Ch 425: Men Of A Bygone Era

“So, you really did exhaust your Chakra, leading to the surprise attack, is that right, Shinzo?”

“Of course~”

Shinzo waved his hand.

“I’m just a civilian Chunin Sensei, although I was specially promoted to Jonin by the Third Hokage, my strength isn’t that great~”

Not strong……

All three of them couldn’t help but chew on those two words.

“Shinzo, I heard you say you can release even stronger Ninjutsu?”

“Ah, I do have some stronger techniques~”

Shinzo nodded.

“But I couldn’t use them while alive, it would drain me dry. Now that I’m dead, I can actually use stronger Ninjutsu. Isn’t that amazing? Hahahahaha~”

Shinzo’s hearty laughter echoed through the Root’s underground base. Besides him, the other three were rather withdrawn.

Orochimaru had abandoned the idea of conspiracy theories. He could tell from Shinzo’s behavior that this guy probably didn’t fake his death intentionally.

Danzo, however, felt a little resentful.

Why is this kid so strong? I train day and night, why am I not as strong as him?

Hiruzen was still immersed in guilt.

“Shinzo, should we go see Kawazakura?”

Hiruzen asked.

But none of the three expected Shinzo to shake his head.

“Third Hokage, Kawazakura is not my child. He’s a gift I left for Konoha. A gift-giver doesn’t keep thinking about the gift they’ve already given, does he?”

“With that talent, that child’s achievements must be very high, right?”

Faced with Shinzo’s question, Hiruzen’s old face twisted in bitterness again.

The achievements are indeed high, but……

“He’s at Konoha Hospital.”

Hiruzen truthfully reported.

……

Rain Country, somewhere in Amegakure.

Bang——

Pain threw an unconscious man to the ground.

Brown long hair, loose shirt, the man was handsome, but his complexion was sallow, as if he had suffered serious injuries.

This person was the Six-Tails Jinchuriki, Utakata（Foam）.

“Yo~ There’s work to do so quickly~ As expected of the leader, capturing a Jinchuriki is so fast~”

Two ninjas wearing black robes with red clouds came from the shadows.

The man who spoke flippantly had silver hair slicked back, purple eyes full of evil. Although he looked handsome, he inexplicably looked like a villain.

This is Hidan, a Missing-nin from the Hidden Village of the Boiling Spring, a remnant of the Jashin Cult.

The other one hid himself in a hood, his green eyes unusually cold.

This is Kakuzu, who formed the immortal duo with Hidan.

After Hidan joined Akatsuki and obtained three rings, the two officially teamed up.

Under Pain’s orders, Akatsuki members acted in pairs, able to cooperate and monitor each other to prevent the leakage of Akatsuki intelligence.

“Tosh, when are we starting? I can’t wait anymore. I’m so curious, a Tailed Beast!”

On the other side, two young-looking Akatsuki members came.

The calm red-haired one is Sasori, and the flamboyant blond kid is the newest member of Akatsuki, Akatsuki’s Azure Dragon, Deidara.

With Shisui and Kisame’s team, and Sakumo and Konan’s team arriving, the members of Akatsuki were basically assembled.

Obito is not on the official list of Akatsuki members, and Zetsu is an intelligence officer.

Seeing everyone gathered, Pain spoke.

“Go to your positions and prepare to perform the Sealing Technique.”

“Okay~”

“Understood.”

The members of Akatsuki jumped up one after another.

Looking up, in this vast space, there was a monster-like sculpture, like a wooden carving, yet like some living entity.

Nine closed large eyeballs protruded outwards, baring their teeth, as if about to devour people.

The members of Akatsuki jumped onto the monster’s fingers and stood in their assigned positions according to their rings.

“Sealing Technique, Illusory Dragon Nine Seals!”

Roar！！！

The sculpture seemed to be activated, emitting a powerful suction force from its mouth.

Utakata, lying on the ground, was immediately attracted by the sculpture, and his Chakra was gradually drawn out of his body.

Soon, the image of the Six-Tails Shukaku was revealed.

Absorbing the Tailed Beast takes several days. While the Akatsuki members diligently worked, Obito had already pulled Mizuki to Short-Cut Street in the Land of Fire.

“You…you are……”

Mizuki was somewhat dazed.

He had already made up his mind to die. When Orochimaru agreed to let him see Tsubaki and Iruka again, he had no more attachments.

Mizuki never imagined that someone would suddenly appear, pull him into a space, and then bring him back to the outside world.

Although he was saved, this situation of having made up his mind to die and then living, would cause extreme bewilderment.

“I am a man of the old era, but you should have heard my name, Uchiha, Madara.”

“Wh…what!? Uchiha Madara!!!”

The two were not on the street, so Mizuki’s exclamation was not heard by others.

“That’s right, it’s the Uchiha Madara you know.”

“You…you’re still alive, then you’re…how old are you?”

Mizuki asked, seemingly dazed.

This question also stumped Obito. To be honest, he didn’t know how old Uchiha Madara was.

Obito, not wanting to answer this question, immediately changed the subject.

“Mizuki, you still want to destroy Konoha, right?”

“Destroy Konoha?”

Mizuki muttered, then shook his head.

“No, Uchiha Madara…sir, I don’t want to destroy Konoha anymore.”

With a wry smile, Mizuki finally faced his own strength.

“Although I dared to confront the Fourth Hokage, in fact, I can’t even beat a child—my student. With my abilities, what am I talking about destroying Konoha?”

After thinking for a while, Mizuki sighed.

“Actually, even you, didn’t you fail?”

Obito fell silent.

Madara didn’t succeed because the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju, was there. Now Hashirama Senju is dead! Although Madara is also dead…

“Then, do you want world peace?”

Seeing that the idea of destroying Konoha wouldn’t work, Obito changed the subject.

“World peace? Heh, what does that have to do with me? Madara-sama, what exactly do you want to say?”

Although Mizuki had been arrogant, he wasn’t stupid. Especially after several ups and downs, Mizuki’s thinking became more open and realistic.

The person in front of him who called himself Uchiha Madara saved him. Why? There must be a price, right?

“People live, they need hope to support them. Have you lost the courage to live on, Mizuki?”

Obito’s words pulled Mizuki’s thoughts far away.

“The courage to live on…yes, facing Konoha’s experts, one is more terrifying and stronger than the next, and my delusions have been shattered to nothing. What courage do I have left…”

…….

…….