After staying in the camp for several days, Haori's squad finally received new orders—they were cleared to return to the village.
Overall, Haori's time in the camp hadn't been bad. The only real problem was that the enthusiasm of the other ninja was a bit overwhelming for him and his teammates.
Whether it was because Haori had killed Kari of the Explosion Corps, a man whose hands were stained with the blood of countless Konoha ninja—
Or because he had helped complete the bridge-destruction mission, turning the tide of the war and making the path to victory clearly visible—
All of this was immensely uplifting news, and all of it was why everyone held Haori in such high regard.
As a result, their excitement and passion were perfectly understandable. Even knowing that Haori and his team were leaving the battlefield to return to the village, no one thought there was anything wrong with it.
They had already done so much deep behind enemy lines—one could even say they had laid the very foundation for victory. The rest could be left to those still fighting here.
It had to be said: ordinary ninja really were quite lovable.
And it also had to be said—Jiraiya's publicity work was truly on another level.
Still, when Haori first learned that he could return to the village—and that Kakashi and Rin were also on the list—he froze for a moment.
…That's it? We're just leaving like this?
Then what about Obito?
But after giving it some thought, Haori realized that these things didn't actually conflict at all.
"Obito was injured not that long ago—he practically lost half his body. Even with White Zetsu cells, injuries like that still need a long time to recover…"
Haori recalled Obito's recovery period from memory. That alone was enough to show that Rin's death didn't happen immediately after the end of the Grass Country war.
After all, Obito couldn't even move—no matter how perfect the scheme, it couldn't be carried out under those conditions.
"And if I remember correctly, Konoha and Iwagakure also entered negotiations—and this time, Konoha made unilateral concessions."
Although he'd transmigrated quite a while ago and his memories weren't perfectly clear, he still vaguely remembered the negotiations.
Konoha acknowledged all of Iwagakure's actions and even gave up its right to demand reparations—terms that were absurd on the surface.
And precisely because of these terms, Danzō furiously berated Hiruzen Sarutobi, which ultimately led to a major turning point.
"The Third Hokage takes responsibility for the war… and chooses to step down."
(The negotiation details come from anime episode 569—I'm not making this up.)
It wasn't strange that Haori could recall these events—after all, he himself was deeply involved in the war.
From the looks of it now, many major incidents likely occurred during this very negotiation period.
For example, the exposure of Orochimaru's first human experiments, which stripped him of his eligibility as a candidate.
Beyond that, Madara likely used the pretext of sabotaging these negotiations to mobilize Kirigakure, ultimately completing Obito's transformation.
And Iwagakure, pressured by Minato Namikaze's deterrence and its own dire situation, had no choice but to sit at the negotiating table—cementing Minato's legendary reputation.
"Looks like I still have plenty of time to do a lot of things."
Haori thought quietly to himself. He hadn't forgotten his main quest—nor had he forgotten that he still had a side quest left unfinished.
Toppling Uchiha Fugaku was something Haori would never stop pursuing.
It concerned not only his main quest, but his very survival. No matter what, he wouldn't allow that man to continue as he was.
But if he wanted to take Fugaku down, Haori had to prepare thoroughly.
That man might very well possess the Mangekyō Sharingan—and in name, he was still the clan head.
Dealing with him would be anything but easy.
And what Haori wanted to do wasn't merely "replace him."
If you were already going to become clan head, why not make the entire clan fall into line?
Still, achieving that was no simple task either—after all, the Uchiha clan had two major internal factions.
"Power…"
Haori murmured softly, and once again couldn't help cursing Uchiha Fugaku under his breath.
He had the power to deal with these issues, yet chose to do nothing.
At this point, it would be unnatural if the clan didn't meet destruction.
"Haori, what's wrong?"
Just as Haori was lost in thought, Rin's voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Everyone's ready. How about you?"
"Yeah, I'm ready. I was just thinking about some other things."
Though his mind had been full of scattered thoughts, Haori quickly shook himself out of it.
Turning around, he saw Kakashi, Guy, and Aoba already standing outside, waiting for him.
"Let's go."
Haori stood up and smiled at Rin.
"Oh right—what about Jonin Minato? He's not heading back yet?"
"Sensei said he needs to stay a few more days to confirm the situation here. He'll return after that."
Rin shook her head, then seemed to recall something and smiled.
"But Sensei asked me to pass along a message—if you're in a hurry, Haori, you can go directly to Kushina-sensei.
After he gets back, he'll pay a visit in person."
"Is that so? Then thank you very much."
Haori nodded happily at those words.
He'd been thinking about the Uzumaki clan's ancestral residence for a long time now—he wanted to see if there was anything inside worth digging up.
The fact that Minato still remembered this meant a lot to Haori. And truly—he was a genuinely good man.
[Side Quest Completed: Assist Team Minato in destroying Kannabi Bridge]
[Reward Obtained: Mount Myōboku Sage Mode and its cultivation method]
"Madara-sama, they've already begun their return to Konoha."
In the underground chamber beneath the Land of Grass, Madara was still formulating Obito's future path to awakening when White Zetsu appeared once more.
Although Madara already had a very clear direction—using Obito's love to transform him, leading him into total corruption and eternal control—
There were still countless details that needed careful consideration if he wanted to construct a perfect plan.
When it came to awakening the eyes, Madara knew he absolutely could not afford the slightest carelessness. One mistake, and everything would collapse.
"They're returning to Konoha, huh… that's fine. That brat Obito still needs time to recover."
Madara was somewhat displeased by White Zetsu's sudden appearance, but he merely nodded.
"If nothing unexpected happens, Konoha and Iwagakure should be entering negotiations. This war is about to end."
"Uh… but why would they negotiate?"
White Zetsu blinked, clearly unable to understand what Madara meant.
"Don't think about it. Just do your job. I need some quiet."
Madara shot White Zetsu a glance, then closed his eyes, no longer bothering with him.
White Zetsu had always been stupid—Madara was long used to it. And he wasn't surprised in the slightest.
After all, it had been nurtured from Hashirama Senju's cells. Having an intelligence level similar to that old friend of his was hardly unexpected.
"Rin… Rin…"
Madara wanted peace and quiet—but interruptions kept coming one after another.
He had just managed to silence White Zetsu, when the unconscious Obito started again.
"Stop calling. No one cares about you."
Madara frowned and finally spoke impatiently.
His words seemed to have some effect—Obito paused and indeed stopped calling Rin.
But the silence didn't last long.
Soon, Obito spoke again.
And this time, what he said truly made Madara lose his composure.
"Kakashi… Kakashi…"
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