"Madara-sama… he never eats with us."
After hearing Hinata's quiet question, Karin lowered her head and answered with a depressed little sigh.
Obviously, she really wished Madara-sama would feed her.
In her mind, she imagined it clearly: Obito taking off that mask, revealing a handsome face. He'd pick up a spoon, lean close to her, and say gently
"Karin-chan, ahhh—"
The image made her cheeks burn red as she drifted off into her own silly daydreams.
Beside them, Yugao pressed her lips together, watching this exchange between the two little girls.
"That guy has never once taken off his mask in front of us. So of course he won't sit down and eat with us."
Her eyes narrowed. "Does he really think no one realizes he isn't actually Madara Uchiha?"
Whenever it came to Obito, Yugao's voice was always laced with an endless grudge.
"Mm… Madara-sama must have his own reasons for hiding his face," Pakura said softly, smiling to ease the tension.
"There's no need to worry too much, Yugao."
"That's right." Terumi Mei nodded. "Whether or not he's really Madara Uchiha doesn't matter. What matters is that he's the one leading us."
Yugao could only sigh helplessly at the two of them.
"Tch… you two just listen to him too much."
"Because I can't afford to disobey him," Terumi Mei said with a wry smile. Though her words sounded like a complaint, the way she said it carried no trace of being forced.
"He saved my life," Pakura added calmly.
"And more than that... he's someone truly worthy of being followed."
"Uh…" Yugao froze, at a complete loss for words.
"By the way, you were the first of us to follow him," Terumi Mei suddenly asked with curiosity.
"So why do you always look at him like he annoys you?"
"I'm being threatened by him, okay?" Yugao pursed her lips in protest. "Besides, it's not like I ever said he was bad, it's just that he…"
Her voice trailed off, stuck halfway.
At that moment, Chihori, who had been quietly listening to the three girls, suddenly leaned forward with the air of a nosy aunt and chimed in:
"It's just because Madara-sama keeps bringing back so many girls, isn't it?"
The words landed like a bomb.
Yugao's face instantly stiffened. Her eyes flew wide as she turned to glare at Chihori's teasing smile, utterly shocked.
"I-I see," Chihori added with mock seriousness.
"That's the reason…"
Next to her, Pakura and Terumi Mei both nodded in unison, looking "enlightened," their eyes sparkling with playful smiles.
"H-huh?! Who would like him… like him?!" Yugao's cheeks flared red as she shouted back in a flustered panic.
"No one said you liked him."
"Oops, she exposed herself…"
"Looks like it's true after all…"
Pakura and Terumi Mei took turns tossing out lines like a comedy duo, teaming up to tease her mercilessly.
"Ahhh!!" Yugao let out a muffled cry, covering her face with both hands before crouching down under the table like an ostrich hiding its head.
"Hahahaha!"
Pakura, Terumi Mei, and Chihori all burst into laughter, and soon everyone else at the table joined in, enjoying the spectacle.
For a moment, the whole dining hall was filled with warm, cheerful air.
---
While everyone inside was frolicking and laughing, the man at the center of their gossip sat quietly on the fortress roof.
Obito had removed his white mask, letting it rest in his hand. A half-empty bottle of wine dangled from the other, and he gazed up at the pale moonlight, drinking alone in silence.
It might have been a peaceful, solitary moment…
If not for them.
"Hahaha! Captain, this is great! Nothing like a little rooftop party to kick off the new year!"
Tobi shouted, already chugging down an entire bottle like a frat boy at his first festival.
Beside him, another White Zetsu swirled his glass with mock elegance, sniffing it like a connoisseur before taking a dainty sip.
"Mmm, earthy aroma, faint notes of despair… quite vintage. I give it a seven out of ten."
Obito's eyebrow twitched.
He had only wanted a quiet drink, but these fools had followed him up and declared it a "celebration."
"Honestly," the goofy Tobi laughed, slapping Obito's shoulder, "you should loosen up more, Captain! You're too broody! Try laughing like this... HAHAHAHA!"
"Don't encourage him," White Zetsu added with a sigh, crossing his legs like some kind of noble.
"He's finally managed to look mysterious for once."
Obito silently raised the bottle to his lips.
Maybe if he drank fast enough, he'd forget they existed.
The two White Zetsu clinked their bottles together, one still guzzling noisily, the other savoring his drink with maddening composure.
"Captain," Tobi suddenly said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, "you already know my dream, right? But… we don't know yours."
Obito gave him a sidelong glance, unmoved.
"Of course, we know it has something to do with the Ten Tails." Tobi leaned closer, grinning wide.
"But that can't be it. Tell us the real one."
At his words, White Zetsu lowered his glass, eyes narrowing as he studied Obito in silence.
The night breeze passed quietly over the rooftop.
Obito didn't answer immediately. He just swirled the wine in his bottle, his Sharingan reflecting the moonlight.
"It would be advantageous for both of us," Obito finally said, his voice low, "if I don't answer that question."
Tobi blinked, bottle halfway to his mouth. For once, he didn't crack a joke.
Beside him, White Zetsu slowly set down his glass, his gaze steady.
Then, almost in unison, the two raised their heads toward Obito.
"…We understand, Captain," they said together.
"It must be a heavy burden," Tobi added softly, a rare seriousness in his tone.
"A weight no one can carry alone," White Zetsu finished, his voice calm but firm.
Both of them leaned back, looking up at the moonlight.
"I hope that one day," Tobi murmured, "we can carry it with you."
For a moment, Obito sat frozen.
He could clearly feel it...their words weren't a joke, nor an act. For all their foolishness, the White Zetsu were completely serious.
And that sincerity stunned him more than he wanted to admit.
Maybe… it's because I fused those red items into them so many times, Obito thought, narrowing his eyes. Or perhaps there's another reason altogether.
Either way, these two White Zetsu had become… different.
Their personalities, once simple copies, had grown more distinct. They laughed, argued, even reflected in ways ordinary Zetsu never could.
They've… evolved.
Obito exhaled slowly, then much to the Zetsu's shock he chuckled.
"Heh…"
The chuckle turned into a laugh. Then, before either of them could react, Obito slung an arm around each of their shoulders and pulled them in.
"Come on," he said, surprising even himself,
"let's dance."
"Huh?!" Tobi blinked, wine spilling down his chin.
"Captain's… dancing?!"
White Zetsu already out of his elegance act, though startled, didn't resist as Obito tugged him along.
On the moonlit rooftop, the three of them began stumbling and swaying like idiots, bottles in hand.
Obito's deep voice broke into a rough, off-key tune...one he'd once shared with them as a story from "a faraway sea."
"Ahh! That song!" Tobi lit up instantly, raising his bottle like a mic. "The pirate one!"
"Yes," White Zetsu admitted with a grin, "a fitting choice."
Obito's laughter rolled out into the night as he dragged the two Zetsu into a stumbling circle.
His movements, at first clumsy, suddenly shifted into smooth steps, almost natural.
Tobi threw his head back and howled the lyrics, sloshing wine everywhere. White Zetsu, though trying to keep composure, eventually swayed along with an exaggerated grin.
Together, the three of them belted out Binks' Sake, their voices loud and rough but full of life.
Obito's black cloak swirled with each step, his shoulders rising and falling in rhythm
And yet, not a soul below knew.
The women laughing around their dinner table had no idea that the very man they spoke of was, at that exact moment, dancing with surprising grace and goofiness on the roof above their heads.
And just like that, as time passed, the middle of the night came...ushering in a new year.
"Huh~"
Bang!
In Snow Village, not far away, every household had stepped outside. Bright points of light streaked upward, bursting across the dark sky.
Fireworks blossomed one after another, filling the heavens with dazzling colors.
Children laughed and shouted, running through the snow as the echoes of celebration rang through the village.
On the fortress rooftop, Obito finally slowed, releasing the two White Zetsu who were still swaying and humming along, completely out of tune.
He let out a quiet sigh.
Lifting his gaze, he looked past the fireworks and up at the far stars scattered across the night.
Slowly, he raised the wine bottle and let the burning liquid slide down his throat.
The Ōtsutsuki clan…
Sooner or later, I'll swallow you whole. Just as you swallowed thousands of planets before.
His Sharingan eyes glimmered crimson in the moonlight, burning with a vow only the stars bore witness to.
--
A/N for Readers: Kukukuku~ Fresh meat and veterans, gather up because the deal is simple.
𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘦𝘴, 𝘐'𝘮 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘴𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘙-18 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥.
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