Black Zetsu said, "The plan has changed. Perhaps we need to revive Madara earlier."
Obito didn't entirely agree with his suggestion. But there was no choice. With the situation changed, they could only take it one step at a time.
The two returned to the cave where Madara had lived years ago.
Fortunately, Obito had learned many dangerous Ninjutsu, such as Edo Tensei.
Fortunately, Black Zetsu, who had lived for thousands of years, had long ago realized things were slowly getting out of control, so he prepared a special body for Madara. It could greatly enhance the power of the Edo Tensei body.
Edo Tensei!
A man in red armor slowly appeared before their eyes.
The first thing Madara did upon waking was to glance at his body, and his brows instinctively furrowed.
"Is this Edo Tensei?"
Madara's expression was not good. He seemed displeased with this method of resurrection.
He asked, "Is there a problem?"
"Um... Our plan has encountered a small, tiny accident..."
"The situation is this. Our plan was disrupted by that brat named Satoshi..."
Madara sat back in his chair.
As the name Satoshi was mentioned, a hint of elusive interest flickered in his eyes.
An eighteen-year-old young Uchiha descendant, capable of stirring up such a commotion?
However, when he heard that Satoshi had mastered Tobirama's Ninjutsu, he became incredibly angry.
"The Uchiha bloodline, to be tainted by the methods of that inherently despicable Tobirama. It defiles the glory of the Uchiha."
He believed he understood Tobirama deeply. Tobirama and Hashirama combined probably had ten thousand tricks up their sleeves, of which Hashirama had less than 0.3.
In terms of pure, world-destroying power, Tobirama was far from the strongest. But what Madara feared was his unscrupulous methods and his excessively clever mind.
In the brutal clan wars of the past, the Senju clan's relentless pressure owed much to Tobirama's endless stream of poisonous schemes and underhanded tactics.
If not for his brother Izuna's assistance, the Uchiha's losses would have been even more severe.
Madara fell into deep thought. He knew from the very beginning that Tobirama was extremely wary of him. He knew better than anyone that Tobirama had regarded him as his number one threat since their first meeting.
Which of those secretly conducted forbidden jutsu researches wasn't aimed at the Uchiha's Sharingan?
Which one wasn't an attempt to completely eradicate the potential threat of the Uchiha clan?
Madara now faced a major problem.
Obito's cover was blown, meaning he couldn't use that identity to fool people around.
What if he did the opposite, went out himself, and disguised himself as Obito?
How did that idea sound so... disgusting to him?
...
On the other side, Satoshi and Jiraiya returned to Konoha, bringing back good news one after another.
"Have you heard? Hokage-sama and Jiraiya-sama practically wiped out the Akatsuki members."
"That's right, even the leader who defeated Rasa was defeated by him."
"Hokage-sama is awesome. Jiraiya-sama is awesome too."
Jiraiya, amidst the crowd, blushed. This matter didn't seem to have much to do with him. To put it nicely, it was assistance. In reality, he was just an extra.
Jiraiya even felt that even if Naruto had gone instead of him, Satoshi would still have been able to slaughter them all.
Alright, nothing for him to do here, time to go back to writing his book. There were many loyal readers waiting to read it.
When Satoshi first took over as Hokage, there were voices of doubt. They had a stereotype about the Uchiha, thinking they were too crazy and so on.
Now, Satoshi and Jiraiya, disregarding their personal safety, ventured into the Land of Rain at great risk, changing their impressions.
Satoshi truly was a ninja who inherited the burning will of fire.
Soon, this recognition was carved into the most prominent location in Konoha—the Hokage Rock.
Naruto and Sasuke had just completed a mission and happened to be passing by.
"Hey, Sasuke."
Naruto excitedly pointed at the brand new colossal statue above.
"My sensei is the Fifth Hokage. In the future, I will become the Sixth Hokage."
Sasuke merely glanced indifferently at the huge stone statue. "Tch, a boring position, boring teacher and student."
After speaking, he waved his hand and left on his own.
"Sasuke! Wait for me!"
Sasuke walked forward on his own, and Naruto trotted behind him. He didn't care whether Sasuke acknowledged him or not.
Soon, the two of them surprisingly walked into the Uchiha clan's compound.
The busy people were initially surprised to see the blond-haired boy, then went back to their own business.
The pancake shop owner (Teshō) waved enthusiastically. "Come, Naruto, freshly baked pancakes, try some."
According to Teshō, if Satoshi hadn't arrived in time, he would have been long dead. So it was only right to treat Satoshi's student well.
"Thank you, uncle." Naruto happily took the pancake and broke half for Sasuke.
"You try some."
"No."
"Just try it."
"I said no."
"Waaah! You bastard, don't just shove it in my mouth!"
"Hehe." Naruto grinned foolishly.
"Isn't it good?"
"It's okay... Don't do that next time."
"Alright, I know."
Naruto slapped his forehead. "Oh no, I promised to practice Ninjutsu with Satoshi-sensei. I'm leaving now, see you tomorrow."
While Naruto ran off in a hurry, Sasuke's face darkened when he heard that name.
The gap between Naruto and him was getting smaller and smaller. No, it seemed he had already surpassed him, except for academic subjects. This was hard for Sasuke to accept.
Naruto even learned a strange ball-like Ninjutsu.
Did Satoshi teach him that too?
The academy naturally assigned Sasuke a good teacher, which was Kakashi.
Kakashi was good to Sasuke, even teaching him his best Ninjutsu, Chidori. But Sasuke was still not satisfied. His goal was still to defeat the current Hokage, Satoshi.
With his current strength, it was definitely not enough. He had to find a way to gain more power.
Unconsciously, Sasuke arrived at a riverbank. This used to be his and Itachi's secret base.
And there, Sasuke saw a familiar figure.
"Father, what are you doing here?"
Fugaku had been retired for some time and had completely settled into an ordinary life. He no longer bothered with the clan's affairs, big or small. After all, no one listened to him anyway. Saying too much just led to getting beaten.
Fugaku sat on the grass. "Sit."
Sasuke hesitated for a moment, but still sat beside him.
"Are you feeling a bit unhappy lately?"
"Yes..."
"Tell me about it."
"I... I need a stronger teacher, to gain greater power, and then defeat him."
Fugaku knew that when Sasuke said 'him', he was referring to the current clan head, the newly appointed Fifth Hokage.
Fugaku gently patted Sasuke's shoulder and said, "Sasuke, let go of the obsession in your heart."
Or rather, hatred.
Actually, Fugaku knew it was all his fault. He was the one who made Sasuke like this.
He even felt fortunate that Sasuke wasn't as extreme as some other clan members. At the very least, what Sasuke wanted now was to defeat him, not kill him.
Sasuke lowered his head, not saying a word.
Fugaku stood up and sighed softly. "Let's go, we'll wait for you at home."
After taking a few steps, Fugaku heard Sasuke's voice from behind him.
"Father, I'm coming home for dinner tonight."
Fugaku's steps paused, but he didn't turn back.
Only the tight corners of his lips seemed to relax into an almost imperceptible curve.