Chinya stared at the cave where Obito Uchiha was trapped, and then formed a hand seal to perform the Summoning Jutsu.
Chinya summoned a large number of snakes.
These summoned snakes were normal, ordinary ones without chakra.
Chinya controlled them to crawl into the crevices of the cave.
He formed another hand seal.
[Visual Sharing!]
Chinya's eyes transformed into serpentine pupils.
His vision shifted to that of the snakes'.
The snakes, weaving through the gaps, successfully located a tunnel.
Chinya maneuvered the snakes to silently slip into the tunnel.
Half an hour later.
The snakes finally reached the end of the tunnel.
The tunnel opened up into a vast chamber.
Chinya saw Madara Uchiha in his old age and Obito Uchiha with half his body crushed.
Madara seemed to be treating Obito's injuries.
A faint smile curved Chinya's lips.
Through the snakes' vision, Chinya watched as Madara healed Obito.
Madara used the half-body of White Zetsu containing Hashirama's cells to replace the crushed half of Obito's body.
The surgery was slow but steady.
Three hours later, half of Obito's body had been successfully reconstructed.
After wrapping Obito in bandages and bindings, Madara exhaled deeply, sat back down, closed his eyes, and began resting.
Chinya deactivated the Visual Sharing ability and activated his System.
[Witnessed Madara Uchiha healing Obito Uchiha. Reward: 500 Witness Points.]
[Witnessed Obito Uchiha receiving Hashirama Cells. Reward: 500 Witness Points.]
The rewards weren't big, but every point mattered. More Witness Points would come later—every bit helped.
The following day, Chinya, Minato Namikaze, Kakashi, and Rin Nohara regrouped.
The mission still needed to continue—they had to destroy the Kannabi Bridge.
With Chinya and Minato present, the bridge demolition proceeded smoothly.
Destroying this bridge used for transporting supplies and resources severely hindered enemy reinforcements.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Konoha shinobi pushed the Iwa ninjas beyond the border.
Chinya and Minato returned to Konoha to report their success.
Since Kakashi's team now only had Rin left,
Minato suggested temporarily assigning Kakashi to his squad, but Chinya firmly rejected it.
Chinya clearly understood what Minato was trying to do.
It was simply an attempt to instill the Will of Fire into Kakashi—turning him into a mindless tool serving Konoha's interests alone.
With Chinya's interference, Kakashi could never fully embrace the Will of Fire again.
Besides, Rin would soon face her own tragedy.
Chinya didn't want Kakashi to endure such despair once more.
Rin was Madara Uchiha's chosen key to pushing Obito Uchiha into darkness.
Now that Madara had already chosen Obito, and according to the rule that major events must unfold,
Obito Uchiha was absolutely destined to fall into darkness.
That meant Rin would almost certainly meet her end.
Only Rin Nohara or Kakashi had the power to push Obito Uchiha into darkness, and Chinya couldn't interfere in this matter.
Who killed Rin Nohara wasn't important—the key point was that she had to die before Obito Uchiha's eyes.
So whether Kakashi joined this mission or not didn't really matter in the end.
After being turned down by Chinya, Minato Namikaze no longer had any reason to include Kakashi in his team.
Hiruzen Sarutobi assigned two Chunin to join Minato Namikaze's squad.
With the Rock Ninja threat gone, Chinya and Kakashi finally got a rare three-day break. After those three days, they would head to Amegakure to fight against the Rock Ninja and Sand Ninja.
Kakashi headed home with Chinya.
Kushina Uzumaki wasn't the jinchuriki anymore, so she had to take on intensive missions—and was therefore not at home.
After dinner, Chinya and Kakashi sat down together. Then Chinya lay in bed, constantly observing Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha through Visual Sharing.
Three nights later, the night was quiet.
Badly injured, Obito Uchiha regained consciousness.
Obito regained consciousness: "Am… am I dead?"
He started in shock: "Where am I?"
Madara spoke: "A liminal space between the underworld and the living world, my fellow clansman."
Obito looked into Madara's eyes, confused: "Your eyes… Could it be you're also from the Uchiha clan, old man?"
Madara shifted his gaze: "Hmm? That's up to your imagination."
Obito continued staring at Madara in confusion.
Was it this person who saved him?
No…
Obito asked again: "You said this is the boundary between the underworld and the living. Exactly where are we? It's too dark—I can't see anything. Also, old man, who exactly are you? You wouldn't happen to be the Shinigami—the god of death?"
Suddenly, Obito noticed something odd: The cane the old man leaned upon was actually a scythe. He immediately screamed in terror.
"No way! I don't want to die yet! Help me! Just now I caught a glimpse of a sickle—it definitely means you're the Shinigami! The death god exclusively for the Uchiha clan! All my life I've dedicated myself to helping the elderly in need! Sure, I've done plenty of bad things and broken many rules—but surely none of that cancels out all the good!"
"Please don't send me to hell… Damn, it hurts!"
Obito winced from his wounds, pain making him grimace.
Madara spoke again: "If you can still feel pain, then you're still alive. Actually, surviving was a miracle—you weren't crushed by those boulders but rather seemed to pass straight through them like you'd pierced the stone itself."
Obito swallowed hard and asked, "Where did you find me?"
Madara answered, "You were lying inside an underground tunnel I dug, surrounded by collapsed rocks. Although your body was nearly shattered, I bandaged you up somehow."
"You're the one who saved me, old man? Thank you..." Obito expressed gratitude toward Madara.
Madara Uchiha then said, "Now it's too early to thank me. I'll make sure you properly repay this favor. Taking care of old folks was your life principle, wasn't it?"
Obito Uchiha hesitated for a moment. "Yeah, I did say that... Then what should I do? Be your servant and take care of you?"
Madara Uchiha looked at Obito Uchiha and replied, "Sounds good enough."
Obito Uchiha refused, saying, "I'm sorry, but I can't stay here forever. I'm still alive — I have to go back to Konoha! There's a war raging right now, and I've finally awakened my Sharingan. This time, I'll be able to protect my comrades for real."
"Better protect my comrades..." Madara Uchiha repeated softly, his head bowed and eyes shadowed.
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