The end of Konoha Year 56 arrived quietly, yet with an unmistakable weight, as the first snowfall settled over the village.
Among the matters brought to a close was the mission to escort the first batch of shinobi for combat exchange to Kumo—a responsibility that fell squarely on Roshi's shoulders.
The names on the list were all Genin and Chunin who had undergone careful evaluation by Konoha. Their basic personal records were deemed safe for limited disclosure, marking them, at least for now, as individuals unlikely to be assigned to core confidential divisions.
Even so, the document itself remained sensitive. As the initiator of this information exchange, Konoha deemed it most appropriate for Roshi to personally deliver the list to Kumogakure.
The roster Kumogakure submitted would, by necessity, follow the same principles.
The exchange procedure was straightforward. Upon Roshi's arrival, Konoha would submit its list while Kumogakure simultaneously presented theirs. Verification would be conducted on-site, primarily by repeatedly confirming each participant's identity details with the individuals themselves.
In practice, it was little more than a formality. The true significance lay not in the verification itself, but in the act of exchanging information.
If someone could not clearly recall their own basic identity details or accurately recount the official records registered by their village, then failing the review would be entirely their own responsibility.
Konoha would not pry further—and when Kumogakure's envoys later traveled to Konoha, they would adhere to the same unspoken understanding.
Once the initial verification concluded, Roshi sat in the lounge arranged by Kumo, briefly considering whether he should take the opportunity to visit Raikumo—the trading port Samui had mentioned—to search for new plant samples.
As he was thinking, Samui approached and handed him a small cloth pouch.
Roshi opened it and glanced inside. "Seeds?"
"Yes," Samui replied calmly. "Nothing involving Kumogakure's internal affairs—just some seeds from unique tree species and other plants native to the Land of Lightning."
"Thank you, Samui."
"Consider it a return gift, Roshi."
The gesture was an unexpected but welcome surprise. It spared him the trouble of making a separate trip to Raikumo. As Roshi examined the contents more carefully, he found that while some seeds overlapped with his existing collection, many were varieties he had never encountered before.
By now, his tree-related research had been formally divided into two distinct tracks.
One focused solely on the cultivation and study of tree species themselves. The other dealt with the cultivation and behavior of Tailed Beast Chakra.
This separation was the result of reorganizing his experimental approach under Tsunade's guidance.
After all, before this, Roshi had only ever been a corporate worker—an absolute novice when it came to structured experimentation and research design.
While assisting him in analyzing Sora's physical condition, Tsunade had also asked about the progress of his Wood Release.
Even without knowing the full scope of what Roshi was attempting, she immediately identified the core issue.
"Your steps are too entangled," she had said bluntly. "You need to break them down further and refine them. Mixing all the variables from the start isn't research—it's gambling."
That was the Senju Princess's verdict.
Combining those insights with what he had learned from studying Sora, Roshi began forming new ideas about the cultivation of Tailed Beast Chakra.
He lacked both the authority and the inclination to experiment on living people. Fortunately, as a Wood Release user, he possessed another technique particularly well-suited to this line of inquiry.
Wood Clones.
Compared to Shadow Clones, Wood Clones had clear drawbacks—they left behind physical traces and were less convenient to disperse. But they also offered notable advantages: greater durability, more stable consciousness synchronization, and far more flexible chakra distribution.
Roshi had made deliberate adjustments to his Wood Clones. His experience training in Sage Mode had taught him that, at their core, Wood Release constructs were still trees. Excessive absorption of natural energy would inevitably trigger uncontrolled transformation.
Now, with precise control over natural energy, he could reinforce their tree-like properties while carefully regulating energy intake—strengthening them without crossing the threshold into instability.
After countless trials, Roshi finally succeeded in creating a highly specialized Wood Release clone.
The next step was sealing.
That part was comparatively straightforward. Konoha already possessed the Four Symbols Seal, as well as a modified version developed by the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze—though access to the latter required Hokage-level authorization.
Roshi wasn't the Hokage, but he did have a certain amount of leverage with her. Requesting a sealing technique for study was not particularly difficult.
Once he obtained the scroll, he refined his understanding of its finer points through consultation with the Third Hokage.
Near the end of the year, Hiruzen found himself unusually unoccupied. His family was preparing to welcome another child, and since he was not a Jinchūriki, he had no reason to conceal the expected due date. Konohamaru Sarutobi was projected to be born around December.
In short, by employing the Four Symbols Seal, Roshi successfully sealed the chakra of the Four-Tails into his specially prepared Wood Release clone.
After confirming the stability of the seal, he placed the clone's consciousness into a semi-dormant state. In this condition, it could absorb natural energy at a very low frequency without interfering with Roshi's main body, allowing the Tailed Beast chakra within it to be slowly cultivated.
If judged purely by growth rate, it might take another eight hundred—or even a thousand—years for the sealed chakra to approach even a fraction of the Four-Tails' original power.
But the result itself was never the point.
What mattered was that the method worked. More importantly, Roshi no longer needed to worry about running out of experimental material.
With the Four-Tails chakra successfully stabilized, he repeated the process, sealing the Five-Tails chakra into a second specialized Wood Release clone.
With that, the problem of cultivating Tailed Beast chakra was—at least for now—resolved.
The next stage was to return his focus to tree cultivation.
The batch of seeds Samui had gifted him, even if they did not include any truly rare species as she claimed, still opened up several new avenues of experimentation.
As for more… once mutual trust between the two villages deepened, acquiring additional samples through other exchange channels might not be impossible.
He needed to finish the work at hand quickly. Judging by the pace of things, next year would likely require him to apply for a long-term leave once again.
The thought passed through his mind, though his expression remained unchanged as he methodically reviewed the personnel list submitted by Kumogakure.
It took four full days to complete the verification process. Once finished, Roshi prepared to return to Konoha with the results.
Before his departure, he was summoned for another audience with the Raikage.
"With cooperation having progressed this far," A said bluntly, "there are some old matters we can now afford to discuss."
He fixed Roshi with a steady gaze.
"Two years ago—the incident involving the Kumogakure envoy, Akai."
Despite the cold, A wore only his thin white cloak, his exposed arms radiating power and authority.
"After Akai's death, his two escorting guards returned to the Land of Frost front to report the incident. Not long after, they disappeared."
"The most plausible explanation is that they were impostors—individuals disguised using Transformation Jutsu. Once faced with the prospect of scrutiny from the Village, they had no choice but to vanish."
A's tone hardened.
"I will not apologize for demanding a member of the Hyūga clan. Akai died in Konoha, at the hands of the Hyūga. That responsibility belongs to Konoha."
"Avenging him is not only my right—it is my duty as Raikage."
Then, his voice lowered slightly.
"However, since both sides intend to move forward, I am willing to share this information—something Konoha may not yet be aware of."
His gaze sharpened, piercing and unyielding.
"In return," Ay said, "I expect Konoha to do the same."
—
Konoha Year 56, December 30th.
A newborn's cry rang out through the Sarutobi clan compound, cutting cleanly through the winter air and announcing the arrival of a new life—Konohamaru Sarutobi.
At nearly the same moment, the Hokage Office remained brightly lit.
"How long are you planning to take off this time?" Tsunade asked without lifting her head, her pen gliding smoothly across the paperwork.
She didn't pause. From behind a stack of documents, Roshi's reply drifted out.
"About a year and a half."
Tsunade snorted. Her eyes flicked up briefly, full of unmistakable disdain, even as her hand stamped the form with practiced ease.
"Approved. Six months."
She added curtly, "Finish your work for the last two days of the year first."
Contrary to expectations, the workload at year's end was surprisingly light.
Rumor had it that Tsunade had worked herself to exhaustion ahead of time, clearing urgent matters in advance so she could steal a day or two of peace for herself.
As she flipped through another scroll, Tsunade spoke again, as if the thought had just occurred to her.
"Regarding the intelligence on 'Madara,' the Village has decided to share a limited portion with Kumogakure."
Roshi didn't look up, his attention still buried in the documents.
Even without his input, Konoha had already deduced most of what could be deduced—everything except the full extent of Obito's abilities.
The real problem remained the Akatsuki.
Not just Obito. Not just Nagato.
But Uchiha Madara himself—long dead, yet still casting a shadow.
Judging by what Roshi remembered of the original course of events, Madara's posthumous arrangements for resurrection were, frankly, riddled with flaws.
He had left a cursed seal on Obito, claiming control—but in truth, that seal did little more than prevent Obito from committing suicide. Until Madara's actual revival, it had almost no restraining power.
And yet, if one set aside the one variable Madara never accounted for—Black Zetsu—his calculations were not entirely wrong.
From Madara's perspective, the resurrection was under control.
Obito had no desire to revive him while the situation remained manageable and Akatsuki held the advantage.
Black Zetsu, meanwhile, was in no rush. The war had not yet begun, and resurrecting Madara too early risked exposing the truth—that Zetsu was not the "will" Madara had created, but something else entirely.
Moreover, if Obito truly succeeded in becoming the perfect Ten-Tails Jinchūriki, Black Zetsu didn't particularly care who activated the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
If Obito could do it, then Madara could simply serve as an Edo Tensei combatant.
If he failed, switching back to Madara was always an option.
Madara's fatal miscalculation came only later—when the Black Zetsu he had left behind, the one capable of forcibly controlling Obito, failed.
That was when the timing of his resurrection slipped beyond his grasp.
As long as war existed, however—such as the moment Obito openly declared war on the Five Great Ninja Villages—Black Zetsu would immediately begin preparing Madara's return.
And when Uchiha Madara truly returned to life…
Would the Rinnegan—eyes that had always belonged to him—still remain in Nagato's possession?
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