"Wow, so this is Itachi's little brother, Sasuke? He's already this big…"
Inside the Uchiha family's living room, Kushina Uzumaki sat beside Mikoto Uchiha and looked at the little fellow in her friend's arms, who was already more than a year old. Full of surprise, she reached out with her bandaged finger toward him.
As tiny Sasuke babbled and waved his hands, Kushina turned her head, looked at Mikoto Uchiha's happy face, and said with envy, "He really is such a cute and obedient child… It would be nice if my child could be this well-behaved in the future too."
"If you can spare more time to accompany him after he is born, then he will definitely be this well-behaved and sensible too."
Mikoto Uchiha looked at Kushina's abdomen, which had only bulged slightly, then looked at the bandages on her arms that had seemingly become daily ornaments. She sighed and said, "Kushina, you are just too prone to extremes… In the past, you were not very serious about training and felt that as long as your strength was enough, it was fine. As a result, after losing one battle in the war, you threw all your time and energy into training without caring for sleep or food. You even exhausted yourself so badly that you did not notice you were pregnant… A child cannot withstand you messing around like that."
"Ahahaha… M-mainly, it was because Minato and I were both busy. My daily eating habits were not regular either. When I felt unwell, I thought I was just too tired. And my stomach too. I was wondering why my stomach was still getting fat even though I exercised so much every day…"
Kushina awkwardly scratched her red hair.
Her face was filled with complex emotions such as guilt, lingering fear, and relief.
Seeing this, Mikoto Uchiha sighed speechlessly. She carefully handed Sasuke in her arms to Kushina, then took out a scroll filled with dense writing from beneath the table in front of her and forcefully placed it in Kushina Uzumaki's hand.
"This is?"
"A pregnancy guide I wrote for you based on my own experience. I have done my best to write down everything you need to pay attention to and everything you need to avoid."
As she spoke, Mikoto Uchiha reached out and poked the forehead of the pleasantly surprised Kushina Uzumaki, then said in annoyance, "A careless person like you will definitely run into trouble every few days if I do not teach you all of this at once…"
"Wuwuwu, Mikoto, you're so good to me…"
Kushina accepted the pregnancy manual Mikoto Uchiha had specially written for her in advance with tears in her eyes. Then she held Sasuke in her arms and covered him in fierce kisses.
Only after little Sasuke was left at a loss and could only stretch out his hands toward his mother for help with tearful eyes did Kushina stop her overly intense affection toward the little fellow and curiously ask, "But I still did not see Itachi today… Is that child really working that hard?"
"After all, he is a child like Shisui, someone who displayed astonishing talent at a young age…"
When that child who had been taken by Kirigakure was mentioned, Mikoto Uchiha's expression could not help growing a little downcast.
She raised her hand and stroked Sasuke Uchiha's soft hair, then said softly, "After Shisui was taken, Fugaku placed a lot of hope and responsibility on Itachi. He hopes that Itachi, who revealed his talent very early, can grow faster… Although I know Itachi is the hope in Fugaku's eyes, and even in the eyes of the entire Uchiha clan, I still cannot help hoping that this child can have a slightly more relaxed childhood…"
"I understand. Growing up from childhood under everyone's eager gazes and expectations really is heavy for a child…"
Kushina Uzumaki, who had been raised from a young age as the next Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, nodded with deep sympathy.
Then she asked, "Then, how is Itachi's relationship with Shisui? If their relationship is very good, then Itachi, who is working hard with the goal of rescuing Shisui, might not be as tired as he looks on the surface…"
"Fugaku said the two children had a good relationship. They were the kind of friends who could talk to each other. But Itachi was still too young when Shisui was taken. How much he can truly remember about Shisui is still unknown. If I had to say it, to the current Itachi, Shisui is probably a goal constantly mentioned by the elders, someone he needs to rescue."
Mikoto Uchiha shook her head and sighed without much optimism.
"Fugaku has changed. You have changed too, Kushina. Even Itachi has changed… That Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure truly is a terrifying existence who has changed many people."
"Don't worry. Minato and I will protect everyone in the village."
Kushina reached out and held Mikoto Uchiha's slightly cold right hand. Looking into her friend's gentle eyes, she spoke with great firmness.
Mikoto Uchiha was deeply touched.
So she reached out with her free left hand and forcefully pinched Kushina Uzumaki's cheek.
"Enough. First take proper care of yourself and the child who is about to be born soon! I do not want to see you husband and wife both abandon your family for the sake of the village and end up making that innocent child unable to feel even a little childhood warmth from you!"
"Wah, pain, pain, pain! No matter what, it would not be that exaggerated! Mikoto, let go! It really hurts!!!"
Watching his mother "take revenge" for him, Sasuke, who was still learning to speak, giggled in Kushina's arms.
That innocent, adorable, carefree smile deeply touched the softness in the hearts of both mothers.
They stopped their playful fight and looked seriously at Sasuke Uchiha's smiling face. Only after a long while did their conversation resume.
"We have to create a village where all children can grow up smiling as carefree as Sasuke."
"Mm. That's right… We cannot let Sasuke and the others be like us, forced into cruel war while they are still at the age where they should be studying properly at the Ninja Academy."
…
At the same time, inside a dark, deep underground cave that no ninjutsu could discover.
Madara Uchiha, who had grown much older than he had been two years ago, leaned against the back of his chair. While constantly panting heavily, he looked with a somewhat gratified gaze at Obito Uchiha, who had just used a peripheral member of the newly born Root organization to demonstrate the medical ninjutsu he had successfully mastered.
"Very good… The various inherited secret techniques and knowledge of the Uchiha clan, Yin-Yang Release from the Sage of Six Paths, and the medical ninjutsu you specially trained in to retrieve your Mangekyo Sharingan without attracting attention… I no longer have anything left to teach you, Obito."
"In that case, has the time come for you to hand over the name Madara Uchiha to me, Madara?"
Obito Uchiha casually tossed aside the peripheral member who had just been given a new pair of eyes and was still completely under genjutsu control.
He narrowed his eyes and looked at Madara Uchiha, who had almost finished dropping all his loot.
"How impatient, brat…"
Madara Uchiha coughed a few times and laughed weakly.
"But my body has indeed reached its limit. Dragging this out any longer has no meaning… Zetsu, come here."
At his call, White Zetsu's main body emerged from beneath Madara Uchiha's feet. It quietly stopped at a place where Madara could touch it without much effort.
Then Madara Uchiha tremblingly raised his old, withered hand and pressed it onto White Zetsu's head.
Black chakra flowed out from Madara Uchiha's body and slowly stained half of White Zetsu's body black.
After doing all of this, Madara Uchiha leaned backward as if his body had been emptied. Cold sweat streamed down him as he panted and said, "This is a portion of my chakra, containing my will… Keep it by your side. It will guide you to complete the Eye of the Moon Plan, Obito."
Obito shrugged noncommittally.
He did not take the latter half of Madara Uchiha's words seriously at all and asked somewhat impatiently, "Anything else, Madara?"
"Heh, how impatient…"
Madara Uchiha sneered and exhaled.
A little unwillingly, he stretched his hand toward the towering Demonic Statue of the Outer Path and murmured, "However, no matter how you intend to act after this, Obito, you must find a way to retrieve Nagato's Rinnegan… That is the final trump card I left for you, and also the absolute core ensuring the successful implementation of the Eye of the Moon Plan… No matter what, do you hear me?"
"It is just the Rinne Rebirth Technique that can revive you, right? I know."
Obito Uchiha responded carelessly.
"You had better truly know."
Madara Uchiha took a deep breath and abruptly severed his connection with the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Then, with his final breath, he spoke to Obito Uchiha, whose expression had already become somewhat impatient.
"Very well. Go, Obito Uchiha… From today onward, you are the new Madara Uchiha."
Hearing these words, Obito Uchiha nodded without the slightest fluctuation.
Then he raised his head and looked at the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, which had lost Madara Uchiha's restraint and could now be used by him.
I am not Madara Uchiha.
He said silently in his heart.
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