Interrogation

Xu Yue’s Sage Mode could not last much longer either, but with the boost from senjutsu, the advantages of the Tree World were fully displayed.

Drawing directly on natural energy as replenishment, it brutally swept across the entire area!

He had restrained him!

After sensing Madara’s location through his connection to the Tree World, Xu Yue finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But he could not let his guard down yet.

He had to finish him off.

The Uchiha Gunbai, and the Eternal…

"Obito, you little bastard…"

Still intending to finish Madara off, Xu Yue sensed Obito’s Chakra signature and sped up once more, arriving before the drained Madara Uchiha.

A somewhat panicked Obito had already dragged Madara by the leg and pulled half of him, along with the Gunbai, into the space.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Yue, still in Sage Mode, flashed past in the next instant…

He looked at the eyeball in his hand, then at the spot where Obito had vanished.

Xu Yue felt a headache coming on when it came to intangibility.

If Obito wanted to kill him, it would be easier to deal with. When Obito attacked, Xu Yue’s superior strength would be enough to handle him.

But if Obito only wanted to run, then no one could really stop him!

His Flying Thunder God had yet to reach the Fourth Hokage’s level. Even if he could leave a marker, it would be erased once Obito brought it into the Kamui Space.

Still, he had barely accomplished his objective.

He just had not expected Madara, with one and a half feet already in the grave and perhaps not even possessing half the strength of his prime, to be so difficult to deal with.

And that was with Xu Yue knowing Madara’s condition in advance and scheming to sever his connection to the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

It was only natural that Madara, summoned through Impure World Reincarnation, could solo the Five Kage and crush the Coalition Forces…

Now that the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path had vanished as well, he did not know whether it had returned to its sealing grounds or gone somewhere else.

His greatest gain was this Sharingan.

Madara’s original Eternal Mangekyo had evolved into the Rinnegan and been given to Nagato. Yet this eye he was using had still been awakened to the Mangekyo level!

Its ability was most likely Tsukuyomi or something similar. Otherwise, Madara could not have described the scene of Infinite Tsukuyomi to Obito.

In Xu Yue’s view, since Madara had once possessed the Eternal Mangekyo, any new Mangekyo he acquired would most likely have been Eternal from the start.

And when he asked the space, he received the same answer!

This trip had not been in vain after all.

Unfortunately, there was only one eye again, and it was also the left eye of Kamui.

He would not replace his own eye for now. He would find a way to have the space upgrade it directly.

But he was still one eye short. Where was he supposed to get another one?

The scarcity of these things was truly absurd. It seemed he could only see whether his set of theoretical tests would succeed…

Achievement mission completed: Hidden Powerful Enemy. Evaluation has entered settlement. Obtained scroll: Six Paths Technique: Secret.

This move, which had nearly completely altered the plot, had still triggered the space’s cleanup measures, much like when Koutetsujou’s initial mission had been changed.

And the reward was quite good!

With the Senju and Uchiha Clan fused within him, he too could use the Six Paths Technique!

"The space really doesn’t let people exploit loopholes."

Sitting on a boulder to rest and recover his Chakra, Xu Yue summarized the gains from this battle, a thoughtful expression on his face.

This had been Madara Uchiha’s weakest, most pathetic state.

Even with every possible advantage, and even after exploiting the weakness in Madara’s personality to seize the initiative, Xu Yue had still ended up in such a miserable state. In the end, Obito had taken the fan, and Xu Yue had not even managed to get a fragment of the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path for research.

The shell of the Ten-Tails.

He had collected two kinds of tailed beast Chakra. Though both were incomplete portions, Xu Yue had his own ideas. Hmm, perhaps he could try to obtain a third kind…

After "seeing Orochimaru off" and returning, Xu Yue was stopped by Anbu the moment he entered the village. They said the Hokage wished to see him.

Having been mentally prepared for this, Xu Yue showed neither resistance nor displeasure and obediently followed the Anbu.

Along the way, he could sense the intense wariness radiating from them.

And among them, Xu Yue sensed one familiar presence.

"Kakashi, don’t be so cold, all right? I merely went to see my teacher off."

Xu Yue looked at Kakashi, who was staring at him, and spoke helplessly.

"He is a rogue ninja."

Kakashi’s reply was icy.

"But he is still my teacher, isn’t he? Between orders and my teacher’s life, what is wrong with choosing my teacher?"

Xu Yue sighed, seeming somewhat helpless.

That immediately stirred Kakashi’s memories of his father’s death. Back then, had his father faced the same impossible choice?!

Yes, his father had faced his teammates, while Xu Yue had faced his own teacher!

Kakashi, whose thoughts had been completely led astray, relaxed somewhat, though he merely snorted and said nothing more to Xu Yue.

He had yet to emerge from the shadows cast by Obito and Rin, and Naruto had not yet been born to heal him. Kakashi’s personality was still quite different from what it would become later.

When he entered the Hokage’s office, Xu Yue discovered that there were quite a few people present.

The Third Hokage and Fourth Hokage, Danzo, and the other two advisors were all there!

Seeing so many people gathered, Xu Yue seemed to reveal a slightly awkward smile.

"I didn’t expect such a grand gathering. My teacher has caused everyone trouble. I truly apologize."

As he spoke, Xu Yue bowed to express his apology.

Thud!

Danzo’s cane slammed heavily against the floor.

"Do not try to change the subject. We are not discussing Orochimaru now. We wish to ask whether you knew about Orochimaru’s experiments, and whether you knew of his defection."

Danzo’s expression was grim, and the one exposed eye was cold as well.

His words were filled with traps.

But Xu Yue had no intention of stepping into any of them. Instead, he said bluntly,

"I did not know about my teacher’s defection. However, I did participate in some of his experiments, because my teacher drew my blood and cultured my cells for comparison. But I did not know that he would conduct human experiments directly."

In an instant, Xu Yue had turned himself from a participant into a victim, changing everyone else’s expressions.

No wonder Orochimaru had taken him as a disciple so early. So he had wanted to study the powers of the Senju and Uchiha Clan.

After Xu Yue successfully changed the subject, even Danzo did not dare press the matter further. His own hands were not clean either. This brat was truly more troublesome than expected.

He had originally thought that Xu Yue’s two greatest backers had either left or defected. With both kindness and intimidation, there had been a chance to absorb him completely. Yet the faint threat hidden within that single sentence made Danzo temporarily curb that intention.

Xu Yue’s words also surprised Konoha’s highest decision-making body. So Orochimaru had not even spared Uchiha Yue. He was truly deranged. Yet even so, Uchiha Yue had still chosen to help Orochimaru escape.

After assisting him, Xu Yue had known full well that returning would bring great trouble, yet he had resolutely returned to the village anyway, choosing an action that pleased neither side.

His character was truly rare…