Even though Minato had left, there was still another "gate" he could approach—Nagato.
After confirming that Namikaze Minato had returned home, Uchiha Kaien created a shadow clone to lie in bed in his place.
He usually let White Zetsu handle that role, but given Minato's unexpected visit, Kaien felt a bit uneasy and decided it was safer to let a shadow clone stay behind and play him asleep.
It was also a good excuse to run a little experiment: what exactly happens when a shadow clone sleeps and then dispels? Does the original body actually get rest? Or not?
He kept pondering the question as he sat in White Zetsu's underground "transport car." Bored, Kaien quietly opened the system interface and spent 3 points on [Agility].
...
It didn't take long before Kaien arrived at the familiar underground base.
Compared to how it looked at the beginning, the base in the Land of Grass now glowed with bright, artificial light. The moment you stepped inside, it was warm and welcoming.
That was all thanks to Kaien's work. He had White Zetsu install a ton of lighting—powered, of course, by electricity siphoned from Kusagakure.
Past the main training arena, the most spacious area in the base, was Uchiha Madara's private chamber.
Madara was sitting cross-legged on his bed, deep in meditation. His long white hair and calm, self-assured expression gave him the air of a sage—or a god. Especially with the monstrous, coiled Gedo Statue looming behind him, it made him seem halfway between deity and demon.
That is… if you ignored the bright pink bedding.
Which Kaien had picked out himself.
His reasoning was sound: in such a damp, gloomy underground lair, even chakra users could fall ill. Surely Madara wouldn't want to spend his golden years coughing his lungs out every day, right?
Thanks to that logic, Kaien had gained full remodeling rights over the base and swapped all of Madara's personal items for pastel-pink alternatives. Then, of course, he roasted him for it.
That was the closest Kaien ever came to getting beat up by Madara outside of a training session. He only saved his own skin by pulling out a hidden trump card—cooking Madara a full meal.
Yep. That's what kept him from getting his ass handed to him by a mildly annoyed old man.
"Gramps Madara, looks like you're getting used to this place pretty well."
"Hmph. I've fought across the ninja world for decades. I can't enjoy a little comfort now?"
The moment Madara heard Kaien's annoyingly cheerful voice, he opened his eyes but didn't shift from his meditative posture.
With that slow, unhurried tone of his, he finally said:
"You're late today."
"No choice. I had some stuff to take care of. I'm officially a genin now."
Kaien pointed at the Konoha forehead protector wrapped around his head.
"Poor Gramps Madara... I came late today, and now he can't even eat a hot meal. He has to rely on the Gedo Statue's nutrient fluid to get through the night. Tragic... so tragic…"
Kaien never missed a chance to poke fun at Madara. He even put on a melodramatic voice to act like Madara would starve without him.
Madara, proud as ever, instantly flared up. His eyes flashed red, three tomoe spinning as the Sharingan emerged, and he looked very ready to give Kaien a solid beating.
But Kaien, fast as ever, whipped out a late-night snack—the same one he'd prepared earlier when hosting Minato.
"That's why I already made your dinner!"
Madara took the food and, with a cold snort, deactivated his Sharingan. While he ate, he listened quietly to Kaien recount his first day as a genin—like a grandpa being told about school by his grandkid.
...
So why was Kaien suddenly bold enough to tease Madara like this?
Simple. Madara no longer had the Rinnegan—it had already been transplanted into Nagato. Losing those divine eyes had dramatically reduced his combat power. Sure, he could still crush Kaien without breaking a sweat, but that didn't stop Kaien's inner gremlin from acting up.
High risk, high reward.
If he always tiptoed around Madara, the old man would just treat him like a disposable tool. But by constantly pushing his buttons, by showing some spark, Kaien was gradually reshaping Madara's impression of him.
Now their dynamic felt more like an eccentric grandpa and his mischievous grandson.
He kept provoking Madara, then pacifying him, again and again. Slowly but surely, he carved out a real place in Madara's heart. The increase in [Affection] from the system only confirmed it.
Why did Madara tolerate him so much? Please. For the first year they knew each other, Kaien had been too oblivious to notice genjutsu. Madara had basically been running daily mental training on him. If Kaien still couldn't earn the guy's trust after that, he'd be ashamed of himself.
As for the original owner of Kaien's body and the mysterious death of his parents... Kaien had his suspicions.
The look in Madara's Sharingan—the warmth in it—wasn't fake. Not with Kaien's [False Voice] and [Vivid Performance] traits active. And especially not when he had the [Illusion Immunity] trait.
Those eyes… they belonged to someone truly connected to the original Kaien.
That alone narrowed down the culprit behind his parents' deaths.
It had to be either Black Zetsu… or Madara.
But Madara didn't strike Kaien as the type to bother with eliminating random clan members who hadn't even awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Which meant the true culprit was Black Zetsu.
Especially since the first time Madara abducted him, it was a completely different base from the one he brought him to now.
Kaien was almost certain: back then, Madara had genuinely been in the Land of Iron.
But now wasn't the time to deal with Black Zetsu. Without powerful sealing techniques, there was no way to handle that slippery yin-yang abomination. For now, he'd bide his time—and settle things later, in the original Kaien's name.
...
"Now, go meet with Nagato," Madara said calmly. "Observe the state of the Rinnegan. Find a time when no one's around. Leave him with a good impression…"
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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