Chapter 230: Dust Returns to Dust, Soil Returns to Soil

It seems trouble has arisen on your side as well.

Hmph, as if everything on your end were going smoothly.

Inside the Land of Hot Springs, on the outskirts of the Leaf Village camp, Yuzhi, Hikari, Ziraiye, and Madara Uchiha stood together.

Ziraiye now looked somewhat numb, especially when he stared at Madara Uchiha before him, his mind buzzing.

Wait, isn't this guy an enemy?

He's not the Madara from another world, so why does he now look like one of our own? What's going on?

"And why does this Madara Uchiha not even look human?"

Ziraiye couldn't help thinking to himself, but he had to admit that the current Madara only bears a superficial similarity to the term 'human' in terms of 'species type'.

That pallid, almost non‑human complexion, and the pair of horns that naturally encircle his head, look nothing like a human.

In fact, there's nothing that can be done; like Obito, Madara also absorbed the Ten‑Tails' power to reach the stage of transformation.

This caused his use of that power to be unable to expand and contract at will, or rather, it isn't truly his power; he must concentrate to control it.

Perhaps he can achieve it later, but for now he can't; at least unlike Yuzhi, whose control also has issues, he can still freely expand and contract his power.

"There's nothing we can do; someone rescued that guy, and they fled."

Hikari pursed her lips; although Yuzhi was berating Madara, the scope seemed to cover her as well, forcing her to say something.

"They are hidden so deeply that even my Eight Thousand Spears cannot lock onto them; such spatial technique is troublesome."

"Is that so? It seems we'll have to meet them again in the future."

Yuzhi heard this, thought for a moment, then finally nodded, though inside he cursed Obito for his absurdly lucky streak.

He has basically figured out the situation now; after all, Yishi's fate is truly tough.

In the original work, Yishi's immediate downfall was simple: there was no suitable successor to let him continue wielding the wedge, giving him no chance to persist.

Actually, in the original, Yuzhi recalls that Yishi also fled just before death, running into one of his failed creations.

That failed creation, its name seemed to be Kaode?

To be honest, Yuzhi's memory is vague; the main reason he recalls this part is that Yishi explained the essence of becoming a God of the Great Pipe Tree, and…

"That Kaode seems to have a white wedge on its body."

Yuzhi is quite interested in this white wedge.

Because it is a wedge that lacks Great Pipe Tree consciousness yet possesses a complete lifetime of Great Pipe Tree memories and their power!

Such an item is essentially a 'max‑level gift pack'; as long as the body can bear the power, the future will surely produce a top‑tier strongman.

However, Kaode may no longer exist; chronologically it's hard to match, and Yishi's future has already been altered.

"As expected, Obito was taken away by Yishi."

Yishi, stubbornly withstanding Yuzhi's attack without dying, entered his own Great Black Heaven, and coincidentally, Obito was also present in that area.

Obito, though weak, was meticulously cultivated by Madara and White Absolute Cells, even once becoming a Ten‑Tails jinchuriki; his body has likely already changed.

Even without reaching the Great Pipe Tree level, as a human his ceiling has been maxed out, in other words—

"If the wedge is used, Obito has a high chance of successfully evolving into a Great Pipe Tree, becoming a new body for Yishi, but—"

Yuzhi rubbed his face, because he thought of one thing: it's hard to say Obito will be the one to usher in the 'Tattoo Era'!

"Of course, the most likely outcome is Obito being devoured; Yishi is no gentleman."

Thinking this, Yuzhi couldn't help lightly shaking his head, yet he was puzzled by something.

How did Obito become a 'runaway'?

The others are easy to say; basically none can escape.

For example, back then Uchiha Fugaku and Uzhibo ChaNa and their people were completely crushed by him, with no chance of escape.

And the subsequent series of enemies were essentially dead beyond death!

Even Great Tree and the Fourth Raikage, if not for Yuzhi's 'evil amusement' wanting them to witness their village's destruction, would have long since perished.

In short, Yuzhi has no tendency to hold back; even if he did, he would turn those who can 'wield weapons well' into those who 'sing and dance well'!

Yet Obito, that bastard, somehow survived the early stage thanks to Kamui, Izanagi, and White Absolute Cells.

Now, relying on sheer guts, seeing that he barely gets hit, and with an intense streak of terrible luck, he scrapes by.

Even after being taken down by Madara Uchiha and Black Absolute Cells together, he hadn't fully expired, and finally was 'picked up' by Yishi.

"Perhaps this is the power of the Naruto script, just taken the opposite route."

Yuzhi doesn't bother pondering Obito's fate; after this battle, even if the Great Pipe Tree Yishi uses Obito's body to 'live out a third life' and achieve the 'Great Emperor's Return', he wouldn't be afraid.

Yishi is strong, but Yuzhi has never halted his stride, and moreover, his complete return isn't a bad thing for Yuzhi.

"A complete Great Pipe Tree, especially one that has already devoured countless lives, might truly not be a bad thing for me."

Feeling the abundant life essence from his own Soul Forge, Yuzhi nodded and stopped overthinking; he still had other matters to attend to.

"We don't need to worry about him; at least for now they can't stir any trouble, and we can properly do what we should do."

Thinking this, Yuzhi spoke directly.

"Cloud Village is basically finished, though not the way I imagined, but sometimes events develop beyond our control."

Prepare to directly take over the Land of Lightning and breach Cloud Village; Ziraiye senior, this matter is troublesome.

"Oh, okay."

Ziraiye is still dazed, gloomily rubbing his head.

"Honestly, I didn't expect things to develop like this; didn't you say everyone should train?"

But dealing with the Land of Lightning is fine; that way the Land of Iron can be brought into our time‑control domain, and the flank becomes stable.

The Land of Lightning, Rock Village, and Sand Village are essentially separated by a sea, with the Land of Iron in between as a barrier.

In such an environment, it indeed grants them considerable stability, while also allowing them to trouble other shinobi villages via sea routes, land routes, and so on.

Now that this village is gone, it's not bad for the Leaf Village, but the promised training seems to have lost one participant?

Fortunately, Ziraiye's mood was still decent; he looked at Yuzhi and said.

"Put them on other battlefronts; that way we can properly handle the upcoming problems."

"But there's a problem: those guys from before shouldn't be simple commodities, right?"

"Hmm, they're previous‑generation Shadows."

Yuzhi thought for a moment, suddenly recalling the three he had casually eliminated, and he nodded and said.

Come to think of it, he had momentarily overlooked the guy Tuan Zang, who also seemed to be a 'narrow escape' under his hand.

But the difference is, he actually died.

"These current‑generation Shadows are quite interesting; I'll discuss this with the First and the others."

Yuzhi thought for a moment, then spoke.

"I think they will have their own handling plan, after all, strictly speaking, these modern Shadows still have some utility."

"Fine, then I'll take my leave."

Ziraiye, hearing this, simply nodded without further questions, then turned and prepared to leave.

Staying here any longer was meaningless, since the upcoming matters were truly not for him to get involved in.

Facing three 'non‑human' beings, while he, a living human, stood with them, he felt terribly uneasy.

He'd rather focus on his own tasks; the rest he didn't bother to think about.

"But, what's the deal with Madara Uchiha, that guy?"

Ziraiye stroked his chin, then tilted his head and laughed.

"Never mind, Madara Uchiha from another world is already considered an ally; having another such Madara Uchiha isn't surprising."

With that thought, Ziraiye quickened his pace; he still needed to inventory his side's situation and prepare to take over the entire Land of Lightning.

"So, what do we do next?"

Watching Ziraiye's departing steps, Madara Uchiha turned his head toward Yuzhi.

"Obito ruined our plan; although the outcome was good, should we still proceed according to the plan?"

"Let's stick to the original plan; after all, we still need some results."

Yuzhi thought for a moment and simply gave his answer.

"But speaking of it, I think you need to settle down; as you are now, you look utterly strange."

"Hmph, I don't need you to teach me how to act!"

Madara Uchiha heard Yuzhi's words and, though he internally approved, felt somewhat annoyed.

He can easily suppress the Ten‑Tails' will, but cannot fully control its power, preventing him from returning to a 'human' state.

Moreover, he's somewhat upset that his Ten‑Tails is a defective stock; those tailed beasts can keep strengthening, but it costs time!

Honestly, if he weren't unclear about how Yuzhi views those jinchuriki and tailed beasts, Madara would truly want to devour them all.

Swallow them in the literal, physical sense.

And another thing that displeased Madara was Black Zetsu!

He doesn't care whether Obito lives or dies, nor what he might become.

In his eyes, Obito is truly a waste; even though he made the guy stronger by some means, he never developed a strongman's mindset.

Such a waste, no matter how much he improves, remains insignificant to Madara; he's just a powerful yet useless guy.

What he despises most is Black Zetsu, that deceiver who fooled him for so long.

Even if Madara thinks this guy is merely a pawn of the Sage of Six Paths, however.

"Can I still blame the Sage of Six Paths? If I must blame anyone, it can only be you!"

Madara's fist hardened a bit; after a while he whispered.

"If, if we can locate that black guy, I want you to tell me; I wish to kill that damned creature with my own hands!"

"Hmm, I—"

Yuzhi heard this and was about to nod without pause, but at that moment he suddenly froze.

【Side Quest 'Defeat the Mysterious Enemy Ahead' Completed】

Looking at his system interface, especially the upcoming task reward column, Yuzhi was briefly startled, then chuckled and shook his head.

"Although I wanted to agree with you, unfortunately it's probably no longer needed."

"What does that mean?"

Madara didn't quite understand Yuzhi's words; he frowned and asked, but soon seemed to realize something.

"You mean—"

"Hmm, I think you've already taken revenge."

Yuzhi nodded; though somewhat surprised, his thoughts were probably correct.

Because the task reward column in his system interface already gave him an answer.

【Reward Obtained: Complete chakra of Kaguya (Black Zetsu)】

——

"What are you doing!"

Within the Great Black Heaven space, Obito, clutching his hair, roared in anger, feeling his head split.

Meanwhile, Ichishiki slumped at the Ten‑Tails' feet, indifferently watching Obito.

At this moment, Obito had been completely healed by him, using a method that was especially simple: the power of Black Zetsu.

"Kaguya's aura is so strong; I didn't expect to encounter such a 'former comrade', though I disdain it, it's not unusable."

Kaguya is an anger that Ichishiki will never forget in his lifetime; the woman who backstabbed him, the woman who took his fruit, is the one he vows to shred to pieces!

Having encountered the chakra that this woman gathered, imbued with self‑awareness, how could Ichishiki possibly let him go?

Moreover, Black Zetsu is the perfect tonic for Obito now!

You should thank me; your body is already healed, isn't it?

Yishi, his voice as thin as a silk thread, his hoarse voice slowly sounded.

Although its taste is not ideal, it is also a great tonic; sorry, I don't have enough power to condense it into a pill.

Besides, he is also Kaguya's chakra, and the power hidden in your blood is one with it; he will only strengthen you.

I'm not talking about that!

Obito continued to roar, his eyes wide open, staring fixedly at Yishi.

I've been saying it's not this all along!

Not bad memory, not bad obsession, not bad memories, huh?

However, Yishi didn't seem to have the intention to answer Obito's question; he leaned on the Ten Tails, seemingly examining something, and after a while he suddenly laughed.

Uchiha Haori? That's his name; I didn't expect you to hate him so much, thinking he stole everything from you.

Shut up.

Obito clutched his head and roared, but Yishi completely ignored him, instead continuing to appraise.

Speaking of which, I cannot understand why you would have such a thought.

In school, you were clearly the same, yet he ultimately changed his fate; this is due to both talent and effort.

He is very good at dealing with others, possessing a natural affinity; why do you think this stole your friendship?

Also, that girl seems to treat everyone the same; why do you think she is special to you?

I said, shut up!

Obito couldn't hold back; he wanted to stop Yishi, but he simply couldn't do anything at all.

Even though his body has recovered, more terrifying is that a power seems to be born in his brain!

And this power, like the previous Black Zetsu, is seizing his body, even

in devouring his soul!

He seems to feel his consciousness dissipating, feeling that everything about him is about to be destroyed.

This feeling is even crazier than before with the Ten Tails, but sadly he now seems powerless to cope as he did when facing the Ten Tails.

Truly narcissistic.

Yishi still ignored Obito, continuing to speak in his hoarse voice that sounded like it was about to break.

Why do you think she is special to you, and why do you think others should treat you differently?

Don't you even think about it yourself? You were rescued, wearing a mask, your form changed, even your hairstyle changed.

As soon as you acted, you almost killed that girl by mistake; why do you still think others need to recognize you, why are you so self-important?

Shut up. Shut up shut up!

Obito's world kept collapsing; he could already see a black shadow appearing in his soul.

Also, get out of my brain!

Tsk tsk tsk, really hard to imagine.

However, Yishi still turned a blind eye, indifferently observing everything and indifferently beginning to comment on everything.

During the time you were in trouble, someone already deceived you once, saying he would bring you to build a new world, a world solely belonging to you.

I didn't expect you to actually believe all this; even though you seem a bit smarter now, your inner obsession still drives you forward.

From beginning to end, you've been like this; from beginning to end, have you not changed at all?

What the hell do you want to do? What exactly do you want!?

Obito lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot, staring at Yishi; he felt his will growing weaker and weaker.

His inner desires began to disappear, his obsession at this moment seemed to slowly dissipate, the feeling as if his soul were collapsing permeated his heart.

He felt he was no longer himself, he felt he was about to disappear.

This is not what he wanted, nor what he desired; he felt he was about to be erased by this world!

Alright, don't struggle; your time is short, and so is mine.

Yishi sighed; Obito's memories were truly interesting to him, yet interestingly also truly tragic.

He never imagined that someone who could evolve to this extent would be such an idiot and fool; but having come this far, could he replace him?

Indeed, following the normal order, you obtained the 'wedge', then I slept inside your body, slowly completing the fusion process.

This way you still have an adaptation period, a period where you can control yourself, but unfortunately the situation.

After all, your current physical condition isn't weak, especially after devouring that guy, so I can only do this.

However, looking now, my choice has no problem; I didn't expect your obsession to be so deep, your will so firm.

Even the Ten Tails didn't tear your soul, didn't strip your will; on the contrary, it was controlled by your weak self.

I don't even know whether I should say 'amazing'.

Yishi indeed has some confusion; how to evaluate this guy, although he is an irredeemable fool, but his will is truly steadfast.

And he now also feels somewhat fortunate about his choice, after all, who knows what this guy will become if he continues to grow?

After all, this guy devoured the chakra belonging to Kaguya.

What exactly do you want, exactly exactly

Obito's speech at this point is already somewhat slurred; the mark of the wedge on his neck keeps emitting light.

His gaze also began to become somewhat dull, his struggle gradually weakening; the only thing unchanged is his obsession, which remains, and he keeps questioning.

No need to struggle; it's meaningless.

Yishi's voice also began to weaken; his time is also short, but he shows no despair in the face of death, instead he feels excitement.

In your memory, the guy called Madara Uchiha said he would let you create a new world; sadly, all this is just lies.

Creating the so-called new world is nothing but destroying this world, then giving you a kind of psychological comfort; only losers would use illusion as reality.

Of course, you are indeed a complete loser, but you should also thank me, after all I have never deceived you.

Speaking of this, Yishi slightly raised his head, and likewise Obito began to raise his head; their movements were consistent, and most interestingly.

In Obito's eyes, the continually dimming eyes suddenly slowly gained luster, and he lifted his head to look toward Yishi.

At that moment, Obito felt his mind had completely gone blank; all his dreams and obsessions seemed to be severed at that instant.

In his mind, in his soul, those dreams and obsessions faintly dissipated, ultimately forming a black silhouette!

He raised his head, his gaze intertwining with Yishi's; at the moment their gazes met, though they were clearly two different people, at this moment they seemed to gain an inexplicable resonance.

"You keep asking me what I should do; do you remember me telling you?"

Yishi spoke softly, and Obito unexpectedly also spoke at this moment, saying the same words, even their expressions became similar!

Obito's aura gradually faded at this moment, while Yishi's aura grew stronger; the two spoke in unison in an eerily strange way.

"We, will unite our wills!"

——

"Big brother, what did they say over there?"

The moonlight was hazy; inside Rock Village, Senju ZhuZhang and Senju Tobirama stood on a high building overlooking everything below.

At this moment, Rock Village was completely pitch black, lacking any prosperity it once had, and Rock Village seemed to be enforcing a curfew.

Probably because they were worried that Leaf Village ninjas would sneak in under the cover of night; after all, they were still at war, and no amount of caution would be excessive.

However, for Senju ZhuZhang and Senju Tobirama, this situation was as trivial as a fart; they could go anywhere, and probably no one could stop them.

To be honest, they originally planned to split up, as the original plan dictated, but now they have no choice but to alter the plan slightly.

Because Yuzhi over there found them through some special technique, and told them something that made Senju Tobirama very unhappy—

The Raikage has already been dealt with by them; there's no need to go to the Land of Lightning.

"I still wanted to personally deal with them..."

Tobirama couldn't help but complain in his heart; this was his genuine thought, but there was nothing he could do now.

Fortunately, the matter of slaying his treacherous disciple still had room for maneuver; he had wanted to do this for years but had no means, and now he finally has this opportunity!

"The Fifth's meaning is simple: let us eliminate Danzo."

ZhuZhang looked at Tobirama seriously, and he muttered softly.

"Danzo is your disciple, and this guy isn't hard to deal with, so I have an idea."

"Not hard..."

Tobirama couldn't help but glance at his older brother; it's not just not hard, it's as easy as squeezing something with no difficulty at all!

Of course, if we consider other issues, such as how to eliminate Danzo without affecting Rock Village, perhaps there would be some difficulty.

"What idea?"

Although his heart was full of complaints, Tobirama still asked honestly.

"We'll eliminate Danzo, but at the same time we'll take over his Impure World Reincarnation!"

ZhuZhang gazed downward, his voice calm and prolonged.

"While doing this, we must not let those resurrected by Impure World Reincarnation notice, but in fact we have already mastered Impure World Reincarnation."

"That way, we can use these Impure World Reincarnations to continue fighting the ninja of the shinobi world, continuing to give them training; what do you say?"

ZhuZhang's words left Tobirama slightly stunned; he suddenly wondered— is this still my older brother? How can he be more ruthless than me?

But after thinking it over, it seems my older brother has indeed changed quite a bit.

"Is it because you learned the truth about the Sage of Six Paths?"

Tobirama couldn't help but mutter to himself, the cruelty of the Sage of Six Paths has already sunk deep into people's hearts, but no one can criticize it.

For the sake of countless lives in the shinobi world, sacrificing some individual lives seems to Tobirama the correct choice, after all they face an unimaginable threat!

His older brother accepted this idea and delved deeper into it; this is entirely a good thing, after all only this can help everyone!

"No problem, big brother."

Thinking of this, Tobirama gave a confident smile, then spoke seriously.

"Although this matter is not easy to handle, don't forget that Impure World Reincarnation is my invention; I've been researching it these years and have made many improvements."

"You're doing this to deal with Orochimaru's subordinate, right?"

ZhuZhang directly saw through his younger brother's little thoughts; Orochimaru's subordinate has also been researching Impure World Reincarnation all along and has done quite well.

Although Orochimaru has now left Leaf Village, his essence still lingers with Leaf Village; still, having left, it's normal for my younger brother to have some ulterior motives.

"Alright, let's not talk about this; since you're confident, let's act."

Madara glanced at his little younger brother, then lightly shook his head.

"Try to stay quiet; although we'll eventually be discovered, still don't let them become overly fearful."

"You really are troublesome, big brother."

Tobirama gave a light snort as an answer, though his fist tightened slightly.

"Danzo, old man here to clean house!"

——

"Why do I always have this uneasy feeling?"

Inside the basement of Rock Village, Danzo suddenly felt inexplicably uneasy.

These days, his heart has hardly been calm.

Since losing control of the Raikage's Impure World Reincarnation, he has been somewhat nervous.

Especially after he learned that the Land of Lightning had basically fallen and Cloud Village was basically ruined, his inner panic reached an extreme.

And now, hidden beneath Rock Village's earth, that uneasy feeling constantly accompanies him, leaving him momentarily at a loss.

"Could it be that the Leaf Village already knows something?"

Tuan Zang couldn't help muttering in his heart, but unfortunately he had no answer; now he can only crouch in such a place, not daring to show his face, because he is really a bit panicked.

"Hope, everything will be fine."

Tuan Zang kept comforting himself, but at this very moment he suddenly felt something was off.

"Because in this basement today, it seems overly quiet!"

The Rock Village people said they were "protecting him," arranging many ANBU to watch him, which is actually a form of soft imprisonment!

Of course, Tuan Zang had no objection to this; he still understood the principle of "being under the eaves," and besides, Shi He and Wu were under his control, so he cared even less.

After all, only with more people protecting him could he relive the glory of the Root.

"Eh."

However, what he feared most still came; he suddenly heard a muffled thud.

In the next moment, he clearly saw a flash of light within the cramped space.

Almost at the same time, more than ten ninjas not far away groaned in unison, feeling a heavy blow to their bodies, and collapsed directly to the ground.

"How could this be."

Tuan Zang broke out in a cold sweat instantly, having already thought of a terrible outcome.

"Such speed, the Flying Thunder God Technique? Could it be..."

Unfortunately, Tuan Zang didn't have much time to think, and even the ANBU guarding here didn't either.

In the blink of an eye, silently and soundlessly, all the ninjas stationed here, except for Tuan Zang, were wiped out!

And in the darkness, Tuan Zang finally saw the person who came, and it was absolutely someone he least wanted to see.

"Teacher"

"Shut up, I don't have a disciple like you!"

Before Tuan Zang could finish speaking, Senju Tobirama directly interrupted him, his eyes filled with killing intent.

"Years ago, you plotted to overthrow the Leaf Village government, forcing the Fourth Hokage to step down—this is your clever tactic!"

Moreover, your long‑term actions in the Leaf Village have provoked heaven and man; only the fact that you are a classmate of Ri Zan has allowed him to indulge you.

"I"

Tuan Zang clenched his fists, wanting to say a word in his defense, but Senju Tobirama interrupted him again.

"I know what you want to say; much of what you've done was for the Leaf Village, for Ri Zan!"

I admit that the Hokage needs a black glove to do some unsavory things, just as I did everything when my elder brother was in office.

"But can you guarantee that, like me, everything you do is for the Leaf Village?!"

Zhu Zhang heard this, his eyes flickering slightly; he glanced at his brother, recalled the early Uchiha Clan, but ultimately remained silent.

He merely felt that his brother's ability to lie with open eyes was growing stronger.

But it cannot be denied that, aside from the Uchiha issue where Tobirama is lackluster or even somewhat poor, his handling of other matters has been flawless.

"You profit for yourself, you have manipulated how many bloodline ninja, you have used the excuse 'for the Leaf Village' to wantonly slaughter those people—don't you realize that?"

Tobirama grew angrier as he spoke, his gaze growing ever darker.

"I've looked over the records of the Root's operations; all the Leaf Village's high‑ranking officials have seen them too, and what are you doing now?"

Assisting other villages to jointly besiege the Leaf Village, summoning the shadows of other villages to deal with the Leaf Village—could you still be doing this for the Leaf Village?

Tuan Zang opened his mouth, instinctively wanting to retort, but this time he realized he truly didn't know what to say!

"Shimura Tuan Zang, you have brought shame upon your friends because of you, you have brought shame upon the Leaf Village because of you, and you have even brought shame upon your own clan because of you!"

Tobirama's chakra inside was surging, and intense killing intent had completely filled this underground cavity.

"The last time you died, I think you didn't grasp the judgment deeply enough, so this time I'll tell you again."

You have been stripped of everything tied to the Leaf Village; you are no longer a Leaf ninja, your corpse will not enter the Leaf Village cemetery, and all your achievements cannot offset your sins!

Your crimes have been made known to everyone in the Leaf Village; even if you crawl out of the Pure Land, you will never again receive acknowledgment from any Leaf ninja.

You will only be a lonely wandering ghost, destined to remain a lonely wandering ghost!"

Having said that, looking at Tuan Zang's twisted, death‑pale face, Tobirama spoke in a solemn tone.

"Shimura Tuan Zang, as your former teacher and as the Second Hokage, I deny everything about you!"

"No! No! No!"

At this moment Tuan Zang completely broke down; being denied by his own teacher, having all his deeds rejected by the Leaf Village, this is something he cannot bear!

His dream of controlling the Leaf Village, his Hokage dream, was completely severed right here and now.

For him, the cruelest thing is being utterly negated by the person he trusts most; and now this situation has actually happened to him.

"No! I refuse, I absolutely refuse! Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

Finally, Tuan Zang couldn't hold back any longer; he roared and launched a forced attack.

"You still want to make a last stand?"

But as soon as Tuan Zang made a move, in an instant one of his arms flew off, and meanwhile Senju Tobirama had silently appeared beside him!

"Disrespectful to teacher, unrighteous to way, disloyal to village, unjust to friend, you"

"You are unworthy of being a Leaf ninja!"

—

"What's wrong, you've been looking out at the village, anything on your mind?"

Leaf Village, a heavy downpour.

Yuzhi stood by the window at home, gazing silently outside, while Hikari nearby curiously walked over and hugged him from behind.

This action is Yuzhi's favorite, but Hikari seems to be imitating it, and I have to say the feeling is indeed nice.

"Nothing's on my mind, just reflecting on some things."

Yuzhi reached out and grabbed the hand of Hikari that was wrapped around his waist; he looked out the window at the heavy rain and suddenly laughed.

"Perhaps our opponents are about to change."

For some reason, today Yuzhi's heart suddenly had this thought and feeling; when one's strength reaches his level, some inexplicable feelings often have meaning.

This made him realize that probably many things have happened recently, and many people who had been entangled with him for a long time have finally gone.

Regarding this

Yuzhi felt extremely relieved; what he hated most was that kind of guy who kept buzzing like a fly in his ear, hitting him and then fleeing quickly.

However, in addition to feeling refreshed, he also inexplicably felt some emotion, after all, his opponents have been changing one batch after another all along the way.

From the initial battlefield, to internal family affairs, then to village affiliation and the integration of the entire ninja world, and now his enemies have all come toward the direction of the Otsutsuki.

As for him, and Hikari, whom he dug out back then, have remained unchanged; this inevitably made him feel a bit amused, and at the same time he recalled an interesting saying from his past life.

"Five thousand years ago, we faced floods just like the ancient Egyptians; four thousand years ago, we played with bronze ware just like the ancient Babylonians;

three thousand years ago, we pondered philosophy just like the ancient Greeks; two thousand years ago, we waged conquests just like the Romans;

one thousand years ago, we were immensely prosperous just like the Arabs; now, we measure ourselves against world hegemony.

For five thousand years, we have always been at the world's gaming table, while the people opposite us have changed round after round."

Of course, Yuzhi doesn't think he's that great; he currently doesn't deserve it.

After all, only twenty or thirty years have passed for him, but his enemies have indeed been changing all along.

"Who knows what we'll become after enduring five thousand years?"

"Five thousand years—we probably have already grown tired of this world."

Hikari didn't know what crazy idea Yuzhi had, but after hearing his words she thought it over and still gave an answer.

"Who knows? People always say that living too long makes one feel lonely and grow weary of everything in the world."

Yuzhi turned around and embraced Hikari, then spoke softly.

"But essentially, people cannot live that long, cannot imagine such scenes and experiences, and therefore give a reasonable answer based on their speculation.

But I have always felt that 'what we learn from paper feels shallow; to truly know something we must practice it,' so."

Saying this, Yuzhi paused slightly, he tightened his hold on Hikari and asked with a smile.

"Will you walk on with me, to properly see and feel all of this?"

"Could it be that I would still refuse you?"

Hikari leaned into Yuzhi's embrace; the pattering rain kept coming from outside the window, yet at this moment it felt especially tranquil.

After a while, Hikari slowly lifted her head, thought it over, and spoke.

"Speaking of which, were you just agonizing over this problem?"

"Not really."

Yuzhi understood Hikari's meaning, he lightly shook his head and then said with a smile.

"I just thought of some old friends, but overall it's not a bad thing, after all"

"Dust to dust, earth to earth—that is their fate!"