In the real world, meeting up with his companions, "Naruko," or rather Nawaki, was quite happy, because Uchiha Kei's new technique was truly powerful. At first, he had no idea what this "revival" was—he assumed it was just a transformation technique disguise.
But Uchiha Kei had made the body of the summoned heroic spirit indistinguishable from a real body. He even let Nawaki bring out the full power of the "Naruko" identity from the game into the real world.
Of course, that power had its limits—it could reach up to the level of an elite Jōnin at best. This was due to Nawaki's insufficient soul strength and lack of inherent power, making him completely different from top-tier powerhouses like Hashirama Senju or Sakumo Hatake.
Even so, for Nawaki, this was something that brought him immense joy.
After all, being able to come to the real world, possessing Jōnin-level power, and meeting up with his companions was a perfect convergence of multiple joys, forming the ultimate source of happiness. Thus, Nawaki, under the guise of Naruko, thoroughly enjoyed the moment.
Though they did attract a few strange looks from passersby, they were mostly children or those with childish minds. They quickly got over it and continued chatting and laughing on their way to the venue.
Many others were meeting up like this today. For this grand event, many who had become friends online or through the game chose today to meet in person. So Nawaki and the three members of Minato's team weren't the only ones in this situation.
However, meetings between heroic spirits and living people were rare—only two such cases existed.
One was Nawaki and Minato's team. The other was Radama and Muzi!
Yes, Madara Uchiha had finally accepted Hashirama Senju's invitation to meet in real life. The two would soon meet face to face.
Though torn and well aware that his current condition was unsuitable for a meetup, Madara ultimately agreed under Muzi's persistent invitations.
So, how would Madara disguise himself?
The answer: wear a mask, have White Zetsu Tobi possess him, and use scent masking to hide signs of age.
Thanks to months of consuming system cola and junk food combos, combined with his unique constitution, Madara had achieved a second youth. His once shriveled, aged body had become fuller, with tighter skin.
Although he still appeared middle-aged, he now looked like a man in his forties—far from his formerly decrepit appearance.
With a healthy and "youthful" exterior, plus makeup and disguise, it became possible to meet Muzi without revealing his true face. Especially with a mask, Muzi's carefree nature meant she wouldn't notice.
If necessary, Madara even had the "Inari Daimyōjin" technique that allowed for a burst of youth and rejuvenation.
So deceiving Muzi wouldn't be a problem.
Still, Madara was conflicted. He didn't want to lie to Muzi. Though he hadn't told her his real age or appearance, the fact he had to disguise himself still made him feel uneasy and reluctant.
With such emotions, Madara, fully concealed, clad in a black cloak, wearing a yellow tiger-striped mask, with long spiky black hair and gloved hands showing only his eyes, appeared in the Hidden Leaf Village.
His appearance was almost identical to Obito Uchiha's disguise when he negotiated with Itachi before the Uchiha Clan Massacre. It only proved how fitting Obito was as Madara's chosen successor—even their disguise styles were the same.
Of course, for a prideful man like Madara—the top poser of Shippuden—this complete disguise was out of character. But Muzi was just too special. She made Madara do things he normally wouldn't deign to do.
That said, Madara's outfit did draw attention. Even though it was winter, wrapping up entirely and wearing a mask was quite eccentric.
Usually, only Anbu wore masks, and their attire was vastly different from Madara's.
As a result, Madara attracted a lot of stares. But he didn't care. This proud man had long been used to people looking at him with intense gazes.
Back in the Warring States era, ever since he rose to fame, Madara had always been the center of attention, admired or feared by countless. So being stared at like this was nothing.
Most people were polite—they'd just glance and look away. Only the Hidden Leaf's security personnel stared a bit longer.
Naturally, in cases like this, someone would eventually approach and question him. Suspicious individuals had to undergo routine inspection.
So Madara handed over forged identity papers, a prop lovingly crafted by none other than Black Zetsu.
Yes, Uchiha Kei had learned about this from White Zetsu and had someone help ensure the identity was legally recognized in the Leaf.
Thus, when inspected, the Konoha guards found the documents listed "Radama" as a Leaf ninja with a classified identity of the highest secrecy—far beyond the security officers' clearance level.
They were shocked. Some even verified the record and found it existed in official databases, prompting them to inform others not to scrutinize this "Radama-senpai."
Yes, "senpai."
The files stated that Radama had made tremendous contributions to the village (referring to founding the Leaf), but lost his honor due to mistakes (referring to leaving and attacking the village), and thus went incognito to avoid recognition. Due to his past service and injuries (meaning old age and having been killed by Hashirama), he was allowed to act in disguise.
Though the information was outrageous and didn't match usual formatting, it was considered valid since the high command approved it.
Only Minato Namikaze and Tsunade knew the real story. The rest of the "Konoha F4" believed he was a former member of the Root organization who survived a mysterious attack and was now retired.
Given his merits and mistakes, it all fit perfectly with what they'd expect from a former Root operative—aligning with how the leadership viewed Danzo Shimura.
And so, Madara used the identity of Radama to establish a plausible, reasonable status in the Hidden Leaf.
He silently nodded, praising Black Zetsu's excellent work. Even the Military Police had been fooled.
If Black Zetsu knew this, he'd be dumbfounded. He had only crafted a surface-level fake identity, enough to fool a regular Leaf ninja.
That regular ninja was supposed to be Muzi. So he hadn't forged it too carefully.
In truth, Black Zetsu had been extremely reluctant about this mission. All this effort—personal disguise, fake ID—just to meet Muzi? It shattered his worldview.
He could hardly accept it. He nearly cursed out Hashirama in frustration.
Of course, he only thought about it. He'd never dare curse Madara. Instead, he tried persuading him to abandon such "unrealistic" thoughts and focus on his true path.
Unfortunately, all those attempts failed. Madara even got angry.
Activating his Mangekyō Sharingan, Madara glared at Black Zetsu and roared: "Enough! Black Zetsu, *I* am the master! You are merely my will incarnate! Just follow my orders!"
That declaration left Black Zetsu no choice. Though he longed to say, like Danzo, "You'll regret this," he had to bow his head and respond, "Yes, Lord Madara."
Of course, Black Zetsu couldn't accept this so easily. So he planned to investigate the person swaying Madara's will—and eliminate them.
He even considered infiltrating the Hidden Leaf himself, risking his life to assess the target.
Then—he ran.
As if Uchiha Kei would let Black Zetsu interfere with the epic masked meetup between Hashirama and Madara!
Kei fully expected to enjoy more entertainment from future interactions between Muzi and Radama.
So Kei deliberately followed White Zetsu's guidance to Black Zetsu's area, even putting on an act: "The Nine Tails said there's a strong malevolent presence nearby. Is that black figure hiding around here?"
Hearing this, Black Zetsu panicked and quickly fled using the body of White Zetsu. His mind swirled with fury and confusion.
"The Nine Tails! It was the Nine Tails' malicious sensing!"
"No wonder I was discovered so easily last time! Damn it! That damned beast, sabotaging me like this! Unforgivable!"
"Just wait! When the Eye of the Moon Plan begins, the Nine Tails will pay!"
Muttering like a defeated dog, Black Zetsu fled Konoha, leaving surveillance to White Zetsu.
And we all know how that turns out.
The only threat to the Madara-Hashirama meetup was now eliminated.
At the appointed time, Muzi arrived.
Dressed in a plain Konoha chūnin flak jacket, wearing a Leaf forehead protector, she looked more like someone heading out on a mission than a girl coming to a meetup. But she was undeniably beautiful.
From afar, she spotted "Radama" and blinked, then cautiously approached: "Excuse me, are you Radama-senpai?"
Seeing that Muzi looked and behaved exactly like she did in-game—bold and unpretentious—Madara inhaled deeply, then nodded. "Yes, I am."
His voice sounded young and steady, not aged at all. It matched his in-game persona perfectly.
Madara had put great effort into this disguise.
Yet in this moment, he was nervous. He feared Muzi would question his appearance or pressure him to reveal his true face. That would only lead to more lies—a future he dreaded.
His emotions fluctuated wildly, but thanks to the mask and heavy disguise, nothing showed on the outside.
So how did Muzi react?
She looked surprised and said, "I didn't expect Radama-senpai to look like this in real life too? Hm... I guess this *is* your aesthetic."
"It's kind of... cool, actually!"
By the end, Muzi's eyes sparkled—the look of a girl seeing a stylish figure.
Madara froze, then asked, "Muzi, you don't mind?"
Muzi tilted her head and gave a clear-eyed, silly expression: "Why would I mind? Isn't this normal? Like that genius kid Kakashi Hatake? He wears a mask all the time and never takes it off."
"If even a kid like him does that, what's wrong with Radama-senpai liking mysterious disguises? It's just personal style, right? Besides, if something *was* wrong, wouldn't the Konoha Military Police have done something already?"
Her casual tone made it all seem natural. To her, Radama's appearance wasn't a big deal.
Madara fell silent—then slowly exhaled in relief.
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