The food was unbelievably delicious.
"Ohhh… I'm stuffed! Thanks for the meal, Iruka-sensei!"
Naruto rubbed his round belly, grinning ear to ear. His satisfaction was written all over his face.
"Honestly, Naruto, you eat way too much! Next time I'm not telling you to eat as much as you want just because I'm paying. No wonder people say you shouldn't flaunt your money… If you eat like this, I can only bring you here once a month!"
Iruka sighed as he stared at his now pitifully empty wallet, close to tears.
Twenty-two bowls. Twenty-two! And Ayame even gave him extra toppings on each one! This brat's going to eat me into the grave!
After chatting a bit more with Iruka, Naruto finally headed home. Back in his apartment, he went through the motions of washing his face and brushing his teeth. But secretly, he weaved hand seals and used the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu he had just learned. He didn't make many—only two.
The cramped bathroom could barely fit three bodies—his real self and the two clones. He didn't dare summon more. For one, the space was too small. For another, he wasn't sure if ANBU might be watching him.
His real body yawned and flopped onto the bed. Meanwhile, the two clones remained in the bathroom. Barely a second passed before—poof!—one of them vanished.
"Who's there?!"
A sharp voice cut through the air, coming from a masked shinobi.
Naruto, startled, turned to see a man in a swirling one-eyed mask hurling a kunai straight at him. Terrified, he rolled along the ground to dodge. But the masked man didn't stop—he flicked his wrist and sent several more shining kunai flying at Naruto!
"Wait! Obito, I'm one of Madara-sama's hidden operatives! He sent me to find you!"
Naruto's mind raced. He dropped the name of the one person this masked man would never ignore—Uchiha Madara.
"What Madara?! I am Uchiha Madara! And who's this Obito you're talking about? I don't know you, and I don't know any hidden agents like you!" the masked man barked back, though Naruto could see the slight tremor of unease behind his words.
"Don't play dumb, Obito. Madara-sama told me himself—you're his representative until he returns. He gave me a specific time and a specific jutsu to come here."
Naruto brushed the dirt from his clothes and straightened up, trying to look unfazed. No way was the future Hokage going to let anyone know he had just rolled around on the ground like that!
"…What proof do you have?" Obito lowered his kunai slightly, but his vigilance remained sharp.
"Your name is Uchiha Obito. Half your body is made of White Zetsu. Your other Sharingan is with Kakashi. And the person you loved most was Nohara Rin… killed by Kakashi—"
"Enough!"
Obito's roar cut through the night, raw with anger.
"What did Madara send you for? Didn't he say we were to follow the plan step by step?" His tone had dropped, darker now, Rin's name clearly reopening an old wound.
Naruto seized the opening. "Madara-sama asked me to collect two of his treasured weapons—the Treasured Fan—and also check on the state of his body."
When you go undercover, you make up an identity. Naruto didn't hesitate.
"…Who exactly are you?" Obito demanded. Madara hadn't mentioned any additional operatives, and yet this stranger knew details only Madara would have shared.
"I'm Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru's spy inside Konoha," Naruto lied without flinching. "But what Orochimaru doesn't know… is that I actually serve Madara-sama."
Obito studied him for a moment, then waved his hand dismissively. "Fine. The items are over there. Madara's body is being preserved by special medicines. Make sure you see for yourself that it hasn't decayed." He pointed to a dim passage off to the side.
Naruto's heart thumped. Somehow, his bluff was working.
"…Wait." Obito suddenly stepped in front of him, eye narrowing. "The way you appeared just now—was that the Flying Thunder God Jutsu?"
Naruto stiffened, cold sweat prickling his neck.
"Lord Obito, you're mistaken. The Flying Thunder God is the unique technique of the Second and Fourth Hokage. How could I possibly wield something like that? What I used is a different space-time ninjutsu—my clan's Kekkei Genkai. It allows me to travel through specific spatial points. It looks like Flying Thunder God, but it's far more limited: in range, in conditions, in everything."
He forced himself to sound confident, even as panic bubbled inside. There were thousands of jutsu in the world; Obito couldn't possibly know them all, especially unique Kekkei Genkai.
Sure enough, Obito's suspicion eased. He gave a small nod.
"That's right. The Flying Thunder God Technique isn't something just anyone can master… but your Kekkei Genkai is impressive as well. A space–time bloodline limit is an extremely rare ability. The world truly is full of surprises."
"Fine, go do what you need to do. Just don't appear so suddenly again—next time, I might not hold back." Obito waved dismissively, stepping aside to let Naruto pass.
"Thank you, Lord Obito! Please make sure to accelerate the progress of the Eye of the Moon Plan. Madara-sama once said we don't have much time left."
To sell the act, Naruto threw himself into the role completely. Only by pushing like this would he appear like a true subordinate of Madara—after all, Madara's plan was driven by his obsession to hurry the world toward his vision.
"…Got it. I'll move the plan forward as quickly as possible." With that, Obito turned and melted back into the shadows, no longer paying Naruto any mind.
"Phew… that was way too close."
Naruto pressed a hand to his chest, relief washing over him. He had only been focused on using the Flying Thunder God Technique to reach Obito and retrieve some of Madara's remains—he'd almost forgotten to prepare an excuse. Lucky for him, he'd kept his cool. And even luckier—Madara had already been dead for years.
"Alright then… time to track down Madara's relics!"
From the moment he decided to use Flying Thunder God to find Obito, Naruto had already chosen who his first summon would be: Uchiha Madara.
The man who once overwhelmed the combined might of the Five Kage.
"With Madara by my side, who's going to dare raise their voice at me, huh? Not convinced? Step right up!"
Naruto smirked to himself.
"I'll let Madara do the talking!"