[Chapter Size: 2400 Words.]
Third Person POV
Ellander.
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...
Before dawn, the group gathered, taking advantage of the fact that the sun had not yet appeared on the horizon and using the remainder of the night to leave the city without drawing attention.
Madara, Geralt, Zoltan, and Dandelion already had their horses ready, while they said goodbye to Yennefer, Ciri, and Nenneke, with Lola near the chief priestess as a confidant to help them leave. They were at the back of the temple, through one of the exits that almost no one used.
"Well, we're leaving then. I'll return as soon as I can," Geralt said to Yennefer, keeping his witcher's expressionless face, but hugging her.
"I'll be waiting for that," Yennefer said as if it were an obligation.
Madara was with Ciri at his side. The girl still seemed reluctant, but she would accept the condition with a look full of love for her husband, while letting her hand stroke the Uchiha's face with tenderness.
"My love, promise that you'll do everything to learn the abilities that allow you to come here in an instant, so you can spend more time with me, and before that, come see me every month as you promised. I want you to see our son grow and that, if he needs you, you'll be here," she said, when Madara leaned in for a kiss, which Ciri turned into something more passionate by forcing her tongue against Madara's, who accepted it, before someone coughed beside them.
They separated because of Nenneke, who was staring at them with disapproval. "Well, it seems you still have to learn some manners and leave this kind of thing for when you're alone inside a room," she said, but she didn't fail to smile.
Ciri just smiled as an apology; there were certainly many social norms at this time for men and women, it wasn't common for people to cling to each other like that in public unless it was a brothel.
"Well, I'm sure she'll teach good manners." Madara couldn't help but crack a joke, drawing a wider smile from Ciri.
"Of course I will." Nenneke said before looking at Ciri. "Listen, little girl. While you are in the temple, you will learn to be a lady, a woman of faith, and a good queen," Nenneke replied, while Ciri raised an eyebrow.
Madara turned to Ciri, kissed her forehead, and hugged her tightly, making her turn her attention back to him before answering Nenneke.
"I'll return in a few days or weeks, but I'll come back before the next moon arrives," Madara stated, and Ciri appreciated that, hugging him even tighter.
"It's the first time we're separating. I admit I'm a little afraid, but I'm not alone. The most precious thing in the world is here with me. He was born of our love..." Ciri said, touching her belly. She loved the child with all her strength, able to see what he would be like in the future.
Madara kissed her again, giving her a soft peck, pressing his lips to hers before pulling away.
"You know, if you need anything, use that scroll. Put your blood on it and it will be activated. I'll come immediately," he said. He had created a kind of seal that, even without sufficient chakra, would allow a distress call to be sent if she needed him. It didn't matter where he was: when activated with her blood, using the chaos power within it, Madara would be summoned and would go to her from anywhere. And, having a dragon as a mount, much faster than any griffin, he would certainly arrive in less than a day.
After that, Madara crouched down while the white dog, being the transformed unicorn, was at Ciri's feet.
"And you, Eira. Take care of her, okay?" Madara said, touching the white dog's head.
"Woof, woof," he replied with a bark.
Madara felt someone tapping his back before he stood up.
Geralt hugged Ciri with a paternal warmth. Madara also received a hug from Yennefer, more maternal.
"Please, stay safe. I know you're the only one who can face that kind of being, but even so, be careful," Yennefer said, with a serious tone.
Madara merely responded with a nod, taking a step back and speaking to Nenneke.
"We'll see each other again soon," Madara said, and Nenneke nodded.
"You are welcome to return whenever you need. The goddess will always leave a place for you in the temple."
With that, the farewells ended. As Madara and the others mounted their horses, they began to leave the temple. Ciri kept her eyes fixed on Madara's back as he crossed the gate and began to disappear.
"Just come back soon," she murmured softly.
It was frightening, in a way, to be there alone. She had spent most of her life by Madara's side, but this was necessary, for her own good and, more importantly, for the good of their child.
"You know you will never be forgotten, right?" Yennefer spoke beside her, suddenly.
"What?"
"You used the djinn to bind them by the soul that time in Skellige, right? I know about it, there's no need to hide it."
Ciri was stunned, but Yennefer merely gave a smile. It was obvious that Ciri had not asked to perform the spell unconsciously. Yennefer knew that, and knowing that Ciri had knowledge about the bond the sorceress had with Geralt through another djinn... It wasn't difficult for Yennefer to deduce that Ciri had done something similar — especially when Ciri seemed far more inclined toward Madara than she ever had been, not that she hadn't already been a girl deeply in love, but now it was as if she had become completely dependent on him since then. She knew what that meant. Besides, she also had her own bond with Geralt.
Ciri merely lowered her head, a little flushed, which made the sorceress smile.
"Well, just as you can't forget him, he also won't forget you, no matter how far away he is. Which I also find hard to happen anyway, since you are his closest friend, his wife, and you carry his child and his heir in your womb. But he will think about you more than he would like," the sorceress chuckled softly, imagining Madara somehow frustrated while trying to concentrate and starting to think about Ciri uncontrollably.
Ciri looked at her, surprised, and truly couldn't help but open a mischievous smile at the same thought. Knowing that Madara would be thinking about her was already enough for the platinum-haired girl.
"I'm sure of it. He'll do everything to come see me sooner then!" That was all she said.
Soon after, both of them began to turn and enter the temple. They were the first to do so. Ciri's training would begin now; it was just the two of them.
"And the same goes for you, you know! No getting distracted with thoughts about that boy while we are further refining your powers, understood?"
"I…" Ciri tried to comment, but Yennefer soon interrupted her as they entered the place.
"If you were already absent-minded all the time because of him, imagine now that you have a bond and he's hundreds of kilometers away from here... No getting melancholic with longing or distractions. Focus only on the training," Yennefer said, while she seemed determined as she disappeared inside the temple.
Madara, Geralt, Zoltan, and Dandelion moved through the city easily. When they needed to pass through the gate, Madara cast his Sharingan on the guards, and thus they left the city without anyone knowing or remembering them.
"Well, it seems our path ends here." It had been more than half an hour of riding before they stopped at the crossroads.
Each one would follow a different path.
Geralt would cross the mountains and head to Kaer Morhen.
Zoltan said he would stop in Novigrad again; after all, he had business there.
Dandelion would accompany the dwarf, but afterward would head somewhere else in the North, just to seek inspiration for new songs, saying he would go to Kovir farther north.
Madara would go west first, heading toward the coast of the continent, to Aretuza.
"We part ways here... Geralt, be careful. Any witcher you encounter could be an enemy. That group must already know about our connection by now," Madara said in a serious tone. He himself placed a clone inside Geralt's shadow without him knowing, just as a precaution.
The Shadow Concealment Jutsu was something Madara had recently developed with infiltration and espionage in mind for his clones. Basically, he could hide within a shadow in an undetectable way; after all, neither the witcher noticed it nor Yennefer when he was leaving the temple. It was a jutsu that Jiraiya used when he met Konan, before Pain. Madara had merely developed it through that memory.
"I'll stay alert...", Geralt replied, nodding.
Geralt already knew very well what he was talking about. After the brief conversation at the temple, it became clear that the founders of the witcher schools were on the continent after them. They were not simple witchers; now they possessed chakra. Jutsus were far more powerful than common signs, not to mention the bodily enhancement caused by chakra circulating through the body.
After that, Madara stored the horse away in an explosion of smoke, sending it to some separate place where it would remain safe until summoned again.
"Goodbye to all of you. Stay safe," Madara said in a neutral tone, but showing the sincerity behind his words. The three nodded.
"Good luck, boy. I must admit I never imagined I would see someone confidently say they were going to hunt something as dark as a demon. That was supposed to be just stories... Now you're after one... And after what I saw you do, I think there's no one more suited for it," Zoltan said, laughing.
"Well, I'd like to hear your story later about how you dealt with the creature... I want to make a song for my new Madara Uchiha repertoire. That's the one I've been working on for the last few weeks, it's going to be a hit! And how fun it will be to shock people with songs about a man hunting such a creature in taverns and squares!" Dandelion said excitedly.
"You'll scare them more than entertain them," Zoltan muttered, rolling his eyes at Dandelion's foolish idea.
Dandelion just laughed.
"Good luck, Madara. And if you're close to where I am, please come to me so we can drink. Maybe I'll be inspired by your stories and you'll hear a beautiful song!" Dandelion said with a friendly smile.
"Farewell." That was all Geralt said in the end.
Madara merely nodded his head.
"Well, that's it then. Geralt... I know you're heading north, but when you're in the South, be careful with Nilfgaard. They're moving troops around Cintra again, preparing to attack once more. We still have a few years," Madara said.
His clones had already begun sending information while they were infiltrated within the cores of kingdoms and organizations. At that moment, Madara possessed the largest information network the continent had ever seen, without any of those people knowing that someone was hiding in the shadows of their castles, stealing secrets and information, whether from conversations, reading minds, or reading documents in vaults and offices.
But Madara found many interesting things. Some kings were desperately trying to form alliances with him, while others were trying to eliminate him discreetly, because, in their eyes, no one should have as much power as he had shown in the war.
Obviously, there would be retaliation, and Madara would deal with these people appropriately if they attempted any indirect move, since none of them would put their own name on a direct attack. For that reason, they would seek ways to kill him through third parties.
Even the famous bounty hunter, Bonhart, had been hired to hunt him. Madara found it amusing to encounter him; in the original story, he had been hired by Vilgefortz, but now a king had sought his services through third parties, using the names of other rival kings in order to incriminate them if the plan failed.
What they didn't know was that Madara truly knew what was going on, and he wouldn't bite the bait of retaliating against a false scarecrow when the time came. After all, he was quite calm about all of this; his life could be secured against any enemy. As long as Ciri and their child were safe, he could wage war against the entire world.
In any case, Madara was also interested in how the bounty hunter Bonhart would act. Even being a fearless man who hunted for pleasure and killed many witchers, he should be aware of Madara's power and know that direct attacks would be a mistake. If he truly sought to kill him, he would have to think of another way to deal with Madara.
Madara would have some fun with that.
With that, Madara turned, bent his knees against the ground, and took off running. Before reaching the forest, he leaped into the trees and advanced, running through the entirety of that early morning toward the coast of Temeria.
The others each went their own way, and Madara, after a few hours, had finally completed a journey that would normally take two or three weeks. Now, traveling alone, he arrived in just a few hours. Without needing to protect anyone or keep pace with them, it was much faster.
He didn't even bother using one of his two flying mounts; he wanted to stretch his legs a bit. After some time, heading even farther north, he found what he was looking for. Aretuza was being lashed by a storm, which was perfect for Madara to infiltrate the school of magic. The rain and lightning cut across the sky, and the sea was rough, with waves crashing against the rocks below the enormous school of magic for girls.
Madara moved forward, passing the guards and advancing along the bridge upside down beneath it so as not to be seen; it was the only way to connect the school to the city, with the city along the coast.
Getting inside was not difficult. There was a barrier detectable with his Sharingan against intruders; he passed through it by activating his Mangekyō Sharingan and using the space ability, which teleported him inside.
He moved through the structure while the girls tried to shelter from the rain, running to their classes below.
Madara entered through one of the windows without anyone noticing.
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