In a damp underground cave...
"Achoo, Achoo."
A spiral white-faced bald creature reached out to rub its nose, but suddenly paused...
"Eh? I don't even have a nose?"
It scratched the back of its head...
"Why was I sneezing?"
So strange~
"Seems it's been too long since I ate baked pancakes, roasted chicken, tofu pudding, stinky tofu..." Tobi clapped his hands, speaking to himself with a look of sudden realization. "It must be malnutrition causing this strange sneezing."
"Should I go out today..."
He was silent for a while...
"Forget it, forget it."
Tobi crawled onto the large stone where Boss Madara used to lie...
"I promised Madara-sama I would hide properly and not return to the Land of Whirlpools. How can I not listen to Madara-sama's words?"
Moreover...
For some reason, the White Zetsu outside seemed to be really looking for him. They had come to the cave several times. Luckily, he had hidden away early and wasn't discovered.
If he went out now and was found by Zetsu, what if he was taken to be used for planting the tree?
Tobi hunched his body together...
The outside world was just too terrifying. How could he sneak out just because he was greedy?
Then, he suddenly sat up straight, as if remembering something, and patted his head...
"I haven't drawn today's poop yet!"
Tobi said with a look of realization, "How could I be so lazy?"
Although there was no one else left to appreciate his peerless artistic skills anymore...
He would still persevere!!!
"Hmph!" Tobi muttered disdainfully, "Those who said my drawings are disgusting will surely be shocked when they see my progress next time."
After so many years of dedicated practice in painting...
"I have become a great artist."
Tobi stood up, looked at the pile of paintings beside him, was silent for a moment, then fetched drawing paper and a brush from the top...
"But..."
When would someone get to see them?
...
"Hmm hmm!"
"Really looks like him!" Boss Madara looked at the little baby making 'hmm hmm' sounds in his arms, the corner of his mouth unconsciously quirking up slightly as he murmured, "Just like Itachi back in the day!"
Especially the way he hugged a roasted chicken while sleeping...
It was just too similar!
"He does indeed look very similar." Hashirama nodded and said, "He also looks a bit like you, Madara."
Apart from the hair not being similar...
To be able to see the hidden expressionless face beneath those little features at such a young age...
That's the authentic expression an Uchiha should have!
Unlike the Itachi and Obito we just saw...
Those two are the odd ones out among the Uchiha!
"Right, I've been meaning to ask since earlier." Hashirama touched his chin with a thoughtful expression and said, "Why do both children have red hair?"
He glanced at the children's mother, who had black hair, then looked back, shocked, at Madara who was still quietly staring at the child...
"Is their father from the Uzumaki clan?"
Indeed, that Itachi also had very large chakra reserves, a characteristic of either the Uzumaki or Senju clans...
However...
"Old man!" Kushina looked at Senju Hashirama unhappily and said, "What's wrong with being from the Uzumaki clan?" She pulled Itachi over and rubbed his little head, squinting her eyes, the corners of her mouth slightly upturned. "Red hair is so cute!"
"Eh, sorry, that's not what I meant!" Hearing Kushina's words, Hashirama scratched his head and said apologetically, "It's just that in the past, the Uchiha clan and the Hyūga clan didn't marry outside their clans."
He looked at Madara, who was holding the child, a smile appearing on his face from time to time, and felt filled with emotion...
What a picture of domestic bliss!
He had never seen Madara smile like this back in the day. He turned his head to look at the pregnant, red-haired Kushina who was happily rubbing Itachi's head...
"If you are the daughter of the Uzumaki clan head, you should call me grandfather."
"..."
Kushina was stunned, raised her head to look at Senju Hashirama in front of her...
Then, with a face full of black lines, said, "That's so disgusting!"
"Hey, hey, little girl, you're really quite unfilial!" Hashirama immediately said displeased, "I am technically your grandfather, you know!"
This girl really is just like Mito was back then!
What she doesn't like, she just doesn't like...
A trace of nostalgia appeared on Hashirama's face as he looked at Madara and murmured, "This is really nice."
However...
Kushina pouted and said, "Right now, the Land of Whirlpools hates Konoha the most."
Even more than the other four great ninja villages...
"Always demanding things from the Land of Whirlpools, give this, give that..."
She clenched her fist...
"Otherwise, they lead a bunch of ninja villages to declare war on the Land of Whirlpools!"
"This..." Hearing Kushina's words, Hashirama fell silent for a moment, sighed, and said, "I didn't know Konoha would become like this!"
Back when he founded the ninja village, it was to prevent children from going to the battlefield and making unnecessary sacrifices, to bring a bit of peace to this chaotic world. In the end, he never expected...
That the current Konoha, for the sake of profit, would send children to the battlefield before they even graduated, and even harm clans within the village without reason...
And also...
From what the Fourth Hokage meant, even though little Sarutobi had already stepped down, he and his group of old companions were still behind the scenes controlling Konoha's government, never really handing over power to him...
He murmured helplessly, "It seems the situation in Konoha is more serious than I thought."
As soon as he finished speaking...
"Creak~"
The door opened...
"Hurry up, time for the check-up." A woman with wavy blonde hair said in an impatient tone as she opened the door. "Even though I'm here to help, why does everyone look at me with anger when they hear I'm a Konoha ninja?"
She walked in, and when she saw so many people inside...
"The pregnant woman needs rest. So many family members staying here..."
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw the man with long black hair wearing red armor and froze...
"Grandfather?!"
...
"What are you doing bringing two Kiri-nin here?" The Uzumaki Clan Head looked at the two Kiri-nin Obito had dumped in front of him, was momentarily stunned, and seemed to remember something. "Are these the two people someone reported were fighting?"
But...
"How did they get in?"
"They soaked in the sea for three days and dug a small tunnel." Obito spread his hands and said helplessly. "Then they sneaked in."
He looked at the Kiri-nin in front of him who seemed ready to die and sighed...
"I've already talked to the people over there and told them to watch out for ninja underwater."
"So that's how it is?" The Uzumaki Clan Head nodded and said, "Is the matter serious?" He looked into Obito's eyes. "And what happened to your eye?"
That eyeball looks familiar!
He felt like he had seen it somewhere before...
"Well, it's a bit complicated to explain." Obito scratched his head, thought for a moment, and said, "So, like this, and then like that..."
A long time later...
"You actually tried to kidnap Itachi?!" The Uzumaki Clan Head immediately narrowed his eyes, looked dangerously at the Kiri-nin in front of him, and roared, "Kirigakure is going too far!" He grabbed a teacup from nearby and threw it over, standing up. "Someone, drag them away and chop them up to feed the fish."
They think just because Jun isn't here, the Land of Whirlpools has no one left, that's why they dare to be so presumptuous!
My temper just can't take this...
The surrounding Uzumaki clan members and Uchiha clan members gathered around...
His grandfather, great-grandfather, second grandfather, third grandfather, uncles, maternal uncles...
They were all still here!
"Eh—!" Obito, who originally intended to say something, fell silent when he saw the group of angry higher-ups in front of him. He lowered his head to look at the white three-tomoe mask in his hand and said quietly, "Actually, I just thought of a good idea..."
But...
No one was paying any attention to him now...