Chap.114 Holding back a sneeze

-Let's see what new mission there is," said Tony.

[Mission: Distractions must go away].

[Task: Obito's sudden death has made black Zetsu feel that his meticulous plans for years are going down the drain and he has gone into hiding to reassure himself, considering whether he should try to hold on to the last shred of hope for his plan or let time pass to start a new one from scratch when another Rinnegan reappears in the world. The host will not be able to concentrate on creating new dishes as long as this individual roams freely, which is unacceptable to the System].

-Encourage Black Zetsu to never bother you again (Uncompleted).

[Reward: Method to practice Enbu + ??? + Chocolate Coins +1]

-Enbu? That's a good thing," nodded Tony, remembering how interesting this training is, "With this, the gourmet cells and the FLDSMDFR, I now have the basis to found a rich and powerful clan not inferior to Senju or Uchiha. But what can I call the clan? -I mean, I was adopted by the Akimichi clan and carry their surname. Tayuya has Uzumaki blood, but he also has the gourmet cells.

He couldn't say that he was taking back the Uzumaki clan and believing that he is a branch of the Akimichi clan wasn't correct either, even though they both have strengths intrinsically related to food.

-There's no use thinking about it now -Tony shook his head, realizing he's being too hasty -Just the machine, it will take time to build it. Let's leave this for the future me.

He read the description carefully.

-Mmm, I guess Black Zetsu's last sliver of hope must be a resurrected Madara or he'll try to manipulate Kabuto. I'm more inclined to believe the first possibility, as Kabuto is too smart to be easily manipulated, even if it's someone with so much experience behind him.

Tony knew that Kabuto wouldn't pursue something as cheap as "revenge" against Konoha if he didn't benefit from it after Orochimaru's death, as he took control of all the facilities, research and subjects he had.

The problem was that once Madara was resurrected with the Edo Tensei, his strength would not only prevent him from being controlled or limited like other resurrected, but he would have an infinite amount of chakra and an immortal body.

The Rinnegan that would return him to the world of the living no longer existed, so he could not be killed, only sealed or released from the technique by the caster's will.

-I guess I'm forgetting about the real Madara.

Tony shook his head and put the matter to the back of his mind as he walked into his house and lay down on his bed, where he found Tayuya sleeping peacefully. He lay down hugging her and closed his eyes.

The next morning, the village was in an uproar as they learned of the return of the two Uchiha after their "top secret mission" after so many years. Sasuke and Sakura's reunion made Tsunade laugh so hard that she fell backwards from the Hokage chair, while Naruto was crying with happiness on the side with a foot mark on his face for getting his friend and rival back.

Tsunade took advantage of that overflowing happiness and told them privately about Jiraiya's death. While it resulted in a huge shock for Naruto, the combinations of negative emotions that arose and the positive ones from the recent event found some balance and prevented it from getting out of control this time, to the relief of everyone who was secretly worried.

Kakashi underwent the eye transplant operation and two hours later, he was already adapted thanks to Tony's specially prepared food, which accelerated the progress and made it possible for him to supply enough chakra to both eyes. As Tony speculated, the burden of having both eyes was not small and if it wasn't for his food, Kakashi wouldn't have been able to withstand the wear and tear they put on his body for a long time.

-Give me one day to familiarize myself with my new state and it will be enough - Kakashi stated with full confidence in the hospital room. Unlike in the past, where he had to learn on his own how to use the sharingan from his knowledge of the books and what little he knew from Obito when they were little, now he had Itachi by his side to help him.

-Make sure to take Tony's medicines and food at the prescribed time," Tsunade reminded him after inspecting Kakashi and finding no signs of refusal. Only the consumption was too much, but something temporary that wouldn't leave after-effects after being operated again later- After resting for another two hours, you can start training under Itachi's guidance. Although we should give you more time to acclimatize, I'm afraid we don't consider that the news of your return could reach the ears of black Zetsu. So tomorrow you will have to leave with Tony and company to deal with that fellow.

-Understood! -Kakashi affirmed, but then hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Are you sure it's okay to bury Obito in the village cemetery?

When he learned that his expected meeting with Obito was intercepted by fate, he was numb until it was also revealed that they retrieved his body, all in consideration of his feelings.

Okay, maybe they didn't do it for that, but Tsunade knew how to choose her words.

As she mentioned earlier, she was experienced in these things.

-Don't worry, although as you understand, we won't be able to write his real name on the stone or use the Uchiha symbol," Tsunade shook her head, confirmed by the DNA that the body was of the real Obito.

-It's more than enough that he can be buried next to Rin," it wasn't what Kakashi expected, but for him, it was enough to close this stage of his life once and for all.

-Good -Tsunade nodded and left the Konoha hospital while being followed by Shizune and Tony. They found a bar and asked for a private room, which the owner provided delighted that the Hokage chose his humble establishment. After pouring a few glasses, bottles of water and snacks, they returned to conversation.

-Do your thing, Tony," Tsunade told him as she handed him the water bottles to transform into good drinks, saving some of her money to gamble with later, "So, which ninja do you plan to take with you tomorrow?

-I'd like to bring, besides Kakashi and me, Itachi, Guy and....

-Me? -Tsunade finished instead- It's not possible, with the Coliseum, the conditions were in our favor, but I can't be absent from the village easily. We don't know how far that rat will be hiding. Besides, don't you want to take Tayuya or Karin with you? The infernal hearing that Tayuya now has could be very useful to help you locate him and the skills that Karin awakened would be of great help to prevent him from running away.

- "As much as I would like to, I can't do it," Tony denied with a deflated expression, "This morning Tayuya woke up and threw up in the bathroom. I think he got sick or maybe his gourmet cells are going through another round of adaptation. In any case, I'd rather leave Karin to take care of her while I'm gone.

The cup Tsunade was holding suddenly cracked and Tony looked at her in surprise.

-Is something wrong? -Tony asked as he looked at his own glass.

Are the glasses defective?

Shizune seemed to notice something and looked at Tsunade with wide eyes.

-It's nothing, I just held back a sneeze," explained Tsunade as she replaced her glass with a calm expression, but if one examined her gaze closely, one would see that she was very surprised, "Do you feel sick?

-No, with my constitution it would be very rare for me to be sick and I am sure that if I was, you would have seen it all this time -Tony looked at the two kunoichi and felt that she was missing something, but she could not pinpoint what it was.

-And why do you love these people? -asked Shizune suddenly.

-Well, Kakashi and Guy have good teamwork and their strength is no slouch, while Itachi I think there's no need to elaborate on why. Still, I'd appreciate it if you'll control team seven when we leave tomorrow.

-And why is that? -Tsunade raised her eyebrow.

-Are you really asking me? -Tony was not far behind and also raised his eyebrow, making it clear that everyone present knew why he said it.

-All right, I'll make sure they don't fool around and I'll try to mislead them to stay busy in the village - Tsunade sighed and while taking another drink, she added -And don't worry, I'll take care of Tayuya if my disciple doesn't know what to do. Put one hundred percent of your attention on the mission and return safely.

-Thank you -Tony smiled and clinked the glasses with both of them.