The news of Uchiha Itachi's return and his appointment as the new head of the Anbu quickly spread through Konoha, but this time, people accepted it without much resistance.
After all, with the Hokage himself now being an Uchiha, having another Uchiha as Anbu Commander wasn't strange at all.
As for Kisame, Itachi had originally wanted to assign him as an Anbu squad captain. But Kisame flatly refused, insisting that a prisoner like him had no right to take such a position.
Left with no choice, Itachi kept him at his side, making Kisame serve as a kind of personal bodyguard.
Of course, with that shark-like face and the massive blade strapped to his back, Kisame was far too conspicuous. It didn't take long before Kirigakure caught wind of his presence in Konoha.
The Fifth Mizukage, Terumī Mei, immediately put out word: they didn't care about Kisame, but Samehada had to be returned to Kirigakure.
When Yūgao reported this to Kaito, he only sneered and said,
"When did Samehada become Kirigakure's property? Tell them—if they want it, they can come take it themselves!"
When Terumī Mei heard this, she was furious, but at the same time, she was surprised by Konoha's bold stance.
Back in the late years of the Third Hokage's reign, Konoha had started giving off the impression of being easy to bully. Take the Hyūga Hizashi incident, for example. Even though Kumogakure had clearly been the one to cause trouble, Konoha had still handed over Hizashi just to calm their anger.
Things had improved somewhat under Tsunade, but the change wasn't complete. For years, no one in the Shinobi World had seen a Hokage respond with such raw defiance.
This Uchiha Kaito… he was something else.
A flicker of curiosity bloomed in Mei's heart. She thought to herself that, given the chance, she would definitely like to see what kind of man this Sixth Hokage really was.
And besides, rumor had it that the Uchiha men were all incredibly handsome…
As a single woman in her thirties, Terumī Mei had already carved the name "Uchiha Kaito" deep into her memory, though her intentions were far from pure.
...
The Kazekage Gaara and the Raikage A reacted far more calmly to Konoha's leadership change.
But the Tsuchikage Ōnoki… could not stay seated.
At first, when he heard Konoha had a new Hokage, he was only mildly surprised. But the moment he learned the name, he literally leapt out of his chair.
Because he had heard the word—"Uchiha"!
As the longest-lived of the current Kage, Ōnoki had seen more than any of the others. In his long years, he had faced countless powerful shinobi, but none had ever left such a deep scar in his memory as Uchiha Madara.
He would never forget those crimson eyes. Before them, both he and his master Mu had felt like nothing more than ants, crawling at Madara's feet.
Even now, after becoming far stronger than he once was, Ōnoki was certain—if he ever faced Madara again, the outcome would not change.
That kind of power was something no ordinary shinobi could ever possess. In Ōnoki's eyes, the Uchiha were truly a clan touched by the gods themselves.
When he had heard that the Uchiha clan had been wiped out, Ōnoki had secretly breathed a sigh of relief. But now, another Uchiha had emerged.
If it had only been "just another Uchiha," perhaps he wouldn't be so shaken. But this Uchiha Kaito was rumored to have summoned a hundred-meter-tall armored giant in Konoha—a being the shinobi of the village had been powerless against.
One word instantly surfaced in Ōnoki's mind: Susanoo!
While Ōnoki sat troubled by this thought, his granddaughter Kurotsuchi walked into his office. Seeing her grandfather's gloomy expression, she asked curiously,
"Grandpa, you look awful. Did something happen?"
Ōnoki nodded slowly, his voice grave.
"Konoha has a new Hokage. His name… is Uchiha Kaito."
"Uchiha? But weren't they wiped out? I thought Sasuke was the only one left in Konoha. Who is this Uchiha Kaito supposed to be?"
"I don't know much about him yet. But from the intelligence we've gathered, he's already awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"Mangekyō Sharingan? What's that? Is it powerful?"
Ōnoki didn't answer. Instead, he let his body float to the window and muttered under his breath,
"Is the Shinobi World about to fall into chaos again…?"
There's an old saying—whether the shinobi world is in chaos or not, it's the Uchiha who decide.
...
Beside a tombstone in Konoha, the space suddenly distorted, and a masked figure stepped out from the whirl.
It was Uchiha Obito.
He stood in silence before the grave, sorrow etched deep across his unseen face beneath the mask.
Placing a small bundle of white flowers down before the tombstone, Obito whispered,
"Rin… it's been a long time since I came to see you. Forgive me. Once my plan is complete, we'll be together again."
"Actually, I can send you to her right now."
The sudden voice came from behind him, making Obito stiffen in shock. He instantly phased into intangibility, spinning around to see the intruder.
What met his eyes was a face he knew all too well.
The words escaped his lips without thought.
"Uchiha Kaito!?"
Obito stared blankly at that youthful face. He knew it well—but so many years had passed, and aside from his now-white hair, Kaito's face bore not the slightest trace of age.
Even someone as strong as Uchiha Madara had not been able to resist the erosion of time, surviving only by clinging to life through the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
So how had this Uchiha Kaito managed it?
Suppressing his shock, Obito forced calm into his voice.
"To be able to sense my presence… it seems the Uchiha have produced another prodigy."
Kaito chuckled at the ridiculous act.
"Uchiha Obito… how much longer are you going to keep pretending?"
"…"
Obito's body trembled as waves of panic crashed through his mind.
'How does he know my identity!? Just because he saw me visiting Rin's grave? Is he trying to trick me into confessing?'
For a long while he said nothing. Then Kaito continued,
"You came back to Konoha just to see Rin, huh? I should really bring Kakashi here. I bet he'd love to meet his old friend again."
Though Obito's mask concealed his face, Kaito could easily imagine the storm of emotions twisting his expression.
At last, Obito forced out a reply,
"What nonsense are you spouting? I am Uchiha Madara!"
"Still clinging to that act, huh? Fine, then how about this?"
Kaito stepped straight through Obito's intangible body and placed his hand on Rin's tombstone.
Obito's fists clenched tightly as he growled,
"What do you think you're doing?!"
"Nothing. I just think this tombstone is in the way."
With that, Kaito suddenly gripped the stone.
Obito finally broke, shouting in panic,
"Stop!!"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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