Rage!!
This scroll was different from the usual brief, single-sentence intelligence reports.
First, it contained three sentences, each serving as a title for a separate piece of intelligence.
Second, the content wasn't directly displayed; instead, each title was flanked by a small, cursed-seal-like pattern.
Finally, all three pieces of intelligence shared an extremely close connection to the Uchiha clan.
Any one of them would make Madara Uchiha, the clan head, his eyes bulging and his spine tingling!
"The Secret of the Uchiha Stone Monument."
--Sealed--
...
"The True Method to Prevent the Blindness of the Mangekyō Sharingan."
--Sealed--
...
"How to Revive Izuna Uchiha."
--Sealed--
...
Madara Uchiha lunged at the scroll, his eyes fixed on the three rows of tiny text and the seals beside them with his Mangekyō Sharingan!
"Uncle Madara, what's with the patterns?"
Naruto nearly got smacked in the face by Madara's wild, frizzy hair. He struggled to push it aside, squeezing behind Madara and slipping under his arm to continue peering at the scroll.
Standing so close made Madara feel goosebumps rising on his skin.
He immediately made room for Naruto.
"Don't stand behind me! My back is sensitive! If you want to look, go to the other side!"
Sasuke circled around to the opposite side, muttering, "You're so picky."
"Tsk! You little brat, are you looking for a beating?!" Madara glared at Sasuke but quickly refocused his attention on the tiny scroll.
Itachi's eyesight had deteriorated to the point where he couldn't make out the tiny characters.
The pea-sized characters blurred into an indistinct smudge in his eyes—he'd likely be unable to read them unless they were plastered directly onto the table.
However, he could vaguely make out the larger patterns as the markings of some Fūinjutsu.
"Fūinjutsu?"
Realizing his eyesight was failing, Madara feigned indifference. "Hmm, three pieces of intelligence, each sealed with Fūinjutsu. All concerning the Uchiha Clan."
Naruto protested loudly, "Fūinjutsu?! I don't know how to do that!!"
"Let's go find Minato-sensei. He's really good at Fūinjutsu." At this stage, the young Kakashi was practically Minato Namikaze's number one fanboy.
Madara then asked Naruto, "Hey kid, what was the mission reward for this kind of mission before?"
"All the B-rank missions Obito and I have done so far paid with these intel scrolls," Naruto explained. "But before, each scroll only had one piece of info. This time there are three?"
Rin Nohara then raised a question: "I wonder if this time we have to pick one out of three, or if we can get all three?"
Pick one?!
In ninja missions, there were often moments requiring choices.
Like whether to continue the mission or abandon it for a comrade.
Or choosing between monetary reward, provisions, or weapons.
Yet even a seasoned ninja like Madara Uchiha had likely never faced such a choice...
His intuition screamed that the stone tablet held immense secrets—that the cure for the Mangekyō Sharingan would elevate the Uchiha clan to new heights!
But...
His gaze was utterly transfixed by the third piece of intelligence!
Naruto prepared to roll up the mission scroll and head to the Second Hokage's place to find his father.
Madara Uchiha stopped him. "You two stay here. I'll send someone to fetch Hashirama and Tobirama."
With that, he summoned a young Uchiha Clan member and ordered him to bring Hashirama and Tobirama over.
Before long, Hashirama Senju—who'd been looking for an excuse to skip duty—rushed over with his younger brother, along with Minato Namikaze and the adult Kakashi, who were helping out at his brother's place.
Unlike Hashirama, Tobirama's face was etched with displeasure!
"You better have a solid reason, Madara." Tobirama was discussing with Minato Namikaze the academic issue of how to effectively mark parallel worlds using the Flying Thunder God Technique.
Madara didn't even acknowledge him, instead calling out, "Hashirama, come take a look at this."
When Naruto's mission scroll was unfolded, its contents truly shocked both Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju.
"It even includes a method to resurrect the dead?!" Adult Kakashi instantly thought of Obito and Rin from his own world, along with Minato-sensei's family.
Minato: "Madara-sama, this Izuna Uchiha is...?"
"..." Madara Uchiha's face darkened, and he remained silent.
Hashirama paused before speaking. "He's Madara's younger brother. Madara's eyes... belong to Izuna."
Sasuke froze, then shot a sharp glance at Itachi.
"Hmph," Madara snorted coldly. "If Izuna hadn't been fatally wounded!"
Hashirama: "Madara, that was the battlefield. Tobirama was merely..."
Tobirama remained silent, his vermilion eyes—like Sharingan—fixed intently on Madara.
One could sense the deep-seated tensions hidden among these three founding members of Konoha. Naruto relayed Rin's earlier question to his father: "If we had to choose one out of three, which piece of intel would we pick? I don't care about anything unrelated to the masked man."
He nudged Sasuke. "Why don't you choose?"
In truth, Sasuke had already made his decision the moment Rin Nohara suggested the three-way choice...
--The true method to prevent the blindness of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
Hashirama shot Madara a complex look. Both he and Tobirama knew that if Madara were allowed to...even with the weight of clan leader responsibilities, Madara couldn't ignore the third option.
Rin quickly waved her hands emphatically. "Choosing one out of three was just my guess. After all, Naruto went above and beyond this time. Maybe we can get all three pieces of intel?"
Hashirama pondered for a long moment before deciding. "We have to pick one to try first. How about we vote by raising our hands?"
The moment he finished speaking, Madara fixed him with a fierce glare through his crimson Sharingan.
Because among those present, the only person who would choose the third option...could only be him!
This moment felt like a Hokage election demanding public opinion. Madara saw it as the Senju brothers targeting him! A slow, insidious way to diminish the Uchiha Clan's influence within Konoha!
Madara was so enraged he rose to leave!
But Tobirama Senju spoke directly, "The secret of the Uchiha Clan Stone Monument—raise your hand."
Surveying the room, only one person raised their hand...
That person was Itachi Uchiha.
Naruto asked Sasuke, "What's the Uchiha Stone Monument?"
Sasuke, seeing Itachi hadn't chosen the same option as him, felt a surge of resentment. He growled at Naruto.
"How should I know?!!"
Naruto froze, then grew annoyed himself.
"Why are you yelling?!"
Tobirama Senju scanned the room. "One."
"The true method to prevent blindness from the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Raise your hand."
Sasuke raised his hand without hesitation, glaring at Itachi, but Itachi didn't even look at him...
Sakura saw Sasuke raise his hand and immediately followed suit, raising hers as well.
Naruto didn't hesitate much either, raising his hand based on the principle of standing by his friends.
To Sasuke's surprise, Obito Uchiha didn't raise his hand?!
Noticing Sasuke's gaze, Obito explained, "I've always taken good care of my eyes. Even if I activate the Mangekyō later, I'll just use it sparingly."
Rin beside him chuckled softly. She knew Obito intended to help Madara revive his brother.
"You're truly filial, Obito~"
Knowing Rin understood him, Obito turned his head away.
"This is caring for the elderly! Hmph! He'll regret hitting me so hard back then."
Madara Uchiha · 28 years old: "....."
Though expressionless, his thoughts did indeed wander to whether he'd been a bit too rough with this brat last night and this morning.
"Three."
Tobirama Senju declared with impartial authority, "Raise your hand if you support reviving Uchiha Izuna."
Madara Uchiha, having already committed, raised his hand without hesitation.
The second to raise his hand was Hashirama Senju.
If this had surprised and slightly moved Madara, then seeing Tobirama Senju raise his hand too left him utterly stunned.
But Tobirama Senju saw nothing amiss. He scanned the room, about to confirm if the others had all abstained.
Then, faster than Obito Uchiha—who had just declared support for reviving his brother—a hand shot up...
It was the young man, Kakashi Hatake?!
"Sorry, Sasuke."
The adult Kakashi apologized to his student. Sasuke snorted coldly but didn't respond. Choosing between the options was a personal decision, but he couldn't understand why Kakashi would choose to help revive Madara Uchiha—someone he barely knew—and Izuna Uchiha.
At that moment, the three students from Minato's team raised their hands. Maybe they understood adult Kakashi's thoughts better. The third option seemed to be a method for resurrecting Izuna Uchiha, but once the means of bringing the dead back to life were known, how could it be limited to just reviving Izuna?
Minato Namikaze didn't approve of defying the laws of nature, so he abstained. However, he wouldn't interfere with the decision of another Kakashi from a parallel world.
Whenever Minato observed the interactions among his three students, he couldn't help but notice the weariness and obscure sadness in adult Kakashi's eyes.
"Seven."
Tobirama Senju spoke decisively. "Brother, open the third seal."
Though Tobirama was the second-in-command, he gave orders to Hashirama with absolute authority. Hashirama, more than happy to be directed by his younger brother, clapped his hands energetically and immediately began the Unsealing Technique on the third seal.
The process took longer than expected, with Madara Uchiha glaring intently from nearby. Minato, highly skilled in Fūinjutsu, had already realized that breaking this seal would be no easy task.
After about ten minutes...
"Release!"
With Hashirama's soft command, the third seal on the scroll of information opened. With a 'boom,' a new scroll appeared above it. This new scroll was slightly larger than the previous one.
Madara immediately tore it open! Inside, there were only two sentences, but the information contained was staggering!
"Tobirama Senju's Edo Tensei can summon the soul of Uchiha Izuna from the Pure Land."
"Madara Uchiha's Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique can resurrect souls existing in the present world."
...
"What does it say?" Tobirama asked.
"The conditions are harsh? But then again, it's a resurrection technique. Harshness is to be expected; otherwise, the natural cycle of life and death would be disrupted."
"....."
Madara Uchiha stared at the two sentences on the scroll. The harshest condition....was that he would have to collaborate with that despicable Senju Tobirama?!
…
Additional Public Information: B+ Information rewards doubled.