Amid the clouds.
As the kunai closed in on him, Rinjin shrank back, waving his hands frantically in an attempt to explain.
"Lord Second Hokage, please let me defend myself—no, wait, please let me explain!"
But Tobirama Senju showed no signs of stopping.
"Explain? I'll capture you first, and then you can explain while kneeling!"
...
Just as Tobirama prepared to use the Flying Thunder God Technique to grab the brat in front of him, something strange caught his attention.
On this kid's back—there was a Flying Thunder God mark?!
Before he could even process his surprise, a burst of chakra erupted from the Hidden Mist Village below. It was a chakra he was all too familiar with—and loathed.
This is...!
Madara Uchiha!
While Tobirama was still caught in his shock, Rinjin suddenly reached out, catching Tobirama's kunai between his index and middle fingers.
"Granduncle, you really need to work on your temper! It's me, Rinjin—your granddaughter's husband!"
As he spoke, the black threads of Earth Grudge Fear wriggled across his body, restoring his original appearance.
"Bah!" Without thinking, Tobirama's face darkened further, and he immediately hit Rinjin with a Water Release: Heavenly Weeping.
Unfortunately, Rinjin's skin was far too thick for ordinary ninjutsu to penetrate.
Seeing this, Tobirama's expression grew even darker.
He had already confirmed Rinjin's identity.
This shameless demeanor—there couldn't possibly be another person like him in the entire ninja world.
And that Flying Thunder God mark on Rinjin's back? There was no way to fake something like that.
With a grim face, Tobirama used Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Rinjin, scrutinizing him from head to toe.
"Well, well... That dark skin, those arms... You're starting to look more and more like one of those muscleheads from the Hidden Cloud Village."
Facing Tobirama, Rinjin didn't bother putting on any pretense of respect. Instead, he sat down cross-legged, looking completely relaxed.
"You can't blame me for that, Granduncle. Less than a year after you passed, Uncle Hiruzen sent me to the Hidden Cloud Village as an undercover agent."
"Don't call me Granduncle! I'm not your Granduncle!"
"Come on, don't say that. After you were gone, it was me who rescued little Tsunade when the Hidden Cloud tried to kidnap her!"
Little Tsunade... undercover in the Hidden Cloud...
Damn it! So after I died, Hiruzen and Tsunade completely ignored everything I taught them?!
Clenching his fists and resisting the urge to beat Rinjin into a pulp, Tobirama asked in a low voice:
"What exactly is going on? What year is it in Konoha now? How is the village? Is it peaceful? And why is Madara Uchiha's chakra down there? Is he also an Edo Tensei reanimation?"
Hearing this, Rinjin paused for a moment before responding seriously.
"Lord Tobirama, it's Konoha Year 32 now. Peaceful? Not exactly. The Lands of Fire, Earth, and Wind are at war!
But don't worry too much. This war isn't likely to escalate into anything catastrophic. Konoha's forces are strong, and the younger generation is doing well.
As for the person down there, that's the real Madara Uchiha. The very one you let go back then!"
After finishing, Rinjin watched as Tobirama's frown deepened. The Second Hokage didn't refute Rinjin's words.
He wasn't a fool. Back when his brother had stabbed Madara, Tobirama hadn't known much about the Uchiha's secrets. His focus had been on studying Madara's corpse.
But as he took over as Hokage and learned more about the Uchiha clan, doubts began to arise.
The Uchiha clan possessed forbidden techniques like Izanagi and Izanami. Izanagi, in particular, could turn reality into illusion, effectively preventing one's death.
Had Madara used this technique back then?
Now it seemed likely.
However, what puzzled him even more was that Madara's chakra carried traces of his elder brother's presence.
Still, this wasn't the time to dwell on Madara. The immediate priority was dealing with the ongoing war.
With this in mind, Tobirama spoke firmly.
"Wait here. I'm heading back to the village."
Hearing this, Rinjin immediately shook his head and refused.
"Lord Tobirama, you should deal with the big problem down there first!"
"No! Let Madara and the Hidden Mist exhaust each other for now. Intervening at this moment won't benefit the village in any way!"
Hearing this, Rinjin rubbed his temples in frustration, muttering to himself:
"Why is it always 'the village, the village' with you people? Even Gengetsu Hozuki was like this, worrying about the village all the time. You're all dead, yet you still can't stop talking about the damn village."
Sighing, Rinjin spoke in a serious tone.
"Madara already has the Rinnegan. The Hidden Mist doesn't stand a chance against him. If you don't act now, it'll be you facing him one-on-one later!"
"And you? Why don't you step in?!" Tobirama shot back.
In truth, Tobirama's plan was to return to the village first to assess its situation. If the situation was dire, he would stay and assist. If it was manageable, he would return to confront Madara in the Hidden Mist.
But now, hearing that Madara had the Rinnegan—the Sage's eyes—his danger level in Tobirama's mind skyrocketed.
From what Tobirama knew of the Uchiha's nature, Madara's survival had to be tied to some hidden agenda.
And whatever that agenda was, it would undoubtedly threaten the village!
"To build the village because of bonds, only to sever those bonds for the sake of the village—it's a contradiction."
Those were Madara's exact words before his supposed death.
No matter what Madara's ultimate goal was, his ties to Konoha could never be fully severed.
With this in mind, Tobirama's expression turned icy as he gazed toward the Hidden Mist Village below.
No matter what, this man was a remnant of the old era.
It was time for him to drag this stubborn relic into the Pure Land!
Resolute, Tobirama leaped from the clouds, descending straight toward the ground.
Seeing this, Rinjin stood up.
With a soft sound, he reached up and, without hesitation, plucked out both of his eyes.
Blood flowed down his cheeks, but Rinjin's expression remained unchanged. His empty eye sockets stared coldly at the Hidden Mist Village below.
Sage Mode, activate!
As he silently activated his Sage Mode, a pale green aura spread from the roots of his hair to the tips.
Then, Rinjin reached for the white bead on the necklace around his neck. Slowly, he inserted a blood-red Sharingan with three tomoe into his left eye socket and closed his eyes.
"...Three minutes... That should be enough."
His murmurs were carried away by the howling wind.
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