"Minato-sensei, why didn't you take me with you?"
Obito's eyes grew dim.
He knew there were various reasons for it—perhaps Minato didn't see him immediately; Minato didn't recognize him; Minato was worried about Jiraiya, Minato... but the fact remained that he hadn't been picked up.
He was already a dead man in Konoha; who would even remember him?
Grandma?
Grandma had passed away long ago.
Rin?
Obito couldn't lie to himself; the one Rin liked was Kakashi!
"Obito, you actually dared to run away! I'm really going to bury you!"
Fish Ball waved its cat claws and charged forward in a fit of rage.
On the other side, Madara recognized the Ninjutsu Minato had performed.
"Flying Thunder God!"
Madara's expression darkened: "It's that damned Tobirama's technique! Minato... quite the Ninja."
The person Madara resented most in his life was definitely Tobirama.
Because Tobirama had stabbed his younger brother with a Flying Thunder God Slash, leading to Izuna's untimely death.
Later, he incited Hashirama to prevent Madara from becoming the Second Hokage and even altered Konoha's textbooks to erase Madara's deeds.
He had done every bad thing imaginable!
If Hashirama hadn't protected Tobirama so well, Madara would have killed him long ago.
Ryou walked up and incited: "Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique is a great threat to you, Ancestor. Why don't we just hunt him down all the way to Konoha?"
"Let's kill Minato and steal his wife."
"Get lost!"
Madara gave Ryou a kick.
Madara considered himself invincible in the Ninja World, but he didn't think he could do whatever he pleased.
If Konoha's army of tens of thousands of Ninjas unleashed all their Secret Techniques and forbidden jutsu at once, even Madara would have to avoid their brunt.
Because he was still a mortal body.
He could bleed, get tired, and be sealed.
Without becoming the Six Paths, one is ultimately just an ant!
Madara looked at Ryou and suddenly noticed something: "You're a clone, aren't you! Where is your original body?"
Ryou's clone said: "In the bathroom. Nature calls!"
"Hmph!"
Madara snorted, then looked toward the Land of Rain and said: "Let's go. It's time to retrieve my eyes."
Suddenly, Madara coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood.
Ryou was stunned, then ecstatic in his heart—Old Demon Madara was injured.
Black and White Zetsu, who appeared beside Madara, was also stunned.
Madara's palm caught the blood he spat out; it was black blood containing snake venom, which the Hashirama cells in his body had sensed and expelled.
Madara's face was somewhat grim: "Orochimaru, quite the Orochimaru. I really can't underestimate his poison!"
"I'll clear the poison from my body first. Nagato, you can't run."
...A canyon on the border of the Land of Grass near the Land of Fire.
The Third Hokage led a large number of Ninjas, Anbu, and elite Ninjas from various clans to station here.
The Sarutobi Clan, Senju Clan, Ino-Shika-Chō, Inuzuka... only the Uchiha were missing.
Immediately upon receiving Tsunade's message, the Third Hokage led his elites out to rush toward the Land of Grass.
Uchiha Madara was a legendary Ninja on par with the First Hokage; the Third Hokage couldn't afford any carelessness.
He even ordered the front lines to abandon the war with Kirigakure and recall all Ninja squads.
The high-level members of the various clans following the Third Hokage were somewhat confused.
What exactly happened to make the whole Village act so urgently? The Third Hokage hadn't said.
Everyone could only speculate in their hearts.
They guessed that maybe the Third Hokage's old flame had been snatched away, which was why he was in such a hurry.
Having run all the way to the border in one breath, everyone was a bit tired, so the Third Hokage ordered the entire army to stop and take time to rest.
Although the matter of Uchiha Madara was urgent, the more critical the moment, the less one should rush.
Ninjas are not made of steel; they also need supplies and rest.
I know you're anxious, but don't be anxious yet! As far as we know, we know nothing, yet we grabbed our gear and followed.
You have to know who you're hacking at before you hack them, right? What if you hack a relative?
The resting area of the three Ino-Shika-Chō families.
Akimichi Choza whispered to the strategist of the three families, Nara Shikaku.
"Shikaku, what do you think happened? To make Hokage-sama so... anxious!"
Choza even used 'anxious' to describe the most steady elder of Konoha.
Before Shikaku could speak, Inoichi spoke his guess: "It's probably Iwagakure. Last time, if Minato hadn't cut off their logistics, the whole of Konoha would have been in danger."
Iwagakure's system was completely militarized; the Village didn't have much else, but it had plenty of Ninjas.
In the conflict between Iwagakure and Kumogakure, they relied on tens of thousands of Ninjas to wear down the Third Raikage to death.
Iwagakure emphasized large-scale coordinated operations, often moving in groups of hundreds.
Inoichi guessed that perhaps Iwagakure wanted to repeat their old tricks, mobilizing their entire force again to pass through the Land of Grass and invade the Land of Fire to wipe out Konoha in one fell swoop.
Shikaku shook his head: "No, Inoichi. Iwagakure is already exhausted; it's not them."
Inoichi scratched his head: "If it's not Iwagakure, then it couldn't be Kusagakure, could it? Is Kusagakure worth Konoha mobilizing the whole Village?"
Choza laughed loudly.
Shikaku analyzed: "It's not Kusagakure either. Haven't you noticed? There are no Uchiha Ninjas in our ranks."
Choza and Inoichi looked around, and it was just as Shikaku said.
In this massive Ninja march, there were those with cataracts, those who raised bugs, and even those who raised dogs, but none of those 'red-eye' people.
"It's true, no Uchiha!"
"Shikaku, why are there no Uchiha? It couldn't be that the Uchiha caused trouble again, could it?"
Why 'again'? Because the matter of Ryou hadn't settled yet, and because it involved Tsunade, it had become popular once more.
In the dense forest on the other side.
Kurenai asked Asuma: "Asuma, have you asked Hokage-sama yet? What big thing actually happened?"
Asuma shook his head: "The old man didn't say. Even Big Brother has a solemn look on his face. It's probably a very big deal, something even I couldn't mediate if I stepped in."
Kurenai gave Asuma a sidelong glance.
Asuma then thought of something and said: "Let's go find Shizune. I saw it earlier—it was only after Shizune went to the Hokage Office that the old man's behavior changed drastically."
Kurenai and Asuma found Shizune and blocked her way.
Kurenai asked: "Shizune, do you know the inside story? Quick, tell us exactly what happened to make Hokage-sama so prepared for a major battle?"
Anko saw the commotion from a distance and brought her team—Yūgao Uzuki and Gekkō Hayate—over.
Anko's team also joined Kurenai and Asuma in surrounding Shizune.
"Shizune, you actually know the inside story! Speak up!"
Shizune backed up against a large tree and shook her head vigorously: "I can't say. Hokage-sama won't let me talk about it carelessly."
Anko got ruthless: "You won't talk, right? Shizune, I'm really going to let my snakes bite you!"
"Don't—"
...The Third Hokage was questioning Senju Gyokushun, the head of the Senju Clan, the Ninja who had previously used a Ninja Eagle to transport Tsunade to the Land of Grass.
"Gyokushun, did you really see Uchiha Madara?"
Sarutobi Shinnosuke and Yuhi Shinku kept others away from the dense forest while they quietly eavesdropped.
Gyokushun said: "Yes. At that time, I delivered the Eldest Miss to Uchiha Madara's base. I took a look from the sky; Uchiha Madara's style is just as it always was!"
The Third Hokage pressed: "Then what state is Uchiha Madara in now? Can he still fight?"
Gyokushun suddenly knelt and told the truth: "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I ran away as soon as I delivered the Eldest Miss to Uchiha Madara."
"I didn't dare to stay because I was too afraid. No Ninja fears Uchiha Madara's power more than the Senju Clan."