Shinji slumped on the sofa, looking up at the ceiling as he let out a long sigh.
"From now on, I'll keep a low profile and focus on training my Ninjutsu."
He stood up and walked into the bedroom, changing into his everyday clothes. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly slapped his forehead.
"Almost forgot."
He walked over to the bookshelf and reached for the very top. A transparent cloak dissolved into scattered specks of light in his palm.
"The Invisibility Cloak has run out of uses, but at least it served its purpose."
Beneath the cloak were several Sealing Scrolls, all trophies from his previous night's efforts.
The spot was in the most conspicuous part of the bookshelf, yet it looked completely empty at a glance—hardly a place where one would think to hide anything.
Precisely because it was so ordinary, and with the Invisibility Cloak's concealment, people like Uchiha Inahibi would instinctively overlook it during their search.
The human eye often deceives itself.
The most dangerous place is also the safest.
Shinji tucked the scrolls close to his body, intending to move them outside the clan's territory.
But first, he needed to find someone.
Leaving the Uchiha district, he headed in the direction of Konohagakure Hospital.
…
Within the vast underground cavern of the Mountain Graveyard.
"Ugh! It hurts!"
Obito, who had been unconscious for several days, groaned in pain as he slowly opened his eyes. All around him were cold, dark stone walls, devoid of light.
His mind was still hazy as he struggled to sit up, but he couldn't manage it.
Gazing at the ceiling of the cave, Obito murmured softly:
"Is this heaven?"
"If you can feel pain, it means you're still alive."
A hoarse, aged voice came from the shadows.
"Who's there?"
Obito turned his head with difficulty and saw an old man leaning on a scythe nearby, the familiar Tomoe swirling in his left eye.
The Sharingan.
A chill shot up from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.
Instinctively, he thought this person was a grim reaper sent by the Uchiha Clan, here to send him to the Pure Land.
"No! Old man, are you the grim reaper of the Uchiha Clan?"
"I don't want to die yet!"
"I—I've always respected the elderly, please spare me!"
Obito struggled desperately, his body shrinking backward as he tried to put as much distance as possible between himself and the old man.
Madara Uchiha watched him expressionlessly:
"I'm just an old relic, not a grim reaper. However, I didn't expect you to actually be saved."
Obito froze, his struggles gradually ceasing.
"So, I really survived? Did you save me, old man?"
"Thank you!"
His heart warmed.
He had thought he would be buried forever beneath the boulders, but surviving meant he could still return to Konohagakure, still see Rin and Kakashi.
He had awakened his Sharingan, and his dream of becoming Hokage could continue.
"It's too early for thanks," Madara Uchiha said calmly.
"I expect you to repay this favor properly."
"In this world, no one gets everything they want."
…
Madara steadily chipped away at Obito's perceptions with his words, beginning to brainwash him.
Obito grew more and more agitated as he listened, finally unable to hold back and interrupting excitedly:
"I already told you, I can't stay here for long!"
"I have to return to Konohagakure! Rin and Kakashi are waiting for me!"
Madara leaned on his scythe, his expression still indifferent:
"Want to go back? Once your body can move, feel free to leave."
He glanced at Obito's body.
Under his control, this kid had no chance of escaping his grasp.
Madara Uchiha turned around and, dragging his decaying, aged body, slowly returned to his seat.
"People easily forget others. In Konohagakure, no one is waiting for you."
Madara Uchiha slowly closed his eyes.
He suddenly remembered when he had left Konohagakure all those years ago—there was no one behind him, not even a single follower.
That despair toward reality had long since seeped into his bones.
Obito refused to believe it and immediately retorted:
"Rin would never forget me!"
"We made a promise!"
Madara Uchiha kept his eyes closed, ignoring him.
Obito stared at this unfamiliar elderly Uchiha, growing more and more suspicious.
He had helped most of the elderly Uchiha men and women in Konohagakure, but he had no memory of this person at all.
A thought quietly surfaced: Could this old man be a rogue ninja from Konohagakure?
...
Inside Konohagakure Hospital.
As soon as Shinji stepped into the lobby, he was slightly taken aback by the bustling scene before him.
"Why are there so many people today?"
There were at least twenty people in the lobby, most of whom were not ninja but ordinary villagers.
Konohagakure Hospital never served only ninja; it was open to everyone in the village.
Now, it was the place with the highest medical standards among the five great ninja villages, all thanks to Tsunade's reforms.
The medical system had been independently elevated, basic medical knowledge was fully popularized among ninja academy students, Medical Ninjutsu was no longer limited to master-disciple oral transmission, and Konohagakure had completely established a standardized training system, uncovering a large number of talented individuals with medical aptitude.
A young nurse behind the front desk was lowering her head to register medical records. Shinji waited quietly for a moment, and seeing no one around, he walked forward.
He gently tapped the counter and asked with a smile, "Excuse me, is Nohara Rin here? I'm looking for her."
The nurse instinctively looked up, and upon seeing Shinji's face, she paused for a moment, her cheeks instantly flushing slightly: "You... who are you?"
"I'm her teammate. I have something I need her help with. Is she free now?"
Shinji replied naturally.
"Rin! Oh, right, I'll go call her for you! She should be almost off her shift!"
The young nurse, as if encouraged, blushed and ran off.
"Wait!" Shinji reached out to stop her, but it was already too late.
He chuckled helplessly: "I could have gone to find her myself."
Meanwhile, in the treatment room.
Nohara Rin, dressed in a clean white nursing uniform, was carefully changing the bandage on an injured ninja's arm.
Her movements were gentle and skilled, her palms slowly glowing with faint green Medical Chakra as she carefully soothed the swelling around the wound.
In just a short while, the originally gruesome wound had mostly healed.
"You just need to rest well from now on."
Rin smiled and gave her instructions, then picked up the medical records amid the patient's repeated thanks and walked out of the treatment room.
"I can finally take a break this morning."
She let out a soft sigh, planning to return to her office to organize the medical records.
Just as she reached the corner of the hallway, the young nurse from the front desk ran over excitedly, leaning in with a teasing look:
"Rin~ Someone's looking for you at the front desk."
"And he's really handsome!"
Nohara Rin was slightly taken aback, a bit puzzled: "Who is it?"
After the little nurse finished describing his appearance, she immediately realized who it was, and a smile unconsciously curved at the corner of her mouth.
"It's Shinji."
The little nurse's eyes lit up, her gossipy fire instantly ignited. She lowered her voice and winked suggestively:
"Is he your boyfriend?"
Rin's face flushed bright red in an instant, and she stammered nervously, "W-we're just comrades!"
The little nurse rested her chin in her hands, staring at her with starry eyes.
Feeling flustered under that gaze, Rin could no longer hold her ground. Clutching the medical records, she hurriedly fled, saying, "I-I'll go over first!"
She quickly made her way to the front desk and spotted Shinji waiting there at a glance.
Seeing her, he immediately raised his hand and gave a gentle wave.
Nohara Rin instinctively tightened her grip on the medical records in her arms and walked forward slowly, her eyes softening with a gentle curve:
"Shinji, what brings you here?"
The girl before him was dressed in a plain white nurse's uniform, her smile clean and gentle, exuding a quiet, Healing aura all around her.
With just one look, Shinji's previously agitated mood, stirred up by Uchiha Inahibi and the others, instantly improved.
He gazed at Rin and smiled:
"Of course, I came to see you, Rin."
"Let's find a quiet place and spend a little time together."
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