Kakashi's lab….
Kakashi stood in the center of his hidden underground lab. The smooth stone walls were clean and cold, lined with glowing blue seals.
Gentle lights floated above the work tables. Tools were arranged neatly on metal shelves. Scrolls stacked in careful rows.
In the center of the room stood the reinforced tank. Inside floated Madara's body, calm and still, wrapped in silver chakra and bound by sealing marks.
Strong chakra filters pulsed around the tank like a heartbeat, keeping everything stable.
Beside Kakashi stood the Orochimaru clone, his arms crossed as he scanned the room slowly.
"It's cleaner here," the clone said, tilting his head. "No damp shadows. No creepy whispers. I missed this."
Kakashi gave him a rare, small smile. "Good," he said. "Because we have a lot of work to do."
Kakashi moved to his desk and sat down. The wooden chair creaked softly as he leaned back. For the first time in days, he let himself exhale fully.
The escape had worked. Everything was here. Madara's body. The scrolls. The clone. The tools. And most importantly, no one had followed them. Even if they wanted they couldn't.
He opened one of the sealed scrolls and pulled out the clone's notes. The pages were filled with neat diagrams, chakra flow charts, and strange formulas written in sharp ink.
"You've done well," Kakashi said as he scanned the pages.
"Even under pressure."The clone gave a lopsided grin.
He glanced toward the tank. "It was almost fun," he added. "Almost."
"Zetsu won't stop searching. But now… he has no trail."Kakashi nodded slowly.
They shared a quiet moment of relief. No noise, no danger. Just silence and safety.
Soon, they moved around the lab, reinforcing every seal.
The clone walked the edges of the room, brushing his hand over the walls as chakra flowed from his fingers. Kakashi followed beside him, adding his own layers, perception-blocking seals, chakra dampeners, and detection traps.
Near the tank, they installed four crystal anchors. Together, they formed a chakra shield, constantly filtering out interference and tracking pulses.
It was quiet work. But they moved like a team. No arguments. No wasted motion.
The clone glanced at him. "It's strange," he said. "Working beside someone I don't want to stab."
Kakashi raised a brow. "Low bar," he replied. "But I'll take it."
The clone chuckled. "It's also strange being appreciated for my genius. I'm starting to worry I'm going soft."
"Please don't," Kakashi said dryly. "You're already unbearable."
They smirked at each other and kept working.
Later, Kakashi unrolled a large map across the central table.
It showed everything, Kaguya's rift markers, Akatsuki's last strongholds, and chakra flares that didn't match any known shinobi.
The clone stood beside him, arms crossed, looking down at the map.
"We have options," Kakashi said. "We can awaken Madara… later. Once Black Zetsu is out of the way."
"Or never," the clone replied. "We could harvest his chakra. Seal it into weapons. Use his bloodline for regeneration studies."
Kakashi looked thoughtful. "If we wait too long, we might lose the advantage. But rushing it could cause more chaos."
"One wrong step," he murmured, "and it's war again."
The clone tapped a point on the map, an old Akatsuki base still active.
"If Zetsu's still digging, we could feed him false rumors. Make him look in the wrong place."
Kakashi nodded slowly. "Good idea. Let's begin setting that up soon."
As they finalized some notes, the clone paused mid-sentence.
"Do you ever sleep?" He stared at Kakashi for a moment, then asked,
Kakashi blinked, then gave a small smile. "When I'm not stealing corpses from ancient monsters, yes."
"Good to know. You should write that on a mission report." The clone laughed softly.
They both chuckled. No tension, no pressure, just a moment of understanding between two people who had seen too much of the world.
The clone returned to sorting the medical tools while Kakashi moved toward the elevator tunnel that led back to the surface.
He walked slowly, hands in his pockets, head tilted slightly as he listened.
Above, the house was quiet.
He reached the top floor and stepped into the main hall. Morning light streamed through the windows. The wooden floor was warm under his feet.
He heard the soft sound of someone stirring in the bedroom.
Maybe Kurenai was waking up. Or Tsunade. Maybe Anko had rolled off the bed again.
He didn't check. He just walked into the kitchen, poured himself a cup of tea, and sat down by the window.
The garden outside was still. The sky was a pale blue.
Kakashi sipped his tea and smiled faintly.
"Black Zetsu must be furious at being played," he muttered with a smile on his face.
He leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-closed, letting himself enjoy the calm.
His mind drifted back to the moment he planted the Flying Thunder God seal on the clone's arm.
It was late at night. They were deep in the Kirigakure lab, and the clone was sealing Madara's stasis tank for travel.
Kakashi had approached silently and pressed two fingers to the clone's forearm.
"This mark will bring you home," he said.
The clone had looked at him for a long second.
"Why me?" he had asked. "You could've made another clone. One without a history."
Kakashi had looked him straight in the eye.
"Because you chose not to become like the real Orochimaru. That's enough."
The clone had gone quiet after that.
Now, remembering that moment, Kakashi smiled.
Downstairs, the lab was active again. Tools clicked. Seals buzzed. The clone worked steadily, humming under his breath.
He paused once, glanced toward the elevator, and whispered to himself:
"He really brought me back."
He looked at the tank again, Madara, still asleep, was bound in chakra and silent.
Then he turned back to his notes.
Work was just beginning.
Back upstairs, Kakashi finished his tea and looked around the living room.
It felt warm. It felt safe.
But the war hadn't ended yet.
He stood slowly, stretched his arms, and walked toward the hall, toward the people he loved.