Konoha Underground Laboratory.
Night Namikaze took the Impure World Reincarnation scroll, which he had already memorized by heart, and pawned it back into the System.
White Zetsu's prying was like a Sword of Damocles hanging over his head, reminding him to be extra cautious.
He stood up, cleared all traces related to Edo Tensei from the experiment table, and restored the facade of conducting basic experimental research.
After confirming no one was around, he left his private underground lab and took a deep breath of the slightly chilly air outside.
The sunlight in Konoha was as bright as ever. The streets were bustling with people, a picture of peace.
"Next, time to pay a visit to my 'respected' teacher."
Night straightened his collar. According to the normal schedule, Orochimaru should be instructing Nawaki at Training Ground 3 right now.
His pace was unhurried, but his mind had already rehearsed several possible conversations and ways to probe Orochimaru's bottom line.
However, when he arrived at the familiar Training Ground 3, only Nawaki was there, doing physical training alone on the vast field.
Although without Orochimaru's supervision, Nawaki was exceptionally serious about it, drenched in sweat.
Since Night didn't suppress his footsteps, Nawaki noticed him as soon as he approached. He immediately stopped training and greeted him.
"Night-nii!"
Nawaki grinned, revealing white teeth, and waved excitedly. Clearly, the boring physical training had been dull for him.
"Yeah."
Night nodded faintly, then asked, "Where is Teacher Orochimaru? Isn't today your sparring day?"
"Teacher went on a mission. Didn't you know, Night-nii?"
Nawaki looked slightly surprised. Orochimaru had evidently informed him before leaving.
"On a mission?" Night raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly.
No wonder no new research topics had been assigned recently. So he wasn't in the village. It felt like he was being confidently left to his own devices.
This seemingly direct path was blocked for now.
But since Orochimaru was temporarily out of reach, the Nawaki in front of him seemed like a good alternative option.
He didn't jump straight into the "main topic." Instead, he beckoned to Nawaki with a finger.
"Come on, I'll spar with you for a bit."
Nawaki instantly perked up. This optimist always managed to bounce back stronger after every defeat.
Of course, given Night's current prowess, even with minimal effort, the ensuing spar became almost entirely one-sided guidance.
Night didn't use any Kekkei Genkai. Just with taijutsu and basic Body Flicker Technique, he dissolved all of Nawaki's offenses into nothing.
Every strike precisely hit Nawaki's exposed weaknesses and the points where his chakra flow stagnated.
About half an hour later, Nawaki sat paralyzed on the training ground floor, sweating profusely and waving his hands repeatedly. "I can't... I can't do it anymore. Night-nii, sparring with you is even more tiring than fighting my big sis..."
It wasn't surprising Nawaki felt this way. Tsunade's attack style was slightly singular—mostly "breaking all techniques with brute force." Against someone with a massive gap in strength, it just felt like being ruthlessly crushed.
Night, however, controlled his strength perfectly, always giving Nawaki the illusion that he was "just a little bit short."
Moreover, with the enhancement of his dojutsu bloodline, even without activating it, his baseline perception had improved immensely. This was a key reason he could repeatedly detect Nawaki's intentions and exploit his flaws.
Night's breathing was steady; he hadn't even broken a sweat. He sat down beside Nawaki and tossed him a water flask.
"Take a break."
Seeing Nawaki still panting uncontrollably, Night realized this was a good opportunity.
He spoke seemingly casually, gazing at the towering Hokage Rock in the distance, bringing it up like idle chat. "Speaking of which, recently I've been researching some old ninjutsu development concepts with Teacher Orochimaru. It involves extreme changes in combining chakra shape and nature...
It always makes one think of the Second Hokage, who created countless forbidden techniques. What kind of genius mind did he possess to achieve so many results?"
Hearing this, Nawaki put down the water flask, puffing out his chest with pride. "That's natural! Grandpa Tobirama was a recognized genius. Many of his techniques are still not fully understood by anyone to this day."
"Such a genius figure, completely on par with the First Hokage. Yet, because he trusted the Cloud's so-called negotiations, he fell at the hands of the shameless Kinkaku and Ginkaku forces...
It's truly a huge loss for Konoha.
His body... it should have been successfully brought back to Konoha for burial, right? It would be too regrettable for such a figure to be buried in a foreign land."
Night's tone carried just the right amount of admiration and curiosity.
Nawaki didn't suspect anything. He took another swig of water and nodded. "Yeah! Of course Grandpa Tobirama's body was brought back! He's buried in the Senju clan's family cemetery. Grandma Mito personally presided over the burial ceremony back then."
A trace of pride appeared on his face, followed by gloom. "But I heard the battle was too intense. Grandpa Tobirama... his body was severely damaged. They had to use special sealing jutsu to preserve it during burial."
Night's heart stirred, but his face remained calm. "That's how it is for ninjas on the battlefield. But being able to return his soul to his homeland is indeed good news."
Then he smiled faintly, gently steering the topic away. "To develop space-time ninjutsu and various forbidden techniques capable of changing the tide of war with a mortal body... his wisdom and courage were rare in the ninja world.
If he were still here, many of Konoha's difficult problems might have been solved long ago."
Nawaki looked longing beside him. Not having awakened Wood Release, perhaps he was aiming to emulate this ancestor.
Night stood up, brushing grass clippings off his clothes. "Rested enough? Let's go another round. Your ninjutsu start-up is too obvious. Don't hold back; use full power."
Nawaki's attention was immediately pulled back to training, the previous topic thrown to the back of his mind.
But Night, while sparring, had his mind racing.
By the time training ended, the sun was setting in the west.
"Thanks, Night-nii! Let's go, I'll treat you to dinner!"
Although exhausted after a day of training, Nawaki's face was full of excitement. He felt he had gained a lot today.
"Next time. I still have unfinished business today."
Declining Nawaki's invitation, Night waved goodbye.
Only when Nawaki's figure disappeared at the end of the street did Night slowly wipe the warmth from his face.
The Mind's Eye of the Kagura expanded silently again, scanning the surroundings like the most loyal sentry.
No unpleasant feeling of White Zetsu's prying.
"The Senju clan grounds?" Night murmured to himself. "That's a bit troublesome."
Deep within the current clan grounds sat the living fossil, Mito Uzumaki. Leaving aside her almost guaranteed awakened Mind's Eye of the Kagura, the fox inside her alone was trouble enough.
More importantly, he still held respect for this elder who had paved the way for him.