The world turned upside down as Masashi appeared headfirst on a rocky wall.

  Having prepared himself thhly beforehand, he was ready to teleport back at the slightest hint of danger.

  But there was none—everything seemed perfectly fine.

  The area was even well-lit.

  It acious underground space filled with traces of artificial stru. He nded lightly and silently, surveying the surroundings.

  The pce seemed to have been a rge room, though hastily vacated.

  Probably overdid it with the preparations, but you never know with Madara's hideouts.

  He sealed the "oxygen tank" he'd brought, as he hadn't used its tents yet. Before entering, he had already taken a deep breath outside.

  The helmet portion of his equipment disappeared under his trol—not due to recklessness, but because the "room" showed clear signs of habitation.

  The unmade bed, personal items, and most importantly, the obvious air cireant this wasn't some toxic death trap.

  Giveuation, he doubted anyone could vince him that an anaerobic anism had ever slept there.

  Taking a deep breath, he found no odd smells.

  As a ninja, mastering some mediinjutsu was crucial. After all, the medical teiques of the shinobi world even included ways to heal respiratory issues.

  With such skills in his arsenal, he felt at ease traversing any enviro. This, however, did not align with his heavily armored appearance.

  Ign this irony, he deactivated Sage Mode and his imposing aura before starting his iion.

  There was no giant golem in sight—only an old wooden bed and some personal items scattered around.

  He found a few torn pipes and dried, unknown liquid stains on the ground. It seemed the oct had left hastily, leaving many things disanized.

  Still, they hadn't been overly rushed, as everything important had been ed up thhly.

  After searg the room and finding nothing of note, he noticed a door on one side of the room. It cked a door panel, leaving the area beyond pitch bck.

  He created a shadow e, which picked up an oil mp. The oil hadn't been used up, so the e lit the mp aured into the darkness.

  Masashi stayed behind, waiting patiently, his senses alert for any disturbance.

  After a while, the shadow e returned, its expression already suggesting bad news.

  "Nothing?" Masashi asked, disappointed.

  "Nothing," the e said, holding up the now nearly-empty mp. "And the oil's almost gone."

  "Why didn't you just use a fire jutsu?"

  "Are you kiddihat space is so narrow; you wao roast myself?"

  "Make the fmes smaller—you're a shadow e. Be braver."

  "Brave your head! You deal with this," the e retorted, dismissing itself with a pop.

  Masashi stood there, stunned. Sometimes my own personality is my worst enemy.

  The thought had barely crossed his mind when the e's memories flooded back.

  Now he uood why it had been so upset.

  The passage outside formed a circur loop around the room. Though there were many branches, each became progressively narrower until only an arm could fit through.

  In such ditions, even the smallest fire would be useless. Expeg the e to stick its head through was absurd—its head wasn't a drill, after all.

  He g the torn pipes on the ground, lost in thought.

  Madara, not only did you build an ICU here, but also a walking trail?

  The pipes were surprisingly long and telescopic.

  After some rummaging, he found another oil mp, fully stocked. He lit it, created another shadow e, and together they explored further.

  Reag one branch, the e indicated that there seemed to be a spa the other side.

  Masashi tapped the wall before stabbing through it with the Kagutsuchi Bde. As expected, the bde pierced through, leaving a glowing e hole.

  Satisfied, he gestured to the shadow e.

  "Go ahead, Mewtwo."

  The e shot him a withering look. "I may be a e, but you're an absolute jerk." Even my es are getting siy attitude.

  With that, the e swung its fist against the rock wall, creating visible cracks. After a few more punches, air flowed through, carrying the st of old stone.

  A well-pced kick brought down the wall, revealing a spacious new passage.

  "Looks like it was sealed from the other side," Masashi ented, studying the debris pattern.

  The e ignored him entirely.

  They stepped into the new passage, immediately stopping iracks.

  Someone was here. No, there was chakra.

  Masashi tapped the e, who dashed ahead, setting a marker at every turn. After three ers, the e spotted a shadowy figure.

  Without hesitation, the e activated its chakra cloak, the blue energy illuminating the darkness, and sshed down with a chakra bde.

  The figure reached out to grab the bde but was cleaved in two. However, the e detected even more chakra signatures appearing around it, emerging from the very walls.

  Masashi sehem too.

  The way these presences maed reminded him of something.

  No way...

  Clig his tongue, he recalled his initial low expectations. Had he uimated how much was left behind?

  In the e's "vision," the approag chakra signatures were clear. Without hesitation, it unleashed Corrosive Steam, filling the area with corrosive vapor faster than the enemies could move.

  Screams echoed in the darkness, but more chakra signatures emerged.

  When the tackers leaped into view, they were met with a massive chakra-formed hand smming down. The blue energy illumiheir twisted forms for a brief moment before crushing them against the ground.

  The underground space shook as stone walls trembled, dust and small rocks raining down from the ceiling.

  Outside, Masashi listeo the otion while activating his Sharingan. Though he hadered Sage Mode, he remained vigint.

  Several chakra signatures were creeping toward him, their movements betraying their hostile i.

  He extinguished the oil mp.

  In the darkness, sage markings appeared on his face.

  In one swift motion, he jured a fming bde, extending it outward. Spinning ihe bde sshed a full 360 degrees, cutting dowackers aing them abze.

  The most distinct chakra figure was skewered to the ground as the bde extended further, burning a trento the stone floor. The smell of scorched rock filled the air.

  Relighting the mp, he examihe figure impaled on his bde.

  It didn't bure the fme pierg its chest—proof of its in in Yin-Yang Release.

  "Well, well..." Masashi feigned surprise. "Isn't this the great Will of Madara? What's happeo you?"

  ---

  How many years had it been since Bck Zetsu st felt vulnerable?

  A thousand?

  More?

  Now, pinned by this fme bde, that familiar sensation of danger returned.

  He could se clearly—the bde wasn't just hot, it was fused with both mental and physical energy.

  Hagoromo had systematically theorized and summarized the use of chakra, enabling humanity to master it more effectively.

  At the peak of this system y the highest nature of chakra—Yin-Yang Release.

  Even now, Masashi was far from reag such a realm.

  This wasn't something attaihrough normal training anyway. Just as Uchiha's ventional training couldn't possibly grant them the Rinnegan, the Mangekyō Sharingan itself was already a shortcut, fed by the efforts of tless geions of Uchiha.

  "Masashi."

  Bck Zetsu grasped the fiery bde that had pierced his chest, the fmes lig at his dark form without ing him. "I hought it would be you."

  He tried to pull the bde out but failed.

  He let out a sigh.

  His gaze fell on Masashi's three-tomoe Sharingan. The flickering oil mp cast unstable shadows on his face, but those crimsoood out, almost glowing in the dark.

  It was merely an illusion caused by the inteivity of his ocur power.

  Bck Zetsu loosened his grip. The boy's Kagutsuchi was truly fwless.

  If Masashi could be swayed to his side, this desdant of Indra might one day wield Susanoo perfectly with just the three-tomoe Sharingan.

  The plete Body Susanoo was a creation of Indra himself, modeled after the life forms of the tailed beasts. It was the stro ocur jutsu designed specifically for the Sharingan, usable as long as one's ocur power was suffit.

  The myriad ocur teiques of ter geions followed a simir principle.

  Yin Release was abstract—it brought to reality the refle of one's inner desires. And as a tangible result, ocur teiques were not impossible to learn.

  Take Kagutsuchi, for instance—could there be a better example?

  "Do you want to destroy me?" he asked.

  He didn't sense any io kill from Masashi.

  Bck Zetsu had waited here, expeg a "fierce battle" with Masashi, who, with his three-tomoe Sharingan, should have struggled mightily in su enviro.

  The script dictated that he would then reize Masashi's identity and stand dowing the stage to begin influeng the boy.

  Masashi was the most perfect Uchiha he had ever seen. His Sharingan was steadily evolving into Indra's Eye—the inal form of the Sharingan.

  Yet, ara push was required. Masashi had already pushed his bloodlio its limit, but transf it into Indra's Eye was beyond his capability alone.

  The Uchiha 's footional stimution was the right path. Madara's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan represehe pinnacle of this approach.

  Masashi's path, however, ended here.

  He could still grow stronger iure, but that would only be in quantity, not quality.

  "Destroy you? Why would I?" Masashi smiled at Bck Zetsu.

  With a slick sound, the fiery bde withdrew, and the sage markings faded from his face.

  "Getting suddenly attacked—I had to beat you up first, just in case. Who knows if some bastard was trying to ambush me?" Though we both know that wasn't your real iion.

  "..." This insufferable child...

  It felt as though Masashi was insulting him.

  This Uchiha—why did he have to get the st word every time?

  It reminded him of Indra in this way, too—someone who never spared others with his words. The simirity was almost painful to witness.

  Holy, if it weren't for the ck of Indra's chakra within Masashi—and the timeli matg up—he would have been vihis boy was the reination of Indra's chakra.

  He stood up, brushing his chest. While he felt no pain, he was certainly irritated.

  Whether he was the "Will of Madara" or his true self, Bck Zetsu was teically Masashi's aor.

  First, you cut me with a sword. Now, you burh fire. Truly, you Uchiha are filial to a fault!

  "Why did you stop Obito?"

  "Which time?" Masashi asked, tilting his head.

  He had meddled with Obito's pns on multiple occasions. Couldn't Bck Zetsu be more specific?

  Bck Zetsu was momentarily speechless. This boy takes pleasure in being difficult.

  He started to uand why Obito always seemed so exasperated. From Masashi's tone, he clearly enjoyed himself!

  "The ails i," he crified.

  "Oh, that." Masashi nodded knowingly, then spread his hands with theatrical innoce. "That wasn't my fault. I told you the timing wasn't right. Of course I had to step in."

  "Did you really have to stop it that thhly?"

  "If I didn't, I couldn't even go out for a skewer in peace. Were you guys trying to mess with me on purpose? Grabbing the ails is ohing, but why parade it through the vilge? Are you insane?"

  "That wasn't my doing. I tried to talk him out of it." For once, we agreed on something.

  "Don't worry, I don't bme you." Masashi's tone shifted. "I get it. He's as stubborn as a mule. Must've given you a hard time back then, huh?"

  Bck Zetsu recalled the past.

  In the beginning, Obito hadn't been much trouble. Most of the torment fell on Madara.

  As Masashi said, Obito was stubborn like a mule.

  Back then, the boy had partially awakened Kamui without even possessing the Mangekyō Sharingan. This had allowed him to enter Madara's domain, muadara's delight.

  He wasn't omnist. He hadn't foreseen that Obito's eyes would turn out to be so powerful. Kamui was genuinely an incredible ability, even by Warring States standards—a game-ger otlefield.

  Madara's Pn A had been to recruit Obito, train him, and have him gather the tailed beasts to summoen-Tails, which would then allow him to be revived through Nagato's Rinh. With Madara's triumphaurn, the pn could proceed smoothly.

  But Obito, stubborn as ever, repeatedly dismissed Madara with a single line: "o meet you, 'Grandpa.' Goodbye, Grandpa. I'm going to find Kakashi and Rin."

  Had it not been for the tubes hooked up to him, Bck Zetsu suspected Madara would have jumped up and clobbered the boy.

  Even I wale him at times.

  But he was iethered by tubes, so he had no choice but to e up with Pn B: Manipute events so Obito would witness Rin's death, driving him into despair and pelling him to accept his ideology. Finally, the boy would resume Pn A.

  After much effort, the pn had succeeded.

  Yet Obito tio a his own whims.

  With Madara gone, Bck Zetsu became Obito's arget of frustration.

  He was exhausted.

  Its ses aligned with Masashi's: Just grab the ails and leave! Why the need frand show?

  "Let's not talk about him anymore," Bck Zetsu proposed.

  "Let's talk about you instead, Masashi. Do you desire Indra's Eye?"