In the Land of Fire, Emiya Shirou and the two little ones embarked on their journey.
Senju Hashirama led a group of ANBU ninjas, following them in the nearby forest, quietly waiting for Madara to appear.
Strangely, Madara never showed up. This made Hashirama somewhat hesitant, worried he might take the opportunity to attack the village. However, Tobirama believed that with Madara having lost one Mangekyo Sharingan, and with Mito's powerful sensory abilities, he wouldn't gain any advantage by attacking Konoha.
He would definitely prioritize Shirou.
"Could Tobirama have guessed Madara's thoughts wrong?" Hashirama led the ANBU all the way to the border of the Land of Waterfalls, but still did not find any trace of Madara.
Compared to the tense Hashirama, someone else was even more anxious: Black Zetsu. It had been secretly following Madara, vaguely guessing he might use some means to contact Shirou.
But... not this means, right?
It watched with its own eyes as Madara quietly appeared in Takigakure, used his Mangekyo Sharingan to forcibly control the village leader, and made him order his ninjas to go and assassinate a small team that was about to enter the Land of Waterfalls.
Black Zetsu was completely dumbfounded.
Wait... what is he doing! Just go and meet Emiya Shirou directly! Can he really expect this group of Takigakure ninjas to capture him? All these small ninjas combined wouldn't be enough for one of Shirou's hands!
Yet Madara was full of confidence. This made Black Zetsu a bit confused. Could he be expecting this group to attack Shirou, and when Shirou is beaten and running, he himself would step in to help?
"What a waste of effort," it could only watch, dumbfounded.
At the Land of Waterfalls border, Shirou still had an unperturbed look. The young Danzo was not worried; he knew an ANBU squad was following them.
Only Hiruzen's vigilance was heightened. Once they left the Land of Fire, any trouble they encountered could only be solved by themselves.
"Lord Emiya," Hiruzen asked, "why are we coming to the Land of Waterfalls?"
"It doesn't matter where we go," Shirou said without looking up from the medical records he was writing. "I just picked a direction. Maybe I'll feel something and meet a ninja suitable for inheriting medical arts, or maybe I'll find what I'm looking for."
"Then when will our journey end?" Danzo subconsciously frowned, realizing this aimless journey might greatly delay his time.
"Within ten years, I guess," Shirou replied. As soon as the words were spoken, both Hiruzen and Danzo couldn't hold it together.
"Don't worry," Shirou put down his pen. "If you don't want to travel with me, you can go back at any time. I will safely send you back to Konoha."
"How could that be?" Hiruzen laughed, nudging Danzo's shoulder. "No one else in this world has our luck, to be able to travel with Lord Emiya for so long!"
Danzo rolled his eyes at him.
What's there to be happy about? A few weeks or months, I could accept. But are we really going to waste ten years with him?
"Rest assured," Shirou continued, taking a blank scroll. "You don't have the talent for medical ninjutsu. Although I don't like fighting, ninja conflict is unavoidable. If you want to maintain peace, words alone won't do. Only with enough power can you support your ideals."
Danzo's breathing suddenly became heavy.
"As expected of Lord Emiya!" Hiruzen quickly sat down beside him. "Then please guide me well in the future!"
"I can't claim to guide you," Shirou tapped Hiruzen's head with his pen. "I can't teach you any powerful jutsu either. I have to see your talent first. I hope I won't disappoint you."
Danzo suppressed his ambition. He knew Shirou had what he wanted: that cursed seal.
Just as Hiruzen was about to say something, his eyes suddenly tightened. "Someone's coming!"
Danzo looked in disbelief at the group of Takigakure ninjas filing out.
There should be Konoha ANBU guarding the perimeter. How did they get close?
-----
In the forest, the Konoha ANBU were no longer there. Two hours ago, they had discovered their target.
"Lord Hokage!" one of them had pointed. "Madara!"
Hashirama had recognized that figure at a glance and rushed over. The figure in red plate armor was revealed to be Madara, but when he noticed them chasing him, he just gave them a cold look and then directly flew away.
"Madara!" Hashirama followed closely behind. The ANBU looked back at Shirou's resting area but chose to chase after Hashirama and Madara first. Their primary mission was to kill Madara.
"Lord Emiya," Hiruzen grabbed a kunai, his expression tense. "It seems the visitors are not friendly."
"Should we run away first?"
"We probably can't escape," Shirou's eyes lifted, his face without a trace of panic. He could sense the ANBU had been lured away by Madara's wood clone. But the real Madara had long been lurking around them.
This person... what on earth does he want to do? He's not trying to stage a clumsy play, is he?
But Madara was not important right now. Shirou's gaze fell on the Takigakure ninjas, wanting to find his target for coming here among them.
"Kakuzu, go!" the Takigakure captain shouted for his strongest subordinate to charge forward. "You go kill that man, we'll take care of these two brats!"