Budekan never slept.
Hidden beneath layers of storm clouds and chakra mist, the fortress-city breathed like a living creature—silent, patient, unseen by the world that feared the man who built it. Its towers glowed faintly under the eternal twilight, a place suspended between reality and illusion. But tonight, Budekan felt heavier than usual… as if even the air sensed something approaching.
Madara stood alone atop the highest spire, cloak drifting in the wind. His Eternal 16-Tomoe Rinnegan reflected the storm below, swirling like dying galaxies. Behind him, Obito appeared in a flicker of distorted space.
"Still watching them?" Obito asked.
Madara didn't turn.
"Boruto. Sarada. And Sasuke… now reborn with his Rinnegan once more."
Obito crossed his arms.
"You're making them too strong."
"There is no 'too strong,'" Madara replied softly. "Only what is required to reach me."
A crack of lightning lit the cloud sea below Budekan. Obito sighed.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
Madara's faint smile was all the answer he needed.
Deep below the fortress, torchlight wavered along cavern walls carved with ancient symbols. Six empty platforms remained where the Demi Eternal Beasts once rested. A low hum pulsed through the chamber, like something hidden exhaling slowly.
Itachi stepped inside without a sound. Pain's Deva Path stood beside a pillar, the rings of the Rinnegan faintly glowing.
"They destroyed all six beasts," Pain said.
Itachi gave a small nod.
"Sasuke has reclaimed his Rinnegan. His growth is… rapid."
Konan's paper feathers rustled as she joined them.
"And that boy, Boruto. His chakra shifts unpredictably."
Hidan lounged on a broken altar, yawning.
"Tch. Let them get strong. I wanna see if any of them can actually kill me this time."
Kisame laughed from the shadows.
"That's just your addiction to pain talking."
"Better than being bored," Hidan shot back.
Konan exhaled deeply, irritated.
Outside, in the hidden forest surrounding Budekan, Neya sprinted along a cracked stone path. Her cloak whipped behind her as she dodged branches that shifted with chakra. Sweat ran down her cheek, breath sharp with exhaustion.
"Again," Itachi said, appearing behind her like a ghost.
"That was… the tenth time," she panted.
"And you failed ten times," he answered calmly. "Go again."
Neya steadied herself—
but a tall shadow blocked her path.
Kisame leaned against a boulder, flashing sharp teeth.
"You'll never outrun Itachi at that pace. Use your instincts, kid."
"My instincts?" she repeated, breathing hard.
"Yeah," he shrugged. "Madara didn't save you so you could be ordinary."
Neya froze.
Her memories surged—
the cave… the beasts outside… the roar in the darkness… her tiny hands covering her ears…
and then the silence broken by a single voice:
"Come out. I won't harm you."
Madara's shadow in the cave entrance had terrified her—yet his eyes had been strangely calm.
When she stepped out, trembling and barefoot, he had simply extended a hand.
"You don't belong here. Come with me."
And she did.
She remembered walking beside him through rain and stone, the world looking bigger and scarier with every step. She remembered standing at the gates of Budekan for the first time, so small beside the man who would reshape nations.
From that day, she never left his side.
Back in the present, Neya clenched her fists. Her chakra flared instinctively, swirling around her eyes.
Itachi's expression shifted—barely.
"Good. Again."
Neya dashed forward, faster this time.
Above the forest, Madara closed his eyes.
"They grow stronger," Obito murmured.
"So does the world," Madara replied. "And the more chaos rises… the closer we come to the next phase."
Lightning cracked again, illuminating Budekan's hidden walls.
Far away, beyond the storm barrier, Sasuke gazed at the sky with his restored Rinnegan—an eye reclaimed during the desperate clash with the Otsutsuki days earlier. The power pulsed within him, sharper than before, whispering of a coming storm.
Naruto felt it too.
Boruto felt it more.
Something was moving behind the veil of peace.
Something from Budekan.
Something from Madara.
And the Eternal Eyes of the Akatsuki were watching.
The world above rested in uneasy silence.
But inside Budekan, training continued. Plans continued. Power thickened in the air like a storm ready to break.
The future had already begun echoing beneath the crimson sky.
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