Qianyu stared at the collapsed cave that had buried Obito Uchiha. He formed the hand seals.
Summoning Jutsu!
Snakes. A sea of them, erupting from the ground in a hissing, coiling mass. No chakra signatures. Just ordinary serpents, perfect for what he needed.
He willed them forward. They slithered, slipping into the cracks and fissures of the broken stone, vanishing into the dark.
Another set of seals.
"Vision Sharing!"
His pupils elongated, narrowed. The world shifted, fracturing into a dozen low, slithering perspectives. Rough stone, darkness, the squeeze of tight spaces. The snakes pushed deeper, winding through the labyrinth of rubble.
One found it—a tunnel, carved and deliberate, leading down. He guided the swarm silently into its throat.
Half an hour passed.
The lead snake emerged. A cavern. Vast, shadowed. And in its center, two figures.
Old Man Madara. And Obito Uchiha, his left side a gruesome, pulverized ruin.
Madara was working on him. Methodical. Precise.
A grin touched Qianyu's lips. Perfect.
Through the serpent's eyes, he watched. Madara was using a grotesque, half-formed White Zetsu body, riddled with Hashirama's cells. He was grafting it, piece by fleshy piece, onto Obito's shattered frame. The surgery was slow. Painstaking. Unhurried.
Three hours.
Obito's missing half was now pale, alien flesh, stitched and sealed. Madara finished wrapping the new torso in bandages and binding straps. He leaned back in his stone seat with a long, weary sigh and closed his eyes.
Qianyu severed the connection. The system window flickered open.
[Witnessed Madara Uchiha treating Obito Uchiha. Witness Points +500.]
[Witnessed Obito Uchiha receiving Hashirama Cell transplant. Witness Points +500.]
Not a huge payout. But scraps were still scraps. And the main event was still to come. The points would add up.
The next day.
Qianyu, Minato, Kakashi, and Rin regrouped. The mission wasn't over. Kannabi Bridge still needed to go.
With Qianyu and the Yellow Flash on the job, it was over in minutes. No drama. No grand stand. The bridge that fed the enemy supply lines shattered into the river below.
Cut off, the Iwa advance crumbled. Leaf forces pushed them back across the border.
Qianyu and Minato returned to Konoha to report.
Kakashi's team was down to one member: Rin.
Minato made the suggestion. "Kakashi could join my squad for now. Temporarily."
Qianyu's answer was immediate. "Yeah, no."
He knew exactly what Minato was playing at. More "Will of Fire" indoctrination. Another mindless, loyal drone for the village. Not happening. Not after everything. Kakashi was finally starting to think, to question. That flame wasn't getting snuffed out.
And Rin… Rin was a walking death flag.
She was Madara's chosen trigger. The one destined to break Obito. With Obito now in the old monster's clutches, the script was set. Obito would fall. The universe demanded it. The only person who could push him into darkness was someone he loved, and that meant either Rin or Kakashi had to die. So, Rin's fate was practically sealed.
The 'how' didn't matter. The 'who' didn't matter. She just had to die in front of Obito.
So Kakashi couldn't be there. Not again. He couldn't watch another person he cared about get ripped away. Qianyu wouldn't allow that particular brand of hell.
Minato had no real argument. He just nodded, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. The Hokage assigned two fresh Chunin to his team instead.
With the Iwa threat neutralized, Qianyu and Kakashi got a rare gift: three days' leave. Then, it was off to the Rain Village front.
Kakashi followed him home. Kushina, no longer the jinchuriki, was pulling regular missions now. The house was quiet.
They ate. A simple meal. Then Qianyu lay on his bed, his eyes glazing over as he re-established the Vision Sharing link. The serpent network was his silent, unseen audience in the underground theater.
He watched. He waited.
Three nights later.
Obito stirred. A groan, ragged and pained.
His one good eye fluttered open. "I… am I dead…?"
The sight of the old man looming in the shadows jolted him. "Where… is this?"
"Between the world of the living and the realm of the dead," Madara's voice rumbled, dry as ancient bone. "Uchiha child."
Obito squinted, focusing on the man's face. The eyes… "Your eyes… Old man, are you… an Uchiha too?"
Madara tilted his head slightly, gaze drifting away. "Guess if you like."
Obito just stared, confused. Was this the one who saved him? Maybe…
"Between life and death? What does that even mean?" Obito's voice rose, panicky. "It's too dark to see anything! And who are you? You're not… the Shinigami, are you? The guy who takes people to heaven or hell…"
His single eye caught it then—the long, wicked curve of the sickle Madara leaned on as a cane.
A scream ripped from his throat.
"NO! I don't wanna die! Help! I just saw the scythe! You ARE the Shinigami! The special Uchiha family Shinigami! I've spent my whole life helping old folks in trouble! I mean, yeah, I did some bad stuff, broke some rules, but not enough to cancel out all the good, right?! Don't take me to hell—Agh!"
He jerked, agony lancing through his rebuilt body. He gasped, teeth clenched.
"Pain is proof of life," Madara stated, unmoved. "Though your survival is a miracle. Crushed by rocks, yet not dead. As if the stone simply… passed through you."
Obito swallowed hard, the fear momentarily overridden by confusion. "Where… where did you find me?"
"You were lying in a tunnel I had dug. Surrounded by collapse. Though, to be precise, half your body was pulp. I bandaged what was left."
"You… saved me? Thank—"
"Save your gratitude," Madara cut him off. "You will repay this debt. Helping the elderly is your life's creed, you said?"
Obito blinked. "Uh… yeah, I did say that… So, what? I be your servant? Take care of you?"
Madara's single visible eye fixed on him. "That would suffice."
"Sorry, can't!" Obito said, shaking his head weakly. "I'm going back to Konoha! I'm alive, and there's a war on. I finally unlocked my Sharingan. Now I can really protect my friends! For real this time!"
"…Protect your friends."
Madara lowered his head. The shadows deepened around him. He repeated the words, his voice a low, dark echo in the cavern.
"Protect your friends…"
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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