Konoha: The thirty-year-old Uchiha is not motivated.

"The human heart is influenced by every kind of soul."

As Reimu delved deeper into the traditional "One Spirit, Four Souls Theory," a strange glint gradually appeared in Madara Uchiha's eyes as he looked at the captured clones, including 001.
"Gululu~"

However, a sudden clap of thunder abruptly brought this highly technical lecture to an abrupt end.

"Sorry, sorry."

Reimu, her face slightly flushed, touched her flat stomach. From yesterday until now, she had only drunk a little bit of the thin porridge made from rice offered by Masahiko Uzumaki. It was truly remarkable that her stomach had lasted this long without rumbling.

"Thank you. I have a general idea of ​​who the three of them are now."

Madara Uchiha nodded thoughtfully. If what the priestess said was true, then these three mutated clones likely contained fragments of his close friend's soul. This would explain why the three could resonate with Ashura Kaga.
"You have a bit of cleverness, but not much. You must be what they call a 'strange soul,' right?"

Sharing the same view, Uchiha Gin squatted down in front of 001, curiously examining this clone who repeatedly claimed to be a strategist, before turning his gaze to the grinning 009 beside him.

"As for this silly Chun, he's definitely going to be a ghost."

"He must be the spirit of Grandpa!"

Tsunade, her face still somewhat pale, bit her lip, her eyes filled with complex emotions as she looked at the sleeping Number Four.

Other things may be fake, but love will not.
"Leave them to me."

"Oh?"

Looking up at his older cousin, whose eyes were filled with certainty, Uchiha Gin had a strange expression on his face.
Is this kid trying to gather the four souls and fuse them to summon Hashirama's true form?

"Whom would you like to go with?"

Instead of answering immediately, Uchiha Gin asked the two captured clones.
"Did we originally have a choice?"

001, now completely at their mercy, stared in astonishment at Uchiha Gin. This ridiculously strong guy had actually taken the initiative to ask about their intentions.

They were being treated like human beings, much better than being treated like dogs by Yishi. A feeling of being truly appreciated welled up inside me.
"Then we're willing to go with you."

Compared to the enigmatic Uchiha Gin, Uchiha Madara, while seemingly more domineering, was at least simple-minded. Following him meant you wouldn't be used as a guinea pig.
As for escaping back, 001 didn't even dare to think about it. That suspicious guy, Shiki, would definitely cut open every inch of their skin to check.

"This boss."

"You've really picked a fight. I was just asking casually. What human rights do prisoners of war have?"

"Forehead"

001's face darkened as soon as he pointed his finger at Uchiha Madara.
To retract my earlier statement, this guy is a jerk with a twisted sense of humor.

"You should all work hard under him from now on, and maybe one day you'll get a permanent position."

"what?"

001, who had already prepared himself to be dissected, stared wide-eyed in disbelief as Uchiha Gin, who was dumping them on Uchiha Madara like trash, clearly looked bewildered.
"What are you looking at? My family doesn't have any extra rice to feed you."

Uchiha Gin waved his hand dismissively, signaling his younger cousin to hurry up and accept the goods.
"Thank you."

Madara Uchiha looked at Gin Uchiha with deep emotion, thinking that if he ever managed to rescue Hashirama Senju, he would definitely bring him to his door to express his gratitude.

"We're all family, don't be so formal."

Almost letting something slip, Uchiha Gin quickly covered it up and then waved to Tsunade, who was guarding number four.
"Help him up, I'll give him a buff."

Number Four still carries the wedge of Compassion; if it isn't shielded, it will become a hidden danger sooner or later.

"Ok."

Tsunade, unsuspecting, carefully helped Number Four up. Uchiha Gin crouched down, and a ghostly blue flame suddenly appeared at the tips of his five fingers.
"This"

Seeing this familiar scene, Reimu frowned, her eyes filled with doubt as she looked at Uchiha Gin's retreating figure.

This guy could be...

"Rustle."

As tadpole-like incantations crawled across Number Four's arm, which was adorned with a wedge, the light from Uchiha Silver's fingertips gradually faded. Looking at the stacked Four Symbols Seal, his eyes were filled with satisfaction.

"It's done. As long as he doesn't forcefully use the power of the wedge in the future, he won't be controlled by Jigen."

Clapping his hands, Gin Uchiha stood up, stretched lazily after giving his instructions.

After such an intense battle, he was severely depleted of sugar and his hunger was no less than Reimu's.

Looking up at the setting sun, only half of it visible above the lake, he turned and left everyone with a dashing silhouette.

"Well then, everyone, Ghana~"

It's time to go back and prepare dinner.

"and many more."

Looking at Uchiha Gin, whose body had already disappeared into the shadows, Madara Uchiha, still harboring many questions, finally lowered his raised hand.

He can't trouble others with everything; not everyone is his cousin.
"Clean the battlefield."

Turning to Izuna behind him, he gestured for them to get to work. The two quickly began a thorough search of the broken pieces of yokai on the ground, crushing them one by one and carefully stuffing the chakra cores inside into a pre-prepared candy jar.
These were all important materials personally selected by their older cousin; the two brothers were hoping to use them to exchange for new items from Uchiha Gin.

"We're here to help, too."

After Uchiha Gin left, the restraints on 001 and 009 automatically disappeared. The two exchanged a glance, stood up in unison, and took the initiative to help Uchiha Madara and the other man clean up the battlefield, trying to leave a good impression on their new boss.

"Hurry up, the floor cleaners are coming."

Suddenly, Uchiha Hikaru turned his head in the crowd, his crimson gaze piercing through the thick rain, landing on the turbulent lake in the distance. In that direction, small boats filled with Rain Ninja were speeding towards the island below them.

"Want to come together?"

Having said that, she turned her gaze to Tsunade and the other two, who were dressed in ripped clothes, and her eyes blazed with a deep crimson light.
"We won't trouble you, Guang-jie, okay?"

The three, not wanting to cause trouble for Uchiha Hikaru, immediately shook their heads and waved their hands. They were in good condition and getting back around Amegakure wouldn't be a problem.

However, before they could finish refusing, a massive, imposing Susanoo-like aircraft appeared out of thin air. The three immediately fell silent, their eyes wide with astonishment.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

"Hmph~"

"Grandpa Ban, grandpas, I'm entrusting this to you."

Just before boarding, Tsunade approached Madara Uchiha, who was counting his spoils, and her complicated gaze fell on the sleeping Number Four beside him.

"This is my responsibility as Hokage, and even more so, my responsibility as a close friend."

After skillfully crushing the treasure in his hand, Madara Uchiha, who was checking the purity of the chakra pills, looked up at his best friend's grandson and slowly made a promise.

".obligation."

"Boom!"

The crimson Susanoo plane, trailing a fiery tail, soared into the sky and vanished from Madara Uchiha's sight in the blink of an eye.

"Big brother, can you do this?" Uchiha Izuna asked with a complicated expression. What man could resist such a fast and cool way of traveling?

"Get to work and stop thinking about all this nonsense. Do you think an ordinary kaleidoscope like you can sit here?"

When asked the question, Madara Uchiha's expression tightened. He quickly suppressed the envy in his eyes and gave his talkative younger brother a flick on the forehead, urging him to collect the chakra pills quickly.

A few minutes later,

When a large group of fully armed Rain Ninja, clad in protective suits, cautiously arrived at the scene, all that remained was a patch of scorched black earth. Madara Uchiha and his men had wiped away all traces of the previous battle with a single burst of fire before leaving. No matter how hard the Rain Ninja examined the site with magnifying glasses, they couldn't find a single useful clue.

"My lord, the wild chakra levels detected on the island have decreased by more than half."

A Rain Ninja, who had long been responsible for monitoring the chakra concentration of the tailed beasts on the island, hurriedly approached the person in charge of this operation, handing over the latest test data with a look of horror.

"So, the strange phenomena that occurred on the island before were because someone was secretly collecting the power of the forbidden area?"

The Rain Village leader, who had already considered the remaining tailed beast chakra on the island as his own, frowned upon hearing this.
"Have the patrol members woken up yet?"

"Reporting to Your Excellency, some members have already awakened; this is their report."

Upon receiving the report from the patrol member whom Tsunade had rescued along the way, the Rain Village leader's expression grew increasingly grave.
The attackers appeared to use a ability resembling lava escape.

This is the only description of the attacker given by the patrol member who was easily dealt with by Clone Number Four.

"Hmph! It's them again."

The Rain Village leader suppressed his anger and carefully put away the report. This matter had to be reported to Lord Hanzo immediately so that he would realize the wolfish ambitions of Iwagakure.

In fact, the higher-ups of Amegakure had secretly authorized a special team to conduct a thorough investigation into the recent natural disasters that had struck the Land of Rain. The investigation revealed that both the earthquakes and the volcanic eruptions showed extremely obvious signs of human intervention.
This is a major conspiracy targeting the thriving Amegakure.

Throughout the entire ninja world, there is only one person capable of wielding such power. Coupled with the sudden appearance of bandits, all fingers point to one suspect: the Hidden Stone Village, which has fallen behind in its competition with the Hidden Sand Village.
Seeing that Amegakure was leaning towards Sunagakure, Iwagakure, unable to win Amegakure's favor, created frequent natural disasters to undermine the stable morale of its people. They also sent Iwagakure ninja disguised as bandits to rob merchant caravans, thereby damaging Amegakure's reputation for safety and stifling its thriving commercial activities.

Now they are brazenly stealing the power of the forbidden area of ​​Amegakure, which is simply heinous!

"The rest of you stay here and continue the search. You and the patrol will come back with me to meet Lord Hanzo."

The Rain Village leader, who had already mentally shifted all the blame onto Onoki, waved his hand with a gloomy expression and led the professionals monitoring the Tailed Beasts' chakra and the attacked patrol members back to report to Hanzo.

The shadow of impending war has quietly descended upon the entire Land of Rain.

"Boom~"

In the valley outside Amegakure, the cherry-red Susanoo plane landed smoothly. Before it even came to a complete stop, Tsunade and her two companions, their faces ashen, scrambled off the plane, each grabbing a tree and bending down to fertilize it.
"Ugh... ugh... ugh..."

"Young people these days are just lame."

Having ridden Reimu for the second time, her transformed state was much better than theirs. Looking at the three who were spitting out rainbows, a knowing smile appeared on her pale face.
Of course, this is also closely related to the fact that she had nothing in her stomach to vomit.

"We'll leave you here; we should head back for dinner."

Uchiha Hikaru nodded and gestured for Reimu to return to the shrine for a meal. Uchiha Gin, who had left before them, should already be busy in the kitchen.

"Thank you very much, Sister Guang. When are you leaving? We would like to do our best to show you hospitality before you go."

Tsunade, her face deathly pale, wiped the filth from the corner of her mouth and forced herself to sit up, inviting him...

"Yes, the three of us haven't been back much these past few years, and we haven't had time to pay our respects to Grandpa Yin."

A rare look of gratitude appeared on Orochimaru's pale face.

The three of them secretly plotted on the way, deciding to treat Gintoki to a nice meal. They even had their sights set on the barbecue restaurant Tsunade had led them to earlier—a place with generous portions, all you could eat, and great value.

Most importantly, Yahiko's mom is beautiful.

"The proprietress is very radiant."

Having already said everything the other two had to say, Jiraiya, unsure of what to say, scratched his head and, as if courting disaster, added, "..."
"Oh!"

Sure enough, a large, cherry-red hand appeared out of nowhere and mercilessly slapped him dozens of meters away, sending him plunging headfirst into the putrid mud. He slowly sank amidst a bubbling sound.
"This idiot."

Tsunade and Orochimaru rubbed their foreheads, looking utterly helpless.
"I will tell A-Yin."

The crimson light in Uchiha Hikaru's eyes gradually faded. He turned and nodded to the filial Tsunade, accepting the invitation.
"Wow, such a strong sense of oppression. How come I never realized that Hikari-neechan was so terrifying?"

Once Uchiha Hikaru and Reimu's figures disappeared from sight, Tsunade finally breathed a sigh of relief. This was the first time in her life she had ever seen Uchiha Hikaru take action.

Although I had heard my second grandfather's evaluation of Uchiha Hikari's strength, calling her the strongest woman in the Uchiha clan, I never imagined she would be that strong.

Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, Kagutsuchi, Yasenmo
Whose kaleidoscope has four different eye techniques?

Incidentally, Tobirama Senju's assessment of Gin Uchiha's strength was that he was just a "Jonin" (a low-ranking ninja).

"The Sharingan, you know."

Orochimaru, standing to the side, had a flicker of barely perceptible fanaticism in his eyes. After witnessing this battle between the supermodels, a seed of seeking knowledge had been planted in his heart.

Whether it was the Wood Release and Tailed Beast power displayed by the clones, or the immense power of the Uchiha Hikari Mangekyou Sharingan, he wanted to study all these extraordinary powers thoroughly.

"Help me, gurgle! Help me, gurgle!"

Orochimaru, did you hear anything?

"Perhaps it was the mournful cry of a drowned toad before it died?"

"I thought so. By the way, is that skincare cream you've been promoting in your live streams really that good?"

"Of course, I developed it myself. I'll give you a trial set when we get back."

"Haha, Orochimaru, you're such a good best friend~"

"Come visit my live stream whenever you have time."

"Definitely, definitely."

Faced with Tsunade's question, Orochimaru smiled and shook his head. The two, without paying any attention to the bubbling mud, chatted casually as they headed towards Amegakure, leaving behind a trail of echoing frog croaks.
"Coo~ Coo~ Coo~ Help me! Croak!"

Hakurei Shrine,

"Waaaaah, Master, I thought you didn't want Maitreya anymore!"

As soon as Uchiha Hikaru and Hakurei Reimu passed through the deep red torii gate, a small figure who had been secretly weeping under a bare old tree in the courtyard suddenly raised her head, her nose and tears streaming down her face, and rushed into the arms of the bare-armed shrine maiden, crying out loudly.

"How could I possibly abandon the capable little Maitreya?"

Feeling a pang of guilt, Reimu gently comforted her young apprentice, who had followed her through countless hardships, her eyes filled with heartache.

"No matter what happens, Miroku will never leave Master, sob sob sob."

Looking at the exhausted Miroku in her arms, tears welling in her eyes, Reimu vowed to treat this respectful disciple well.
From then on, she would only eat the outer layer of the tree bark, leaving the tender parts for Maitreya.

"Hey~ Xiao Guang, you've finished your pre-meal exercise?"

Just as the bond between the master and disciple was deepening as they embraced, Uchiha Gin, wearing a patched apron and carrying two plates of food, emerged from the kitchen, greeting them with a smile.
"Mile, the sweet and sour fish you were crying and begging for is ready!"

"Huh? Sweet and sour fish! Come on~ Come on~" (End of Chapter)