Chapter 235: Uchiha Kids

Land of Rain, Amegakure.

Boom!!!

A series of continuous, thunderous explosions finally subsided. In the distance, it was practically an expanse of water; the evaporating moisture kept rising, and the sky was filled with dark clouds.

"Rumble..." The rain grew heavier and heavier.

Konan knelt on the ground, panting hard. Staring at the drifting smoke, she thought to herself:

[Even the legendary Uchiha Madara should have died from that, right?]

[Nagato, what on earth—…]

Previously, she had been out collecting Kakuzu's "inheritance" and ran into a tricky group of Hanzo's remnants, which delayed her for several days. When she returned to Amegakure, she found that the rain had actually stopped.

Realizing something was amiss, she did not rush straight in but tested the waters in various ways first—only to discover that Pain had lost.

Someone calling himself "Uchiha Madara" had taken control of the Akatsuki.

What a joke—wasn't that just the masked man?

At first, Konan simply couldn't believe it. She had no way to get in touch with Nagato; after wandering around the outskirts of the village for days, she decided to risk going in to find out. And then—

"Such a familiar feeling…" came Uchiha Madara's voice. The smoke suddenly cleared.

A massive, solidified chakra construct still towered over the water's surface.

Even that technique can't…

Konan's eyes filled with a hint of despair. She had used all her trump cards to deal with the masked man, yet she still couldn't harm the monstrosity in front of her?

No!

She suddenly noticed the giant monster's shoulder was regenerating rapidly, and a technique flashed through her mind.

"Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation)… is it Orochimaru?!"

"Correct." Orochimaru stood behind her, his voice carrying a slippery sort of slickness. "That jutsu really is terrifying. Even a customized Edo Tensei body could hardly withstand such damage."

A snake, identical in its oily tone to Orochimaru's voice, coiled around Konan, binding her.

She still had some chakra left—if she were to make one last desperate stand—

"Don't waste your time," Orochimaru said softly in her ear. "I'm only following orders."

[He's not restraining me too hard. Why? Could it be the organization wasn't destroyed by him alone?]

Konan's thoughts raced. She had no clue why the controller of Edo Tensei would claim he was merely following someone else's orders. Who in the world could command an Orochimaru who wields the power of this "Uchiha Madara" monster?

A soft tap rang out. A pair of feet touched down lightly not too far away, without even splashing the water. Lifting her head, Konan's gaze met a pair of Rinnegan—exactly the same as Nagato's.

And there are those eyes. What's going on? Nagato, he… Konan's consciousness gradually blurred.

Uchiha Madara reached out and gripped the captive's head, his expression calm as he skimmed through her memories. After a while, he released her and frowned.

He didn't find any trace of Obito or Nagato.

"Lord Madara, should I kill her?" Orochimaru asked in a seemingly respectful tone.

Madara shot him a glare. If not for the limitations of his newly Edo Tensei–revived body, which restricted his full power, how could Obito and Nagato possibly have escaped?

Even so, at the moment, he did need someone like Orochimaru for his plans. "She's yours," he said coldly and was about to leave.

Breaking free of the lingering remnants of the genjutsu, Konan gasped out in fragments, "What… do you… want?"

Obviously, to reclaim what's mine.

Without stopping for an instant, Madara vanished with a flicker. He felt no obligation to answer a weakling's questions.

Orochimaru stared in the direction Madara had disappeared into the rain, then glanced at the Zetsu attached to his body's surface. He wasn't sure why, but maybe because of how sharply natural energy could sense malice, he felt as though Zetsu didn't show much respect for Madara at all.

If that were really the case, then things were about to get interesting.

…

Next up, I just have to wait for Tobirama to act and summon the First Hokage. Then we can steamroll everything. I wonder how Jiraiya and the others are doing…

Link sat in a chair, carried along by his shadows as they traveled back. That was what he was thinking about.

These past two weeks had yielded quite a lot.

First was the production of "Black Mud"—it seemed to be created from "evil" or a very strong malicious intent. The more evil deeds a person had committed, the more Black Mud they produced once thrown into the "Swamp of the Underworld." So far, no one had exceeded Kado's yield.

That rotund man was simply superhuman—he alone produced enough Black Mud equivalent to seven humans' worth of reincarnation. Ordinary criminals, like murderers, at most produced enough for two or three Edo Tensei's worth of sludge, which was already considered impressive.

The one who came closest to Kado in producing Black Mud was a cannibal caught by Foam on a small nearby island; that one generated enough for five-and-a-half reincarnations' worth of sludge.

But as for the exact principles, even Tobirama had no solid conclusions. The extracted Black Mud smelled terrible and stuck to anything. Ages ago, Link had smeared some Black Mud onto a rabbit, and to this day, it was still hopping around the mangrove forest. Predators wouldn't go near it, and the other rabbits stayed far away. It had basically seeped into the creature's flesh—shaving its fur off still left a horrific stench on its skin.

Thank goodness rabbits don't have much mental capacity. Any normal human would have lost their mind long ago.

Even Tobirama—who was by nature extremely curious—dealt with the sludge only with the utmost caution, always handling it carefully due to its peculiar properties.

(I think I mistook Kado for Gatō.)

…

Second was Edo Tensei, which, in this version, reincarnates someone as a child with no harmful side effects. According to Tobirama's research, a person's chakra in soul form carries a huge amount of information. While the soul was imprisoned in the Black Mud, that sludge read and instinctively mimicked the data. Then, through the jutsu, the sludge's power was converted into a large amount of special chakra to give life to a clay-like body.

Thus, those who were resurrected this way were exact copies of their former selves—just physically three or four years old. The reason was simple: the soul's chakra had been consumed, leaving not enough for a fully powered adult form.

Of course, Tobirama's explanations were far more complicated in practice. But from Link's own understanding of Naruto lore, "infusing life into a form" was basically Yang Release, right?

By that logic, the Shadows he summoned were probably Yin Release—giving form to the formless. Talking about it sounded all high and mighty, catapulting his mutated ninjutsu to a Yin-Yang Release–level skill. But in reality, he hardly understood a thing. The ninjutsu just did its own thing.

Regardless, all that mattered was that he realized how potent his jutsu was.

The greatest boon, however, was that he used his personal "Link-style training method" to boost Tobirama's growth. Tobirama had almost regained enough power to perform Edo Tensei. Within a few more days, they'd likely have the First Hokage in their hands.

If they summoned Hashirama via the Rashomon Gate before Edo Tensei, that guy would be absolutely invincible—nobody could stand against the First. A true unstoppable juggernaut. After that, whether or not they reincarnated him wouldn't even matter. They could start mass-producing Edo Tensei bodies throughout the village, letting everyone get their resurrected parents or guardians. Asuma, Kurenai, Might Guy—hand out parents to each of them!

Oh, and why not give the Third Hokage and Tsunade a partner too?

Link chuckled to himself. He was getting excited now.

You might ignore me in the Pure Land, but you can't ignore Edo Tensei, can you?

Come on out, all of you!

Then, with the big guns summoned, they could crush the Akatsuki and take the Rinnegan for themselves. Nagato, Obito—who cares which "Gate" or "Door" you are? Try fighting True Several Thousand Hands for a change!

This kid's excited again… Tobirama thought from slightly behind him. The first power Tobirama had recovered was his sensory ability. Only recently did he discover that beneath Link's usually calm, cool demeanor, his mind was constantly swirling with internal commentary.

[Heh, guess he's still just a kid.]

"You're back."

Uchiha Sasuke, dressed in a white casual outfit, was perched on a tree branch, watching a group of little kids train below.

Among them were Fugaku and Mikoto, once his parents, along with Tekka, Inabi, and Yashiro—three Jonin who'd been instantly killed by Itachi in the past. Even ordinary folks from the Uchiha clan—like the husband-and-wife owners of the "Uchiha Senbei," Uchiha Teyaki and his wife, Uchiha Uruchi—were there training as well.

Unlike the Hyuga, the Uchiha didn't have a tradition where everyone could awaken the Sharingan. In fact, it was quite rare. Those who did awaken it were considered the clan's core. But even those who couldn't had innately stronger physiques than regular people, so retraining from scratch still had its benefits.

Most importantly, where others would recover slowly after reincarnation, any Uchiha who had previously opened their Sharingan could drastically speed up their power restoration once those eyes reawakened. Their minds carried the same will as before, so even as a small child, they could rapidly recover their former strength. Truly a built-in advantage.

Uchiha Fugaku, for instance—once a seasoned powerhouse—had adapted to his Sharingan after just over a week and, within a few more days, was already nearing Chunin-level speed and chakra reserves. A casual Fireball Technique was no trouble at all.

[A three- or four-year-old at Chunin level—terrifying.]

Still, their ultimate ceiling would be the same as their prime in their previous life. And frankly, the clan had all been taken down so easily by the younger Itachi. Even if you discount the fact that Fugaku didn't resist, it was hard to say how strong they really were.

"Link."

Uchiha Mikoto wiped the sweat from her forehead. Even with that little-girl face, she wore a gentle, maternal smile as she waved him over.

Damn… how does a child's face manage to look "maternal"?

"Aunt Mikoto… Uncle Fugaku…" Link greeted them, and only after speaking did he realize how bizarre it sounded. One had to wonder how Sasuke got used to calling these two little kids "Dad" and "Mom" every day.

"Pack up. We're heading back to Konoha," said Fugaku. He gave the assembled clan members a quick glance, said nothing else, and they scattered to gather their things inside the base. After exchanging a few words of small talk, Fugaku and Mikoto left together.

Sasuke jumped down and shot a wary look at Momochi Zabuza—who was behind him and looked quite uncomfortable—as well as Haku, who was trailing him. "So, the experiments on your jutsu are done?"

"More or less," Link replied, then paused. "What about you? Are you planning on remaining a shinobi?"

Ever since he killed Danzo and left the village, Sasuke hadn't worn Konoha forehead protector again. He stayed somewhat distant from Kakashi and Sakura, and the village never insisted he take on missions, as if he were severing ties with Konoha.

~~~

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