The next day, in the restaurant.
"It's strange. For the past month, Terumi Mei has been showing up late a lot."
"And now… even Pakura-san is late?"
Yugao raised her brows in surprise.
Pakura, who had just sat down, flushed slightly red. She stole a quick glance at Terumi Mei across the table. Coincidentally, Mei raised her eyes at the same time, locking onto her.
Pakura froze. Mei's eyes narrowed, just a touch of irritation flickering inside them but then, unexpectedly, she smiled.
The two of them exchanged a brief look, then turned their heads away with perfect timing, shifting their gaze toward Yugao instead. Their eyes carried a strange mix of playfulness and pity.
"Huh? What's with those faces? Is there something on me?"
Confused, Yugao touched her own cheeks.
Pakura and Mei simply shook their heads, lips curling into meaningful smiles. Neither of them spoke.
"No, you're not mistaken," Chihori chimed in suddenly, leaning on her hand with an amused grin.
"Yugao… promise me you'll be strong when the time comes. You'll need it."
"Eh?!" Yugao blinked, even more lost now.
Chihori didn't explain further. She just kept smiling mysteriously.
"You guys are acting really weird…" Yugao muttered, shaking her head.
--
Over the following days, it became clear that Terumi Mei and Pakura had reached some sort of unspoken agreement.
Without fail, every other night, one or the other would slip quietly into Obito's room. Their timing was impeccable, as if they had planned it together.
And so, the nights passed...filled with clashing bodies, flushed faces, and the sound of cheeks clapping alongside whispered discussions of new jutsu and experiments.
Time blurred, and before long, another stretch of days had flown by.
--
On this day, White Zetsu slithered out of the ground with his usual grin, carrying news that made his voice almost sing.
"Guess what? Uchiha Itachi took the Chunin Exams alone," he reported, tone half-mocking, half-amused.
"Not only did he pass… he wiped the floor with everyone. The brat's already a Chunin."
"Oh?"
Obito arched a brow beneath the mask. He stayed silent for a moment, then the corners of his mouth tugged upward in a faint smirk.
"…Interesting. Looks like it's time I paid him another visit."
White Zetsu tilted his head. "Heh, Captain...you say that like some proud uncle sneaking around the family barbecue. What's next, are you gonna bring him a congratulatory fruit basket?"
Obito gave him a flat look through the mask. "…If I did, you'd eat it first."
"True," White Zetsu admitted cheerfully. "But hey, I'd leave the ribbon for him. I'm not heartless."
A low laugh escaped Obito. "Enough. I'll handle this."
Without wasting a moment, he gave brief instructions to the others, and then slipped into Kamui space, vanishing toward the Land of Fire.
---
September, in the Land of Fire.
The skies were clear, the breeze crisp, and the trees of Konoha rustled with life. The village remained as bustling and lively as ever.
Not far from the Uchiha compound, a young boy was training alone in the forest.
He leapt gracefully into the air, hands flashing through practiced motions, unleashing a storm of kunai.
Clang! Clang!
Steel clashed against steel mid-flight before sinking cleanly into separate targets all around the clearing.
When the boy landed, he simply stood still, expression unreadable. No pride, no disappointment...only calm acceptance.
Clap, clap, clap~
A round of applause broke the silence.
"…Who's there?"
The boy, Uchiha Itachi, snapped his head toward the sound, eyes sharpening with alertness.
If this were a hentai, Itachi would've soon discovered his mother getting her cheeks clapped under a tree.
Lucky for him, it wasn't.
It was just Obito, clapping himself.
From above, a figure emerged, already seated casually on a tree trunk as if he'd been there all along.
"It's been a while," the masked man said lightly.
"Your strength has grown, Itachi-kun."
"…You."
Itachi's pupils contracted, surprise flashing in his dark eyes. Anger stirred within his chest, but just as quickly, he suppressed it, forcing his expression back into calm.
Taking a deep breath, he fixed his gaze on the masked man.
"Uchiha… Madara?"
Listening to Itachi call out Madara's name, Obito was secretly overjoyed.
He really thinks I'm him… wow, guess my acting career's paying off.
Although excitement welled up in his chest, his face remained calm, his "acting skills" unshaken.
"Oh?"
Only a faint glimmer of surprise appeared in Obito's single visible eye. "Pretty smart."
"I've been beneath the Naka Shrine and read the stone stele."
"The only ones who know of that place are the Uchiha clan," Itachi continued in a steady tone.
"That's where I began investigating you."
Outwardly, he looked calm, but deep down, Itachi's heart was far from settled.
When the masked man had revealed the Mangekyō Sharingan to him for the first time, Itachi had returned home shaken.
Since then, he had thrown himself into research.
He dug through every clan record and scroll he could find. He questioned his father carefully. He asked Shisui for guidance and hints.
Finally, he learned the truth of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
And so, one night, he slipped down into the underground of the Naka Shrine. There, upon the stone stele, he read the hidden words.
The knowledge left him shaken...yet it also gave him direction.
From all the information he gathered, one conclusion formed in his mind:
According to the clan's records, aside from Uchiha Madara in the distant past, no Uchiha had ever defected from Konoha.
That left only one possibility.
This masked man… must be Madara Uchiha.
Yet Itachi kept this secret to himself.
The Uchiha clan's relationship with Konoha's leadership was already strained to the breaking point.
If word spread that Madara Uchiha still lived, if the higher-ups discovered that the ghost of the clan's founder walked again...then what would happen?
The consequences were unthinkable.
No. This was knowledge he had to shoulder alone.
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