In the courtyard of the Uchiha residence in Konoha, a temporary ninja tent had been set up.
Two days earlier, Sarada's accidental misunderstanding about her mother had triggered Sakura's temper. In a single punch, she had demolished the house—despite the crushing mortgage that wasn't even paid off yet.
And so, this was their current situation.
In front of the tent, Sakura sat on a small stool, dark circles under her eyes, muttering to herself.
"That idiot Naruto… where did he drag Sasuke off to? He said he'd be home for dinner. I've waited two nights now!"
Anxiety gnawed at her.
"He didn't just leave again without a word… did he?"
At that moment, Sarada stepped out of the tent in pink pajamas, rubbing her eyes.
Well—dawn was breaking. Technically, it wasn't the middle of the night anymore.
"Mom! You didn't sleep again?" she asked in shock.
Sakura turned, forcing a bitter smile beneath her dark circles.
"Mm… I just can't get used to sleeping in a tent. Hehe."
Sarada thought silently: Adults really do lie without blinking. When we went camping, you slept just fine. You're waiting for Dad again… and he didn't come back.
…She's already pitiful enough. I won't call her out on it.
She glanced at the clock hanging outside the tent.
5:17 a.m.
"Then… I'll make breakfast today," Sarada offered gently.
Whoosh!
Before she finished speaking, a black vortex spiraled open midair in the courtyard.
"Huh?"
Sarada froze.
"Ah!"
Sakura shot to her feet instantly.
That was Sasuke's Rinnegan space-time portal.
Finally home—
Thud!
But instead of a familiar figure standing tall, a blood-soaked body fell out and hit the ground before her.
When she saw his face, both she and Sarada screamed—
"Naruto?!"
"Lord Hokage!!"
Another figure stumbled out right after him—collapsing beside Naruto.
A bloody hole gaped in his chest.
Blood poured out.
Their faces turned pale.
"SA-SUKE!!!"
"Dad!!!"
Sarada collapsed to her knees in panic.
Sakura rushed forward, her expression tightening into medical focus.
"Sasuke!! What happened?!"
The portal snapped shut.
The six tomoe in Sasuke's Rinnegan faded. His vision blurred; consciousness teetered on collapse.
Yet with his final strength, he rasped—
"P-Prioritize Naruto… He's worse… please… Sakura…"
Then he lost consciousness.
"Dad!!"
Sarada burst into tears.
Sakura remained steady despite the terror gripping her heart.
They were ambushed by a powerful enemy. Forced to flee with space-time ninjutsu.
What kind of opponent could reduce Naruto and Sasuke to this state?
That wasn't the priority.
The enemy might pursue at any moment.
She barked firmly:
"Sarada! Go to the Yamanaka clan compound immediately! Inform Aunt Ino of the situation! Tell her to mobilize the jonin on standby to guard this area! And notify Shizune's medical team to assist me!"
"But, Mom—"
Sakura turned, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes—yet her voice was steel.
"Move! You are a shinobi of Konoha first! Not just my daughter!"
"Y-Yes!!"
Sarada leapt toward the exit, not even wiping her tears.
As she landed atop the roof—
The single tomoe that had awakened in her eye the day she reunited with Sasuke flared to life.
Whirr—
A second tomoe formed, pushing the first downward.
"Dad… Lord Hokage…"
Uchiha Sarada.
Two tomoe.
Awakened.
5:20 a.m.
After finishing the battle, Akira returned home and looked around carefully.
Aside from a slightly displaced photo frame on the TV cabinet and a chair pulled out near the table, nothing else seemed disturbed.
"They at least have manners," he said calmly. "Breaking into my house but not rummaging around or leaving anything behind."
He picked up the photo frame and wiped it carefully with a towel.
Kaori. Xue. Yue.
Naruto and Sasuke must have seen their faces.
But there was nothing shameful about it.
When I trespassed into the Forbidden Corpse Vault without wearing a mask and left witnesses alive, I wasn't planning to hide.
Madara said, "This location is exposed now. Once Konoha recovers, they'll likely send someone here."
"That's true," Akira replied lightly. "But it doesn't matter. The world is my home."
He placed the frame back, turning with the relaxed smile of a family man.
"To be honest, I have legal residences across the Five Great Nations—and even smaller countries nearby. After this matter settles, we can stay in the Land of Water for a while."
He licked his lips.
"I've been craving fish lately."
Madara and Obito exchanged glances.
So this is… the composure of a wealthy man?
Akira entered the wardrobe room and re-emerged in a fresh black cloak.
He fitted the newly restored Kusanagi sword with an elegant sheath and hung it at his waist.
"Let's move. We'll head to the mountain peak. The terrain there is wide—perfect as a starting point."
On the climb, Madara reviewed the ten-minute battle in his mind.
Looking at Akira's back, he felt a rare sense of admiration.
He's even stronger than I expected.
A pair of eyes carrying so many overpowered dojutsu…
Even in the era of the Sage of Six Paths, such a thing would've been rare.
Yūmotheru. Shinsō. Toyomiketsu-no-Mikoto. Mitobone. Poniya-su…
Five dojutsu revealed so far.
Three in the right eye.
Two in the left.
Let's analyze.
Yūmotheru was Akira's original Mangekyō ability.
Toyomiketsu-no-Mikoto belonged to Jin.
Those two fused into his current Eternal Mangekyō.
Then Shinsō must be the new ability birthed from that fusion.
Appropriate.
If ocular power is sufficient, Shinsō could theoretically erase all phenomena—breaking any technique.
Left eye…
Poniya-su and Mitobone were the original Mangekyō abilities of Akira and Jin respectively.
Which means—
There's still one unrevealed ability from his Eternal Mangekyō left eye.
I wonder if we'll see it soon.
They reached the summit.
The sun crested the horizon.
A new dawn rose over the shinobi world.
The first step of their plan: reclaim Kaguya's legacy.
To do that, they needed to enter Kaguya's space and resummon the Demonic Statue.
That required both Obito's and Madara's ocular power.
Why Obito?
Because during the battle against Kaguya, Obito had marked multiple dimensions within Amenominaka using Kamui and achieved dimensional breaches.
Obito shaded his eyes thoughtfully.
"I did mark those dimensions. But the breakthrough effect only worked between Kaguya's internal spaces."
"And even then, it required Naruto's shadow clone chakra and that pink-haired girl's so-called Hundred Healings chakra to barely succeed."
"To connect such distant spaces instantly now… even with me, that's impossible."
Akira raised his hand, covering his left eye lightly.
He smiled.
"That's fine."
"That's precisely why this exists."
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