When Xuan dragged a heavily wounded Madara back to Uchiha Yutaka, the former Third Elder was given quite a scare. He hurriedly rushed over to ask what happened.
Xuan gave a brief explanation, keeping the details sparse. Yutaka frantically summoned medical ninja to treat Madara. As for Xuan, he was merely suffering from severe chakra exhaustion and physical fatigue. Thanks to the Flying Raijin Jutsu, he hadn't actually sustained any injuries during the mission—excluding the moment he used Izanagi to block that final attack, of course.
They stayed at Yutaka's outpost for a few days. Once Madara's injuries stabilized, the two boys declined Yutaka's offer to rest longer and headed back to the main compound.
"Don't ever drag me on a mission with you again. It's nothing but bad luck," Xuan tossed out as a parting remark before heading straight back to his own manor.
His little maid was overjoyed at his return. Under Hotaru's attentive and eager care, Xuan fully embraced a decadent lifestyle once more, reveling in the treatment of a wealthy landlord. Feeling her soft, gentle hands massaging his shoulders as he soaked in the backyard hot spring with a cup of sake, he sighed in deep contentment. "Now this is life."
Unfortunately, his peace was shattered the very next day. A messenger arrived, stating that Uchiha Tajima had summoned him.
Rubbing his temples, Xuan grumbled irritably, "Can't a guy get a single moment of peace? That paranoid old man..."
Despite his complaints, he got dressed and headed toward the massive estate in the center of the compound. Entering the main administrative building, a Genin guided him toward the rear corridors. After taking two turns, they stopped in front of a sliding door. The Genin knocked lightly. "Lord Patriarch, Young Master Xuan has arrived."
"Let him in," Tajima's stern voice echoed from within.
The Genin slid the door open, gesturing for Xuan to enter before respectfully stepping back. Xuan stepped into the room, and the door slid shut behind him.
He quickly scanned his surroundings. The study wasn't particularly large. A bookshelf stood against one wall, accompanied by a few potted bonsai trees. A large window at the back provided excellent lighting. In front of the window sat a low wooden desk piled high with various scrolls and documents. Uchiha Tajima sat formally behind the desk, his expression incredibly severe.
Aside from Tajima, Uchiha Madara was already there, kneeling stiffly and respectfully on the floor.
"Xuan, you're here. Sit," Tajima said, gesturing to a cushion.
Suppressing a grimace, Xuan obediently knelt down beside Madara in the formal seiza posture. Uchiha Tajima was the only person in the world who could make him abandon his comfortable cross-legged sitting habit.
Once seated, Xuan noticed Tajima holding a familiar black sheet of paper. He exchanged a brief glance with Madara, who gave a subtle nod, confirming that this meeting was indeed about their Black-Rank mission.
Tajima cut straight to the chase. "When I issued this mission, I did not actually expect Madara to be able to complete it alone. I didn't expect him to seek you out for help. This is a good thing. Learning to rely on the strength of your comrades is a mandatory lesson for any shinobi. No matter how strong an individual is, they cannot walk the path alone. You two executed this mission flawlessly."
Xuan and Madara simultaneously bowed their heads, offering a few humble platitudes about how they didn't deserve such praise and still needed to work hard.
Tajima nodded in satisfaction, lightly tapping his finger against the desk. "I listened to Madara's brief report on the mission. I heard you encountered a Hyūga Elite Jōnin?"
"Yes," Xuan admitted flatly.
"I also heard that the two of you actually managed to team up and kill this Elite Jōnin. I am incredibly interested in this. Why don't you tell me exactly how you pulled that off?" Tajima asked calmly.
Hearing this, Xuan frowned slightly, his eyes narrowing into thin slits. The question sounded perfectly normal on the surface, but Tajima had just admitted that Madara had already given him a report. Even if it was brief, there was no way Madara would have left out the core details of how they killed an Elite Jōnin. So why was Tajima asking him to recount the story?
"Father, didn't I already tell you?" Madara suddenly blurted out, interrupting. "That Hyūga Elite Jōnin got careless, and I managed to critically injure him with the Five Fire Gods' Gate! Then Xuan used his space-time Ninjutsu and that Rasengan to teleport right in front of him and finish him off!"
As he spoke, Madara turned his head and shot Xuan a frantic, exaggerated wink.
Xuan was momentarily rendered speechless. Madara had clearly realized that Tajima didn't trust Xuan due to his mysterious new Jutsu. To protect him, Madara had deliberately omitted any mention of Kamui and Izanagi, and had hastily interrupted the conversation out of fear that Xuan might accidentally slip up and reveal the truth.
Xuan couldn't help but smile bitterly internally. When you really think about it, Madara is actually kind of cute.
"Hmph. I wasn't asking you," Tajima sneered coldly, harshly reprimanding his son for interrupting. Madara immediately shrank back, lowering his head in silent submission.
Having scolded Madara, Tajima seemed to lose interest in pressing the issue. "Alright. Since the two of you successfully completed this mission, the clan will naturally reward you handsomely. Your compensation will be delivered to your estates tomorrow. You may both leave."
Xuan and Madara bowed simultaneously before backing out of the study.
Walking side-by-side out of the administrative building, Xuan chuckled softly. "Thanks." Regardless of what was going through Madara's head when he covered for him, the intention was genuinely kind, and for that, he deserved thanks.
Madara tilted his chin up, feigning arrogance. "It's a minor thing. Just remember to come help your big brother complete the next mission."
"Not a chance in hell."
After bantering for a few more sentences, the two parted ways. As Xuan walked alone back toward his manor, his expression instantly darkened.
"That damn paranoid old bastard. His suspicions are only getting heavier," he muttered in a voice only he could hear. "Just wait. Give me a few more years, and I'll show you."
Back in Tajima's study, long after the two boys had left, Tajima read over the mission report twice more. Suddenly, he spoke to the empty room. "What do you make of this?"
His gaze drifted toward the shadows cast by the bookshelf. The room had excellent lighting, but even the brightest rooms cast shadows.
A figure smoothly stepped out of the darkness. It was impossible to tell if he had been standing there the entire time or had entered through some hidden method. Dressed entirely in pitch-black attire with his face completely obscured, it was one of the Clan Head's personal Shadow Guards.
The shadowy figure bowed deeply to Tajima. "Lord Patriarch, Young Master Madara lied. Under your orders to secretly protect his life, I witnessed the entire sequence of events from the shadows. The true course of the battle was as follows..."
Tajima listened in absolute silence. When the report concluded, he nodded slowly. "So, aside from the final clash, Madara's report was mostly truthful. A visual Jutsu capable of physically shredding space... and taking the full brunt of an Elite Jōnin's ultimate attack without sustaining a single scratch. Hm..."
Tajima rubbed his forehead, his voice turning incredibly heavy. "Are you absolutely certain you saw the three tomoe in his eye remaining perfectly intact after he used Izanagi?"
The Shadow Guard hesitated. "This subordinate cannot be absolutely certain. Izanagi is our clan's ultimate forbidden Jutsu; using it guarantees the permanent loss of the eye, with absolutely no known method of reversal or recovery. Therefore, this subordinate is more inclined to believe Young Master Xuan's explanation to Madara—that his survival was merely a unique optical illusion generated by his space-time Ninjutsu."
"Is that so..." Tajima murmured to himself. He waved his hand dismissively. "Alright. Your duty here is done. You are dismissed."
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