Uchiha orphan, so what if I'm ruthless?

After leaving the battlefield, the mist over the sea gradually thinned.

Uchiha Taiga walked a long way across the ice until the figures of the Kirigakure shinobi behind him completely disappeared into the sea fog before he finally stopped.

He raised a hand to wipe non-existent sweat from his forehead, a look of lingering fear on his face.

"That old guy was terrifying," Taiga said, his voice laced with relief.

Yugito Nii, walking behind him, raised an eyebrow at his words, her expression turning strange.

"What is it?"

She could roughly guess what he meant but didn't say it out loud. Her gaze fell on Taiga's profile, trying to read more information from his expression.

Taiga scoffed, his chin lifting slightly.

"That old geezer was scheming against me. Did he really think I couldn't tell? Hmph, someone as smart as me would obviously see right through it."

Yugito stared at him speechlessly, remaining silent for a couple of seconds.

"So where are we going now? Didn't you say you wanted to stay in Kirigakure for a while and look around?"

Taiga shook his head, his expression turning serious.

"We can't stay in Kirigakure. That old man is up to no good. I'm afraid if we stayed, we wouldn't be able to leave."

Yugito looked at him, a hint of confusion in her eyes, and asked, "With someone as powerful as you, how could anyone force you to stay?"

She genuinely meant it.

With Taiga's strength, all those Kirigakure shinobi combined were no match for him.

If he didn't want to stay, who could possibly force him?

Taiga waved his hand dismissively, his tone filled with helplessness.

"You don't understand. For someone as handsome and dashing as me, if that old guy used that woman from earlier to seduce me, I definitely wouldn't be able to refuse."

Yugito froze for a moment before her brows furrowed and her eyes narrowed.

"You certainly have a clear sense of self-awareness."

Taiga nodded, completely oblivious to the fact that the temperature around him had just dropped a few degrees.

"Of course."

He continued walking forward. Yugito followed behind him, her footsteps noticeably heavier than before, crunching loudly against the ice.

Her lips were pressed tightly together, her eyes glaring daggers at the back of Taiga's head, though it was hard to tell exactly what she was thinking.

"Why do I feel a bit cold? How strange, is it because of the Ice Style?"

Taiga rubbed the back of his head and glanced back at Yugito, who promptly turned her head away.

The two walked across the ice for a long time until they reached the edge.

The ice gradually thinned out here, cracks appearing beneath their feet as seawater seeped through, soaking the soles of their shoes.

Taiga stopped and took one last look at the frozen sea before stepping onto the water.

Yugito followed behind him, also walking on the water's surface.

The ocean was vast and empty; there were no ships, no land, only endless seawater and distant sea fog.

Their figures moved across the sea, heading toward the nearest coastline.

After walking for most of the day, they finally encountered a cargo ship.

The ship wasn't large, its hull was old, the canvas sails were patched, and the deck was piled high with wooden crates and sacks. When the sailors on board saw people walking across the sea, their eyes widened in shock. Some cried out in alarm, while others scrambled into the cabin.

Taiga leaped onto the deck, pulled a thick stack of bills from his coat, and tossed it to the captain.

"Change course. Take us to the nearest island. This money is enough to cover ten of your trips."

The captain caught the money, his eyes bulging like saucers. He looked at the cash in his hands, then at the ninja swords strapped to Taiga's waist, swallowed hard, and nodded vigorously.

The cargo ship changed direction and sailed toward the nearest island.

Once on the island, the two transferred to a passenger ship and continued heading west.

The passenger ship was much larger than the cargo vessel, with a clean hull, brand-new sails, and a deck equipped with seating and awnings for passengers to rest.

Taiga chose a seat by the railing, placing his backpack at his feet and leaning his three ninja swords against the chair.

Yugito sat beside him, holding a canteen and taking a sip of water.

The ship sailed across the sea day after day. They watched the ocean during the day and the stars at night. Occasionally, dolphins would swim past the ship, or flying fish would leap out of the water. Life at sea was monotonous and peaceful. The two didn't speak much, but when they sat together, the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.

Time slipped away during their journey.

After sailing for an unknown amount of time, the passenger ship docked at a port, and the two disembarked, stepping onto dry land.

This was a famous port located within the borders of the Land of Fire.

Taiga stood at the port, looking toward the west with narrowed eyes.

"Next stop, Sunagakure."

...

Meanwhile, in another corner of the ninja world, heavy moisture hung in the air of a gloomy cave.

The cave was incredibly deep, extending downward from the entrance through a long passage before finally reaching a massive space at the very bottom.

The cavernous space was vast, its ceiling so high it vanished into the darkness. Several glowing ores were embedded in the surrounding stone walls, emitting a faint blue light that cast the entire area in half-shadow.

In the center of this space sat a colossal entity.

It was a giant wooden statue, tens of meters tall and humanoid in shape. Its surface was covered in dense cracks, resembling a dried-up riverbed.

Its hands were clasped in a complex hand sign, its ten fingers like thick logs. Ten massive pillars protruded from its back, covered in carved seals and extending in all directions.

The Gedo Statue!

Uchiha Obito sat on a stone chair beneath the Gedo Statue.

The stone chair was crude, simply carved from the cave's rock, with a rough surface and no decorations.

He leaned against the backrest, his hands resting on the armrests. His orange, single-eye mask looked especially eerie under the faint blue light. His eye peered through the mask's eyehole, the crimson Sharingan shifting slightly, reflecting the massive Gedo Statue in its pupil.

His expression was gloomy; he had already received the news from Kirigakure.

Yagura Karatachi's genjutsu had been broken, a portion of the Three-Tails' chakra had been extracted, and that boy had caused a massive uproar in the seas outside Kirigakure before swaggering off.

His backup plan, a pawn he had spent years cultivating in Kirigakure, had been ruined just like that.

Zetsu emerged from the shadows of the cave, his black-and-white body striking under the faint blue light. The white half of his face wore its usual playful grin, while the black half remained as silent as ever.

"That guy has already left Kirigakure," White Zetsu said, his voice tinged with schadenfreude. "Your backup plan has been completely trashed."

Obito didn't look at Zetsu. His gaze remained fixed on the Gedo Statue. His voice was calm, but it carried a suppressed intensity.

"I know. I'll figure something out."

Black Zetsu looked at him and remained silent for a moment before speaking, his voice hoarse, as if seeping up from beneath the earth.

"What can you possibly figure out? That guy is no longer someone you can handle."

He paused.

"Face reality, Uchiha Obito."

Obito's fingers stopped tapping against the armrest. He leaned forward slightly, his eye narrowing behind the mask.

"We'll use the contingency plan. We have no other choice."

Black Zetsu's pupil contracted slightly. No emotion could be seen on his black-and-white face, but a hint of surprise laced his voice.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Obito didn't hesitate, giving a single nod.

"It's the only way."

He stood up from the stone chair and turned to walk deeper into the cave at a brisk pace. Zetsu followed behind him, his black-and-white body faintly visible in the darkness.

Deeper within the cave lay an even darker passage. There were no glowing ores on the stone walls here, only pitch blackness.

A small flame appeared in Obito's hand, illuminating the path ahead.

They walked for a long time, passing through several bends and descending a few flights of stairs, before finally arriving at a small stone grotto.

The grotto was small, only a dozen square meters, with a coffin resting in the center.

The coffin was made of stone, its surface rough, devoid of any patterns or decorations, looking like nothing more than a rectangular block of chiseled rock. The lid was covered in a thick layer of dust, as if it hadn't been touched in years.

Obito walked up to the coffin and stopped. He looked down at it in silence for a moment before reaching out, grabbing the edge of the lid, and giving it a hard shove.

The lid slowly slid open, emitting a dull, grinding sound.

Dust shook loose from the lid, drifting through the air under the light of the flame.

Inside the coffin lay a person.

The man was incredibly old, his gray hair sparse and clinging to his scalp. The wrinkles on his face were as deep as knife cuts, and his skin was dry and yellowed, like a withered orange peel.

His eyes were closed, his mouth slightly open. With his prominent cheekbones and sunken cheeks, he looked as thin as a skeleton. He wore a set of tattered red armor, its metal plates having long lost their luster, their edges covered in rust.

The corpse of Uchiha Madara.

Obito stared at that aged face, remaining silent for a long time.

Complex emotions surged in his eye—awe, reluctance, anger, and something else that was entirely indescribable.

He bent down and lifted Madara's corpse out of the coffin. After placing the body on the ground, he pulled a scroll from his coat, unrolled it, formed hand signs, and sealed the corpse inside.

Once he was done, he rolled the scroll back up and tucked it into his coat.

Zetsu stood to the side, watching the scene unfold without saying a word.

A different kind of emotion seemed to swirl within Black Zetsu's hollow eyes, but no expression could be seen on his black-and-white face.

He watched in silence as Obito put the scroll away, then followed him out.

The two walked one after the other, leaving the grotto and the passage, returning to the massive, gloomy space. The Gedo Statue still sat there, like an eternal, unchanging monument.

Obito stopped briefly by the stone chair.

"Let's go."

He strode toward the cave exit, with Zetsu trailing behind him.