive him.
There were Shinigami forces operating in the Pure Land, but most of the truly powerful souls of past eras had long been sealed by the Sage of Six Paths. If not for that, Naruto would have needed to negotiate with the Shinigami Clan directly just to retrieve Madara's soul.
For the Sage of Six Paths, reviving someone required a steep price.
And although the Shinigami Clan didn't heavily restrict him, releasing high-quality souls was never easy.
Uchiha Mikoto, for example, had been overlooked—not out of malice, but because the Sage simply didn't deem her a priority.
Naruto had revived many people already, which caused considerable unrest among the Shinigami Clan.
He could wipe them out if he chose—the strongest of them were only comparable to the Sage of Six Paths—but that wasn't the point.
In the original history, the Shinigami who devoured the Fourth Hokage's soul and others…
and was later sliced open by Orochimaru to exploit a loophole…
was merely an unfortunate Shinigami who had once signed a contract with the Uzumaki Clan, losing both his authority and his forces in the aftermath.
He possessed only Super-Kage–level soul strength.
The Shinigami also had Chakra, but their fundamental power was what they called spiritual pressure—a force of the soul rather than flesh.
After finding Madara in the Pure Land, Naruto explained his intentions. Madara's initial response was predictable disdain. But when Naruto mentioned that Senju Hashirama's current strength had already surpassed him, Madara visibly faltered.
After a blend of emotional appeal and logical persuasion, Madara finally agreed—tsundere as always.
Especially after hearing about the present state of the Ninja World and the catastrophic future that awaited, Madara stopped resisting entirely.
This might not have been the world he personally reshaped,
but Naruto had the qualification and strength to do so.
Madara had recognized Naruto's potential long ago.
Soon after, Madara was revived. Naruto paid a heavy price to bring him back, but Madara once again descended into the living world.
The greater the power, the greater the cost.
In the original timeline, Nagato revived nearly all of Konoha because the villagers' souls had not yet fully departed to the Pure Land—only a portion had crossed over. He traded his life for theirs.
Obito only revived Madara's body, so he retained enough strength to continue moving.
When Hashirama learned that Madara had returned, he was ecstatic and rushed over immediately.
"Hahaha! Madara, you're finally here, you stubborn brat! I've been dying of boredom these past two years. Come spar with me—I'll show you my current strength!"
Senju Hashirama said this with a playful wink, completely lacking the solemnity of the so-called God of Shinobi.
Madara stared at him coldly, quietly sensing the drastic growth in Hashirama's current power.
Has this guy really surpassed me?
Itachi also bowed respectfully toward his ancestor. Madara looked at the slightly chubby Itachi, frowning deeply.
Naruto stepped forward.
"Itachi, you'll serve as Madara's deputy. Senior Hashirama—so will you."
Naruto had concluded that letting Hashirama waste his days at gambling dens was unacceptable. But for training this generation's shinobi, Madara was the better choice.
Madara was simply more suitable.
A Vast Training Ground
Tens of thousands of shinobi had gathered on the enormous field.
They had heard that their instructor would be Uchiha Madara, the man who once single-handedly crushed entire armies.
Most of them still remembered the suffocating despair of facing him.
"Madara, these people are yours," Naruto said firmly.
Madara already knew the mission Naruto had entrusted to him. Naruto had also provided him with the new cultivation methods and present-day Ninjutsu systems. Even the Rinnegan had been returned to its rightful owner.
Madara swept his gaze across the crowd—arrogant, imposing.
"Everyone, sit down first."
The field instantly settled.
As an enemy, Madara inspired terror.
As an ally, he inspired hope.
After all, Madara had refined Obito in a short amount of time; his ability to teach was beyond what ordinary people could ever compare to.
Madara glanced sideways at Hashirama—who was also sitting down.
"Hashirama. You stand up."
"Oh—oh!!"
Not knowing what Madara was planning, Hashirama instantly bounced to his feet. After all, he was technically Madara's deputy now.
Madara turned toward the assembled shinobi, eyes sharp and filled with overwhelming pride. Everyone expected an inspiring speech.
What they received instead was a verbal slap.
"With all due respect," Madara roared, "everyone here is trash!"
The entire crowd: "…"
(TN: "…")