Underground, wide passages radiated in all directions, connecting to a giant space. At this moment, the stone walls of the giant space slowly lowered, blocking all the passages.
Obito lay on a stone bed, fast asleep, calling out Rin's name in his dreams. A giant rock had crushed half of his body, nearly flattening the 'root of his troubles,' which would have forced him to say goodbye to his unrequited love forever.
The elderly Madara Uchiha scrutinized Obito, moving his gaze away after a moment. He felt his intelligence was being polluted, and that if he kept looking, he might be assimilated.
"Sleep well. I hope you enjoy the script I have prepared for you," Madara said, his gaze cold as his stooped body returned to the seat composed of tree roots.
Behind him, several thick white tubes were connected, continuously transporting life energy from the Gedo Statue into his body to sustain his life.
"Lord Madara, is Obito really reliable?" A special White Zetsu hovered around Obito, craning its head to look curiously.
"He is the most suitable candidate. He possesses an extreme love for his companions and his village. Once he falls, the deeper the love, the more intense the hatred. Only by witnessing the darkness of the world can he realize that reality is meaningless and obediently execute the Eye of the Moon Plan," Madara's aged voice echoed in the empty underground space.
Just then, another special White Zetsu drilled in from the sealed stone door, looking panicked. "Lord Madara, this is bad! Lord Madara, something has happened! That Makiya Uchiha has discovered our underground passage!"
"Shut up. Speak properly. What exactly happened?" Madara looked speechless. The White Zetsu were indeed useful and loyal to him, but their IQ was simply too low; they seemed to be missing a string in their brains.
"Makiya Uchiha and Minato Namikaze suddenly started digging. That guy's Fire Style is so powerful, and they are so fast! I didn't even have time to react and block the tunnel before they found it. By the way, do they know what it feels like to take a dump?" The White Zetsu waved its hands and said a bunch of incoherent things, but Madara roughly understood the meaning.
This place housed the most vital component of the Eye of the Moon plan, the Gedo Statue, which was the husk of the Ten-Tails. There could be no mistakes, and since he could not easily move right now, he found himself without any capable people around him after thinking it over.
"Useless, come here!" Madara barked.
The spiral-patterned White Zetsu named Tobi obediently stepped forward, its entire body opening up layer by layer like white modeling clay to wrap Madara inside, revealing only a single left eye with an active three-tomoe Sharingan.
Leaving behind a wood clone, Madara put on Tobi and disappeared through a hidden passage. The several tubes behind him rapidly elongated.
The empty underground space returned to silence, with Obito still fast asleep and the other White Zetsu guarding him without leaving.
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Outside, Makiya continued to dig downward. As the scope expanded, magma suddenly poured into a certain area, revealing a massive underground passage leading to parts unknown.
Minato jumped into the passage, looking at the scene before him in surprise, realizing things were not right.
There was still a trail of blood on the floor of the passage. Minato leaned down to check, an indescribable emotion rising in his heart—both nervous and expectant. Could a miracle really happen?
The evidence was right before his eyes, and Minato's heart began to race.
"Let's go. We're going in to take a look," Minato said proactively, taking the lead to go deeper into the passage.
Makiya retracted his flames and followed behind Minato, expanding his perception to its limit.
Suddenly, violent tremors erupted from the passage ahead, accompanied by countless dust and falling rubble. It was as if something terrifying was crawling along the passage in the dark, rapidly approaching.
"Rasengan!"
Azure light blossomed in front of them. Minato maintained the Rasengan to block his front, as a large number of activated tree roots surged out continuously, pushing Minato back repeatedly.
The high-speed rotating chakra shredded the tree roots, but even more roots immediately drilled out from the darkness, coming one after another in an endless stream. Makiya and Minato decisively retreated, rushing up to the surface through the hole they had dug.
Boom!
Countless tree branches burst from the soil, growing thicker and larger as they ascended, twisting and intertwining like flexible arms chasing closely behind the two.
"Fire Style: Great Fire Destruction!"
Golden flames poured over the earth like rolling ocean waves. Tender branches and new buds continued to break through the soil, growing into towering trees in just a few seconds. The sea of forest collided with the sea of fire; the ultra-high temperature carbonized the trunks in an instant, only for the chakra to be snatched away by the giant trees that followed.
The dividing line between gold and green was in a constant deadlock. A giant tree grew higher and higher, and atop its peak, a white figure looked down at Makiya and Minato. Several white tubes extended from the ground, plugged into his back.
"Impressive Fire Style," the voice of Madara Uchiha said, changed by Tobi's presence so that his age was indistinguishable.
"This is Wood Release?!" Makiya feigned extreme shock, his tone agitated. "Wood Release and a three-tomoe Sharingan... just who are you?"
Minato's expression was equally solemn. The significance of Wood Release was self-evident; it was a Bloodline Limit that Konoha dreamed of replicating. Lord Third Hokage had once authorized the village's full power to conduct experiments, but unfortunately, they all ended in failure.
Now, someone had actually used the First Hokage's Wood Release within the borders of the Land of Grass, and they appeared to be very proficient with it. Coupled with a three-tomoe Sharingan, there were clearly many secrets hidden here.
Minato felt as if an invisible black hand was shrouding the ninja world. The mastermind behind the scenes must be planning something huge, and it was highly likely related to Konoha.
"Who am I?" Madara Uchiha stepped casually on a tree trunk and said nonchalantly, "If you can do it, come and pull off my mask yourself to see."
Although his stance was casual, the aura of a veteran of a hundred battles was unintentionally revealed. The Tobi suit, which looked like a man made of tires, seemed a bit silly on Obito, but on Madara, there was no sense of contradiction. The three-tomoe Sharingan rotated slowly, his gaze full of pressure.
"Hmph, hiding your head and showing your tail," Makiya curled his lip with disdain. "Your style reminds me of someone."
"Oh? Who?" Madara suddenly became interested. Had he been away from the world for so many years that the younger generation still remembered his legend?
"Danzo Shimura!" Makiya said decisively. "Both are guys who like to hide their heads, show their tails, and stay underground to cause trouble. There's no difference."
Makiya's words triggered Minato's memory. He thought silently; Master Jiraiya seemed to have mentioned some things regarding Orochimaru and Danzo. This person before them who could use Wood Release probably had something to do with Danzo.
Was Danzo plotting something in secret?
Minato made up his mind that he would conduct a secret investigation after returning to the village.
"Who is Danzo? Utterly insignificant." Madara's aged body erupted with terrifying chakra, and a large number of branches drilled out from the ground again, sweeping toward Makiya and Minato like a tidal wave.
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Madara had sewn his best friend's flesh onto his chest, with Hashirama's face growing over his heart. Combined with his massive chakra, his execution of Wood Release made it seem as if the legend had been reborn.
Makiya had never personally experienced the authentic Deep Forest Emergence, but the momentum of this imitation was quite remarkable. He focused all his attention, and boundless golden flames surged around him.
Dozens of Rising Sun Blades formed a wheel of blades, rotating at high speed around Makiya. The thick, giant trees that lunged forward were instantly shredded and charred, one after another.
"Minato, you know what to do. There's only one chance, and I can't hold out for long!"
"Don't worry, I'll be back in time. This time for sure!"
Minato left behind a shadow clone, and his main body vanished instantly. The next second, Minato appeared in the half-collapsed tunnel, the ground beneath him revealing four pitch-black characters: Sword of Ninja Love.
This was a Flying Raijin mark Minato had secretly left behind earlier.
Dust fell from the top, and the passage devastated by the Wood Release could collapse at any time. Violent booms echoed from the darkness at the end. Minato knew he didn't have much time and had to act quickly.
Speeding all the way, he soon reached the end. A huge, heavy stone door blocked his way. Minato didn't slow down at all, the Rasengan in his hand blooming with dazzling blue light.
Boom!
The stone door shattered, revealing the scene behind it. Minato immediately threw out a large number of Flying Raijin kunai before stabilizing himself to observe carefully.
The space before him was a mess. A huge, pitch-black cavity had appeared in the mountain wall on the left, where a massive object larger than a Tailed Beast seemed to have been placed. Now it had abruptly disappeared, with rubble still rolling down around the cavity—it had clearly just been moved.
On the right was... Obito!!!
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