Swish!
The instant the shadow appeared, a blade flashed down, severing Obito's right arm. Hot on its heels, Shisui's longsword struck again—yet once more, the enemy vanished without a trace.
"That jutsu—it's the Flying Thunder God Technique!" Kakashi shouted in disbelief.
"You guessed right!"
A voice rang out from behind Shisui. Before the words even finished, one hand reached into his ninja pouch. The target: the glass vial holding the Mangekyō Sharingan of Kamui.
Bang!
Shisui's blade swept across, sending the intruder sprawling. If not for the kunai that blocked his strike, the clone would have been cleaved in two.
Whirr…
The three tomoe spun, and in an instant Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan awakened.
"Failed, huh? Well, the primary goal is achieved. Goodbye, everyone!"
Just as the Mangekyō's power ignited, the clone seized Obito's severed arm with one hand and a kunai with the other, and vanished.
Huff… huff…
Shisui closed his Mangekyō, breathing heavily. Tonight, both his chakra and his ocular power had been drained to the limit.
Beside him, Kakashi's face was frozen in shock. "The Flying Thunder God… but how? That was Sensei's technique. How could anyone else…?"
Fugaku, who had largely remained silent through the night's events, stepped forward. He bent down, lifting a stone from beside the corpse of a dead rat. On its surface were markings: (Uzumaki Sora). Uzumaki?
Kakashi frowned deeply. "Sensei once said, in the entire history of Konoha, only the Second Hokage and the Fourth learned the Flying Thunder God. Who was that man? Uzumaki Sora?"
Surveying the area, Shisui sheathed his blade. "His physical strength wasn't great. In fact, I'd say it was weaker than that of a normal taijutsu-focused chūnin. If it hadn't been so urgent, that slash—even blocked—would've injured him."
Fugaku's brows knitted tighter. After a moment, he spoke. "We'll need to report this to the Hokage. It involves the Uzumaki clan… and that severed arm. Too many questions surround it."
At that moment, the masked Obito—only just recovering—let out a low, bitter laugh.
"Heh… heh… it was that red-haired one, wasn't it? An Uzumaki… Uzumaki Sora!"
"So he's the one who gave you my intel, huh? I never imagined someone else lurked in the shadows of this world. You want to know what my right arm is for?"
"Uchiha Shisui, the reason I can use Wood Release… is because of that arm. The Uzumaki clan—long intermarried with the Senju, famed for their red hair, longevity, sealing arts, and vast chakra reserves. And all of it… was to pursue the power of the First Hokage, the so-called God of Shinobi."
Obito's words left the group shaken.
Fortunately, before he spoke, Fugaku's Sharingan tomoe had already begun to spin. Two medical-nin under his genjutsu heard none of it.
Bang!
With a single palm strike, Fugaku knocked the eyeless Obito unconscious.
"All further questions will be handled by Lord Fourth. Our task is to escort him back to the Police Force headquarters—and ensure he remains alive."
Shisui and Kakashi nodded in unison. Both geniuses, both veterans of the Third Shinobi War, they understood the weight of what had just transpired.
The name "Uzumaki" carried with it more than memories of the late Mito Uzumaki, wife of the First Hokage. It also touched on the present: Kushina Uzumaki, the wife of the current Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
In the shadows of the forest, a figure appeared atop a massive tree.
"Tch!"
The clone hissed, cradling his wrist—the one that had gripped the kunai was swollen and throbbing.
A clone's strength mirrored that of its original body. Pitting the power of a five-year-old against Shisui's taijutsu? Surviving without being sliced in half was already sheer luck.
If not for the Flying Thunder God's sheer unpredictability and its near-zero response time, the second attempt to snatch the vial would have been his end.
Still, the harvest wasn't bad. With his current strength, breaking into Orochimaru's laboratory or Danzō's Root was utterly impossible. The Flying Thunder God was powerful, yes—but it needed overwhelming attack power to pair with it. Minato's raw strength and his Rasengan? Nowhere within his reach.
But a Hashirama-cultivated arm? Nothing could be more suitable.
Poof!
A puff of smoke rose as the stolen arm was sealed into a tiny scroll.
Next came missions, more battles. Real combat experience was essential—that was still his greatest weakness.
After all, even in the original story, the final great enemy wasn't Kaguya, but Madara himself. Without plot armor, Naruto and Sasuke might well have been crushed. The shinobi of the Warring States Era—each one had survived countless battles. Unlike Lady Kaguya, who could be stunned for two seconds by a Reverse Harem Jutsu…
If not for Black Zetsu's endless meddling, she would've been sealed away again in mere moments.
Rubbing his forehead, the clone muttered to himself. Combat experience… and the duty of earning money to keep a household afloat.
"This is too damn hard…"
October 10th.
The night that should have been defined by the Nine-Tails' rampage passed in peace. The lively night market slowly dimmed, and with it, the future quietly shifted course.
Creaaak…
The door slid open.
"Brother, why aren't you asleep yet?" Izumi asked, rubbing her sleepy eyes.
Shion looked up at the calm night sky. "It's nearly dawn. I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come out and look at the stars. What about you, Izumi? Did you wet the bed again?"
Izumi's face flared red instantly. Puffing her cheeks, she huffed, "I stopped bedwetting years ago! Brother, bringing that up now is just cruel!"
Shion tilted his head, pretending to think. "Mm… but before you turned three, when we used to share a bed, it felt like I was swimming in a pool at night."
"And last year—remember that morning you whispered something to Mother? Later that day, she washed every sheet in the house. Pretty sure you wet the bed again and begged her to wash everyone's so no one would notice, right?"
He clicked his tongue. "Smart move. A real little schemer, huh? That way, nobody would know it was you."
Izumi's tiny face turned scarlet. Flustered and furious, she leapt at him, jaws open as if to bite.
Swish!
Too slow. Shion vanished in an instant, reappearing behind her just as she nearly fell. He caught her arm, steadying her.
"W-wow! You're so fast! Brother, you're amazing!" Izumi exclaimed in awe.
Uchiha Shion ruffled her hair gently. "This is our secret, okay? Don't tell anyone."
Izumi nodded solemnly, tugging on his sleeve. "Brother… you feel different today. You're smiling a lot more."
Shion gazed toward the horizon, where the first light of dawn touched the sky. A smile spread across his face.
The fate of their family of three had shifted. With the Fourth Hokage alive, the chance of the Uchiha clan's annihilation had dropped to its lowest. And as of yesterday, he had finally begun to build the strength to protect his family.
From here on, he would only grow stronger.
"Today, I'll train shuriken practice with you."
"Mm!" Izumi beamed.