"You really didn't die… I brought you back!"
Facing Obito's stunned expression, Uchiha Madara nodded with certainty.
At that moment, a white figure suddenly emerged beside Obito.
"It was me! It was me! I'm the one who brought you back!"
"Ugh!"
To be honest, White Zetsu's sudden appearance startled Obito. But after regaining his composure, he nodded seriously at White Zetsu.
"Thank you."
After all, the other party was the one who had saved his life.
"Hahaha! Don't worry about it. Madara-sama told me to do it."
"Madara-sama?"
Obito turned to look at the elderly Uchiha Madara not far away. For some reason, the name Madara felt familiar to him, as if he had heard it somewhere before. There was a faint sense of recognition, but he couldn't grasp the memory.
"That's right!"
Shaking his head, unable to recall anything clearly, Obito decided not to dwell on it. He looked back at White Zetsu.
Since the other party had saved him, then…
"Can you restore my manhood?"
Right now, nothing mattered more to Obito. He still dreamed of marrying Rin and having many children in the future.
But faced with Obito's urgent gaze, White Zetsu tilted his head in confusion.
"But… what's a manhood?"
"Manhoods are manhoods! Men all have them. Don't you—"
Obito stopped mid-sentence after noticing White Zetsu's body. He froze in disbelief.
Because it seemed that White Zetsu… really didn't have one.
"I…"
He almost wanted to cry. What kind of monster was this?
Glancing at Obito's situation, White Zetsu curiously turned to Uchiha Madara.
"Madara-sama, what exactly is a manhood?"
"…"
Uchiha Madara didn't answer. He merely glanced at White Zetsu and Obito, clearly unwilling to involve himself in such nonsense.
But since Madara didn't respond, White Zetsu continued asking decisively:
"Then, Madara-sama, can you show me your manhood? That way I can use it as a reference when I treat him."
"…!"
This time, although Uchiha Madara still didn't speak, his eyelids twitched visibly.
"Do you have a death wish?"
Show it to you? If you weren't White Zetsu, he would have slapped you into the wall already.
"Ugh!"
White Zetsu was usually bold, but when Madara was truly angry, even he didn't dare push further. He could only shrug helplessly at Obito.
"No way!"
"…I'm finished."
Obito collapsed weakly against the rock again. Faced with such a reality, he felt utterly despairing.
"Rest properly. You still need time to recover."
Seeing Obito like this, Madara didn't care much. After leaving those final words, he turned to go.
"No matter what you've lost, once you've fully recovered… it will be restored."
Obito stared at Madara in surprise.
"Really?"
"Mm."
It was nothing more than a casual reassurance. Madara had no intention of wasting time worrying about Obito's "manhood."
But after Madara left, Obito was filled with hope. He immediately prepared to begin simple recovery exercises, determined to heal as quickly as possible.
…
While Obito was gradually falling deeper into Madara's plans, on the other side, Shiki had already led thousands of shinobi back to Konoha.
At the village gates, civilians and ninja alike had gathered, waiting in anticipation. As the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi was naturally present.
Looking at his smiling face, one might think he was genuinely happy.
Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado stood nearby. As Konoha's elders, they had no choice but to attend. After all, Konoha had won the Third Shinobi World War.
"They're here!"
A voice suddenly rose from the crowd.
Everyone looked up to see the Konoha forces led by Shiki entering their field of view.
"Is that Lord Golden Lion?"
"He's so handsome!"
"That's Lord Golden Lion for sure!"
"Give it up. I heard Lord Golden Lion is already with Lady Tsunade!"
"What an enviable couple…"
At first, the discussion was harmless. But then someone suddenly said:
"I think the next Hokage should be Lord Golden Lion!"
"I don't know about that. It could be Lord Golden Lion or Lady Tsunade!"
"Those two are incredibly powerful!"
…
In this war, aside from Shiki, the most celebrated figure was Tsunade, who had personally defeated a hero of Sunagakure.
Hiruzen Sarutobi was momentarily stunned. His smile stiffened.
What do you mean? I'm not even dead yet, and you're already discussing the next Hokage?
Was everyone certain he was about to step down?
Hiruzen understood that he had made too many mistakes during the war. Continuing as Hokage might indeed be impossible. Even so, the thought of abdicating filled him with reluctance and inner conflict.
Koharu and Homura pretended not to notice his discomfort. Eyes forward, expressions neutral, they clearly had no intention of getting involved.
In their view, regardless of who became Hokage, their positions as elders would remain secure.
"Yo, Hokage-sama. Long time no see!"
Seeing the Third Hokage standing at the gates, Shiki smiled and waved.
Hiruzen returned the smile. To an outsider, it might look as though the two shared a warm relationship.
"Shiki… Konoha truly owes you its thanks this time."
Whatever he felt inside, Hiruzen could only smile.
Even if he wanted to crush Shiki where he stood, the man before him was Konoha's hero—the one credited with ending the Third Shinobi World War.
Besides, Hiruzen knew perfectly well that he likely wasn't strong enough to defeat Shiki anyway.
"Hahaha!"
Hiruzen's words made Shiki laugh.
"It was nothing. I heard you got beaten pretty badly by that Mizukage brat, Hokage-sama."
"Ugh…"
Hiruzen's smile froze.
Although it was true, hearing it said aloud in front of everyone was another matter entirely.
He could feel countless odd looks gathering around him.
"Ahem! I've grown old. It's the younger generation that must lead the future."
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