The massive crater had been filled back in using Earth Release. The Uchiha Imperial City began its reconstruction.
Meanwhile, Shisui received news from Inabi and the others.
At that moment, Hiromi also returned to the Land of Fire.
When the clan members saw him, their eyes turned red with deep guilt. Hiromi had entrusted the Imperial City to them, yet it had been completely destroyed.
They were afraid to meet Hiromi's gaze, fearing they would see nothing but disappointment.
But Hiromi spoke calmly, "I will not take part in the upcoming Fifth Great Ninja War."
After saying that, he walked away.
These cold words made the clan members' eyes light up instead. They clenched their fists and watched Hiromi's retreating back, their expressions full of determination.
In the Fifth Great Ninja War, the Uchiha would definitely win!
—
Shisui, Fugaku, and Itachi followed and found Hiromi.
"What should we do next? Will that person strike again?" Shisui asked.
Although Hiromi could resurrect others, he didn't intend to throw lives away for nothing. The lives of the clan members were very important.
Hiromi knew who he was asking about and said, "He doesn't have time to act right now."
Shisui asked, "Is he absorbing the power of the Tailed Beasts?"
Hiromi gave a hum of affirmation.
Shisui frowned. "One-Tail, Two-Tails, Three-Tails... Nine-Tails should be the last. But that Tailed Beast power... isn't he afraid we'll control him?"
Hiromi glanced at him and showed a slight smile, seemingly finding some mischievous amusement in it.
Shisui's frown deepened. "Did I say something wrong?"
Hiromi shook his head and said, "You'll find out when the time comes."
Shisui nodded and didn't ask further, instead saying, "Then should I have Raichi and the others return?"
"Not pursuing anymore?" Hiromi's smile grew wider.
"Looking at your expression, I take it we couldn't catch him even if we wanted to?" Shisui said.
"Yeah, if he wants to run, probably no one can catch him." Hiromi laughed.
Even the Sage of Six Paths couldn't catch him for all those years. No matter how powerful Hiromi was, he still couldn't catch him. Unless he could place a Flying Thunder God mark on him, but whether he could even touch him was a problem.
It was better to follow Black Zetsu's plan and let him go resurrect his mother. And then, let him witness what true despair looked like.
Fugaku and Itachi were somewhat surprised. They hadn't expected there to be someone even Hiromi couldn't catch.
This mastermind was hiding quite deep. Even a Rinnegan user was just his subordinate.
With Shisui's suspicions confirmed by Hiromi, he immediately made arrangements in his mind.
"Then I'll have the clan members return. On Sasuke's side, I'll arrange for Raichi and a few others to assist him."
"Sure, whatever works." Hiromi said.
The Uchiha clan had always been extreme, especially Sasuke. Among all the clan members, he was the most likely to betray the Uchiha. It might be because the clan didn't help him find Naruto, or because the clan members held the Uchiha clan in too high a regard.
In Sasuke's heart, whenever Naruto was involved, the Uchiha clan had to take a backseat. After all, even now he seemingly didn't know his mother was dead, or perhaps he knew and just didn't say anything or look for her.
However, Hiromi didn't care whether Sasuke betrayed them or not. If he betrayed them, then he would be killed. It wasn't a big problem.
Before the three left, Hiromi asked Shisui to bring him a death row prisoner.
Shisui agreed out of habit.
Before leaving, Itachi glanced at Hiromi. Seeming to have confirmed something, he let out a sigh, feeling a mix of worry and helplessness for his younger brother.
—
Hall of Contemplation.
The newly rebuilt Hall of Contemplation was somewhat simpler than before, but it had gained a basement.
Just as Hiromi was about to enter the basement, Kazuto and Shizuka arrived.
"Hiromi..."
Meeting his son, even though it wasn't the first time, Kazuto was still somewhat awkward.
Hiromi's expression was calm as he said, "Father."
He then looked at the expectant Shizuka and said, "Mother."
Shizuka was overjoyed. She immediately let go of Kazuto's hand, walked forward, took Hiromi's hand, and said expectantly, "Will you have dinner with us tonight?"
"Yes."
Hearing Hiromi's answer, Shizuka, who was in her early twenties, was so happy she almost skipped. She took Kazuto's hand and left, happily thinking about what she could cook to make Hiromi happy.
Hiromi watched her until she left before entering the basement.
There was nothing inside.
Soon, Shisui arrived.
"Hiromi, I'm coming in."
"Okay."
Shisui came in carrying a death row prisoner.
This prisoner was a captured thief.
Although the Uchiha's current situation wasn't suitable for managing such things, and the clan members didn't want to bother,
Shisui thought it would be troublesome if Hiromi wanted to resurrect someone and didn't have a prisoner, so he captured them whenever he saw them.
If he caught too many, he would kill them and seal them into scrolls, which could also be used for Hiromi's Cellular Regeneration Absorption.
Now, Shisui was curious about who Hiromi wanted to resurrect.
"Should I leave?" He asked.
Hiromi shook his head and said, "I'm just resurrecting them for fun."
"For fun?" Shisui became even more curious.
Soon, under Edo Tensei, a familiar face appeared.
"Shikaku-san..." Shisui's lips twitched.
Shikaku opened his eyes and saw Hiromi in front of him. Feeling his aversion to this world and a nauseating sensation, he immediately connected it to a certain forbidden technique.
"Am I dead?" He wasn't surprised and was very calm, only feeling a bit of regret.
"Yes."
Hiromi performed hand seals, and Rinne Tensei caused green light to emerge around them, removing the nauseating world-weariness from Shikaku's body.
This caused the normally composed Shikaku to widen his eyes, looking at Hiromi's eyes in disbelief.
"The legendary Sage of Six Paths' eyes..."
Following that, he pinched his own body, finding it hard to believe. "I've been resurrected?"
Hiromi gave a hum of affirmation.
"Why?" Shikaku's expression became grave.
He didn't know this jutsu, but jutsu always required a price. General Ninjutsu cost Chakra, forbidden techniques cost lives, and the price for bringing the dead back to life would surely be severe.
Hiromi narrowed his eyes and smiled. "If resurrecting someone was as simple as stepping on an ant, what would you do?"
Shikaku: "..."
What would he do?
Naturally, one would either step on all the ants or step on the most interesting one among them. And he was clearly the most interesting ant in Hiromi's eyes.
In an instant, he understood Hiromi's thoughts, his eyes taking on a deadpan look. "So you resurrected me because you were bored?"
Hiromi smiled without saying a word.
But even without Hiromi's answer, Shikaku could tell from his expression. This made him feel momentarily lost about his own existence. However, he quickly shook it off.
He sat cross-legged on the ground and laughed self-deprecatingly. "Being your enemy truly isn't worth it."
He felt sorrow for the Allied Shinobi Forces. No matter how many they killed, as long as Hiromi didn't die, the people by his side could live forever.
Now, knowing that Hiromi could resurrect the dead, Shikaku desperately wanted Hiromi to revive his wife, son, and clan members. But he knew that Hiromi had his own thoughts. If he was willing, he would do it himself. If he wasn't, no amount of talking would help. Therefore, Shikaku said nothing.
Hiromi seemed to see through his thoughts and sat down on the ground as well.
Shisui seemed to sense something and said with a smile, "Hiromi, I still have things to do, so I'll be going first."
"Mm."
"As I thought, you're keeping something from me." Shisui shook his head and walked away with a smile.
"I'll give you a surprise when the time comes." Hiromi laughed.
"I'll look forward to it." Shisui's voice drifted back from the distance, filled with amusement.
The way these two brothers acted left Shikaku somewhat dumbfounded.
Hiromi had resurrected him clearly because he needed something from him, yet he still insisted on teasing him.
Was this just boredom, or was there really something important?
With such a personality combined with that terrifying combat power, the title of "Tyrant" truly wasn't given in error.
Shikaku shook his head helplessly.
Hiromi smiled slightly, and scorching lava covered the surrounding area, preventing White Zetsu from approaching within a thousand meters and sealing off the exit above.
Seeing this, Shikaku's expression turned solemn.
Immediately after, Hiromi informed him of Black Zetsu's existence.
"Black Zetsu... Madara... Nagato... the Great Ninja Wars... everything was done by Black Zetsu to save his mother, Ōtsutsuki Kaguya?" Shikaku was a bit stunned.
If it were anyone else, he would certainly think they were talking nonsense.
How could there be a creature that lived for a thousand years? And it even involved the legendary Rabit Goddess.
But Hiromi was different. What he said must be right. After all, he could even resurrect the dead, so what else was impossible?